I cleaned up the loft Thursday morning because I couldn't let Marty and Jenny see it in the incredibly messy state it was in. But also because I just couldn't think in there any more. There were books and papers everywhere. It wasn't so much that the room was embarrassing (although it was) it was more that it wasn't functional any longer as a place to learn. And that in itself is embarrassing.
But no more. I cleaned it! I cleaned out the big cabinet, all of the random drawers, my files...everything. It felt so good.
Now that I don't have to think about that anymore, I can move onto other, bigger and more interesting things.
Things like:
1. What books should I have Harry and Sam read next year?
2. What books and activities should I use from the SOTW 2 Activity Book next year?
3. How can I organize a little area for Annika to do "preschool" in?
4. How do I deal with Sam's speech next year--do I need to advocate more for two thirty minute sessions in a week or can he handle one full hour session?
5. I really need to call early intervention for Annika to get her into the preschool speech program as soon as school starts next year.
6. How am I going to be able to teach two very different curricula next year? (Something that causes worry and concern, but that I know will come together.)
7. What composers and artists should I focus on next year and what does that really mean?
So really I'm in a planning mode for next year and it does feel good. I love planning. Now, if I could just stick to the plan for more than a week. That would probably be helpful.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
a good start
Mondays tend to be our best day and this was no exception.
This morning we did:
History--discussed the Buddha and Buddhism
Math--more addition and review
Spelling--his final test from last week, still having a hard time with "a" blends
Readings--Farmer Boy, Eldest
Grammar--review of a poem by Christina G. Rosetti
This morning we did:
History--discussed the Buddha and Buddhism
Math--more addition and review
Spelling--his final test from last week, still having a hard time with "a" blends
Readings--Farmer Boy, Eldest
Grammar--review of a poem by Christina G. Rosetti
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Weekly Planning
I love planning and organizing. Things go smoother in our lives if I've got some idea of what comes next. That doesn't mean I always follow the plan, but thinking ahead is always good. So I created a chart to guide us through our learning week.
Another thing to remember is that we don't do something in each column each week. And a lot of the lessons that we actually do are "read this story" or "do one page." Remember that when you scroll down to the bottom and see a lot of subjects.
I just pencil in the lesson or the pages we're working on. Then after we've done the work I'll write it in the day. I know that doesn't make much sense, but the chart is less for me to plan out which day I'm going to do what and more so I can be aware of what I need to do in order to stay on top of something.
For instance, if we're on math lesson 34, after Harry does page 34a on Monday, I'll write it in, if he doesn't do math again until Thursday, I'll write under Thursday that he did 34 b and d. If it's a reading that we're doing, I'll write the chapter or page numbers in the appropriate days.
I write down Harry's narrations on the back and when the week is over, I file all of the sheets in my "records" notebook.
It's much easier than I'm making it seem. Here's the link to my planning sheet.
Oh, I don't usually use google docs, so if you know how to make the grid lines, please let me know. It's driving me crazy!
Another thing to remember is that we don't do something in each column each week. And a lot of the lessons that we actually do are "read this story" or "do one page." Remember that when you scroll down to the bottom and see a lot of subjects.
I just pencil in the lesson or the pages we're working on. Then after we've done the work I'll write it in the day. I know that doesn't make much sense, but the chart is less for me to plan out which day I'm going to do what and more so I can be aware of what I need to do in order to stay on top of something.
For instance, if we're on math lesson 34, after Harry does page 34a on Monday, I'll write it in, if he doesn't do math again until Thursday, I'll write under Thursday that he did 34 b and d. If it's a reading that we're doing, I'll write the chapter or page numbers in the appropriate days.
I write down Harry's narrations on the back and when the week is over, I file all of the sheets in my "records" notebook.
It's much easier than I'm making it seem. Here's the link to my planning sheet.
Oh, I don't usually use google docs, so if you know how to make the grid lines, please let me know. It's driving me crazy!
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Harrius the Mighty, 2008, part one
While Sam is going to be happily painting and drawing and playing with gnomes, Harry is going to work, work, work. Yep, no slacking for him!
This is true, but only to a point. He's going into second grade with a fifth grade reading ability and third grade math ability. He knows more history than most adults (you should see him watching Jeopardy) and he is interested in almost everything. My trouble with him is that we both like to do everything--it's all interesting and there isn't enough time in the day to do as much as we'd like. So my challenge is to simultaneously spur him on to learn all of the interesting things he wants to, but also direct him to the things he needs to know.
I don't think I made a mistake necessarily in his first grade year by expecting so much from him--the grammar and spelling and math, but I do think I could have slowed down a bit and not thought it was so important that he learn it all RIGHT NOW. So, I want him to grow and learn of course, but maybe not quite in the same quick way he has been.
That said, not a whole lot is changing for him this next year.
We'll continue with:
1. Math U See--it's working, it's really working. He'll finish Beta over the summer, I think and start Gamma next year.
2. First Language Lessons--we're still plugging along with that. I think the idea is to do a lesson every day. We do a lesson every few days. I don't think the world will spin off of it's axis.
3. Story of the World, Volume Two--hands down, Harry's favorite part of his school day. And the next volume is about the medieval period. Even I'm excited.
Stuff we won't keep using:
Spelling Workout--I hate, hate, hate it. Total busywork, no connections. It gives a list of ten words to memorize with no real rule introduced. Then you are expected to generalize from those ten words to the rest of the English language. That's fine, Harry's doing well with it. His spelling is very good and he doesn't hate it. But it's just too much busywork and I don't have time in my life for busywork (that may explain my kitchen floors).
New Stuff to Try and Use:
1. Writing with Ease by Susan Wise Bauer. I love SOTW and I'm pretty sure I'll love this one. It's not handwriting, but a guide to begin actual writing. I'm excited to see it and use it.
2. Simply Spelling. Also a new one for me. I need something for spelling and it came down to this one and Spelling Wisdom. This won out because it has a clear plan on how to use it. I like clear plans. They help me when the world does go off of it's axis.
Semi-new Stuff:
1. Literature Pockets. This is mostly for Sam, but Harry will be reading along too, as will Annika, so I'm getting this for all of us. We've used the History Pockets for Ancient History and it's been a lot of fun, so I'm looking forward to these.
The List of Maybes:
1. Song School Latin. Harry REALLY wants to learn Latin. In fact when I was talking to Celeste about possibly doing Latin next year, he started jumping for joy. Who am I to deny him his hearts desire. Since I know next to no Latin, I need something to teach it for me. Hence, Song School Latin. I'm hoping it will be a fun and gentle approach. More because I'm worried about it than I think Harry will need it. The biggest problem I have with this is the fact that it's songs. I'm not big into listening to kids sing a lot. I like my own, but I'm afraid it'll be some Latin "Wee Sing" thing. We'll see.
2. Handwriting Without Tears, Cursive. I'm not sure about this. He wants to learn "fancy writing," but he's still improving his regular writing. I'm leaning toward "no" but I might request it, then say "no, thanks."
There are a few other things I'm going to request, but I'm not going to list here because it's late and I don't want to. As I narrow the list down, I'll try to let you know what other supplementary things I'm planning to use and what I'm planning for science.
This is true, but only to a point. He's going into second grade with a fifth grade reading ability and third grade math ability. He knows more history than most adults (you should see him watching Jeopardy) and he is interested in almost everything. My trouble with him is that we both like to do everything--it's all interesting and there isn't enough time in the day to do as much as we'd like. So my challenge is to simultaneously spur him on to learn all of the interesting things he wants to, but also direct him to the things he needs to know.
I don't think I made a mistake necessarily in his first grade year by expecting so much from him--the grammar and spelling and math, but I do think I could have slowed down a bit and not thought it was so important that he learn it all RIGHT NOW. So, I want him to grow and learn of course, but maybe not quite in the same quick way he has been.
That said, not a whole lot is changing for him this next year.
We'll continue with:
1. Math U See--it's working, it's really working. He'll finish Beta over the summer, I think and start Gamma next year.
2. First Language Lessons--we're still plugging along with that. I think the idea is to do a lesson every day. We do a lesson every few days. I don't think the world will spin off of it's axis.
3. Story of the World, Volume Two--hands down, Harry's favorite part of his school day. And the next volume is about the medieval period. Even I'm excited.
Stuff we won't keep using:
Spelling Workout--I hate, hate, hate it. Total busywork, no connections. It gives a list of ten words to memorize with no real rule introduced. Then you are expected to generalize from those ten words to the rest of the English language. That's fine, Harry's doing well with it. His spelling is very good and he doesn't hate it. But it's just too much busywork and I don't have time in my life for busywork (that may explain my kitchen floors).
New Stuff to Try and Use:
1. Writing with Ease by Susan Wise Bauer. I love SOTW and I'm pretty sure I'll love this one. It's not handwriting, but a guide to begin actual writing. I'm excited to see it and use it.
2. Simply Spelling. Also a new one for me. I need something for spelling and it came down to this one and Spelling Wisdom. This won out because it has a clear plan on how to use it. I like clear plans. They help me when the world does go off of it's axis.
Semi-new Stuff:
1. Literature Pockets. This is mostly for Sam, but Harry will be reading along too, as will Annika, so I'm getting this for all of us. We've used the History Pockets for Ancient History and it's been a lot of fun, so I'm looking forward to these.
The List of Maybes:
1. Song School Latin. Harry REALLY wants to learn Latin. In fact when I was talking to Celeste about possibly doing Latin next year, he started jumping for joy. Who am I to deny him his hearts desire. Since I know next to no Latin, I need something to teach it for me. Hence, Song School Latin. I'm hoping it will be a fun and gentle approach. More because I'm worried about it than I think Harry will need it. The biggest problem I have with this is the fact that it's songs. I'm not big into listening to kids sing a lot. I like my own, but I'm afraid it'll be some Latin "Wee Sing" thing. We'll see.
2. Handwriting Without Tears, Cursive. I'm not sure about this. He wants to learn "fancy writing," but he's still improving his regular writing. I'm leaning toward "no" but I might request it, then say "no, thanks."
There are a few other things I'm going to request, but I'm not going to list here because it's late and I don't want to. As I narrow the list down, I'll try to let you know what other supplementary things I'm planning to use and what I'm planning for science.
Sir Sam William the Conqueror 2008
This is what I have planned for Sam's kindergarten year:
Oak Meadow First Grade
Right now I'm planning on using a prepackaged curriculum for Sam. What does that mean, you ask? Well, it means that I get everything in one big box and it tells me what to use when.
For example, it will tell me "on week one, day one, do this math, this reading, this..." The Oak Meadow program covers all of the subjects, so there is very little prep for me. I like that. I do enough prep for a couple of homeschooling families, so I'll be happy to have it taken out of my hands for this.
One of the other cool things about OM is that it's Waldorf-inspired. The company used to say it followed Waldorf teachings, but it doesn't, but it's still flavored with that thinking. Again, you are asking "what in the world does Waldorf mean, isn't that just a big salad?" Well, yes, it is a salad, but I'm not planning to eat Sam's work for the year. It's an idea that everything should be natural and happy and flowy. In Waldorf schools they don't begin teaching reading until 2nd grade, so obviously we aren't Waldorf in that sense, but I like many other things they do. They teach with stories and Sam loves stories. So math is about gnomes who do things like add sticks and rocks. When you learn the alphabet you learn that the shape of the letter is something that looks like it. For instance, a 'g' looks like a goose ducking in the water.
There is also a huge emphasis on the arts. So Sam will be drawing and painting and finger knitting. This is all stuff he loves and he would do anyway, so I'm kind of directing it toward lessons. He's also going to learn the recorder and the piano (if we can ever find a keyboard; don't ask). Those are things Harry's going to learn too.
Since he is already reading, I need to work on that separately, but that's pretty easy. I have about a thousand booklists already, so I'll pick and choose from that.
Sam will still have speech twice a week, but he'll have to get used to another teacher. That's something I'm not looking forward to. But he's growing and I think he can make the transition. It might not be completely painless, but it should be at least bloodless.
So that's the plan. I've already told the school what I want, and they're pretty okay with it all. Now I just have to wait and wait to get the books. That's the hard part!
Oak Meadow First Grade
Right now I'm planning on using a prepackaged curriculum for Sam. What does that mean, you ask? Well, it means that I get everything in one big box and it tells me what to use when.
For example, it will tell me "on week one, day one, do this math, this reading, this..." The Oak Meadow program covers all of the subjects, so there is very little prep for me. I like that. I do enough prep for a couple of homeschooling families, so I'll be happy to have it taken out of my hands for this.
One of the other cool things about OM is that it's Waldorf-inspired. The company used to say it followed Waldorf teachings, but it doesn't, but it's still flavored with that thinking. Again, you are asking "what in the world does Waldorf mean, isn't that just a big salad?" Well, yes, it is a salad, but I'm not planning to eat Sam's work for the year. It's an idea that everything should be natural and happy and flowy. In Waldorf schools they don't begin teaching reading until 2nd grade, so obviously we aren't Waldorf in that sense, but I like many other things they do. They teach with stories and Sam loves stories. So math is about gnomes who do things like add sticks and rocks. When you learn the alphabet you learn that the shape of the letter is something that looks like it. For instance, a 'g' looks like a goose ducking in the water.
There is also a huge emphasis on the arts. So Sam will be drawing and painting and finger knitting. This is all stuff he loves and he would do anyway, so I'm kind of directing it toward lessons. He's also going to learn the recorder and the piano (if we can ever find a keyboard; don't ask). Those are things Harry's going to learn too.
Since he is already reading, I need to work on that separately, but that's pretty easy. I have about a thousand booklists already, so I'll pick and choose from that.
Sam will still have speech twice a week, but he'll have to get used to another teacher. That's something I'm not looking forward to. But he's growing and I think he can make the transition. It might not be completely painless, but it should be at least bloodless.
So that's the plan. I've already told the school what I want, and they're pretty okay with it all. Now I just have to wait and wait to get the books. That's the hard part!
Thinking Ahead
So this is the time of the year when I need to think about next year. Since we are with a school, we run on their schedule. The year "ends" in early June and "begins" in late August. Right now I'm putting our orders in for September.
The biggest change is that Sam will be in Kindergarten, so I need to think about what to get for him. Should I do the same as I am with Harry or branch out to something different? He's reading on a 1st to 2nd grade level now, but his writing and math aren't quite that high. The curriculum I'm using with Harry is obviously working--he's doing very well according to the testing they do at the school, but they are such different kids.
The other thing I'm thinking about is what worked and didn't work this year for everyone. I started the year out kind of Charlotte Mason inspired. I used ambleside online for a lot of the readings and books that I used. Unfortunately some of the books bombed, one of them was too offensive for me use, and it just didn't work with what I wanted from our homeschool. So we began adding in more grammar and spelling--workbooks and just lessons. Harry (and Sam, when he wanted to listen) learned a lot, but most of it was boring, repetitive work with very little connection to life and to Harry. I'd like to figure out how to best take what I like from Charlotte Mason and ambleside and add it to what I like and need from the more classical approach.
These are the thoughts floating around in my head right now. For next year I'd like to:
1. have a theme for the year, both for the boys individually and for the family.
2. make connections between what they are learning and their lives.
3. get out more and do more "fun stuff." We do quite a bit, but with gas prices so high we've curtailed a lot of our field trips. I'd like to add some of them back in.
4. figure out how to get Annika more involved with our schooling and spend time just with her. I'm thinking about preschool for her next year. She needs other kids and while we've got quite a few here, she needs other two-to-three-year-olds on a regular basis.
So, if anyone has a magic curriculum that will answer all of these things, let me know. In the meantime, I'll post my ideas for next year in the next few days.
The biggest change is that Sam will be in Kindergarten, so I need to think about what to get for him. Should I do the same as I am with Harry or branch out to something different? He's reading on a 1st to 2nd grade level now, but his writing and math aren't quite that high. The curriculum I'm using with Harry is obviously working--he's doing very well according to the testing they do at the school, but they are such different kids.
The other thing I'm thinking about is what worked and didn't work this year for everyone. I started the year out kind of Charlotte Mason inspired. I used ambleside online for a lot of the readings and books that I used. Unfortunately some of the books bombed, one of them was too offensive for me use, and it just didn't work with what I wanted from our homeschool. So we began adding in more grammar and spelling--workbooks and just lessons. Harry (and Sam, when he wanted to listen) learned a lot, but most of it was boring, repetitive work with very little connection to life and to Harry. I'd like to figure out how to best take what I like from Charlotte Mason and ambleside and add it to what I like and need from the more classical approach.
These are the thoughts floating around in my head right now. For next year I'd like to:
1. have a theme for the year, both for the boys individually and for the family.
2. make connections between what they are learning and their lives.
3. get out more and do more "fun stuff." We do quite a bit, but with gas prices so high we've curtailed a lot of our field trips. I'd like to add some of them back in.
4. figure out how to get Annika more involved with our schooling and spend time just with her. I'm thinking about preschool for her next year. She needs other kids and while we've got quite a few here, she needs other two-to-three-year-olds on a regular basis.
So, if anyone has a magic curriculum that will answer all of these things, let me know. In the meantime, I'll post my ideas for next year in the next few days.
Monday, May 05, 2008
Monday--Fighting, Writing
and experimenting...
The day started by arguing with Harry about his attitude. You just know that when I write "attitude" things aren't going real well.
Eventually he came out of his funk and brought me the work he did. Only it was completely a mess, so he had to redo it. I think I told him he could do it later since I wanted the whole morning to end.
I wrangled him out of the playroom to do some math--adding three or four numbers in a line. I told him that it was tower math and to climb the tower, he had to add. He did fine.
Spelling is getting trickier for him, he's still getting the answers right, but he has to think about it more. On the other hand, he gets really excited when the answer is right, so his struggling isn't all a bad thing. He did the section I told him to, then asked if he could do the next one also because it was a crossword puzzle. I of course said, "yes."
We began The Great Avocado Experiment today. We put avocado pits in water, a wet paper towel in a plastic bag, and in some dirt today. The experiment is to see which sprouts first. Hopefully one of them will. We also read some books on seeds and plants and both boys drew a seed and labeled it.
Harry read "The Laconic Answer" to me and we talked about it. I love 50 Famous Stories. I'll be so bummed when we're finished with it.
So that's all of the official school stuff we've done today. Now I'm off to figure out the curriculum for next year. It sounds like way more fun than it really is!
The day started by arguing with Harry about his attitude. You just know that when I write "attitude" things aren't going real well.
Eventually he came out of his funk and brought me the work he did. Only it was completely a mess, so he had to redo it. I think I told him he could do it later since I wanted the whole morning to end.
I wrangled him out of the playroom to do some math--adding three or four numbers in a line. I told him that it was tower math and to climb the tower, he had to add. He did fine.
Spelling is getting trickier for him, he's still getting the answers right, but he has to think about it more. On the other hand, he gets really excited when the answer is right, so his struggling isn't all a bad thing. He did the section I told him to, then asked if he could do the next one also because it was a crossword puzzle. I of course said, "yes."
We began The Great Avocado Experiment today. We put avocado pits in water, a wet paper towel in a plastic bag, and in some dirt today. The experiment is to see which sprouts first. Hopefully one of them will. We also read some books on seeds and plants and both boys drew a seed and labeled it.
Harry read "The Laconic Answer" to me and we talked about it. I love 50 Famous Stories. I'll be so bummed when we're finished with it.
So that's all of the official school stuff we've done today. Now I'm off to figure out the curriculum for next year. It sounds like way more fun than it really is!
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