Doing the Next Thing

The boys' tutorial ended this week, and I can't even TELL you what a relief it is to have our last assignment sheets for Veritas behind us! Mind you, it's a wonderful program, and their Daddy and I have been very pleased with what they've learned, with the amazing teachers, and with the great group of kids they've made friends with. It's just that it's a lot of work - for them and for me - and we're glad to be able to put it behind us. I say almost finished, because everyone still has math to work on over the summer, and the boys need to finish their science curricula for the year. But we're taking the rest of this week off (except for summer reading) and enjoying being free. Daddy offered to take the kids out last night and let me have some 'alone time' at the house. But I really wanted - no, needed - a run, so we all went to the park together. We grabbed $5 pizzas and had a goofy dinner together, then he watched them on the playground whi...

I'm going to try the weekly reporting thing again this year, mainly for my own accountability and record, but also on the chance that someone out there is mildly interested! We had a rough week, to be honest! I posted the picture at right (taken at Cloudland Canyon while on our anniversary trip last month) because it reminds me that in our school year there will be times we are on the mountain-top and times we are in the valley. And times in between where we, with firm resolve, struggle to climb back to the top! Monday was spent organizing last-minute details for the boys' first day at Veritas Classical School, as well as getting books ready for M & A to study here at home. I hadn't run errands - or run my feet - in a while, so I ended up doing both Monday afternoon and evening, and was a little scattered and tired Tuesday as a result. The boys liked their classes and teachers, but it's going to take some time for them to adjust to the workload. S (almost 15) did a ...

In case you're interested: S – 9th Grade Curriculum Plan, 2009-2010 (S will be attending Veritas Classical School one day per week for humanities instruction. Their book list is copyrighted and is only available to registered students. So I can't list the books here, but trust me, they're good!) Veritas Curriculum Bible - New Testament Survey History -U . S. History American Literature English - grammar, writing, vocabulary Rhetoric / Debate Greek I (S. will also be taking an apologetics elective at a local a la carte homeschool enrichment program) Apologetics - The Quest for Truth Chris Sherrod At Home Algebra I - Elementary Algebra Harold Jacobs Physical Science - Exploring Creation with Physical Science Dr. Jay Wile Fine Arts - Appreciation: Annotated Mona Lisa Carol Strickland Young Persons Guide to Music Neil Ardley The Story of Classical Music CD by Darren Henley Various composer studies Studio arts: Various drawing exercises Guitar - weekly lesson & practice...

For those who are interested, I'm going to post my curriculum plans in several stages, to make it easier on both the writer and the reader. If you are not interested in curriculum in the least, I won't be offended if you skip this post altogether! I'm still ironing out much of this and expect a few things will change (other than math & science) through the year. Budget has been a big issue in planning this year, so I'm hoping to add some things second semester that I just couldn't afford right now. First up, Big Brother, S (almost 14): 8th Grade Bible - finishing Old Testament Survey from Logos School Materials Catechism - memorizing Shorter Catechism Spelling - Apples 2 Grammar - S is still finishing some random lessons we missed in A Beka's Grammar and Comp. I from 7th grade. He's doing this because 1. I want him to focus more on writing than grammar this semester; and 2. I'm still thinking about/saving $$ for grammar for him. I'm considerin...

Ok, so I promised weekly school reports. It's not going to happen. Disappointed? As The Man in Black said to Vizzini in the Princess Bride, "Get used to disappointment." (grin) In all seriousness, the same issues that troubled me last year when I gave up the reports are still on my mind. Mainly that it's hard to find the time to write the reports. I enjoy blogging and that's not how I want to spend my blog time. I also have a hard time making them interesting to read - I'm just not that good a writer and I don't want to burden the poor readers. That being the case, there were a couple of folks who said they actually enjoyed the reports. For you, I offer this: I will post an overall 2008-2009 curriculum plan (eventually) and provide a permalink in my sidebar. I will keep the fun stuff - nature walks, history, great book finds - updated in the sidebar as well. And yes, I will occasionally be so excited about something school-related that I write a post abo...

Is mummification a skill you wish you had on your resume? Did you ever wonder what the ancient Romans ate? Speaking of eating, would you like a piece of the Great Pyramid or the Great Wall of China? (made out of cake, that is) Then History Project Day is the place for you! We had a great time over the last few days, not only helping our children complete their own projects, but also enjoying the diverse creativity of all the students at Master's Academy . This really is one of my favorite events of the year - one of the things that makes me love Master's! I'm always amazed at the fun ways these kids come up with to show what they've learned this year in history. A couple of teen guys wrote and performed a song based on one of the Psalms; another group of teens did a hysterical film called "Greek Idol" - like the tv talent show, but starring Hades, Hercules, and their Olympian pals; an 11 yo boy built Tiberius' Water Compressor; a middle school girl made a...

Well ... the results of my "weekly reporting" experiment are in. Though there were some positive aspects of the ritual, the overall result is: thumbs down. On the negative side: #1: the reports take a long time to write. I don't have that kind of time to spare on a weekly basis. It has limited the time I have to visit other blogs and post about other things. Which leads me to negative #2: weekly reporting has made my blog too narrow in focus - becoming more of a "homeschool" blog than anything. I am a homeschool mom, but our life is about way more than just school, and I want my blog to reflect that. #3: The reports are too long - I don't want to burden my dear readers. #4: It's too repetitive. Some subject areas, like Bible and history, see progress every week; but others consist of "doing the next lesson" - after a while I fear half the reports will be identical to the week before. That's boring, even for me! And the last reason: it was ...

This week was like so many at our house... our routine was interrupted; we were mosty just " doing the next thing " in our homeschool. We spent the better part of Wednesday helping out a neighbor whose car rolled into a ditch. (Everyone's ok.) Valentine's Day was spent making cards and cookies for friends. S. (13) was sick for 2 days, which seemed to make everyone less productive. So here's what we accomplished... Schoolwork done together: Bible - Continued following the story of God leading the way as the Israelites take possession of the Promised Land. Read from Vos story Bilbe and from the Reformation Study Bible. We have a total of 3 different Holy Land maps taped to the kitchen wall (we do Bible at lunchtime) because no single map showed what we wanted. A (3yo) likes to climb in a chair and point to the "Dead Water" and "Bethlehem." I love maps. S. loves maps. M. is a geography whiz. Seems A. got the geography gene, too. History - Not too...

I've noticed through the years that I experience the "homeschool blahs" sometime around February. Even though our weather has been springlike, this was a difficult week: it will certainly not go down in history as one of our most productive. Daddy was out of town at the beginning of the week - not a huge deal, but rare for us and therefore a challenge. I also had to spend a great deal of time on character issues with the children - bickering, attitude problems, etc. I guess they have the blahs, too. I did let the boys spend some time reclaiming their "Sceince Lab" - part of the unfinished area of our basement. They like to go down there and take apart old appliances and "do experiements." That helped to cure the blahs a little! So here goes: Schoolwork Done as a Group History - On our timeline, we've made it up to Alexander the Great. But while we've studied the events of Greek history, we haven't spent as much time learning about the Famo...

This post is an experiment. I'm testing out an idea I've seen on some other homeschool blogs: a Weekly Report. I like reading the reports of others, to get ideas and be encouraged to keep on truckin'. I also like the idea of using a Weekly Report as an accountability exercise for me: if I know I'm going to report on our week, I'll be motivated to be more productive! Our last 2 weeks have been sort of a jumble, so I'm combining them. According to my calculations, we've finished our 17th week of school, so we'll call this Weekly Report 17. Due to combining a couple of weeks and introducing our curriculum, this post is going to be a long one. I promise they won't all be epic novels! With three students, one preschooler, a toddler, and a couple of field trips, there is a lot to report. First, I'm going to report on the things we did as a group and then itemize the math and language arts - rather than lising it all out for each child and repeating m...

I know this will change some over the months, it always does! But here's the "plan," anyway. M – 5th Grade Curriculum Plan 2009-2010 Bible Studying God’s Word Book E (OT Genesis to Ruth) from Christian Liberty Press – finish up 2nd half & start Book F spring semester History U.S. History & Geography Primary text: Exploring American History D.H. Montgomery (CLP) Other resources: Geography Songs: States & Capitals (cd & book) The Light and the Glory for Children Peter Marshall Paddle-to-the-Sea by Holling C. Holling Various literature, informational books Reading/Literature Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis Christian Liberty Nature Reader , book 5 Various books relating to our history studies Selections from A Beka 5th Grade reading program English God’s Gift of Language A , A Beka Spelling, Vocabulary...

C – 7th Grade Curriculum Plan 2009-2010 Like his brother, C will be attending Veritas Classical Schools this year. As I said in the 9th grade post, the book list is copyrighted, but I can share a curriculum overview. Veritas Curriculum Bible New Testament Survey Bible, ESV History World History & Geography, 1500 - Present Literature Studying 7 clasic novels & 1 poetry anthology English Grammar, Writing, Vocabulary Informal Logic C will also be attending the same a la carte enrichment program, where he will take: Apologetics text: The Quest for Truth by Chris Sherrod At Home Math Fundamentals of Math by BJU Press (7th grade math text) Science Answers in Genesis series - First Semester: God’s Design for Chemistry: Properties of Atoms & Molecules; Second Semester: God’s Design for Life: The Human Body Fine Arts: Appreciation: Discovering Great Artists , Kohl Young Persons Guide to Music Neil Ardley The Story of Classical...