Archive for 2015

Home Archive for 2015

For the record, I am not a blog photographer. I do hope to one day take a photography class.
I took these pictures with my iPhone.
This is probably the neatest I will see this room all year, although I will try my best to keep it up. I cleared out a lot of stuff they outgrew and have some empty baskets and spaces to give new things homes.

Below is my son's desk. It's just a plastic folding table I already had. I decided to paint them since they were grayish and boring.

He likes it clean which means I am not allowed to "temporarily" pile stuff on it because he knows it will be there longer than temporarily.

I found an office chair that tilts because I grew oh so tired of telling him to stop tilting back on his old chair. He looooves the office chair and was super excited to see it put together.

The cubbies hold math manipulatives and card games. The baskets on top hold library and planned read aloud books and poetry books for Poetry Tea.

I found an Alice in Wonderland tea set at Home Goods. It's proudly on display in the center.

The top middle basket holds all of my science experiment supplies. I need a place to put those random items when I come home from the store; otherwise, I can't find them when I need them. We're doing Real Science Odyssey Chemistry this year and have at least one, usually two labs every week. It's a lot of little supplies that I usually have on hand, but when there is something I don't usually have, like salt-substitute, I put it in there for when I need it.

My area.
I pulled out my chair so you could see everything I need for the school day is within reach.
The left tower has subjects we use every day. If I didn't have enough room, then those subjects went on the bottom bookshelf.
The right tower holds lined paper, laminate sheets, c-rods and other supplies.
We are doing 4th grade this year, which is the perfect year to start series books. I have them all lined up in the bookshelf on the left. We're starting with Kane Chronicles, then Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus to go with History. For Literature, we have Chronicles of Narnia and the first two books in the Harry Potter series.

My daughter's desk.

This is probably the cleanest it will be all year. She has tons of art supplies surrounding her and a giant trash can that is supposed to help with the little pieces of cut up paper. (it really doesn't) .

She has the closet next to her with more art supplies. I gave her all of my old cardmaking/scrapbooking supplies and she is loving it. She'll spend hours making little books for her American Girl dolls. She also has a strange fascination with making paper brooms for her dolls. Her dolls must love to clean because so far she's made about 20 brooms.

The room from the other angle. This room gets the most light in the house, making it a nice bright place to work. We can turn up the blinds and see the sky. We mostly sit at the table while doing school or go out to the living room couch to read. Their desks are for when they are having trouble sitting at the table together. Sometimes, they just need their own space.

My grandmother had a rock collection and I thought I would try it out in the middle of the table. I thought it would be something interesting to look at and it would weigh down the tablecloth. The kids do like handling them and seeing how they sparkle in the sun.

As I've said before, my 7 year old daughter (she'll be 8 before the start of the school year) does everything my 9 year old does except in math. This is what keeps me sane. They have opposite strengths and weaknesses, which keeps them both stretching a little. This was a problem when they were younger, now he understands that she answers first for comprehension questions and he answers first for spelling.
*Links to all curriculum will be at the bottom of the list along with links to samples if available.

Writing - 5x a week

Bravewriter - This teaches a relaxed lifestyle of reading good books aloud, discussing them, copywork, monthly literary terms, weekly poetry tea parties, art and nature study, and free writing. Bravewriter encourages snuggling up on the couch together with some hot chocolate and reading together. There is nothing schoolish about this curriculum and I love it.

Writer's Jungle - Written to you, the parent, it will explain everything to you, the lifestyle, the schedule, the writing process, a must-have when starting this program. Homeschool Buyers Co-op has it in PDF format for 50% off.
Jot it Down/Partnership Writing/Faltering Ownership - This has monthly projects included that are specific for the age range. This is helpful if you prefer more guidance and structure while maintaining a relaxed homeschool. It is optional, she just does the work for you.
The Arrow/Boomerang - Provides literary terms, copywork and at least one project all for one book. This can be a subscription or you can find your favorite book and purchase single issues separately. HSBC has most of the single issues for 50% off when purchased in 5 or 10 quantity. These are helpful if you prefer more guidance and structure while maintaining a relaxed homeschool. It is optional, she just does the work for you.

Writing With Ease 2-3 - Some might say this is so very different than Bravewriter, why would I combine the two? Well, I like this as a fall back for when I start to go through those rough months where I don't have the motivation to plan or we've finished our read aloud early and want to keep up the momentum. I use a lower level which allows us to accelerate through it during those months. Then, we are happy to go back to the more relaxed BW lifestyle. I think it makes me feel like I'm covering all of my bases. This combo may or may not work for you. I school year round and try to go with the ebb and flow of our homeschool.

The workbook is all you need since it includes tear-out student pages in the back. If you have more than one child or know you will need to use it again down the road, you can purchase additional student pages at Peace Hill Press. If you have a printer and like to print as you go, the PDF version is cheaper and that will be all you need for yourself and all of your students. They are huge books, so check the page count before deciding to print it yourself.

Grammar - 3-5x a week

Grammaropolis - for the songs - parts of speech
Evan-Moor Grammar & Punctuation - For regular review of basic grammar and punctuation rules to go with the curriculum below. It's very short. If you want more grammar, then Evan-Moor's Language Fundamentals might be what you are looking for. It includes rewriting sentences, vocabulary, paragraph editing and more for an all-in-one grammar book.
All of these below are for editing practice. Sometimes it's easier on kids to see and correct other people's mistakes. We have been using EM Daily Paragraph Editing and they both enjoy it. I wanted to add a little variety and so we'll be working through these over the next year or two. It's not a big deal if we don't get through all of them. The point is to have them practice finding mistakes so they can correct their own work. Keep it simple, keep it fun.

Scholastic Grammar Cop
Evan-Moor Daily Paragraph Editing
Language Mechanic by Critical Thinking Company

Spelling 3-5x a week

Apples and Pears Spelling - for my son
Sequential Spelling - Original AVKO Version - for my daughter

Reading Comprehension - 2x a week

Reading Detective by Critical Thinking Company
Inference Jones by Critical Thinking Company

Vocabulary

Keeping a folder with A-Z tabs and lined paper. Anytime we come across a word they cannot read or don't know the meaning of, we write it in the folder with the date.

Literature

I have been listening to the Read-Aloud Revival Podcasts and gathering together all kinds of ideas and resources. I plan to read Deconstructing Penguins and use some of Mt. Hope Academy Reading Detectives ideas when reading a book aloud. The key is quality books and lively discussions. I think my 4th grader, who already possesses some lawyer tendencies to question everything, will enjoy these conversations.

Read Alouds - 5x a week
4th grade is the start of many great series. I like reading series books aloud because it keeps everyone interested and wanting to find out what happens next. I have no delusions that I will be able to finish this list. This is what I would like to complete this year, but I do not expect to finish this. I like to read aloud and see how it goes. I may end up reading book 1 and the then having them read the rest independently. They may request we read them all aloud, which would take longer. I don't really care as long as we are reading and having fun.

Percy Jackson Series - my oldest tore through these when he was in 4th grade. I plan to introduce Greek Mythology at the same time. Completely ignoring the terrible movies, this is a fantastic series.
The Chronicles of Narnia - BW Arrow - Powerful Verbs
Redwall Series - BW Arrow - Onomatopoeia
Harry Potter Books 1-4
The Hobbit

Science - 2x a week

Chemistry Level 1: R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey by Pandia Press

Math - 5x a week

Math Mammoth

Light Blue Series goes by Grade
Dark Blue Series goes by Topic for help with mastery
Golden Series is additional worksheets by Grade including Algebra
Green Series is additional worksheets by Topic for help with mastery

Beast Academy

A comic book study guide with separate practice book by The Art of Problem Solving. This is a challenging set for advanced learners or perfect for reviewing older concepts while keeping it rigorous. It can be stand alone, but I'm using it a grade lower (3 Series) for 4th grade to supplement and mix math up a bit. Great for summer math.

Reflex Math

An online math site that uses games to practice and master math facts. My son loves it. The games are actually fun. He unlocks new games as he masters math facts. My daughter, on the other hand, did not like it as much since she really hates being timed.

History - 2x a week

Story of the World with Activity Book

Back to the beginning with Book 1. We'll speed through some sections and slow down on others. I thought it would be fun to go back and really spend some time on Egypt, Greece and Rome since we'll be reading Percy Jackson and learning about Greek Mythology. My son is currently obsessing on Vikings, so I hope to work our way through book 2 by the end of the year. Next year we'll be focusing on U.S. and state history which will be good timing for book 3 and 4. I have the audiobooks as well as the hardcovers, so we listen a lot in the car and repeat. I don't mind jumping around to what interests them as long as they understand where they are in the timeline.

Using book recommendations to supplement
Art History included

Mythology - 1x a week

D'Aulieres Greek Mythology
National Mythology Exam packets & test
Art included

Philosophy - 1x a month

Philosophy for Kids - I plan to have a monthly tea time with snacks similar to the BW Tuesday Tea Time only for lively discussions about philosophy.
What Would You Do? by Critical Thinking Company - My son loves long deep discussions during math. I'm hoping to channel that towards these monthly discussions.

Critical Thinking/Logic - 1x a week

The Basics of Critical Thinking by Critical Thinking Company

We tend to block schedule with some subjects. I labeled science and history for 2x a week because that is how the curriculum suggests we do it. What usually ends up happening is we'll run through a few months of enjoying Story of the World and then we'll spend a few months doing science. My 4th grader likes to go deep into subjects, so we've found it's easier to set aside a chunk of time for him to dedicate to research and then follow those rabbit trails.

Links
*Links to all curriculum along with links to samples if available.

Writing
Bravewriter
Homeschool Buyers Co-op Bravewriter Page
The Writer's Jungle Sample
Arrow Sample - James and the Giant Peach
Boomerang Sample - And Then There Were None
Jot it Down Sample (Ages 5-8)
Partnership Writing Sample (Ages 9-10)
Faltering Ownership Sample (11-12)

Writing With Ease
Sample Page

Grammar
Grammaropolis
Evan-Moor Grammar & Punctuation - through Teacher's Filebox (check HSBC to see if it's on sale) otherwise purchased through Evan-Moor's website.
Evan-Moor Language Fundamentals - through Teacher's Filebox - for additional grammar practice
Scholastic Grammar Cop - watch for Dollar Days sale
Evan-Moor Daily Paragraph Editing - through Teacher's Filebox
Language Mechanic by Critical Thinking Company

Spelling
Apples and Pears Spelling
Placement Tests
Book A Teacher's Notes Sample - non-consumable
Book A Student Workbook Sample - consumable
Sequential Spelling Original AVKO Version - Rainbow Resource link - non-consumable - 1 book per level for teacher only.

Reading Comprehension
Reading Detective by Critical Thinking Company
Inference Jones by Critical Thinking Company

Science
R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey by Pandia Press
Try Before You Buy Samples

Math
Math Mammoth - watch for sales at HSBC
Placement Tests
Samples
Beast Academy
Pre-Assessments
Samples - Scroll to the bottom of the page
Reflex Math
Tour

14 Day Free Trial

History
Story of the World with Activity Book
Sample Page

Mythology
D'Aulieres Greek Mythology
National Mythology Exam packets & test

Philosophy
Philosophy for Kids

What Would You Do? by Critical Thinking Company

Critical Thinking/Logic

The Basics of Critical Thinking by Critical Thinking Company

As homeschoolers and parents, we have this idea in our head of what our homeschool is going to look like. Everything will go smoothly, the kids are eager to learn, there will be art and music and foreign language, possibly even two and then we are struck with reality.

Homeschooling, just as parenting, is not always going to be perfect.

And you know what?

That's okay. They are going to be just fine.

I'm here for those times when you've spent hours upon hours pinning everyone else's perfect homeschool rooms and plans and panic has set in at how imperfect you and your homeschool are.

When you've followed all the advice given by wiser, more experienced homeschoolers and failed miserably.

When the kids hate the project that took you a week to plan out and gather the material. When you read the book everyone has recommended and you cannot stand it.

It happens.

It all happens to us all.

Maybe it's because we're afraid that homeschooling is viewed as being difficult when done right already. If we don't put on that brave face, others might think we can't hack it. Then we'll be turned into the example of what not to be like when homeschooling. Does she really have piles of laundry all over the house? The kids haven't showered in two days? Tsk tsk She just isn't able to cope with it all. She really should just put them in public school.

Maybe it's because we want to be that Type-A female that can do anything, but realistically we're more Type-B.

Maybe we're feeling a bit of girl power and think to ourselves, we got this.

We can make our own schedule.

We can go wherever we want.

We don't have to play by the bosses rules.

We can read all day and stay in our pjs.

We can sip tea at noon, eat pizza and read poetry at the park.

We can spend all day long with our kids, watching them make connections, consoling them when their favorite character dies in their favorite book and struggling alongside them with their math.

We have it really good.

You know, we really should be on top of things more.

Some of us may feel like we have something to prove. I'm a homeschooling stay-at-home mom who has been out of the workforce for years and this is what and who I am. I have to look a certain way or keep the house a certain way or those judgey-judgers out there are going to judge me.

Watch out for the judgey-judgers; for they will steal your self-worth right out from under you.

I'm not really sure what it is that makes us put on our blinders when we plan and dream of our perfect homeschool.

When all else fails, remember, when the kids look back on their homeschool days with you, they'll be thinking of the time you spent together and maybe those imperfections are what they'll love the most. The time you burned the cookies that they made for the history lesson. The time you forgot about the mummified chicken in the garage and freaked the movers out. And hunting down every last library book so the already huge fines didn't require dipping into the college fund. It isn't perfect, but it's all we've got.

I hear this a lot. As homeschool parents, we worry that our children are going to fall behind because they aren't "on track" with their peers.

How do you know that your child doesn't have their own track? Their own timeline of developmentally appropriate learning?

Maybe your child needed to spend extra time on addition and subtraction early on and now is more than a semester behind in their math book. While the public school progressed on leaving students who weren't ready for addition and subtraction behind, you spent the extra time to make sure they got it. Now your child is in 2nd grade and blowing through the material you give her because she finally gets it. She's catching up fast. That's what happened to my daughter.

We spent so much time and energy on basic number sense, addition, subtraction, clocks and money. I repeated chapters. I supplemented with other, more simplified math hoping that maybe it was the way it was explained in our math program. Nope, she just wasn't getting it. I worried she had dyscalculia, which is a difficulty in learning or comprehending arithmetic, such as difficulty in understanding numbers and learning math facts. Why? Because she wasn't learning? Because she was "falling behind"? She could read at a 6th grade level at 6 years, 9 months old. Why wasn't she getting math?

The answer is she had her own track for math.

My middle son has his own track for reading. This one had me worried he would never learn or be interested in reading. It wasn't until he turned 9 and discovered a book series he loved (Captain Underpants) that he finally started reading on his own, with enthusiasm. He preferred to read out loud because he wanted to share the funny stories with us. I had him read each book twice for fluency and he did not mind at all.

This is the son that didn't start talking until age 3. He still goes to speech therapy for his /R/ sounds. At 8 years, 7 months I gave him the DORA test and he scored at or below grade level for everything except reading comprehension and oral vocabulary. He would drive me nuts when I would read out loud because he never appeared to be paying attention, but he could always narrate back to me exactly what I just read.

I feared he could never quiet his mind enough to sit and read a book. One night, when he was 8 years old, he asked to have a reading light like his big brother clipped to his bed. He has trouble going to sleep at night (his mind goes a million miles a minute) and wanted to try reading just like big brother. I thought this was perfect! Of course I would do it and of course our daughter wanted one as well. And that was when he finally started trying to read. He wanted to read The Spiderwick Chronicles. Those books are 4th grade level books with plenty of large words to sound out. He worked his way through them because he wanted to. Those books were hard work for him, too. He would show me any words he couldn't sound out or didn't know the next day. He worked hard at it, but it wasn't really until 3rd grade and Captain Underpants came along that he truly enjoyed the act of reading. I bought another DORA test and plan to have him take it at the end of the year. I'll update with the results.

Do not be discouraged because your child is not ready to do the same tasks as other children. They are just working at a different pace and that is one of the beautiful things about homeschooling. They are given the time to work to mastery and then move on. So give yourself and your kids a break and drop the idea of grades and what the other kids are doing in public school.