This is our fourth week of the new school year in our home school. Caleb is a junior; Grace a freshman; and Alina is in 7th grade. They are together in almost everything, which is a huge blessing to me! Here's what we're using:
Bible/History/Geography
Tapestry of Grace - Ancient History
This curriculum is very rich! It includes literature and philosophy as well.
Literature
I'm adding to TOG literature with Greenleaf's ancient literature course. I'm also using IEW's "Teaching the Classics" to learn about literary analysis.
Composition
IEW has a book of ancient history-based writing assignments. It takes the teacher and students step by step through the writing process. Everyone is also doing daily writing assignments from the reading assignments for history and Bible. In doing so, they will each make their own book of ancient history that I will get bound for them at the end of the year.
Grammar
There's a free online curriculum called "KISS Grammar" that we're trying this year. It was written by a college professor.
Copywork and Dictation
I purchased "Spelling Wisdom" from www.simplycharlottemason.com to use for dictation. It's so nice to have the whole year's worth already planned out. For copywork, I've been collecting quotes and poems for a long time, so I've compiled them in a notebook to draw from for copywork. I have already gotten positive feedback from Grace on my choices.
Shakespeare
Our two Shakespeare plays for this year are "Hamlet" and "Twelfth Night."
Science
We're doing earth & space science this year, starting with space. Right now we're going through the book "Signs & Seasons" on classical astronomy. I have a BJU text to use as a "spine" to guide us through the rest of the year. This is the first year ever that all the children are combined for science, which makes it much easier for the teacher.
Nature Study
We've been observing the night sky some with our study of science. There's also a website with "Nature Challenges" that I want to use.
Art and Music Appreciation
I'm using the book "Adventures in Art" and finding the art pieces online and printing out my own copies on photo paper. I'm just compiling them in a notebook as we go. For music, I'm using a CD called "Classical Music Start-Up Kit" and the booklet that comes with it.
Math
Caleb and Grace are using Jacob's Geometry with me as their teacher. Alina is doing the last book of Singapore math and will then go on to algebra.
Foreign Language
Grace is using "Breaking the Spanish Barrier," a curriculum I discovered online. It's a book and CD set with a strong focus on grammar. She will be practicing twice a week with another student and her mom who can speak some Spanish. Alina is continuing her study of French using "Ecoutez, Parlez" along with a free online program through our library called "Mango Languages."
Band
Caleb is leading the percussion section this year. Grace is playing flute, and Alina is playing her very own trumpet. They are all excited to be in home school band again this year.
Art/Drama/Choir
Grace and Alina are both participating in art and drama with our CFE home school group. And we joined Cornerstone Co-op this year for them to be in choir there. I was assigned to be the parent volunteer in a class during the same hour. I got the human anatomy and physiology class, which I'm loving!
Horses
Alina is doing the second half of Beautiful Feet's "History of the Horse" unit study. She's doing it just because she wants to.
Many years ago, I found myself in the habit of saying "no" as soon as my children asked to do something that wasn't already on my agenda. I was just tired and didn't want to think about one more thing. But when I noticed what I was doing, I had to stop and think about it! Why should I say "no" so easily? It was only because of laziness and/or selfishness that I quickly ruled out any options I hadn't already planned on. So I decided on a new habit. When my children asked to do something, I required myself to seriously consider their requests. It was hard at first. It took effort for my busy mind to stop and consider the possibilities and the consequences of saying "yes" as well as of saying "no." But I found that I could usually say "yes" without causing major disruption to the rest of the family or even my own agenda. My children weren't asking for the moon. They wanted to play with a friend, go on a bike ride, have a picnic, make a tent out of blankets, go to a park, fly a kite, etc. Now that they are teenagers, I still usually say "yes" as long as transportation is available and the setting they are headed for is appropriate. So, these days they ask to go to a friend's house, have a bunch of friends over to play airsoft, go to a movie with friends, go to the pool, bake cookies, get a job, etc. And so a new habit was born and has created a much more positive atmosphere in our home . . . just say yes!
We finished our home school year yesterday. This was a great year! (at least from my perspective, which I guess is the only one you'll get to hear 
). Here's my recap for the 2008-2009 school year.
Overall - I was pretty focused this year - one of my best years. I think it has actually helped me to have more outside activities for myself. I'm not sure why that is. It also helped to use Tapestry of Grace for structuring history and literature. I increased our "group school" this year, and I think that was a very good thing. I'd like to increase it even more next year. I required more writing this year and also need to increase it even more next year. My biggest downfall as teacher is not following up enough. They sometimes got away with not turning in an assignment or turning it in late because I forgot about it. I'm also very bad at grading. I think I should give some tests, so I'm thinking about that for next year, too. (so I can be bad at grading more things!)
Bible & Christian Living - We read Do Hard Things and I Kissed Dating Goodbye. It helped me a lot that both books had study guides. We had some interesting discussions, especially on dating. For Bible, we all studied Galatians. For most of the school year, Grace & Alina did Bible quizzing.
History - Tapestry of Grace - 20th Century - wow! What a curriculum! I loved using this! This is the first time I've used TOG. I learned so much and the kids did too. The teacher's guide is chock full of information, ideas, assignments, etc. We didn't do all of it (aren't supposed to), but we sure covered a lot of ground. One of the biggest benefits for me is that TOG has different levels but everyone is covering the same topic as everyone else each week.
English - Literature - We read a lot of 20th century literature along with our history. This was also scheduled in the TOG manual, and included different literature for different levels of children. The teacher's guide included discussion questions, and we did those a lot. We also listened to (and read along) two Shakespeare plays this year - A Midsummer Night's Dream and Romeo and Juliet.
English - Composition - The older three worked (very slowly) through IEW's writing intensive for high schoolers. I gave some additional writing assignments as well. I didn't do structured lessons for Alina, but she sometimes watched the video along with the older kids. I gave her a few writng assignments, mostly so I could assess where she is so I can plan next year. The younger ones did copywork on their own this year. I did studied dictation with them a few times as well. (That was rather inconsistent.) Grace did a spelling workbook just because she loves to do it.
Math - This was my easiest year ever math-wise! Luke took college classes this year. My sister taught Algebra I to Caleb and Grace. She teaches at a local high school and just tacked my kids on. In exchange for her teaching, we watched her boys two days a week. Alina does Singapore math and does great with it. She's the only one I had to teach. She has only one book left in Singapore and will finish it by the middle of next school year. Then she'll be ready for either pre-algebra or Algebra I.
Science - Luke did science at the college and focused on computer science this year. Caleb did Apologia Chemistry and did labs with his cousin on Monday nights with Kris supervising & grading their lab reports. Grace did Apologia Physical Science. I'm not sure she learned much doing it on her own. Alina used two of the books for elementary age that Apologia publishes. She has done all of those books now, and she loved them!
Foreign Languages - Caleb did German using a combination of Rosetta Stone and another book (can't think if it right now). Grace studied Spanish using Rosetta Stone and Spanish the Easy Way. Alina is learning French (one I can help with!) and used a children's program called Ecoutez, Parlez! (which means Listen, Speak!)
Physical Education - I issued a fitness challenge to the kids for the final term (ten weeks) of the school year. Some of them were more consistent than others. Ishould have checked up on them more frequently.
Music - All four were in home school band this year. Luke played saxophone, Caleb played percussion, Grace played flute (and improved a great deal - sounds beautiful!), and Alina played trumpet (also made much progress this year). They all LOVE home school band. I get to play in band, and I love it too!
Typing - Alina worked through a book on keyboarding skills then practiced with Mavis Beacon. All my kids can type now! yippee!
Art & Drama - These are things Grace participated in with our home school group. Alina will be old enough next year and is looking forward to doing both. Luke was a technician for drama and my taxi service for both art class and drama.
4-H - both girls are doing 4-H this year. Unfortunately I don't really know what's been going on at the meetings because they are during my Monday class. They did do a group history project that was judged this week. I got to go watch the judging and thought they did a great job. The group made themselves into a medieval village. They each took on a role and did some little skits. For their 4-H projects, Grace is doing gardening, and Alina is doing fishing.
That sums up our year!
). Here's my recap for the 2008-2009 school year.Overall - I was pretty focused this year - one of my best years. I think it has actually helped me to have more outside activities for myself. I'm not sure why that is. It also helped to use Tapestry of Grace for structuring history and literature. I increased our "group school" this year, and I think that was a very good thing. I'd like to increase it even more next year. I required more writing this year and also need to increase it even more next year. My biggest downfall as teacher is not following up enough. They sometimes got away with not turning in an assignment or turning it in late because I forgot about it. I'm also very bad at grading. I think I should give some tests, so I'm thinking about that for next year, too. (so I can be bad at grading more things!)
Bible & Christian Living - We read Do Hard Things and I Kissed Dating Goodbye. It helped me a lot that both books had study guides. We had some interesting discussions, especially on dating. For Bible, we all studied Galatians. For most of the school year, Grace & Alina did Bible quizzing.
History - Tapestry of Grace - 20th Century - wow! What a curriculum! I loved using this! This is the first time I've used TOG. I learned so much and the kids did too. The teacher's guide is chock full of information, ideas, assignments, etc. We didn't do all of it (aren't supposed to), but we sure covered a lot of ground. One of the biggest benefits for me is that TOG has different levels but everyone is covering the same topic as everyone else each week.
English - Literature - We read a lot of 20th century literature along with our history. This was also scheduled in the TOG manual, and included different literature for different levels of children. The teacher's guide included discussion questions, and we did those a lot. We also listened to (and read along) two Shakespeare plays this year - A Midsummer Night's Dream and Romeo and Juliet.
English - Composition - The older three worked (very slowly) through IEW's writing intensive for high schoolers. I gave some additional writing assignments as well. I didn't do structured lessons for Alina, but she sometimes watched the video along with the older kids. I gave her a few writng assignments, mostly so I could assess where she is so I can plan next year. The younger ones did copywork on their own this year. I did studied dictation with them a few times as well. (That was rather inconsistent.) Grace did a spelling workbook just because she loves to do it.
Math - This was my easiest year ever math-wise! Luke took college classes this year. My sister taught Algebra I to Caleb and Grace. She teaches at a local high school and just tacked my kids on. In exchange for her teaching, we watched her boys two days a week. Alina does Singapore math and does great with it. She's the only one I had to teach. She has only one book left in Singapore and will finish it by the middle of next school year. Then she'll be ready for either pre-algebra or Algebra I.
Science - Luke did science at the college and focused on computer science this year. Caleb did Apologia Chemistry and did labs with his cousin on Monday nights with Kris supervising & grading their lab reports. Grace did Apologia Physical Science. I'm not sure she learned much doing it on her own. Alina used two of the books for elementary age that Apologia publishes. She has done all of those books now, and she loved them!
Foreign Languages - Caleb did German using a combination of Rosetta Stone and another book (can't think if it right now). Grace studied Spanish using Rosetta Stone and Spanish the Easy Way. Alina is learning French (one I can help with!) and used a children's program called Ecoutez, Parlez! (which means Listen, Speak!)
Physical Education - I issued a fitness challenge to the kids for the final term (ten weeks) of the school year. Some of them were more consistent than others. Ishould have checked up on them more frequently.
Music - All four were in home school band this year. Luke played saxophone, Caleb played percussion, Grace played flute (and improved a great deal - sounds beautiful!), and Alina played trumpet (also made much progress this year). They all LOVE home school band. I get to play in band, and I love it too!
Typing - Alina worked through a book on keyboarding skills then practiced with Mavis Beacon. All my kids can type now! yippee!
Art & Drama - These are things Grace participated in with our home school group. Alina will be old enough next year and is looking forward to doing both. Luke was a technician for drama and my taxi service for both art class and drama.
4-H - both girls are doing 4-H this year. Unfortunately I don't really know what's been going on at the meetings because they are during my Monday class. They did do a group history project that was judged this week. I got to go watch the judging and thought they did a great job. The group made themselves into a medieval village. They each took on a role and did some little skits. For their 4-H projects, Grace is doing gardening, and Alina is doing fishing.
That sums up our year!
I went to a conference this weekend with a group of ladies from our church. I don't think this kind of conference is "my thing." And as a friend and I discussed that it wasn't "our thing," we hit upon a particular teaching at the conference that we disagreed with. The great value of our discussion wasn't what we disagreed with but our articulation of what we do believe.
There are things that have happened to me that I would never have chosen. There have been circumstances that I could not control. There are things others have done to me that I was powerless to avoid or stop. Life has many such things scattered throughout. I did not cause them, and I am not to blame for them.
What I am responsible for is my responses to those events and circumstances in my life. Am I bitter, or do I forgive? Do I hold people at a distance to protect myself and thus injure them? Am I doing the same thing to the next generation that was done to me, or am I making a conscious effort to stop those cycles?
Some of these events required a child's reaction, for I was a child when they happened. But now that I'm an adult, there is no need to continue behaving childishly. Yes, I have been hurt. I wish certain things had never happened. But I have to accept the fact that I cannot change the past. I cannot blame my current behavior on past events. That would be an effort to remove my responsibility for my own actions. I cannot use my past to make excuses for my present. I can only learn to behave with maturity and grace and keep moving forward. Onward, ho!
There are things that have happened to me that I would never have chosen. There have been circumstances that I could not control. There are things others have done to me that I was powerless to avoid or stop. Life has many such things scattered throughout. I did not cause them, and I am not to blame for them.
What I am responsible for is my responses to those events and circumstances in my life. Am I bitter, or do I forgive? Do I hold people at a distance to protect myself and thus injure them? Am I doing the same thing to the next generation that was done to me, or am I making a conscious effort to stop those cycles?
Some of these events required a child's reaction, for I was a child when they happened. But now that I'm an adult, there is no need to continue behaving childishly. Yes, I have been hurt. I wish certain things had never happened. But I have to accept the fact that I cannot change the past. I cannot blame my current behavior on past events. That would be an effort to remove my responsibility for my own actions. I cannot use my past to make excuses for my present. I can only learn to behave with maturity and grace and keep moving forward. Onward, ho!
I admit it, I'm a bit of a dreamer. I have made many lists of things I'd like to do in this life. I ran across one of my lists recently. It is one I made was when my children were very young. Back then, it was all I could do in a day to get everyone fed and clean, get the dishes and laundry clean, tend to all the emotional and educational needs of the little ones, and drop into bed exhausted at the end of the day. There was no energy for other activities. There was no time for pursuing other goals. But I still had just enough energy to dream a little. I think I needed to dream. I needed to remember that the world still existed outside my house. Don't get me wrong; I loved those days when my children were little. It's just a fact that my world was small, and I felt the need to expand it sometimes, even if only on paper.
This particular list has 22 items on it. (I wonder why I numbered them.) The amazing thing is that I have actually accomplished some of the things on the list! Some of them I've tweaked and met a similar goal. Some of them I know are not the real dream but a "dumbed down" version of the real dream. For some reason I was afraid of some of those big dreams. Some items on my list I have decided somewhere along the way that I really didn't want to do them after all.
Rewind to my childhood. From the earliest I can remember I wanted to be a doctor. Not just a plain old doctor, though. I wanted to be a "missionary doctor on a ship." I have no clue how I got that idea. Why did I think there was such a position in life? But that dream persisted. It shows up on my list as "become a medical doctor in a rural area." Ships are rural, right? :)
When it came time for college, I didn't think I wanted a career in medicine . . . or at least, I didn't think I wanted to spend the next eight years in college in order to be a doctor. But I was still strongly interested in missions. So I pushed the medical part aside and pursued a degree in Bible with an emphasis on missions.
Upon graduation, instead of heading toward the mission field, I married, and we procreated our own little mission field of five children. :) Children grow up so very fast!!
Fast forward to last year. Our oldest was heading off to college, and our youngest was eleven. As my homeschooling load greatly decreased, my dream of medicine resurfaced. It lied dormant for 25 years but has awakened with new vigor!
I have decided to pursue a degree in nursing. I'm only taking one course at a time right now. I can take one class per quarter for a couple of years or more and have a lot of the extra courses out of the way before I apply to the nursing program at our local college. Once I start the actual nursing classes, I would be a full-time student. We aren't ready for that yet. But this dormant dream is slowly waking up after a very long nap!
This particular list has 22 items on it. (I wonder why I numbered them.) The amazing thing is that I have actually accomplished some of the things on the list! Some of them I've tweaked and met a similar goal. Some of them I know are not the real dream but a "dumbed down" version of the real dream. For some reason I was afraid of some of those big dreams. Some items on my list I have decided somewhere along the way that I really didn't want to do them after all.
Rewind to my childhood. From the earliest I can remember I wanted to be a doctor. Not just a plain old doctor, though. I wanted to be a "missionary doctor on a ship." I have no clue how I got that idea. Why did I think there was such a position in life? But that dream persisted. It shows up on my list as "become a medical doctor in a rural area." Ships are rural, right? :)
When it came time for college, I didn't think I wanted a career in medicine . . . or at least, I didn't think I wanted to spend the next eight years in college in order to be a doctor. But I was still strongly interested in missions. So I pushed the medical part aside and pursued a degree in Bible with an emphasis on missions.
Upon graduation, instead of heading toward the mission field, I married, and we procreated our own little mission field of five children. :) Children grow up so very fast!!
Fast forward to last year. Our oldest was heading off to college, and our youngest was eleven. As my homeschooling load greatly decreased, my dream of medicine resurfaced. It lied dormant for 25 years but has awakened with new vigor!
I have decided to pursue a degree in nursing. I'm only taking one course at a time right now. I can take one class per quarter for a couple of years or more and have a lot of the extra courses out of the way before I apply to the nursing program at our local college. Once I start the actual nursing classes, I would be a full-time student. We aren't ready for that yet. But this dormant dream is slowly waking up after a very long nap!
The truth is I'm so excited that I figured out how to put the bookshelf on my blog (scroll down to see it) that now I have to write a post so there's something to see.
Some people blog about their daily lives or maybe their homeschooling experiences. Some tell about what they are reading or movies they watch. Others focus on their own personal growth or their interactions with the world around them. I have posted, and still post, photos and Bible studies on other blogs. I sometimes want to have all these different types of blogs and have even started a few then deleted them. They are too specific for me. So here's my hodgepodge blog. I'm leaving myself free to post on whatever topics strike my fancy. For readers, it will be a glimpse into my little corner of the world . . . not that I expect anyone to be terribly interested in life from my perspective. In reality, the act of writing a post helps me think through my perspective and see more clearly. So, here it is, the hodgepodge of my life.
Some people blog about their daily lives or maybe their homeschooling experiences. Some tell about what they are reading or movies they watch. Others focus on their own personal growth or their interactions with the world around them. I have posted, and still post, photos and Bible studies on other blogs. I sometimes want to have all these different types of blogs and have even started a few then deleted them. They are too specific for me. So here's my hodgepodge blog. I'm leaving myself free to post on whatever topics strike my fancy. For readers, it will be a glimpse into my little corner of the world . . . not that I expect anyone to be terribly interested in life from my perspective. In reality, the act of writing a post helps me think through my perspective and see more clearly. So, here it is, the hodgepodge of my life.