Finally Organized

Wow, after homeschooling for two years now, I finally have found a method and a schedule that works for our family.  Part of my absence on this blog is because I have struggled with keeping up with homeschooling.  In fact for the 2009-2010 school year, we ended up doing two semesters of work in the spring semester because I was not disciplined to have school every day.  Even in the fall of 2010 I struggled with a system, and while we did complete the fall semester, we were often doubling and tripling up days to get the work done.  Needless to say homeschooling by this method was miserable for everyone.

So, over Christmas break (while I waited for my fifth child to be born), I sat down with my lesson plan book and i wrote out each lesson/assignment for each of my three kids who are being schooled right now.  My lesson plan book is similar to the teachers lesson plan books where it has the days listed across the top of the page and a place for each subject down the side.  Instead of the subjects down the side, I listed each child's name.  And in the box for the day I wrote down each of the lessons and music practice that they needed to accomplish that day.  Since I have written out the lesson plans for the entire semester, I am forced to stay on top of things or I ruin my system :)

Another key thing that has helped is I have finally figured out how to have two kids working on different things at once.  While I do reading with Lydia and Andy, Kara does her piano and violin practice.  If she finishes those while I am still working with the other two, I can have her work on either her spelling assignment or her reading lesson.  We have also switched our History curriculum to the Mysteries of History.  I have handed over history to Daddy, and we do a lesson in the Mystery of History book three times a week in conjunction with our family devotions.  I am so excited about our new schedule because it has allowed me to finish schooling in 2-3 hours every day. 

In case you are curious about our current curriculum, it is as follows:

Andy and Lydia (Kindergarten) - How to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Lessons, Mysteries of History
Kara (1st/2nd grade) - 2nd Grade Bob Jones Spelling, Handwriting, and Science.  Christian Light Publications 1st Grade Math.  Shurley English 1st Grade, Mysteries of History. Suzuki Violin, and Piano lessons.

Even with a new baby born on December 29, we have already successfully completed four weeks of school.  They say it takes a month to set a habit, so I'm hoping that since we've been able to keep this schedule for a month that it wills stick.

To Be Educated

To Be Educated
By Carolyn Caines, Supervisor
Columbia Heights Christian Academy - Longview, Washington

If I learn my ABCs, can read 600 words per minute, and can write with perfect penmanship, but have not been shown how to communicate with the Designer of all language, I have not been educated.

If I can deliver an eloquent speech and persuade you with my stunning logic, but have not been instructed in God’s wisdom, I have not been educated.

If I have read Shakespeare and John Locke and can discuss their writings with keen insight, but have not read the greatest of all books-the Bible-and have no knowledge of its personal importance, I have not been educated.

If I have memorized addition facts, multiplication tables, and chemical formulas, but have never been disciplined to hide God’s Word in my heart, I have not been educated.

If I can explain the law of gravity and Einstein’s theory of relativity, but have never been instructed in the unchangeable laws of the One Who orders our universe, I have not been educated.

If I can classify animals by their family, genus and species, and can write a lengthy scientific paper that wins an award, but have not been introduced to the Maker’s purpose for all creation, I have not been educated.

If I can recite the Gettysburg Address and the Preamble to the Constitution, but have not been informed of the hand of God in the history of our country, I have not been educated.

If I can play the piano, the violin, six other instruments, and can write music that moves men to tears, but have not been taught to listen to the Director of the universe and worship Him, I have not been educated.

If I can run cross-country races, star in basketball and do 100 push-ups without stopping, but have never been shown how to bend my spirit to do God’s will, I have not been educated.

If I can identify a Picasso, describe the style of a da Vinci and even paint a portrait that earns an A+, but have not learned that all harmony and beauty comes from a relationship with God, I have not been educated.

If I graduate with a perfect 4.0 and am accepted at the best university with a full scholarship, but have not been guided into a career of God’s choosing for me, I have not been educated.

If I become a good citizen, voting at each election and fighting for what is moral and right, but have not been told of the sinfulness of man and his hopelessness without Christ, I have not been educated.

However, if one day I see the world as God sees it,and come to know Him, Whom to know is life eternal, and glorify God by fulfilling His purpose for me, then, I have been educated!

September Update

We ended up not having school for the first two weeks of September. The first week because of schedule, and the second week because the kids were sick.

Last weeks our theme was apples, apples and more apples. On Monday we took the kids to the apple orchard to pick apples. Tuesday I taught the girls how to make applesauce.
Wednesday we learned how to make apple butter. Thursday and Friday we enjoyed drawing pictures of our trip to the apple orchard. To See Pictures click here

This week because both Kara and Lydia had dentist appointments (click here for pictures), our theme for the week was Visiting the Dentist. We started by going to the Library on Monday. We checked out three books about going to the dentist -- My First Dentist Visit, Show Me Your Smile (a Dora the Explorer Book), and At the Dentist. Of the three books, both girls seemed to respond best to the Dora Explorer book. Kara also had her violin lesson with Miss Abigayel on Monday. She did a fantastic job reading her music and getting her fingering correct. Now we need to work on her bowing on the correct string.

Tuesday we started school with the usual violin practice. Kara did lessons 12 and 13 in Teaching Your Child to Read in 100 Lessons. Tuesday began working on actually reading sentences and picture comprehension -- being able to relate the picture with the words she read. We also had art class on Tuesday with their friend Noah. They each had to cut out a picture of a sheep, and then they glued cotton balls to the sheep body. Again we read the dentist books and talked about what the dentist was going to do.

Wednesday was our trip to the dentist. So once again we read the dentist books, and both girls did amazingly with the dentist.

Thursday and Friday were typical school days Kara completed lessons 15 - 18 in Teaching Your Child to Read in 100 Lessons. We have been doing two lessons a day since Kara has been catching on so quickly. This week Kara was learning to write the letters /d/ and /i/. She has also been reviewing writing the letters /a/, /s/, /e/, /r/, and /t/

I have also come to the conclusion that Lydia is not quite ready to begin reading lessons, so I have discontinued working on reading with Lydia and will probably wait until next January to try again. Instead, I have Lydia working on tracing circles and lines, coloring in the lines, and learning how to cut with scissors. I am also working on basic counting and number identification.

Homeschooling begins

Monday began our first day of school. While I had endeavored to begin homeschooling Kara last year, I was neither disciplined enough to continue or motivated to begin teaching her academics. This past May, JA and I both attended the state homeschool convention where we purchased both preschool and kindergarten materials from My Father's World. I am combining the preschool and kindergarten curriculum's so that I can teach both Kara and Lydia at their appropriate levels.

Here is what we are working on this week:

We begin each day with the daily lessons from "Teaching Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons." So this week we have been working on perfecting /s/,/m/,/a/. Kara is working on writing "s," "m," and "a;"Kara has also enjoyed lacing shapes (a skill she has already mastered but still enjoys doing); she really enjoys learning to cut following the lines -- especially working on cutting out circles. Kara has been begging me to let her cut with scissors so now she is thrilled.We are integrating classical music into our lessons, so Kara is listening to Debussy's "Clair de Lune" while she works on coloring in the lines. Kara has never really enjoyed coloring, so this is a hard lesson for her to stick with because she wants to quit and go on to whatever is next. For math we have been working on number identification and association.Kara's memory verse for the week is Matthew 7:7 "Ask and it shall be given you, Seek, and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you."

Lydia's schooling is very similar to Kara's as we are doing the same subject as Kara at the same time. However, my expectations are very different.

Lydia's memory verse is also Matthew 7:7 , but I have shortened it so we can also work on enunciation and order. "Ask and it shall be given you, Seek, and ye shall find."

Like Kara, Lydia is also learning to read (she has been able to identify her letters and sounds since she was 2, so I know she is ready to put them together into words). So Lydia is also doing the lessons from "Teaching Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons." But Lydia's writing lessons are very different from Kara. I am having Lydia work on tracing lines and circles and drawing her own lines and circles. Lydia is also learning to lace shapes, but we are having to focus her on lacing each hole in the order that it is placed around the shape.(sorry the picture is sideways, I couldn't get it to turn)

In order to teach Lydia how to hold the scissors properly I placed a sticker on the side of the scissors that should be facing up. Now she knows that she always needs to keep the sticker facing the ceiling as she cuts the paper.Lydia is also listening to the classical music, and learning to color in the lines. For Math, Lydia is learning to count from 1-10.

More Great Giveaways

Win a Bum Genius 3.0 Starter Kit from Nature's Child - Wholesome Goods for Mothers and Babies


Win the Essential Babywearing Stash from Along for the Ride (one Beco Butterfly, one Hotsling baby pouch, one BabyHawk Mei Tai, one Zolowear Ring Sling, and one Gypsy Mama Wrap)

Pregnancy Update Week 35

Well, we are almost there. Today I went in for my Week 35 appointment. The results came back on my Group B Strep test -- Negative (no doubt for me). Currently the baby appears to be in the posterier position (head down). Baby's heart beat is once again 150. My weight stayed the same (amazing since I've been eating a chocolate bar every day), and my blood pressure is still great.

I am having some difficulty staying hydrated in this heat. So, I have resigned myself to staying inside with the air conditioning during majority of the day. Right now my doctor seems to believe this baby is going to come early. If baby follows the same pattern as the other three we will get to meet him/her on August 15 (exactly 10 days early -- just like Kara, Lydia, and Andy). However, I think the odds of having four children in five years all come exactly 10 days early is rather unlikely. Of course I thought the same thing when Andy was born.

I would love to get your opinions on when you think Baby Hall will decide to join us on the outside world. Please share with me when you think Baby Hall will come by leaving a comment in the comment box. I will tell you both JA and my dad are saying sometime next week. But we still have four weeks until Baby's due date (August 25)

Fantastic Giveaway

Are you interested in cloth diapering? Sign up for this fantastic giveaway of 12 Free Bum-Genius Diapers. These are fantastic diapers!