Back to Homeschool Blog Hop - Curriculum Plans for 2012-2013

Today I am talking about Curriculum Plans.  Am I the only one that gets a little bit stressed about this process??  Even though I have been schooling for about 7 years I still get the "am I using the right such and such program for so and so" feeling.  You would think I would just be a little bit more relaxed by now.  I am a work in progress!

I originally started this post out by saying I wasn't quite sure of all of my plans for the year, a not so great week can do that to a homeschool mom.  I have since gotten into a little bit better of a grove and reminded myself that there is usually a learning curve when starting a new curriculum.  I also had to remind myself that there is a grace period at the beginning of a new school year. 

No matter what curriculum we choose, it should not totally stress us out.  We need to not be slaves to our curriculum, but have the freedom to adjust it to our family. 

So after all of that rambling, here's what we plan on using this coming year..... drum roll please

Things we will be doing as a group:

Bible & Character
My Father's World - Exploration to 1850 - I had purchased a used copy of this prior to getting trail Guide to Learning.  i am pretty sure that we are going to us their plan for Boy Have I Got Problems by Kay Arthur, as well as their plan for memorizing the book of James. 

Character Sketches - We try to read through a few of these each week together in the evenings.  We usually read the nature stories and the kids color pictures that go along with the animal.  This is part Bible and part nature study, the pictures end up in their nature notebooks.

Character First - We are reviewing Volume 1 from Character First and so far we really like it.  So far we have been focusing on one character trait for a few weeks at a time.  Character First has songs, nature stories, historical stories, games and crafts.  The kids are really enjoying this! 

We Choose Virtues - We will continue going over these, my kids love them.


History, Science, Geography, Art, Thinking Skills
Trail Guide to Learning, Paths of Exploration - The older 3 children have been all been doing the TGTL program.  My 1st grader mostly just listens, discusses, narrates and draws, although I was informed today that he wants to do the notebook pages too!  So far the literature is fabulous, you know the kind of books that your kids beg you to read more of. 

In TGTL- POE we will be studying the following units:
Unit 1 - Columbus (Carry On Mr. Bowditch)

Unit 2 - Jamestown (Pocahontas)

Unit 3 - Pilgrim (Almost Home)

Unit 4 - Daniel Boone (Sign of the Beaver)

Unit 5 - Lewis and Clark (The Captain's Dog)

Unit 6 - Trails West (Bound for Oregon)

The books that I have posted here are the middle school supplement books that my 7th grader is supposed to be reading independently but we decided to read them aloud together.  It is extra reading for me (by choice) but I am so glad to be reading Carry On Mr. Bowditch.  It is a really good book and the little guys are really enjoying it too!

For science the kids will be doing nature studies as guided from TGTL.

I really would love to get a little co op going for hands on stuff to go along with our TGTL studies.  I am praying about this and we'll see what the Lord does : )

Music
Hymn Study - we are going through different hymns this year using the book, Then Sings My Soul.
Singing - my girls love to sing.  It has been on my heart for several years now to take my kids to nursing homes to visit with the elderly patients.  Our thoughts are that the girls {and possibly one friend} are going to visit and singing to some of the patients, maybe one a month.

Life Skills
Lessons in Responsibility for Girls 1 & 2- I know it is for girls but Alpha Boys can do some of this stuff too.
Chores - Yep, my kids have them. Every day in fact.  I am continuing to teach them to cook, do laundry, vacuum, clean bathrooms, clean their room, dust and sort socks {can I get an amen to the sock sorting!}

Independent Studies -

Just to clarify, by independent I mean separate from our group studies.  Most of these things are done one on one with Mom, like math, phonics and grammar.  

There are certain things that my 4th and 7th graders do independent, meaning alone, be they will come to me with questions and for corrections.  Like with Teaching Textbooks, I am not really involved unless there is a question, technical problem or to show me a good grade.  Same thing with copy work, I am not really doing this with them, I just go over it  once they are finished.  : )


The Lil' Chef - 7th Grade

• Abeka Spelling 7 - I asked her if this year she wanted to try something different and she said no.  She loves to spell and likes the challenging words that she gets from this program.
• Teaching Textbooks 7 - This is the 2nd year we will be using TT7.  It is a great fit for her.
• Time 4 Writing
• Easy Grammar Plus
• IEW
• Apologia General Science - she is doing the experiments mostly on her own, but she gathers her siblings to watch all the cool stuff their big sis' is doing.

Computer Girl - 4th Grade

• Abeka Spelling
• Daily Grams 4
• Math Made Easy - to get those multiplication facts down.  So far so good!
• Teaching Textbooks 4 or Math U See - not 100% sure on her math yet.
• IEW - this is a maybe

Alpha Boy - 1st Grade

• Abeka Letters and Sounds K & 1- we jumped ships last April so we are finishing up the K book before we move on
• Abeka Arithmetic 1
• Handwriting - manuscript
• FIAR - mostly just using the list of books but I may grad an activity here and there

Little Bits - Pre K

• Letters - I am going through the letters with him at a very slow pace.  We are making little letter books for each letter from Hands-On Alphabet Activities for Young Children, as well as the letter crafts from No Time For Flash Cards.
• Playing
• More Playing

Here is what I am not doing this year:
I will NOT be looking at other families and all the activities that they are doing and think that our family should also be doing them too{excuse the run on sentence, just had to get that all out}.  That was a life lesson I learned last year. 

There are lots of families that thrive on the go, and enjoy doing all kinds of different activities.  We are not one of them.  We do better when we are home.  If we commit to doing something this year it will only be one thing.  This is just not the season for us to be running.

Back to Homeschool Blog Hop - Homeschool Methods

We are heading into our 8th year of homeschooling. {Thank you Lord!} Over the years I have read about many different methods of homeschooling. In case you aren't familiar with the different methods of homeschooling let me share them with you. Well, at least the most popular ones that I am familiar with. These are my definitions as I have learned about them through the years.

Charlotte Mason - Charlotte Mason taught that children learn best when they have a love for learning. Children learn from living books rather than textbooks. They learn early grammar and writing skills from copywork and then progress to dictation. Mrs. Mason also felt that a good amount of attention should be focused on good habits and nature study.

Classical- This method focuses on the trivium. The trivium teaches in 3 stages:

1. The Grammar Stage - students focus on memorizing facts. {elementary}
2. The Dialectic Stage - this is the reasoning stage. Students begin to have a better understanding of the facts that they have previously learned. {middle school}
3. The Rhetoric Stage - this stage, from what I understand, is more about expression. This is the stage that students take everything else and make it more personal in their writing and speech.{high school}

The Classical method usually studies history in a chronological manner using a 4 year cycle. Repeating the cycle at each stage in the trivium and learning more each time.

Computer Based Learning - this is pretty self explanatory, it is what it sounds like - computer based programs and online classrooms. Teaching Textbooks would fit into this category.

Delight Directed - This type of learning rolls with what the child is interested in. If little Johnny all of a sudden has new found fascination with airplanes then mom takes the ball and runs with it. She may go to the library and get several books on planes along with some on science and air, the Wright Brothers and Amelia Earhart. She would probably also check out some videos on planes or visit youtube to see what kind of videos they have on planes. Mom may even head over to Homeschool Share to see if there is a unit study or lapbook available.

Eclectic - this is kind of taking a little from each of the other methods to fit your family, individual child and season of life.

Montessori - focuses on hands on activities as well as the child's natural ability to explore and play.

Traditional - This method tends to use textbooks , workbooks and tests for all or most of their subjects. Traditional curriculum would be like Abeka or Bob Jones.

Unit Study - similar to delight directed in my opinion, except this might not be something that little Johnny was interested in prior to starting their study.

Unschooling - I have read about varying degrees or what unschooling really is. Some unschoolers allow their children to take charge of their whole day and whether they want to learn or not. Others are more structures with math and language arts and allow the children to pick and choose how to spend the rest of their time. Some unschoolers are a little more structured and require learning to happen during certain hours.



Where do I fit in all that, you may be thinking. Well for me, it has taken me a long time to figure out our homeschooling style. I have finally concluded that we are a Charlotte Mason, Classically minded, Computer Based, Delight Directed, Traditional, Unit Study using homeschooling family. Say that 5 times really fast.


Honestly, I think that I take and apply a little bit from most of those methods that I listed. My methods and ideas on homeschooling have changed through the years. At first I started my homeschool journey like most new homeschoolers with the Parent and Child Kit from Abeka. I am sure at least a few of you will get a chuckle out of that! {SMILE}

The Lil' Chef had every K4 and K5 workbook, flashcard and reader that they offered. AND we did them all! I can remember making her color every single page like the manual told us to. I thought that is what I was supposed to do. That poor child hated to color and I hated flashcards! 4 kids later, if a child wants to color great if not I am not all bent out of shape about it. For the record, I didn't completely ruin her, she loves to draw and color now.
I do still use traditional textbooks for subjects like math and language arts. I have learned that I still love Abeka for phonics, I do not follow it to a "t" instead I tweak it to work for us. I still like Abeka for the early math. We also really love their spelling books. My girls both have had the opportunity to change to a different spelling program and neither of them wanted to.

As far as history and science goes I have moved from textbooks to living books. We do use some Apologia but even that textbook is Charlotte Mason-y and hands on, they are not stuffy and boring. We love reading biographies and history fiction books and we actually learn a lot from them.

For the most part I like to teach history is a chronological matter, this just seems to make sense to me. We have strayed from this at times though.

My kids love to play online games. They have loved and learned from playing Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego {geography, thinking skills}, Starfall {phonics and reading}, Times Tales {multiplication tables} Spelling City {spelling, vocab} and our favorite Teaching Textbooks {math}. The Lil' Chef was struggling math but has been doing great since we switched to Teaching Textbooks. She even is getting ready to start Time 4 Writing next week, which is an online writing course. I think incorporating computer lessons is a great way for kids to learn.

I like to study things in depth with the kids and unit studies are a great organized way to do that. In Trail Guides to Learning - POE we are studying Christopher Columbus for 6 weeks. In that time we will learn about Columbus' live and travels, the country of Spain, the King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella and ships. We will cook recipes from Spain, build boats and so on. Everything we are learning right now is some way relates to Columbus. We are very much unit study oriented.

If my children have an interest I definitely try to take advantage of the opportunity. I will encourage them to take that interest and learn from it but I don't always fly the "Hey you are learning" flag. Like our American Girl Book Club, not quite sure that they know they are really learning stuff and that I am jotting it all down in my school planner. Shhh, don't tell them! The love reading these books and in the mist of that they are learning about the different time periods and cultures. They are also learning crafts and making recipes from these time periods too. Lots of learning going on and they don't even realize it, to them it is all fun, fun, fun! This my friend, is delight directed.

As you can see I glean from each method and apply them as they best fit with each subject and child. I do what works and stop what doesn't. To sum it all up, we are Eclectic.

If I could give you one piece of advice about homeschooling methods it would be this, don't put your homeschool in a box. Allow yourself the freedom to do what works best for your family.

What methods of homeschooling have worked best for you?

 

Jeepers Peepers Glasses Game {TOS Crew}

We were given the opportunity to review the most awesome family game for the TOS Crew!  The game is called Jeepers Peepers by Super Duper Publications.

Jeepers Peepers is a game where you will be asking what am I?  Am I a food?  Am I an animal?  Am I useful?  While building questioning skills, problem solving skills, and describing skills your family will have a BLAST!! 

Everyone gets a pair of colored glasses and a photo card.  DON'T PEAK at your card, you are going to be guess what you are!  You are going to have to ask lots of questions like Am I a food?  Am I an animal?  Am I something you use every day?  

Once you figure out what you are, you get to use the spinner to determine how many chips you win. 

This game is designed for children in kindergarten and up.  My whole family loved it, including my 4 year old.  The only problem he had was keeping other peoples cards a secret {smile}.

Jeepers Peepers Glasses Game consists of:

6 pairs of Jeepers Peepers glasses

"My Cue Cards" - These help give the children ideas for questions to ask.

101 photo cards (4" x 5") -  The pictures include 5 different categories, animals,transportation,things, food and people.

Spinner and bingo chips

Instruction booklet

I would definitely recommend the Jeepers Peepers Glasses Game.  It would be great as a learning game and as a family game.  Either way, it would make a great purchase.  You can purchase it through Super Duper Publications for $29.95.  They also offer an Add-On Card Set for $15.95.

From now until August 31, 2012 you can get 30% off of the Jeepers Peepers Glasses Game by using the coupon code BLGJP30.

Check out what other members of the TOS Crew have to say about Jeepers Peepers.

Disclaimer:  We received this prodcut at no charge to us in exchange for an honest review.

Eternal Father, Strong To Save

by William Whiting, 1860

Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bidd’st the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!


O Christ! Whose voice the waters heard
And hushed their raging at Thy Word,
Who walked upon the foaming deep,
And calm amidst its rage didst sleep;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!


Most Holy Spirit! Who didst brood
Upon the chaos dark and rude,
And bid its angry tumult cease,
And give, for wild confusion, peace;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!


O Trinity of love and power!
Our family shield in danger’s hour;
From rock and tempest, fire and foe,
Protect us wheresoe’er we go;
Thus evermore shall rise to Thee
Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.



This song is based on Psalm 71:2
Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me.

You can listen to the tune of Eternal Father, Strong to Save here.

Chip"N"Golf Backyard Game

Keeping the kids occupied during the months of summer can be challenging.   I am always on the hunt for fun activities and games, especially those that get the kids outside in the fresh air.

Esty.com is one of my very favorite places to look for fun and creative kids toys and games.  I love the homemade feel, the higher quality product as well as supporting home based businesses. 

Right about the time that we first started our little summer break and the natives started getting restless, I headed on over to Etsy to see what I could find in the way of outdoor games.  One of the first games that I found was Chip"N"Golf Backyard Game. 

Sandy over on Etsy.com was sent us one of her Chip"N"Golf Backyard Games to try out. 
Chip"N"Golf is a simple yet fun yard game that includes 3 sturdy flag poles {these poles are 2 feet tall}, 3 plastic circles, 4 plastic golf balls, game instructions and score cards.  The only thing we needed was a golf club {which I picked up for $3 at the Goodwill}.

The kids were pretty excited to try this one out!  First, we spaced out the flag poles and placed the plastic circles around them.   Then we took turns guess how many swings it would take to get the ball into the circle around the flag poles.  We had a lot of fun and the kids really enjoyed this game. 

I felt that the flag poles were very sturdy and pretty weather proof.  I liked the fact that there were 4 golf balls included and that they were plastic - this is nice when you have little peeps playing. 

The Chip"N"Golf Backyard Game is a game that your whole family would enjoy, I know ours did!
You can purchase you own Chip"N"Golf Game at Sandy's store front.  The Chip"N"Golf Backyard Game is available for $24.00 plus $7.00 shipping {to anywhere in the US}.


Disclaimer:  We received this product, at no charge to us, in exchange for a fair and honest review.