Back to Homeschool 2014-2015: The Extra Goodies

Now I come to the place where I don't quite have everything planned out and a lot still rolling around in my mind. I want to focus on Circle Time, though it gets call Bible Time more often than not. So here is a look at the extras. 

Four times a week: 

• The Bible - I know many use a curriculum, but I have found it easier to just read a chapter or two from the Bible. This year the goal is to read from Genesis through Leviticus. Chantry and Destini will also have their own separate Bible reading every day and Delani and I will work our way through a Children's Bible. 
• Devotional - We will continue to work our way through Seeds of Jochebed (Planting Seeds of Biblical Truth into the Hearts of Your Children) by Kim Haney and How to be Your Own Selfish Pig: And Other Ways You've Been Brainwashed by Susan Schaeffer MacCauley interchangeably. 
• Memorization - Bible Memory. I am still working on what passages we will work on memorization. 
• Poetry - We will attempt to cover Ambleside Online's recommendations of Henry Wadworth Longfellow, John Greenleaf Whittier, Paul Laurence Dunbar, and Robert Frost. 

One time a week: 

• Citizenship - Plutarch's Lives. I haven't been very successful with this yet, but we will attempt it again. I also may have Destini start Ourselves by Charlotte Mason. 
• Logic - How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren. This book starts in Ambleside Online's Year 7, but I thought if I started it now we may get through it by the time Destini graduates. 
• Composer Study - We will listen to 2-3 composers through out the year. I haven't quite figured out which ones yet. 
• Artist Study - I have three picked out, though I'll be happy if we get to two. Term 1 - The Hudson River School: Cole, Church, Cropsey, Durand, Term 2 - Fra Angelico, Term 3 - Diego Velazquez. 
• Local co-op that we participate in one day a week. Chantry and Delani will have art, presentation, and P.E along with some party days and they do what is called Knights (class for the boys) and Daisies (class for the girls). Destini will be in the teen group and they will be doing a Reader's Theater, a study of personalities, and Dave Ramsey's Foundations in Personal Finance. 

So that is a sketch of what our year will look like. Of course, many things could change. My main goal is to find a fine balance and not overwhelm me or my kids. We will start with the basics along with Bible and then slowly add in the the rest of the extras.

See more:
Back to Homeschool 2014-2015: Math
Back to Homeschool 2014-2015: Language Arts
Back to Homeschool 2014-2015: History
Back to Homeschool 2014-2015: Science

Jennifer @ Chestnut Grove Academy 

Crystal @ Tidbits of Experience 

Rebecca @ Raventhreads 

Jennifer @ Milk & Honey 

Mommy Dawn @ Guiding Light 

Homeschool Monique @ Living Life and Learning 

Erin @ For Him and My Family 
Lisa @ A Rup Life 

Back to Homeschool 2014-2015: Science Curriculum

 

I previously mentioned that I used many of Charlotte Mason's methods in our homeschool and if you know anything about Charlotte Mason is that she advocated the use of nature study. Since I am the poster child for "how not to do nature study", we will just be focusing on using books for our science curriculum.

In the past I have used Apologia's elementary science, but last year we followed Ambleside Online's suggestions. This year AO did add some new options and since last year went well I decided that we will keep using living science books along with a science biography throughout the year and a few more biographies listed on free read list. Maybe one day I'll figure out how to be a nature study girl, but I'm not holding my breath on it.

 

Chantry will be doing:

• The Mystery of the Periodic Table by Benjamin Wiker 
• The Elements iPad app 
• Keeping a science journal  
• Archimedes and the Door of Science by Jeanne Bendick
• Albert Einstein and the Theory of Relativity by Robert Cwiklik

 

 Destini will be doing:

• It Couldn't Just Happen by Lawrence O. Richards 
• Keeping a science journal  
• Albert Einstein and the Theory of Relativity by Robert Cwiklik
• Archimedes and the Door of Science by Jeanne Bendick

Destini started this book last year and with our move it didn't get finished. I decided to have her go ahead and finish it up and after that we'll decide which direction to go. I may have her do The Mystery of the Periodic Table and The Element iPad app and just have her do it at a faster pace than her brother or I have another curriculum that I may use, but I need to do some research first.

I know many kids her age are doing tougher science programs like Apologia, but we didn't have a good experience with it when my oldest went through it so I'm really leery about using it. I am hoping by next year we come across a curriculum that works for her.

Head on over and visit these other Review Crew Blogs as they share different topics on homeschooling.

Jennifer @ Chestnut Grove Academy 

Crystal @ Tidbits of Experience 

Rebecca @ Raventhreads 

Jennifer @ Milk & Honey 

Mommy Dawn @ Guiding Light 

Homeschool Monique @ Living Life and Learning 

Erin @ For Him and My Family 
Lisa @ A Rup Life 

Back to Homeschool 2014-2015: History Curriculum (Back to Homeschool Blog Hop)

{Affiliate links enclosed.}

History--a favorite topic in our house. This year we are taking a little a different direction for Destini and Chantry, who have done history together since they have started school. In the past I have relied solely on Ambleside Online's history selections and this year we were due for Year 6 which covered one term of modern history and two terms of ancient history.

Years ago when I went through Year 6 with Caleb I felt there was a lot of ancient history (the Bible) that was missing. Yes, it is covered a little in AO, but I want my kids to see the big picture. I think it is very easy to just treat the Bible as its own history (which isn't bad), but I want them to see what else was going on in history at the same time Bible events were happening. So we will be using a different history book for our spine, Mystery of History Volume 1

 

I will probably be using Mystery of History as a spine only and not as it is written. Destini and Chantry will be doing written narrations and I am mulling over a time line or Book of Centuries. If I do a Book of Centuries I may have Destini start it now (this is one option I'm seriously considering) and wait until Chantry is older. Decisions, decisions! 

 

You may ask what I did with the modern history covered in Term 1, well, we have slowly been working our way Story of the World Volume 4 over the summer. I also left all of the suggested free read books that cover modern times on their list to read through, along with books that cover the ancients. My kids won't mind since many of the free reads are set during World War II and honestly, we could study that period all of the time, everyday.

 Genevieve Foster's Augustus Caesar's World  is a book that we will read during the year for history, since her books are favorites in our house. 

In an earlier post I mentioned that my focus with Delani will be reading, writing, and math. I don't have a specific history book for her, except a Bible story book. I'm sure in the course of the year she will be exposed to many history tales.

 

Geography will included finishing up A Child's Geography of the World by V.M. Hillyer. We started this last year and it didn't get finished due to moving. I have really enjoyed this book though it is outdated, but with Google at my fingertips it is easy to look these places up and find out the updated information. It is also a book that is easy to map.

After finishing A Child's Geography we will then head into Complete Book Of Marvels by Richard Halliburton. I'm not sure exactly how I will have them fill out a map for this yet, but I think we will do notebooking with composition books. My main map resources will come from Map Trek and WonderMaps.

Mystery of History Volume 1 also has a geography component with it, which I will use in some way. I don't want to overload us in this area and will start out tentatively until I strike the right balance.

Head on over and visit these other Review Crew Blogs as they share different topics on homeschooling.

Jennifer @ Chestnut Grove Academy 

Crystal @ Tidbits of Experience 

Rebecca @ Raventhreads 

Jennifer @ Milk & Honey 

Mommy Dawn @ Guiding Light 

Homeschool Monique @ Living Life and Learning 

Erin @ For Him and My Family 
Lisa @ A Rup Life 

Back to Homeschool 2014-2015: Language Arts Curriculum (Back to Homeschool Blog Hop)

{Affiliate links enclosed.}

 

 

This year I will begin to teach Delani to read. I am going to admit that teaching reading is not my favorite subject to teach. I used Phonics Pathway with Destini and Chantry and while they did learn to read I wanted more of a writing component to go with the reading portion. So after doing some research I have settled on Memoria Press First Start Reading. Since her oldest sister needed vision therapy, I will be watching her closely to see if see if she has any struggles in this area.

My other focus with Delani this year is to do a lot of read-alouds. I haven't quite sorted out exactly what I'm going to use, but I'll will be referencing Ambleside Online's Year 0 list and I am also seriously considering investing in My Book House Set. (My local library carried these books and I went to check one out to start reading to her. To my horror I discovered that the library got rid of them so they could add in piles of twaddly early readers. Ugh!!)

We use a lot of Charlotte Mason's methods in our homeschool, but I found when it came to grammar and writing I needed (not the kids) a more rigid method. So this year we are adding Rod and Staff grammar and composition to the mix. I think this will really help me keep them on the straight and narrow, though I do want to find the right balance and tweak it where necessary to make it work for us.

Chantry will be doing:

• Grammar & Writing - Rod & Staff English 5. I think it will be a good fit for him. He will also start writing one written narration a week and for my writing phobic son this will be plenty.
• Spelling You See - I reviewed this earlier this year and Chantry preferred it over what he was using. We will finish the Americana book and decide from there where to go.
• Handwriting - He will be fine-tuning his cursive handwriting. I bought a couple of Christian Light Education Pentime Cursive books for him to work through and then we'll transfer over to copywork where he takes a typed out portion and writes it in cursive. 
• Literature - This will include Bulfinch's Mythology - The Age of Fable and Ben-Hur by Lew Wallace. He will also join our Shakespeare readings on Sunday evenings. Normally we have two to three literature books, but I know that our third term of school tends to be busy with other things, so I am just going with Ben-Hur. I am hoping the extra time can be given to other read-alouds such as finishing up Swallows & Amazons Collection and a few others I have been wanting to read to him.
• Free Reads - Ambleside Online Year 6 free reads. These are books based off of Ambleside Online that he will read or listen to throughout the year. He won't make it through them all, but the list gives him plenty of options.

 

Destini will be doing:

• Grammar & Writing - Rod & Staff English Grade 6.  Destini hasn't done a lot of grammar so I am starting a little lower for her. If I see it is too easy then she can jump up to Grade 7. She has done Rod & Staff's spelling for the last few years and really has thrived with it, so I am hoping the grammar and writing will be a good fit. She will also be doing written narrations for history and science.
• Spelling - Rod & Staff Grade 7. I can't begin to say how much I really like this spelling curriculum. The best thing is that it works. She is applying what she has learned to her writing.
• Typing - This year the focus will be on picking up speed.
• Literature - Same as Chantry's. We do this all together.
• Free Reads - Ambleside Online Year 6 free reads. I usually put the more challenging books on her list since she is older.

Head on over and visit these other Review Crew Blogs as they share different topics on homeschooling.

Jennifer @ Chestnut Grove Academy 

Crystal @ Tidbits of Experience 

Rebecca @ Raventhreads 

Jennifer @ Milk & Honey 

Mommy Dawn @ Guiding Light 

Homeschool Monique @ Living Life and Learning 

Erin @ For Him and My Family
Lisa @ A Rup Life 

Back to Homeschool 2014-2015 - Math Curriculum (Back to Homeschool Blog Hop)

{Affiliate links enclosed.}

 

For our 2014-1015 school year I will still have three students, though I am swapping Caleb, who just graduated, for Delani, who will "officially" be on the schedule. (I attempted to do things with her last year, but finally gave it up. My hat is off to the moms who can homeschool more than 3 at once!)

A little background on my students:

• Delani is 6 and I am considering her Kindergarten. In our state you do not have to register for  school until you are 7 and then it can be 1st grade. So this year our focus will be on math, learning to read, and reading aloud a lot of good literature.
• Chantry is 12 and is in 6th grade. 
• Destini is 14 and could technically be in 9th grade but due to the above state law is registered as an 8th grader. She is happy as an 8th grader, though she will be starting to work on some subjects for high school credit. 

Our math of choice is Math-U-See. Caleb worked through it from Alpha to Algebra II and he also did Stewardship. My other kids have done very well in it and this is one area that I feel very contented in and don't feel a need to change.

Delani will be using the Primer book. This is the first time I have used this book. She already has a few lessons finished, so we are going to pick up where we left off. If I see that she has a good grasp on these concepts I will probably just have her jump into Alpha, which is already sitting on the shelf.

 

(LOL! He is in agony because the book is purple.)

Chantry will heading into Zeta. Math is his strength and I don't see him having any problem completing this book this year. Zeta (decimals) is much easier than Epsilon (fractions). He will also continue to do Math-U-See's online drill page. I love, love, love the drill page--no more flashcards!! Chantry drills all the math functions at one time and is required to do three sets of drills. I also may resurrect Xtramath's drills which we did a few years ago, thought I won't use both drill features at once.

 

 Destini started Pre-Algebra in the middle of last school year. She made it about 1/3 of the way through the book. This year she will pick it back up and continue through the book. My main goal is for her to finish this book and start Algebra 1, but we will take it one day at a time. Mastery of the concepts she is learning is the most important thing. I let her out of math drills last year, but I think I may have her work her way through Xtramath's drills. I'm sure I'll get some flack, but I don't think you can go wrong with keeping math facts fresh.

So that is what math will look like around here. We don't do a lot of supplementing unless we see the need. If I added anything to this it would be the Math-U-See Manipulative App for the iPad.

Head on over and visit these other Review Crew Blogs as they share different topics on homeschooling.

Jennifer @ Chestnut Grove Academy 

Crystal @ Tidbits of Experience 

Rebecca @ Raventhreads 

Jennifer @ Milk & Honey 

Mommy Dawn @ Guiding Light 

Homeschool Monique @ Living Life and Learning 

Erin @ For Him and My Family 
Lisa @ A Rup Life 

2014-2015 Curriculum Choices

Here is a collection of posts that I originally did for the Schoolhouse Review Crew Back to School Blog Hop featuring our curriculum choices for the 2014-2015 school year. Enjoy!

• Math
• Language Arts
• History
• Science
• The Extra Goodies 

5 Days of Homeschooling Essentials - Day 5: Support



I think every homeschool mom needs to have support for the homeschooling journey. Here are my top recommendations to find support.

1. Support Groups - For first five years of homeschooling I was a "lone-ranger" homeschool mom. This was not by choice, but that was the way it was. Thankfully, there was a lady who worked at the library who homeschooled her children and she kind of took me under her wing and was a great source of encouragement (and still is).

Eventually, we moved to another city and my library friend was able to hook me up with a homeschool mom's group in our new city. I can't even begin to say what a great blessing this group has been to me and please notice, I said "me." I realize that I wasn't the only homeschool mom out there that was struggling to get her kids to learn, etc. Here was a group of women who were sharing ups and downs in their homeschool day that I was experiencing also. I wasn't alone with my feelings of frustration. It was like a heavy load had been lifted off of my back (or more realistically, my mind!)

Overall, going to my homeschool mom's group makes me a happier and more relaxed mom AND wife. No longer am I unburdening every.little.single. problem to my husband (okay, I may slip on this a little), but now I have an arsenal of ideas to implement when struggles come and can leave bigger  problems are for him to deal with.

2. An Experienced Homeschool Mom(s) - I am now in my 11th year of homeschooling and I still experience moments of being unsure of myself. There is nothing like a mom who has double, if not triple the years of homeschooling, to come along aside of me, listen to me, share what they struggled with and tell me, "It will be okay." To every woman who has done this, I thank you from the bottom of my heart and hope I can be a blessing to younger mom one day.

3. Homeschool Conventions - If you were a teacher in a private or public school you would be required to attend educational conferences or continuing education classes. Well, I consider attending my local homeschool convention to be my educational conference. Maybe every year isn't feasible, but make a goal to go every couple of years and follow through. You won't regret it. Oh, and make sure you attend the teaching sessions and not spend every minute in the exhibit hall.

4. Online Groups and Blogs - This was my support back in the days when I was the "lone-ranger" homeschool mom. If it hadn't been for online groups I would have used boxed curriculum and been extremely frustrated.

Since I am drawn to the Charlotte Mason method my biggest online support was the Ambleside Online Yahoo Group which now has it's own forum. I also heavily browsed The Well-Trained Mind Forums in my early years of homeschooling.

Blogs are another great means of support and encouragement, though the nitty-gritty of homeschooling isn't shown as much as it should be (and for a good reason.)

My favorites forums and blogs:

• Ambleside Online Forums
• Ordo-Amoris
• Hodge-Podge
• Teacher's of Good Things
• Weird Unsocialized Homeschooler

You can see all the blogs I follow here. To be honest I add and subtract blogs pretty regularly so it is never the same.

5. Books, Magazines, & More - I love to read, and my if I want to learn about something I read about it! I also find homeschool magazines to be a great resource, though I will usually pick up a book first. Homeschool audio resources are also another great way to get support.

Favorites
Books:

• When Children Love to Learn: A Practical Application of Charlotte Mason's Philosophy for Today - Elaine Cooper
• A Charlotte Mason Companion: Personal Reflections on The Gentle Art of Learning(TM) - Karen Andreola
• Honey for a Child's Heart: The Imaginative Use of Books in Family Life - Gladys Hunt
• Read for the Heart: Whole Books for WholeHearted Families - Sarah Clarkson
• Keeping Our Children's Hearts : Our Vital Priority - Terri Maxwell

Magazines:
The Old Schoolhouse Magazine (free digitally)

Audio resources:
I always try to save a little money and buy some of the sessions that I couldn't attend from my local homeschool convention to listen to for later.
Keep your eyes open. Many times homeschool talks will be available for a free download. I have accumulated many this way. There are also many programs you can listen to for free, but you have to listen to them at a certain time and a download isn't available unless you purchase it.

 

Please stop by the following blogs for more Homeschooling Essentials. Also, head on over to the Schoolhouse Review Crew for even more!!

 

Mary @ Winecup Christian Homeschool
Jenni @ Conversaving
Meghan @ Quiet in the Chaos
Karen @ Tots and Me
Beth @ Weavings
Tawnee @ Adventures in Homeschooling
Karen @ My Harbor Lights
Amy @ Wildflower Ramblings
Kristi @ The Potter’s Hand Academy
Tara @ This Sweet Life

5 Days of Homeschooling Essentials - Day 4: A Schedule

 

I will admit that I'm a fly my the seat of my skirt kind-of gal. For the first 1 1/2 years of homeschooling, which I only had one student and we used a lot of workbooks,  I did our schedule off the top of my head. Of course this finally led to major frustrations, especially for me. One day I realized that the biggest cause of my frustration was that my son didn't know his daily expectations. Well, I quickly ended that by grabbing a spiral and writing his daily goals out. Thus, scheduling became an essential.

The next year I advanced to buying a blank planner (yes, I know the spiral would work, but a planner is more fun) and I also changed our curriculum to Ambleside Online. I downloaded a schedule from the AO Yahoo Schedule group and made my plans from there.

When we were going along very nicely I found out I was pregnant with my youngest daughter. THAT threw every schedule out of the window and we floated along for another year. By then my two middle children were of an age to school and I realized that I had to really streamline my schedule and find something that worked for us.

How I schedule now has been tweaked many times over and some elements added over the last 4 years. So here is how my scheduling looks for the year, term, and week.

First off I make a Year-at-a-Glance chart which is divided into three terms. Ambleside Online uses this break up so I just go with the flow. The chart is the newest chart to my scheduling process which I started when I had a high school student. My goal is to go back at the end of each term and change things that we may have added or deleted so at the end of the year I have a final record. This is an area I am working on yet. Here is a sample of my daughter's chart:

Year 5 Year at a Glance - Destini

I then divide our schedule into three 12 week terms. I would love to have all three of my kids' charts done for the year before school happens, but that has yet to happen. This chart helps me write out the daily goals. I keep it in a binder and reference it once or week at least or if I need clarification on a certain point. Here is my daughter's 12 week chart for our current term.

Year 5 Term 2 Schedule - Destini 

Last but not least is our weekly goals. As I stated before I used planners for my oldest, but realized I needed something different with three students, plus I was having a struggle finding a planner to fit their daily goals. One mom shared on the AO Yahoo Group a planner set up for workboxes. Though we didn't use workboxes I knew it would be perfect for us.

It hit me one day why I liked my new planning pages. They look just like a mini ACE goal chart! (Yep, going back to my roots.) Here is a sample of Destini's weekly chart (please excuse the doodling):

Weekly Schedule

The only difference to this is my high schooler. He does use a planner. My reason for this was so I wouldn't have a bunch of papers to lose and that every year will contained in one planning book. I found God's Word in Time Scripture Planner (KJV). I buy the middle school or secondary edition since it is large and gives plenty of room to write in and is perfectly priced at $5.49!

  

Caleb's planner

 Sample page inside

I hope you have enjoyed looking at our essential schedules for our homeschool. Next year my youngest will have her own schedule, I will start ordering planners for Destini, and Caleb won't need one at all.

Coming up tomorrow--Support!

 Please stop by the following blogs for more Homeschooling Essentials. Also, head on over to the Schoolhouse Review Crew for even more!!

 

Mary @ Winecup Christian Homeschool
Jenni @ Conversaving
Meghan @ Quiet in the Chaos
Karen @ Tots and Me
Beth @ Weavings
Tawnee @ Adventures in Homeschooling
Karen @ My Harbor Lights
Amy @ Wildflower Ramblings
Kristi @ The Potter’s Hand Academy
Tara @ This Sweet Life

5 Days of Homeschooling Essentials - Day 3: The iPad, Kindle, & More

I will be the first to admit that we aren't technology gurus. I know there are many who could write circles around what I am going to share today, but I did want to share how the iPad, Kindle, and our computers are essentials in enhancing learning in our homeschool.

iPad
Years ago when the iPad came I wasn't too sure if we really needed one. We were able to get one through a rewards program that my husband's work offers. Our main reason was so my husband could put his sermons on it to preach from. Well, it has never been used for that but it has become an essential for my kids.

Here's why:  It made accessing information easier. With the iPad they just have to hit an app and they pretty much have anything at their finger tip. The two most used apps on our iPad is the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and the Google Search app. Yes, I know these can be looked up on the computer, but for some reason my kids wouldn't do it. The iPad has helped to break down this barrier.

I also like that I have easier access to the Internet and don't have to haul my computer around the house. We are currently doing a review of Kinderbach and I have accessed the lessons using Safari and then we set the iPad on the piano and work on the lesson.

We do hope to add another iPad in another year.  Maybe then my husband can finally preach his sermons from it!

Kid's current iPad essentials*:

• Merriam-Webster Dictionary
• Google Search
• Kindle  
• Bible+ - Olive Tree Bible Study
• TimelineBuilder
• The Elements: A Visual Exploration

My current iPad essentials*:

• The Old Schoolhouse Magazine
• Bloglovin
• Pinterest
• Shakespeare Pro - (This is new to me, but so far I like what I see.)

*Most every app that we use is a free app or was offered as a free app.

The Kindle
I hate to read books on the computer! About 3 or 4 years ago I purchased a Kindle 2 mainly to be able to have access to out of print books or a cheaper alternative to a school books. Then a few years later my husband got me the Kindle Fire (before the iPad). I honestly felt I would hate reading on it due to the backlight, but it turned out that I preferred it over the Kindle 2.

Even though the Kindle Fire has apps, it really only ever gets used for reading books on it. We still use the Kindle 2 for an extra when needed. It is funny how my daughter prefers reading from the Kindle 2 and my boys prefer from the Kindle Fire, though they all prefer reading real books over the Kindle.

I think what I like the most about the Kindle is all the free books you have access to. It can be very addicting!

Kid's current Kindle essentials:

• Chantry - War Inventions by Charles Gibson 
• Caleb - Mr. Standfast by John Buchan 
• Destini - Five Little Pepper books by Margaret Sydney:
• Five Little Peppers and How They Grew 
• Five Little Peppers Abroad 
• Ben Pepper  
• The Adventures of Joel Pepper 

My current Kindle essentials:

• Downloading free books (see E-Reader Girl)

Computers 
Even though I love using the iPad (or iPhone if necessary), our computers are a big essential. Math drills, typing, school plans, and some curriculum is on the computer.

Kid's current computer essentials:

• Math-U-See Math drills 
• French Essentials 
• Typing & Writing assignments 
• Research (if the iPad is tied up) 

My current computer essentials:

• For everything, except washing clothes and dishes, cleaning the house, and making meals! 

Coming up tomorrow--A Schedule

 

Please stop by the following blogs for more Homeschooling Essentials. Also, head on over to the Schoolhouse Review Crew for even more!!

Mary @ Winecup Christian Homeschool
Jenni @ Conversaving
Meghan @ Quiet in the Chaos
Karen @ Tots and Me
Beth @ Weavings
Tawnee @ Adventures in Homeschooling
Karen @ My Harbor Lights
Amy @ Wildflower Ramblings
Kristi @ The Potter’s Hand Academy
Tara @ This Sweet Life