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We have completed 2 of our Five in a Rows, Ping by Marjorie Flack and A Storm in the Night Mary Stolz.My concern with FIAR is that I wasn't sure if Maximus would enjoy reading the same book five times in a row, and my suspections were right in some way. The first unit study we did was Ping, and by the 3rd reading, Maximus said he didn't want to read it again, although I still read it for many reasons, other than that the obvious. Next we did A Storm in the Night. Here are some of the things that we did,Day 1, Social Studies/Geography. Since the book didn't really take place in a particular place, we discussed storms and tornadoes and where they originate, focusing mainly on the Atlantic ocean, but introducing all of the oceans. And we added our story disk to our timeline, on 1988, since this is when the book was written.Day 2, Math- We talked about the shapes that were on Grandfather's bed that made up his quilt and made our own paper quilt. And Maximus made a jello dessert (blue for the sky, whip cream for the clouds, and edible glitter for rain), and did all the measuring.Day 3, Science- We talked about our 5 senses and did an experience with a blind-fold to see how if you take away 1 of your senses, the others get stronger. We talked about how a storm starts and all the different types of clouds.Day 4, Language arts- For LA, we talked about Onomatopoeia's in a story and dialogue (for future creative writing).Day 5, Art- We talked about the important role of an Illustrator, and his medium. Maximus created his own image of 'a storm in the night', by using canvas paper and acrylic paints.And the best part was, at the end of the week, we had a real thunderstorm happen and we were able to do some of the experiments such as smelling and listening to the storm blind-folded (again) and measuring the rain.After the week was over, he said he was soo glad we were done. But, very interesting, was when River asked his daddy to read Ping that night for his bedtime story and Maximus said he wanted to read A Storm in the Night, so he could tell him about what all he has learned.He didn't know I could hear, and that I was smiling big inside.
Could be the next, Leonardo Da Vinci
River was introduced to painting with watercolors and loved loved loved it!
Maximus measuring the water for his jello
What is that??I had always assumed that my children would go to school, although I most often visioned paying for private school. I never envisioned that I would ever homeschool, but fortunately certain events unfolded and there didn't seem to be any other choice. Ok, so I'd say I fall into the category as an Accidental Homeschooler.So we embarked on our homeschooling journey. I call it a journey because of all the challenges, just in my 3 (including prek) years that I have faced, such as connecting with other homeschoolers, selecting curriculum, learning, learning style and combining it with my teaching style. The first curriculum I purchased was Abeka. A workbook style program that I knew right away (and should have returned) would never work for Maximus as soon as I unpacked the boxES. Since then, I have spent numerous upon numerous hours on the Internet and talking with other homeschoolers about which curriculum to choose. I have had a lot of help and advise, but I also know what works for one, might not work for another. My desired curricula is Sonlight, a literature-based unit study. I am drawn to this because of my love of reading and writing, but I started to think, just because I like to read and write doesn't mean Maximus will, so this year I have chose the unit study approach, but with tinier steps and smaller purchases, focusing on Maximus's needs instead of mine.Then last year, something funny happened to me, I began to notice that there was nothing accidental and the ship didn't just accidentally sail to my front door. In fact, I have become so pro-homeschool, that I eat, can't sleep and breath it. Or maybe it was an accident and it became a commitment; The Accidental Homeschooler became The Committed Homeschooler...hmm, I kinda like it :).However, even though I have become committed, I still question myself wondering if I am making the right choice, more so wondering if I choose to homeschool for ME or for my children. So, I've, several times, got the urge to check out our local public school and each time I am spun around like a gush of wind that hit a revolving door. The grade-curriculum has been a repeat of what Maximus did in his prior year at home. Example, in K5, they were learning A is for Apple, while Maximus was onto ca+t= cat. And they were counting pennies, whereas Maximus was counting quarters, dimes, nickles and pennies. Then I realized the books that we (yes...we) were reading, his favorite, Magic Tree House chapter books were 2nd/3rd grade level, so I knew school would be a problem for him, not because he's so much smarter, but because of his [wild] personality, and what I mean by that is Maximus would most definitely be voted class clown, because he loves to make people laugh, loves to have a good time, and doesn't do well with staying focused.
So where was I, oh yes... the accidental homeschooler. When I hear of a topic like this, I just laugh. I mean you never hear of the accidental private schooler or accidental public schooler or accidental anything, but of course the accidental homeschooler.Anyway, if you are accidental, committed or whatever your first title may be before homeschooler... Happy Homeschooling!
This is a subject brought up often by homeschool families. There are so many families that I have met who do not even own a TV, much less monitor it.Although, we do not fall into this same category, we/I still have a funky taste for the tube.I was raised on the tube, it was on day and night and I lived in a house of silence, so when Jason and I got married one of my only requests is that we wouldn't turn it on until after dinner, giving us plenty of time for conversation, since the lack of is the #1 cause for divorce. Well, I think I contradict myself on this subject. I love TV, and love to watch a good murder case, cooking show or just some plain family comedy; King of Queens and Fresh Prince of Belaire are my favorites or who doesn't still enjoy some oldies like The Golden Girls, or Mama on Mama's Family and Fred on Sanford and Son, but I think too much is a humongous waste of time, although since having kids we don't have much time for it any way...But besides it being a waste of time, I have noticed that when my 6 yo isn't sitting in front of the tube, he is very creative and his imagination sparks. So I must recognize that its not about unplugging or monitoring, its about self-control; too much of [almost] anything is not a good thing. One episode of SpongeBob cannot be nowhere near as dangerous as not even knowing who he is or hours upon hours of PBS kids. So my opinion is, just be real!On a different note, I often wonder what will my boys be like when they have their own families. Looking back at generations, my dad nor my mom grew up with endless hours of tube (not much choice with only 3 channels, rabbit ears and having to get up to change the channel), both Jason and I were raised with it never turning off (staticky or not), and as parents, with endless clear channels and a remote control, we "monitor" time instead of material...hmmm.
With all of the choices in homeschool curriculum today, it is so easy to get bogged down in deciding what method to use. We began our homeschool using textbooks for one reason, because that's all I knew. And very quickly, we became bored and many times found ourselves venturing off, taking more time in learning things in a more enjoyable/hands-on way. So this year, I have decided to baby-step with Unit Studies. Maximus (and his teacher!) are very visual, and unit studies allow for lots of activities, and arts of all kinds. Most of us have grown up with textbooks and workbooks, memorization and techniques encouraging us to test well. Not that these things don't work, but they don't accommodate all learning styles. The idea of workbooks in our home works, because when a page/lesson is complete, we see progress and seem to have a feeling of accomplishment, but I think such structure is not good for the "real world". So what exactly is a Unit Study, you ask...A Unit Study is one topic that covers History, Science and Art, and can include Language Arts and Math. Unit studies encourages lots of activity and my favorite, the love of learning. We are still using textbooks/workbooks for both Language Arts and Math. However, in our unit studies, I plan to incorporate these two subjects so that I can teach why you need to know math and why you need to know language arts and how to apply it to real-life experiences. After choosing to do unit studies, my next choice was which ones, when, what, where and how??!!?? After long hours of research, I decided to go with Five In A Row by Jane Claire Lambert. I have been taught that if you want to be a millionaire, you have to do what millionaires do, so I asked a very seasoned homeschool mom, whose son graduated last year with honors and has a full ride scholarship in college, and she recommended FIAR. Five in a Row provides a unit study approach based on children's literature.I am very excited about our busy school year! Stay tuned to see some of the things we do!
to the flagof the United States of Americaand to the Republicfor which it stands,One Nation under God,Indivisible,With Libertyand JusticeFor All.
Pardon our school's uniform :)!Everyday before our school begins, we say the Pledge of Allegiance, and Maximus and River take turns holding the flag (we are still working on the correct hand).This is one of the most precious parts of my day as I know I am not only leading them in their education, but leading them to love our country and to stand up for it.This is River's favorite part of the day too, he would not let us forget to say the pledge if we wanted to... and its even better when its his turn to hold the flag!
Our first week of school was great on Friday! Monday morning, I woke up pumped, had my schedule ready and was ready for the kids to wake up. So I begin my normal routine of going straight to the coffee maker, to notice that its not working [seriously, my first thought was 'they done cut the power off'-funny, but not a joke]. Well, one day without coffee, no big deal, I was still ready for our first day of school. Then around 10:00AM, for some reason Maximus seemed to have too many questions and for goodness sake River wanted to do school too! Yep, home's"cool" mama, has an addiction. My name is Stephanie and I am addicted to caffeine. So Jason came home ask how the school day went and was lucky to still have a head. He did the ol' Fonz on the coffee maker and it started working!! My Hero!So Tuesday, I woke up with the same excitement, only to be knocked back down as that dead blame thing only made enough for one small cup of brew...and we made it through the day.So this all explains the picture of my new Mr. Coffee from my emergency mid-week trip to Wal-Mart!
Isn't this sooo cute? I got the tshirt, the bag and apron to match! I told you I was prepared :)!
My sweet little 1st grader in our new classroom! We LOVE LOVE LOVE our classroom!!
1st Day of School!
Could be the next, Leonardo Da Vinci
River was introduced to painting with watercolors and loved loved loved it!
Maximus measuring the water for his jello
and stirring for 2 minutes...
Yummy!
Here we are reading Ping on our camping trip. After reading, we talked about ducks, sources of light, such as the moon, the sun, candles, flashlights, etc. and we also talked about reflection of light, and witnessed these things many times on our weekend camping trip (which was my plan).
