What we're up to

It has come to my attention that I have not posted any update about our current school year. Okay, seriously, I've been well aware of that fact, but I've also been suffering from a bit of blog-block.

This year has been a great year so far. We got started early in August, but then took a long break during the moving process. Once we got settled in our new home we started back full speed. I'll start by sharing my thoughts about the materials I've chosen for us this year.

Christian Light Education (CLE)

I decided to move our language arts program to CLE this year. I was very excited by the material because it looked very thorough, and it also included handwriting and spelling which helped to streamline our language arts. I have not been disappointed with this addition. The program is rigorous while still fostering independence with its child-friendly format. I love the spiral review it provides and how it teaches Riley to prepare/study for quizzes. In fact, I was so impressed with it that I added CLE Reading to our days as well.

Walking with Jesus

A couple have asked that I share a review of this program. Unfortunately I cannot as I chose to delay using it after reviewing it. I am learning as a homeschooler that although my child can do something, it does not mean she should. Riley is academically advanced, and I sometimes want to push her into material that she can do now, but that would suit her better later. This year I tried to evaluate our materials with that in mind, and consequently opted to shelve WwJ for a later time. I am still extremely excited by it and think it will be a wonderful addition to our homeschool journey...just not yet. Instead we have modified the Rod and Staff Bible Nurture and Reading materials we had. Riley reads the story and then we orally do the "after you read" section in the workbooks. I think I will save WwJ for her actual fourth grade year (year after next) and next year use Apologia's Who Is God.

Classical Writing Primers

I actually purchased one of these primers with the intent of using it over the summer to prepare Riley to start Writing Tales 1 this year. With preparation for our move and life being a bit up in the air, we did not finish it over the summer. However, I LOVED it. With the same explanation I mentioned above in mind, I opted to just use the Primer series and save WT1 for next year. These have been a wonderful addition to our language arts, providing some aspects I love that CLE lacked: picture study, narration, copywork and nature study. I think that these Primers could be used alone for language with a younger child, but I personally found them very light in regards to spelling and grammar.

Bob Jones Math

This has been the most consistent member of our homeschool hodgepodge. We are in level 3 this year, and we're enjoying it as much as ever. Riley is officially moving into multiplication--the concept has been introduced before, but it has now been defined. She is progressing well, and this will be one material that we will continue to use for a long time to come.

Hey, Andrew, Teach Me Some Greek

We are using level 1 which is a very gentle introduction to the Greek alphabet. This will be the only level we use in this series as I plan to move on to Elementary Greek next year. For what we've needed this year, it has worked perfectly.

Minimus and Prima Latina

Riley adores Minimus. It is a very fun Latin program for younger children. It has a comic book format with a little mouse named Minimus as a lead character. It is very different from other Latin programs in the sense that it gives you a chunk of Latin dialogue first and then helps you to decipher and break down the language. Prima Latina takes a more traditional approach providing information about the language and vocabulary to be memorized. We just added Prima in, and I love that the program comes with dvds. The author goes through each of the lessons. I love having the benefit of a trained Latin teacher providing instruction. Next year we are so blessed to be moving into the Stellae program at Lone Pine Classical where Riley will receive an hour of online instruction from a very skilled Latin teacher. I am so excited about this program, and honestly feel it is an answer to prayer as I have been researching Latin tutors only to find them way out of our price-range. This program is very affordable, and I've only heard great things about the teacher there.

History

We have not fully utilized our Time Traveler cds for history. Our printer died prior to our move and we have yet to replace it. Obviously, not having a printer makes it difficult to use materials that must be printed out. Consequently we have been relying on read alouds for our history time.

Reading

Riley has turned out to be a voracious reader--imagine that! :) She has fallen into Carolyn Haywood's "Betsy" series, and she is devouring at least two books a day. Having a good library has been a tremendous improvement to our lives! We visit the library at least once a week and Riley returns and checks out around 10 books each time. Dan checks her comprehension by asking questions about trivial things in the book...she wows him every time. I am so excited that she loves reading as much as I did as a child.

Art

I didn't utilize Atelier as much as I had hoped, so I was happy to find out that the Heritage Center in town offered an after-school art program for free. We are just beginning this, but I am so glad to have this option for her. We will continue art and music appreciation at home.

Gymnastics

Riley was recently moved up into a class that will be preparing her for competition in the future. She loves her class and her teacher. I am impressed with what they accomplish with the girls and how they are so firm with them while still being kind. This is a great physical outlet for my little ball of energy.

Girl Scouts

She is now a Brownie in a homeschool troop. This has provided not only another outlet for developing friendships, but also a great deal of learning and fun.

Awana

A local church is offering the Awana program. This is a scripture-memory program with badges and patches similar to scouts. Riley has such a propensity for memorization that it is great seeing her hide all this Word in her heart. She has made many friends there and looks forward to it each week. It is a bit of a whirlwind night as her new gymnastics class ends at the same time Awana is beginning, but so far it is working.

And so, you can see that we have been quite busy. We are loving our new home and our new city. We have found a church home that we are so excited about, and we are all making new friends. Another very new bonus is that Dan is home by 5:30 each night. Being able to spend more time together as a family is one of the greatest blessings of all.

Reading my book

Final plans for the 2009-2010 school year

I actually managed to attend the huge Homeschool Expo and stay focused and on budget. No major curriculum changes occurred...amazingly. As you can see from this "final" posting of plans, changes have taken place since my original curriculum post from a few months ago. I considered pulling a "1984" and deleting my original curriculum plan posts to keep from appearing too fickle. However, since I have decided that my planning history may be helpful to someone and since our country is skating to0 dangerously close to "1984" tactics, I decided to leave it.

Bible:

Instead of Rod and Staff's Bible Nurture and Reader Series, we will be using Walking with Jesus from the Noah Plan. I love the R&S series, but since Riley is able to (and wants to) read from the Bible on her own, I wanted to find a Bible curriculum that utilized the Bible as the primary reader. Walking with Jesus does just that. It is designed to be used with children a little older than Riley. However, I feel with some simple tweaking, I will not only be able to use it this year with her, but that I will also be able to use it over again in its entirety next year.

Math:

We're still planning to use Bob Jones Math 3. This is the one program that I haven't debated...we are very happy to be continuing it. We will also be doing Calculadder drills.

Language Arts:

Classical Writing Primers--I had originally planned to complete one quarter of this program over the summer to prepare for beginning Writing Tales this Fall. However, I have since decided that I will use this full program this year and put off Writing Tales till next year. CW Primers provide a very gentle introduction into writing and also have nature study and picture study along with some light grammar and spelling instruction. The program also provides memory work passages. It truly is a beautiful product.

Stories with a View: Narrative Inspirations--I will add a lesson each week for some creative writing fun.

Christian Light Education's Language Arts--At Riley's level, I did want to supplement the light grammar and spelling provided in the Primers. I finally decided on using this program to do so after previewing it at the Homeschool Expo. I will also be using How to Teach Spelling and the Spelling Rules cards from Spell to Write and Read to teach the rules of spelling.

History:

This was one of my more difficult decisions....I had originally settled on My Father's World Rome to Reformation. However, after looking through it further, I just wasn't certain it would be the best fit for us at this time. Also, I really wanted to teach American history. So, I researched my options and decided on the Time Traveler's Cds from Home School in the Woods. Each cd provides 25 lessons filled with notebooking ideas and crafts. I have added the readers from Sonlight 3 into the mix so that her assigned reading will also focus on American history. I have purchased many history readalouds to add to the mix: The Story of the Thirteen Colonies by Guerber, A First Book in American History by Eggleston, and the first three books in the American History series by Mara Pratt. I am very excited with this change and eager to start.

Classical Languages:

This was another source of frustration in my planning. I don't think we are quite ready to dive into a very intense Latin program yet, and I am also considering some online options for further down the road. Consequently, I was at a loss for what to do this year. I had thought of starting Greek and also a Latin word study program. Then I found a full Prima Latina set at a price I could not pass up. So, I have decided that we will be doing something rather unconventional...we will be doing both Latin and Greek this year. I don't foresee there being a problem with this since the Greek will be focusing only on learning the alphabet. After this year I will evaluate our choices, and we will decide which language to focus on next year.

Reading:

In addition to her History readers, Riley will be reading other Sonlight suggested readers for independent reading.

Electives:

Logic--MindBenders

HomeEc--Home Economics for Home Schoolers

Music--Themes to Remember

Art--Atelier and picture/artist studies

Back to School Time!

The season is upon us. It is time to once again gear up for another school year. I had planned to continue schooling through the summer, but we tossed those plans. We needed a break, and, since we had finished all planned work, we gave ourselves that break. Now it is time to begin again.

I haven't decided on an exact start date. We would have started this week except that Riley has two days of Cottonlandia Discovery Summer classes next week. We will also be leaving on Thursday for a mini-vacation. Starting and having to stop so soon would be impractical. So, we will probably begin on Aug. 5th. When we get back in the swing of things I will be posting more. There have been even more changes to our curriculum plans for the upcoming year, but I will hold off on posting them until we actually begin. Until we start, things are open for change--especially since that mini-vacation includes a trip to a huge Homeschool Expo. I am just hoping my head doesn't ex- or implode upon entering so large a space filled with curriculum and books. I am pretty content in my current plan...but there are a couple of subjects I am still researching.

So...stay tuned for the exciting adventures that are sure to follow as we begin this new school year.

What I'm Reading

Atlas Shrugged glares at me from my living room bookshelf. I really want to finish it, but, to be honest with you, with the direction our country is heading now, I'm afraid it would be far too depressing. I will eventually muster up the strength to continue...but for now I am reading other things.

The two books I'm currently reading have virtually nothing in common...but both are impacting me tremendously. Both books have provided wake-up calls regarding my two most important relationships.

Crazy Love by Francis Chan is causing me to evaluate my relationship with God and make much-needed heart changes. I will share more of this book as I get further into it.

The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands by Dr. Laura Schlessinger is a book I never envisioned myself picking up. However, a few women that I trusted recommended it very highly, so I was intrigued. This book has been rather paradigm shifting for me. Marriage quickly illuminates one's selfish tendencies. This book has revealed that dark tendency within me to an even greater degree. Wow. But, it's not been a guilt trip. Rather it has been an eye-opener with very practical advice on making positive changes.

Horse Study Field Trip

Riley and I did a short unit study on horses a while back, and I had difficulty finding a good place to plan a field trip to correlate with the study. A friend was kind enough to put me in touch with her aunt who not only agreed to let us come and see her horses but also offered to give Riley a quick lesson on riding and caring for horses. What a blessing! Riley had a wonderful time and learned a ton. She brushed the horse, watched as the bridle and saddle were put on, rode for quite a while and then led the horse for a walk. At the end of the lesson she fed the horse treats from the palm of her hand. All of these were very new experiences for her, and I was so proud of her bravery throughout.

Sawyer even got in on the action and rode around on the horse. He was deemed a natural, and it is suspected that he will one day ride bulls. This news did not surprise me in the least.

I believe that our camera has officially bitten the dust. I am grateful to at least have captured a few shots from the visit despite the camera's contrary ways. We all had a wonderful time. The lesson was exceptionally thorough as well as kindly taught and created a memory we will treasure.

More Grammar Rumblings Afoot

So, I am once again rethinking grammar. After deciding against Shurley and Primary Language Lessons, I had settled on Growing with Grammar (GWG)--a program we have used for the past two years. Now, however a couple of other products have caught my eye.

The first is Christian Light Education's (CLE) Language Arts program. I like that it is still rather independant, as is GWG, but unlike GWG it is spiral in review. In addition to grammar it includes spelling, vocabulary and handwriting which would allow me to cut out excess materials to streamline language arts. The program receives very good reviews among homeschoolers seeking a thorough and rigorous yet child and teacher friendly curriculum.

The second materials I am considering are those of Michael Clay Thompson. These materials consist of grammar, vocabulary, poetry and writing. I am most intrigued by the grammar and vocabulary, though the poetry looks interesting as well. These materials would definitely be more teacher intensive than both CLE and GWG, but they are also intended to be covered over a shorter period of time with review and practice taking place over the remainder of the year. This program also receives rave reviews from parents, such as: "I can not say enough good things about these materials." From the samples on the site, the format seems very kid friendly all the while covering an impressive amount of topics.

And so, the plot thickens on my curriculum crazies. However, I am blessed to be homeschooling in a time when one of my greatest problems is having an abundance of fabulous materials to choose from. As frustrating as it can sometimes be, this hunt for the best materials to fit my family is actually also a lot of fun.

CalcuLadder: Thumbs Up

I am a flash card failure. I have troubles with consistency when it comes to the superfluous items. But, math drill is a necessity as math requires a cementing of the facts in order to succeed in the next stage. As I searched through reviews and products, my ambition was to find a program that provided adequate review and drills without relying on flashcards.

I found it! CalcuLadder is a math drill program that consists of 16 drills for each level. The workbooks include 12 copies of each of those 16 drills. At the bottom of the page is the amount of time your child needs to be able to complete the worksheet in order to move forward to the next set.

When we first began trying it out, I was a little nervous about setting the timer. Riley has always balked at the idea of completing work in a set amount of time--too much pressure for her. However, she loved the idea this time. I'm really not sure why, unless this time it seemed more like a game than work. I set the timer for a minute longer than the time at the bottom of the sheet and she excitedly began. When finished she was very eager to begin the next sheet, curious to see if she could beat her original time. This continued each day.

We are very happy with this product. Riley even considers it fun, and all the while she is learning and memorizing. So, check it out. You won't be sorry. There is also a MasterPak cd option for families with multiple children.

Zoo: Now and Then

For our end-of-the-year field trip, our homeschool group went to the zoo. The above pics are of Sawyer this week.

And below:

Riley in the same place four years ago. Ditto with the pictures below.

My how the time does fly!

Just a paintin'