Friday, July 24, 2009

My Resource List

I just received my first shipment from Amazon.com and I'm so excited. Getting books is like Christmas for me...and they were EARLY, which is always a plus!
I've added a resource list of the books and other resources we're currently using for our school year. I did leave out a few, I know, but those listed are the basic skeleton of our school year.
Eventually I'd like to have a list of every resource we use this year and it's rating. Some resources receive great reviews and I don't understand why. Others are highly UNDER-rated and again, I don't understand why. This is MY list, what I'm using and what I like.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Chore/Routine Planning Goals

I thought I'd share what I'm working on in addition to planning my curriculum for this year. A huge part of our homeschool year is going to be dedicated to instilling good habits in our children by way of chores and routines. I am not the most structured person and find myself flitting from one task to another, never quite completing anything and then I wonder why my children struggle so with the same thing. Hmmmm...as they say, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, so this apple has got to set a better example! One of my biggest personal goals is to create a book list (this blog would be an ideal location for such a thing!), and to move through one or two books, using short lessons (can you imagine?!?!) and really seeking to understand what I'm reading. I oftentimes pick up a book that I'm SO excited about reading...in my eagerness I start it immediately, however, due to the fact that I've got 3 young children, my attention is not usually fixed on what I'm reading. Wow, I'm one of the best candidates for the Charlotte Mason method...no wonder I like the philosophy so much!! My goal is to really "study" what I'm reading and to stay on one or two books at a time instead of starting 4-5 books and never really understanding or finishing any of them...and if I DO actually finish it, I probably couldn't tell you what that particular book even contained! *blush*. Yes, I am flawed, so very flawed...praise the Lord for new beginnings!!

I digress...here is a list of routine/chore goals I've come up with...feel free to comment, it'd be interesting to get some feedback!

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Step 3--Assigning Days of the Week

For this step I've found it helpful to lay out a table with all of the days of the week for EACH student (you could do this for yourself for assigning household tasks or reading/work you'd like to do as well).
Look through your daily tasks and using the frequency you've determined, assign the tasks to the days you'd like to do these on. For example, I've got Nature Study 3x a week. The natural occurrence would be MWF, however I may want to do it on TTH and do a nature hike on F. It all depends on you and how you want your plan set up. One thing to take into consideration is that if you have many subjects 3x a week, you don't want MWF to be OVERWHELMING and then TTH to be fairly empty. This is extremely important also if you're hoping to have a light Friday, which I really enjoy. Friday is usually my day to get together at the park with my other homeschooling friends, so I don't want too heavy a load in the morning.

Here is an example of my layout:

Friday, July 10, 2009

Planners/Scheduling

I've been trying out the CM Organizer from Simply Charlotte Mason and although I do like many things about it, it's not fitting my specific needs. I've seen similar frustrations among other CM moms and am wondering what exactly it is that would make a good planner. If you have any insight you'd like to offer, please do so. I'm going to go have a cup of coffee (in hopes of perking up my foggy brain) and have myself a little brainstorm and see what I can come up with...then ideally, come up with a solution. Eventually I'd like to come up with a web-based solution (and put to use the skills of my past life as a web designer) that I can offer to other CM moms to remedy what seems to be a fairly significant problem (at least in my eyes).

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Step 2--Alloting Time

The good news is that we all have the same number of minutes in a day, the bad news is that there are definite time constraints. One must prepare meals, clean up messes and get some much-needed rest. That's a given. Those of us with younger children will have more of those minutes dedicated to the care and nurture of the young ones, but each minute spent to that effect will be well worth it.

Now that you have your list of EVERYTHING you want to do, it's time to assign a specific amount of time for each item. For example, on my list I have the following items:
Morning Chores
Bible Study
Writing
Math
Lunch
Sewing

Now I need to go and figure out how much time we're going to spend on each item and put this in the "Duration" column. It's important to figure in transition time and to give yourself and your family a little amount of a buffer, so that if something spills or some disaster occurs (which happens quite often in a house full of young children), your schedule won't be completely off for the rest of the day. You don't want to allot TOO much time, however, otherwise it will become too easy for inattention to take over and for frustration to get a foot hold, and that's what we're trying to avoid! We want to keep that habit of attention at the forefront. I should also mention that one of the incentives of having a tiny bit of time left over is that when assignments are finished early, there is a bit of time as a reward, time to fill with whatever suits your fancy, even if it is only a few moments.

So now I have:
Morning Chores (30 minutes)
Bible Study (20 minutes)
Writing (10 minutes)
Math (20 minutes)
Lunch (30 minutes)
Sewing (30 minutes)

Make sure you assign an amount of alloted time to EVERYTHING on your list. At first it may seem ridiculous. After all every day only has so many minutes in it...but remember, not everything is going to be done EVERY day. Seeing the time also helps to set your priorities and realize how valuable time really is.

So you have your list and you have a specific duration for each item. Now is the time to determine how OFTEN you want each of these to occur. Certain things will be done daily ie: Lunch, chores, clean-up, etc. and others will be done a couple of times a week, some weekly, some bi-weekly and some monthly. Put this in the "Frequency" column.

Here is an example of my "brain storm":

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Step 1--Creating a Workable Schedule

The key to this step is the word WORKABLE. If your schedule isn't workable, it's not going to work. Then what good is it? A schedule that works for your family may not work for a different family and vice versa. This step will take time as you analyze your needs, your wants and your goals. I like to consider EVERY aspect of my schedule (or my family's schedule, I should say) when laying it all out.

There will be many things to consider while developing your schedule and I highly recommend that you take a long look at every facet of your daily, weekly and monthly schedule. Take time to brainstorm every possible idea, desire, goal and add in all of the things that MUST be done (see my note on routines below, however). You can always remove things that just won't fit before creating the final product. For now just let your creative juices flow. I'll give you some ideas in hopes of stimulating more ideas.

What do I want to accomplish? Do you want to do daily nature study or a weekly nature hike? Do you want to incorporate a tea time? Do you need to focus more on academics and less on extra-curricular (or vice versa)? Do you need to be outside more often? Do you want to instill habits? Do you want to get your children and yourself on a better chore schedule? Are there different avenues you've wanted to explore but never thought you'd be able to find the time--such as exercise, handicrafts, or a class you'd like to take yourself or as a family?

What subjects are being covered? Obviously there will be the three "R's", some science, history, etc., but what about other subjects? Foreign language? Handicrafts? Home Economics? Art? Music? Composer Study? Picture Study?
There are so many subjects, so many fun avenues to explore. Again, do NOT limit yourself at this point, this is the time to develop a plan of ALL you want for your family, not only what is feasible at this time. Lord willing, as you become more established in a routine, as the children grow and develop and as you become more skilled as a teacher and home manager, your time and abilities will become more abundant.

Are there younger children that need to be addressed? What will they be doing while you're working on more academic topics with your older children? How will they be involved? Are you getting them into a chore/help routine? Are there projects, games, etc. that you can do with them in order to involve them? Make sure to remember the little ones and have them involved in as much as possible.

Chunk the "need-to's" into a simple routine. It's simple to start with a morning routine, an afternoon routine and an evening routine, since these revolve around the 3 meals of the day. This way we're not putting things like "Brush teeth", "Get Dressed", etc. onto our schedule. We can simply say, "Morning Routine", "Afternoon Routine" and "Evening Routine" and have those specified elsewhere so our schedule doesn't get too overwhelming. You can take time to think about those routines and even make a simple outline at this time just to get a general idea of how long this might take...or you may just want to keep in mind approximately how long these simple routines take you each day and put them down on your list.

So, get out a piece of blank paper and start writing!!! Sit back and visualize your "perfect" school day and your "prefect" school week. We'll develop more of a plan once all of your ideas are out of your head and onto paper. It's very helpful to create a table with the headings: SUBJECT, DURATION and FREQUENCY so that you can continue with the next couple of steps.

Designing a Curriculum

I feel that I have been lead by the Lord to create my own curriculum, not only a curriculum but an establishment of learning where children and parents can be immersed in learning opportunities. Where music fills the air, fine art draws the attention of both parent and child and appreciation of nature abounds. A place where one sets foot inside of the doors and magnanimity takes over...you feel cultured and refined, yet not afraid to explore and get dirty, to experience God's marvelous works in a hands-on way.

Our schools these days are sorely missing the connection between God's creation and ourselves. Without this connection we cannot fully appreciate the world around us, we cannot appreciate each other or fully come to an understanding of those who came before us and left such a deep impression on this world we now live in. It is my calling to bring this back...perhaps on a small scale, perhaps on a grand one...the impact of this project is up to our Holy Creator, but a responsibility has been put into my hands to do His work. So far He has provided the vision and the passion but the actual resources will have to be up to His divine provision...for now I will make my plan and wait for Him to direct my steps.
Proverbs 16:9-In his heart a man plans his course,
but the LORD determines his steps.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Burgess Animal Book for Children: Chapter 4

Happy Jack the Grey Squirrel (tree squirrel)



Chatterer the Red Squirrel (tree squirrel)



Timmy the Flying Squirrel



Striped Chipmunk (rock squirrel)



Rusty the Fox Squirrel



Johnny Chuck (part of the Marmot branch of the squirrel family)



Seek Seek the Spermophile (a ground squirrel)

Friday, January 23, 2009

Quite an accomplishment!

My precious kindergartener finished Math-u-See Primer this morning! I can't believe we're only half way through the school year and she's DONE with her math book! I've got some other things she can work on (Singapore Math) while we wait for her Alpha book to come in. I'm so proud of her, she totally excels in math. It's so interesting to see the differences among my own children, how they're SO different in their strengths and weaknesses. It really keeps me on my toes to adjust my teaching style to their specific needs.

We're going to dinner at a friends house this evening and we're going to bring something very cool I saw on another blog a while ago. It's called Broken Glass Jell-O. I've got all the ingredients, all we have to do is to do it. What a fun, rainy-day project!

TGIF!

Today we're reading from The Burgess Animal Book for Children, chapter 3 (More of Peter's Long-Legged Cousins). We learned about:
The Swamp Hare
Related to the Marsh Hare, another hare who loves the water. Who knew rabbits would swim?

The Arctic Hare

The White-Tailed Jack
The largest hare

The Antelope Jack
This guy has the ability to move his hair on his back and turn himself almost pure white in order to signal other antelope jack rabbits. Pretty cool!

The Plain ol' Jack Rabbit


Here's a site that tells The difference between a rabbit and a hare

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Resources for the week (January22-23)

Brighty of the Grand Canyon

Wild Burros
Theodore Roosevelt Makes Grand Canyon a National Monument
Grand Canyon National Parks Website

Light and Color
In science this week we're learning about light and color (day 1 of creation). We did a couple of experiments in the past with shadows, but this week we learned more about color by watching The Magic School Bus Makes a Rainbow. I found this on VHS at my library, there is also a book that I'm assuming is very similar, and perhaps has more details to back up what was in the movie.


Clouds

Types of Clouds with experiments
More photos and descriptions of clouds

Our Current Curriculum--an overview

Math:

Math-u-see Primer (dd-A...although she's just about done with the primer--horray!)
Math-u-see Alpha (dd-S)
I also use worksheets I've printed from http://www.themathworksheetsite.com in order to drill the facts in. To me it's very important that my children have a firm grasp on math facts, it's the basis all other math is built upon, so right now we're working on getting those down pat.

Science:

I'm currently using 106 Days of Creation Studies from simplycharlottemason.com which covers science from the Creationist perspective and divides the studies among the 6 days of creation. It's full of bible study as well as fun projects.
We also use the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock. Along with this awesome resource and a must have for serious Nature Study enthusiasts is the website Handbook of Nature Study. I cannot recommend this website enough--and the author is from my hometown...how cool is that?
I find it very important for children to learn about animals--especially about the animals around them, so the Burgess Animal Book for Children is also invaluable. I'll expand more on this in future posts.
One website I came across that I really enjoyed and isn't necessarily Charlotte Mason (however I believe that Charlotte Mason is HOW you teach, not WHAT you teach or WHAT you teach FROM--I have a science background, so this set appeals to me) Real Science 4 Kids.
There are many other science resources I utilize, but for now this is all I have time to list...I plan to start a book list of everything I use as well as expand on daily or weekly experiments we'll be doing.

History:

Oh history. I despised history when I was in school...it was so dull, so blad, so intangible. Boy have I changed my tune. Learning history using the Charlotte Mason method is SO MUCH BETTER!! We've read many living history books (ones I'll try to list later), but currently we're using Genesis through Deuteronomy & Ancient Egypt from simplycharlottemason.com. It starts from creation and moves on to Ancient Egypt. I have a hard time taking things out of context and although I have no problem with jumping from one time period to another while reading biographies or learning about specific events, I need a chronological overview of how we've gotten to where we are. I know most people start with a brief overview of the first humans and then jump into Ancient Egypt, but I like the way Genesis through Deuteronomy & Ancient Egypt utilizes the bible to teach history. We still haven't gotten to Egypt yet, but I do look forward to it because there are a LOT more resources out there once you get to that. One awesome book we've come across is Life in the Great Ice Age by Michael Oard. This book teaches about ancient man and the ice age from biblical perspective. Another great resource for the creationist is Answers in Genesis. I also came across the book Adam and His Kin: The Lost History of Their Lives and Times by Ruth Beechick. This book is fascinating! It speculates on what life may have been like in the days of the first humans, but it is definitely written for an older audience (probably middle school and above), but I'm reading it because it makes those days feel more tangible to me.

Geography:

I never learned much in the way of geography...and I'm almost ashamed to admit that I just RECENTLY learned the capitals of all of the U.S. states...but alas, I DID learn them, thanks to Audio Memory. We used the States and Capitals CD and we all learned the states and capitals in no time. I plan to use many more of their CD's in the future. I have to say though that we aren't thrilled with the Addition CD...it doesn't seem to work quite the same as the States and Capitals.
I just came across a USA Geography website that has games for drilling in the locations of states and other facts.

The first post is always the most difficult.

I've debated whether to use my current homeschooling blog for this, or whether to start fresh here...I guess this is where I've landed.
I've been homeschooling my children for a year and a half now, they're in grades K and 1st. I've been very interested in Charlotte Mason's philosophy of education and truly feel it's the best fit for my family...although, like most homeschoolers, I do sometimes go out on my own to do what I deem appropriate for my family.
My goal here is to keep a listing of what we're learning and what we hope to learn, to outline our "schedule" not only for my benefit, but also for the benefit of other homeschoolers like myself who like to think outside the boxed curriculum. I've followed some curriculum outlines I see online, but generally I have picked and have chosen from what I deem the "best" of what I've seen and have compiled it into our own, custom Charlotte Mason education. I hope to share our lesson plans, details of what we're learning (maps, photos, etc.) in order to help anyone interested enrich their teaching experience! I hope to expand this to include many interesting resources and insights, but I tend to be crazy at times and do too much too fast, so I'm taking this one slowly, letting the Lord lead me and see what amazing things and people He leads me to.