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first week of school

Written by Joy
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first week of school

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

While we had done a couple of weeks of school back in August, right after we moved to Colorado, this was our first week of school with our curriculum that I shared here.  Over all, I think it went rather well.  We do have some tweaking to do with our routine, but I think once we get a couple of weeks under our belt, we will be doing just what we need to be doing.

Samuel working on handwriting and Claire working on Math.

One of the things I have enjoyed the most about our week?  My children have gotten up, ready and have eaten breakfast and then got their books out to do school work.  They were so ready to get back to our regular routine.  They love to learn and that does warm my heart.

Now this isn’t to say that we haven’t had a few tears this week.  Even momma has had to talk with daddy during the day to get calmed down.  We have all been a little stressed with the move and that has played a big part with some of our attitudes (ahem), me included.  That is when we closed our books for a few moments and just talked.

Sarah working on math.

So what has really worked this week.  Well, mostly all of the school work, has worked!  haha   Seriously though, the Illuminations program that I am using, I like it a lot.  The kids are enjoying their school work.  They love the Mystery of History that we are doing.  The books we are reading, we are enjoying.  They are loving the Apologia Astronomy that we are reading.

What didn’t work this week?  Well, we are trying to get a hang of all the Language Art components.  Mostly that was my fault though.  I wasn’t nearly as prepared with the lesson plans as I had intended on being.  Also, changing from one subject to the next is going to take some work.  It has come to my attention that all three of my kids can not be working on math at the same time.  Especially, when it is 3 different grade levels of math.  I will need to find some independent work for the younger children, while I am helping their sister.

First week of school is a success!

Like I said, over all the week went pretty well.  I am happy with it.  I am looking forward to this year!

How did your week go?  Did you do any special projects?

Romans 12:2

2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

2012, homeschooling, , , ,

curriculum changes for the new school year …

Written by Joy
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curriculum changes for the new school year …

A lot has happened since I last posted about what we will be using for our curriculum for this school year.  The biggest, we moved.   So, as I am getting ready to start school again, there have been a few changes in our curriculum.  We will be using Illuminations.  They give many suggestions on what to use and even offer an awesome scheduling tool to help you prepare your lessons.  We will be using a lot of the suggestions that Illuminations gives.  One of the main reasons why I am going with Illuminations this year?  All three of my children will be using a lot of the same materials.  Especially my younger two.  I am hoping this will help scheduling and teaching them  slightly easier this year.

So what is Illuminations? Bright Ideas Press says it best in their description.

“Illuminations is an all-inclusive *curriculum, covering Bible, Language Arts (grammar, writing, copywork, spelling and vocabulary), Literature, Science, Humanities (poetry, theatre, music, and art), Geography, History, Life Skills, and Projects. Illuminations is built to compliment our Mystery of History or All American History Series.”

 So, what will we be using with Illuminations Year 1?  We are still using Mystery of History: Volume I.  We finished about a 1/4 of the book last year, so I thought I would save some money and just continue to use it this year.  All three of my children will be using this as their History.

For Language Arts, we will be using what they recommend.  For the younger kids, Natural Speller (Spelling), WriteShop (Writing), English from the Roots Up (Vocabulary) and Winston Grammar Basic Level AND The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation (Grammar).  They also give a great list for the Literature section.

I am excited about incorporating the geography that they are recommending; The Ultimate Geography and Timeline Guide and Hands-On Geography.  We will also be using WonderMaps.  We have used it in the past and it is one of the best programs that I have seen.

I love Apologia Science curriculum, so we will be continuing on with it this year.  The younger two kids have asked to study Astronomy.  My oldest daughter, who is now in 9th grade, will be doing Biology from Apologia.

For Math, we are sticking with Bob Jones for Samuel and Claire.  Sarah, she will continue with Teaching Textbooks.  If it works, I see no need of changing it.

We will also continue to use See The Light for our art curriculum.  My younger two have absolutely enjoyed using this and have learned a lot.  I love how Pat Knepley teaches the art and then shares a scripture at the end of the lesson.   As for Sarah, she will be using Artistic Pursuits.  I think she will be challenged by this art curriculum.  I am also wanting to add Harmony Fine Arts at Home.  We will also be using the Young Guide to Composers curriculum.

The most important book of all we will be using, is the Bible.  It is important to me for my children to learn about God and to love Him with all their heart.  We will also be using the Who is God? curriculum from Apologia, for a family bible study.  I am excited to be able to use this with all three of my children.

While it does seem like a lot, it really does not take long to complete the work that is involved.  Illuminations has this amazing scheduling tool that I can use to schedule the curriculum out the way I need to.  I am excited about this curriculum and look forward to sharing with you all we learn this year.

I would love for you to share with me some of the curriculum you are using this year.  Is it working so far?  Have you had to change anything yet?  Let me know in the comments!

2012, homeschooling, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

White Ranch Park – field trip

Written by Joy
White Ranch Park – field trip

The one thing I love about moving and living in a new place, is all of the wonderful field trip opportunities.  There is so much to see and do in this area.  I could choose a field trip once a week and be doing something every week for a whole year. This time, we took the younger kids to White Ranch Park.  It is considered an Open Space Park.  It has a lot of trails that you can ride horses on or you can just walk.  We saw people taking their dogs with them, as well! White Ranch Park used to be a successful ranch back in the early 1900’s.  Now, it is a successful park with many different types of wildlife running all over it.  The park also has a couple of ares that you can camp in.  We have talked about taking the kids camping and I am thinking this would be a wonderful place! The park has left a lot of farming and ranching equipment behind for visitors to look at. While they are old and rusty, they are still beautiful to look at and learn about.  I am thankful for the signs the park has put up to explain what each piece of equipment is.  It gave my kids a chance to read a little about the history of ranching and farming in  the mountains.

Kids reading information about mountain lions.

Kids looking at a John Deere 383 Plow.

Claire reading about a ground leveling tool, while Sammy looked at it.

Their dad is explaining to them how the Seed Planter worked.

An old Hay Mower.

A Hay Raker.

A Manure Spreader.

Kids sitting on the rock, where a plaque is displayed for the dedication of the White Ranch Park.

 

Looking forward to heading back to the park.  Do you have any historical parks in your area?  What do you love most about them?

2012, family, homeschooling, , , ,

Lego’s and Homeschooling

Written by Joy
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Lego’s and Homeschooling

Some see Lego’s as toys for kids. While it is considered a toy, I also think you can use it for part of your schooling. There is just so much a child can do with legos.

Samuel and his police car.

They can separate the Lego”s by size, color and shapes.

Claire and her beach set.

When putting the Lego sets together, the child follows directions of the set.

Lego City set.

Playing with the sets can spark imagination and creativity.  You can even let the kids build projects for schooling of what they have read about.  There really is so much you can do with Lego’s for schooling.

Lego Friends set.

We love playing with Lego’s in our house.  My oldest two have been playing with Lego’s for years. Now my younger two children are getting into it.  Yes, they do hurt when you step on them, but I think the learning possibilities outweigh the pain. 😉

Does your children play with Lego’s?  Do they like to build the sets or do they like to just create anything from the Lego’s?

 

2012, homeschooling, , ,