2 hours of FUN

Yesterday the kids and I went outside to enjoy the snow. We spent two hours having snowball fights, building forts and sledding down the drive way. The neighbor kids joined in on the fun :) It will be sad to leave such an awesome neighborhood when we move.

This tunnel was only about 6-8 inches long. The kids had a blast crawling through it.

Joshua zooming down the driveway! (we live on a cul-de-sac, no traffic to sled into! )

Christmas Morning!

The kids get us up before 6 am every year. This year was no exception.

Before...

After.

Elliana loves her doll house, she has even roped the boys into playing with her :) They are good brothers.

Christmas!

Growing up my family didn't always have a lot of money. But we always had a BIG Christmas. I am not sure how mom pulled it off, but she never failed to have a mountain of gifts for everyone. I have so many great memories of opening gifts with my family. It wasn't what I received that was so special. It was the time spent together as a family. When we let the trials of this world fade away and we enjoyed time talking, laughing, and just being together. After all these year my mom still makes Christmas BIG and memorable.
The tree before the "Elves" handed out gifts.Aaron wrestling with Joshua, Asher and Wyatt. Wyatt is running off to get reinforcements :)Opening gifts as you can see it is a free for all. As you open your gifts you hear thanks being given to people across the room. It is loud, fun, and just wonderful :)I told you, a mountain of gifts...she had more on the floor!Elliana loves the princess clothes that Grandma and Grandpa got for her :)

Dancing with Daddy :)

Our children are bombarded with the "your not good enough" message throughout their lives. They hear this from other children, movies, ads. I am always telling my kids that they are special, beautiful, smart and a long list of other affirmations. I know that regardless of how many times I utter these words it will never be enough to outnumber the negatives they will hear. But I am sure going to try :)

When I get Elliana ready for the day I tell her "go show daddy how beautiful you look". She beams and runs out of the room. She knows what is coming next. She runs to Aaron shoots him a beautiful smile and absorbs his praises. And oh how he gushes over her with words that touch her sweet little heart. These pictures were taken after such an exchange. She just had to dance with her daddy :)

Song for my True Love...

I set out on a narrow way many years ago
Hoping I would find true love along the broken road
But I got lost a time or two
Wiped my brow and kept pushing through
I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you

[Chorus:]
Every long lost dream led me to where you are
Others who broke my heart they were like Northern stars
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you

I think about the years I spent just passing through
I'd like to have the time I lost and give it back to you
But you just smile and take my hand
You've been there you understand
It's all part of a grander plan that is coming true

[Chorus]
Now I'm just rolling homeInto my lover's arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you.

So True, So True

I adore Sally Clarkson. She is an amazing writer and speaker. Here is a tidbit from her most recent post entitled The Home is a Fountain of Civilization.

...when the home-life of children is rich with excellent, classic literature and great stories, passionate Biblical devotions, rousing dinner-table discussions around sumptuous, tasty meals, lots of love and affection given and household chores attended to— a child will become committed to all that is good and excellent and develop a moral and compassionate soul for all the divinely important values.


From the beginning of time, God created the home to be a place sufficient to nurture genius, excellence, graciousness and grand civility. But the key factor is nothing that can be purchased or owned. The accomplishment of this grand life is found only in the soul of a mother, through the power of the Holy Spirit, personally mentoring her children.


It is a personal relationship with a real person whose soul is alive in which the deepest imprints of life are given. The secrets and deep emotions shared during the goodnight hours in which a the soul of a child is tender and open; the comfort of warm, home-made food shared in the early evening as ideas are shared and discussed and prayers and devotions given; the laughter, stories, advice given in the midst of washing dishes together or sharing of a meal; the heroic and riveting stories read aloud and shared together that establish common patterns of morality, values and dreams in the comfort of the blazing hearth, mugs of steaming hot chocolate and squishing against each other on a den couch are those heavenly things which are food to the soul and nourishment to the mind and conscience of a child fully awake to all that is important in life.


There is no computer, television, software or text book that can pass on such passion, love and motivation.

It is indeed the personal touch of a mother’s heart that creates grand civility, deep affection, care and commitment to the foundations of a family. When the invisible strings of a mother’s heart are tied to the heart of her children through loving sacrifice and nurture, the stability and foundations of a nation become secure and stable.


A mother, living well in her God-ordained role, is of great beauty and inestimable value to the future history of any generation. Her impact is irreplaceable and necessary to the spiritual formation of children who will be the future adults of the next generation. Fun, comfort, humor, graciousness, spiritual passion, compassion for the lost, hospitality, chores, meals, training, life-giving words, hours and hours of listening and playing and praying and reading—all are parts of the mosaic which go into the process of soul development.

1st Grade

We use Sonlight Core 1 for our 6 year olds. It is a great curriculum for first grade. Some of the books tackled this year are –

-Pasteur's Fight Against Microbes
-Science Activities, Vol. 1
-From Akebu to Zapotec
-George Müller
-The Greek News
-Missionary Stories with the Millers
-The Usborne Time Traveler
-Detectives in Togas
-Follow My Leader
-Greek Myths for Young Children
-Henry Huggins
-The Wheel on the School
-Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle

Spanish- Continue using flashcards and add in Rosetta Stone Spanish. Sometimes I make up stories in Spanish and have the kids try and figure out what I am saying.

Explode The Code- My kids keep working through this series. I normally stop at book 4 or 5. At that point they have not needed any extra practice.

Handwriting- A Reason for Handwriting

Art- Art wall, checking out books from the library, and purchasing books that I think are exceptional. We are also using Artistic Pursuits.

Shakespeare-Reading one play per week. Having the boys narrate what I have been reading.

Math- Saxon Math, love the parental involvement!

Library- Continue to check out a ton of books from the library. I let the kids pick out books on topics they are interested in. I also check out books that relate to the topics we will be studying that week.

Map work-Locate at least ten different locations each week.

Piano- Same as last year.

Best Books for Boys & Girls

I love Ann Voskamp's website. She had a great post on Saturday, December 19, 2009. It is entitled Best Books for Girls: 20 Books She Has Loved.

She also had a great post on Tuesday, September 01, 2009 entitled Best Books for Boys: A Booklist Compiled by a BOY.

Kindergarten - Age 5

At five years of age my kids use Sonlight Kindergarten as their core curriculum. Some of the books that are used this year are-
-Living Long Ago
-Children’s Encyclopedia
-The Apple and the Arrow
-Dr. DoLittle

-The Hundred Dresses
-The Family Under the Bridge
-Dolphin Adventure
-First Book of Nature

-The Boxcar Children
-Book of Science Experiments
-My Fathers Dragon

We also add in-

Spanish- We continue using Spanish flashcards to build a base of knowledge in that area.

Reading-At this point my kids have worked there way up to book 3 in the Explode the Code series. I also add in a few of the Kumon language art books. We also check out many library books that they can read and that I can read to them.

Math- Horizons math, a math balance, a math computer game for the computer (helps make learning fun and is a good reward for getting their work done). My kids also enjoyed the Kumon math books.

Piano- I start teaching the basics at this age, mostly the piano letters and a few little songs. I also let my kids make their own songs. In addition to piano I use the book entitled The Story of the Orchestra. Each week we read about a new composer and listen to a sample of their music. After a few weeks I start to quiz them. I play a piece and they have to tell me the name, composer and in what period it was written. They have a lot of fun with this.

Map Work- each week I jot down 10 locations (oceans, continents or countries). Every day they find these locations on the globe. I want my kids to be aware of the world around them. In the coming years they will be investigating the cultures of these countries.

Handwriting- At this point I switch from Handwriting Without Tears to A Reason for Handwriting. I like that my kids work on writing verses.

Art- I use the program entitled Artistic Pursuits. It has been so much fun and very educational. I bought the book from Sonlight and the supplies from Rainbow Resource. There are some great art books available for this age. I particularly enjoy the Come Look With Me series. I also continue to use our art wall.

Poetry- There are MANY great poetry books available. I really like The Llama Who Had No Pajama and A Child’s Introduction to Poetry.

Critical Thinking- I try and make sure that my kids are getting a well rounded education. So I add in some Critical Thinking Activities. The boys love doing critical thinking; it is more like a game than schoolwork.

Field Trips- The local discovery museum and zoo have classes just for homeschool kids.

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Shakespeare-I read Beautiful Stories From Shakespeare. We read one play per week (about a page each day). I have found that a great time to read to my kids is during lunch time. It stops silly squabbles between siblings and is assures a quiet and attentive audience.

I think that about covers everything for this year.

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You might be wondering how we get all this done every day. Simple answer, we don't! Many of these topics are completed one day a week (Critical Thinking, Artistic Pursuits, The Story of Orchestra, Child's Introduction to Poetry). We cover the basics everyday (Sonlight, Math, Reading, Spanish, Shakespeare, Piano, Awana, Explode the Code, Handwriting, Map Work, Poetry).

What a week...

I have learned that if you have stabbing pain in your ear, you should not wait a week and a half to go to the doctor. Apparently the amount of infection that you then have in your sinus and ear makes you feel just plain awful. I have not been that sick in years. So today I am singing the praises of antibiotics! I just love those little pills :) I feel like me again :)

I plan to resume my posts on homeschooling this week.

Socialization

When people think about homeschooling they almost immediately think about socialization. How will homeschooled kids be socialized? How will they know how to carry a conversation? I read an analogy some time ago that I just love.

When you want your kids to learn basketball, baseball, piano or some other skill you get them a coach or teacher. Why do you do this? Because they need to learn these skills from someone who is on the other side. Someone who has mastered these skills and has the gift and desire to teach them to others.

Socialization is a skill. Children have to learn how to properly relate to others. To put themselves aside and think of others first. To feel compassion and empathy for others. They need to be taught how to communicate and express their ideas well.

If I want my children to learn this skill why would I put them with a bunch of kids that are at the level they are? I don't expect my son to learn piano form someone who knows as much as he does. Are other 8 year olds able to teach my 8 year old how to be socialized? The answer is obviously no. Homeschooled children spend their days learning socialization from adults. They are given a teacher or coach to help them learn this skill.

Kindergarten-Part 1

Sonlight’s Kindergarten is a little to tough for a 4 year old. So I decided to wait a year and use My Father’s World Kindergarten as a transition. This was a great fit for our family. There are just enough hands-on activities to keep my kids interested. But they also learn their letters, science topics and bible.

Here is a summary of the Kindergarten curriculum-
The first two weeks focus on the creation story from Genesis, followed by 26 hands-on, easy to teach thematic units that focus on the wonders in God's creation. The sun, moon, rocks, vegetables, elephants, butterflies, and dinosaurs are just a few of the exciting topics you will explore.

Reading is taught with a highly successful multi-sensory phonics approach. Hands-on and workbook activities are combined to teach letter names, 26 letter sounds (consonants and short vowels), sound blending, and correct handwriting. Students learn to read short vowel words; and by the end of the year, they are reading very simple stories. The reading lessons may be used successfully with 5-year-old and mature 4-year-old children or with older children who are just beginning to learn letter sounds.

Each unit also recommends a high quality children's read-aloud book that becomes the focus of related activities.Math is taught using an informal, integrated approach. Many skills are woven into the lessons, as students cut an apple in half, measure and compare the lengths of dinosaurs and whales, and order leaves by size.

All typical kindergarten goals are taught, including counting objects, writing numerals, preparing and understanding charts and graphs, comparing, classifying, sequencing, and understanding ordinal numbers, fractions (whole/half), clocks, money, and an introduction to addition and subtraction.Science, Bible, Creative Thinking, Character Development, and Art are also integrated into the 26 easy-to-teach thematic units.

Each six-day unit focuses on one alphabet letter and one corresponding science topic. For example, in Lesson 1, "S-s-sun," students learn letter "s" and number 1, study about the sun, construct and use a sundial, observe and chart grapes as they become raisins, paint a sun, listen to a funny book about shadows, and learn that, like the sun, Jesus is the light of the world. A special feature is the focus on character development integrated into each lesson. The turtle lesson teaches, "I don't quit -- I persevere!" The horse lesson teaches, "I obey right away." The zebra lesson teaches, "I can't hide anything from God."Daily Lessons are 60-90 minutes long, with a total of 166 lessons. The clear step-by-step daily instructions are of great help to new homeschool teachers.

Daily work is presented in three parts:
The 100 Chart and monthly calendar.
The reading lesson.
The day's special hands-on activity as described in the Activity Guide. These focus on science, math, Bible, art, children's literature, and creative thinking. Children ages 3 - 8 may learn together using these activities.

I also started my kids in the Explode the Code Series. The introductory books are great (Ready, Set, Go for the Code).

We purchased some Spanish flashcards. I taught three flashcards per day, with lots of reviewing. (I continued this into the next school year.)

This was a great time to start some handwriting as well. I used Handwriting Without Tears.

Add to that- the art wall, classical music, and tons of library books. We normally check out between 40 and 60 books (I try and get a broad range of topics- animals, poetry, art, history, and things my kids are interested in at the moment). I do my best to look ahead at the topics my kids will be learning about and get library books about those topics. For example, if they are going to be starting their ant farm I check out a bunch of ant books.

At 7:50am....

Joshua was found reading Treasure Island with Elliana.

Asher was nestled into his bed doing his school work.

It is really nice to be able to stay home on these cold days. I am thankful that my kids can stake out a spot of their own, get comfortable, and learn.

Teaching 3 year olds!!!

Before I explain how I taught my boys when they were 3 I want to list some things that I did not do-
--I did not make school a huge priority. Spending time together talking, reading, and playing are my number one priority. Learning needs to be relaxing and fun.
--I did not (and do not now) let my kids watch television during the day. The television stays off from 7:30 am- 3:30 pm. We do not watch television in the evening unless there is something special that mom or dad wants to share with them. I feel that too often TV becomes a babysitter.
--I did not plow through books without regard to my child. If the curriculum I was using suggested a book that I thought my child was not ready for, I put it aside for a later time.
--I did not do things perfectly. I made mistakes everyday.


Now to the good stuff ! I used Sonlight Preschool as my base for my 3 year olds (they have changed the package; you can now choose 3-4 year old preschool, or 4-5 year old preschool). It was filled with books that my kids and I enjoyed.

Here is a list of books that come with this curriculum (does not include some great books they have recently added to the package).
-The Gods Must be Angry
-New Toes for Tia
-People
-Stories from Africa
-Then and Now
-Things People Do
-A Child's Book of Art
-Children's Book of Virtues
-Eric Carle's Animals Animals
-The Lion Storyteller Bedtime Book
-A Treasury of Mother Goose Rhymes
-DR. Seuss- ABC
-First Thousand Words
-The Berenstain Bears' Big Book of Science and Nature
-What's Under the Sea?
-The Year at Maple Hill Farm
-Why Do Tigers Have Stripes?

Here is a list of more great books I found on Ambleside Online-these are great for any age!

-Winnie the Pooh series by AA Milne and Ernest H. Shepard (Winnie-The-Pooh, The House at Pooh Corner, When We Were Very Young, Now We Are Six). Accept no substitutes for the original stories!

-Beatrix Potter series (Peter Rabbit, Benjamin Bunny, etc,)

-The Little House by Virginia Burton

-The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack

-The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper

-Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey

-Make Way For Ducklings by Robert McCloskey

-One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey

-Ferdinand by Munro Leaf

-Ox-Cart Man by Barbara Cooney

-Stone Soup and other folk tale retellings by Marcia Brown

-Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney (CM idea of duty in bringing beauty to the world)

-The Story of Little Babaji by Helen Bannerman

-Brer Rabbit books by Joel Chandler Harris

-Poems and Prayers for the Very Young by Martha Alexander

-A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson (illustrated by Eulalie, Jessie Wilcox Smith, or Alice and Martin Provenson)

-A good collection including classic stories and folktales such as The Little Red Hen, The Gingerbread Man, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Three Billy Goats Gruff.

-A good collection of Aesop's Fables, such as the one illustrated by Milo Winter

-The Real Mother Goose illustrated by Blanche Fisher Wright Mama Goose, a collection by Edelen Wille, or versions such as those by Rojankovsky, Marguerite De Angeli or Tasha Tudor, or Lavender's Blue, a collection of nursery rhymes compiled by Kathleen Lines, illustrated by Harold Jones

-Illustrated classic poetry such as Poems for Young Children compiled by Caroline RoydsA good collection of classic children's poetry such as A Child's Book of Poems by Gyo Fujikawa; The Golden Books Family Treasury of Poetry selected by Louis Untermeyer; The Oxford Book of Children's Verse edited by Peter Opie

In addition to Sonlight and books I picked up from the library I added simple things like playing play-doh, painting, coloring, scissor practice, nature walks, cooking, going to the zoo, and the discovery museum.

I think classical music is great for any age. Our local library has a large collection of CD’s that can be checked out. Here are some composers that my children enjoy-Franz Joseph Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi, and Bach.

I also made an “art wall” to display real artwork. Each week I Google a new artist and find some interesting paintings. I normally choose six different pieces in order to get a wide range of the artists work. I then display these pictures on my “art wall”, which is actually the front of my refrigerator. It is amazing to see me little one staring at artwork :)

Teaching 2 Year Olds

I had the privilege of sharing about my homeschool at our MOMS group last week. I have received many questions about what type of curriculum and books I use with each age group. So I thought I would take some time and go through each age group and try and be as detailed as possible with regard to what I did with my kids. I am going to start with age 2.

When Joshua was two years old I looked around in vain for a curriculum that I thought would work for us. I wanted something that involved interaction, Christian principals, and some crafts. So I wrote my own curriculum. Each week contains a four-day schedule of fun activities. At the beginning of each week there is a list of items that will be needed to complete all the activities listed. This list is broken down into three categories- find on the Internet, books and materials. The items needed to find on the Internet are mostly coloring pages. I made every attempt to make the materials those that I normally had around the house.

Here is an example:

Daniel in the Lions Den

Find on Internet:
2 lion coloring pages

Books:
Children’s bible
About Daniel in the lions den

Materials:
Crayons/Markers
Construction paper
Paper plates
Glue
String
VeggieTales Movie “Daniel and the Lions Den”

Day 1
Introduce Daniel in the lion’s den using a children’s bible
Read Daniel in the lion’s den from a storybook
Color lion picture
Sing- The B-I-B-L-E

Day 2
Go over the story of Daniel in the lion’s den using a children’s bible
Read Daniel in the lion’s den from a storybook
Make lion paper plate craft
Read library books about lions
Sing- The B-I-B-L-E

Day 3
Go over the story of Daniel in the lion’s den using a children’s bible
Color lion picture
Read library books about lions
Sing- The B-I-B-L-E

Day 4
Have your child tell you the Daniel in the lion’s den story
Watch the Veggietales video- Daniel in the Lions Den”
Sing- The B-I-B-L-E

B-I-B-L-E
The bible, yes that’s the books for me. I stand alone on the word of God the B-I-B-L-E!

Lion Paper Plate Craft:
On a piece of brown construction paper draw two ears, two eyes a nose and a mouth (can use black construction if you would like). Cut out and glue these items to a paper plate. Have child color the lions face. You or your child can color a lion’s mane around the edge of the plate. Put two holes in the paper plate using a hole punch (one on the left side and one on the right side). Attach a piece of string to each hole. Use strings to attach the mask to your child (strings need to be long enough to meet and tie together).
Note: If you are feeling energetic use your mask to help you act out this bible story.


Optional Activities:
--Make a lion’s den using a blanket and chairs. Have your child wear their lion mask and pretend to be the lion in the den with Daniel. You could be the angel that the Lord sends to silence the lions. Your child must stop roaring at your command.
--Act out this bible story for family and friends.


I would be happy to email the entire curriculum to anyone who is interested (there are 21 weeks). The topics are: Jonah, Noah, Bears, Daniel in the Lions Den, Zacchaeus, Creation, Line Tracing, and The Fall of Jericho. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Baby Moses, Joseph and the Beautiful Coat, Rabbits, Whales and Dolphins, Buildings, Jesus and the Fisherman, Lost Sheep.

Pros and Cons to Homeschooling

I posted this article months ago, it is definitely important enough to read again.

Pros and Cons to Homeschooling