The Cat & Pool Club

As we were driving around yesterday Coralee & Lincoln decided to form a "club". At first it was just the two of them but later she decided it was for all three of them. They were supposed to go on the front porch & read their Bible. That was too complicated since she'd have to read from three different Bibles. She had already picked out some recipes to try from her fairy cookbook earlier in the day. Ironically we read about how the March sisters had made a club in Little Women last night. She started making cookies without talking to me. Being her mother's daughter she didn't bother reading the instructions. We had a discussion about the importance of following directions while baking. She had used half the butter called for in the recipe because she didn't think we had any more. She was also using a wire whisk to mix everything together. I got more butter and put the dough in the mixer. All's well that ends well because they tasted really good. This is the plate she made for Mae since we were out shopping.

Pre-K Curriculum

Last year I was pretty much a slacker with Lincoln.  He would occasionally do work and then want to play.  Coralee would get mad that he wasn't working as hard as she was but I told her that when she was his age, she just played.  We didn't do anything formal.  Well, now we're officially pre-K age and the only year Coralee went to "school".  It's time to do something. 

Here are my simple goals for him:
1)  Write numbers
2)  Write letters - upper & lower case
3)  Read lots of books

I have tried to use Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading.  Coralee absolutely hated it.  Still haven't figured that one out except maybe she knew what the sounds were and was miffed I thought she didn't.  Lincoln & Lauramae had fun with the poems last year.  I love the simple, classical approach but I really felt like he needed more.  I also liked the idea of being able to plug through an actual, factual consumable book.  So, in a moment of excitement at the 20% off sale at Mardel, I bought First Start Reading by Memoria Press.  I think it might be a little much for him in the beginning but I still have the rest of the alphabet sheets I'd printed from education.com last year.  I think we'll finish the rest of the alphabet (we ended on "N") and then move on to those books.  I showed them to him a few days ago and he got the excited giggle about writing and reading.  That did this Momma's heart good!  I'm also planning to buy more of the BOB books to use with him.

For Math, we'll be picking and choosing things out of Saxon K.  A wiser woman would just chunk the book, work on numbers and simple addition and be done with it.  But I bought that book and by golly, we're going to attempt to use it. 

He'll be in CC again this year.  I hope that he will be sweet to his tutor.  We were very blessed that he had Mrs. Cox who loved him in spite of his behavior.  As I've told him since he was a baby, it's a good thing he's cute!  Hopefully he has matured over the summer.  I'm still a little scarred from being in his classroom for VBS in Boston a few weeks ago.  But that's a blog post for another day.  :-)

2nd Grade Curriculum - Coralee

How can my baby girl be a 2nd grader already? 

Math - Saxon 3
Saxon is the one part of our curriculum that I've never felt the need to change.  I'm so looking forward to 5/4 next year because I taught it years ago and loved it.  I didn't feel like she was doing as well as I thought she should at the end of last year.  Perfectionist Momma translation.... she didn't make a 100 on every worksheet like she did with Saxon 1.  The benefit of Saxon is that the beginning of the year is all review.  The math facts I was concerned about are coming back around and I'm hoping a summer's worth of maturity and growth will get them in her brain.  I'm also hoping that fractions will click, too. 

Reading
We're starting the year by reading D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths.  We'll keep it simple and read the stories and do an art activity to go with them.  This will be all skate.... Lincoln & Lauramae will hopefully join us.  I plan on us making Zeus's family tree and then making cards with pictures of everything else from the book (etc. Midas, Heracles, etc.).  My general goal for her is to read lots of books and attempt book report type projects.  Again, I'm trying to make this fun for her and she loves to make things & be creative.  My only concern is comprehension and that will check the box for me.  I tried pre-made curriculum with questions & vocabulary words but so many of the questions were way above her level of understanding and they took so long that it took the fun out of reading a book. I would love for my kids to actually enjoy reading good books and what we were doing wasn't helping. I also want to make sure to read higher level books aloud to them.  Right now, I'm reading Little Women to Coralee and I'm not sure who's enjoying it more. 

Greek
She loved Songschool Latin last year so we bought Songschool Greek.  After slugging through some of Climbing Parnassus I decided that I would do Greek with her.  We had ordered two books because the cd was damaged (by my sweet baby girl) in one of them. I'm a little overwhelmed by actually trying to read Greek.  Sure I can recognize most of the letters but putting them together is altogether different.  She's already learned the alphabet.... woohoo, she's ready to join a sorority.

Spelling
We'll continue using Spelling Plus. We'll just do fun things to practice the words.  I found a lot of great ideas on Pinterest and they're already in her binder.  I also want to make sure that we use the dictation sentences that go with it this year. I pretty much stunk at using those last year.

Handwriting
New American Cursive Workbook 2 from Memoria Press
I had bought Cursive First last year and really didn't care for it that much.  This is a nice blend of instruction on how to make the letters, practice & room to write her own sentences, stories, etc.  I'm just hoping she's ready to move on like that!

English
This will be the first thing to go.  I bought a Bob Jones 2nd grade English workbook last year and we started on some of it.  I'm trying to trust that CC has it all taken care of in Essentials but the fact of the matter is this doesn't take much time or effort on my part.  That being said, it will be the first thing crossed off the to do list if we get overwhelmed.

Classical Conversations
This is truly my lifesaver.  Instead of having to pour hours into science & history (as well as the other subjects), I'm able to focus on quick glimpses there.  We'll try to add some projects to those two areas and will at least attempt to read some of Story of the World that coincides with our history sentences.  I'm so excited about the new CC timeline cards and new song to go with them.  Veritas was good but this seems to fit so much better with CC.  I'd love to have Coralee be a Memory Master again this year but I'm going to try my best to keep up with things better this year.  We'll plan to keep up with the memory work so it's truly in her brain instead of having to stuff it in later. 

Other goals
Poetry - Memorize 1 poem/month; use as handwriting practice

Memorize Romans 1:18-23 - I think it coincides well with our study of Ancient History in CC.  All of that points me back to Precept's Covenant study.

 

Homeschool Planning

I wrote this a couple of months ago but never got around to posting it....

We were blessed to have a week without the kiddos.  It was nice to be able to have uninterrupted conversation and get so much stuff around the house done.  One of our conversations was about school and planning.  I love planning.  It makes me happy but it also makes me very unhappy when things don't go as I had planned.  When I read what I had planned out for last year, it's a little frustrating to me because we missed the mark in so many ways.  A friend of mine told me that as long as they get through 1st grade without eating paste, we're really doing well.  I can check that box!  Yay! 

In all seriousness, we had a great discussion about how projects are planned at work and how to apply that to homeschooling.  "Manager" Ken had some great insight to planning our year.  He said that they start out planning which features they need in a product.  That's the macro version, big picture.  Then, they set up the smaller steps to accomplish that.  There's a monthly plan but also quick weekly status meetings so the monthly plan can change as needed when the inevitable problem or difficulty arises.  So, as I think through our school year, I'm trying to plan what we want to accomplish for the year but instead of trying to work out the entire year on a day to day basis, I'm going to plan the details in smaller chunks and try not to be frustrated when I don't get a checkmark for each subject each day.  As a classroom teacher, that didn't happen so I don't know why I expect it to be different in schooling my kids at home.

I love that our CC practicum is at the beginning of the summer.  I've had a little time without doing school work and I'm ready to think about the next school year.  One of the subjects addressed was a Classical Christian Education Made Approachable.  The speaker talked about how CC is meant to be simple.  The Foundations program needs a reading & math curriculum added and that's all.  As a homeschool Momma, I feel like I have to prove to everyone that we're doing "enough".  I think about all the things kids do in a regular classroom and I'm scared there are areas where we lack.  Then I have my kids recite the presidents and I feel better. ;-)  The thing is that a Classical Christian education is a different animal from the way I was educated and the way I was taught to teach.  So, this year I'm going to try to relax some and be confident in the choices we've made.  I'm going to try to add more fun things (thank you Pinterest) so we can all enjoy it more!  This Spring, Andrew Pudewa also came to speak and what he said about reading & writing really clicked.  Good writers are well read was the basic idea.  I wish I could say I've done everything he suggested but it gave us some good direction and confidence about keeping our reading curriculum simple.

The School Room

I've moved so much furniture around in that room it's not even funny. But, I'm happy to report that I think I'm the happiest I've been with the set up. We were able to get the trim up on the white board and I think it looks great! It isn't as perfectly organized as I'd like but since we have a couple of months until we start up again, I'm just going to be glad most of the junk is hidden!

Snow White Party

Baby girl turned 3 a couple of weeks ago, sniff, sniff! Actually it was the least emotional I've been about a birthday. Maybe that's something that gets easier as they get older. Anyway, the fairest of them all loves Snow White and she requested that as her party theme. So, Momma hopped on to Pinterest & Etsy and searched for ideas. It was such a fun party especially since she only requested
3 friends to be invited. I had a blast being able to do more than usual in the way of party favors. Funny thing was that although I set the table for just the princesses, they had no interest until it was time for
cake! Speaking of cake, my Mom did a great job as usual!

Big Girl's Quilt

I have a big mental list of projects. This one had been on my mind more since we set up my old day bed at the inlaws' and used her comforter over there. As usual, there were moments that I wanted to run away from the project but I can happily say it's 95% done! The last big quilt I made was for my sister as a wedding gift and I used the fusible quilt batting. Somehow it worked gray for that but it was not helpful this time. I can completely see why people get a quilt top finished and have a hard time with the actual quilting part. It was harder work than putting together all the strips & squares. I'm just glad to have it done and not have everything set up in the living room. I shutter to think that I have 2 more quilts to go.

A little better

There's nothing like posting a picture of a totally trashed room to motivate you to do something.  Moving the bookshelf in here really made me think about how I wanted to have this room set up.  After our big trip to the Y we went to IKEA and I bought this shelf.  It seems like all the furniture we have is vertical instead of horizontal and it makes things look even smaller.  So, ta da.... horizontal.  I still may move it into the closet but it feels like a start in the right direction.  Maybe I'll even get something hung on the walls soon.  We're all about coloring these days.  They all wake up in the morning and start coloring.  It's a little freaky.  When we took L to the neurologist this week, he was crazy coloring in the lines.  I was impressed & so was she.  It's funny how they suddenly start doing that!

Oh the chaos!

Right after we made it a school room.... so glad that ugly yellow is gone

Painted a nice gray now but that furniture placement didn't work.

The room feels more functional now but it's obviously a mess & a blank slate for decorating

This is our school room.  Earlier this week, I had a furniture moving fit because the armoire we were using for our supplies just wasn't cutting it.  I ended up smooshed in the corner between the armoire doors & my table.  The table we had been using was too high and too small to really function plus I missed having it on the porch.  I keep waiting for that moment of inspiration to hit me because I would hate to do a bunch of work in here in haste and end up hating it.  So, now it looks very, very bland and it's a total mess.  The L's went a little berserk at the end of our school day yesterday, hence the chairs all over the place & knocked over.  Didn't help that I tripped over them in the dark when I went to get the computer.  LM yelled in her sleep (Ken said she very clearly said, "Don't take it from me!") and I couldn't get back to sleep.  It's going to be a long day when the day starts before 4 AM.  The good thing is my grocery list is made and I found some ideas for how to make this room more beautiful! 

The kids' room

I had been thinking about having the girls share a room for a while so that we could have a school or play room.  Lincoln & Coralee had frequently been asking to sleep together at night so I wondered if he might feel left out if we had the girls together.  After Christmas, Ken mentioned that if we had them all in the same room, I could have both a play room & a school room.  Thankfully the transition has been pretty good.  If anything, it consolidates the locations of the troublemakers (the L's).  We also dropped naps which seems to be helping the bed time battles we were having previously.  Our house has been in a little bit of chaos since moving the kids' stuff around but we're slowly getting things back together & in order.  It doesn't help that our Saturdays have been dominated by soccer & basketball games (woohoo for only 2 more weeks of that).  Yesterday we finally got the curtains up and I found sheets at Target.  In my mind, we were going to do a gender neutral room with lime green & yellow accents.  The only fabric for curtains that the kids would agree to was western.  We've been there, done that & had a bunch of accessories so it was a fairly cheap thing to do.  We still have some accessories to add and we need to tackle their closet but it felt good to have things on the wall & beds made.  I plan on making a quilt for big girl who is now in little man's bunk bed.  He's sleeping in her bed (think he's heard too much about having a seizure & falling off the top of the bunk) & poor baby girl is on a crib mattress on the floor.  One day we'll make a platform for her mattress.

Baby Quilt

I keep saying I'm going to make a quilt for my kids but so far that hasn't happened.  My hairdresser is expecting her first kiddo in a few weeks so I wanted to make her something special.  I loved the colors... so springy!

Pom Pom flowers

Every now & then I get the bug to make something to say "thank you" to the ladies that love on my kiddos at church.  I completely missed getting that done for Christmas so I decided to give it a try for Valentines.  I didn't have anything better to do.... certainly not dishes or putting away the 3 baskets of kid laundry.  I was inspired by these flowers that I saw on Pinterest.  I had made some out of felt at Christmas but had some leftover quilt fabric and decided to use that instead.  I was really thrilled with how they turned out.

A new blog!

I've thought about doing this for a while.  We have a family blog but I seem to only update it for the kids birthdays since Facebook came along.  I love reading crafty blogs especially since I can find them much easier with Pinterest.  So, I thought I'd give it a try to have my own place for posting some of the fun stuff I've made.  But first, a little of the reason why I've embraced "beautiful things". 

I always said I would never homeschool my kids and yet that's where I find myself.  Insert concerns about social skills, lack of accountability, etc.  When I was teaching full time in a Christian school, our headmaster had us read the book Recovering the Lost Tools of Learning by Douglas Wilson.  I was wowed by the ideas of a classical education.  It was so different than the way I had been taught & was teaching.  It was a natural place for me to go when we decided to homeschool our kids.  I heard someone say that homeschooling redeems two educations.... yours & your childrens'.  That has been the case for me.  I have re-learned so much over the past two years.  I have always loved history so it's been neat to see how dates & events intertwine when I'm reading.  I could give so many more examples but this blog is really about crafting, so I need to get back to the topic at hand.

One of the books that I started reading (but still haven't finished) is Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey.  I never highlight in books but there was so much good stuff in there that I couldn't help myself.  One of the reasons we homeschool is to give our children a decidedly Christian worldview.  This book talks a about how there is truth.... not many truths but one ultimate source of truth.  As our creator, God made us in His image meaning we have similar qualities.  As an example, He is a creator and He has given us the desire to create new things.  It explains the ingenuity of man to go from farming with hand tools and eventually to tractors & even hydroponics.  We're always looking for ways to do things better & more efficiently.  God made things beautiful and we desire that as well.  In our modern worldview, we get stuck in the land of "usefulness" instead of enjoying & encouraging beauty.  As I read that book, I was convicted that the things I saw as important.... taking care of my children, cooking good food, keeping house, & making my home pretty were valid things.  They were part of who God created me to be and part of His purpose & character.  It was eye opening & freeing.  So, I've embraced "pretty".  Sure, when I'm crafy I don't get to the sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, laundry, etc. for a bit but that's okay.  There's time for that later.