questions and a captain's log

In American History we are studying the early explorers. I decided against another tired Christopher Columbus lesson, and decided to have a full 10 week study on New World Explorers. To start off our Time Traveler Adventure, we've been learning what life would have been like for those seafaring explorers. We tasted limes and beef jerky (known as 'salted horse' to the sailors), tied knots, looked at Ptolemaic maps, and tried to figure out why they would want to become adventurers in the first place. This week we made a Captain's Log, so that we will be able to chronicle the rest of our findings more authentically.


We first dyed paper in a coffee bath. (My children were sufficiently horrified when I brought coffee home. They were still somewhat skeptical that we should even be dying things with it.) We then hung the paper to drip dry.
The next day we covered cardstock in fabric and then sewed the pieces of paper into the spine.

We are now ready to work with our quill and ink. I love living history, so needless to say I was thrilled when I stumbled upon Homeschool in the Woods, an amazing source for both living history and timelines. (We adore timelines around here as well, but that's for another post!) Even if you don't homeschool, check out their site. They have so many fantastic resources available to enable history to come alive at an exceptionally reasonable price.

Now, to answer some questions we've been asked...

How much time do you spend in each subject?

We don't really have a set amount of time for each subject. But here's a very rough breakdown.

Morning Meeting (pledges, calendar, weather etc.) - 5-10 minutes

Morning Devotional (Scripture of the Week, Primary Song of the Week, Book of Mormon Study) - 20 min

Math/Journal/Spelling (These are occurring simultaneously with me teaching a math lesson to one child while the other works independently on the other subjects) - 45 min.

Reading/Grammar/Recitation (Again, occurring simultaneously) - 45 min.

Snack (During snack time I introduce, depending on the day of the week, either our 'Hero of the Week', 'Virtue of the Week', a section from the For the Strength of Youth, or a 'scripture adventure') - 10 - 15 min.

Personal Study - 10 - 15 min.

Citizenship (Mondays) - 15 min.

Geography/Copy Work (Mondays) - 20-30 min.

Art (Mondays/Wednesdays) - however long the project lasts

Science/Copy Work (Tuesdays/Wednesdays) - 30-45 min.

American History (Tuesdays/Wednesdays) - 30 - 45 min.

Music (Tuesdays/Thursdays) - 15-25 min.

World History (Thursdays) - 30-45 min.

Another mother and I alternate every other Thursday teaching a class. This week my kids went to her house for two hours for World History. Next Thursday her little girl will come to my house for a two hour class on Composers.

Yes, I only teach Monday - Thursday!

What are you reciting?

Each week each child has a different saying/poem to memorize. At the end of the week the recitation is given in front of the principle (Corey). Last week John memorized a quote by President Monson; "Work will when wishy washy wishing won't." This week he is memorizing a line from the book Pinocchio; "To become a real boy one must prove himself brave, truthful and unselfish." This week Madi is memorizing - "A happy home is heaven on earth." We are also memorizing scriptures as part of our morning devotionals, but the children are not graded in that area.

What does citizenship tackle?

Citizenship is a Texas state requirement. However what Texas defines as 'citizenship' is totally ambiguous. We are choosing to focus on patriotic themes each month. This month we are studying the symbolic nature of the flag, how to fly a flag, the importance of the flag etc. We are reading Betsy Ross from The Childhood of Famous American Series in conjunction with our flag study.

How much time do you spend planning your day's activities every night?

Right now when school is over I can turn off the light and leave it all until school the next morning. This is due to the fact that I spent a tremendous amount of time prepping the month before school started. Theoretically I could not really have to prep much of anything until Thanksgiving, but starting in the next week or so I plan to set aside 20 or so minutes every day to continue to prepare for the rest of the year. In all honesty, it's been a lot less stressful than I had anticipated. As strange as it sounds, I am finding that I have more time now than I ever did when both my kids were in public school.

I am more than happy to answer any questions - so feel free to keep sending them my way!

a little tweaking

On Wednesday I noticed my daughter's eyes starting to glaze over a little bit after PE and lunch. She was tired and starting to shut down her brain. Now, there are a variety of reasons as to why she was tired; adjusting to our new school schedule where the kids get up an hour earlier, having spent a fantastic weekend with family celebrating John's baptism, riding her bike up and down the street a bazillion time during PE, etc. Anyway you look at it, she was exhausted.

Although there were many factors contributing to my kids being tired in the afternoon, as their mother I know that even on their most rested days - after lunch they tend to slow down for a little while. Trying to teach a tired child didn't seem to be enabling the most conducive environment for learning. So yesterday I tweaked our schedule just a smidge. We started at 9:00 and were done with everything by 12:30. It was fantastic! Condensing things just a little allowed us plenty of time in the afternoon to ride bikes, read several chapters from Mr. Popper's Penguins, scrub the house from top to bottom, and just enjoy each other's company. (I even snuck in a little nap myself!) I love the flexibility we, as a family, are experiencing. When something needs a little tweaking - we can tweak it!

our first day

I was nervous about today. I just wasn't sure how everything would shake out. How would my children respond to my new role as their sole academic instructor? Would I have the patience necessary? Would I disappoint my children? Would homeschooling meet their expectations? Would they want to be on the next big yellow school bus heading back to public school?

It was a better day than I could have hoped for. The children were happy, excited and ready to jump into a new phase of our lives with both feet. It was so refreshing to spend 5 uninterrupted hours just one on one with my children. I am amazed at how much I learned about my children, especially Madi, in just one day of completely personalized instruction. Their strengths, weaknesses and needs may be different from what I initially thought. I am so grateful that we are now in an environment where I can better evaluate and then meet those needs.

Now, don't think that I, for one second, think every school day is going to be idyllic. I am a realist, my friends. When I was telling Corey about our day he said, 'Now you just have to remember how great today was when you're having 'pull your hair out' days.' And believe you me, I know they are coming. I'm just so grateful that today was such a good day. I wanted the first day, the first impression for the children to be a good one. What a blessing that it was.

What did we do today?

Book of Mormon Devotional
Math
Journal
Spelling
Reading
Grammar
Recitation
Self Directed Study
PE
Citizenship
Copywork
Geography
Art

Madi's favorites were spelling and the paper bag owls we made in art. John was torn between the jump roping in PE, grammar, and our art owls. I was just happy they were happy.

1 + 1 = 2

One of my biggest frustrations with our school last year was their seeming lack of a formal math curriculum. I am sure that there is one, however the implementation in the classrooms my children were in was disappointing at best. One week John would be doing addition, the next week he would be doing the multiplication, then he'd hop on over to fractions, maybe dabble in a little money the next week etc. I never could sense any sort of strong foundation being built. And to be honest, I'm really not all that sure what Madi was doing in kindergarten with her math. John, especially, became very frustrated and determined that he hated math. Although he was doing fine with the classwork, he couldn't see how all the pieces worked together. The other glaring issue I had with the math was that memorized math facts were nonexistent. I am a firm believer that you must give the child the tools in order for them to successfully build the structure. Enough ranting about this issue.

We will be using the Saxon math curriculum this year. I LOVE this math program. Having actually taught this curriculum in a formal classroom setting, I know that it works. I love that each lesson builds upon the lesson before - hopping around is eliminated. I also love that there is an emphasis on math facts. I'm sorry, you just can't do math if you have to stop and work out what 5x2 is every time you come across it. John hates math so I have my work cut out for me. However, I am confident that with this program his hatred will be eliminated.

World History

Our room is ready, my files are filled, our schedule is planned through Thanksgiving - we are ready to go! However, with John getting baptized and family in town we will not be starting until September 1st. Over the next few days, while we're waiting for our adventure to start, I'm going to highlight some of the books/resources we will be using this year. I honestly had no idea there were so many fantastic things available.

We'll start with World History. The Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer is amazing! Whether you homeschool or not, I would highly recommend it. Written by a professor of literature and writing at The College of William and Mary in Virginia, Ms. Bauer has created a wonderful world history read-aloud. We will be reading Volume One: Anciet Times which covers earliest written history to the last Roman Emperor. We will also be using the accompanying Activity Book, which provides various projects that correspond with the read-aloud in order to help history come alive (which is exceptionally important to me). We will be making a model of the Nile, creating cuneiform tablets, designing our own version of Hammurabi's Law Code Stele etc. The Activity Book also includes a variety of maps, encyclopedia cross references, suggestions for additional reading, review cards, comprehension question and answers etc.

We're excited!

Key #7 You, Not Them

“Set the example. The best mentors are continually learning and pushing themselves. Read the classics. Study hard... George Wythe studied as hard as Jefferson, and Jefferson contacted home with questions and for help through his life until he passed away. The mentor must lead the way, by reading what the student reads, discussing it with him and requiring quality work. …Children tend to rise to the educational level of their parents, and maybe a little above if their parents have shown them that this is important. The most effective way to ensure the quality of their education is to consistently improve your own.”

Oliver Van DeMille, A Thomas Jefferson Education, 2nd Edition, pages 52-53

We have fully embraced this in our home. Corey, through his pursuit of his degrees has done this quite naturally. While daily scripture study has been a constant in our home, I have loved transitioning to serious studying of other areas again. At the moment I am studying The American Founding, The History of the World - From Earliest Records to the Fall of Rome, The Abolition of Man, Algebra One (yes, my math is extremely rusty), and Jesus the Christ. It has been delightful to share what I have learned with my family at various times during the day. When do I have time to do this? It's a combination of getting up earlier to study and having a short study time with the kids during the day. The kids love to help me correct my math problems - always ready with a sticker if I get them all right. I cannot emphasize enough how much I have enjoyed implementing this key in our home.

Key #6 Simplicity, Not Complexity

“To achieve truly excellent education, keep it simple: Read, Write, do Projects and Discuss. The more complex our national curriculum has become, the less educated our society. …George Wythe structured Jefferson’s curriculum around these simple items: classics, discussion, projects, writing. Nearly the whole Founding generation did the same, and the further we have moved from this simple formula, the worse our education has become. What we need to improve education is not more curriculum, but better education, and that comes from classics and mentors.”

Oliver Van DeMille, A Thomas Jefferson Education, 2nd Edition, pages 48-49

Who am I to argue with keeping things simple? That's our plan.