We're here. Plodding along. Well, maybe not so much plodding, as racing along, in between breaks of every kind imaginable. I think there's been ONE week since the start of school where we've had a full, normal week, without vacations, illnesses, field trips, floodings, computers dying with all the school plans on them (why oh why don't I learn to back things up?) or catastrophes of one kind or another.
And still- though I feel like so many things are falling through the cracks- we're making progress. Learning is happening. We're not stuck to a school calendar (Oh! Imagine all those abscences!) with mountains of busy work to make up. We're a little pared down, but here we are.
Avery finished Life of Fred Fractions today, and Key to Geometry 1 yesterday (Because we're homeschoolers math can look like that- fractions, geometry, algebra, calculus all at once). He's done four of the lessons in Writing Strands 3, and a bunch of grammar work. He's doing some embroidery work for the baby. History of US is great, and he's been poring over the National Geographic Exploration Experience. Love those old maps!
There's more, but it's all unschooly- child directed stuff, and isn't getting anything crossed off on MY plan for the year. Why is it hard for me to count that mountain of learning as "school"? Is it just because I'm not in charge of it?
Miles is busy writing all day long, taping little pieces of paper all over the house with funny little notes written on them. He's beyond pleased when he writes something that sounds like a real word, but sometimes gets the funniest look on his face, like "Hmmm. I wonder why I wrote that. What does DOT TAP NAP really mean?"
I am also searching for these answers. That and "I AM APPI LAM 7".
I'm not sure if it counts as preschool, but it's more fun than worksheets. And so, we hop and skip along. Merry, merry homeschool!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Stick Figures
According to the Norse Myths we've been studying the first man and first woman were made from trees. Alder and Ash, specifically. Personally I kind of like the image. And it does put an interesting spin on the evolution vs. creation debate, don't you think? We made figures from sticks, our own "first boys". They didn't come out as I'd intended, exactly, but I think they're awfully cute anyway. And Miles spent the rest of the day making stick figures all on his own and planting them all around the house. Hopefully they don't ALL grow into people- our house is kind of small already!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Two Little Mice
Man and Animals inspired handwork: wool felt mice made from an old sweater, felted thick and sturdy in the washing machine, cut, stuffed and sewn into cute little mice for the Thursday, October 15, 2009
Loving, Liking, Liking Not A Bit
Loving
Life of Fred- Fractions. Still.
Thames and Kosmos- Milestones of Science Kit. Very cool, good quality, varied and interesting. Would be better if it had ideas for further exploration, though....
Embroidery.
Autumn. Isn't it just the best season for starting new projects and getting reinvigorated? We love schoolwork in the fall.
School Baskets. The boys each have their own school basket, and each night I make sure their baskets have what they need for the next day's work. It's simple, keeps the clutter down, keeps them focused, and the baskets can move anywhere we need them- dining room table, downstairs, kitchen, even outside, I suppose.
A focused character study time.
A History of US by Joy Hakim. They're great. Really, really great. Much better than I was expecting. Totally worth the price.
Writing Strands 3. Funny, smart, short lessons each day, and Avery's favorite- breaks between lessons! The book is written directly to the child, not to the parent, and that little thing makes a big difference. Avery does the work on his own because he knows that the author expects him to. And you know, he does very well.
Liking
Simply Grammar. I think it would have been really nice two years ago. For us, for fourth grade, it's pretty simple. But the lessons only take a couple minutes and review is good. It's nice that it's oral work- I think if it were intended to be written it would feel too much like busy work.
Word Play. More at Avery's level, and it pushes him along. He insists lately he has no imagination, no creativity, so a little prodding in that direction is good.
Liking Not A Bit
Anatomy. Or rather, the fact we haven't studied this at all in weeks. For some reason this is too easy to push aside in exchange for other, ANY other activities. Hmm.
Guitar. Practice. Or at least the fuss about whether, in deed, Avery is supposed to practice today, whether or not he's really supposed to practice for 30 minutes or 3, whether the time spent setting up his music stand and getting his guitar out counts as practice, and so on and on and on. Nope. Not liking that one bit.
Life of Fred- Fractions. Still.
Thames and Kosmos- Milestones of Science Kit. Very cool, good quality, varied and interesting. Would be better if it had ideas for further exploration, though....
Embroidery.
Autumn. Isn't it just the best season for starting new projects and getting reinvigorated? We love schoolwork in the fall.
School Baskets. The boys each have their own school basket, and each night I make sure their baskets have what they need for the next day's work. It's simple, keeps the clutter down, keeps them focused, and the baskets can move anywhere we need them- dining room table, downstairs, kitchen, even outside, I suppose.
A focused character study time.
A History of US by Joy Hakim. They're great. Really, really great. Much better than I was expecting. Totally worth the price.
Writing Strands 3. Funny, smart, short lessons each day, and Avery's favorite- breaks between lessons! The book is written directly to the child, not to the parent, and that little thing makes a big difference. Avery does the work on his own because he knows that the author expects him to. And you know, he does very well.
Liking
Simply Grammar. I think it would have been really nice two years ago. For us, for fourth grade, it's pretty simple. But the lessons only take a couple minutes and review is good. It's nice that it's oral work- I think if it were intended to be written it would feel too much like busy work.
Word Play. More at Avery's level, and it pushes him along. He insists lately he has no imagination, no creativity, so a little prodding in that direction is good.
Liking Not A Bit
Anatomy. Or rather, the fact we haven't studied this at all in weeks. For some reason this is too easy to push aside in exchange for other, ANY other activities. Hmm.
Guitar. Practice. Or at least the fuss about whether, in deed, Avery is supposed to practice today, whether or not he's really supposed to practice for 30 minutes or 3, whether the time spent setting up his music stand and getting his guitar out counts as practice, and so on and on and on. Nope. Not liking that one bit.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
New Supplies, No School
We were sick. Some schoolwork got done, but not much, really.
The best part of the whole week was getting a giant box of new school supplies- the whole entire set of Key Curriculum math workbooks and answer keys, Writing Strands 3, Home Science Adventures science kits (birds, magnetism, light, micropscopy, insects, astronomy) and the Thames and Kosmos Milestones in Science Kit, which looks WONDERFUL.
Monday we'll be healthy and ready to dig in.
The best part of the whole week was getting a giant box of new school supplies- the whole entire set of Key Curriculum math workbooks and answer keys, Writing Strands 3, Home Science Adventures science kits (birds, magnetism, light, micropscopy, insects, astronomy) and the Thames and Kosmos Milestones in Science Kit, which looks WONDERFUL.
Monday we'll be healthy and ready to dig in.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Weather Tree
We've done weather trees before, but this one was inspired by Ann Druitt, Christine Fynes-Clinton, and Marije Rowling's book "All Year Round" which is chock-full of verses, recipes, craft ideas and games. I drew the tree on bigger paper, though- 18x24", and I discarded their suggestion of different leaf colors for different types of weather, and stuck with temperatures instead. Because we live in a place without weather. Seriously. It is sunny nearly every day. I thought temperatures would show the transitions of the year better- we'll see. In any case, the boys like it, and keep careful track of whose turn it is to color in the leaves. Miles, after being excluded for making some little angry scribbles, now takes great care and even colors inside the lines of the tiny leaves!
Weeks 2 and 3: After
Week 3 is in the bag, as they say. Yeah, I know, this should be the end of week 4, but who is counting, exactly? And, um, yeah, Friday hasn't happened yet, but we're going to the Fair, which is at least as important as fractions, cursive, and American History. Actually, I planned for this to happen well in advance-I knew we'd be going on vacation and hectic and started school two weeks before the regular school kids, just to compensate. 'Cause Lord knows homeschoolers can't fall behind public school kids, even in attendance, right?
So...Avery is speeding through Life of Fred~Fractions. Loves it. I'm waiting still for the whole entire set of Key Curriculum Press workbooks to arrive, then we'll start adding in those. We haven't done any Calculus by and for Young People yet, but we did check out the Mathematics Made Meaningful Cuisenaire rod kit, Miles and Avery both. I'm not sure how much we'll use the cards, frankly- they seem a little... ahem... boring... but we do love our cuisenaire rods, and Miles sorted out a bunch by color, and enjoyed being able to "do school" with Avery.
All last week was nature study, at Glacier and the Bison Range. The boys saw turtles sunning themselves and poking their heads out of the water like mucky little sticks, dragonflies mating, elk bugling, antelope, bison, bears, deer, fish, birds, slugs, all kinds of creatures.
Avery zoomed through a ton of the Earthsearch book on the trip, plus a lot of map reading, compass work, and general geography of the inland Northwest and Rocky Mountain region. He straddled the Continental Divide and learned to identify U-shaped glacier-made valleys, and V-shaped river made valleys.
He had a guitar lesson and his teacher finally let him move past The Blue Danube, which has been driving him from even wanting to look at his guitar for weeks now. On to more fun stuff. Whew!
The boys love circle, and love taking a walk first thing- if only I could get Papa out of the house at 7:30, so that we could have a decent walk AND not start school so late. He's been leaving at 8, and we're out the door before him, but the boys hate to leave while he's still home. We've been walking for an hour, then starting circle at 9, then oral reading, math puzzler, main lesson, Life of Fred, spelling, and just trying to stuff as much in as possible.
We attempted some wet felting, making octopus figures, but it didn't work out. I'm not so good at wet felting, except snakes and balls, which is all the octopus was supposed to be, just felted together, but it didn't work. At all.
We haven't started embroidery yet, even though he's been asking for weeks.
We haven't really started Latin yet, Artistic Pursuits, and a whole bunch of ther stuff, too, probably. Gotta get out the door just a little earlier, and take shorter walks in the morning, I guess.
The good news, though, is that Miles loves having his own school basket, and eagerly works through his activites and stories every day, so he's not begging to watch TV or bugging Avery. Ansel is exactly the Buddha baby I KNEW I was going to have- he watches his brothers and chuckles, and sucks his fingers, nurses, sleeps, and tries to figure out how to crawl all with equal delight. Avery is cheerful and good about school this year, and likes having shorter lessons, a clear plan to the day, boxes to check off, and interesting work to do. So all's good, if not quite on schedule yet. Which, you know, is pretty darn good!
So...Avery is speeding through Life of Fred~Fractions. Loves it. I'm waiting still for the whole entire set of Key Curriculum Press workbooks to arrive, then we'll start adding in those. We haven't done any Calculus by and for Young People yet, but we did check out the Mathematics Made Meaningful Cuisenaire rod kit, Miles and Avery both. I'm not sure how much we'll use the cards, frankly- they seem a little... ahem... boring... but we do love our cuisenaire rods, and Miles sorted out a bunch by color, and enjoyed being able to "do school" with Avery.
All last week was nature study, at Glacier and the Bison Range. The boys saw turtles sunning themselves and poking their heads out of the water like mucky little sticks, dragonflies mating, elk bugling, antelope, bison, bears, deer, fish, birds, slugs, all kinds of creatures.
Avery zoomed through a ton of the Earthsearch book on the trip, plus a lot of map reading, compass work, and general geography of the inland Northwest and Rocky Mountain region. He straddled the Continental Divide and learned to identify U-shaped glacier-made valleys, and V-shaped river made valleys.
He had a guitar lesson and his teacher finally let him move past The Blue Danube, which has been driving him from even wanting to look at his guitar for weeks now. On to more fun stuff. Whew!
The boys love circle, and love taking a walk first thing- if only I could get Papa out of the house at 7:30, so that we could have a decent walk AND not start school so late. He's been leaving at 8, and we're out the door before him, but the boys hate to leave while he's still home. We've been walking for an hour, then starting circle at 9, then oral reading, math puzzler, main lesson, Life of Fred, spelling, and just trying to stuff as much in as possible.
We attempted some wet felting, making octopus figures, but it didn't work out. I'm not so good at wet felting, except snakes and balls, which is all the octopus was supposed to be, just felted together, but it didn't work. At all.
We haven't started embroidery yet, even though he's been asking for weeks.
We haven't really started Latin yet, Artistic Pursuits, and a whole bunch of ther stuff, too, probably. Gotta get out the door just a little earlier, and take shorter walks in the morning, I guess.
The good news, though, is that Miles loves having his own school basket, and eagerly works through his activites and stories every day, so he's not begging to watch TV or bugging Avery. Ansel is exactly the Buddha baby I KNEW I was going to have- he watches his brothers and chuckles, and sucks his fingers, nurses, sleeps, and tries to figure out how to crawl all with equal delight. Avery is cheerful and good about school this year, and likes having shorter lessons, a clear plan to the day, boxes to check off, and interesting work to do. So all's good, if not quite on schedule yet. Which, you know, is pretty darn good!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Lessons Learned on Vacation
1) When your Mom says "Don't lean over the railing" she actually means "Don't go anywhere near the steep side of the road, no matter what." In fact, don't even undo your seat belt. Let's just get down the mountain, really, really slowly. 'Cause, you know, she's trying to be cool, and let everyone enjoy this amazing adventure, but really, she keeps having flashes of children falling off cliffs and being devoured by wild animals.... Well, at least she's trying, right?
2) Mountain goats, big horn sheep, black bears, black back woodpeckers, deer, elk, even the antelope and bison, bears, turtles, and elk at the National Bison Refuge, are all really interesting and fun to watch. But getting to hold a little slug, watch it for hours, and take pictures of it close up? Well, that, apparently, is worth going on vacation and camping out for.
3)This is close enough to a black bear for your mother's comfort. Especially since there were three, and we can only see two. And there might be rustling in those bushes right behind us....
4)Bison don't care about the rules of the road as they apply to automobiles. And we're not arguing with them. We don't mind sitting still, right here. No sir.
5) A carousel ride (or maybe three) is a great way to end a vacation. Riding with your brother is even nicer.
6) We love going on vacation. We love each other, and we love visiting our friends. We love camping, but maybe we can love a newer, bigger, more weather-proof tent next time. We love being away, seeing new things and having adventures, but we really love coming home again.
2) Mountain goats, big horn sheep, black bears, black back woodpeckers, deer, elk, even the antelope and bison, bears, turtles, and elk at the National Bison Refuge, are all really interesting and fun to watch. But getting to hold a little slug, watch it for hours, and take pictures of it close up? Well, that, apparently, is worth going on vacation and camping out for.
3)This is close enough to a black bear for your mother's comfort. Especially since there were three, and we can only see two. And there might be rustling in those bushes right behind us....
4)Bison don't care about the rules of the road as they apply to automobiles. And we're not arguing with them. We don't mind sitting still, right here. No sir.
5) A carousel ride (or maybe three) is a great way to end a vacation. Riding with your brother is even nicer.
6) We love going on vacation. We love each other, and we love visiting our friends. We love camping, but maybe we can love a newer, bigger, more weather-proof tent next time. We love being away, seeing new things and having adventures, but we really love coming home again.Friday, September 11, 2009
The Rhythm of Our Days
Inspired by the topic ORGANIZATION discussed at my homeschool meeting last night: a copy of our official family schedule. Wake up time is 7am for the boys, and bedtime is 8pm. Everything else is sandwiched between!
For us the schedule is a rhythm, a guide, not a strict task master. We are not slaves to the schedule- we are opposed to slavery in all it's forms!
Here are the rules:
Everyone works during chore times. A child who doesn't want to help has to sit in the room with everyone else, not reading or playing. Once usually is enough to remind them that working together is more fun than sitting alone.
No TV/videos/long phone calls/play dates til school work is done. Period. Miles has his own "school" basket, with special activities and projects to work on during school time.
School is not more or less important than chores, chores are not more or less important than having fun and relaxing, fun is not more or less important than school. If we miss a scheduled period for whatever reason, we just get back on rhythm wherever we should be, not where we skipped out. If we're missing the same periods frequently, or continually off-schedule, that's a clue we need to revise either the schedule or our choices.
Don't sacrifice an unexpected adventure for dishes and laundry, neither sacrifice a calm and happy home life for wild adventures!
If a task isn't done as well as I might do it, oh well. I can't do it all myself, neither do I want to. It's good for everyone to learn all the jobs of the household, eventually, so we rotate. Miles may be in charge of scrubbing the table on Monday, but Avery will do it Tuesday and I'll do it Wednesday. It won't kill us if it's a little crusty once in awhile, and it will eventually get clean, and certainly will get dirtier again, too! Besides, a few germs are good for everyone, right? Builds immune systems and all that....
Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
Morning: Wash, teeth, dress, make beds, empty hamper, sort and start laundry, make breakfast, set table, unload dishwasher, clear table | Morning: Wash, teeth, dress, make beds, empty hamper, sort and start laundry, make breakfast, set table, unload dishwasher, clear table | Morning: Wash, teeth, dress, make beds, empty hamper, sort and start laundry, make breakfast, set table, unload dishwasher, clear table | Morning: Wash, teeth, dress, make beds, empty hamper, sort and start laundry, make breakfast, set table, unload dishwasher, clear table | Morning: Wash, teeth, dress, make beds, empty hamper, sort and start laundry, make breakfast, set table, unload dishwasher, clear table | Morning: Wash, teeth, dress, make beds, empty hamper, sort and start laundry, make breakfast, set table, unload dishwasher, clear table | Morning: Wash, teeth, dress, make beds, empty hamper, sort and start laundry, make breakfast, set table, unload dishwasher, clear table |
Walk: 30 minutes | Walk: 30 minutes | Walk: 30 minutes | Walk: 30 minutes | Walk: 30 minutes | ||
School time: May start supper during break | School time: May start supper during break | School time: May start supper during break | School time: May start supper during break | School time: May start supper during break | church, sunday school, social hour | |
Make & eat lunch | Make & eat lunch | Make & eat lunch | Make & eat lunch | Make & eat lunch | Make & eat lunch | Make & eat lunch |
Story, nap | Story, nap | Story, nap | Story, nap | Story, nap | ||
Quiet activities while little ones sleep: Handwork, reading, other projects | Quiet activities while little ones sleep: Handwork, reading, other projects | Quiet activities while little ones sleep: Handwork, reading, other projects | Quiet activities while little ones sleep: Handwork, reading, other projects | Quiet activities while little ones sleep: Handwork, reading, other projects | ||
Afternoon chore time: General quick pick up, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, table scrub, laundry fold and put away | Afternoon chore time: General quick pick up, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, table scrub, laundry fold and put away | Afternoon chore time: General quick pick up, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, table scrub, laundry fold and put away | Afternoon chore time: General quick pick up, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, table scrub, laundry fold and put away | Afternoon chore time: General quick pick up, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, table scrub, laundry fold and put away | Afternoon chore time: General quick pick up, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, table scrub, laundry fold and put away | Afternoon chore time: General quick pick up, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, table scrub, laundry fold and put away |
Focus Area: Kitchen | Focus Area: Bathrooms | Focus Area: Living/Dining | Focus Area: Bedrooms | Focus Area: Family Room | Focus Area: Yard, recycling | Focus Area: Groceries |
Walk/Play | Walk/Play | Walk/Play | Walk/Play | Walk/Play | ||
Make and eat Supper, set and clear table, dishes | Make and eat Supper, set and clear table, dishes | Make and eat Supper, set and clear table, dishes | Make and eat Supper, set and clear table, dishes | Make and eat Supper, set and clear table, dishes | Make and eat Supper, set and clear table, dishes | Make and eat Supper, set and clear table, dishes |
Bath and story, pjs, teeth, 5 minute pick up | Bath and story, pjs, teeth, 5 minute pick up | Bath and story, pjs, teeth, 5 minute pick up | Bath and story, pjs, teeth, 5 minute pick up | Bath and story, pjs, teeth, 5 minute pick up | Bath and story, pjs, teeth, 5 minute pick up | Bath and story, pjs, teeth, 5 minute pick up |
Boys to bed | Boys to bed | Boys to bed | Boys to bed | Boys to bed | Boys to bed | Boys to bed |
Prep next day, read, relax | Prep next day, read, relax | Prep next day, read, relax | Prep next day, read, relax | Prep next day, read, relax | Prep next day, read, relax | Prep next day, read, relax |
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Week 1: After
Luckily I'm considering these first two weeks our gear-up weeks, or else I would probably be feeling pretty badly about how our week went, school-wise. We were still in summer-mode, mostly, and still working on fruit, still meeting at the park for homeschool playdate, still lazing around. Plus I had two migraines (two! and I've only had ever had migraines when I'm pregnant, which I'm not, so what is that about? threw us all off sides, anyway!). So, there are the excuses, make of them what you will.
Circle is a resounding success. Smart enough for Avery, silly enough for Miles, wholesome enough for me. I think two hymns in a row almost is a little much, but the boys look forward to "Circle Game" as Miles calls it, and even baby Ansel sits in his Bumbo chair in the middle and smiles and coos and laughs.
Stickeen was a good story for oral reading. Short enough to easily finish in a week, exciting and descriptive. We have a good sense of what glaciers are like, and we're suckers for heartwarming stories about dogs. The reading was easy enough that it was fun for Avery, with still the challenge some new words (mostly Alaskan Native words). I had planned on modeling, and making Stickeen figures, but that didn't happen.
Cursive is fine. Well, the amount of time practicing takes right now is good. Shortish sentences for awhile, building up. We've got a copywork/Character lesson book started, with "Honor thy Father and thy Mother." Character Training is going well so far, too. Simple- a story, tied in with the quote or verse for cursive practice that week, talking about the trait, a project.
Grammar is simple and easy with Simply Grammar, but I'm glad I also bought Word Play, though we skipped that this week. Between the two I think there'll be enough variety to be interesting and educational instead of just review. Maybe. I think next year we'll need a more formal, more challenging approach to grammar.
Spelling was simple. I like the system, but the words I chose for him, expecting them to be not-too-hard were way-too-easy. Still, he's never had spelling as a subject before, so I don't want to go too hard. I think we'll do a bunch orally at the beginning of the week, more than 20, so we work through this part of the book at an accelerated pace, without actually skipping anything, until we get 20 challenging words or definitions for the week. The McGuffey Speller is so old fashioned that a lot of the words aren't in common usage any more, so I anticipate a good amount of easy to spell words will end up in the spelling list just because of their novelty, vocabulary-wise.
Latin was barely started. Rather than try to start where we flailed about and stopped last year, I decided to start again fresh this year. I think I'll actually wait til after our vacation, coming up here. I do like Lively Latin, but you do need to work it every day, and we're still a little too summery and every-which-way yet to settle in.
Math Puzzlers. Mathmania is a dud. They're too silly, too babyish. For some reason I always expect Highlights to come through for me, but they always fall short, one way or another. I need to find some good, cheap books of logic puzzles and diagramming puzzles.
Life of Fred is our favorite Math thing so far. So funny and sweet, and it's a clever lesson in English and Math all at once. Short chapters, few questions, lots of humor. He loves it and so do I! He's working through Fractions right now. Actually, this is more read aloud time, because, as it turns out, even though I already know how to deal with fractions, the story is so engaging and sweet we all (even Miles) want to hear what happens next! He finished the first section, but didn't try crossing the bridge yet.
Avery worked on the "twos" for oral math. Review, speed, review, memorize. Over and over.
Calculus by and for Young People is okay. Not so gentle as I thought it would be, it's more of a mouthful than I thought. But good stuff, great to work with on Math Lab day, if we're going to do it together. We worked on the first lesson but didn't finish it- I wasn't anticipating his nerves and didn't set aside enough time to be there with him, paying attention. An older kid or one more comfortable with reading mathematical notation would maybe not be intimidated and have more fun just jumping in, but all those numbers and notations are a little off-putting to Avery right now. I am glad we lucked out and somehow got the actual worktext instead of the CD-Rom set- I have a feeling we'd never get to them if we had to go on the computer and print stuff off.
Man and Animals Main Lesson Block was simple, not muddied with trying to stuff other subjects into the theme. Just pure and calm. I'm really glad I put all that time getting comfortable with the lesson before we started! It would have been a disaster if I weren't comfortable with it. Not one you can fake, I think.
History's great. I really like Joy Hakim's A History of US. Highly recommend it. I imagine we'll use it again, in a few years, when we study US History again. I'll probably buy the middle school lesson books to go with them, then. For fourth grade the reading is not hard, and is interesting and comprehensive enough that I don't feel the need to add in a ton of other historical text reading, so far anyway. We are just sort of skimming along this year. We didn't get to watercolor painting, which I had planned to tie in to the Inuit lesson, but Avery did write a nice paragraph in the US History lesson book, and paste in a map of the Arctic regions.
Science. Dud week. No Nature story, no nature hike, no nature journals. No science lab. Avery did read a lot about cells, and watch a couple short video things online, and do a little activity, we talked about cells. We ran out of time, with screaming babies, before he had a chance to draw a cell in his Anatomy lesson book.
Art. Double dud. We have the Artistic Pursuits Modern Artists book to use this year, but we were so short of time, and he so didn't want to do it, that we just skipped it. He did the first lesson last year, anyway. Does that count? Even Handwork, embroidery, which Avery was asking for everyday this past week, didn't ever quite happen. Ergh!
Form drawing was a success. It was, really for the first time, FUN and not just tolerable for Avery. I didn't belabor a story, but kept that quite simple and open-ended. He took the form along himself, and made lovely work out of it. Pretty cool for a kid who "hates art" right now.
Guitar. A lesson. A few practices, and lots and lots of struggles about practicing. Seems there's always something more pressing, more interesting, more important than practicing. Anybody have any tips about that?
PE. Lots of running and playing, working and climbing around. No lessons yet, no soccer yet. Still summer. Avery did research bicycle safety, and explain some things to me. A Dad in the homeschool community hear was killed last weekend in a mountain biking accident, and while we didn't know him personally we are still touched by the tragedy of the loss for that family, and a little research about bike safety seemed in order.
Circle is a resounding success. Smart enough for Avery, silly enough for Miles, wholesome enough for me. I think two hymns in a row almost is a little much, but the boys look forward to "Circle Game" as Miles calls it, and even baby Ansel sits in his Bumbo chair in the middle and smiles and coos and laughs.
Stickeen was a good story for oral reading. Short enough to easily finish in a week, exciting and descriptive. We have a good sense of what glaciers are like, and we're suckers for heartwarming stories about dogs. The reading was easy enough that it was fun for Avery, with still the challenge some new words (mostly Alaskan Native words). I had planned on modeling, and making Stickeen figures, but that didn't happen.
Cursive is fine. Well, the amount of time practicing takes right now is good. Shortish sentences for awhile, building up. We've got a copywork/Character lesson book started, with "Honor thy Father and thy Mother." Character Training is going well so far, too. Simple- a story, tied in with the quote or verse for cursive practice that week, talking about the trait, a project.
Grammar is simple and easy with Simply Grammar, but I'm glad I also bought Word Play, though we skipped that this week. Between the two I think there'll be enough variety to be interesting and educational instead of just review. Maybe. I think next year we'll need a more formal, more challenging approach to grammar.
Spelling was simple. I like the system, but the words I chose for him, expecting them to be not-too-hard were way-too-easy. Still, he's never had spelling as a subject before, so I don't want to go too hard. I think we'll do a bunch orally at the beginning of the week, more than 20, so we work through this part of the book at an accelerated pace, without actually skipping anything, until we get 20 challenging words or definitions for the week. The McGuffey Speller is so old fashioned that a lot of the words aren't in common usage any more, so I anticipate a good amount of easy to spell words will end up in the spelling list just because of their novelty, vocabulary-wise.
Latin was barely started. Rather than try to start where we flailed about and stopped last year, I decided to start again fresh this year. I think I'll actually wait til after our vacation, coming up here. I do like Lively Latin, but you do need to work it every day, and we're still a little too summery and every-which-way yet to settle in.
Math Puzzlers. Mathmania is a dud. They're too silly, too babyish. For some reason I always expect Highlights to come through for me, but they always fall short, one way or another. I need to find some good, cheap books of logic puzzles and diagramming puzzles.
Life of Fred is our favorite Math thing so far. So funny and sweet, and it's a clever lesson in English and Math all at once. Short chapters, few questions, lots of humor. He loves it and so do I! He's working through Fractions right now. Actually, this is more read aloud time, because, as it turns out, even though I already know how to deal with fractions, the story is so engaging and sweet we all (even Miles) want to hear what happens next! He finished the first section, but didn't try crossing the bridge yet.
Avery worked on the "twos" for oral math. Review, speed, review, memorize. Over and over.
Calculus by and for Young People is okay. Not so gentle as I thought it would be, it's more of a mouthful than I thought. But good stuff, great to work with on Math Lab day, if we're going to do it together. We worked on the first lesson but didn't finish it- I wasn't anticipating his nerves and didn't set aside enough time to be there with him, paying attention. An older kid or one more comfortable with reading mathematical notation would maybe not be intimidated and have more fun just jumping in, but all those numbers and notations are a little off-putting to Avery right now. I am glad we lucked out and somehow got the actual worktext instead of the CD-Rom set- I have a feeling we'd never get to them if we had to go on the computer and print stuff off.
Man and Animals Main Lesson Block was simple, not muddied with trying to stuff other subjects into the theme. Just pure and calm. I'm really glad I put all that time getting comfortable with the lesson before we started! It would have been a disaster if I weren't comfortable with it. Not one you can fake, I think.
History's great. I really like Joy Hakim's A History of US. Highly recommend it. I imagine we'll use it again, in a few years, when we study US History again. I'll probably buy the middle school lesson books to go with them, then. For fourth grade the reading is not hard, and is interesting and comprehensive enough that I don't feel the need to add in a ton of other historical text reading, so far anyway. We are just sort of skimming along this year. We didn't get to watercolor painting, which I had planned to tie in to the Inuit lesson, but Avery did write a nice paragraph in the US History lesson book, and paste in a map of the Arctic regions.
Science. Dud week. No Nature story, no nature hike, no nature journals. No science lab. Avery did read a lot about cells, and watch a couple short video things online, and do a little activity, we talked about cells. We ran out of time, with screaming babies, before he had a chance to draw a cell in his Anatomy lesson book.
Art. Double dud. We have the Artistic Pursuits Modern Artists book to use this year, but we were so short of time, and he so didn't want to do it, that we just skipped it. He did the first lesson last year, anyway. Does that count? Even Handwork, embroidery, which Avery was asking for everyday this past week, didn't ever quite happen. Ergh!
Form drawing was a success. It was, really for the first time, FUN and not just tolerable for Avery. I didn't belabor a story, but kept that quite simple and open-ended. He took the form along himself, and made lovely work out of it. Pretty cool for a kid who "hates art" right now.
Guitar. A lesson. A few practices, and lots and lots of struggles about practicing. Seems there's always something more pressing, more interesting, more important than practicing. Anybody have any tips about that?
PE. Lots of running and playing, working and climbing around. No lessons yet, no soccer yet. Still summer. Avery did research bicycle safety, and explain some things to me. A Dad in the homeschool community hear was killed last weekend in a mountain biking accident, and while we didn't know him personally we are still touched by the tragedy of the loss for that family, and a little research about bike safety seemed in order.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Form Drawing 4.1
Here is our first form of the fourth year.Avery has resisted writing, form drawing, especially the symmetrical and crossing-line forms. With this in mind I started this year easy, with a very simple image of a traveler, a wanderer, a hunter, walking to the north, east, west, south, coming up behind his prey, circling, continuing on. This simple story fits well with the rest of our work- we are studying US History this year, starting this week with Beringia the land-bridge, and the Inuit.
He liked it, and actually spent a long time working on it, getting it right on the chalkboard, then in his lesson book, even adding smaller and bigger versions of the hunter's path, in different colors, overlapping, and coloring it all in. It looks great, and most important, he was proud of his work and happy with the result.
Resounding success!
Construction 5: Ready for Play!
It was determined that bracing on the long sides was needed. Much better, now! The rope ladder from the tree was moved to the fort, though it is less than satisfactory. The contractor is now thinking that creating a permanent ladder on the end would be best, with a thick knotted rope to climb at the trap-door entrance.I thought this might be the sort of project that would be completed at some point. I see now that I was quite wrong. Apparently the beauty of building a rather simple, open-ended play structure in your own backyard is that construction is not meant to ever be entirely done. There are infinite improvements, additions, re-builds, and de-structions to ponder and pursue.
Ah, well... as long as I don't lose my laundry-line hook, it's all good with me!
Monday, August 24, 2009
Spelling
The adapted plan for spelling, thanks to Marsha Johnson at waldorf home educators yahoo group:
Monday- I will present the words, one at a time, and let Avery try to orally spell them. We will also define words, looking in the dictionary for words we don't know.
Tuesday- He will write out each word 3 times
Wednesday- Quiz 1- write any misspelled words 3 times
Thursday- Quiz 2 (previously misspelled words)- write any misspelled words 3 times
Friday- Quiz 3 (previously misspelled words)
The spelling list for each week with definitions will go in a notebook, and old spelling words will pop up in quizzes here and there.
We will be using McGuffey's Eclectic Speller, with some words from our reading added in.
Monday- I will present the words, one at a time, and let Avery try to orally spell them. We will also define words, looking in the dictionary for words we don't know.
Tuesday- He will write out each word 3 times
Wednesday- Quiz 1- write any misspelled words 3 times
Thursday- Quiz 2 (previously misspelled words)- write any misspelled words 3 times
Friday- Quiz 3 (previously misspelled words)
The spelling list for each week with definitions will go in a notebook, and old spelling words will pop up in quizzes here and there.
We will be using McGuffey's Eclectic Speller, with some words from our reading added in.
Weekly Schedule Template 4th Grade
I'm still having problems with formatting, but here's the blank template for our school days. In real life this is a full size sheet of paper, with space to write pages or tasks. This is the first year I'm not scheduling everything into 15 minute increments- I'm trying to be a little more mellow, and I plan to let Avery choose the order of at least some of his work.
My plan is to stack the books and supplies that each boy will need in their own baskets each night, so that in the morning we can just smoothly proceed without anyone having to run downstairs to find a book and end up getting lost somewhere on the way back up. Miles will have a basket too, with stories, craft supplies, games, his own projects to work on during school time.
Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
PUZZLER | PUZZLER | PUZZLER | PUZZLER | PUZZLER |
ORAL READING | ORAL READING | ORAL READING | ORAL READING | ORAL READING |
ORAL MATH | ORAL MATH | ORAL MATH | ORAL MATH | ORAL MATH |
SPELLING | SPELLING | SPELLING | SPELLING | SPELLING |
LIVELY LATIN | LIVELY LATIN | LIVELY LATIN | LIVELY LATIN | LIVELY LATIN |
CURSIVE PRACTICE | CURSIVE PRACTICE | CURSIVE PRACTICE | CURSIVE PRACTICE | COPYWORK |
GUITAR | GUITAR | GUITAR | GUITAR | GUITAR |
MATH LAB | MATH LESSON | MATH LESSON | MATH LESSON | MATH LESSON |
NATURE STORY & WALK | MAIN LESSON | MAIN LESSON | MAIN LESSON | ARTISTIC PURSUITS |
NATURE JOURNAL | ANATOMY | LAB SCIENCE | ||
GRAMMAR | GEOGRAPHY | CHARACTER STUDY | GEOGRAPHY | GRAMMAR |
WRITING | WRITING | WRITING | WRITING | WRITING |
FORM DRAWING | WATERCOLOR | HANDWORK | MODELING | HANDWORK |
PHYSICAL EDUCATION | PHYSICAL EDUCATION | PHYSICAL EDUCATION | PHYSICAL EDUCATION | PHYSICAL EDUCATION |
UNITED STATES HISTORY | UNITED STATES HISTORY | UNITED STATES HISTORY | UNITED STATES HISTORY | UNITED STATES HISTORY |
Geography
Geography has always just been something I've integrated into our day- we have maps on the walls, a globe or three and atlases, we go on hikes and use compasses, we plot our trips, we've made maps of our street and looked up places we've heard and read about. We've made land and water forms out of play dough, we've climbed mountains and surveyed the land from on high.
But....
I've been feeling a need for a little more.
Next year we'll start with ancient civilizations, and I plan on working through historical maps of the world and the regions we study, but this year calls for an over view, something fun and light, some review of basic knowledge, and some interesting ways to use that knowledge.
So:
We will, of course, be locating the areas we learn about on the map. And we're going all over this year- First Peoples of North America, Vikings, Marco Polo, the New World Explorers, Manifest Destiny.
I also bought this cool book "Earthsearch" and Avery will work through that- it's a Klutz book, so it'll be fun and not too serious, but there's some good stuff in there about garbage and population, resource allotment, exploration, and the interconnectedness of humanity.
Here's the 36 week plan, with fingers sort of crossed that Avery really likes this book and goes ahead of schedule, stopping here and there to try out the suggested activities and games and make up his own:
1-2: review oceans and continents
review compass & map skills, plot journey, lead group hike
3: Earthsearch intro- page 6
4: 7-12 Lives of a Pop Can
5: 13-14 Garbage- make a chart with pictures of what is recyclable here, how long things take to break down, etc.
6: 15-21 Paper- set up a paper reduce-reuse-recycle program for our home
7: 22-23 Germs
8: 24-26 enlist others in creating a "dot map" of our own to study germ movements
9: 27-30 "lines" on the globe
10: 33-37 play "Get Lost" game
11: 38-41 make a tennis ball earth (round-flat distortion)
12: 43-46 make contour map of hand
13: 47-50 inclinometer
14: 51-54 earth's axis
15: 56-58 how did the earth get started?
16: 59-61 solar system model- outside
17: 62-64 earth's shell
18-19: review land & water forms
20: 65-67 earthquakes
21: 68-71 land formation
22: 72-75 land formation
23: 76 arable land-apple model
24: 77-79 human evolution
25: 80-83 population growth
26: 84-85 counting millions
27: 86-87 calorie allotment
28: 88-89 group game- m&ms/wealth/food
29: 90-92 skin color
30: 93-95 shared air
31: 96-97 we're all related
32: 98-99 ocean currents
33: 100-101 world market
34: 102-103 Geobear activity- come up with something similar
35-36: review basic themes, terminologies, facts
But....
I've been feeling a need for a little more.
Next year we'll start with ancient civilizations, and I plan on working through historical maps of the world and the regions we study, but this year calls for an over view, something fun and light, some review of basic knowledge, and some interesting ways to use that knowledge.
So:
We will, of course, be locating the areas we learn about on the map. And we're going all over this year- First Peoples of North America, Vikings, Marco Polo, the New World Explorers, Manifest Destiny.
I also bought this cool book "Earthsearch" and Avery will work through that- it's a Klutz book, so it'll be fun and not too serious, but there's some good stuff in there about garbage and population, resource allotment, exploration, and the interconnectedness of humanity.
Here's the 36 week plan, with fingers sort of crossed that Avery really likes this book and goes ahead of schedule, stopping here and there to try out the suggested activities and games and make up his own:
1-2: review oceans and continents
review compass & map skills, plot journey, lead group hike
3: Earthsearch intro- page 6
4: 7-12 Lives of a Pop Can
5: 13-14 Garbage- make a chart with pictures of what is recyclable here, how long things take to break down, etc.
6: 15-21 Paper- set up a paper reduce-reuse-recycle program for our home
7: 22-23 Germs
8: 24-26 enlist others in creating a "dot map" of our own to study germ movements
9: 27-30 "lines" on the globe
10: 33-37 play "Get Lost" game
11: 38-41 make a tennis ball earth (round-flat distortion)
12: 43-46 make contour map of hand
13: 47-50 inclinometer
14: 51-54 earth's axis
15: 56-58 how did the earth get started?
16: 59-61 solar system model- outside
17: 62-64 earth's shell
18-19: review land & water forms
20: 65-67 earthquakes
21: 68-71 land formation
22: 72-75 land formation
23: 76 arable land-apple model
24: 77-79 human evolution
25: 80-83 population growth
26: 84-85 counting millions
27: 86-87 calorie allotment
28: 88-89 group game- m&ms/wealth/food
29: 90-92 skin color
30: 93-95 shared air
31: 96-97 we're all related
32: 98-99 ocean currents
33: 100-101 world market
34: 102-103 Geobear activity- come up with something similar
35-36: review basic themes, terminologies, facts
Monday, August 17, 2009
The Norse Mythology Blocks
BLOCK 1
To prepare for future lessons: carve apples into faces (one with only one eye), set aside to dry and wrinkle up.
Week 1
1.1 The First Gods and Goddesses; The Creation of the World p 9-20 The Creation of Man p 26-30 Carve, tie, glue, and otherwise create the first man and first woman out of branches, twigs, leaves.
1.2 Yggdrasil, the World Tree p 31-35 make a weaving of the strands of life, with an old embroidery hoop, several grey threads, some brightly colored ones, and one shining gold thread, with a cutout of watercolor painted tree of life woven into the center
1.3 make the runes with sticks, then woodburn them into a wooden plaque, and write them in the lesson book
Week 2
2.1 Asgard and the Aesir Gods; Odin the All-Father p 36-39 Start creating a "family album" of the Gods and Goddesses, with a drawing, name in runes, intricate border-frames, a sentence or two about each one, maybe symbols of their natures; make a model of Asgard with silver and gold buildings
2.2 Thor the Thundergod p 40 A page about types of lightning might be nice.
2.3 Loki the God of the Jotun race; Sif's Golden Hair; Loki's Brood p 42-53 Create a moving picture of Loki, with flames, and his different appearances dancing out of the flames.
Week 3
3.1 Balder the God of Light; Heimdall the Watchman of Asgard p 54-57 Try making trumpets out of different recycled materials- plastic, tubing, cardboard. Which would be the best watchman's trumpet?
3.2 Njord, Frey and Freya p 58-63 Decorate Njord's portrait with wind, sails; Frey's with a golden boat and golden grains; Freya's with hearts and golden tears.
3.3 Bragi God of Poetry; Odin's Eight legged Steed p 64-71 Build a stone wall around the model of Asgard.
Week 4
4.1 The Valkyries and Valhalla p 72-79 Make a supper of pork, honey soda, potatoes, have a sword fight.
4.2 Frigg and the Goddesses p 80-83 Look on the map to find Copenhagen.
4.3 Freya's Wonderful Necklace p 84-86 Make a necklace for one of the Grandmas with red jewels (garnet?) and gold teardrops.
BLOCK 2
Plant wheat berries in soil, cover with ice cubes, and put away. Water when Children are not in sight. Also make a papier mache hammer like Thor's to decorate later.
Week 1
1.1 Idunn's Apples of Youth p 87-90 Make baked apples or apple dumplings, decorate the previously dried carved apples as the Gods.
1.2 Skade the Ski-Goddess p 91-95 Buy & eat ski-queen cheese, make a "moving picture" of Skade skiiing, with the aurora borealis, animals, etc..
1.3 Frey and Gerd the Jotun Maiden p 96-99 Bring out the wheat-grass planted a week ago. Decorate with figures of Frey and Gerd.
Week 2
2.1 The theft of Thor's Hammer; Thor and the Jotun Geirrod p 100-107 Decorate Thor's hammer; think of the three magic things that helped him with the Jotun Geirrod- if you could have any three magic things to help you on a perilous journey, what would you choose?
2.2 Thor and the Jotun Utgardsloki p 108-116 Copy in lesson book " No man can eat as much as wild fire, run so fast as a single thought, nor beat old age."
2.3 Thor and the Jotun Rungnir; Thor and the Jotun Aegir p 117-127 Make a water globe from a little jar, with a tiny boat, gold glitter and beads, maybe little fish.
Week 3
3.1 The Death of Balder p 128-136 Make a gold paper boat, set it afloat and afire.
3.2 Loki's Punishment;Ragnarokk the Destiny of the Gods p 137-150 Macrame a small fish net. Paint a page of the lesson book black or grey, with a muted green field, and write "Ax-time, sword-time, ere the world fall; wind-time, wolf-time! Do you know more now or not?"
3.3 A New World p 151-154 Create a diorama of the first man and woman, of the new world.
D'Aulaire's Book of Norse Myths for story and image inspiration
In the Days of Giants for interpretations of the stories
Children of Odin for interpretations of the stories
Sunday, August 16, 2009
October Circle
Merrily, merrily greet the morn, cheerily, cheerily sound the horn, hark the echoes, hear them play, o'er the hills and far away.
(light the candle) Rise up o flame, by thy light glowing, bring to us beauty, vision, and joy.
There's the firm earth under me, The blue sky above me, So I stride, So I stand, And I see you too, With the blue sky above you, And the firm earth below you.
I'm in the mood for singing, hey how about you? I'm in the mood for singing, singing along with you. Hey, hey, what do you say? I'm in the mood for that today! Hey, hey, what do you say? I'm in the mood for that! (clapping, stomping, jumping....) -Raffi
The world is full of colour!/ 'Tis Autumn once again/ And leaves of gold and crimson/ Are lying in the lane. (Week 1)
There are brown and yellow acorns/ Berries and scarlet haws/ Amber gorse and heather/ Purple across the moors! (Week 2)
Green apples in the orchard/ Flushed by a glowing sun;/ Mellow pears and brambles/ Where coloured pheasants run! (Week 3)
Yellow, blue and orange,/ Russet, rose and red-/A gaily-coloured pageant-/An Autumn Flower bed. (Week 4)
Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness/Sowing in the noontide and the dewy eve
Waiting for the harvest and the time of reaping/ We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.
Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves/We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.
Sowing in the sunshine, sowing in the shadows/ Fearing neither clouds nor winter's chilling breeze
By and by the harvest and the labor ended/ We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.
Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves/We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.
Uncover a pile of bean bag "potatoes" and fill the basket with our "harvest" tossing one by one to each other then into the basket.
Whether the weather be fine, or whether the weather be not,
Dump a little basket of acorns, chestnuts, walnuts (all previously gathered from the neighborhood) and lets pick them all up with our toes, quick, quick and lively!
Something told the wild geese/ It was time to go./ Though the fields lay golden/ Something whispered "snow"./ Leaves were green and stirring/ Berries, luster-glossed/ But beneath warm feathers/ Something whispered "frost"./ All the sagging orchards/ Steamed with amber spices/ but each wild breast stiffened/ With remembered ice./Something told the wild geese/ It was time to fly-/ Summer sun was on their wings/ Winter in their cry. -Rachel Field
The lone wild bird in lofty flight/Is still with thee nor leaves thy sight
And I am thine, I rest in thee/ Holy spirit come rest in me.
The ends of the earth are in thy hands/ The sea's dark deep and no man's land,
And I am thine, I rest in thee/ Holy spirit come rest in me.
(Jumping over a still jumprope) The sea is calm, the morn is too. We sail today, for world anew.
(Jumping over a fast rope) The sea is wild, our ship is tossed. The skies are dark, all hope is lost!
(Jumping calm) The storm is gone, as is the night. Our ship sails on, Land is in sight!
Tho my sails be torn and tattered and the mast be turned about
Let the night wind chill me to my very soul
Tho the spray might sting my eyes and the stars no light provide
Give me just another morning light to hold.
And I will not lie me down this rain a-raging
I will not lie me down in such a storm
And if this night be unblessed I shall not take my rest
Til I reach another shore.
Tho the only water left is but salt to wound my thirst
I will drink the rain that falls so steady down
And tho night's blindness be my gift and there be thieves upon my drift
I will praise this fog that shelters me along.
And I will not lie me down....
And tho my mates be drained and weary and believe their hopes are lost
There's no need for their bones on that blackened bottom
And tho death waits just off the bow, they shall not answer to him now
He shall stand to face the morning without us. -Rod McDonald
Brave and true I will be, Each good deed sets me free. I will strive for the right, I will conquer the wrong. I will speak only truth, I will stand tall and bold. I will take another's hand, my heart will shine like gold.
I can turn myself and turn myself, and curl up as I will. I can stand on tiptoe, reaching high, I can hold myself quite still. I can be as small as a small, small seed, I can be as tall as a tall, tall tree. I can be as wide as the wide, wide world, I can just be me!
(light the candle) Rise up o flame, by thy light glowing, bring to us beauty, vision, and joy.
There's the firm earth under me, The blue sky above me, So I stride, So I stand, And I see you too, With the blue sky above you, And the firm earth below you.
I'm in the mood for singing, hey how about you? I'm in the mood for singing, singing along with you. Hey, hey, what do you say? I'm in the mood for that today! Hey, hey, what do you say? I'm in the mood for that! (clapping, stomping, jumping....) -Raffi
The world is full of colour!/ 'Tis Autumn once again/ And leaves of gold and crimson/ Are lying in the lane. (Week 1)
There are brown and yellow acorns/ Berries and scarlet haws/ Amber gorse and heather/ Purple across the moors! (Week 2)
Green apples in the orchard/ Flushed by a glowing sun;/ Mellow pears and brambles/ Where coloured pheasants run! (Week 3)
Yellow, blue and orange,/ Russet, rose and red-/A gaily-coloured pageant-/An Autumn Flower bed. (Week 4)
Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness/Sowing in the noontide and the dewy eve
Waiting for the harvest and the time of reaping/ We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.
Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves/We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.
Sowing in the sunshine, sowing in the shadows/ Fearing neither clouds nor winter's chilling breeze
By and by the harvest and the labor ended/ We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.
Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves/We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.
Uncover a pile of bean bag "potatoes" and fill the basket with our "harvest" tossing one by one to each other then into the basket.
Whether the weather be fine, or whether the weather be not,
Whether the weather be cold, or whether the weather be hot,
We'll weather the weather, whatever the weather, whether we like it or not!
Dump a little basket of acorns, chestnuts, walnuts (all previously gathered from the neighborhood) and lets pick them all up with our toes, quick, quick and lively!
Something told the wild geese/ It was time to go./ Though the fields lay golden/ Something whispered "snow"./ Leaves were green and stirring/ Berries, luster-glossed/ But beneath warm feathers/ Something whispered "frost"./ All the sagging orchards/ Steamed with amber spices/ but each wild breast stiffened/ With remembered ice./Something told the wild geese/ It was time to fly-/ Summer sun was on their wings/ Winter in their cry. -Rachel Field
The lone wild bird in lofty flight/Is still with thee nor leaves thy sight
And I am thine, I rest in thee/ Holy spirit come rest in me.
The ends of the earth are in thy hands/ The sea's dark deep and no man's land,
And I am thine, I rest in thee/ Holy spirit come rest in me.
(Jumping over a still jumprope) The sea is calm, the morn is too. We sail today, for world anew.
(Jumping over a fast rope) The sea is wild, our ship is tossed. The skies are dark, all hope is lost!
(Jumping calm) The storm is gone, as is the night. Our ship sails on, Land is in sight!
Tho my sails be torn and tattered and the mast be turned about
Let the night wind chill me to my very soul
Tho the spray might sting my eyes and the stars no light provide
Give me just another morning light to hold.
And I will not lie me down this rain a-raging
I will not lie me down in such a storm
And if this night be unblessed I shall not take my rest
Til I reach another shore.
Tho the only water left is but salt to wound my thirst
I will drink the rain that falls so steady down
And tho night's blindness be my gift and there be thieves upon my drift
I will praise this fog that shelters me along.
And I will not lie me down....
And tho my mates be drained and weary and believe their hopes are lost
There's no need for their bones on that blackened bottom
And tho death waits just off the bow, they shall not answer to him now
He shall stand to face the morning without us. -Rod McDonald
Brave and true I will be, Each good deed sets me free. I will strive for the right, I will conquer the wrong. I will speak only truth, I will stand tall and bold. I will take another's hand, my heart will shine like gold.
I can turn myself and turn myself, and curl up as I will. I can stand on tiptoe, reaching high, I can hold myself quite still. I can be as small as a small, small seed, I can be as tall as a tall, tall tree. I can be as wide as the wide, wide world, I can just be me!
Holidays::Martinmas
The holiday celebrating St. Martin of Tours falls on November 11 each year.
There's a story of St. Martin, who, as a Roman soldier, stopped to take pity on an old (some say drunken) beggar, cut his warm red woolen cloak in half, and gave half to the poor man. He had a vision the next day of Christ, wearing the red wool wrapped around him, and when Martin asked where he'd gotten the cloak, Jesus asked if he didn't remember giving it to him the previous day, for "Whatever you did for the least among my brothers you also did for me."
On this day we remember St. Martin by retelling his story and gathering coats and other warm things we no longer need to donate to the homeless mission and the domestic violence shelter.
In some places in Europe children carry lanterns and sing songs as the go door to door begging treats. Last year we made lovely papier mache lanterns with tissue paper, to use on our own version of those walks, though we planned to GIVE treats to our neighbors, rather than beg for them, since this seemed more in line with the sentiment of the saint himself, and more practical, since we live here, not Europe, and no one would be expecting to have little beggars with lanterns on their doorstep! But I think we all had colds and couldn't brave the temperatures near zero that night. We'll also resurrect our red felt cape with velcro down the center, for reenacting the famous cape-cutting.
We'll try again this year. My plan is make little loaves of bread, or little cakes, with the boys, and wrap them in bits of red flannel, (with copies of the story maybe?), and deliver them to our neighbors as we take a lantern lit walk.
We'll have a supper of navy bean soup, bread, sausages. I read an idea somewhere, to split rolls in half, and have everyone give half their food to the person sitting next to them. That seems sweet, and simple. Just what I like!
I think our little nature table will sport a red cloth cover, and a mini tissue lantern, a picture of St. Martin and the bible quote, written in gold on watercolored paper. A simple vase with a bare branch, decorated with tiny gold stars hanging, maybe? A little basket with those red flannel cloths waiting to wrap the loaves on Martinmas.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Holidays::Michaelmas
Michaelmas is the first Saint's festival we celebrate after school starts. It comes September 29th, after the Autumn Equinox, and just as the weather is on the verge of turning bitter and cold.
Archangel Michael fought against Satan, and was victorious, and cast the "dragon" out. The Irish say the devil landed in a blackberry patch, and blackberries shouldn't be eaten after this date! Most pictures of St. Michael show him with a spear and the dragon under foot, some, of course, are gorier than others. Sometimes he is holding a balance, weighing good and evil. Sometimes he is holding a globe, for he is the protector of Israel and the New World.
We celebrate St.Michael as a symbol of good prevailing over evil, of new beginnings, of faith and trust in the goodness of the world.
We have in the past added this holiday into our family life in a pretty simple way- blackberries for dessert, reading our story of St. Michael and the dragon. It always comes so fast, just as we're getting into the swing of a new school year's routine, and I am always caught unprepared for any really thoughtful celebration.
This year I will be prepared. On the 21st of September we will prepare our Michaelmas table- an autumn table, with a picture of St. Michael, a dragon of some kind, our lovely wooden scale, with some dark, "evil" stones in one side, a dish of jewels to choose from as the children add one each day, til "good" overcomes "evil". Also a branch or two with some pressed leaves hanging, a little vase of Michaelmas Daisies (asters) from our garden, our school candle, a neatly printed poem or verse on watercolor paper.
On the 29th we will read our St.Michael story, and as much fun as it would be to cook a goose, as the tradition suggests, I just don't know if that will really happen. We'll see. I'm hoping- it seems like roast goose with apples, carrots on the side, would be perfect. After all "He who eats goose on Michaelmas Day shan't money lack nor have debts to pay"! We will make a dragon out of bread dough, and have blackberry pie for dessert. Because, um, vanquishing the devil is as good a reason as I can think of to eat blackberries. Thank you St.Michael!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Fourth Grade Schedule Week 1
In preparation- read together pgs 9-23 of A History of US Book 1
MONDAY 8/31
walk, circle
cursive practice "Honor thy Father and thy Mother" tracing 3 times
reading aloud The Story of Stickeen by John Muir
reading silently w/narration A History of US Book 1 Pages 24-28
writing strands 3 Lesson 1
math lab Calculus by and for Young People Lesson 1, Life of Fred Fractions Chapter 6
math puzzler Mathmania selection
oral math 10 minutes
nature science
Outdoor Hour Challenge #4 "seedpods"; hike Cowiche Canyon; gather sage & make bundles to burn later)
US history choose characters, dates (Inuit) to add to timeline, Smithsonian Education lesson 1
form drawing similar to this
geography review continents and oceans
guitar practice 30 minutes
PE Skills bike safety
Lively Latin Lesson 1
spelling present 20 + words to work out orally
TUESDAY 9/1
walk, circle
reading aloud The Story of Stickeen
main lesson Man and Animal 1.1
cursive practice "Honor thy Father and thy Mother" tracing two times, writing once
reading silently w/narration
writing strands 3 Lesson 1
math puzzler Mathmania
oral math 10 minutes
math practice Life of Fred Fractions Chapter 7, Key Curriculum Measurement Book 3
US History Smithsonian Education Inuit Lesson 2, timeline
grammar Simply Grammar Lesson 1
guitar practice 30 minutes
homeschool gymnastics 1 hour + 3 mile walk
handwork start embroidery- simple stitches
watercolor painting aurora borealis
Lively Latin Lesson 1
spelling write words 3 times each
WEDNESDAY 9/2
walk, circle
reading aloud The Story of Stickeen
main lesson Man and Animal 1.2
reading silently w/narration
cursive practice "Honor thy Father and thy Mother" tracing once, writing twice
writing strands 3 Lesson 1
math puzzler Mathmania
math practice Life of Fred Fractions Chapter 8, Key Curriculum any book 1
Anatomy Lesson 1
US History Smithsonian Education Inuit Lesson 3, timeline
geography locate Arctic regions, mark map with regions from readings
guitar practice 30 minutes
Character Study RESPECT First People respect story, talk about respect, activity 1
modeling Stickeen the dog and John Muir
Lively Latin Lesson 1
spelling test, practice writing incorrect words 3 times each
THURSDAY 9/3
walk, circle
reading aloud The Story of Stickeen
main lesson Man and Animal 1.3
cursive practice "Honor thy Father and thy Mother" writing three times
reading silently w/narration
writing strands 3 Lesson 1
math puzzler Mathmania
math practice Life of Fred Fractions Chapter 9, Key Curriculum any book 1
oral math 10 minutes
US History Museum of Man Inuit Lesson Geography and Ecology, timeline
grammar Word Play pg 6 "Humorous Modifications"
guitar lesson
PE Skills bicycle skills
handwork embroidery stitches
Lively Latin Lesson 1
spelling test of words incorrect yesterday, practice writing incorrect words 3 times each
FRIDAY 9/4
walk, circle
copy work "Honor thy Father and thy Mother" with illustration
reading aloud The Story of Stickeen
reading silently w/narration history reading- Inuit
pen pal letter or journal writing
math puzzler
math practice Life of Fred Fractions Chapter 10, Key Curriculum any book 1
oral math 10 minutes
lab science The Milestones of Science kit
US History write paragraph about Inuit, draw picture in main lesson book
art appreciation and technique Artistic Pursuits Lesson 1
swimming 2 hours
Lively Latin Lesson 1
spelling test of words incorrect yesterday, practice writing incorrect words 3 times each
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