Homeschool Agenda 2008/9

Where to start?

Adventures in My Father's World is, what I guess would be called, our main curriculum. This is our 4th year homeschooling and I've finally found what I want to stick with. Whew!

I decided to use Exploring Creation with Zoology 1 as our science curriculum. I've always wanted to do it, and really this year was perfect to start. We will have all of the Zoology books completed and then MFW adds Astronomy and Botany.

We are using three, yes 3, Latin programs this year. We've already started Minimus and Song School Latin. Day1 is our Song School lesson with review of Minimus. Days 2-5 are new Minimus material and review of SSL. I'm planning to have them work one Latin's Not So Tough: Level 1 workbook page per day. We'll slow down if needed.

For Math *B* is using/loving Math for Christian Schools 3 by Bob Jones University Press. I hope this works for her, we've had such a hard time with math. *C* is just starting Horizons Math. I'm having him work through the 2nd first grade book. More than likely, he will start the 2nd grade books in mid October or November.

One lesson of Art Adventures at Home per week.

Language Arts has had lots of changes over the last 4 weeks. *B* and *C* are using Hillside Education's version of Primary Language Lessons. (You can download the PDF answer key for free.) Right now they are on the same lesson. I plan to keep it like that unless one of them needs to slow down. I'm trying to use a more Beechick approach to LA this year. Along with PLL, they will have copywork Monday - Thursday and on Friday dictation. I will correct spelling and grammar as needed, but there will be no formal instruction in either. Except for what is included in PLL, of course.

Kindergarten for *T* started out with My Father's World. It's just not working for us, so I bought Reading Reflex. He's also doing Horizons Math K. We will also add activities from Kindergarten at Home by VM Hillyer.

I don't have a plan for *L*. In a perfect world, he'd be a genius doing K along with his brother! :)

All About Me

Homeschool Memoirs, what a neat idea!



I attended the same public school system from Kindergarten to Graduation. I loved going to school. I guess you would classify me as a Sociable Sue.

In February 1998, I started going to the church where I met my husband. He started in November of that year. After nine months of church together and only six weeks of dating, we were married!

I don't remember exactly how or when we decided to homeschool. I do believe that God has meant for parents to teach their own children. (Although there is nothing wrong with utilizing the school system, if one so desires.)

So, there's a little bit about us... short and hopefully sweet.

Adventures in MFW ~ weeks 9 & 10

I'm sort of combining weeks 9 and 10. Can't give you a good reason, it just happened like that.

We read Meet George Washington up through the Declaration of Independence. I've skipped Exploring American History again. Instead, I think, we're going to use A Child's Story of America also by Christian Liberty Press. I'm still undecided though.

On Monday we listened to "Yankee Doodle". I've learned a few things this week!

Yankee Doodle went to town,

A-Riding on a pony;

He stuck a feather in his hat,

And called it macaroni.

I always wondered why he would think that his hat was pasta. Do you know what macaroni is?

A macaroni, in mid-18th-century England, was a fashionable fellow who dressed and even spoke in an outlandishly affected and epicene manner. ~ Copied and pasted from Wikipedia.

The song “Yankee Doodle”, from the time of the American Revolutionary War, mentions a man who "stuck a feather in his hat and called it macaroni," the joke being that the Yankees were naive enough to believe that a feather in the hat was a sufficient mark of a macaroni. Whether or not these were alternative lyrics sung in the British army, they were enthusiastically taken up by the yankees themselves. ~ Copied and pasted from Wikipedia.

Fath'r and I went down to camp,

Along with Cap'n Goodin',

And there we saw the men and boys

As thick as hasty puddin'.

Do you know how thick hasty pudding gets? Do you even know what it is? I DO! I DO!



Did they like it?



We've also made some important discoveries this week:

*C* is MUCH better suited for Horizons Math. I started him in grade 1, book 2. He absolutely LOVES IT!! I'm so happy. He catches on to math so quickly, I really don't need to teach him at all!

*B* will not continue with LLATL, we will keep using PLL. It works wonderfully!

And, I hate to say it, but My Father's World Kindergarten is just not working for us. I bought Reading Reflex and we will begin that on Monday. I'm really, really excited! It's an awesome book. The methods are so common sense! Oh, and *T* is using Horizons Math K.

Last, but not least... We finished Sarah Whitcher's Story. I got choked up a few times (I don't usually pre-read) and knew that I had to read the end before the kids. It's a good thing I did! I was bawling my eyes out. And I STILL cried a little when reading it aloud!!

Our 9th Anniversary

If you click on the photo it should be big enough to read.

Unplugged the TV last night...

This is seriously a big deal! My husband grew up with the TV on 24/7.

Hebrews 12:1-2 says,

"...Let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us, 

... keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith..."

We decided that the only way to see the effect that TV had on us, was to totally eliminate it from our lives. So the TV has been unplugged and will remain that way until we get home from church next Sunday.

I'll let you know how it goes!

We finally did art...

and that's about all we did this week.

In order of appearance: *B* ~ *T* ~ *C*


We are using Art Adventures at Home. We did Lesson 1, Year A and discussed how shapes are made up of lines.

I had my own art project for the week.



We only had 2 days of actual "school" this week, so a little math, language arts, and history were done also.

And I've come to realize that I love Primary Language Lessons!

I'm the mom of a tween...

My little girl is 8 today! (sniffle, sniffle)

She got her glasses when *T* was about 3 weeks old. The pic of her on the phone is where she was talking to me at the hospital when I had *T*.

Missing Tooth

*C* saw that his friend had lost a tooth, so he decided that it was time for his to come out.

Adventures in MFW ~ week 8

We strayed from the path a bit. I decided to read D'Aulaire's Benjamin Franklin instead of Exploring American History (which can be a bit dry sometimes.) The kids loved it!

I also love the D'Aulaire books!

They really enjoyed all of the sayings at the bottom of the pages.

In Science, we finished up Lesson 1 in Zoology I. They are loving it! They did the first two notebook pages and then decided that they'd rather do their narrations and drawings in Composition books. I guess they feel that they have too many binders.

(Like that could ever happen.)

I made the covers (PDF Download, if interested) 7" x 9" and printed them on sticker paper.

(Technically they're 8.5 x 11 labels.)

We're trying something a little different for Language Arts.

*B* and *C* are doing Primary Language Lessons. I am going to try to keep them together as long as possible. As soon as one of them needs to slow down, they will separate.

In addition to PLL is daily copywork. *C* copied the Matthew 7:15 Mon-Thu and on Friday wrote it from dictation. *B* copied a poem/prayer that had 4 stanzas. She copied 2 per day Mon & Tue. On Wed & Thu she copied Mt 7:15 and from dictation on Friday.

They both begged me to start using regular wide ruled paper. So midweek (I hate starting anything midweek!) we switched our copywork to regular notebook paper.

*B* on left and *C* on right

(Sorry it's blurry.)

Math is going great. *B* skipped from Singapore 1B to BJU 3. So, we're finding a few minor issues within chapters 1 & 2, but nothing major.
*C* is still working through the pretests in CLE.
*T* absolutely loves EM, but I'm going to have to stop and work a little more on his number recognition.

K Review ~ /s/, /m/, /l/

I saw these ABC Notebooks at Homeschool Share, and decided they'd be nice for reinforcement. We didn't do MFW K this week, we just did the notebook.

Almost Wordless

(Previous Post explains the picture.)

Fire Next to Andrew Johnson Home

Here's the only pictures I could find of what it looked like.
It's the building in the background, not the one we're standing in.



The creek ran under the warehouse. I thought that was neat.

This is what happened to it a few weeks ago.



This was taken after most of the clean up was finished. They had the streets closed off for about 10 days.

Waiting on the LORD

But those who wait on the LORD

Shall renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings like eagles,

They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint.
~Isaiah 40:31~

Have you ever thought about what it means to "wait on the Lord"?
I always assumed (and pretty sure I was taught) that it meant to sit back and be patient.

Then, just the other day, a very dear friend of mine made a point. Waiting on the Lord should be like a waitress, waiting on a table. The very first thing she says is, "Hi, what can I do for you?" Shouldn't it be the same way with God?

Before I crawl out of bed I need to ask, "Lord, what can I do for you today?"
And when He tells me, I need to do it!

How upset do you get when you ask for Coke and get a DIET Coke? God gets upset in the same way. He doesn't want us to do something similar to what He asks!

What else do you expect from your waitress?
Speedy service? A pleasant attitude? Refill your soda without having to ask?

What can you do for God today?

Adventures in MFW ~ week 7

Our first day back (after a 3 week break) was on Monday, August 4.

Like I mentioned earlier, we did start using Exploring Creation with Zoology I: Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day. We are using this in addition to the Science in MFW. I still want the kids to have a broad view of science, but I think it's beneficial for everyone to "sit" on a topic for a while.

On Tuesday, we made play dough. I've tried making it before and they all flopped, so I almost skipped it. It turned out just like REAL Play-Doh!! I'm happy and the kids are happy.




I used the recipe in MFW K (like Adv. in MFW suggests). I found the very same recipe online. We will definitely be making all of the colors.

*B* is doing wonderful with BJU Math. For the first 2 chapters, she's doing 2 lessons a day since it's all review. I asked her if she likes it better than Singapore and she immediately said, "Yes!" Only time will tell.

I'm a little unsure on how I feel about LLATL. She just completed Lesson 8, but I'm starting to see where I'd have to make up some review for her. I have Primary Language Lessons, so for the next 2 or 3 weeks we're going to do that.

*C* loves CLE Math and he's doing so well. He's always been "Mr. Independent" in math, and CLE is helping him grow in that independence.

He's done about 3 lessons in CLE LA, but he doesn't care for it too much. He LOVES that it's pretty independent, but there are "too many pages, mommy." So, we'll try PLL and see what happens.

Here he is doing our Zoology experiment. You blow over top of the straw in the water, and water squirts up from it! It was pretty neat.



*T* is learning his letter sounds so well with MFW K. Next week, I'm going to try to incorporate some of the science lessons a little. He's also back to doing Singapore's Essential Math Kindergarten. He loves the book, and so far, MFW K math isn't getting his interest up.

All in all, I say it was a great first week back!

Work In Progress

I started/last touched this quilt in Jan 2006.
I've decided it's time to finish it.

I don't know if you can see it, but I'm quilting hearts on it.

This one is just a close up of the different fabrics I used.

American Flag Quilt

First "official" Day in 2008/9

Today could not have gone more perfect... well, except for the terrible twos setting in early. (Actually, I think he's getting some more teeth.)

1. Bible

We read about the widow who gave all she had to Elijah,
and God still provided for her. A great lesson in that for all of us.
Our Memory Verse this week is John 6:35

2. Math

*B* did lessons 1 & 2 from BJU Math 3.
*C* did the first lesson from CLE 200. Light Unit 201 is a review of the 100 series. It is full of pre-tests and practice pages.
*T* worked in Essential Math, counting backwards.

3. Latin

We had already done Lessons 1 & 2 of Song School Latin orally,
so today I had *B* and *C* fill in their workbooks.
We sang all of the songs for lessons 1 & 2.

In Minimus, we read the introduction and listened to the CD for the first story.

4. History

We read from American Pioneers and Patriots.
This week we're learning about French Settlers in Detroit.
We also started memorizing the names of the Great Lakes.

5. Language Arts

*B* is finishing up lesson 8 from "last year." (It sounds so long ago! LOL)
*C* did lesson 1 from CLE Sunrise LA 200.
*T* did his reading lesson from MFW K, week 3.

6. Science

Zoology 1 was done just as described below.
We added a library book called "What is the Animal Kingdom?"
and worked on learning the difference between a vertebrate and an invertebrate.