Getting ready for a new year

The thing about homeschooling, is that you can make your own schedule. Which means, we never had an official "last day" kind of thing because I was needing some semblance of a schedule during the summer months of their friends being out of school too. I don't have the first day back to look forward to sending them away, so I didn't want to shoot myself in the foot having to also be the one to get them back into a learning routine.

But we've wrapped up all of the learning their little noggins are 'standardized to achieve' at this age, and I feel like I've hardly done anything the last three months... I'm glad they're smart, it makes up for my lackings some days!

Since all of the workbooks my kids love to do are nearly finished, I finally wrapped my head around next year's bounty of knowledge.

For Maren:

Math-

A Beka Arithmetic 2
A Beka Tests and Speed drills 2

KB Teacher's supplemental worksheets

Language Arts-

Writing Poetry

A Beka Spelling and Poetry 2

Shurley English Level 1 (finishing up)
Grammar

Spanish La Clase Divertida and a vocabulary workbook to supplement.

Science-
Human Body

Illustrated Human Body resource book by INsiders
The care and keeping of you (American Girl)

(We are beginning with teaching Maren about her anatomy, because she has been having some changes already- I know...what?! And with a new baby on the way, lots of questions are being asked.)

*A new baby to be born in the family... what better way to teach living science?!

Geography and History-
World Cultures with Around the World in 80 Tales and Expedition Earth

Galloping the globe online interaction

Music and Art-

Suzuki Violin 1 Book-

Lessons with Master's Musicians school of music
Usborne "What shall I draw?"

Ballet, including performing in The Nutcracker this year

Reading-
We've picked 2 books from the list of classic literature recommended from Thomas Jefferson Education. In addition to their personal reading- they'll learn oral reports, researching, and book reviews.

More history will come with association while we read classic literature, scriptures, and Magic Tree House series. Also, we are making a time line of "Great People throughout America's History" that we will continue to build through next year.

For Kellan, he will do the grade 2 lessons along with all of the subjects, and has grade 1 workbooks for each of the subjects. He will also be continuing with the Cello, I so love the sound of that instrument! He is excited to start learning cursive when we officially break out our new school year books.

Now... if I can only keep these 3 hours of structure every day amidst running after a toddler, running a household, and battling morning sickness.....

Another book worm

I forgot to add this in the blog last month, but I wanted to remember this moment. Kellan read and finished his first chapter book!


I have learned some good lessons through our journey this school year- and mostly it is that what I think I know about their personalities isn't always right. I was flat out wrong many times. I've underestimated Kellan a lot in his mile stones, and by not expecting as much out of him he takes his own way to show me otherwise!

We didn't work on reading with him during the year before he started kindergarten work. We pulled him out of preschool because of his health struggles, and I let him just dictate his own pace every day at home, reading was not on his agenda at all. When we started with Kindergarten concepts and workbooks, crying became the norm during reading time. If he doesn't just get something easily, he feels really bad for himself. If I push him to try harder, he shuts down entirely. So I didn't push him at all. For Christmas he had gotten some young readers comic books like Disney Cars and Toy Story 3. He loved comic books and started reading all the time! He was breezing through things like Mercer Mayer's Little Critter books, and he learned that reading things all around his world every day was pretty cool.

Then I gave him some books that I had bought when I was pregnant with him. Frog and Toad. They're separated into small chapters, with a lot of pictures in between, and he LOVED them. He was suddenly asking me to lay on his bed and read! I was having to ask him to put his book down! This was coming from the little boy who I thought just didn't love to read, and even thought he probably wouldn't read during kindergarten. He has proven me wrong on every account.

And that's Kellan. When we try to do group activities, he is over stimulated and he can't pay attention. The more pressure on him to be doing something, he shuts down. But when he can be isolated and independent with the tools around him, he will do it, alone, and perfectly. He's an audio learner, so the group time helps him and he remembers everything like a vault, and he figures things out on his own time, in his own way. He's brilliant. I'm so proud of him!

Learning from the past

"The philosophy of the schoolroom in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next." ~Abraham Lincoln

I have been reading a book called "The Thomas Jefferson Education" and there are so many points that I've read, and loved, and went back to re-read them again. If you asked me when I was a little girl what I wanted to be, I never would have thought that I'd say a teacher. Some days I still don't think I want to be one! But regardless of what I want, I feel I'm being molded, as long as I am seeking out the best tools to use for this craftsman responsibility that I have to 3 human beings, I feel inspired to be one.

There are a lot of days that I feel like it's impossible to be all of it- mother, cook, housekeeper, wife, CFO of our household, personal assistant managing everyone's appointments and diets and sleep schedules, and teacher? Seriously? A lot of days honestly, I feel like I'm barely keeping my head above water. Then I read something that hits my core.

"A good mentor is someone of high moral character who is more advanced than the student and can guide his or her learning. Parents are the natural mentors of children.They can be very effective in getting the student started on a lifetime plan for success, especially if they use some of the key techniques perfected by the great mentors of history."

Now, that being said, parents everywhere can strive for this quality, and it doesn't even require homeschooling. But the key part that struck me was "someone of high moral character." I don't know about you, but I feel our world is lacking very much people of that substance. And the thought of sending my young little ones away from me to someone who might not meet that criteria? Time to bring them home. So we did. But now what?

I'm trying to figure out, and reconstruct my expectations, to better meet the last part of that quote "use some of the key techniques perfected by great mentors of history."

When you look at the mentor of Thomas Jefferson, or Plato, Ghandi, Mother Theresa, Joan of Arc- "Whatever the culture, look at its greatest leaders and you will almost always find that they were guided by at least one outstanding mentor and made a lifetime study of classic works." -Thomas Jefferson Education

So we're encorporating a code of ethics in our home. A standard of moral character. Expectations, and life lessons to learn them. When you consider how education used to be, little ones learned responsibilities and values, familial contributions, reading, writing, some arithmetic- while in the setting of their home with their mother. They learned their culture, and they observed adults to learn social skills. Then when mature enough to try being independent and responsible to persue becoming educated further, the wealthy class had private tutors, middle class may have had a mentor and the education was given by the parents or an educated family member. Schoolhouses were created to bring education to the poor class who did not have anyone to pass down or afford them an education. And now, that standard of bringing education to the poor, has been the standard given to every child in our nation. It inspired me that I can be what my children need, even on the tough days of regular family life of behaviors and rivalry, and crabby moods, and overall patience testers. Remembering that is the struggle!

So we're working on our reading, writing, some arithmetic. We've explored a LOT of our world around us because our schedule isn't keeping young kids bound down to a desk, being driven to memorize just because they can even if they don't understand, for the sake of regurgitating an answer to accomplish a test. We've read a lot of books, and stopped to associate it to the globe, or the constellations, whatever is being mentioned in that book at the time. And it's sparked SO many more questions from the kids about the world around them. They are being inspired, which is the pivitol ingredient to a person being truly educated- the desire to learn as much as they can because they have a spark within them to seek it. Education isn't given. It's wanted and sought after.

Here's a great book we just finished up about geography- also about forgiveness, selflessness, and hope.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

Another great book we're diving into about mathematics, geography, and imagination.

Gulliver's Travels -classic starters

Have you heard about The Thomas Jefferson Education? You might really enjoy it, regardless of what setting your child is being instructed. It might inspire you, as it is for me, to in turn inspire my young ones. I'm so glad for the (several) friends who recommended it to me!