I have finally had some time to sit down and look at where we are at so far this year, evaluate Magnus' abilities and skills, and figure out what we need to do to reach our goals for the year. I am planning to look at Thane's skills in a few day and come up with a plan for him soon. Here is what I have come up with so far...
As of now, the plan is to move sometime in August to wherever Collin will be attending Graduate school, so we will stay here through July. Collin informed me today that he was offered an easy office type job on campus for the summer so that eases my mind a bit. Poppy and Nana will be visiting sometime in February, as may our friend from France. The boys and I are planning to take school on the road with our friends in their RV for a couple of weeks this spring. Collin will be graduating (Praise the Lord!) the first week of May and his parents (from WA) and mine (from IA) will be attending the ceremony. Then we will all be heading to IA for the next few weeks after graduation. During that time, Collin and I will go to MI for his research presentation at the International Medieval Conference. With that all said, I figured out we have about 30 weeks left to finish up school. I am going to plan for 26 though so that we can have some flexibility in our schedule. Especially around the time we will be packing and moving.
History...We are going to continue using SOTW vol. 1 three days a week. It is working for us as there is not a lot of prep time for me. We will listen to Jim Weiss narrate on the cd's and answer the questions in the AG afterwards. The boys will complete the coloring pages and maps. I hope to also complete at least one "hands on" activity from the AG a week. I am still giving thought to adding copy work and completing a time line. I have made beautiful time line books for the the boys and have purchased the Homeschool in the Woods time line figures, but I am not sure if I want them to work on them during the grammar years or the logic years. I am leaning towards the logic stage. I would also like to add more reading other than just SOTW. Collin was suppose to be reading some books to them that went along with the unit we were studying, but he is just way too busy. I think the boys would rather here their Daddy reading the Hobbit. I am going to have to do some more planning in this area.
Science...I am free from the bondage I created! We were, or attempting to, use Christian Kids Explore Biology. I think this is a good program, but it's just not for me. I felt it was lacking something. I am still not able to put my finger on it, so I decided just to change altogether. After Christmas we are going to study the human body for 15 weeks and then plants for 11 weeks when we come home from IA in May. I did away with the animal part of the program because we will be studying them with Apologia for 3 years after we do the Astronomy study next year. I am not sure what book(s) I am going to use for the human body and plant study yet, so I have some work ahead of me. I do know that we are going to do a lapbook for each unit. Regardless, I feel good.
Math...I've said it before and I'll say it again. I am so glad we switched from Saxon to Right Start. Magnus is excelling and is not bored with it. Thane has been watching his big brother and he is catching onto it quickly as well! Originally we were only doing math 3 days a week, but we are going to do it four so we can complete Level B by the end of the year.
Grammar...FLL is working well for us. We will do 4 lessons a week so we can be up to lesson 100 by the end of the school year.
Spelling...I am not sure what to do here. Magnus spells phonetically very well, but doesn't know the "rules". I am going to continue to have him work through Spelling Workout. He will finish Level A by Christmas and start Level B in January. I will continue to make up my own spelling word lists for him to practice. I will re-evaluate at the end of the school year and make any changes, if any, for next year.
Reading Comprehension...We are going to work on volume 2 and not finish volume 1 in Veritas Press First Favorites. Vol. 1 was too "elementary" for him. After looking through vol. 2, I think it will be more of a challenge. I may use this for copywork instead of making it coincide with history.
Independent Reading...Magnus is reading at a very high level. He always has his nose in a book. Collin and I are going to go through various book lists I have collected and choose books for him to read that are written well and are "meaty". No more Magic Tree House. We want to help him develop a desire and discernment for good literature. Being the book-made family we are, good literature is very important to us.
Fine Arts...I was trying to do this with Magnus on Monday afternoons, but we would never be home. We have 22 more units left in Artistic Pursuits (we really did not get far). We are going to have Fine Arts Friday. Magnus and I are going to do AP or a Composer Study Friday afternoons during his quiet time and Thane's nap time. I hope this will be the "cherry" on top of a full week of school.
French...We aren't doing a "formal" study, but haven't really been incorporating it into daily life like we had planned. I am going to make posters with vocabulary words, have the boys listen to our cd's and French audio books more often, and ,hopefully, Collin will be able to record his voice onto a memory cd (thanks to Mindy at Magnum Opus Academy for this idea!) for the boys to listen to that includes common phrases and such.
Our week will look like this...
Monday: Homeschool Story Time, errands, Chiropractor appt., library, and Chess Club
Tuesday: History, Math, Language Arts, and Biology Club
Wednesday: History, Math, Language Arts, and AWANA
Thursday: History (project), Math, Language Arts, and Book Club
Friday: Math, Language Arts, Science, and Fine Arts
I have a bit more work ahead of me, but overall I am very pleased with the changes we are making and the things we hope to get done. Now onto Thane...
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Friday, December 7, 2007
Weekly Report
What an incredibly busy week. It was full of the "s" word...socialization. Some planned, some unplanned. By the end of the week, I just needed to lock myself in my house and get some other stuff done. Here is what our week looked like...
Monday...After dropping Collin off at school (his Wrangler is leaking water and has a flat tire and therefore inoperable) we headed to the library for story time. While driving on the interstate, this library is about 20 miles north of our house, I noticed a rather loud clanking coming from the engine. I pulled off as soon as I could (my Dad drilled this into my head when I was younger). The oil was bone dry. Not good. I called Collin but he couldn't come to my rescue because he had no way to get to us. He (being knowledgeable about cars) was able to walk me through a series of steps (I do know a bit about cars myself) to see if it was drivable. Luckily my friend was also headed to the library and picked us up along the way. Once story time was over, we decided the Jeep was okay to drive, but Kara was going to follow behind and become my taxi the rest of the day. There wasn't any lasting damage to the engine, or so we think, so we are still able to drive it. Praise God! We also went to our Chess Club's Christmas party that night.
Tuesday...Craft Day! We spent the day at our friend's house making Christmas gifts for our family members. I really want to tell you what they were, but my family reads this. I can say that they turned out really great and am sure they are going to love them. That night we had Collin's Peck award ceremony. You can read about it here
Wednesday...kind of a blur. All I remember is going to Hobby Lobby with Kara and the kids. The boys had their "Happy Birthday, Jesus" parties at Awana and Collin & I went to our kick boxing class.
Thursday...I was in heaven! We went to the Scholastic Warehouse Book Sale. Everything there was 1/2 off and brand new! I spent a little more money than I had wanted, but I couldn't resist. I got quite a few gifts. Then we had book club. We read Jan Brett's Christmas Trolls. The kids loved looking for Hedgie and seeing the mischief he was getting into. They also all learned a new word..."sqabble". I'm waiting to hear it in a perfectly constructed sentence from Magnus' mouth. He loves using "big" words correctly. In fact, this week he said, "Mom, when I see them coming I will rap on the door to let you know." Why didn't he just say "knock on the door"? Well, he likes words. When he hears one he likes, he files it away and uses it at just the right time. I love to hear the things he comes up with. That night we went out to eat with some friends to celebrate a birthday. The boys were good, but very tired...so was I.
Friday...we stayed home all day (well, after we went to the Chiropractor) in our pajamas, listened to Christmas music and did school work. We were able to get caught up on our spelling, grammar, and math from the previous week and this week. I was also able to do all of the laundry and get the house clean.
Overall, it was a very productive week. I learned my limits, and my kid's, too. We were able to get some school work done, hang out with friends, and get some Christmas stuff completed. This weekend and next week we are taking it easy. Collin has finals next week. We are looking forward to spending more time with him once he is done with that and his graduate school application that is due the 15th (UC Davis).
Happy Homeschooling!
Monday...After dropping Collin off at school (his Wrangler is leaking water and has a flat tire and therefore inoperable) we headed to the library for story time. While driving on the interstate, this library is about 20 miles north of our house, I noticed a rather loud clanking coming from the engine. I pulled off as soon as I could (my Dad drilled this into my head when I was younger). The oil was bone dry. Not good. I called Collin but he couldn't come to my rescue because he had no way to get to us. He (being knowledgeable about cars) was able to walk me through a series of steps (I do know a bit about cars myself) to see if it was drivable. Luckily my friend was also headed to the library and picked us up along the way. Once story time was over, we decided the Jeep was okay to drive, but Kara was going to follow behind and become my taxi the rest of the day. There wasn't any lasting damage to the engine, or so we think, so we are still able to drive it. Praise God! We also went to our Chess Club's Christmas party that night.
Tuesday...Craft Day! We spent the day at our friend's house making Christmas gifts for our family members. I really want to tell you what they were, but my family reads this. I can say that they turned out really great and am sure they are going to love them. That night we had Collin's Peck award ceremony. You can read about it here
Wednesday...kind of a blur. All I remember is going to Hobby Lobby with Kara and the kids. The boys had their "Happy Birthday, Jesus" parties at Awana and Collin & I went to our kick boxing class.
Thursday...I was in heaven! We went to the Scholastic Warehouse Book Sale. Everything there was 1/2 off and brand new! I spent a little more money than I had wanted, but I couldn't resist. I got quite a few gifts. Then we had book club. We read Jan Brett's Christmas Trolls. The kids loved looking for Hedgie and seeing the mischief he was getting into. They also all learned a new word..."sqabble". I'm waiting to hear it in a perfectly constructed sentence from Magnus' mouth. He loves using "big" words correctly. In fact, this week he said, "Mom, when I see them coming I will rap on the door to let you know." Why didn't he just say "knock on the door"? Well, he likes words. When he hears one he likes, he files it away and uses it at just the right time. I love to hear the things he comes up with. That night we went out to eat with some friends to celebrate a birthday. The boys were good, but very tired...so was I.
Friday...we stayed home all day (well, after we went to the Chiropractor) in our pajamas, listened to Christmas music and did school work. We were able to get caught up on our spelling, grammar, and math from the previous week and this week. I was also able to do all of the laundry and get the house clean.
Overall, it was a very productive week. I learned my limits, and my kid's, too. We were able to get some school work done, hang out with friends, and get some Christmas stuff completed. This weekend and next week we are taking it easy. Collin has finals next week. We are looking forward to spending more time with him once he is done with that and his graduate school application that is due the 15th (UC Davis).
Happy Homeschooling!
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
And the Award goes to...
Last night the boys and I had the honor of attending an awards ceremony for Collin. Collin was nominated by two of his professors to receive the University's Peck Award. This award is given to outstanding English students for "academic excellence, professional promise, and potential for living the examined life with liberality and courage". Out of the nine people chosen to receive this honor, Collin was one of three undergraduates and the rest were graduate students. Dr. Philips introduced him as having "accomplished in his undergraduate studies what most graduate students and young professors hope to accomplish"! It's so great to have his hard work and dedication recognized by the University. I am very proud of my Husband!
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree
After church this past Sunday, we headed to a tree farm to cut down our Christmas tree. This was the first time we went to a farm to do it. A couple years ago we hiked in our back yard and cut one down, but we have moved since them...a couple of times. We had a great time even though it felt nothing like December...it was in the mid 60's and spittin' rain. We found a great tree and the boys were a big help.
The boys are measuring it to make sure it is within the 6 foot mark.
The boys helping Dad cut the tree down.
My "big one" is getting even bigger! He loves to assist Daddy in things.
My "little one" is making sure Daddy is doing it right. We didn't loose the tree on the way home so I think he did!
"Oh, what a tangled web we weave!"
Magnus had the honor of placing the star on top this year.
Drum roll please....
Drum roll please....
We have a great tree and are very thankful for it!
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Weekly Report
It makes me feel good to know that I am not the only one having a difficult time getting back into the swing of things after Thanksgiving. Most of my friends and several people on the Well Trained Mind message boards were also finding this week challenging. Nonetheless, we are doing what we can and plugging away, even if it is at a snail's pace.
We pretty much let spelling and grammar slide this week, but I'm not too worried about it. There's always next week...or the week after. :0) Besides, we school year round so we'll get through it.
Monday...the boy's had their very first chess tournament. Thane was the youngest, at 4yo. to compete. He is really good, and that's not just my biased opinion either. Several of the older kids came to me and commented on his thinking and playing ability. Magnus is also very good. He is able to think several plays ahead and therefore be very competitive. Out of the 6 players in their beginning category, Thane placed 6th and Magnus tied for fourth. They had a great time and really enjoy playing the game. Collin and I are hoping to get them a nice chess set for Christmas. Right now they are using a board they made with cardstock and pieces made from legos.
Tuesday...We studied Chapter 12 The Middle Kingdom of Egypt. We learned how Egypt invaded Nubia and then how the Hyskos invaded Egypt. Magnus and I have been playing memory/matching games for Math. I just have to say, so far I love our Right Start Math program and I am very happy that I switched from Saxon. This is going to be a great fit for the boys. Thane has being watching/participating and also enjoying it. I plan on "officially" starting the Level A program with him next year, but I have a feeling he will whiz right through it since he is understanding most of Magnus' Level B. Granted, we are not too far into the program yet, but so far it is going great. We also had Biology Club today. Mr. Kyle talked about the constellations and informed the kids about the mythology attached to them. It was interesting for them.
Wednesday...continued learning about Middle Egypt and playing our math games. We also had our book club Thanksgiving feast to prepare for. We made place mats and finished reading The Magic Treehouse Thanksgiving on Thursday. The boys later went to AWANA while Collin and I went to dinner and to our kick boxing class. My left leg kicks are improving and that makes me happy! Collin has a lot of strength and control. I'm pretty impressed.
Thursday...we had our book club Thanksgiving feast. We have been reading TMTH Thanksgiving on Thursday and doing a study about the Pilgrims. The kids made a place mat for the person whose name they drew out of a hat. We had turkey sandwiches, corn, carrots, stuffing, and cookies. I think we are going to do some Jan Brett Christmas stories and activities next. Collin gave me the night off. I went out to dinner with my girlfriend. We had some great conversation and were not interrupted by kids once! The server was, uh, very "attentive" though. We decided we need to do that more often.
Friday...let's just say we had a lot of lessons about obeying mom, being conscientious of others, and sharing. Lots of, dare I say it? SOCIALIZATION. We basically hung out with friends and played. The kids needed it and so did I. ChickFilA playland is a great alternative to the park when it is cold out. Also, after 5 months, we were finally able to get together with some very dear friends. A great time was had by all.
A look ahead to next week...Collin will pretty much not be available. It's the last week of classes so he has a lot of big papers due and then finals to study for. Oh, and preparation for the four classes he teaches at the Homeschool Tutorial plus working at the library. Oh, and I forgot to mention, graduate school applications are due too. And, he is going to have to find some time somewhere to fix the Wrangler. It's not working right now. So, my next week is going to be full of Christmas crafts, story times, puppet shows, book sales, and more SOCIALIZATION. We will also work on spelling, grammar, and more math games. May have to rethink science over Christmas break.
We pretty much let spelling and grammar slide this week, but I'm not too worried about it. There's always next week...or the week after. :0) Besides, we school year round so we'll get through it.
Monday...the boy's had their very first chess tournament. Thane was the youngest, at 4yo. to compete. He is really good, and that's not just my biased opinion either. Several of the older kids came to me and commented on his thinking and playing ability. Magnus is also very good. He is able to think several plays ahead and therefore be very competitive. Out of the 6 players in their beginning category, Thane placed 6th and Magnus tied for fourth. They had a great time and really enjoy playing the game. Collin and I are hoping to get them a nice chess set for Christmas. Right now they are using a board they made with cardstock and pieces made from legos.
Tuesday...We studied Chapter 12 The Middle Kingdom of Egypt. We learned how Egypt invaded Nubia and then how the Hyskos invaded Egypt. Magnus and I have been playing memory/matching games for Math. I just have to say, so far I love our Right Start Math program and I am very happy that I switched from Saxon. This is going to be a great fit for the boys. Thane has being watching/participating and also enjoying it. I plan on "officially" starting the Level A program with him next year, but I have a feeling he will whiz right through it since he is understanding most of Magnus' Level B. Granted, we are not too far into the program yet, but so far it is going great. We also had Biology Club today. Mr. Kyle talked about the constellations and informed the kids about the mythology attached to them. It was interesting for them.
Wednesday...continued learning about Middle Egypt and playing our math games. We also had our book club Thanksgiving feast to prepare for. We made place mats and finished reading The Magic Treehouse Thanksgiving on Thursday. The boys later went to AWANA while Collin and I went to dinner and to our kick boxing class. My left leg kicks are improving and that makes me happy! Collin has a lot of strength and control. I'm pretty impressed.
Thursday...we had our book club Thanksgiving feast. We have been reading TMTH Thanksgiving on Thursday and doing a study about the Pilgrims. The kids made a place mat for the person whose name they drew out of a hat. We had turkey sandwiches, corn, carrots, stuffing, and cookies. I think we are going to do some Jan Brett Christmas stories and activities next. Collin gave me the night off. I went out to dinner with my girlfriend. We had some great conversation and were not interrupted by kids once! The server was, uh, very "attentive" though. We decided we need to do that more often.
Friday...let's just say we had a lot of lessons about obeying mom, being conscientious of others, and sharing. Lots of, dare I say it? SOCIALIZATION. We basically hung out with friends and played. The kids needed it and so did I. ChickFilA playland is a great alternative to the park when it is cold out. Also, after 5 months, we were finally able to get together with some very dear friends. A great time was had by all.
A look ahead to next week...Collin will pretty much not be available. It's the last week of classes so he has a lot of big papers due and then finals to study for. Oh, and preparation for the four classes he teaches at the Homeschool Tutorial plus working at the library. Oh, and I forgot to mention, graduate school applications are due too. And, he is going to have to find some time somewhere to fix the Wrangler. It's not working right now. So, my next week is going to be full of Christmas crafts, story times, puppet shows, book sales, and more SOCIALIZATION. We will also work on spelling, grammar, and more math games. May have to rethink science over Christmas break.
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