1st Grade - It's In the Books!

Our Baby Girl's 1st Grade year is IN THE BOOKS! 

Figuratively and literally - IN THE BOOKS! I guess we were kind of expecting that. We knew that 1st grade is just one year and we use a literature based method for homeschooling :) And what a success it has been!! Baby Girl loves to read, loves to hear a good story and has become even more passionate about animals this year, especially birds.

We continued following the Charlotte Mason method, mainly using Ambleside Online Year 1 as our guide. What exactly does that mean?  As with any curriculum, it is best to use it as a guide, standard, criterion and not as the end all to be all!!  A curriculum should be a servant to the user, not a slave driver :)  Throughout the school year, we tweak, adjust, add and subtract things that may or may not be working for us.

****Updated 7/29/2017**** Homeschool Helper is no longer available.****

The Homeschool Helper team is retired from app development.

When we started creating apps in 2011 as a husband and wife team, apps and the platforms were much simpler. Over the years, the complexity and pace of change with apps has been a struggle to keep up with. Quite frankly it has outpaced our technical abilities, therefore we have retired from app development.

Our newest addition was a homeschool planning app for the iPad called Homeschool Helper.  It's listed as one of the 10 Best Homeschooling Apps and I couldn't agree more! After spending an exorbitant amount (ok, maybe more than I normally do) on a much touted planner, I found out it did NOT work for us.  A friend of mine suggested the Homeschool Helper.  It is an inexpensive app (read - much less than the planner I had purchased), can be used with multiple students and has batch entry and gradebook tools!  MMBoy and Baby Girl also enjoyed keeping track of their own attendance and checking off their tasks each day. Oh, and the fact that it's a one time purchase means I don't need to go out looking for the "perfect planner" again this year.

Homeschool Helper

So, what did work for us this year?  Pretty much everything!! For those of you who have homeschooled boys and then have homeschooled girls, were you amazed by how differently they learn?? In Baby Girl's case, she has always been pretty much ready to go, excited to learn new things and has kept me on my toes by wanting more to do than the regular schedule.  We found this particularly true with the spacing out of many of the living books we used.  Ambleside Online has a great week by week schedule.  They have many book where only 1 chapter is read each week.  This was almost torture for Baby Girl.  I have found it helps to slow the learning process down some and allows for greater absorption and retention of the material.

Our 1st Grade Schedule:

Morning Time!!  I have previously mentioned and discussed Morning Time and how much it has added to our schooling and gotten us off to a great start each day.  We had a few minor tweaks for this year.

Monday

Prayer 

Bible - Devotional Books by Sally Michael

Memory Work - Verse (we continued working on these verses from Ann Voskamp) & Co-op Verse

Poetry - Children's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson/When We Were Young by A. A. Milne

Prepositions

Read Aloud - Shakespeare (We read through 3 different stories this year: The Winter's Tale, The Merchant of Venice, Othello)

Copywork

Tuesday

Prayer

Bible-Psalms & Proverbs

Memory Work - Verse and Co-op Verse

Math Time Sheets - Addition for Baby Girl, Multiplication; Division for MMBoy

Read Aloud - Life of Fred, Math series

Copywork

Thursday

Prayer

Bible -Devotional Books by Sally Michael

Memory Work - Verse and Co-op Verse

Poetry - Children's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson/When We Were Young by A. A. Milne

Parts of Speech (printables found here)

Read Aloud - Life of Fred, Language Arts series

Copywork

Friday

Prayer

Bible - Psalms & Proverbs

Memory Work - Verse and Co-op Verse

Read Aloud - Fiction

Copywork

I also broke down our daily routine by days of the week.  

Daily Tasks  

Math (Math-U-See Alpha) 

Reading, Writing, Spelling & Phonics (McRuffy Press 1st Grade Phonics Reading)

Copywork - Handwriting Without Tears (My Printing Book),

Here is what we added to each day:

Monday

Nature Study - Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton Burgess (1 chapter/bird each week with a bird coloring page to go with it)

Tuesday

Literature - Aesops Fables by Milo Winter (2 each week)

Science - Apologia Flying Creatures  Exploring Creation with Zoology 1: Flying Creatures

History - (1 story each week) 50 Famous Stories by James Baldwin; Viking Tales by Jennie Hall; biographies by Ingri D'Aulaire:  Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Buffalo Bill (spaced each biography over 12 weeks).

Wednesday
Co-op

Thursday
Science - Apologia Flying Creatures 
Geography -Paddle to the Sea by Holling C. Holling (Every other week with occasional map work)
Literature- (I spaced these out each semester so we only did 1 each week, but some weeks we didn't do any);Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling,The Blue Fairy Book

Friday
Literature - James Herriot's Treasury for Children

We added in play time, free time, field trips, helping take care of an infant 1/week and she even started piano lessons.  It's been a great year and now we are off to enjoy summer!!

Rita

New DoTerra Products! Available October 3rd!

I didn't make it to convention this year - that is my goal - to make it one of these years!  However, I did get to see and hear all about the new products DoTerra has coming out in October!  I am very excited and can't wait to try them all out!

Spikenard essential oil

Petitgrain essential oil

doTERRA® SPA Line: Moisturizing Bath Bar, Refreshing Body Wash, Detoxifying Mud Mask, Exfoliating Body Scrub, Replenishing Body Butter, 3 Moisturizing Lip Balms, fragrance-free Hand & Body Lotion, Citrus Bliss® Hand Lotion, and Rose Lotion.

PB Assist® Jr

doTERRA a2z Chewable™ now available in watermelon flavor.

doTERRA Serenity Restful Complex™ Softgels

Updated: doTERRA Serenity® Restful Blend.

Emotional Aromatherapy™ Touch Kit

- See more at: https://doterra.com/US/en/blog/events/doterra-one-convention-recap#sthash.2banAqIU.dpuf


And Shipping Price changes!  If that's what's been holding you back - now is the time to jump in!

What product are you excited about?!

Rita

Homeschooling 2016-17

  

Back to Home-School!

We had a great summer, but now it's "Back to School" time here for our family.  Well, actually, we've been "back to school" since the end of August.  This year, we have one son who recently graduated and will be heading out to the Marine Corp. this fall, Drummer Boy is in 10th grade this year at our local public high school, MMBoy - 6th/7th grade, and Baby Girl -1st grade will continue their education at home with me!

As there is a somewhat large age/grade gap with my homeschooling children, there are only a few things we do together and then they have their individual studies.  That is one of the pluses of homeschooling - to be able to include siblings in certains subjects and simply adjust the depth, workload and expectations to the appropriate grade level.

Last year, one of our favorite additions was Morning Time which I discussed here.  We are continuing our Morning Time with only a few minor alterations to the schedule.

Monday:
Prayer, Bible - reading through Proverbs &  God's Promise/God's Names/God's Providence by Sally Michael, Memory Work, Poetry - A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson & Now We are Six, When We Were Very Young by A.A. Milne, Parts of speech, Shakespeare (see Literature below), Copywork

Tuesday:
Prayer, Bible - Old Testament & Proverbs, Memory Work, Math Songs/Drill, Life of Fred math series, Copywork

Thursday:
Prayer, Bible - reading through Proverbs &  God's Promise/God's Names/God's Providence, Memory Work, Poetry, Prepositions, Life of Fred language arts series, Copywork

Friday:
Prayer, Bible - Old Testament & Proverbs, Memory Work, Art Study, Read aloud fiction, Copywork

Other than our morning time, the only other joint learning is Apologia Science.  We are using the Exploring Creation with Zoology 1: Flying Creatures.  This is a great series for multi-age schooling.  There are even journaling notebooks available to enhance the curriculum. Some days we use them and some days we don't!

So, what does 1st and 7th Grade look like for us this year:

Baby Girl - 1st Grade

Math
Math-U-See Alpha

Reading, Writing & Phonics
McRuffy Press 1st Grade Phonics & Reading
Copywork - Handwriting Without Tears My Printing Book

Science
Apologia Flying Creatures
Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton Burgess
Paddle to the Sea by Holling C. Holling

History
50 Famous Stories by James Baldwin
Viking Tales by Jennie Hall
These 3 Biographies by Ingri D'Auliare:  Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Buffalo Bill

Literature
Aesops Fables by Milo Winter
Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling
The Blue Fairy Book
James Herriot's Treasury for Children
Tales from Shakespeare by Charles Lamb

I mainly use the Ambleside Online curriculum, Year 1 list.  As this is my 3rd child using this, I do tweak it here and there based on what we did or did not like in the past, what each child is interested in and what is working for us this year.  They have a great week by week schedule that I plug into a planner and edit based on our school year.

The only complaint so far from Baby Girl is that she wants to do everything, every day!!

MMBoy - 6th/7th Grade

As you can see, I think grade placement is of great importance - ha!  I am starting with Ambleside Onlice curriculum, Year 6 - but, again, I have adjusted the curriculum to fit MMBoy's needs this year. However, for church and co-op activities, he is placed among 7th graders.  I did let him know that if he'd like to be considered a 7th grader, he needed to step up and take on more of the work independently and I am happy to say that, so far, he has been doing a great job!

Math
Math-U-See - Delta & Epsilon (we didn't quite finish Delta last year, so are beginning with that and plan on getting through Epsilon too!)

Writing & Grammar
Handwriting Without Tears - Cursive Handwriting
Easy Grammar
Wordsmith Series - Apprentice (we had started this last year and are continuing to make our way through the book)
Spelling Plus by Susan C. Anthony

Science
Apologia Flying Creatures
Albert Einstein and the Theory of Relativity by Robert Cwiklik
Archimedes and the Door of Science by Jeanne Bendick
Galileo and the Magic Numbers by Sidney Rosen

History
Augustus Caesar's World by Genevieve Foster
Story of the Greeks by H.A. Guerber
Story of the Romans by H.A. Guerber

Literature
Age of Fable by Thomas Bulfinch (found a great illustrated copy at B&N!)
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (This book study was offered at our co-op this year! What a fun way to get a required reading in)
The Iliad

Language
English From the Roots Up by Joegi Lundquist

Both of my students have additional "free reading" - books I pick up for them, books they pick out from our local library or a book we are all reading together.  I try and keep track of these intentional and accidental reads.

I still have yet to finalize our Read-aloud list, but will post that when I get it done.

Happy "Back to School"!

Rita

5 Products I Love Using Right Now (Face & Hair Care!)

I'm always on the look-out for products that make my life easier, enhance my routines or are just new to me.  Whether I'm reading a blog post, flipping through a magazine or talking to my hairdresser, I love coming across something new, especially if it works great! 

5 products I'm loving right now

For My Face

Get it on Amazon here

I first read about this in Martha Stewart's Living magazine and while I've used it for a while, I've recently been adding it to my Essential Oil blends.  I use Melaleuca and Frankincense with it for my toner and with the Protective Blend for hand sanitizer.

Oh my goodness!  Do I love this soap. And yes, it is black. The first time I used it, I couldn't believe how wonderful my face felt!  It didn't dry it out, but left it feeling super smooth.  I read about this one in InStyle magazine, I believe, but they were out of stock the first time I tried to order it - so glad I tried again!  Mule Hell Trading Company (when this was originally posted it was on sale!)

Here is another Martha Stewart Living find:

Eucerin Face Lotion is one I have been using for quite a few years, but every summer I am reminded why I am so grateful for it . With its SPF 30, I use it once in the morning and then I don't have to worry about putting on more sunscreen throughout the day.  It is lightweight,  has no odor and goes on smoothly.

For My Hair

 After washing my hair, I add one squirt of the Coconut Milk Serum - that all I need for my longer hair (side note- for my daughter I use less or else her hair looks a little greasy as she has short hair).  I start at the ends and then work it up.  It has a great smell, give my hair a healthy sheen and also works as a great detangler.  

Dry shampoo . . .  well, since my hair is long right now, and it takes a generous amount of effort on my part to actually "do" it, I've been trying to wash it less.  Not Your Mother's was recommended by my hairdresser after another one I had tried was an absolute flop.   It comes in an easy aerosol spray and absorbs quickly when brushed through my hair.  I've been very happy with it every time I use it and I feel like I don't need to use a whole lot - mainly on the roots of my hair.  (side note - I know a LOT of people feel like their hair is too greasy after not washing it for a day, but I found this helps with that and the more my hair got used to not being washed, the less of the dry shampoo I needed to use).

That's it!  Do you use any of these? Are there any great  face or hair products you love right now?  I'd love to hear about them!

Rita

Our Kindergarten Year

I've officially finished homeschooling my last kindergartener . . . while it's exciting to move forward, part of me is also sad.  I've taught all my kids how to read, all of them even used the same book!  Kindergarten seems to mark the beginning of the learning journey, and while it never really ends, this year was the last beginning.

Baby Girl all done with her reading book!

That said, I've mentioned in a couple of other posts that I would be looking back at our Kindergarten year and sharing how we do Kindergarten here at The Gorbics Academy.

We have basically followed the Charlotte Mason method with all the kids- you can read about what that is here.  There are many good sites out there for implementing this method.  My favorite and most used is Ambleside Online.  It is a great resource for understanding the Charlotte Mason method and for free schedules, book lists and many links to curriculum. Kindergarten or Year 0 on Ambleside Online isn't really a structured school year.  I do use their great book list which I shared here.  We worked through this book list during the Kindergarten year, reading one book each day of the week for an entire week.  

In addition to our book list, Baby Girl participated in our Morning Time.  I have loosely done Morning Time in the past, but after reading this post about using a Morning Time Binder, I made my own binder, filled it with good things and made it a priority each school day.  Well, almost every day - we participate in a Co-op on Wednesdays, so to be realistic, I did not include anything for Wednesday!  

I have LOVED this addition to our day.  It proved to be a great time for all of us to start the day together, because we were focusing on what was really important - Him and each other.  And on days that this is all we were able to accomplish - and there were many of those - I could still call it a win!

Here is a quick breakdown of what our Morning Time looked like:

Monday
Prayer (We always start with what we are thankful for and then use Prayer Calendars from Cheri Gamble)
Bible - New Testament and Psalm
Memory Work - Verse (we are working through these verses from Ann Voskamp) and Co-op Verse
Poetry - A Child's Book of Poems by Gyo Kujifawa
Read Aloud - Fiction
Copywork

Tuesday
Prayer
Bible New Testament and Psalm
Memory Work - Verse and Co-op Verse
Math Songs
Read Aloud - Life of Fred, Math series
Copywork

Thursday
Prayer
Bible - New Testament and Psalm
Memory Work - Verse and Co-op Verse
Parts of Speech (printables found here)
Read Aloud - Life of Fred, Language Arts series
Copywork

Friday
Prayer
Bible - New Testament and Psalm
Memory Work - Verse and Co-op Verse
Art Study
Read Aloud - Fiction
Copywork

After our Morning Time, our Kindergarten schedule was pretty simple and we usually finished fairly quickly. We included Math (Math U See Primer), Reading (Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons), the Handwriting without Tears curriculum, Character Training and our read-alouds. Most of these we did once a day, with the exception of our Character Training which we focused on once a week.  

That didn't mean that our learning was done for the day!  Baby Girl still participated in many of the other learning experiences going on in our home.  Plus we had co-op, field trips, cooking days, educational shows, playdates and most importantly, lots of PLAY!  

Hopefully this is helpful to you if you are beginning your homeschool journey or just trying to reevaluate your homeschool year.  As always, please do not let my suggestions add to your list of "things I should be doing" or "yet another thing I need to do".  Use these resources as ideas to lighten your load, not add to it!!

Rita

How we use A Child's Book of Character Building in our Homeschool

I recently posted our Year End Review: Our Read Alouds and enjoyed looking back so much that I've decided to look back on Baby Girl's Kindergarten year.  We've used many different resources over the past years, but one I've used with all my kids is A Child's Book of Character Building. So, how did I use this book?

I decided to not only go through this book with Baby Girl, but add some picture books and copywork to go along with it.  The majority of the copywork was done the last half of the year as we were still working through our letters during the first half. But it ended up being a great review of each trait for her and I!

A Child's Book of Character Building is broken up into 12 character traits.  Each character trait is first defined in simple,but clear terms and has a Bible verse to go with it.  Then, each character trait has four simple, single page stories that relates that trait to the Bible, home, school and play.  At the end of each trait are a few simple questions/discussion prompts, called Character Development Challenges, to talk about.

Since our school year has 36 weeks in it, I chose to focus on one character trait for 3 weeks each.  The first week we read the definition and verse of the character trait and the Bible story included an example of the trait.  The following week, we would reread the definition and then read some or all of the 2-3 stories relating to home, school and/or play. When we finished the last story, we would discuss the character trait using the Character Development Challenges. Once we finished up the stories in each section, I would have a library book picked out for us to read that, again, related to the character trait we were discussing.  This was a great opportunity to ask Baby Girl how she saw the trait in the story and discuss it further.

I did some research to find books that would be applicable for each character trait.  Just a little note - I love the definitions this book uses for each trait, so I am including them!

Attentive - "Listening with the ears, eyes, and heart" 

The Morning Sam went to Mars by Nancy Carlson

Faith - "Believing God will do what He says"

Let the Whole Earth Sing Praise by Tomie DePaola

Creative - "Doing something in a new way"

  

Ish and or The Dot by Marcia Brown

Diligence - "Working hard to accomplish a task"

Farmer Duck by Martin Waddell

Patience - "Waiting with a Happy Spirit" 

Betty Bunny Loves Chocolate Cake by Michael P Kaplan 

Contentment - "Happy with what I have"

The Whingdingdilly by Bill Peet

Obedience - "Doing what you are told with a happy, submissive spirit"

City Dog, Country Frog by Mo Willems

Wisdom - "Thinking God's way"

The Bee Tree by Patricia Polacco

Tenderhearted - "Strong enough to feel the joys and hurts of others"

The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes

Thankfulness - "Being grateful and saying so"

I'm Thankful Each Day by PK Hallinan

Honesty - "Truthful words and ways"

The Boy Who Cried Wolf  (there are many good versions of this one!)

Joyfulness - "Being happy inside and out"

Have you Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud 

What a fun list and a whole lot of sweet moments to look back on!  Some of these books, I probably wouldn't have picked out on my own, but are now some of our favorites. 

Once we finished all the character traits and the copywork - I had Baby Girl write the trait and the definition provided - we punched some holes in them all, added a cover page and back page and we made our own book of character traits that Baby Girl can read through.

I hope this list inspires you to sit down and do a little bit of fun, and meaningful, reading with your child!

Rita

And the Winner Is . . . dōTERRA Breathe™ Vapor Stick GiveAway

Thanks to you all for reading my review of dōTERRA Breathe™ Vapor Stick!  This was only my second review and give away, but I am enjoying sharing dōTERRA this way.  You can read my 1st one here.  

Once again, I used:  http://www.miniwebtool.com/random-name-picker/

And the winner is . . . Kris!  Congratulations -  I will be in touch to get your dōTERRA Breathe™ Vapor Stick to you!

 

Rita