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

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

Year End Review: Our Read-Alouds this Year 2016

As a homeschooling momma, read-alouds are a big part of every school day.  At the beginning of this year, I made a couple of lists and scheduled out our read-alouds.  I made a Kindergarten list for Baby Girl and a combined read aloud list for Baby Girl and MMBoy. That proved the most difficult . . . I needed to read to a 6 year old daughter and an 11 year old son. Hmmmm . . .

At the end of last year, we had really fallen for Roald Dahl books.  They were great to read to both of the kids, the chapters were of a reasonable length so momma didn't get tired of reading or of hearing her own voice and many his books have been made into movies.  Now, we all know that the movie is never as good as the book, but it was a fun way to end Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach.  This year, I decided to start out with another Roald Dahl book, The Fantastic Mr. Fox.

From there, I perused reading lists I had printed from amblesideonline.org and Higher Up and Further In (How sad I was when I went to find this link and I found this blog is not longer kept up.  She was one of my favorite blogs to read when I began homeschooling and provided me with many great lists, ideas, schedules, printables, etc.)

Without further ado, here are our lists!

Kindergarten read alouds (Read one book every day for each week):

• The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
• The Story about Ping by Marjorie Flack and Kurt Wiese
• The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper
• Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey
• Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
• The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
• One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey
• Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall
• Stone Soup by Marcia Brown
• Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
• The Quilt Story by Tony Johnston
• Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran
• Winter in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Christmas in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
• The Foolish Tortoise by Eric Carle
• A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle
• The Mixed-Up Chameleon by Eric Carle
• The Little Red Hen
• The Gingerbread Man 
• Goldilocks and the Three Bears
• The 3 Billy Goats Gruff
• Chanticleer and the Fox by Geoffrey Chaucer, Barbara Cooney
• I Can't Said the Ant by Polly Cameron
• Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton
• Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema
• I'm a Little Teapot (I like this one)
• Country Mouse, City Mouse
• The Real Mother Goose by Blanche Fisher Wright
• Poems and Prayers for the Very Young by Martha G. Alexander

Combined read alouds (Read during our Morning Time on Monday & Friday):

• The Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl
• Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
• From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
• Little Women (Book 1) by Louisa May Alcott
• Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers
• Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
• The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
• Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss
• Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate Dicamillo
• Animal Farm by George Orwell*
• The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz*

*these books were included because I read them aloud to my senior son and I'm pretty sure the others were listening just as he listened in on many of their stories - It does my momma heart good to know that he still likes to hear me read :)

Failed to read aloud:

• How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
• Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
• Treasure Island

Seriously?!  I am not sure how we never read How the Grinch Stole Christmas?!  I think maybe it was because we were reading Little Women and it was taking waaaaay longer than I expected.  Ha!  We were going to read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn after MMBoy had read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer . . . and that, too, took longer than anticipated. I'll forgive him as he's made up for with some mad reading skills and has completely finished reading the entire Harry Potter series this spring.

As we wrap up this homeschool year, what a great list to look back on!  Not only did we read some great books together, we learned the importance of family, our world and each person on it. We created some fun memories along the way; memories of Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, memories of momma crying through the end of Because of Winn-Dixie (someday they will understand) and memories of snuggling up by the fire and opening up a good book into an adventure.

Rita

Big Picture Story Bible Review- One of the best Bibles for Littles!

  

A couple of Christmas's ago . . . we purchased The Big Picture Story Bible for Baby Girl.  I was looking for a "spiritual" gift for her and wanted something appropriate for a 4 year old - something she would actually be able to use.  I had looked at The Big Picture Story Bible and at The Jesus Storybook Bible.  I liked both of these from browsing through them on Amazon. They both have amazing and colorful pictures - not freaky pictures like some kids bibles. What's up with that?! Seriously, all my kids have received some sort of Bible in their PreK years and they ALL have disturbing pictures, lol.

I liked both of these options because the share the overriding Gospel message and show how God has had a plan since the beginning of time. They don't moralize the Bible stories. Yes, there are stories in the Bible that one can get a moral lesson from.  I want the Gospel message and God's love to capture my child's heart.  My goal was a Bible that shared the goodness and love of God and that we are a part of HIS story, this is not our story.  The Big Picture Story Bible comes highly recommended:

• This article does a great job of explaining how and why we should be teaching God's Word to our children and recommends The Big Picture Story Bible.

• At the homeschool convention I went to in April, John Stonestreet, from Breakpoint, did a talk titled: How We (Mis)handle the Bible. In his talk, he recommended The Big Picture Story Bible and The Jesus Storybook Bible.  

After reading reviews, looking through both of my options on amazon.com, I ended up getting The Big Picture Story Book Bible. Mainly because it also came with a CD!  As a homeschooling mom who frequently does read-a-louds, one thing I appreciate is a CD that does the reading for me. Sometimes I get tired of hearing the sound of my own voice . . .  but back to this Bible.  I love it! And Baby Girl does too!  It is divided into Old and New Testament and each Testament is divided into parts, 11 in the Old, 15 in the New.  There are questions peppered throughout each part that encourage the child to think about the story being told.  There are not only questions, but also reminders of God's love and that He has a plan throughout! And don't we all need that reminder?

If you're looking for a great Bible to get your preschooler started on, I highly recommend this one! Baby Girl is approaching 7 and will still put the CD on, sit down on the couch and listen to the entire book. Love that!

Rita

Book Review - The Boy Who Played with Fusion by Tom Clynes

The Boy Who Played with Fusion: Extreme Science, Extreme Parenting and how to make a Star by Tom Clynes

One of my unofficial goals for this year is to read more - YOU can read about that here.  And not just to read more, but to share what I am reading.  I like to read all kind of books; fiction, historical fiction, non-fiction, self- help and the occasional light-hearted novel.

So here is My First Book Review of 2016!

The Boy Who Played with Fusion by Tom Clynes . . . sounds exciting doesn't it?!  Ok, well maybe not at first glance, unless you are a big science buff, which I am not.  What did attract me was the "Extreme Science, Extreme Parenting and How to Make a Star" part.  I don't even recall if is saw it on FB, Goodreads or at a bookstore, but I added to my own Goodreads account and let is sit there. Since February is a great time for reading in Indiana, I placed a variety of books on hold at our local library and waited to for them to come in . . . and this was one of them.

First off, no, I am not raising geniuses (though every parent thinks their kid(s) are at one time or another) and no, I don't encourage my kids to play with fusion!  But what this book did challenge me to do was to really watch my children and see what interests them and encourage them in those interests.

This book tells the story of Taylor Wilson.  A boy with a very strong interest in all things science; rockets, space, fusion, fission, etc.  It begins with a 9 year old version and ends shortly after his high school graduation.  The story of Taylor is a fun one, mostly because he is an energetic, gregarious boy and does everything with all that is in him.  In amongst the story of Taylor, we find information on parenting, science, fusion, fission (do you know the difference?), gifted and talented kids, science, the history and future of gifted and talented programs, science, difficulties with inclusive education and more science.

As a homeschool mother, there were many things I could glean from this book.  One, was how Taylor's parents, Kenneth and Tiffany provided and encouraged their son, even when they were unsure about his path.  "Most significant, Kenneth and Tiffany adapted by opening up opportunities that were outside the mainstream of what's available to most kids in southern Arkansas.  Plenty of parents support their offspring's interests by buying things for them or dropping them off at the best schools or art centers that money can buy; far fewer put real time and effort into creating customized, hands-on opportunities that meaningful expand their children's - and often their own - range of experiences." (Emphasis added) Hmmm, how often do I look for experiences for my children?  I am challenged to find actual experiences for us as individuals and as a family that will enhance my children's learning.

Another thing I gleaned was to continue on in our decision that I have the ability to decide how/when/if/where/what kind of testing my children need.  It was encouraging to know that I try to "put the value of learning above the value of not failing" What I try to do in our home, is not to dictate to my children what they need to know, but to ask them to tell (or narrate) to me what they have learned from a lesson.  This not only encourages participation, but also allows absorption of material. Over the past few years, the mainstream culture has issued high-pressure testing for many children.  This is high-stakes for not only the students, but for the teachers also.  While I fondly recall testing as a child (I was one of the few, I am sure), I learned quickly how to absorb and regurgitate the information without really learning anything.  "When students have a growth mindset," says Dweck, (Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck) "they understand that intelligence can be developed.  Students focus on improvement instead of worrying about how smart they are and hungering for approval.  They work hard to learn more and get smarter."  When we have done testing, it is to gauge and see if there are any areas that they may need some more time, a different approach  or specific focus on. How can I continue to create an environment that fosters real learning and engages my children to become active participants in their education?

When I was in Jr High, I was part of the new gifted and talented program.  I don't really see myself as gifted or talented, except that I was gifted, by my father particularly, with the value to THINK.  And I feel strongly that the capacity to think for oneself has gone out of style, not just for the gifted and talented, but for the education of all students. "Acquiring knowledge for its own sake has gone out of fashion, replaced by a high-pressure talent track onto which promising, prosperous children are pushed. . .  Maybe that's not what education for the gifted should be all about. Maybe it should be about (1) encouraging supersmart kids to discover who they really are and who they want to become and giving them the support and freedom to pursue their passions; (2) developing talents into suitable and fulfilling careers that enhance interesting, rewarding live; and(3) encourage curiosity and intellectual risk-taking that might lead to  original, useful ideas that propel a field - or even a civilization - forward." How do I, even if my children aren't "gifted & talented", try to do this every day?

There is a LOT of science talk in this book.  Some (read: MOST) that I did not understand.  Micah is learning the elements on the Periodic Table this year, so that was fun to come across one we have studied. I also learned the difference between fission and fusion!

Overall, this book was an encouragement to me, as a homeschool mom, particularly.  I have the privilege to step out of the "norms", the bureaucracy, the testing and the "this is how we have to do it" attitudes and create for each child of mine an environment, education and experience tailored just for them. So, maybe an encouragement and a challenge?!

Become Like a Little Child

Jake and I are reading through The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz and came upon this today:

      "We have memories of long ago, when we used to be free and we loved being free, but we have forgotten what freedom really means.

      If we see a child who is two or three, perhaps four years old, we find a free human.  Why is this human free? Because this human does whatever he or she wants to do.  The human is completely wild.  Just like a flower, a tree, or an animal that has not been domesticated --- wild! And if we observe humans who are two years old, we find that most of the time these humans have a big smile on their face and they're having fun.  They are exploring the world.  They are not afraid to play. They are afraid when they are hurt, when they are hungry, when some of their needs are not met, but they don't worry about the past, don't care about the future, and only live in the present moment.

      Very young children are not afraid to express what they feel.  They are so loving that if they perceive love, they melt into love. They are not afraid to love at all.  That is the description of a normal human being.  As children we are not afraid of the future or ashamed of the past.  Our normal human tendency is to enjoy life, to play, to explore, to be happy, and to love.

      But, what has happened with the adult human? Why are we so different? Why are we not wild?"

The first thing that came to my mind is this verse from Matthew (18:3) : "And He said: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."  The second thing that came into my mind was a video I took of Boy 3 about 8 years ago . . . this boy, he has always been free and wild and his joy knows no end.   

He's 11 now.  He still is pretty wild and free and brings me great joy. <3  Praying for myself and you that we can be like a little child.

Back to the Books

It's that time of year again. Time for resolutions, new goals, blah, blah, blah.  I am not a resolution maker - really, isn't the purpose of making them so you don't have to accomplish said resolution?  Ok, maybe not, but that is usually what happens.

I am happy, however, to be moving past 2015 and into 2016.  This past year has been difficult to say the least - maybe, someday, I will do a post on that.  2016 is set to have it's challenges too - I have one son who will be moving away and joining the Marines, another one who will be learning to operate a large metal machine car (thankfully, it is rather large) and many others thing I know nothing of at the moment.  So why am I ready to move on?  If I (re)learned anything in 2015 it is that My God is a big GOD!  He can handle anything and whether or not all is smooth sailing, extremely difficult, incomprehensible or just down right hard, He's got it.  I may not see the whole picture, ever, let alone this day, week, month or year, but that doesn't mean He's not redeeming it all.  So, no matter what 2016 brings, I've got a big God that has already shown His love for me through his son, Jesus and really, what more do I need? So, no resolutions for 2016, just taking it one day at a time and trying to be in the here and now, enjoying the moment and leaning on HIM through it all.

All that to say that I am back to reading.  2015 what not a record breaking book-reading year for me and if you know me, you know I love to read.  I may or may not, at one time, had the nickname . . . Rita-book . . . get it?  Yeah, I know . . .

I don't have a set amount of books to read this year, but I have enlisted the help of Goodreads to keep track of what I am reading and to get book suggestions.  Come, follow me and see what I am reading, what I want to read and even suggest some of your favorites.  There may be a good chance I've already read it, but if not, I'm always looking for a good read!