2013-2014: K5/1st "Look what a lot of things there are to learn..."

"You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then — to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the only thing for you. Look what a lot of things there are to learn..."

T.H. White, The Once and Future King

So we really would fall into the "eclectic unschooler" category of homeschoolers going by how things have happened this past year for Pre-K/K4.  If you remember our great plans, I will tell you now we did not complete even half of them.  Some of this was due to SC racing past where the curriculum was in math, necessitating a change mid-year, and some of this was because some of the choices were just too much for her at four.  Also, I did not strictly enforce the routine I had set up at the beginning of the year and allowed lazy mornings that moved into chores, playtime and errands, and then forgotten lessons for weeks at a time.  We also did quite a bit of traveling, which I feel is hugely important at SC's age, but I think I could have handled it better rather than completely eschewing school.  On the bright side, SC hasn't suffered from a very relaxed Pre-K/K4 year and testing has shown she is still years ahead in both math and reading.  In fact, she seems to just absorb information as she goes along.

This year, though I love the lazy time we get to spend together, we have to step up the routine a little.  I honestly think SC would manage some of her meltdowns (one day I will post about these) a bit better if we had a more routine schedule, and I am really excited about doing kindergarten with her this year (though much of what we will be doing is solidly 1st grade).  She is very excited, too, and keeps eyeing the box (see picture above) I have keept everything corralled in as I work on the plans.  By the way, in case you think I am nuts, not everything in that box will be completed this year, but in some cases is was cheaper overall to buy a "package" than just what we might complete this year.

Also, SC will be continuing to attend the preschool she was at as they have added a twice-per-week "bridge" kindergarten class.  Though academically she will be past most of what they are learning, the experiences (like "book character day" and other themed days) cannot be replicated well in a one-child home (in my opinion), and there are some things that she will learn (like the Pledge of Allegiance) that I probably wouldn't think to teach if going at it solely on my own.  In the future I may have to get one of those books that lists out things like this.  So, that means, our homeschooling schedule for the fall currently looks like this:

M: 8am - 12pm
T: 8am-9am
W: 8am - 1pm (including lunch break)
R: 8am-8am
F: 8am - 12pm
Sa: 9am - 11am

I could probably cram everything into M/W/F but I wanted to leave time for us to go on field trips and have park days, so AC and I agreed Saturday morning would be an okay time to get some schooling in.  I have also purposely scheduled science for Saturday morning so AC can do it with us.  I have also added one language arts activity on T/R mornings before our out-of-the-home kindergarten class.

Finally, without further ado, here are our plans for K5/1st:

BIBLE

After a friend posted a link to Telling God's Story, I knew I had found the perfect study for our family.  From Olive Branch Books' website, the program is described as one that "treats the Bible as a unified, exciting, true story with Jesus as the most important character."  YES!  This is my problem with story-based or thematic studies, because I feel they minimize Jesus and what Jesus did.  They are important to the Bible, but only when the Bible is taken as a whole, with the climax of the story being Jesus.  If you are at all interested in this, author Peter Enns writes a Parents' Guide that is a quick, easy read that describes the program and how he will follow the classical education model in developing this twelve-year study.  The first year of the study, which is what we will be doing, is focused on "Meeting Jesus," and what a wonderful place to start when telling God's story.

LANGUAGE ARTS

Since this is a "real" school year (though still not actually required by the state of Texas), I wanted to find something more than just a mix of random handwriting and phonics programs with a few read-alouds thrown in.  Though math seems to really be SC's thing, mine is reading and literature.  I am really excited that I heard about the Junior Great Books  "Read-Aloud" curriculum.  Even thought it is typically used in a group setting (which may pose a problem if we stick with it in later years), I think it will be a good, easy introduction for SC into some great literature (short stories and poetry), as well as the process of discussing what is read.  We will spread out the lessons so that each story takes two weeks, and do the "Sailing Ship Series" during the fall and the "Dragon Series" next spring, and then move along to the other two "Read-Aloud" series next year.

To go along with this I have also found a program from the Center for Gifted Education called Jacob's Ladder, which (at this level) takes picture book stories and helps guide kids through "ladders" of reading comprehension.  I am sort-of doubling up between this and the Junior Great Books when it comes to reading, but each program has its own areas of strength, and the reading choices in Jacob's Ladder are such that as SC develops her reading skills she may be able to read the selections on her own and then work through the comprehension.

Finally, though SC has tested at the level of someone 6.8 years in reading, she still struggles when it comes to sounding out new words and will typically just shrug her shoulders in hopes that I or AC will just tell her the word, which she then commits to memory.  This year, in an attempt to give her the tools to boost her reading confidence, we are going to be trying All About Reading Level 1.  I am actually pretty excited about this program too, as I have heard great things about it.

We will supplement when we feel like it with Explode the Code because SC likes it, but it won't be something I schedule into our regular schedule.

To go along with All About Reading we will also be using All About Spelling Level 1, though I am still unsure how to schedule these together.  I have read that some people start AAR and then later start AAS, but others seem to do them simultaneously.

We are still working slowly on A Reason for Handwriting level A, though that is due more to the fact that it is something to be done five days per week and we have only been schooling three days (when we stick to a schedule at all) rather than SC not wanting to or lacking the fine motor skills.  In fact, she writes daily when she makes "cards" for AC and I, or doing other schoolwork.  We will continue level A this fall (and hope we can get it done daily) and then move on to level B when we get there.

Another thing we will add in is some time working on writing, and specifically creating a narrative.  I saw WriteShop Primary at the Homeschool Book Fair, but there was just so much extra stuff that wasn't really writing that I decided against it.  So, I am sort-of modifying the Draw-Write-Now program to take the pictures, allowing SC to draw them as part of her "publication" (as well as practice following precise instructions), but then using that picture to create a story.  We will start by just copying the "handwriting" portion, and then build on that, brainstorming characters, plot, and making sure there is a beginning, middle and end.  We did the first lesson this summer as a trial and SC kept asking to get back to "Happy Mrs. Chicken."

Finally, as SC has been manipulating words and loves that they have classifications, I have decided to add in some light grammar once a week.  We will be reading Grammar-Land, the first third of Primary Language Lessons, and using the Critical Thinking Company's Language Smarts level B as a supplement.  I don't expect 100% mastery in this area, but I think she will enjoy it.



For our current list of prospective read-aloud books, check out this late summer post.

HISTORY

We started using the History Odyssey "Ancients" Level 1 last fall and I absolutely loved it.  However, it was just too much work for SC, and I really wasn't prepared to do all the activities  (and how much time it was taking) last year.  This year, I have planned three forty-minute sessions during the week, which should be ample time to complete everything.  We will probably start back at the beginning, as we only made it to week three last fall before shelving it.



MATH

We started Singapore Primary Mathematics level 1A at the end of last spring when we realized Math-U-See was not a good fit, and my hope over the summer was that we would be ready to start 1B for this fall.  However, we have been having a fun summer, and though we have done some math, we are not ready for 1B yet.  So, we will finish 1A first and then start on 1B.  However, I must say that this program is working very well with us and where SC refused to use the manipulatives to do the work for Math-U-See, she loves the other ways that are taught in Singapore (like using a number line).  We have also purchased some magnetic foam counters to use on the whiteboard and she has to come up and move them around to "show" me what she has been learning.  They have been a wonderful purchase!

We will be doing more of the Challenging Word Problems book, which we have not really touched, along with Process Skills in Problem Solving level 1.  We will also be starting up Life of Fred Apples, reading one lesson per week for "fun."

We will continue to work on Lollipop Logic books, plus Connections: Activities for Deductive Thinking once per week.

SCIENCE

Last year I bought Apologia's Exploring Creation with Astronomy to try, and it was just too demanding for SC, even using the Junior Notebooking Journal.  We shelved it before we even finished the first week (when it asked for her to create a mnemonic phrase to memorize the order of the planets).  I still think it will be a bit much for her this year, but I discovered a set of "change" themed units by the Center for Gifted Education that are K-1 level and look perfect.  There are three units of twelve lessons each, which will be perfect for our year.  First we will do Survive and Thrive, which covers life science; then we will do Water Works, which covers physical science; finally we will finish up with How the Sun Makes Our Day, the Earth science unit.  Hopefully this will be a good transition into the Apologia Astronomy next year.  Also, we did get a membership to the Perot Museum, and have many field trips planned for this year already, as well as to the nearby zoo.

SPANISH

I hope you aren't reading this and wondering what happened to our learning French last year.  Needless to say, I definitely over-scheduled what would work for a four-year-old.  We have decided to switch to Spanish, however, instead of just trying again with the French sitting on the shelf, because SC has really noticed that there are quite a few people in Texas who speak Spanish and wants to learn it.  At the Homeschool Book Fair I came across the SongSchool Spanish program and it looked like a fun introduction to the language.  Coupled with Muzzy DVDs from the library, some books of coloring pages and other printables, flashcards, Oh, Noah! and Salsa on the computer, hopefully we will be set for success.

MUSIC / PHYSICAL EDUCATION / ART

SC started piano lessons last fall, but struggled with "waiting for the other kids to catch up" because she picked up what the instructor was teaching so quickly.  We tried moving to private lessons, but it was with a new instructor who just could not handle SC and her mobility.  After waiting all through the spring semester for the original instructor to still not have space, she recommended another teacher and this one is very good with SC.  We went for a few trial lessons over the summer and are now waiting expectantly for lessons to start back up at the end of August.

For physical education, SC will be attending gymnastics, swimming lessons (her favorite), and dance class twice per week.  I am also trying to institute a "walk-the-dog" ritual in the morning (more for my physical education than hers), but it won't happen until it is no longer over 100 degrees!

While we will not be doing formal "art" instruction this year, our Bible program includes many art history studies/projects, as does the History Odyssey program.  She will be creating art with the Draw.Write.Now books to accompany her writing, as well as at other random times throughout our weeks for her own personal reason (she likes to make cards for people).  Also, I have a number of Dover coloring books that cover the history of art and some of the "great" artists, and we will utilize these in conjunction with various other subjects and read-alouds.

I realize this seems like quite a bit, but it really does fit into the schedule outlined above (I will do a more thorough post in a couple of weeks as to what our days will actually look like).  The only thing I haven't included here are the audiobooks (read-alouds) that we will be doing thrice a week, but I have written a separate post about that.  We are also going to finish off our week on Saturday mornings by having a traditional British elevenses and listening to some classical music.

What does your new school year look like?  Have you used any of these programs, and did you love them/hate them?  Leave a comment and let me know!

I am also linking up with the 5th Annual "Not Back-to-School" Blog Hop from iHomeschool Network.

"One's destination is never a place ..."

"One's destination is never a place, 

but rather a new way of looking at things." 

Henry Miller, Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch 

About two months ago I posted an update that was long overdue, mentioned two upcoming trips, and finished the post with "we shall see what else God sends our way this year."  Well, since it has now been two months since I last posted, I hoped you assumed good things were keeping me away, and you would be correct.  

I had mentioned a trip over Easter weekend to Los Angeles while AC works, one that would include getting to spend time with family, a visit to Disneyland, and time on the beach.  We also were able to drive down to San Diego and spend a few hours at the amazing San Diego Zoo, plus visit the Aquarium of the Pacific, one of our favorite Long Beach haunts.

At Disney this year we brought our camera, but we actually only took a few pictures at the end, when SC decided to stand in line to see the princesses.  

She has been to Disneyland a number of times already, and we really wanted  to just relax and have a good time, and no one had to be "on" for the camera.  Also, she is finally tall enough to ride some of the bigger rides.  Last time we went (she was 3 1/2) she was able to ride the Matterhorn, which is a bobsled-style ride, sitting on my lap.  It has since been renovated and riders sit individually and the seats are apparently very uncomfortable.  Also, she is still so small (even meeting the height requirement) and I feel better if I can somehow hold her head still so it doesn't bobble around.  So we didn't do the Matterhorn, but she did do Space Mountain (which she loved and asked immediately to do again), as well as the Star Tours ride (which has been closed every other time we have been since having SC).  She had recently seen the Star Wars movies, so she was very familiar with the characters and what was going on.  We stayed until the fireworks for the first time, but SC passed out in the car before we even left the parking garage.  All in all, it was a great day.

We drove down to San Diego on a spur-of-the-moment trip to visit the San Diego Zoo.  We were able to stay until the late evening due to the later sunset, and after hours of walking through this amazing zoo, I don't think we crossed any area twice.  I loved that there were animals we had not been able to see in any of the other zoos we had been to (like koalas), and that it took up a large enough area that even with the large number of people who were there (it was Good Friday) it didn't feel that crowded.  We were also very excited that we were able to see the baby panda, which had been born only months before.

Of course no trip to California would be complete without some time spent on the beach, even though the water is always cold, and even more so at the end of March.  We went to the "Dog Beach" at Huntington Beach, because it affords SC the opportunity to spend time with two of her favorite things, dogs and beaches.  We were there for just over an hour and the day was beautiful.  We could see across the coast clearly to Long Beach, and all the way out to Catalina Island.  We also saw a small pod of dolphins come very close to the shore.

Finally, the best part of the trip was getting to see all the family we miss so much when we are at home in Texas.

So, of course, one weekend away couldn't have kept me from the computer for two whole months, so what else was going on?  Well, I did get to travel with AC to London, which was a fabulous trip, but I also got to travel with him to New York City on a last minute trip between the one to CA and the one to the UK.  Though he had to do work during both of these trips, the ability to get some time for just us was wonderful, and I was able to see one city that I have only seen briefly and another country I had never been to.  We didn't take many pictures in NY, but the best sight we saw was at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and their exhibit called "Impressionism, Fashion and Modernity."  They had impressionist paintings displayed, and then many of the actual dresses/costumes that were worn by the women during the sitting for the painting.  It was phenomenal.

 

In London I was able to spend a couple of days traveling around on my own while AC worked and saw so much, but have so much left to see in another trip.  Of course I saw Buckingham Palace, walked through Hyde Park and Mayfair, went to the British Museum (though I only got to see half of it!), had high tea at Fortnam & Mason, and ate so much delicious food.  I cannot wait to go back again and take SC with us next time, and hopefully it will be relatively soon.

I am so thankful that I was able to tag along with AC to London and NYC, and that both SC and I were able to tag along to Los Angeles.  Now that we are home from almost a month on the road (and having spent the last month trying to get back to reality), I will hopefully be able to get back on track with blogging and sharing our journey in life and the pursuit of wisdom.

Top Ten Tuesday: "It was the best butter, you know."

"The March Hare took the watch and looked at it gloomily: 

then he dipped it into his cup of tea, and looked at it again: 

but he could think of nothing better to say than his first remark, 

'It was the best butter, you know.'"

-Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

This week, for Top Ten Tuesday, I wanted to feature my surprising craftiness.  Last week SC was invited to an Alice in Wonderland themed tea party birthday party that required a "tea party" hat.  Not having anything on hand that would specifically do, we set out first to Target to find a hat, and then Hobby Lobby to get some supplies, and with input from SC, I crafted a grand tea party hat.  

So, in ten steps, here is how to make an awesome tea party hat:

(1) Purchase a plain, floppy-brimmed hat.  We got this one here, in black.  It was on clearance for $4 at our local Target store.

(2) Purchase/gather any supplies you want to affix to the hat.  Also, if you do not like the original hat color, purchase spray paint.  SC wanted everything on her hat (including the hat itself) to be purple, her favorite color.

• hat
• purple glitter spray paint (like Krylon 4-Ounce Glitter Aerosol Spray)
• tulle (we got two shades initially, but I only used one)
• wide ribbon
• floral garland
• large flower with detachable stem
• scissors
• hot glue gun & glue
• stapler

(3) Spray paint the hat (outdoors or in another well-ventilated area) so it is the color you want.  We wanted the purple glitter look, so used the glitter paint, but you could use any color or finish (solid, translucent, glossy, matte) that you wish.  

*The paint will make the brim much stiffer than it was originally, so if you wish for a super-floppy brim, you may want to just paint the crown and use a darker/less translucent tulle to add the color.

(4) Start pulling tulle off the first roll you want to use.  Fold one side upon itself in an accordion fashion, leaving the other end free.  Affix the folds together with a stapler.  Make sure the stapled side is more tightly scrunched than the open side, which will create a somewhat circular "skirt" result with the tulle.

You can do this without measuring up against the crown of the hat for a while, but eventually will need to wrap it around the outside edge to make sure you only use as much tulle as you need.  Cut the tulle off the roll when the "skirt" is complete.

(5) Using the glue gun, apply hot glue to the circumference of the crown.  CAREFULLY attach the tulle "skirt" to the crown with the staples up above the brim (so they will be hidden by the ribbon).  Again, be careful! The tulle is sheer and the glue will seep through, causing burt fingers.  

*At this point, if you wish to use a second layer of tulle, repeat steps (4) and (5).  We left it with just one so that the glitter paint showed through.  However, you could use multiple colors or even different widths of tulle to create a neat look.

(6) Measure out the length of ribbon needed to wrap around the crown of the hat, plus about 2 inches to fold over neatly.  Apply hot glue carefully to the bottom portion of the crown, directly over the staples, and up about an inch (or more if you have chosen a very wide ribbon) all the way around the hat.

CAREFULLY press the ribbon to the glued area of the hat starting on one end, going around.  Keep in mind that your ribbon probably will not lay flat.  If you chose not to attach floral garland, feathers or other items on top of the ribbon, you might want to choose a ribbon that isn't as shiny as the one I have chosen, which really shows all the wrinkles.

(7) When you have wrapped most of the ribbon around, fold the last inch under itself with a dab of hot glue.  Then affix the rest of the ribbon, adding a bit of glue on top of the already pressed ribbon to hold the folded-over end.

(8) Measure the appropriate length of floral garland (or you could use a feather boa!) around the circumference of the crown.  Decide how you want the end to look and cut to the appropriate length.  Place the garland up against the edge of the crown and, starting with the end, carefully pick up sections of the stem to apply hot glue underneath.

If your garland has larger flowers, you may want to add some extra glue under each of them to make sure they stay put.  Also make sure all leaves are pointing the direction you wish (so you don't see the backs) and add a dot of glue as needed.

(9) De-stem (with scissors, or some will just pop off) the large flower that will be the focal point of the hat.  Decide where you wish the focal point to be, but you can also use the flower to cover any oops spots or if you have a giant buckle (like I did) that sticks out even after everything else is on there.  Apply quite a bit of hot glue to the base of the large flower and press into place, making sure to angle it toward the front of the hat.  Hold the flower in place for a few minutes, because the weight of the larger flower might make it move before the glue cools and hardens.

*This would also be the time to add on large plumes or any other items you wish to tuck into the garland.

(10) Try the hat on the wearer!  Keep in mind the more stuff you add to the hat (including spray paint), the heavier it will be.

Any comments, advice or opinions are welcomed.  Don't forget to check out other "Top Ten Tuesday" posts here. 

**This post contains affiliate links.  Please read my disclosure statement.

Thankful Thursday: "You can never get a cup of tea large enough ..."

"You can never get a cup of tea large enough 

or a book long enough to suit me."

- C. S. Lewis

Today I am hugely thankful for a nice hot cup of tea.  I seem to have developed a sore throat and sinus issues as the weather here in Texas has changed once again from cool and breezy back to hot and sultry.  So, I made myself a nice cup of peppermint tea this morning before taking SC to Mother's Day Out.  Here is picture of my tea shelf, so you can see how serious I am about tea.

The tea at the back is double stacked, and there is more back behind the snap-lock tubs.  I have tea from quite a few brands, including loose leaf from Teavana, Taylors of Harrogate, Tea Forte, Sterling Tea, and Rishi Tea.  I also have bagged tea from Stash, Republic of Tea, Twinings, and Celestial Seasonings.  

My all-time favorite tea is White Peach Wuyi Oolong from Stash.  My second favorite is Lady Gray from Twinings.  I prefer oolong tea over all others, and like green tea the least.  Black tea is okay if drinking iced, or, like with the Lady Grey, a blend that is not as strong.  AC prefers black tea, and Earl Grey specifically.  I am not a fan of the bergamot flavor, but we have found an Earl Grey with Lavender by Rishi that is delicious.  Herbal, ceylon and rooibos teas are all lumped in the middle, and I drink them according to my mood.

I do prefer loose leaf teas in general over the bagged variety because the flavors seem better to me, though I cannot describe it more specifically than that.  However, you will notice that both my two favorites I have in the bagged variety due to the ability to make them more quickly.

Though I am thankful for hot tea today, I also love iced tea and that has become my drink of choice over soda when I want something other than water.  I used to drink my tea sweetened, but now drink it all black (see my page on eating Paleo).  However, if I have a sore throat and allergies, nothing helps faster than local honey in my tea!

As always, any comments, advice or opinions are welcomed.  Let me know what your favorite teas are, and how you like to drink them.  Don't forget to see who else is thankful today by clicking through below!

**This post contains affiliate links.  Please read my disclosure statement.