This past week homeschool bloggers have been sharing their new school year photos, and I’ve decided to do that too. Here’s the students of Covenant Home School! And a silly song to listen to as you take a peek!
This was our second week back to full time homeschooling since summer vacation. I feel that we are getting back into the swing of things!
August 12th was both Herbert Hoover’s birthday and the statehood anniversary of Missouri, therefore we have a start to both timeline projects. And we celebrated with cupcakes.
B 15 had his 10th day of 10th grade. Hopefully, this upcoming week we can start on the new mural for the chalk board wall.
Our nature observations this week included the new seeds on the big maple tree in the front yard,
grasshoppers in the garden, and the mystery vine blooming and smelling wonderful.
I believe that we have adjusted to having character studies, math and language arts lessons daily again. Our pirate unit study is going well. The house is even slightly neater, now that we are back to our regular chore system, too. So all in all, I think we had a pretty good week.
Ha, no I didn’t. We went to the park twice.
We also attended the Back to School Youth Rally with around 200 teens from our area.
Silver Lining (our homeschool color guard) started practicing again. They are working on the marching and show routines for the Labor Day Parade.
My in-laws came for a visit and Z tried to teach his cousin to play chess. He got pretty good this past school year.
I’m looking forward to the upcoming week as we add more science and more pirate adventures to our studies. And I think things will run a bit smoother now that we’re back in the groove of full time homeschooling.
You have a good week, too.
Blessings.
betty jo
For another post about our color guard click here https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/03/16/silver-lining/
We’ve only purchased curriculum once throughout our 16 year homeschooling journey. Let me just simply say that it was not a good choice for us. Had we continued on the curriculum buying route, no doubt I would be making furniture with it now, for I’d be dissatisfied and changing it every semester (or even more often).
These past few weeks homeschool bloggers have been sharing what they are using this year for curriculum. I felt that those of us who choose not to use manufactured curriculum got left out. I confess that I even had a brief moment of longing as I saw photo after photo of shiny new workbooks and texts.
So, with that in mind, I’m sharing some of the reasons we do not go the curriculum route in our homeschool.
I love the freedom to learn without restrictions. When we are learning about a topic we find particularly interesting I would not want our study to be limited to only a few pages or an “x” amount of time to get it finished. Also, I feel that researching a topic from several different sources is a much better way to learn.
I hate “busy work”. I’m not fond of how some curricula have pages and pages to be completed when only a page or two would get the job done. And, I dislike how others barely cover a skill without enough practice before moving on to the next lesson. Sometimes kids will catch on to something quickly, other times it can take a long while.
No matter the curriculum, it isn’t designed for individuality. And teaching my kids according to their learning styles, interests, speeds, strengths and weaknesses is the best aspect of home education.
For another post about curriculum choices click here. https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/04/09/abeka-lifepac-and-fiar-oh-my/
For more about why and how we school like we do, click here https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/05/08/why-and-how/
betty jo
This was our first week back to full time homeschooling! It’s our 16th year of educating at home. We kicked off the new school year with waffles, (according to the special days calendar, it was International Waffle Day)!
No shirt, no shoes, no problem serving up a geography lesson.
We erased the ocean mural from our chalkboard wall. What a dusty blue mess! At least it cleans up fairly easy.
For history we learned about the explorers from the “Age of Discovery” as the introduction leading into our first unit study of the school year, “Pirates”!
Our first library check outs of the school year.
Z’s third day of the third grade!
A movie day with Veggie Tales, The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything, and a remake of Treasure Island.
J’s fourth day of the fourth grade! (Sorry about the blurred photo, but this kid was not able to stand still, nor the photographer, apparently)
These are the prettiest pickings from our science project garden this week. That’s not an apple, it’s a sweet red pepper. We harvested only a few tomatoes, but have dozens almost ripe on the vines.
I hope you had a good week and that the upcoming week will be even better!
Related posts:
August Special Days calendar https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/07/29/special-days-in-august/
Our Chalkboard Wall https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/one-of-our-favorite-things-the-wall/
Our Garden Science Project https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/04/14/homeschool-gardening/ and https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/05/23/watching-our-garden-grow/
Blessings,
betty jo
I have prayed over our 2013-2014 school year. Goals for the year have been set. Our study focus is decided and brain storming lists are filling up with possibilities. The letter of intent, required my our state law, has been mailed. The attendance records are printed and sorted into folders. New binders and supplies are waiting to be used. There are daily plans on the chart. I have a coffee and chocolate. I am ready!
Today is our first day back to full time homeschooling. E’s starting her senior year and she is excited. B is in 10th this year, and I see no visible signs of excitement. J covers his ears and yells, “I don’t want to hear it!” every time schooling is mentioned. Z has been practically begging to get going on the 3rd grade.
I’m smiling and confident. Smiling and confidence are good ways for me to kick off my 16th year of this homeschooling journey. Smiling and confidence are good for all of us homeschooling mamas, don’t you agree?
I’m sharing some links to help with that!
A cute co-op group and those silly questions that we get asked.
A very sweet prayer for the homeschooling mama, (even addresses my concern over algebra) http://www.educatorsathome.com/homeschool-moms-prayer/
No matter how our first day back goes, I know it won’t be as terrible as this one!
A always remembering this!
betty jo
Welcome to the third and final class of Unit Study Theory 101. For today’s class I will be answering the question, “How do you make weekly plans for unit studies?” However, before we get to that, I’ll explain how my longer term plans are designed.
After years of having a messy planner, (erase marks, comments in the margins, and scribbled out assignments), I gave up traditional planning and threw the planner away. It seemed like we hardly ever “stuck” to the plan because life happened, we took advantage of unexpected learning opportunities , or group activities would consume a day or two. Sometimes assignments took longer or went quicker than I expected them to.
Keeping a journal works much better. I keep my journal in a binder. The first page is this printable from Teacher Files (I changed the months to match our school year). I fill in some of the blanks as we start each month, the rest gets filled in as it happens. http://www.teacherfiles.com/downloads/Long%20Range%20Planner.pdf
Making a “possibility” list of topics and the subjects it will include for the current unit study is the next page in my binder. I add the start and finish dates as they happen, (or cross out what we didn’t do). The next page is where I record resources. I print off themed notebooking pages for my journal (usually the same pages I print for the kids notebooking/journaling assignments). When the unit study is over, I begin a new possibility list for the next study . This a simple way to keep track our learning.
I love sticky notes for weekly planning . Usually Saturday is the day I make the upcoming weeks plans. I look over the special days list first to see what I want to be included in our studies for the upcoming week. I write that on a sticky note and place on the weekly chart. Next, I put extra curricular activities on other sticky notes and add those to the chart. Finally, I make sticky notes for daily assignments (based off of my “possibility” list) to add to the chart. At the end of each day, I move the notes to my journal to record later or move the sticky note to the next day if the assignment needs more time. I found this chart at the $Tree for us to use this school year. In the past, I made my own weekly charts on poster board.
Fridays are left blank on the planner. This is the day to catch up on any uncompleted assignments or free study and group activities.
Other related posts :
The first class of Unit Study 101, click here https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/07/22/unit-study-theory-101/
The second class of Unit Study 101 https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/07/25/unit-study-theory-101-class-2/
Listing of special days in August https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/07/29/special-days-in-august/
About our homeschool Fridays https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/03/09/the-ifs-of-friday/
If you have questions or comments, please leave them for they may be helpful to others.
Happy planning!
betty jo
This homeschooling week ends finding this mama tired but happy. What a week! I’ve been getting our house and schooling in order so that all will be ready on Monday, our official start back to full time homeschooling.
A week or so ago, I saw an idea for refurbishing a crib into a desk. I wanted one. We were able to get an old crib from our church’s supply closet and B15 assembled it just how I had envisioned it. The desk top is our dry erase board (a leftover piece of white Formica). Z thinks it’s cool to be allowed to draw on the desk top. I like the size. It’s large enough for two with plenty of room for a puzzle or math games. Placing it in front of the window will be nice as we journal seasonal observations (and spy on the neighbors).
I enjoyed the “Back To School” sales this week. I still have a bit left to get while the prices are low, however our haul is looking rather large and it’s more than what we need to get started including coffee and chocolate for the teacher!
The bulletin boards have been emptied and are ready for new word walls and timelines.
Our new calendar and weekly planner are on their boards.
Our materials from Nutrients for Life arrived this week. I told the kids we would be waiting until school started to open it. I’m hoping it will have useful information and resources to add to our science studies.
Free teaching materials can be ordered here http://www.nutrientsforlife.org/teachers/curriculum/toolkit.
We have one major project left to do this weekend. It’s time to erase our ocean mural. I feel a little sad about erasing this one. I think it has been my favorite. It certainly was the most fun to work on (yet).
I hope you had a good week, too and that the coming week will be even better!
betty jo
Today I have blessed. Currclick has gone out of their way to encourage homeschooling families by offering an awesome sale.
I subscribe to Currclicks e-mail listing and use many of their free offers and sometimes even spend a dollar or two. But, this sale is more than that. This sale is more like them saying, “We support homeschooling, we care about you and want to help you out.”
I am having fun looking for notebooking, copywork, and lapbooking materials for our US History unit studies we’ll be starting in the fall. I’m not spending much more than time and stocking up my files.
For those of us who pull our resources from different media, and are on limited budgets, this sale is perfect.
The great deals end July 29. Here’s the link!
http://www.currclick.com/cclick_pwyw.php#selectpub
Happy Back to School Shopping!
betty jo
Welcome back to Unit Study Theory 101. Today’s class will be covering the answer to the question, “How do you keep records for the subjects covered in a unit study?”
First, I want to make it clear that the way I keep records is partly because the state of Kentucky mandates that I keep attendance records and scholarship reports. Some state laws do not require such records and some laws require more. If you are unsure about what is required of you, then you can find help here http://www.hslda.org/ or here http://www.nhen.org/home.html.
Author, Dave Ramsey uses an acronym often when giving financial advice, “KISS” it stands for “Keep It Simple, Stupid”. I don’t like it put that way, however it is a pretty good system for most everything. Let’s change it to “Keep It Simple, Sweetie” for our purposes. OK?
My record keeping system is as KISS as one could be. The subjects (in an abbreviated code) run across the top and dates run down the left side.
The chart ends up looking a bit like graft paper and continues for 15 days. So, it takes 3 copies per 9 week grading period.
With this form I check off the subjects covered each day. If my child did an extra good job they get a check with a “+”, or if they could have done better, they get a check with a “-“. If I have a % grade (spelling or math test) or a letter grade (notebooking, essay, report) to record, I just put it in the correct box instead of a check. After nine weeks. 45 days, I average the grades in the bottom columns. I count a check+ as an “A”, a check as a “B” and a check – as a “C”. I also include a note about field trips, activities, or other comments.
You are welcome to use my daily subject checklist form if you’d like.
DAILY SUBJECT CHECKLIST with Titles
If you missed the first post Unit Study Theory 101, you can catch up here. https://stilllearningsomethingnew.com/2013/07/22/unit-study-theory-101/
Class 3 of Unit Study Theorey 101 , Planning the Unit Study Week,
If something was not clear, or if you have questions or suggestions, just leave me a comment.
betty jo
Recently a friend asked about our Viking studies from last fall. Here are the links I had saved. I thought I’d pass the collection on to those of you who might be thinking about a Viking study as well.
Movies to include: Veggie Tales: Lyle the Kindly Viking, Brave, and How to Train Your Dragon
Interactive History Games http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/vikings/
Unit Study and Labook Printables http://www.homeschoolshare.com/viking_adventure.php
And another Unit Study and Lapbook Printables http://www.tinasdynamichomeschoolplus.com/middle-ages-to-reform/vikings-lapbook/
Leif Erickson Biography Resources http://cybersleuth-kids.com/sleuth/History/Explorers/Leif_Ericsson/index.htm
paper dolls printables (this site is interesting, it is written in (perhaps?) Scandinavian so I have very little idea what it says, but wonderful art to browse) http://www.ungafakta.se/pyssel/klipp/klippdockor/
Arts and Craft Projects https://www.diys.com/viking-themed-projects/
Walkthrough type videos http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/vikings/
168 page English to Norse dictionary. (we didn’t spend much time learning this, but it was an interesting list to look over a few times) http://www.yorku.ca/inpar/language/English-Old_Norse.pdf
And this was our chalkboard wall mural!
betty jo
Still Learning Something New 