I have just started planning next school year. Savannah will be in 3rd grade and Charlotte will be in 1st (according to their ages, not abilities). I'll be continuing with Math Mammoth and Xtra Math, as well as Phonics Road, which covers phonics, spelling, dictation, and grammar (I'm dropping the literature/writing section).
I have decided to follow Ambleside Online closely this coming year and take a more Charlotte Mason approach.
Savannah will be doing Year 2 in Ambleside's Curriculum. Just because it is "Year 2" does not mean it is a 2nd grade curriculum; it is not. It would be appropriate for even a 4th or 5th grader! We have read all of the books in Year 1 and some of the books in Year 2 already, so my booklist isn't exactly the same as what is on the site.
I divided Year 1 into two years, adding a few more books to the list to beef it up. Year 1 is great for 1st and 2nd grades. Charlotte will be doing part of Year 1.
So here is the plan so far: *1st term, **2nd term, ***3rd term
Together I will read to them:
* ** ***Parables from Nature - literature
* ** ***Beautiful Tales from Shakespeare - literature
* ** ***Pilgrim's Promise (audio cd) - literature
*Seabird - geography
**Burgess Animal Book - natural history/science
***Pagoo - natural history/science
Savannah's Books (Year 2) Medieval Times :
(We will tandem-read these, where she reads a paragraph, I read a paragraph. She will gradually begin reading most of them on her own as the year progresses. All of these books she will narrate from. She will also be reading easier books on her own that are not listed.)
* ** ***Our Island Story - history
** ***A Child's History of the World - history
* **The Little Duke - biography
***Joan of Arc (Stanley) - biography
*The Wind in the Willows - literature
**Robin Hood (Pyle) - literature
***The Door in the Wall - literature
Charlotte's Books (Year 1B):
(These are definitely subject to change! She will also be reading easier books on her own that are not listed.)
* ** ***Book of Mormon Stories (Petersen) - history
* ** ***Fifty Famous Stories Retold - history tales
*Benjamin Franklin (d' Aulaire) - biography
**George Washington (d' Aulaire) - biography
***Abraham Lincoln (d' Aulaire) - biography
* ** ***The Blue Fairy Book - literature
* ** ***Just So Stories - literature
Missing from this schedule are three artists to study, three composers, three poets, which animals/plants to study, handicrafts, hymns, and scriptures and poems to memorize. I also need to figure out a system for copywork/dictation and a history timeline.
Next, I go through each book to see how many chapters (or pages) there are and divide them up into weeks. For instance, if I have a 23 chapter book that I want to read within 12 weeks, I would schedule 2 chapters from that book/week.
Week: 1 2 3 4 5 6
Book:
Heidi Ch. 1&2 3&4 5&6 7&8 9&10 11&12
Little House p. 1-5 6-8 9-14 15-20 21-24 25-29
Hopefully I can follow through with my plans this time. This year I got way off track from moving twice and having a baby. I think I have a good excuse anyway :)
Monday, April 30, 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Reading Aloud ramblings
I just heard about The Read-Aloud Handbook. I looked it up on Amazon and read a few pages of it from that site. Then I ordered it; it will be here tomorrow. It basically talks about the effects reading to your children has on them, when to begin reading to them, when to stop, and what to read. It is highly motivating and has, once again, changed my ideas about homeschooling and how to educate my kiddos. Reading that book in light of studying Charlotte Mason, Charlotte Mason is beginning to make a little more sense. Or rather, I'm seeing the value of educating FULLY Charlotte Mason style. I really like Ambleside Online, for example. But over and over again on that site the creators say not to treat this like another booklist, but to implement it the way Charlotte Mason prescribes. I've been treating it like a booklist :) A booklist that is difficult to make time for.
Our homeschoool day is full. First the kids do Xtra Math, then a page out of their math books. By the time we do those two things, in addition to getting everyone dressed, feeding everyone, cleaning up the mess, and reading out of the scriptures, the morning is over. I let the kids go out to play for a while as a break, then bring them back in at lunch, clean up, do a quick devotional (sing, recite a scripture, listen/read a scripture story or Friend article). Baby and Zach go down for naps and the rest of us go outside and do some sort of outdoor chore with Isaac. Babies wake, need diapers, everyone needs fed, kitchen needs cleaned again. Then I start phonics/spelling/grammar/reading/writing/lit. individually with Savannah and Charlotte. You know, the beast known as Language Arts. I also try to get them to do their piano during the day; they are both taking piano lessons now. I break up fights, clean up the constant huge messes made by Destructo Boy, clean out poopy panties, spray down poopy bums in the shower, clean more messes by D.B., do more dishes, make more food, give hugs, loves, and spankin's, and try not to lose my mind. I'm just a little busy. I try to squeeze in a read-aloud when they are in bed, but more often than not I'm too tired. This is NOT a Charlotte Mason education. : (
Can I just say right here and now: I'm OK with just one boy. That's all we need.
Where was I? Oh yeah, read-alouds. So reading aloud, aparently, is SO important, SO foundational to a good education and character, that I really can't afford to miss them. In fact, read-alouds should become the CORE of what we do during the day. Which means I need to reorganize our day and our priorities and our approach to education... again. It is too much of a check list. Math done.. check! Phonics Road done... Check! Scripture reading done.. check!
It's not meaning anything to the kids and the kids do not love learning : ( But they do like books and they like to listen to stories : )
If I took that amazing "book list" called Ambleside Online and made that more important than, say... the Beast, commonly known as Language Arts... and diligently read aloud and required the kids to read widely and often, narrating as we go, copying down the great ideas we read... I think that the Beast can appropriately be slain. Which hurts. I'm not sure I have the guts to put Phonics Road to the side. I'll have to ponder that a little longer.
A Charlotte Mason education is putting a feast of ideas (nature, science, artist, composers, math, geography, biographies, myths, fairy tales, character sketches) in front of the child through worthy books. The books have to use literary language and be uplifting (think: virtuous, lovly, of good report and praiseworthy). It is letting the child read, ponder, and then express through narrating or art, so that the ideas become digested and become theirs. Charlotte Mason education inspires a love of learning. A Charlotte Mason education is also a life style; it is having the Spirit in our home, being together as a happy family, working in the garden together, taking TIME together. Reading, walking, talking, singing, laughing together. JOY. For instance, DB is currently climbing in my lap trying to turn off the computer screen so that I will sing him itsy bitsy spider. That means I'm done typing for now.
Later.
Our homeschoool day is full. First the kids do Xtra Math, then a page out of their math books. By the time we do those two things, in addition to getting everyone dressed, feeding everyone, cleaning up the mess, and reading out of the scriptures, the morning is over. I let the kids go out to play for a while as a break, then bring them back in at lunch, clean up, do a quick devotional (sing, recite a scripture, listen/read a scripture story or Friend article). Baby and Zach go down for naps and the rest of us go outside and do some sort of outdoor chore with Isaac. Babies wake, need diapers, everyone needs fed, kitchen needs cleaned again. Then I start phonics/spelling/grammar/reading/writing/lit. individually with Savannah and Charlotte. You know, the beast known as Language Arts. I also try to get them to do their piano during the day; they are both taking piano lessons now. I break up fights, clean up the constant huge messes made by Destructo Boy, clean out poopy panties, spray down poopy bums in the shower, clean more messes by D.B., do more dishes, make more food, give hugs, loves, and spankin's, and try not to lose my mind. I'm just a little busy. I try to squeeze in a read-aloud when they are in bed, but more often than not I'm too tired. This is NOT a Charlotte Mason education. : (
Can I just say right here and now: I'm OK with just one boy. That's all we need.
Where was I? Oh yeah, read-alouds. So reading aloud, aparently, is SO important, SO foundational to a good education and character, that I really can't afford to miss them. In fact, read-alouds should become the CORE of what we do during the day. Which means I need to reorganize our day and our priorities and our approach to education... again. It is too much of a check list. Math done.. check! Phonics Road done... Check! Scripture reading done.. check!
It's not meaning anything to the kids and the kids do not love learning : ( But they do like books and they like to listen to stories : )
If I took that amazing "book list" called Ambleside Online and made that more important than, say... the Beast, commonly known as Language Arts... and diligently read aloud and required the kids to read widely and often, narrating as we go, copying down the great ideas we read... I think that the Beast can appropriately be slain. Which hurts. I'm not sure I have the guts to put Phonics Road to the side. I'll have to ponder that a little longer.
A Charlotte Mason education is putting a feast of ideas (nature, science, artist, composers, math, geography, biographies, myths, fairy tales, character sketches) in front of the child through worthy books. The books have to use literary language and be uplifting (think: virtuous, lovly, of good report and praiseworthy). It is letting the child read, ponder, and then express through narrating or art, so that the ideas become digested and become theirs. Charlotte Mason education inspires a love of learning. A Charlotte Mason education is also a life style; it is having the Spirit in our home, being together as a happy family, working in the garden together, taking TIME together. Reading, walking, talking, singing, laughing together. JOY. For instance, DB is currently climbing in my lap trying to turn off the computer screen so that I will sing him itsy bitsy spider. That means I'm done typing for now.
Later.
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