Winter Wanderings

After too many days avoiding the frigid temperatures and ice-laden driveway, the boys and I ventured out for some serious fresh air yesterday. They wanted to "dig for dinosaur bones" so we grabbed a few shovels and made our way into the woods. We didn't find any bones (maybe next time) but we did make a few discoveries along the way. Peeled-back birch tree bark revealing a pinkish skin underneath; "soft like carpet" tree moss and lichen; animal tracks (something "fast, and dangerous like a coyote or a fox"....or our neighbor's dog); and some eye-catchingly bright orange fungus growing on a stack of logs.

Plans For Social Studies Decided

Originally I planned to begin Story of the World 1 this fall, but decided to wait until first grade as intended. Before diving head-first into something as complex as ancient history, I'd like to give D a more "gentle" introduction to the world. An introduction to the globe, to maps, to the continents, to the many different cultures and customs around the world. And I want to accomplish this through children's literature, which I feel is the best way for D to personalize, understand, and absorb what he's learning. I found the following book on Amazon, and am hoping it will guide me towards a decent selection of book ideas as well as other resources:

Discovering World Geography With Books Kids Love (Eleanor B. English) http://www.amazon.com/DISCOVERING-WORLD-GEOGRAPHY-BOOKS-KIDS/dp/1555919650/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203443559&sr=1-1

Now if only Mr. UPS Man would be so kind as to deliver a package to me today!Once it arrives, I'll be able to get a better feel as to whether or not this will fulfill the geography/history needs for D's Kindergarten year.

Memories of a Summer Friend

In summer-noon flushes
When all the wood hushes,
Blue dragon-flies knitting
To and fro in the sun,
With sidelong jerk flitting
Sink down on the rushes.
And, motionless sitting,
Hear it bubble and run,
Hear its low inward singing
With level wings swinging
On green tasselled rushes,
To dream in the sun.

(Lowell, "The Fountain of Youth")

"P" is for Pancakes and Patriots

Nothing beats a Sunday that starts off with daddy's egg-free, nut-free pancakes and ends with a serious game of football, especially when that game is the Superbowl, and even more-so when it's YOUR TEAM playing!! Ok, so maybe a big stack of homemade buttermilk pancakes made with eggs and cooked in bacon grease beats out the allergy-free kind we've had to adapt to. And, yes, actually WINNING the Superbowl instead of losing in the final 35 seconds (sheds tear) would've helped as well. But to two young boys who got a mouth full of sticky yumminess 35 seconds after being called to the table for breakfast and then getting to stay up LATE to watch an exciting football game, well, nothing beats a Sunday like that.

Time to Fill

It's one of those mornings. We got up, ate breakfast, got dressed, and played for a few minutes. I threw in a load of laundry, emptied the dishwasher, refilled it. Fed the cats, put away two loads of laundry, read to the boys. D and I translated our names using Egyptian hieroglyphics while B jumped on the trampoline. I switched the laundry over to the dryer, and found another pile of clothes that needed to be put away. In the process, I decided to go through all of B's clothes to sort out the ones that are too small. I ended up with an entire laundry basket full of clothes to give to the Salvation Army, and B's drawers are finally managable. While I was organizing, the boys managed to take all the books off B's bookshelf and fight over each one. Two time outs later, the books were all back on the shelf and the arguing had ended. And now??

And now it's 9:00am.

Nine. In the morning. That leaves us with a LOT of hours left to fill. It's too cold to play outside at this point, so that means a day of indoor play. I *could* bring them to the library, but the town has no school today (teacher workshop?) which means the library will be JAMMED with kids. I *could* go shopping, but that will ultimately lead to spending money I don't need to be spending right now. Looks like we'll be doing a lot of baking, reading, and just being lazy together by the warm wood stove. Sounds like a great way fill all those long, cold winter hours....

Weekly Update

Since this blog was created with the intention of tracking, organizing, and reporting about our homeschooling progress, I will need to post updates every week or so. I'll title it "Weekly Update" so that you can decide either to read about what we've been up to or to skip right over it so as not to be bored to tears!! Reading about other people's schoolwork is like looking through other people's travel photos.... you either like to or, well, not so much. I have been spending a lot of time developing a schedule that I think will work for us. I won't know for sure how our days will flow until we officially "start school" this fall, but I wanted to have something in place to give us some structure while trying to figure it all out. I've also been reading up on all the various methods of homeschooling, and really admire Charlotte Mason's educational philosophies. I also appreciate the Montessori approach, and plan to use many of the Montessori activities for B's preschooling. As for the actual "bones" of my curriculum--structure I'd like to follow-- I keep coming back to the classical approach as defined in The Well Trained Mind. It just seems to have the best "fit" for us overall. Here's a peek at D's curriculum for the 2008-09 year, based on a CM "living books" philosophy interwoven with the structure of TWTM:

Math:

Singapore Earlybird Math 2A and 2B

PowerMath to supplement

Phonics:

The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading

Little Stories for Little Folks

Grammar:

First Language Lessons

Spelling:

My First Catholic Speller

History:

Story of the World Volume 1: Ancient Times

Story of the World Activity Book

Science:

Easy as 1,2,3: A Catholic Overview of Science

Religion:

Catholic Heritage Kindergarten Curriculum

Fine Arts:

The Harp and the Laurel Wreath~ Poetry

Child-Sized Masterpieces~ Art History

Guitar Lessons~ Instrument Study

It looks like a lot when it's all down on paper, but not everything is studied every day of the week (other than math and language arts) or for long periods of time.

Handwriting is incorporated into the grammar lessons, geography with history, and reading/read-alouds will be a part of every subject, especially history and science. Most of what they learn will be learned from reading literature instead of textbooks. That's what appeals to me the most.

Just Like Daddy

For my boys, a genetic prediposition plus a generous handful of 'boy energy' has created a natural love for anything with an engine, especially if it has the potential for speed. At the first sight of snow, D couldn't wait to get out on his snowmobile for a ride around the yard. B, of course, had to copy his big brother and tried to ride his toy ATV through the snow (to no avail). It was nice to see them having fun together and bonding over Daddy's favorite sport.