4 weeks before the start of school

I knew when the summer started it was going to be over before it even began. With August nipping at my heels I am feeling the pressure of having everything together for the start of school. Last Saturday I caught a wind of motivation and planned out 4-6 weeks of Language Arts Lessons from a book I picked up from Classical Conversations when at a practicum in June titled "Our Mother Tongue: A Guide to English Grammar." I don't think it was intended to be a stand-alone curriculum but it seemed like a great idea when I purchased it. I ended up typing up all the grammar exercises in a Word document to give to my 4th & 6th grader for practicing new concepts introduced in my daily lessons for them. I just feel more prepared if I have sheets for them to work on while I figure out the flow of my day. I used "work" days this summer to get an idea of what it will be like this fall with all 3 girls. Here were my observations: one daughter doesn't like others talking while she is working on an assignment, sometimes 2 or 3 have questions about their individual assignments at once so there is a lot of waiting before they're able to ask questions, sometimes they need individual attention at the same time! Hence the reason why I see a need to have ready-made things for them to do during these "wait" times. I recall during my substitute days in public school a lot of that "wait" time was filled by the kids having a book handy in their desks to pull out. That's an idea. When you have nothing to do - READ. I realize also that my kids (especially the younger two) are used to very tight organized schedules. Even if we end up easing up on a schedule maybe I should start out with one so they know what we are doing and if there is a lull in the schedule or if we are behind = READ.

At some point you have to say no more . . .

I'm talking about buying books. I just keep finding things that I think would be great to incorporate in our homeschool. For the last two days JW and I have been at the CC practicum where I've been learning more about the classical model of education. JW has been in a logic camp. What is a logic camp? Well, Logic is one of the classes she will be introduced to next year, so from what she told me today they did different activities to identify opinion and fact statements. You really have to understand classical education to get it but within the logic class they are taught how to critically think through statements that people make, how to discern truth from fallacy and make arguments that can be supported by truth. A big part of the program is writing, speaking and debating. The debates which are introduced in high school really make the kids examine the truths in their Christian faith as revealed in the bible and teaches them skills to defend their faith. Logic is foundational to debate. So I purchased all the books she will be using next year along with some great grammar finds to begin teaching grammar to the younger two and myself as well.

The kids are so excited about summer vacation. I'm excited about having them all home finally. I'm also excited about getting them into summer reading and math which they just can't understand why I'm so excited about "school." I just believe its been a wonderful gift God has given me - the privilege of being totally responsible to nurture and teach his children at home. Here is the conclusion I've come to - homeschooling and adoption are such a wonderful effective tool to raise up mighty warriors for God's army. OK where did adoption come from? That's another story for another time maybe another blog. But here is a treat - http://buildingtheblocks.blogspot.com/ A family with such a heart for God's children. Their story resonates with me.

Planning for next year

Seems like I keep going back to the drawing board when it comes to planning for next year. Initially, I used TWTM as an outline as to what and how to teach certain subjects at different levels. But as I look to have more than one homeschooler it seems wise to use one curriculum resource where possible. JW will do Classical Conversations once a week using Saxon math, Latin grammar, World Geography, Creative Writing, and Newberry Literature. I'm going to add Wordly Wise to help strengthen her vocabulary. I'm expecting her to be responsible for her work and accountable to her tutor for her assignments with my oversight. She will do history as a unit study with her sisters and physical science under my direction.

My most recent find has been Tapestry of Grace. It will allow me to do Language Arts Reading, History, and Bible/Church History with all three kids using real books and resources catered to their grade levels. I downloaded sample lessons from thier website and I believe it will help make things interesting and a little easier as far as lesson planning goes. I will use Saxon for each kid for their grade level, younger two will do Apologia and Spelling Workout for Spelling. I don't have anything formal for grammar - not sure what I will add if anything for that. Seems like an awful lot to do. Not to mention the fact that I want to incorporate Art & Music as well. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out but I am looking forward to all of this being a family affair.

Week 3, Day 2

Well Classical Conversations was a real treat today.
JW was into every lesson. First the pre-algebra lessons were introduced, JW was able to solve problems along with the other students; second, was the Latin lesson - absolutely intriguing; lastly, rhetoric and history. Students presented reports on Asian countries for history - Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, and China. Rhetoric consisted of each student reading aloud their paper comparing/contrasting the characters of Narnia to the "characters" in Genesis. All of this took place from 8:30 am 'till noon. I had to leave to see what the younger kids did in their session leaving JW to observe the lesson from 1 - 3 pm.
I finished filling out the application to participate next year during the lunch hour, that's how convinced I was that this group will be a great supplement to our homeschool next year. I am looking forward to learning as well. It's amazing for me to revisit the fundamentals I've been taught. All the disconnected pieces of information retained over the years began to connect and come to life.

This is truly a journey with so many twists and turns and exciting things around each corner. I really see how this is changing me, eventhough I was being prepared all the while. Hindsight is 20/20. Even my temperment is changing. I find myself being more patient with the children, eager to listen to all of their stories and details, loving and hugging them more. My motivation for what I do is shifting from doing things b/c they have to be done to doing things b/c I want to do them, it is a joy.