Blogging is not a natural form of expression to me--in truth, I love to hear the uh-huhs, mmm-hmms, yeahs, me toos, and the like that come with more candid and personal conversation. I've started blogs here and there ... personal blogs, adoption blogs, home school blogs ... but they fizzle. I would rather share our lives with those who just might really care about our day-to-day: family and our closest friends.
On the other hand, I have dozens of blogs bookmarked about homeschooling, adoption, and home making that I refer to often when looking for inspiration or affirmation. This is especially true when it comes to home schooling. The community is tight and I could not be successful without the support of all of my cyber home school friends, deep in the trenches with me.
Once Christmas came to a close, I contacted our state as we began our new semester (though we don't really work around semesters) to clarify what I needed to "do" about year-end assessments and such. Coming from an extraordinarily home-school friendly state, I was shocked to learn that the casual "portfolio assessment" was so detailed and date oriented. The Dept of Education was tremendously helpful as was our local home school association, and once I had my ducks in a row and re-organized my thinking and my planner :), it was suggested that I journal each week in a blog.
Ta da.
So, my effort is to be even more accountable to myself, and thus to our state, and to chronicle our home school days on virtual paper (though, I do print each week out on real paper and include it with my lessons). And, maybe I might inspire someone out there to think about the treasure of home schooling and adoption. You never know ... a girl can dream.
My hope is also that for grandparents and family and friends that we see not-often-enough, this will provide a peek into our children's lives, which is our every reason.
I covet your thoughts, ideas, suggestions, and "hellos".
Because of Him.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Why? Because "they" said so, that's why.
Blogging is not a natural form of expression to me--in truth, I love to hear the uh-huhs, mmm-hmms, yeahs, me toos, and the like that come with more candid and personal conversation. I've started blogs here and there ... personal blogs, adoption blogs, home school blogs ... but they fizzle. I would rather share our lives with those who just might really care about our day-to-day: family and our closest friends.
On the other hand, I have dozens of blogs bookmarked about homeschooling, adoption, and home making that I refer to often when looking for inspiration or affirmation. This is especially true when it comes to home schooling. The community is tight and I could not be successful without the support of all of my cyber home school friends, deep in the trenches with me.
Once Christmas came to a close, I contacted our state as we began our new semester (though we don't really work around semesters) to clarify what I needed to "do" about year-end assessments and such. Coming from an extraordinarily home-school friendly state, I was shocked to learn that the casual "portfolio assessment" was so detailed and date oriented. The Dept of Education was tremendously helpful as was our local home school association, and once I had my ducks in a row and re-organized my thinking and my planner :), it was suggested that I journal each week in a blog.
Ta da.
So, my effort is to be even more accountable to myself, and thus to our state, and to chronicle our home school days on virtual paper (though, I do print each week out on real paper and include it with my lessons). And, maybe I might inspire someone out there to think about the treasure of home schooling and adoption. You never know ... a girl can dream.
My hope is also that for grandparents and family and friends that we see not-often-enough, this will provide a peek into our children's lives, which is our every reason.
I covet your thoughts, ideas, suggestions, and "hellos".
Because of Him.
On the other hand, I have dozens of blogs bookmarked about homeschooling, adoption, and home making that I refer to often when looking for inspiration or affirmation. This is especially true when it comes to home schooling. The community is tight and I could not be successful without the support of all of my cyber home school friends, deep in the trenches with me.
Once Christmas came to a close, I contacted our state as we began our new semester (though we don't really work around semesters) to clarify what I needed to "do" about year-end assessments and such. Coming from an extraordinarily home-school friendly state, I was shocked to learn that the casual "portfolio assessment" was so detailed and date oriented. The Dept of Education was tremendously helpful as was our local home school association, and once I had my ducks in a row and re-organized my thinking and my planner :), it was suggested that I journal each week in a blog.
Ta da.
So, my effort is to be even more accountable to myself, and thus to our state, and to chronicle our home school days on virtual paper (though, I do print each week out on real paper and include it with my lessons). And, maybe I might inspire someone out there to think about the treasure of home schooling and adoption. You never know ... a girl can dream.
My hope is also that for grandparents and family and friends that we see not-often-enough, this will provide a peek into our children's lives, which is our every reason.
I covet your thoughts, ideas, suggestions, and "hellos".
Because of Him.
Parting the Sea, Trees, Bees, Byes, and Sickies
Tough week at our house. Monday was Grammy's last day with us (boo!) and yet we accomplished a lot of our lesson and some memory-making art, too!
Our Bible story was about Moses parting the Red Sea to save God's people. This story is full of energy and anticipation. We read the story from the MFW guide and then Sugar reads it from her Bible reader. She narrates the story back, summarizes it into one sentence, writes that sentence in her best hand and with attention to punctuation, and then illustrates the story ...
At lunch I read from Vos's Story Bible ... the same story as our lesson ... and we "wonder" about the story, the people, the place, the time, the weather, the animals, the emotions, etc. The Child's Story Bible is my favorite reading Bible. Love it.
We had a short reading lesson ... a fill-in-the-blank worksheet on what we read in The Red Sea. Not Sugar's favorite part of the day. She much prefers math and science, this one. She's her father's daughter. :)
Our Proverb this week builds on the one we started last week ... I revel in watching the girls memorize the words, recite the verse, learn the meaning, and walk it in their lives.
Speaking of math ... she is loving Singapore. Miquon has prepared her well for the more structured approach of Singapore and she begs to do lesson after lesson in her math. I have to remember to reign her in to make sure that she is really conceptualizing the material.
They cut out colorful leaves and wrote our family's names ... for the sake of privacy I leave the end result to your imagination ... but they are SO darling.
Later that afternoon, before the dreaded drive to the airport, we made beeswax candles. They smell delicious, it was an easy craft, and they burn beautifully. Bugs had fwoot and protected his beloved marmles.
Then, we headed for the airport, cried Grammy goodbye, and woke up the next day with the stomach flu.
To a healthy, productive new week ...
Because of Him.
Our Bible story was about Moses parting the Red Sea to save God's people. This story is full of energy and anticipation. We read the story from the MFW guide and then Sugar reads it from her Bible reader. She narrates the story back, summarizes it into one sentence, writes that sentence in her best hand and with attention to punctuation, and then illustrates the story ...
At lunch I read from Vos's Story Bible ... the same story as our lesson ... and we "wonder" about the story, the people, the place, the time, the weather, the animals, the emotions, etc. The Child's Story Bible is my favorite reading Bible. Love it.
We had a short reading lesson ... a fill-in-the-blank worksheet on what we read in The Red Sea. Not Sugar's favorite part of the day. She much prefers math and science, this one. She's her father's daughter. :)
Our Proverb this week builds on the one we started last week ... I revel in watching the girls memorize the words, recite the verse, learn the meaning, and walk it in their lives.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your path straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Speaking of math ... she is loving Singapore. Miquon has prepared her well for the more structured approach of Singapore and she begs to do lesson after lesson in her math. I have to remember to reign her in to make sure that she is really conceptualizing the material.
We had so much fun making family trees, in the spirit of learning about Abraham and his descendants. We thought about using tempura for the trunk and mixing colors for leaves, but then decided it would take.too.long to dry before we could add names, so we opted for Sugar's favorite medium ... tissue paper.
They cut out colorful leaves and wrote our family's names ... for the sake of privacy I leave the end result to your imagination ... but they are SO darling.
Later that afternoon, before the dreaded drive to the airport, we made beeswax candles. They smell delicious, it was an easy craft, and they burn beautifully. Bugs had fwoot and protected his beloved marmles.
Then, we headed for the airport, cried Grammy goodbye, and woke up the next day with the stomach flu.
To a healthy, productive new week ...
Because of Him.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
wait ... has it been TWO weeks?
The last two weeks have been a whirlwind. We were off to a strong start on Day 83 with MFW1 ... even the next three days continued smoothly and as always, we were loving our MFW days. Then, a little off track, but so worth the derailment.
Grammy arrived late Thu night and was here when the kids woke up extra bright and early (not realizing that we are three hours ahead of Grammy already). Ah, what grandparents won't do.
Friday was less than productive on the 3Rs, but we did have fun painting birdhouses, counting marbles (specifically finding the elusive "beeeg marml" according to Bugs, and reading stories ... lots of stories... and playing Animal Yatzi.
But, to step back for a moment to the lessons we studied before Grammy arrived.
MFW is beautifully and deeply intertwined with the Bible. It is not a separate subject of study. It is not an afterthought. It is the heart of this program. The curriculum is complete with a Biblical worldview. It fits our family perfectly and we've loved MFW for K and now for first.
This week (and a couple days from the week prior), we moved from learning about Joseph and his place in Egypt to seeing Israel's time in Egypt on our timeline to the birth of Moses. Oh, one of the most bittersweet stories in the Old Testament. My girls were riveted to the story of Moses in the basket, of his mother's heart, of his sister Miriam, and of the compassion of the princess. Sugar has begun summarizing the Bible story into one sentence, with my help at first. This is a tremendous skill to refine and she is well on her way.
Her Bible notebook is her favorite part of the day. She selects all different art media to play with and experience ... crayons, soy rocks, tissue paper, oil pastels, watercolors, tempura, watercolor pencils, glitter, pencil, beeswax crayons ... this is our adventure while Bugsy naps each afternoon. We play Beethoven in the background and the girls get lost in art.
Sugar's reading is really blossoming. I am an advocate of waiting for formal reading instruction until the children are older, ala Charlotte Mason, and I never have once regretted my path. Her phonics is systematic and amazingly organized in her little brain. She has no need for sight words because nearly all sight words are phonetic anyway, so she pulls her phonics rules out of her mind effortlessly and reads not only well but with comprehension and inflection.
Sugar memorizes one Proverb per week, writes it in her best hand, and we find ways to apply it and to talk about it daily. Sparkler helps with the application of the Proverb, too!
We are now working in Singapore 1A currently, for math, after completing Miquon Orange through subtraction. Before moving to multiplication with Miquon, which I adore, I decided to drill our math facts with Calculadder and work through Sing 1A & 1B. I don't think we will continue with Miquon as our core ... rather, it is an excellent supplement to our Singapore studies.
Despite our location in one of the most historically and culturally rich parts of the country, our library is mediocre, at best. Before we moved to our present house, our library was truly phenomenal. Then, we moved. Sigh -- guess that's what happens in a town of less than a few hundred year-round residents. Well, we do our best with what we have for our book basket.
At the moment, I've taken to filling the basket with readers for Sugar and Sparkler. Sugar reads them to Sparkler and Bugsy and the littles love to look at the pictures and pretend read.
Sparkler and Bugsy are always involved with preschool and all things toddler. Here are a few pictures of them loving "school" too.
Thanks for reading for so long ... I'll whittle down my reflections on our week with time.
Because of Him.
Grammy arrived late Thu night and was here when the kids woke up extra bright and early (not realizing that we are three hours ahead of Grammy already). Ah, what grandparents won't do.
Friday was less than productive on the 3Rs, but we did have fun painting birdhouses, counting marbles (specifically finding the elusive "beeeg marml" according to Bugs, and reading stories ... lots of stories... and playing Animal Yatzi.
But, to step back for a moment to the lessons we studied before Grammy arrived.
MFW is beautifully and deeply intertwined with the Bible. It is not a separate subject of study. It is not an afterthought. It is the heart of this program. The curriculum is complete with a Biblical worldview. It fits our family perfectly and we've loved MFW for K and now for first.
This week (and a couple days from the week prior), we moved from learning about Joseph and his place in Egypt to seeing Israel's time in Egypt on our timeline to the birth of Moses. Oh, one of the most bittersweet stories in the Old Testament. My girls were riveted to the story of Moses in the basket, of his mother's heart, of his sister Miriam, and of the compassion of the princess. Sugar has begun summarizing the Bible story into one sentence, with my help at first. This is a tremendous skill to refine and she is well on her way.
Her Bible notebook is her favorite part of the day. She selects all different art media to play with and experience ... crayons, soy rocks, tissue paper, oil pastels, watercolors, tempura, watercolor pencils, glitter, pencil, beeswax crayons ... this is our adventure while Bugsy naps each afternoon. We play Beethoven in the background and the girls get lost in art.
Sugar's reading is really blossoming. I am an advocate of waiting for formal reading instruction until the children are older, ala Charlotte Mason, and I never have once regretted my path. Her phonics is systematic and amazingly organized in her little brain. She has no need for sight words because nearly all sight words are phonetic anyway, so she pulls her phonics rules out of her mind effortlessly and reads not only well but with comprehension and inflection.
Sugar memorizes one Proverb per week, writes it in her best hand, and we find ways to apply it and to talk about it daily. Sparkler helps with the application of the Proverb, too!
We are now working in Singapore 1A currently, for math, after completing Miquon Orange through subtraction. Before moving to multiplication with Miquon, which I adore, I decided to drill our math facts with Calculadder and work through Sing 1A & 1B. I don't think we will continue with Miquon as our core ... rather, it is an excellent supplement to our Singapore studies.
Despite our location in one of the most historically and culturally rich parts of the country, our library is mediocre, at best. Before we moved to our present house, our library was truly phenomenal. Then, we moved. Sigh -- guess that's what happens in a town of less than a few hundred year-round residents. Well, we do our best with what we have for our book basket.
At the moment, I've taken to filling the basket with readers for Sugar and Sparkler. Sugar reads them to Sparkler and Bugsy and the littles love to look at the pictures and pretend read.
Sparkler and Bugsy are always involved with preschool and all things toddler. Here are a few pictures of them loving "school" too.
Thanks for reading for so long ... I'll whittle down my reflections on our week with time.
Because of Him.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Endeavor
I am endeavoring to chronicle our home school lessons in a weekly journal.
More to come ... please check back, sit a spell, and have a good read.
Because of Him.
More to come ... please check back, sit a spell, and have a good read.
Because of Him.
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