Hop on Over to our New (well, Old) Blog ...

See that link at the top of our blog? Just below the title, Atticus Academy? 

"Beautiful Blur"

That is our family blog ... we've decided to bring our home blog and our homeschool blog together to simplify our lives and our stories.

So, click that link or hop on over to http://beautifulblur.wordpress.com and follow us! 

There's a little button on the right sidebar of Beautiful Blur that says "Come Along". 

Click there, and well, come along and follow our homeschool, adoption, and daily walk. 

As always, thank you for reading, commenting, sharing, and inspiring us.

Because of Him.

Prayer

My Great-Grandma, Ole, used to have this print above the table in her sweet little kitchen in Iowa. I can vividly see her kitchen ... the old fashioned phone, the green jello in the "ice box", the swirling smells of laundry soap and grassy outdoor breezes. This is one of my most favorite paintings, ever. I wish I had one in my own home. It says so much about living prayerfully and simply, which is difficult in our day, and it brings me back to times with my Gram Ole.

We have found ourselves consumed lately with the triumphs and the struggles of our adoption. We pray deeply and fervently for our path to be made clear to our little boy, who has been waiting eight months this week in an Ethiopian orphanage. Each new photo of him steals our hearts, makes us more desperate, and draws us nearer to Jesus. Our prayers lately have been sorrowful. Setbacks have stretched our faith and our positivity. This got me thinking. What am I praying for, exactly? A miracle? A shorter wait? A court date? A little boy free from hurt and illness? An obstacle-free path to him? I'm not sure our prayers are filled with the light and hope that either Jesus or our boy deserves.

Especially during this time of Lenten reflection (I am currently reading Reliving the Passion ... you MUST read it this season) I am brought back to the beauty of prayer that is simple, intentional, and holy. Not stemming from our sorrow or frustrations alone, but from the light that emanates from the very blessing of our adoption, including the snaffus and heartaches. There is a family who so selflessly gave up this child. I cannot fathom for one moment their anguish and hurt. We are humbled to be so honored to have been chosen by God to be the family for this little boy, in partnership with his family and his story.

Our prayers are shifting. Our hopes are more raw each day. We are so close yet so far, but each day we wait we will pray for the grace to continue to be blessed by this child and for the grace to be his gentle and kind advocate, using our prayers and words sensitively and thoughtfully and with him in mind at every step of the way.

Two saints of tremendous character and goodness, St Francis and St Clare, have helped guide me through the last difficult week. St Clare followed in the tradition of St Francis and devoted her life to Christ. She loved him passionately and wholly. She lived in the poorest of conditions, did not eat meat, subsisted without money, and vowed silence. Yet, she was happy. Completely joy-filled because she always felt the Lord's presence at her side. She did not become lost in the details that can consume our time because her life was so centered and simple. Her time was for his glory alone. She never believed herself to be poor or worthy of sorrow because she loved Jesus and was loved back. Her name means light and bright and she is the patron of sore eyes.

This resonates with me on another level. Our little boy has big, clear, dark eyes that are full of sorrow, but they shine. He has witnessed more than any child should ever see, lived and lost in ways that make me ache, but there is a light, charm, warmth, and mercy that emanates from him, even through pictures.

We have chosen Sinclair for our little boy's middle name, which means "prayer", and as a reminder of St Clare of Assisi ... in darkness she found holy light through prayer. Just like we are trying to do ...

Because of Him.

To Combine or Not To Combine

A huge part of what drew us back to MFW (well, we never really left, just poked around, expensively ... lol) is that we can effectively and thoughtfully combine our children in a portion of their studies. Of course, since Sugar and Bugsy are a few years apart, this won't happen for them until 2016, when Sugar is in 7th grade (eek), but IT WILL HAPPEN.

This is why *we* homeschool. I love to have my children together ... playing, learning, laughing, learning, enjoying each other, fighting, laughing again ... and our homeschool is an extension of our family life. I don't want it to feel separate, but how can it feel inclusive if I am teaching four children three or four different guides per year (we really don't know how old St Jude is or if he will be ready for K this year as we're planning, so if he's not, I will always have four guides or plans to teach daily). I have read that people do this and I'm sure they do it well, but it is daunting to me and I already feel that it creates too much of a separation in our little one-room schoolhouse.

I am absolutely, whole heartedly, all for meeting each child where he/she is at spiritually, emotionally, academically, etc, and I will do that with no question. They will have their own Math and Language Arts and as they get older their Read-Alouds will become Independent Reading at their unique levels as will Science. I also expect that over time foreign language will be at various levels and likely the languages will be varied, as well. 

Our grade-combined subjects will include History, Geography, Bible, Literature (in the early years), Science (in the early years) Poetry, Nature Study, Picture Study, and Music Study. Combined does not mean, though, that my 2nd, 5th, and 7th graders will all do the exact same work. Again, I will meet them where they are at, but all under the umbrella of the same era of study so that we are all linked in that commonality each day. The olders will help teach the littles and the littles will help the olders learn that very teaching. 

This means so much to me, especially in thinking about our Charlotte Mason studies and even more importantly in our Bible studies and Mission work. 

There are so many schools of thought on whether to combine children, or not, and one way is not better than another, just different and ultimately the best choice rests with the needs and hopes of the family. 

Because of Him.

Back to Our Roots

I am so happy that I allowed myself to spend and extra $40 on shipping a curriculum to and fro that I won't use, and I'm so happy that I have lost countless hours of sleep thinking about and designing and questioning and discussing every nuance of a zillion different curricula and materials, and I'm so happy that I have the sort of husband who will stay up till the wee hours of the night, after having worked 60+ hours straight with little sleep, listening to me go on and on and on. He is a saint. All of this to come full circle back to our roots.

I am returning our HOD box and going back to our first love, MFW. Sparkler and St Jude (whom we've finally named ... woo hoo) will be with MFW K + the lit pack and Bugsy will have the MFWPre pack to engage with during "school", along with B4FIAR (I will include St Jude on this as well since he's had no exposure to good books, ever).

So, my new plan is to teach MFW Adventures to Sugar. To make it a little more CM, I am going to supplement with nature study, music study, picture study, poetry/Shakespeare, and French once per week ... from SCM as I previously mapped out. I will also include phonics lessons through second grade and more read-alouds than are scheduled in ADV.

Theoretically, our long-term plan will look like this:

2011
Sugar: ADV
Sparkler & St Jude: MFWK + lit pack
Bugsy: preschool

2012
Sugar: ECC
Sparkler & St Jude: MFW1
Bugsy: preschool

2013
Sugar, Sparkler, & St Jude: CTG
Bugsy: MFWK (first of two years)

2014
Sugar, Sparkler, & St Jude: RTR
Bugsy: MFWK (second of two years)

2015
Sugar, Sparkler, & St Jude: Exp1850
Bugsy: MFW1 & Adv suppement

2016
Sugar, Sparkler, St Jude, & Bugsy: 1850Mod
Hooray!!!

So, second grade ...

MFW Adventures
TruthQuest Amer Hist 1 commentary & book list
Primary Language Lessons
Spelling by Sound and Structure
Queen Cursive
Pathway Readers Grade 2
Singapore Math 2A/2B
Queen's Math Facts Copywork
Outdoor Secrets & Guide and Handbook of Nature Study (nature)
Come Look with Me (picture)
Artistic Pursuits (art)
Tchaikovsky & American Song Treasury (music)
Favorite Poems Old & New (poetry)
Tales from Shakespeare (Shakespeare)
The Easy French (foreign language)

Simply said, my reason for staying with MFW is that I love it and have loved it AND Jesus and missions are at its heart. I knew that HOD was not a fit for us after I got my box and really dissected it. After piecing together my own curriculum I came to the realization that I could marry the best of both worlds and enjoy ADV while incorporating the CM lessons that I adore. I've also decided to buy the TruthQuest Amer Hist 1 commentary/book list to use for our book basket and to enrich our history lessons with ADV ... to make them a little heartier.

For our family, this is truly as close to perfect as I think we can get, without losing sight of why we homeschool and what we want our homeschool to instill in our children.

Because of Him.

Digging Deep ... Starting Fresh, pt 2

Below is what I've woven together, using Simply Charlotte Mason's Curriculum Guide as my foundation, for Sugar's second grade year upcoming. SCM is a resource I have held close in my back pocket for the last five years ... from the time I started pondering home schooling with Sugar.

In really digging deeply into what I want from home schooling I am again led to 1) cultivating a relationship with Jesus and the Bible, 2) adherence to Charlotte Mason's philosophies, and 3) keeping my children on the same topic of study for History, Geography, and Bible to center family time in our days.

Math

Singapore 2A & 2B

Queen's Math Facts Copywork

Science

SCM 106 Days of Creation Studies

Reading

Pathway Readers Grade 2

Copywork & Transcription

Queen's Language Lessons for the Very Young I

Queen's Cursive Primer & A

poetry & scripture

English & Grammar

Queen's Language Lessons for the Very Young I

Personal Development

Beautiful Feet's Teaching Character through Literature

Foreign Language

SongSchool Latin

*The following subjects will include Sparkler and St Jude, and even Bugsy, to the extent that they are able to listen and absorb.*

History & Geography

TruthQuest American History for Young Students I

Story of the Thirteen Colonies & Story of the Great Republic, Guerber (still deciding ... may be too advanced)

American Pioneers & Patriots, Emerson

Stories of the Pilgrims, Pumphrey
Light and the Glory for Young Readers, Manuel

First American History, Eggelston
SCM Module 5
Nest Videos

Bible

KJV Kid's Study Bible
The Children's Story Bible, Vos
SCM GOAL Bible Study Journal

Scripture Memory

SCM Verse Pack 1

Literature Read-Alouds

Squanto

Sarah Whitcher's Story

Mr Poppers Penguins

If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon

A Lion to Guard Us

All-of-a-Kind Family

The Cricket in Times Square

In Grandmas Attic

The Railway Children

Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin

D'Aulaire Biographies
SCM Module 5 selections

Poetry

Favorite Poems Old & New

Lewis Carroll Young Person's Poetry

Nature Study

SCM Outdoor Secrets & Guide or Queen's A Nature Walk with Aunt Bessie

Picture Study

Come Look with Me: Landscape Art & Early American History Art

Music Study

SCM Module 5

Drawing/Art

Discovering Great Artists & Discovering American Artists

Shakespeare

Tales from Shakespeare, Lamb

Midsummer Night's Dream

It's a work in progress, but I feel good about how it's coming together. Some things here need to be refined ... I don't want to make our days ridiculously full at the expense of curious and passionate learning, and I will have two in Kindergarten and one in Preschool, as well ... so I'll keep digging.

Because of Him.

Digging Deep ... Starting Fresh, pt 1

My Heart of Dakota second grade box arrived while we were visiting family a little over a week ago. I was desperately excited to tear open that box when I walked in the door that first night home. At first glance I was over-the-moon about my choice. Through the course of last week, while I again battled a terrible cold/flu (thank you airplane, aka petri dish of disease), I carefully read through the TG and thumbed through the books. Hmm. While I can see the method and I appreciate the open-and-go format, and I even want to be the hs'ing mom who  thrives on that ease, I have realized, I am not.

I think that is why this year, first grade, has been SO good academically and spiritually, but not good for keeping my mind and heart settled. There are always materials I want to try, books I want Sugar to experience, rabbit trails I'd love to follow, but I feel too confined within our daily curriculum, as good as it is. There is such a vast amount of amazing, rich, beautiful curricula to choose from that boxing myself into one program may not be best avenue for me ... must be the innate teacher in me.

I began designing my own curriculum ... pulling together materials that I believe to be fantastic and true to the needs of my children, and that still adhere to the expectations of my state. After a few sleepless nights, I am quite happy with the result.

Sparkler and St Jude would, of course, learn with MFW K, and Bugsy will tag along with Before Five in a Row and lots of hands-on and outdoor playtime.

I have not convinced myself to step out in faith and actually put into practice my own curriculum, but this is a good start for my heart.

Because of Him.

MFW Kindergarten Organization

I am such a fool for organization, especially when it comes to school. Here is a glimpse into how I've organized our MFW Kindergarten materials for next year (for Sparkler and St Jude).

Book Basket

 

Each week has its own pocket and space for lesson materials.

Teacher's Guide

Phonics Materials in a gusseted pocket

Literature Pack Activity Book

Numbers

I wish I could say that I was clever enough to inspire this on my own, but a fellow homeschool mom at My Blue Daisy started the trend. Thank you!

Now, is it August yet ... oh, wait, we need sweet St Jude home first ... sigh.

Because of Him.

MFW Box Day!!!

Hooray! I ordered the MFW K Literature Pack, which was such a luxurious treat. We already own MFW K so my husband felt it reasonable to order the Lit Pack this year to add to an already amazing Kindergarten curriculum.

I truly cannot say enough about MFW K ... I do not think that anything quite compares to its breadth, gentleness, joyfulness, and simplicity. It is a beautiful program and this Lit Pack will bless me with more time, more good and relevant books at my fingertips, and a bigger home library.

Because of Him.

Fearless Friday

We made it. It is 2:20pm and we are completely caught up with our lessons (we will begin Day 98 after our holiday) after weeks and weeks of sickness and this and that. We went into today fearless that we would accomplish the last of our school work--cheerfully and intentionally--so that our weekend can be a flurry of house cleaning and packing in preparation for our first trip home in two long years.

We always begin each day with a little prayer thanking Jesus for the gift of home schooling, for daddy's job that blesses us, for our minds to be like sponges, for our hearts to be soft, and for our sweet St Jude preparing to have supper while we prepare our morning lessons. 

Sugar is highly organized and structured in all of her ways. As such, our day runs best when she organizes it for us. I detail what tasks lie ahead for the day and she decides in what order we work. Sparkler is happy with whatever comes her way, as long as she gets to "do school" to her heart's content (which is really ten-minute bursts and then she's off to playing with Bugsy).

Sugar always, always chooses math first. I thought today was going to be a rocky one ... she just seemed a little off ... but she found her way and the twaddling was to a minimum (even with our carpenter working in the kitchen and our dear friend stopping over for a visit). We are continuing with Singapore 1A, which is a review in the functions of addition and subtraction from Miquon, but not in their presentation or execution.

In phonics we learned how 'ch' sometimes sounds like /k/ as in school. 

I have to reiterate that I have been very pleased with MFW phonics, but I will be teaching phonics beginning on Day 125 this year and through second grade, with Rod & Staff. We will only continue with the Bible Nurture Readers and phonics workbooks, not the reading workbooks or penmanship practice. As we are nearing the end of MFW1 phonics, I am rethinking how I will teach reading to my other children. We will absolutely use MFWK for early phonics, but after that, I am going to look at The Reading Lesson aside from R&S. 

Sparkler's second most favorite part of the day is her Ready Writer book. This book has been an incredible gift to me as I learn how to teach Sparkler how to write as a dsygraphic (mirror image) child. I love this simple, effective book. So does she.

In Bible today, Sugar learned about The Twelve Spies who spent 40 days in Canaan peeking around for Moses, Aaron, and the Israelites to learn more about the new land. We had fig newtons for a snack since Joshua and Caleb discovered grapes, pomegranates, and figs, along with plentiful milk and honey (not coincidentally, we had milk and bread with honey at breakfast). We also read about Moses' death, Israel's new leader, Joshua, and Jericho.

In honesty, I have begun pre-reading the Bible selection from the TG and then I find it in The Child's Story Bible by Vos and we read that version aloud. Vos's writing is true to the Word yet written to engage children (and adults) ... the language flows and the illustrations are kept to a thoughtful minimum, which encourages imagination. We read the stories that are not part of the MFW lessons at dinnertime.

Sparkler learned about John 17:17 ... the importance and specialness of the Bible. She colors a picture of the Bible story as I read it. Sugar listens in. Bugsy naps (on our best days).


Just for a little peek into our school life ... where Sparkler is, Gus is sure to be as well.

Because of Him.

Dear Ol' Pagoo

This is Charlie (or Charlotte ... depending). Sugar loves this crab. I wish I understood why, but, it's not my crusty, beady-eyed pet. It was my bright idea to get two hermit crabs; however, when we began our nature study on Pagoo by Holling C Holling. Who knew these buggers would require so much $ for the crabitat and so much energy to keep them happy and alive!!!

Despite my motherly woes, Charlie (and Sam/Samantha ... Sparkler's crab) have provided endless hours of curious enjoyment. They really have enriched our study of Pagoo and the "salty sea-soup" he calls home.

We've been reading and narrating each chapter of Pagoo, which is quite elaborate and layered in it's writing. It takes me up to an hour to read three pages and then discuss. This is an excellent choice for narration since it is so full of description and vocabulary that we can talk for quite some time. I've decided to go back and revisit each chapter and illustrate the story in a beautiful notebook I found at A Toy Garden. 

Today we used Beeswax block crayons, soy crayon rocks, and good ol' Crayola colored pencils. The paper in these notebooks is just right for illustrating with all sorts of media. Gorgeous. (And, the pages are divided by a sweet vellum ... even more gorgeous.)

I also thought it might be fun to incorporate our drawing lessons into our Pagoo nature notebook. We are studying with Draw Write Now Book 6 on Animal Habitats in Ponds, Rivers, and Seas. Daddy taught two lessons today ... one on sponges and the other on starfish.

I am so pleased with how our nature study is coming full circle. We began last summer with exploring tide pools, we've read many library books about the ebb and flow of the tides, we did a FIAR study on Night of the Moonjellies, we adopted Charlie and Sam and tend their crabitat, we love learning alongside Pagoo, and now the girls' knowledge is making it's way from their minds to paper in beautiful form.

Because of Him.

I love little boys

Bugsy: "Mama, pocket."

Mama: "What's in your pocket, Bugs?"

Bugsy: "Mama, pocket."

Mama: "Should I empty your pocket baby?"

Bugsy: "mmm hmm."

I love little boys. At least it's not a frog. Yet.

A wee bit of catch-up

With the five of us being sick then well then sick then well ... school at times falls behind. I try to keep up on the 3Rs, but when either I am too sick or Bugsy is too sick, well, or Sugar is too sick, then we shelve it all until we recoup.

So far this week we've been extraordinarily productive, and I'm sure it has something to do with our upcoming trip West next week. I want to get on that plane completely caught up with school, with taxes done, and with a new storytime read aloud in hand. Nothing but stories, games, and field trips on our visit. I digress ...

I am so proud of Sugar's memory work ... she has learned all of the books of the Old Testament and we are now on Luke of the Gospels. She is really stretching herself as she recites them daily and I love to see those wheels turning.

Our first Bible story this week was about the Manna that God provided to the people of Israel who were in the desert with Moses. Sugar adores tissue paper. Seriously loves it. The itty bitty light colored pieces of tissue is the manna coming from the heavens (blue) to the desert sand (gold).

This is part of our dictation study ... first I read the Bible story from the TG, then Sugar reads a simplified version from her Bible reader, then she (with my help) summarizes the story into one or two sentences. At this point I dictate her summary and she writes it in her best hand paying attention to her spelling and punctuation.

For her Bible notebook I prefer to discuss her errors, but I have her leave her writing as is so that she and I can see her progress through the year. Here she misspelled "ground" but properly used an apostrophe and spelled "gathered" correctly. I hope that I am encouraging her to be attentive to her grammar while not allowing her to become so focused on it right now that she loses sight of the story and her creative illustrations (or she drums up sentence summaries that are too simple for the sake of being easy).


In phonics we began working on the past tense and adding "(e)d" to the end of words. We discussed how sometimes "ed" sounds like /ed/, sometimes like /t/, and sometimes like /d/. We also focused a good chunk of the morning to working on the pesky changer "e" and why/when he can change the vowel sounds and when he can't ... like in hop to hopped. MFW had a truly clever lesson on this.

Time for recess ... hey, when it doesn't break 30 degrees in March, we have to be creative. Spinning in capes is always a sure hit.

We had an amazing time today experimenting with watercolor pencils. They are such fun, but at the same time they offer tremendous room for growth and learning. Sugar was giddy to try them in her Bible notebook while Sparkler made a little picture of St Jude's orphanage and also tinkered with color blending on a little grid. 

Tomorrow Daddy is home and we are devoting the day to SCIENCE. We have four water activities to explore and ponder. Sam and Charlie need their crabitat cleaned, too (definitely a daddy job), and so a little reading and narrating of Pagoo is in order, as well. 

Because of Him.

New path

I have been dabbling in other curricula for some time now. I heartily love MFW, but I do believe that we are outgrowing it. It isn't filling us up as it once was and our studies are feeling a bit tedious. Our days have lost their sparkle a little. Sugar is learning SO much, without question, but the joy of the learning is waning. I am also not settled on ADV, the second grade year with MFW, for reasons that swirl in my head and in turn light that fire in me to explore our options. It is bittersweet. MFW has served us so well, and the company and its authors are truly Godly people who provide a gift through this curriculum.  

I have spent hours upon hours into the wee hours of nearly every night dissecting curricula, talking on message boards, ordering catalogs, reviewing samples, reading reviews, calculating costs, making spreadsheets of the next zillion years until Bugsy is through high school, and the list goes on.

Ultimately, Kevin challenged me to prioritize what I want in our homeschool education today and in years to come. This is easy ... it's the applying this to the best curriculum that makes my priorities fuzzy.

1) Christ-centered curriculum: I mean more than Bible stories and Bible study. I mean Jesus at the center of IT ALL. Not a subject. Not music here and there, memory verses, Bible history. I mean Christ present in every part of our day, woven into the very fabric of each day's lessons, from Language Arts, to Math, to History, to Science, to playtime, to lunch, to community missions, to church, to bedtime prayers. 

2) Charlotte Mason inspired living education.

"The question is not, --how much does the youth know? when he has finished his education -- but how much does he care? In fact, how large is the room in which he finds his feet set? and, therefore, how full is the life he has before him?" --Charlotte Mason. 

"Benevolence makes us able, not only to bear with the people who annoy us and irritate us, but to give them sincere and hearty liking. Perhaps there is nobody who we should not be able to love if we really knew him, because all persons are born with beautiful qualities of mind and heart; and though the beauty of a person’s nature may be like a gem buried under a dust-heap, it is always possible to remove the dust and recover the gem." --Charlotte Mason 

Enough said.

3) Chronological, Biblical Worldview of history.

I asked all the questions, read all that I could, mulled it over incessantly, and prayed, prayed, prayed. Then, I set it at his feet. My path was made straight.

Our town wharf ... a beautiful, reflective path.

We've chosen to embark on a fresh journey in second grade with Heart of Dakota. My intent is to remain with HOD at least through third grade with Sugar, at which point Sparkler and St Jude will be in second grade and Bugsy will be ready for "preschool", ala CM.

I am still torn on whether to fold the kids into one year of study at that point ... combining them with the same history but modifying it to their appropriate levels (MFW) or teaching separate guides that are specific to each child (HOD ... I really like the idea of meeting each child where they are at when they are there ... yet we hope to adopt again so we'll see where we are led with 5 children being schooled at home). 

For now, I have utter peace (and I'm over-the-moon excited) over our decision to switch to Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory (HOD) for Sugar. 

Sparkler and St Jude will do MFW Kindergarten with the Literature pack ... I wholeheartedly believe that MFWK is an absolutely amazing program in every.single.way, and the new lit pack will ease my burden of scouring our dismal library for the best living books and storybooks to enrich each lesson, and we'll continue to grow our home library will classic children's literature. They will continue in first grade, at the very least, with MFW1 for phonics (including the Bible reader and notebooking), but we may endeavor to move to Little Hearts for His Glory (LHFHG) with HOD with the MFW phonics. 

Bugsy and I will have the joy of Before Five In A Row as well as lots of hands-on art and carefree fun. Come his year of preschool prior to Kinder, I will teach him with Little Hands to Heaven (HOD) in preparation for either MFWK or LHFHG. 

More to come ... I'm grateful for all of the encouragement and candid conversation from my cyber MFW and HOD friends. These communities are remarkable.

Because of Him.

Preschool

Ah, preschool is a delicate subject for me. I am deeply an advocate for The Gift of Time: not starting formal academics until at least six years old. GASP. I know.

With Sugar, her preschool years were laden with playtime in- and out-of-doors, art, cutting, pasting, play doh, story books, laughter, silliness, naps, Sesame Street, Mr Rogers, coloring, painting, picking flowers, swinging at the park, on an on.

Sparkler needs more. sigh. Doesn't she know how I feel about Charlotte Mason? So, this year has been a bit of trial-and-error in finding that balance between childhood and "preschool".

She sits in with Sugar on our daily Bible stories and she sometimes feels stirred to create her own notebook page from that day's lesson. Sometimes not. She voraciously listens to our read aloud selections. She immerses herself in all things art. She is a wonder at hidden pictures and word searches (yet she is dsygraphic, or maybe because she is dysgraphic).

She is pure delight.

She desperately wants to write like her sissie, but she writes in mirror image so she becomes disheartened. Hurts my heart, too.

I went out on a limb and purchased the Rod & Staff 4/5 preschool program for all of $35 with shipping. I figured if it flopped or if I she felt boxed in, I would not lose sleep over shelving it, and my curriculum budget was barely tapped into. Happy daddy.

Oh, how I love R&S. Did I say that out loud? Is CM listening? eek. Truly, it is precious inasmuch as a curriculum can be sweet. This child loves "to do school". Worksheets make her somehow feel school-y. It's her fabric, so my job is to set aside my hopes and expectations and let her flourish.

Rod & Staff 4/5 Preschool

Adventures with Books

Bible Pictures to Color and Bible Stories to Read

Counting with Numbers

Do It Carefully

Everywhere We Go

Finding the Answers

Going On Eagerly

Hearing and Helping

Inside and Outside

Of course, this is tempered with plenty of the above-mentioned fun of Sugar's completely non-schoolish preschool days and lots and lots of stories. Our MFW Preschool 4/5 package is also the near-perfect program that rounds out her days, and includes Bugsy, too.

Because of Him.

2010-2011 First Grade Curriculum

I don't (yet) have a fancy schmancy blog ... so I don't have neat little tabbies at the top of the page to add elements like this one ... our curriculum. The heart of our home school (well, aside from Jesus) is our curriculum: the materials that bring our day-to-day alive.

So, for now, here is our curriculum in this nifty list. On the right side bar you can click on the pictures of our curriculum and you will be taken to the respective websites. I'm learning.

This is what our year has developed into over the past six or seventh months ... we started with some other materials here and there ... added things, dropped things, tweaked things ... and here we are:

My Father's World First Grade

Bible & Social Studies

Weekly Proverbs, Daily Bible Stories, Timelining, Hand-On Activities 

Phonics (Days 1-124):

Reading Workbook

Bible Reader

Bible Notebook

(Days 125-175):
Rod & Staff Phonics Units 2-5

Language Arts

First Language Lessons Vol 1 (oral)

Math:

Pattern Animals

Complete Book of Math

Miquon Orange

Singapore 1A & 1B

living books--book basket

Science:

Usborne: Things Outdoors, Science with Water, Science with Plants

living books--book basket

Pagoo: read aloud & narrate (crabitat for Sam & Charlie, our resident hermit crabs)

science notebooks

Art

Draw Write Now, Book 1 & Book 6

Deep Space Sparkle

Music

Story of the Orchestra

Peter & the Wolf

Carnival of the Animals

Dover Musical Instrments coloring book

Can You Hear It?

Beethoven Lives Upstairs

Health

Rod & Staff Health Grade 2

Library

weekly Sunday visits following church

Storytime Read Alouds

The House at Pooh Corner

Charlotte's Web
Paddington Bear

Little House in the Big Woods
Happy Times in Noisy Village

The Boxcar Children
Dr Dolittle

The Doll People
The Borrowers
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
Three Tales of My Father's Dragon

Christie's Old Organ

The Blue Fairy Book
Just So Stories

Because of Him.

Sickies ... still

I think this is the worst winter cold/flu season ever.in.my.life.

This entire week was spent passing the flu from one poor child to the next. It was lovely. At least our school district was out for a spring break (despite the zillions of snow days), so we didn't have to miss Mission Shop and Wednesday services. 

Prayerfully, we are all on the mend just before our cross-country jaunt to visit sunny California (please, oh please, be sunny). 

We did muster lots of storytime and an indoor picnic for good measure! We are all eager beavers for Monday!

Because of Him.

Rock Candy ... one week later

We think it should be ready in another week ... yum.

Because of Him.