Spring Sun & Bicycles

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The sun is shining, the snow has melted, the grass is greening, the woods are beginning to bloom ... time for learning to ride bikes with daddy! We are so proud of our Sugar who has been desperate to learn to ride her bike for some time ... this day it clicked for her. We will leave you with pictures, instead of the video (since you would be so distracted by this mama's screaming and woo-hoos that you'd miss Sugar's moment). Next up was Sparkler ... she's getting there. Sweet girls. Bugs had snacks and supervised in his warm hat. Happy Spring and thank heavens for little ones and bicycles!

Because of Him.

Spelling Conundrum

I am torn on whether to start Sugar on spelling in August.

MFW suggest Spelling by Sound and Structure with Adventures in 2nd grade, and I believe that it is a solid, affordable program that gets the job done, but yet again, I can't help but nod fervently when I read about Charlotte Mason's approach to spelling through prepared dictation. She also suggests that children should not begin spelling lessons until later elementary ... 3rd or 4th grade, but I am not neurotic (mostly) and so I am led first by the needs of my child, and then by the philosophy that makes the most sense to our overreaching homeschool goals.

SCM has an incredible discussion board that has been such a gift. I am led to Spelling Wisdom because of its practical and pure Charlotte Mason approach, but also because Sugar is not inclined to the language arts side of school as much as the math and nature. I fear that a spelling workbook will turn her off just enough to discourage her from continuing to blossom with reading. Also, she knows the phonics rules. She has them down. She can sound out the most complex words, but a memory and ability to apply every phonics rule will not produce a fluent reader, necessarily, and that is where I'm at with Sugar. Moving from two years of intensive, systematic phonics to reading for fluency, comprehension, and pace. This is where I think that Charlotte Mason sparkles. Bridging Sugar's phonics knowledge with learning to spell through rules and exceptions, when exception are more frequent than the rule in English, just doesn't settle with me at this moment.

Sparkler has begun reading on her own, more naturally, as we have not instructed her in any true way. I'm realizing that she will be ahead of MFWK in reading, but not in phonics per se, so we will press on with MFWK ... it is NOT to be missed. She will also hone her reading skills, I hope, by reading to Sinclair and helping him to learn English.

Between Sugar needed a nudge toward fluent reading and Sparkler needing a little more instruction than MFWK will provide, I am considering Delightful Reading. Meaning, the girls can work together to both learn to read and make the turn from emergent to fluent reader. To be clear, though, I've discovered with Sugar that learning to read is not one-dimensional, and perhaps blending intensive phonics with CM's method is the best of both worlds, and since we homeschool, we have the unique opportunity to meet each child where he/she is at and teach to their needs and embrace their strengths/weaknesses.

For 2nd grade, then, and Kinder for Sparkler, I am leaning toward Delightful Reading as a supplement to MFWK and as a post-phonics, pre-spelling program for Sugar. In 3rd grade, Sugar and I may then delve into Spelling Wisdom.

I'm curious about All About Spelling and All About Reading (for Sinclair) ... so I might change my mind. I do that sometimes.

Because of Him.

♥Second Grade♥

I think that I can honestly say that with every bit of my being I have poured over every nuance of far too many homeschool curricula ... My Father's World, Beautiful Feet, WinterPromise, Simply Charlotte Mason, Heart of Dakota, Five in a Row, Queen ... the list just never seemed to end. Just ask my husband.

Before I ever actually taught with MFW I received a catalog and thought, whoa, I *must* teach Adventures in My Father's World. Must. Here we are, nearing the time when we should be preparing for Adventures, and I started wandering.

My two big worries with MFW Adv is that it is too much of a cursory overview of history with a state study that felt unbalanced in the framework of the year, thus not enough living Early American History, and it does not shine with the pure Charlotte Mason that I adore so much. What to do, what to do?

So, I wavered on pulling together my own Charlotte Mason curriculum with the help of Simply Charlotte Mason.  I came upon Module 5 and I was smitten. It had the depth I was seeking alongside beautiful Bible family study and smart Geography using a truly inspiring work. (ETA: It is not as thorough as I at-first thought, but it is beautifully written and the history spine, A Child's Story of the US, is so, so good. SO good that today I ordered the SCM rendition to use with our history upcoming.)

But, then I reigned myself in and looked at the much bigger picture. Ideally, I would like to hold off on putting Sugar into the 5-year history cycle with MFW until she is in fourth grade. This would make Sparkler and Sinclair second graders and I am more comfortable with those ages/levels beginning together with Exploring Countries and Cultures. Looking waaaaay down the road, this also means that when Bugsy is ready to be folded into the history cycle, all four will be in Explorers to 1850 and Bugs will have the second/third-grade supplement from the Adventures year. This works simply and comfortably in my mind and heart, and that is more than half the battle.

Essentially, this gives me two years, second and third grade, as sort of gap years before beginning the history cycle. I printed out the TOCs for Adventures and Module5 (SCM) and started dissecting. I compared the topics of study, how many lessons/weeks per event or figure, I sought to decipher a method to the order and choice of topics, and then I plugged in living books that I cannot do without (and that will put my mind at ease since our library is mediocre, at best, and I am too orderly to simply hope that I will find the living books I desire) to enrich the studies.

Even though I lost hours of my life doing this task, I am SO thankful I took the time. I discovered that I need to do Adventures this year to give Sugar the pegs on which to hang more in-depth Early American History study a little later. "A little later" being third grade, in which I plan to
teach Module5 from SCM in full
 craft my own curriculum for the year, and it will be another year of American History ... perhaps with Module5 since it marries Early American History alongside World History of the same era ... or it may be something entirely different than SCM (too soon to tell). I am learning to take this one year at a time. Sugar will be more ready to delve into the beauty and harsher realities of the making of our nation. My heart says she needs another year to reach that readiness, aside from the fact that she will be tackling so much new learning in second grade ... cursive, grammar, spelling, and one-on-one with Jesus Bible study.

Adventures will allow her the grace to flourish and to find a confidence in her learning before moving forward with the curriculum that fits her best at that time. Module5 is lovely and pure Charlotte Mason, and that vibe is the soul of our homeschool, well, at least I hope it is. I love Beautiful Feet so very much that my husband has gifted me the opportunity to order the Early American History guide and literature (all but the spine and CDs) ... these gorgeous books will be the cornerstone of our book basket, which I will also fill with books that I can find with ease at our library.

At this point in our journey, MFW meets the needs of my children by establishing a balance between the nature of CM-inspired, literature-rich learning and Classical sensibilities, while keeping Christ at the center.

I love American history and I am eager to spark a passion in her for the people, events, and places that shaped our country, and to instill a patriotism to carry close.

Because of Him.

MFW First Grade: Week 26

I thought we'd get more ahead this week ... we're still a week behind ... but, alas, nope. I expect that we'll be back on schedule over the next two weeks. We're taking the week after Easter off (I wish I could say that it's for a relaxing family vacation, but, again, nope. Sparkler is having surgery. Boo.), so I would like to come back to lessons on May 2 fresh and ready to completely live the last 7 1/2 weeks of school with a very healthy little girl.

Bible

Sugar is a whiz at memorizing the books of the Bible. This week took us all the way through I Thessalonians. My TG gives a very brief, one-sentence description of the book, but I read the introduction from the Kid's Quest Bible. It gives a little more shine to the purpose and authorship of the book.

We began this week with the story of the unyielding friendship of Naomi and Ruth. Ruth is one of my favorite books. I love the message, "Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay" (1:16).



Sugar has really taken to the translation from the Jerusalem Bible. It has a sing-song quality to the language that I think appeals to her age. The version we have includes beautiful devotions, so I have found this to be a sweet Bible to read from at Bug's naptime, just to the girls. Bugs listens in on The Child's Story Bible (not that  he follows along, but I like for him to hear the stories nonetheless).

We met Samson this week, as well, and briefly encountered King Saul. The story of Samson was captivating for the girls ... may have been the part about his eyes being poked out ... or his sacrificial end. I am again awed by the marrying of reading, phonics, and Bible history. Well done, MFW.





Sugar is amazing me with her narration & dictation skills. For her Bible notebook (above), I read the story of Samson from The Child's Story Bible (then again from The Jerusalem Bible later in the day ... or maybe it was the next day), and then we worked on her reading workbook. Sugar then reads the same story from her reader and narrates what she read. Now, the hard part ... she pulls all of that information together into two sentences that not only summarize the story, but that also speak to her heart. I write down the two sentences and then dictate them to her for her to write in her notebook. I helped her with "belonged" and "Philistines" and with reminding her that when we start a new line, within the same sentence, we do not need a period and capital ... she wants to put a period after "very" and capitalize "strong" since it feels to her like a new sentence begins on each new line. We worked on this concept and she's got it now. She's very literal. Like me.



Sparkler is diligently working on Bible and thinking/motor skills with Rod & Staff. I try to align the girls' Bible lessons ... this week she wanted to continue coloring her Samuel page ... so we have yet to meet up with Ruth or Samson, or Saul. Did I mention that much of what we are working on with Sparkler is attention and confidence?  Another reason that MFWK will be a perfect fit for her in the fall.



Our Proverb for copywork this week resonated with me, especially. It fills my heart and keeps my mind in the right place ... we are sometimes so blindsided by the things some people say and do, it's painful. That's another story for another time. It is another teaching tool I can keep close to keep my children on Christ's path ... faithful witnesses.



We are moving right along in Reading and Sugar is stealing away in her closet (it's huge and lighted and even has radiant heat) and reads and reads and reads. I think we're slowly turning that corner from learning to read to desiring to read. We spent some time seeing singular and plural in print, which is exactly the method to grammar that I have chosen to take until we reach the dialectical stage. Gentle, oral grammar with a sprinkling of written to cement the concept is best at this stage of development ... next year we'll move to more formal, yet oral grammar with Primary Language Lessons and then to Intermediate Language Lessons, some oral some written. For now, Sugar is adept at many grammatical rules, though we've never had a lesson in grammar. Thank you, Charlotte Mason, again.

[caption id="attachment_348" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="We needed a little lowercase "d" and "s" encouragement, too. "][/caption]

The sounds we've covered ... ooh, we are so close to completing the chart.

Sugar is still a math devotee. Goodness the child loves math and science (which I'll post about later ... we have that scheduled with daddy on Sunday). This was a much-needed week of review with Singapore. We're nearing the close of 1A and as such, spent all week reviewing number bonds, addition and subtraction with numbers through 20, and ordinal numbers. Even for my mathy child, some concepts necessitate several ways of teaching the same idea. Another reason that MFW has set her up well for these times ... we pulled out our beans for place value and number cards to show, clearly and visually, how 10+5=15, without ever having to "add." We're heading to the library on Sunday to find books to solidify what she's learned with math in her first 50 Singapore 1A lessons. Some living books to the mix.

I am beginning to compile Sugar's state portfolio assessment and as I was reading through  my TG again I flagged activities that we never got to, but that I don't want the girls to miss. One was about pressing flowers. While at the market this week I saw a bunch of edible flowers, and since upper New England is short on garden flowers this time of year, I bought a bunch to dry and press. I think we'll make bookmarks with contact paper when they are ready. More to come ...



Oh ... Sugar's shepherd's bag came out beautifully. Obviously, David would not have woven potholders together to craft a bag for his lunch, but this little project gave her a good dose of the mechanics of weaving and a few snacks fit in the bag and she is enamored with carrying it everywhere.



This week we will have our shepherd lunch ... figs, olives, raisins, cheese, and bread. It is supposed to be SEVENTY degrees on Tuesday, so that calls for an outdoor picnic in honor of David.

Another beautiful, sometimes blurry week in My Father's World. Life at the pace of life. I tell my husband every.single.day how thankful I am for the privilege to home school our children.

I encourage you to stop over to A Heart Like Water for this week's MFW Homeschool Highlights.

Because of Him.

Wait

The wait for a court date to at long last fly to our little boy and hold his hand, hug his itty bitty body, and kiss his sweet face is agony. Just plain hard. We are at the mercy of two governments, worlds away, and unknowns at every.single.turn. Blissful highs and crushing lows. Dreams of playing at Crane Beach this summer as a family of six and nightmares of seeing the leaves turn this fall without him, again. We press into our faith, into each other, into the hopes that sustain us, and have sustained us since we first saw his face and knew we were his seven months ago, today. And, we wait. I pray that his wait is peppered with the same hope and peace that we will soon be together and that he knows in his soul that he is loved. Madly.

♥♥♥♥♥♥

Wait by Russell Kelfer

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate . . .
And the Master so gently said, "Wait."

"Wait? you say wait?" my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming your Word.

"My future and all to which I relate
Hangs in the balance, and you tell me to wait?
I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign,
Or even a 'no' to which I can resign.

"You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord I've been asking, and this is my cry:
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply."

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate,
As my Master replied again, "Wait."
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting for what?"

He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine . . .
and He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.

"I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.
You'd have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of my love for each saint.
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint.

"You'd not learn to see through clouds of despair;
You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there.
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence are all you can see.

"You'd never experience the fullness of love
When the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.
You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

"The glow of my comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight.
The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask
From an infinite God who makes what you have last.

"You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.
Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,
But, oh, the loss, if you missed what I'm doing in you.

"So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to truly know me.
And though oft My answers seem terribly late

"You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.
Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,
But, oh, the loss, if you missed what I'm doing in you."

A Few Lessons with ArtPac 1

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I know how it can seem that a new program is wonderful for a week or so ... and then it becomes dreary and you shelve it. I am truly not getting that vibe with Art with a Purpose. I genuinely like it. Who would ever have thought? It is so simple. I can see why some set it aside quickly. I think that its fruits will come with much time.

Okay ... so, yes. We colored. Just colored. I love coloring. Mid afternoon, Bugs is napping, house it tidy, hymns playing in the background, hot coffee, an oreo or eight, and my girls and me. Bliss.

This program is really hitting home with me for a few reasons.

1) It takes us back to the basics. Coloring. Fluid strokes. Gentle strokes. Willful coloring in the same direction. No scribbling. Deliberate coloring. My preschooler is dysgraphic ... specifically for her that means that she writes in mirror image because she sees from right to left and bottom to top. Imagine how hard it would be to do a simple exercise like color a picture if you had to be intentional about every movement of your hand. It is also a perfectly-timed reminder for Sugar to s.l.o.w. d.o.w.n. Be little. Color. Model for your sis how coloring is an art.

2) I'm just not ready to delve into the masters. I think that might come when my children are in third grade, respectively. For now, I'm flirting with art curricula for that time in our home school journey, but for now, I am very happy with the juxtaposition of the ArtPac and our previously learned Drawing with Children lessons.

3) To piggyback ... I think that the discipline of Drawing with Children, leading to the execution and individuality of Draw Write Now, alongside the simplicity of the lessons and the media of Art with a Purpose is a comfortable blend for us at this time.

It's just enough and nothing compares to the carefree afternoons with my girls coloring and creating.

Because of Him.

Art with a Purpose

I decided to spend more money ... haha ... and I ordered three sets of Art with a Purpose, ArtPac 1. At $8.95 each I felt comfortable getting a set for Sugar, Sparkler, and myself. I've read a lot of good reviews on this program, and a few that say it is too crafty and not artsy enough. Since it is for grades 1-8 I thought this would be a good time to give it a whirl, especially since it's so affordable. My girls love all-things-crafty so this seems like a nice way to spend a little time one afternoon, or two, each week together (preferably while Bugs is sleeping). We've already had a lot of time this year drawing with Drawing with Children and Draw Write Now, which we'll continue, so this might be a new spin on art.

I'll give it a thorough review in another week or so ... in case anyone  is curious.

Because of Him.