Lux Venit Home School

Let's Learn the Elements!

2009-10-29T22:41:00.001-05:00

Home Schooled, Christian girl ordered to attend public school

2009-09-16T12:34:00.002-05:00

Weekly Report I

2009-09-13T00:37:00.001-05:00

I realize I'm a little late with the weekly reporting. Since this is my first one for the year, it will probably be rather long.

The kids and I had a great week of school.

To celebrate Labor Day we spent the day with family, enjoyed ribs and sundry southern cuisine.

Tuesday through Thursday were normal days. Friday was a special day because it was Patriot Day. We spent some time remembering September 11, 2001. They wanted to remember how old they were and hear about what they were doing that morning.

History
When I first planned our curriculum (about five years ago), I planned to teach history chronologically, adding a new student each year or two. Well, that didn't happen.

I had also planned that we would do science together. That's not happening, either.

I understand that my life would be a lot easier if I taught these two subjects to all four children together, but it seems simpler to me, rather than creating four lessons, to create two. Hannah and Benjamin work together while Abbey and Noah work together. I still teach history chronologically; however, Hannah and Benjamin are studying American History, while Abbey and Noah are just beginning with Ancient History.

For American History I chose Sonlight Core 3. IT IS FABULOUS! The kids are having fun and learning so much! The books we're reading are excellent books and I know they are getting so much more than they would from a textbook. I have them write a short narration/summary of their reading every day. That is, if their reading doesn't already include questions they have to write answers to. Writing a summary of what they've read really helps them remember and interact with what they've read.

For Ancient History, I chose The Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer. I enjoyed this book and the activity guide with Hannah. The only problem I had was finding the books they recommended. I figured out how to use my Sonlight catalog to fix this problem, though. The second issue I had with Bauer's text is that it seemed to contradict everything they write about in The Well-Trained Mind. What I mean by that is that they advocate using real books to learn, to not use a pre-chewed/distilled informational textbook, but then what do they do? They published a textbook.

We had so much fun this week studying the ancient Egyptians. Abbey and Noah reminded me over and over again, when they would gasp over our reading, that they have never heard this stuff. They seriously grossed out to learn how the ancient priests prepared a pharoah for burial. And they were genuinely excited to learn about how the Egyptians were the first to make paper. They had fun trying to write with glyphs and cuneiform. So, even though they have gone with us on field trips, two on which I KNOW they saw real mummies, they have forgotten everything. I guess they were just too young.

Bible
I decided not to buy a Bible curriculum this year. Our church uses Children Desiring God curriculum. So, well....there you go. I go over their lessons with them, make sure they understand the stories and themes, and help them memorize their verses. We're also working on memorizing the books of the Bible in order. Hannah and Benjamin already know them, so they mostly sit and correct me when I get them mixed up. We are also learning one hymn per week.

Earlier last week, I gave a sweeping overview of the message of the Old Testament to them, covering both of my white boards. They paid attention, so I kept going. Later, as I considered how interested they were in the simple organization of the Bible and its message, I entertained the idea of adapting Grudem's Systematic Theology for them, but decided that CDG was good enough for now.

As usual, when it comes to teaching Bible, I get carried away and don't want to move on to the other subjects. I love studying the Bible and teaching its truths to my children. What a privilege!

Math
I am beginning to see where Saxon has its weaknesses. Because there isn't so much drill, it is taking longer for Hannah and Benjamin to memorize their multiplication facts. Last year we did all of the skip counting every stinkin' day; I thought they had them. Not so. To help remedy this I've started giving them a multiplication fact sheet every day. They hate it, but they're getting better. I'm shooting for fast and accurate. They can't exactly move on until they know all of those.

Abbey has about 30 lessons left in Saxon 1. Noah started Saxon 2 this year and is finding it easy these first two months of school. The hardest part of math for him is reading the word problems.

Science
Hannah and Benjamin are in Sonlight Core 3 Science. They are kind of bored with it, I think. They enjoy reading the biology book and doing the activity sheets. And I have found some great videos online to supplement. But what they miss is experiments. The experiments right now center on growing plants. We already have a garden in which they have to work, so I haven't done any of the experiments with them. We have learned a lot just from our experience with watching our garden grow. They have worked, planted, observed plant growth, learned about good bugs and animals for a garden and harmful ones, smelled the compost bin, and learned about how plants make food (for us and themselves). I'm sure as we move along in the year, there will be tests and projects for them to do.

For Abbey and Noah, I chose Considering God's Creation. This week they've learned about our universe and solar system. They have had some really fun projects to do, and I think this is where Hannah and Benjamin are feeling left out. So that even though they are officially studying biology, they are doing the astronomy work because they want to. Fine with me!

Reading
Abbey is reading everything she can get her hands on. She has reached the point at which she is confident with her abilities to read and so she does it all the time. This week she read The Giving Tree. We're still working through her 2nd grade Hooked on Phonics book, which I pair with Explode the Code (book 3 for now).

Noah is getting so much better. He struggled with Spell to Write and Read last year, so I switched to Hooked on Phonics. He did much better with that because it's much easier than SWR. He's almost finished with the first grade book. I also add Explode the Code lessons for him, too. These he enjoys and they help boost his confidence.

Hannah and Benjamin read too fast. They have breezed through the first 12 weeks of history readers in Sonlight. I had to make them stop so that we can get our history lessons caught up to where they are on the readers. They are also in an Eragon reading class for our co-op. I think the book and the older kids in the class are providing the reading challenge they needed.

Our Sonlight core includes A Child's Introduction to Poetry. Everyone is loving this book and CD.

Grammar
I chose Shurley Grammar again. Abbey and Noah are in Level 1. They are learning how to find subject nouns and verbs. I also introduced them to journal writing this week. Abbey was thrilled. Noah was distressed, until I told him he could draw a picture at the bottom of his page.

Benjamin is perfecting the 2-point paragraph.

Hannah is writing letters and creating her own narrative paragraphs.

Metaphorically Speaking

2009-09-09T13:33:00.000-05:00

A facebook friend of a facebook friend posted this little ditty. I found it so hilarious that it made me cry, like when water comes out of my eyes when I'm sad, but this time I was laughing.

Enjoy!

Every year, English teachers from across the USA can submit their collections of actual analogies and metaphors found in high school essays. These excerpts are published each year to the amusement of teachers across the country. Here are last year's winners:

1. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master.

2. His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.

3. He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.

4. She grew on him like she was a colony of E. coli, and he was room temperature Texas beef.

5. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.

6. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.

7. He was as tall as a six-foot, three-inch tree.

8. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife's infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM machine.

9. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't.

10. McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup.

11. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30

12. Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.

13. The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.

14. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.

15. They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled David Letterman's teeth.

16. John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.

17. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant, and she was the East River .

18. Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.

19. Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do.

20. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.

21. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while.

22. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame, maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.

23. The ballerina rose gracefully en Pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.

24. It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools.

25. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up.

The Jesus Storybook Bible

2009-09-07T00:48:00.002-05:00

During our Bible time last year (when I had a Kindergartener and a 1^st grader) I used The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones. My children and I really enjoyed our time together in this book. The illustrations were so interesting to my children. They would request that I wait to turn the pages so that they could look at each one a little longer.

I also love Sally Lloyd-Jones' framing of these stories. The tag of the book, "Every story whispers His name," is very appropriate. Each story drives you to the next one, to the Rescuer, to the One God promised, to Jesus. Many times while reading to the children, I had to fight my tears because I saw myself and my Rescuer. This book is so special to me now. That's why I am excited to announce that...

Zondervan is publishing a deluxe version of The Jesus Storybook Bible. This will include audio recordings of each story, which can be purchased separately.

I listened to a couple of the online samples and am very pleased. Suchet's narration is engaging. I know my little ones will enjoy listening to these CDs over and over again.

By the way, if you're willing to blog about this new edition, you can enter the sweepstakes to win a case of books.

Curriculum Review: Hooked on Phonics K - 2nd Grade Deluxe

2009-08-31T06:16:00.002-05:00

My children really enjoyed learning how to read with the Hooked on Phonics program. We completed all three levels, Kindergarten through 2nd grade, in one school year. We're a home schooling family. This made it possible for me to allow my children to learn at their own pace. I let them read as little or as much as they wanted. We all enjoyed learning to read last year. Overall, I'm glad we used Hooked On Phonics, but there was one aspect of the program that bothered me.

The Kindergarten program begins with learning the basic sounds of each letter. A few times I let my children use the audio CD that comes in the box, but found that they retained everything much better when I worked one-on-one rather than letting them work independently. After the letter sounds were mastered, the children were ready to sound out short words with short vowel sounds. The Kindergarten level progresses from short-a words to short-u words and includes a list of sight words.

After the letter sounds are learned, the student is presented with his first "Read Aloud" page. It looks like this:
a t at
at m at s at r at b at c at p at

Notice that all of the endings are the same. The student must decode the first consonant and then tack on the "at" ending for each word. This is absolutely fine when a child is just learning how to sound out words. The repetition builds confidence in a young reader. However, the pattern of having a single ending per line never changes. My children fell into automatically adding the same ending to every word even when the ending changed on the next line. They weren't always paying attention to the letters. This frustrated me and made me wonder how much actual reading my children were doing. Were they reading or simply sounding the first consonant and giving the ending for that line? That said, the short and simple books assigned throughout the program helped me see that my children were learning how to read.

I think it goes without saying that children learn to read better when the reading curriculum is combined with writing. I had my children write the letters and phonograms to supplement. When my children reached the sounds made with two letters, then I had them write the letter combinations when I gave the sound -- kind of like a spelling test. Doing this helped them remember more easily what the two-letter phonograms are.

In the 1st grade level children learn how to blend consonants at the beginning and ending of words. There are also sight words to learn and short books to read. My son especially enjoyed the short books for this level because they focused on masculine characters who played sports and went on adventures.

The 2nd grade level begins with learning how to read silent final-e words and moves on to vowel digraphs and single-sound vowel-consonant combinations. The stories are much more interesting and appealing for this level. Getting to read one of the "real" books really motivated my children to finish their lessons and keep going.

Overall, I have been pleased with this program. My children are readers! From their point of view: they like the colorful, glossy books, the sticker charts kept them motivated (we really celebrated with each new reading achievement), and they love anything that includes a game they can play on the computer. Great program!

How I Homeschool

2009-08-30T15:20:00.000-05:00

I often wonder what works for other home schooling families, especially those families with more than four children. I love to read home school blogs that detail how the mom can accomplish so much in one day, teach her children, and stay sane at the same time. Some times their lives sound too good to be true.

I also enjoy those bloggers who share their home schooling tricks and tips. Most of the time I can tell right away whether or not what works for one woman's family will work for mine. There have been a few times when I tried something that I didn't think would work, but it did. Then again, there are many times when I think an organizing or curriculum idea will work great for us, only to try it and find that it's a complete flop. Why is that?

What makes other homeschooling families so successful?

In this e-book, you'll learn what works for families of every size, including some working from home, some new to homeschooling, and even homeschool graduates themselves! These families share their unique lifestyle of learning, revealing a glimpse into their thriving homeschool households.

Is homeschooling a delight to you and your children? Maybe you could use a few good ideas for the coming school year!

How I Homeschool contributors share a fresh supply of information and inspiration you’ll enjoy, such as:

- Schedule ideas from a week to a year, traditional or year-round -— see how others are doing it!
- Hints to help organize your life and school -— every day and all year long.
- Productively balance working from home while homeschooling -— you’ll appreciate the advice from these successful homeschool moms!
- How to implement routines -— you’ll love the rundown of a daily routine, including morning, afternoon, and evening!
- Curriculum? Oh, yes, the authors share what works for them—providing insight for your family.
- Teaching a lifestyle of learning -— ideas for exercising your flexibility and relaxation while homeschooling, even while traveling for a month!
- Putting God first -— and what a difference it makes!
- Details of the busy days of fellow homeschoolers just like you, in an easy-to-read, inviting style—like a visit with a friend!
- The rewards of homeschooling -— though sometimes hard, those who endure will reap a harvest!

Gain insight as you develop your own lifestyle of learning. Wherever you are in your homeschooling journey, How I Homeschool could make a BIG difference for your family!

The 3 Uses of "We"

2009-08-30T13:32:00.001-05:00

One more reason to love Sonlight: The Beam. This newsletter is always full of encouragement and helpful information. A little home school humor is thrown into the mix as well. I found the following bit just too good to keep to myself.

My son told me that there are three uses for the word "we."

In normal usage, we means you and I. Then there's the royal we which kings use to mean I. Last is the maternal we which means you, as in "We need to clean your room."

That kid has a wicked wit.

I tend to overuse the "maternal we." How 'bout you?

My Twist on the Workbox System

2009-08-30T13:31:00.002-05:00

What is a workbox?

Basically, it's a way to organize the home school day so that your children have a visual of exactly what they're supposed to do during the day. If you're interested in more info, you can watch this slideshow from the woman who created the system.

After seeing the original workbox system, I was a little disappointed. It's a big system and I have four children. There is no way I'm going to buy four wire racks and 48 plastic containers. Plus, the type A in me was really bothered by boxes thrown askew (*shiver*) by the large binders in them. Thanks to the wonders of google, I found a few different interpretations.

I wish I could remember where I first saw this variation so that I could give the mom some credit, but I can't recall who she is.

This is what my system looks like:

Noah's box:

I put almost everything he needs in each folder. You can't see the rest of his hanging files because I put math in front. But you can see Abbey's:

And Ben's:

His Bible is in front. Binders and notebooks are behind the hanging files.

You can see in the next picture that I put the day's assignment on post-its which I put on the book they are to use.

It takes some extra time on my part to stick the post-its on their books. But, overall, the system is working well so far. If they want to, the big kids can take their boxes to another part of the house to work. They know exactly what they're supposed to do, they have almost everything they need to get it done, and they can see, at a glance, how much they have to do every day. I haven't had to answer, How much school do I have left to do?

This system is helping me stay organized by forcing me to get all of their lessons together the night before. In the past, I would plan the lessons, but not have them ready until the morning the kids had to do them.

Lord willing, this will work for the rest of the year.

Calculating the Hours

2009-08-30T13:31:00.001-05:00

Creating a schedule is kind of overwhelming me right now. I have 168 hours to work with in one week.

I feel like I need my own cap and trade time scheme or Hermione's time-turner.

Here are the steps I took to create my schedule:
Step 1: Begin with the end in mind.
I start by considering how I want my life and family to look at the end of the school year. What do I want us to learn? In which areas do I see we need to improve? How are the kids' characters coming along? I pray about those things and contemplate what I must do to see the growth and maturation that I desire for me and my children. Take a look at my personal worksheet.

Step 2: Consider the time I have and how to make the most of it.

Let's take away all those things I have to do every day. I have to sleep, eat, spend time with God, and bathe.

Sleeping needs to take at least 49 hours of the week. If I spend 30 minutes to eat one meal, and I eat 3 per day, then that will take 10.5 hours per week. If I take about 30 minutes on my appearance every day, that takes about 3.5 hours out of the week. My times with Jesus tend to go long: it takes me a while to get my mind and heart where they need to be, then I don't want to stop. I need at least an hour for Bible reading/meditation and prayer and I'll have to stop after an hour, no matter what. That's 7 hours. Plus the hours we spend at church per week, and it's 11.5 hours. I really need to add exercise to my schedule. Let's say I'll try to spend 45 minutes exercising four days per week. That adds up to 3 hours.

168 hours given - 77.5 hours for personal maintenance = 90.5 hours remaining

That still looks like a lot of time.

Now let's look at my the time required for home making and caring for the family.

According to my tentative schedule, the kids and I will take about 6 hours per week doing chores. Breakfasts take about 30 minutes. Lunches last about an hour: prep, eating, and clean up. That's 7 hours. Sundays tend to take longer. I spend about 45 minutes to an hour cooking dinner in the evenings. All of that adds up to 17.5 hours of kitchen time per week.

Now I have 73 hours.

We have to do school. I have divided Monday through Thursday into 3 blocks of school time. We have two morning blocks and one afternoon block of time. They total 24 hours per week. On Friday mornings we will be getting together with our home school co-op, which is four hours long, followed by a 2.5 hours block of school time. The kids also take piano lessons, which takes two hours per week. Adding our instruction time, piano lessons, and co-op time, total school time (for me) equals 32.5 hours.

81 hours - 32.5 hours = 48.5 hours

Wow, that's about two days left. What am I forgetting? Some of that time is Saturdays and Sundays. I'm keeping those as open as possible.

We have family time in the evenings, totalling around 6 or 7 hours per week. Our bedtime routine takes a little time.

I want to spend some one-on-one time with each child during the week. And, of course, there's Karl. We have to have some time alone every day. I want to keep blogging and writing, which will happen in the evenings and on weekends. Gardening will happen during chore times and on the weekends.

Step 3: Start organizing the times.
If there is something you want to do, then put it in the schedule. It doesn't matter what it is. If you love to scrapbook, then schedule it. Love to sew? Schedule it. If you want to be able to snuggle under a home made quilt in six months, then (say it with me...) schedule it.

I need to grow in the area of hospitality, so I have it scheduled. I will have to keep the house presentable and invite people over. I can foresee one problem: I didn't schedule mentoring. I'll have to talk with my mentor about that. I neglected to schedule my weekly trip to the grocery store. It usually happens on the weekends anyway.

Here's my tentative schedule. I'll fill you in on the schedule within the school blocks after I get that figured out.

The reason I feel OK sharing my worksheet and schedule with you is because I have been encouraged by looking at how other home school moms manage their days. I'm not trying to make myself look a certain way in your eyes. After all, I haven't done anything but create a spreadsheet. I just hope that taking a look at my schedule will encourage or lend some ideas to another mom trying to juggle a life similar to mine.

Step 4: Stick to the schedule.
This is the hard part. It takes discipline. It takes a giant carrot on the end of stick and a spoonful of sugar to get the kids to want to play along. They'll get the hang of it eventually, though. And I am definitely going to have to stick to planning during my scheduled planning times for all of this to happen without too many hitches.

I'm going to miss sleeping in on the weekends.

Planners for Moms

2009-08-30T13:26:00.000-05:00

I've changed. I don't know exactly when it happened. Sometime between baby #1 and yesterday. I realized it the other day when a dad came to the pool with his kids and the lessons were 15 minutes off-schedule. He was rather upset because it was going to throw off the rest of his morning. He kept saying to himself, "C'mon, just let it go." He looked at me and asked, "I need to just let it go, don't I?" My reply? "Absolutely. It's summertime and we're only 15 minutes off. Everything will be fine."

He didn't appreciate my lazy, summer-y attitude and walked away with a huff.

My husband could relate. He lives in the world of keeping up with the hours and planning meetings and needing to be on time and stressing when he's not and feeling offended when others are late. I haven't lived there in a very long time.

If you've been reading here for a while, then you'll remember that I confessed to being a scheduler for most of my life, that fifteen years ago I would have responded much like the dad at the pool. But a few years ago I became what I'm calling a "routine-er." We no long hold rigidly to a schedule; we follow a routine.

That's going to have to change this year. And I feel anxious just thinking about going back, re-entering that world. But I have realized that it must be done.

Why?

Because almost every area of my life has suffered from my lack of time management. Following a routine is good for lots of people, but I have gotten less done as a routine-er. Now that all four of my kids are school-aged, I have to stop following the same routine. Our routine won't be strong enough to help me achieve what we need to do this next year. Based on last year's experience, my quality assurance meter indicates that it's time to make a schedule and stick to it.

On a more personal note, I have three books that want out of my head. My options are (a) send the children to public school and write all day, (b) home school with our routine and never find the time to write, or (c) stick firmly to a schedule.

I choose C.

The problem I've had is finding a planner that meets all of my needs. I need something to help me keep the housekeeping, our school schedule, extra-curricular schedule, meal plans and grocery lists in order. I considered creating my own and putting it in a binder, but quickly realized that it would be too big to carry around everywhere.

A few days later, I came upon a new planner in The Home Educating Family Magazine. This is the first year of its publication and it has everything in that I might need to plan our life. It's called The Well-Planned Day. With this planner, I can

Organize and Plan for up to 4 children in one convenient book.
Schedule each student's class assignments.
Organize my week with class assignments, weekly priorities, prayer requests, dinner menu, and notes.
Track each day by the hour.
Plan field trips, enrichment activities and books to read
Keep track of semester attendance & Progress Reports
Create Transcript Evaluation Forms and Perforated Report Cards
Plan weekly meals and use perforated shopping lists.
Organize our family worship & prayer so that we read through the Bible in a year and record prayer requests.
Read insightful homeschool articles and tips to inspire me throughout the year.

A full-screen flipbook preview is available if you want to see it. I can't wait to get this thing in the mail!

Another resource I've used is the Motivated Moms chore planning system. It helps me keep up with little things that I wouldn't think about doing on a regular basis, like sweeping the front walkway. Now, just because it's on the list for that day doesn't mean that I do it; I delegate it to one of the kids. It has an area for a schedule, an area for meal planning, a long list of daily chores, and a short list of specific chores for each day.

I'm praying that between the two I'll be able to accomplish all that I need to and want to.

Finally, have you read Shopping for Time: How to Do It All and NOT Be Overwhelmed? I reviewed it for DR around this time in 2007. The authors say,

we can actually do all that God has called us to do…A fantastic claim, we know. But it’s true. We can accomplish everything God has ordained for us to do in this life. (Hint: It’s probably not half of what’s on your to-do list.) And we can do it in a peaceful, joyful manner and get sufficient rest besides.

I need to read that book again. If you'd like to read it, check out these online retailers:

Amazon
Monergism Books
WTSBooks

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Related posts:

Homeschooling More Than One Child by Carren Joye (Originally posted 7/19/07)

The Routine (Originally posted 8/9/06)

Tightening the Ship

(Originally posted 12/13/06)

Curriculum Reviews

2009-08-28T12:54:00.004-05:00

Bible

Math

History

Science

Reading
Hooked on Phonics K - 2nd Grade Deluxe

Grammar

Foreign Language

Writing

Handwriting