I had wanted to get on here Thursday and Friday to give recaps of our days, but busyness took hold and we also had company over, so here I am on Sunday afternoon, finally getting some quiet time to think and write. The girls are all off doing something on their own. One is galavanting in the neighborhood playing with friends, one is watching a movie and one is in her room getting some "space"...:)
We did well last week with getting lessons done before lunch and the girls really liked it. Our goal is to have breakfast done, be dressed, beds made, kitchen cleaned up and a load of laundry started by 8:30 so we can get started. Some days, the girls get started on their own while I am still getting ready and that's OK with me...:) Our philosophy is that learning is all around us and that learning is always taking place. As I mentioned, we do have our mornings set aside for the academic subjects that needs to be covered, but don't want them to think that once we are done with our lessons that they can turn their brains off...:) I want them to discover the joy of learning and get excited about life around us. There are so many more things to learn in life besides the academic subjects. We want to raise kids with excellent character, a strong work ethic and sweet loving spirits. Having them at home gives me ample time to "guide" them in getting along and dealing with rivalry issues and selfish attitudes that seem to permeate the atmosphere some days...;) We have to find the right balance of together time to work and learn and alone time to pursue everyone's own interests and time to "breathe" and think during our set quiet time.
Our curriculum choice is a Unit Study called A World of Adventure which covers everything but math, so it gives us something wonderful to bounce our learning off of. It is very history and literature rich, so I love it!
This is basically what we cover during the week:
Bible Reading and Memory - Sometimes our story to discuss for history is from the Bible, so we read that along with whatever I pick to read for the day. We are also going to be memorizing many scriptures, so our first one is Proverbs 1 ...the whole chapter. They each have a printout of the same version for them to study and we take turns reading it through so that they each get practice reading aloud and pronouncing the words, and also hearing it too. We go over the meaning of some of the words daily, so they are also learning vocabulary. In Proverbs 1, we have talked about the meanings of the words; blessed, council, ungodly, scornful, meditates, prospers, withers, and a few others.
Math - all the girls need to get their multiplication facts down, so they are working on whatever facts they need with drill sheets, flash cards, oral drill, skip counting, card games and computer games. We also work on measurements as we cook and bake and they are all increasing their time telling ability, including adding time to determine "how much longer til?". A much asked question in our house...:)
Spelling - We use a book called Spelling Power and we also add words from their writing and copywork that they don't know. We have also incorporated some words given to us weekly by our neighbor girl, Alex, who asked if she could organize a spelling bee for our girls and her younger brothers sometime in October.
Writing/Copywork - we write all kinds of things...our Bible verses, poems, sayings, passages in good literature, etc. I believe a good writer develops from seeing, reading and writing from great literature examples. We also have a grammer book that teaches basic sentence structure, grammer and punctuation that they write the answers to daily. I also want them to be able to write a proper paragraph so we are working on retelling stories now.
History - right now it's Ancient Egypt so we are reading lots of books, coloring appropriate pictures for our folders and playing interactive computer games online that we find to make it fun, along with doing projects. Friday, we deviated from Egypt, and spent several hours in the morning watching clips and programs about the terrorist attack from Sept 11, and discussing what happened that day.
Science - Our main focus for now is deserts. Again, we read and look at books and do projects. We also learn about whatever comes up, such as the rabbit who just finished digging her burrow deeper to prepare for her new litter. We look facts up on the internet and find out more about why they do what they do. Funny looking insects on the window or on the patio beg us to find out more about them. Wasp nests, mice, katydids, flowers...there are always things to learn when you just open your eyes and your mind. Today on the way to church, Rick noticed big black bird flying around in continuous circles, so now we have to check into what that was all about. Maddie wants to know why we have an "apple" in our throat too.
Vocabulary - much of this comes from whatever we come across during the day or the words Rick uses and they ask about. Maddie fell for Daddy's "scheme" again today and has the assignment of looking up and learning to spell, "discernment"....:) The girls also want to start learning Latin vocabulary again, as they remember doing with Isaac years ago.
So, there's an overview. Every day is an adventure and a new opportunity, so remember.....
When you rise in the morning, form the resolution to make the day a happy one to a fellow
creature. It is easily done. (The Independent Fourth Reader, 1880)
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