Daily Scheduling

I've been busy, busy, busy.  Printing things for school, making wish lists for when we attend the HEAV Convention, and about to print more blank weekly lesson sheets.  Yes, it may be a bit early, but given we will have a couple weeks of school in June, I want to get an idea of how school may look with some of the new subjects we are adding this year.

For 2011/2012 school year, I am hoping to add:

• typing
• Spanish vocabulary using Rosetta Stone Latin America
• Phys. Ed.
• Nature Studies (been meaning to do this and have neglected it greatly)
• more art, but through our Unit Studies, Geography, and History
• A Child's Geography written by Ann Voskamp

 Most of these may only be 2 or 3 days a week and may need to be shuffled some once we have fall activities figured out.  This is in addition to Five in a Row, Beyond Five in a Row, Amanda Bennett's Unit Studies,  Mystery of History, Math-U-See, and Language Lessons from Queens Homeschool Supplies.  These we've used in the past few years with a lot of success, so we're continuing with them.

Binding a Lapbook

For part of our curriculum the last 2 and 1/2 years, we have been doing unit studies.  These usually have some kind of notebook or lap book type pages to go along with them.  For the first couple years we would put the parts and pieces on construction paper and staple the pieces down the left side.  I hadn't been to happy with this and bought a GBC machine this past fall.  These are the machines that put the rectangular holes down the side of your paper and allow you to put a GBC plastic comb on the stack of paper for a "finished book". There are some machines that are geared to office work, being able to punch several sheets at once and can handle a 2" ~ 3" comb spine.  Ours is not as heavy duty, and hence less expensive.

Following are some of the steps I use to create the books.

 The actual machine.  The charcoal gray 1/2 circle, on the left

allows you to adjust the size of paper you punch.  I have three

choices: letter, A4, and U.S.A. over sized.  I tend to leave it at letter.

 Before punch holes, make sure all sheets are lined up in the

correct order; I have forgotten to check and punch holes on the wrong side.

To punch the wholes, take between 5 - 8 regular sheets stacked

neatly together.  Insert the left side of the stack into slot

(similar to a 3 whole punch) and wiggle them a bit to make 

sure they're all the way back.  Press down handle to punch holes.

Repeat until all sheets have holes.

 This is what the left side of your paper will look

like when done correctly.  I still occasionally mess up 

on this step.  Thankfully it hasn't happened on an original piece of work.

 Now for the comb spine.  Insert it so that each "comb" is in between the tines
and can be opened up.  One side can be opened, one can't.

 With my machine, the handle that you press to punch the

holes also opens the spines.  On mine, there is also a wedge piece

that can be moved to lock the handle open - it is on the right of the

photo about midway.

 Now, pick up some of the punched paper.  How many you

grab at one time may vary, depending on thickness of sheet and

how comfortable you are with it.  Line up the holes with the "comb"

teeth and bring forward until teeth are all the way through the holes.

Repeat until all sheets are on.  I personally like to have the open part

of comb at the back.  You may like it the other way around.

 Once all the sheets are on, unhook the wedge/lock

and pull the book off.

Here is what the book looks like with the spine on.

For the actual cover, I either let the boys draw a cover onto card stock or I will print the cover of the unit study onto card stock.  For some of the larger unit studies we have finished, like Amanda Bennett's Pioneers or Thanksgiving, the boys and I will sort their work into different categories.  Some examples are: vocabulary, biography, maps, miscellaneous, Mayflower, 95 Thesis, or whatever else may be appropriate.  Then I will type these categories out in a Word Document, one word per page near the upper right corner and rotated.  The document then gets printed onto several sheets of colored paper and put on top of the appropriate stack.  When the book is completed, it is easier to find the various components that they'd worked on during the study.  Following are a few photo examples:

So that is how we bind a lapbook in a nut shell!

Yum!!!!!!!!!!!

Homemade Cafe Mocha

This is the sort of thing one makes when the guys leave the house on a Friday afternoon!  Had thought I'd be taking "the Things" to Tae Kwon Doe, but Kevin got home early.  So here I sit, still in grubby, but clean clothes, having just made a cafe mocha and now blogging.  Pandora is playing "Old Country" music.  Not a quiet house, but sounds that are okay.

As almost any teacher will tell you, the first few days back, after a break, seem long and difficult.  It's been that for us, too.  Also a full week of almost ALL activities.  No easing into it with just a few subjects or activities!

This week we've been doing our usual grammar, math, and MoH along with Amanda Bennett's "Winter Wonders".  We've had fun reading a lot of snow related books, making snowflakes, and drinking hot chocolate.  Unfortunately, no real snow to be had!  Here's a look at our snowflakes we made though:

Kind of like the reflection of the trees in the window, don't you?

Now off to enjoy my second mocha!

Life on the Oregon Trail

There is nothing quite like listing out what others have done to make you realize that your own life is fairly easy in comparison. Today, in Pioneer Unit Study, we took another look at "Life on the Oregon Trail". Here's what the boys found out:

· day began at 4:00 AM

· men first yoked the oxen or harnessed the horses; women and girls made breakfast (hot coffee, biscuits, bacon, and boiled beans)

· cleaned up camp

· hit the trail by 7:00 AM

· walk until noon

· “captain” would give the signal for lunch or “nooning”

· ate a cold lunch and rested for one hour

· 1:00 PM began to move again

· stopped for day at 5:00 PM

· Men took care of animals and made repairs to the wagon

· Women made supper, mended clothing, and gave lessons to children

· Children gathered firewood or buffalo chips

· After chores, they’d gather around the campfire, tell stories, read the Bible, or play fiddle or guitar

Average miles per day = 15

Speed of oxen = 2 miles per hour

Average hours walked per day = 9

Yes, my boys are happy to not have to walk for nine ours a day. I think Thing Two could handle it though, with all the energy he generally has.

Pioneer's Unit Study

We're now in week three of Amanda Bennett's Unit Study for Pioneers. It has been such an amazing study of part of American History. Thing One and Thing Two are enjoying it immensely. I was really impressed with the boys today and how they are tying everything together from the previous weeks ~ they're making connections in ways that I just don't have to lead them too. Totally awesome. Then, as I was reading from a couple web site links, the boys starting drawing on their whiteboards various pioneer scene ~ pony express, wagons, mountains, explorers, etc. I was also excited to read that that this study leads into the Civil War time in the US History (my mental calendar of historical dates is not so good). Totally stoked because that is the next unit study we're doing. It's just the way things worked out without trying. SwEeT!!!!!!

Thanks Amanda, for a well written Unit Study!

Pizza Party Review

Earlier this summer, I volunteered to help review some of Amanada Bennett's Download and Go Unit studies. The first for the boys and I has been Pizza Party, which we received for free for reviewing it. It's been a blast because I'd been wanting to use this one for awhile now. At our house, we've been making pizza on Friday nights for about 9 years. It really seemed like a great way to get some history, geography, and art into our lives based off of a food we already enjoy.

For me, I have enjoyed the amount of information that is put into this unit. There are many links to Italian cities, various individuals, video's on making pizza, fun science projects, and so much more. Another feature I really appreciate are the links take you to the pages for the lap book pages for the day and a link to take you back to the page you were on. It's so easy to move around the down load with these and to be able to print what you need when you need it ~ I generally don't have time to print out everything at one time, let alone figure out which pages I need more than one copy. Being able to jump around like this, is absolutely wonderful to me.

The boys most favorite parts have been a couple different things. For Thing Two, it's been the art work, he really enjoyed making his self portrait on Day 2. It was neat to hear the two of them working together (Thing One did some self portraits for Cub Scouts and was "coaching" Thing Two on how to make a good picture!). Thing One has been enjoying the history ~ learning about how pizza came to America, people like Marco Polo, Vivaldi, Galileo, and doing some map work.

I think when Friday rolls around this week, the boys are going to enjoy our dinner a bit more with more knowledge of their favorite food now. We so look forward to working through more of Amanda's unit studies.

Happy Eating,

Finalized - wish I could use that word!

Over at Heart of the Matter, they are having a "Not Back to School Blog Hop" where everyone is posting their curriculum for this school year. From what I have been seeing, it looks like everyone has there full year planned out. Sure things might change, but a basic road map has been laid out. And here I felt pretty good that I had through Christmas pulled together. So, without further hesitation, here IS the curriculum we've got lined up:

Math ~ Math U See:
Thing One: wrap up Delta and move on to Epsilon
Thing Two: wrap up Alpha and then onto Beta

Language Arts ~ this is from Queens Homeschooling Supply and the boys seem to be doing well with it so far (I'm excited because this is the first LA program where the boys are excited about it. The lessons are short, to the point, and easy to grasp. I've already had Thing Two looking through books for silent E words after finishing his lesson).
Thing One: Language Lessons for the Elementary Child 2
Thing Two: Language Lessons for Little Ones 3

Spelling ~ Sequential Spelling for both of them (still need to figure out where Thing One is in the books, Thing Two will start at the beginning)

History ~ we're using Mystery of History vol 1. We started it mid year last school year, so we're still working through this one. We'll move onto volume 2 when the time comes.

Unit Studies ~ Lined up so far, and carrying us through Christmas or into January:

• Chronicles of Narnia Bible Study and will add in other things from Home School Share, focusing on The Magician's Nephew for now. We may pick up other books later in the year
• Castle Diary with lap booking pages from Home School Share
• The Testimony of Charlie Coulson - a unit study for Civil War times
• Thanksgiving Unit Study from Amanda Bennett
• Christmas Unit Study from Amanda Bennett
• Pioneers Unit Study from Amanda Bennett

Five in a Row & Beyond Five in a Row ~ various titles I'll pick in the Spring

Science ~ both boys love science. We've got a few books for various science projects. We'll use those or Google for more.

Bible Studies ~ we actually do a lot around here for that. We've been working through "Training Hearts, Teaching Minds" by Starr Meade over the last few months, reading the boys bibles before bed, and during the school day, we'll be adding "An Honorable Boy - A Bible Study for Elementary Aged Boys" (one for each boy).

Co-op ~
Thing One: Dangerous Boys and Cooking
Thing Two: Free Play and Galloping the Globe

Field Trips ~
Maryland Renaissance Festival
Cedar Creek Reenactment
Plays at George Mason University
Possible trip to Jamestown, VA

When written out like this, it seems like a lot of school stuff. Amazingly, with 11 days under our belt for 2010/2011 it's not to overwhelming.

Happy Schooling,


P.S. Forgot to mention (and know it is posted elsewhere), but Thing One is in 5th Grade and Thing Two is in 2nd grade.

In less than 5 months . . .

. . . the Christmas rush will be over for the year! Does that make you feel any better?

I'm actually planning way ahead this year and thankful I'm doing so. School for December has been purchased. We're branching out from our Five in a Row studies and adding in some Amanda Bennett's Unit Studies. I am really looking forward to her Christmas Unit Study this year. I'd tried last year, to create my own, and it just didn't work as well as I would have liked.

What would Christmas planning be without a bit of sly planning on the parent part as well. Last night, during dinner, I began saying what I thought the boys would get in their stockings. The boys where kind if impressed that I "knew" what would be in them. They even started sharing what they thought would be in them. Here's the run down:

Thing One: little lego kit, chocolate, new water color set, other art supplies, possibly a small box of his favorite cereal

Thing Two: gum, bakugan, pokemon, small box of cereal, silly bands, trek deck bike, small jar of creamy peanut butter

The beauty of this conversation is that I'm able to understand what they'd like for Christmas and begin price shopping now (figure out regular price so if I see a sale price I can go ahead and buy it). Both were also gracious enough to suggest a big item as well. Fortunately, they didn't suggest a whole lot and we might be able to buy all they suggested. The last couple years I've been tye dying something as well. Will have to consider what to do this year. Also on the list, as we do every year, new pajamas to be given on Christmas Eve.

Do you read through any sort of Advent devotional? It's been on my heart to do some sort of devotional the last few years and am actively looking for one to do as a family. Last year we bought an Advent Wreath and plan buy the white candle for the center this year.

In blog reading/surfing the net the other day, I came across these cute holders for small packets of tissues. Basically, you cut a piece of felt that will wrap around the tissue,with the edges meeting. It should be long enough to sew a seam down each end. Then, with pinking shears or other cute scissors, trim the edge of the felt. Neat, simple, cheap, and quick! I could make a few of these in a short time.

There are many other crafts swirling through my head! Looking forward to carving out time to decorate my house with stuff I've made!

Next Years Curriculum

We're on the home stretch of having all the things we want for next school year. So far, we have the following, which includes some things we haven't finished up from last year:

• Math-U-See - we'll wrap up Alpha and Delta, then move onto Beta and Epsilon
• Five in a Row and Beyond Five in a Row
• Chronicles of Narnia Bible Study and will add in other things from Home School Share
• The Testimony of Charlie Coulson - a unit study for Civil War times which we'll due prior to going to Battle Cedar Creek Reenactment
• Language Lessons for the Elementary Child 2
• Language Lessons for Little Ones 3
• An Honorable Boy - A Bible Study for Elementary Aged Boys (one for each boy)
• Thanksgiving Unit Study from Amanda Bennett
• My Nature Journal
• Sequential Spelling
• Mystery of History
  

The following things came from Queens Homeschool Supply, should you be interested: both of the Language Lesson books, The Testimony of Charlie Coulson, and An Honorable Boy. We're also working on creating some copy work for the boys. Still being considered is Excellence in Writing.

As an aside, copy work can be a great thing for a few reasons, following are a few:

1. kids are reading things that demonstrate good grammar
2. when copy work is chosen that is a level or two above where the child is currently reading, they slow down their work to focus on spacing, punctuation, spelling
3. it also helps them with penmanship
4. they are introduced to wonderful poems, prose, quotes, etc.
5. it can be used as a "warm-up" so to speak for a writing assignment, a way to get the mind working when trying to create a paragraph, essay, or outline
6. we'll also be using copy work as a way to reinforce math facts and the direction of numbers, both items the boys need a bit of help on

So, our days will be busy with school, bible study, being outside, and hopefully a bit more fun.