Here's a concept

A homeschooling blog (diary of our homeschooling experience sort of) and I'm actually going to post about school stuff. It's been awhile since I've done something so CRAZY!!

We've been reading "Cowboy Charlie", by Jeanette Winter, last week and this week. It's a great book for our boys. Cowboys, drawings, stars, stories, Indians. Under Language Arts, Jane Lambert (author of Five in a Row) goes over Poetry and Song to "go along with parts of Cowboy Charlie". I thought my boys would enjoy this and was able to find a book called "I Hear America Singing, Folk Songs for American Families", Collected and Arranged by Kathleen Krull, at our local library. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the book (and accompanying CD with just a portion of the songs) also had "Follow the Drinking Gourd". If you are using FIAR as your curriculum, you know there is also a book entitled this that follows slaves to their freedom. This is another great book to be read. Anyway, after listening to a few of the more cowboy type songs, I just played Follow the Drinking Gourd. The boys made the connection right away.

Yipee!!! They are remembering stuff from their lessons.

P.S. How fitting that my 100th post on "Our Homeschooling Experience" is actually about homeschooling. Didn't even realize that when I first wrote this blog entry.

Third Day of School

We'll be starting our third day of school in just a bit.  The boys are really enjoying school this year and it seems to be going well.  

This week we've been "rowing" (term from Five in a Row, meaning to read the same book, for five days, and pull out different subjects from it) "Follow the Drinking Gourd" written and illustrated by Jeanette Winter.  The story is set before the Civil War and follows a black family's journey to freedom from slavery.  The boys and I have been having great conversations about what it means to be free, why some thought they could own people, and why Peg Leg Joe doesn't have a leg (quoting one of my boys "why did Joe loose his leg and Daddy's is in a cast?").

Today, in Art, we'll be listening to music and seeing if we can memorize the song "Follow the Drinking Gourd".    I was able to find at our library "How Sweet the Sound, African-American Songs for Children" selected by Wade and Cheryl Hudson, which has this song on it.  I feel fortune, because with Kevin being more worn out at the end of the work day, I really didn't want to bother him with entering the music and lyrics (found at the end of Follow the Drinking Gourd), into some of his music software, recording it, and burning a CD for the boys.  

Now, it's time to round up the troops, get ready for the day, and start school.  

Have a great day!!

ETA:  For those who use Five in a Row, here's a link to the song "Follow the Drinking Gourd" and to say that my son thought it was funny that I could find a song quicker on the computer than on a cassette tape.  LOL