THE Dress!

17yo was asked to attend the local modest prom at our church.  She decided to make her own dress rather than spend hours and hours searching in stores.

Pros - Mom didn't have to come unglued driving in the big city, our feet don't hurt, and 17yo's ego hasn't been bruised by all of those dresses that didn't fit.

Con - twas the night before prom and 17yo is still sitting at the sewing machine.  She will most likely be up until the wee hours of the night and possibly be so tired tomorrow that she might not enjoy her first date.

edited to add:  She had a great time!

Frog closures she made

Education vs. Checklists

I did it again.  I spent the day making elaborate checklists for school next week and then I realized that following those checklists was going to suck the joy out of learning.  When will I learn?  Education isn't about making our way through a certain number of books in a school year, it is about savoring knowledge and using that knowledge to better our own life and the lives of those around us.

As others have said:   It is a marathon not a race.

We need to have goals.  We need to progress towards those goals.  But, if we dash toward the goals we will miss the journey.

Deep breath.  Try again.

Twas the week after spring break and...

...I am pooped!  I have been so tired this week. Seriously sleep deprived.

As far as school we had a productive week.  I'm proud of myself for being more consistent than I naturally want to be.

• We did math, spelling, grammar, and Latin every day.
• We finished AAS 1 (All About Spelling) and started AAS 2.
• Started Math Mammoth
• We did ancient history, geography, and science four days.
• Greek Myths and Christian Studies once
• We had two writing lessons.

FMI ("for my information"):

Reading - working on clear pronunciation.  We picked a passage/page which she read daily.  She tends to be "lazy" due to a stuffy nose and tongue that tires quickly.

Math - started Math Mammoth 3A.  She was halfway through Rod & Staff Math 4.  MM 3A starts with mental math and it has been work.  Glad I didn't try to start her in level 4.  The Puzzle Corners are kicking our butts (notice that is plural because they are kicking my behind too).

Spelling - started AAS 2 today.  She seems to really enjoy this program ... specifically the tiles and writing on the dry erase board.  Is this kid kinesthetic? Probably.

Grammar - direct objects.  She still gets confused about what a verb is, so we have to review the terms every day.  It can make for a long lesson but she needs the review.  We have finished 70 lessons.  We will be skipping 10-15 lessons which I know will be repeated in R&S 4.   Since I was the kid who didn't understand grammar at all when I was her age, I don't mind that she is working a couple of years "behind."

Composition - Fables, Myths, and Fairy Tales.  This is such a charming little lesson book from IEW (Institute for Excellence in Writing).  We've done several lessons and will be taking a quick detour to SWI A to cover the same information (Units 1&2).

Latin - LOVE Lively Latin!  This is the second child I've used Big Book 1 with and I am enjoying it even more than I did last time.  I love hearing my sweet girl chanting Latin.  BTW, we use the ecclesiastical pronunciations.

Classical Studies - we read about King Midas and Sisyphus in D'Aulaires' Greek Myths and Numa Pompilius in Lively Latin and Famous Men of Rome.  Looking through and planning Famous Men of the Middle Ages for next school year.

Christian Studies - the one subject I feel relaxed about.  This week we read about Abram, Sarai, Lot, and the Abrahamic Covenant.  The plan is to cover Christian Studies I-III over the next few years in preparation for early morning seminary when she turns 14.  One lesson a week is perfect.

History - read, did map work, and colored pictures for two chapters (first writing, Old Kingdom in Egypt) in Story of the World (Ancient Times). We own the SOTW volume 1 CD's so 11yo is familiar with these stories.  I would like to finish Ancients and then read Volume 2 (The Middle Ages) along with Famous Men of the Middle Ages next year.  I would love to work through The Human Odyssey with her but she isn't ready for it.

Geography - Geography I from Memoria Press is sitting in the wings.

Science - I enjoy the younger levels of Rod & Staff Science so I couldn't pass up R&S Science 3.  We finished it last week and 11yo has proven that she was ready for R&S Science 4.  In one week we completed the first unit which was about weather.  If we finish before summer that would be great!

Art/Music - Um... no plan.  I'll wait until fall/autumn to worry about it.  Whatever we do we will most likely use Core Knowledge materials.

Literature - Memoria Press Literature Grade 5 is another "in the works for fall" subject. It looks like it will be large addition to our day.  Now is not the time.

My overall goal at this time is to be consistent and progress.  As I look at Memoria Press's curriculum packages, it helps give me goals to strive toward.

Always Tweaking

How other homeschooling moms can make a plan and stick to it is beyond me.  I am constantly tweaking.

The biggest change this week... we are trying Math Mammoth.  The co-op sale ended April 1st and I was able to download the books last night.  The layout is quite different from Rod & Staff, so it took dd a little longer to do her math this morning than I had hoped.  I'm sure things will speed up when she has the experience of a few lessons behind her.

Classical Studies (Memoria Press) - We've been stalled out on D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths forever.  11yo loves the book but it seems to get shoved to the back burner behind the 3r's.  I bought the audio book read by Paul Newman, Sydney Poitier, Kathleen Turner, and Matthew Broderick.  I'm not quite as in love with it as I thought I might be, but it was nice today to not have to struggle through all of those Greek names.  Eleven more lessons and reviews and I'll let 11yo love the book without studying it.

Famous Men of Rome is scheduled for fourth grade.  Many of the stories are part of history in Lively Latin, so I'm going to let that suffice and move on.

I received Famous Men of the Middle Ages Monday.  It is part of MP's 5th grade package.  The plan is to prep ourselves using library books over the summer and start the guide in the fall.  I already picked up Medieval Feast by Aliki.

Literature (Memoria Press) - I also ordered the 5th grade literature set too.  I have no idea how it is going to get crammed in as we have trouble getting around to everything already.  The order is: Adam of the Road, Robin Hood (Green), King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table (Green), and The Door in the Wall.

Science - We retired Rod & Staff 3 and have moved into R&S 4.  I hope I don't overwhelm her, but I'm going to try and move through it before summer is in full swing.

Spring Break

....is over.  Boo hoo!  Back to being sleep deprived (early morning seminary driver).  Back to chauffeuring my kids (choir, play rehearsals, doctor appointments, etc.).  Sigh.  I have enjoyed sleeping-in and relaxing.

Okay, trying to find something positive to say...

I ordered new homeschool materials and they should start arriving mid-week. : )

• Math Mammoth should be ready for download in a few days
• D'Aulaire's Greek Myths audio CD from Amazon
• Memoria Press's Famous Men of the Middle Ages set
• and MP's Grade 5 literature set (Robin Hood, King Arthur, Adam of the Road, and The Door in the Wall)

And, I ordered our "planners" (My Student Logbook) for next year.  I am super excited about those!  I used one this year and it actually worked for me.

Spring Break & Math Mammoth

I planned to homeschool 11yo during spring break.  Monday  - check.  Tuesday - laziness set in.  Wednesday & Thursday - 11yo accompanied her Dad while he manned a booth at a Maker Festival.  Not exactly what I had originally planned but a break has been nice. : )  Her sisters' Shakespeare rehearsals begin soon and life will be chaos for at least a month.

Website

Math - eek!  We will be making a big change soon from Rod & Staff to Math Mammoth.   I have appreciated and loved Rod & Staff for a number of years.  It is traditional, sweet, and practical.  But, we are bogged down by the amount of drill and I would like to have more focus on concepts rather than "memorize how to do this."  Luckily I hit the 50% off sale at Homeschool Buyers Co-op or I probably would not have been able to afford the change in programs.

Duolingo

Learn a language for FREE!  This is an excellent program for learning a foreign language, and you absolutely cannot beat free.  At this time you can learn: Spanish, English, French, German, Italian, and Portuguese.

Join me in my addiction!

Duolingo

Simply Charlotte Mason: Memory System

Did I blog about this before?  Oh, well.

Simply Charlotte Mason: Scripture Memory System

My plan is to use this for 11yo with different subjects like math and science.

Math

I'll be honest.  I hate spending an hour (usually MORE) on math every day.  Yes, she needs math every day, but an hour+?  There has to be a more efficient way to tackle this subject.

• First, I plan to stick with Rod & Staff Math while keeping my eyes open for another curriculum that is hopefully more efficient.
• Preview each lesson and see if we can cut back on the number of problems.
• Focus on instant recall of the multiplication facts.  This could really speed up the lessons!
• Flashcards!  Use flashcards to keep skills and facts fresh.

Since we started our homeschool journey I have been happy to have daily math lessons laid out for me.  I never questioned it.  I do believe that skills need to be constantly reviewed but I am beginning to question the necessity of long daily math lessons.  

Mid-March

Worksheets were a great way to get back into the swing of things.  But.  Since they don't align with any curriculum we use we often come across things 11yo hasn't been taught yet.  They are becoming more of a frustration than a help.  For now we have dropped reading comprehension and grammar minutes.  We'll probably use them again next year in preparation for testing.

The overall goal right now is to plod along.  Just do it.

We are getting close to the end of Rod & Staff 3.  Love their Science lessons.  And, I will love shipping off another set of books.  R&S is great when money is in short supply but boy does it ever take up room in the house.

We are back to full blown math lessons.  Blarh!  They take forever.  11yo dreads them so she drags her feet.  Can't convince her to pick up the pace and get it over with.

Playing Animal Jam has definitely helped with spelling.  We've been reviewing past lessons and are ready to move on.  Still tempted to switch from AAS to Logic of English.  However, I already own most of the AAS levels and from what I can tell the phonograms are slightly different.  I don't want to confuse her.  And then there is the argument that we would be able to move through LOE more quickly.

Rambling. :)