Our 2014/2015 Reading Lists

2014-2015 Reading Lists

What We Are Reading

The following is the list of books my children read last year.  This is actually a short list.  We didn't read as much as we have in the past.  For my older girls, they are reading books with higher reading levels at a slower pace.  My second grader also had this issue, and we are fine with less books at a slower pace.  We have also stopped using only literature-based curriculum, mixing things up with more eclectic resources.  Yes, I still love literature and assign many books, but I also have discovered that a couple of my daughters enjoy watching documentaries and learning that way.  Mixing things up a bit has helped keep my daughters from feeling bored or stuck in a rut.  We also added piano lessons last year, which took some time away from book learning, but is still just as important.

*All read alouds will be marked with an asterix (*) .

Jasmine (Grade 11)

1. Emma's Secret - Veda Boyd Jones
2. Florence Nightingale - Laura E. Richards
3. Nellie The Brave: The Cherokee Trail of Tears - Veda Boyd Jones
4. Properties of Matter - Debbie & Richard Lawrence
5.  God's Smuggler - Brother Andrew
6. Meg follows a Dream: The Fight For Freedom - Norma Jean Lutz
7.  God Came Near - Max Lucado
8.  Misty of Chincoteague - Maguerite Henry
9. Shipwrecked! - Rhoda Blumberg
10. The Cereal Tycoon - Joe Musser
11. Maureen the Detective - Veda Boyd Jones
12. Elise the Actress - Norma Jean Lutz
13. Janie's Freedom - Callie Smith Grant
14.  Rachel and the Riot - Susan Martins Miller
15. Emily Makes a Difference - JoAnne A. Grote
16.  Daria Solves a Mystery - Norma Jean Lutz
17. Seaman - Gail Langer Karwoski
18.  Betsy's River Adventure - Veda Boyd Jones
19. Grace and the Bully - Norma Jean Lutz
20. Only the Names Remain - Alex W. Bealer
21. The Voyage of Patience Goodspeed - Heather Vogel Frederick
22. Emma's Secret - Veda Boyd Jones
23. Florence Nightingale - Laura E. Richards
24. Nellie the Brave - Veda Boyd Jones
25. Gabriel's Horses - Alison Hart
26. With Daring Faith - Rebecca Davis
27.  George Washington Carver - David Collins
28.  Safely Home - Randy Alcorn
29. Number the Stars - Lois Lowry
30. China: The Hidden Miracle - Ross Paterson & Elisabeth Farrell
31. Properties of Atoms and Molecules - Debbie and Richard Lawrence
32. Exploring the World of Chemistry - John Hudson Tiner
33. Little Pilgrim's Progress - Helen L. Taylor
34. Eric Liddell - Janet and Geoff Benge
35. Hearts and Hands: Chronicles of the Awakening Church - Mindy & Brandon Winthrow
36. Maria Takes a Stand - Norma Jean Lutz
37. Exploring the World of Chemistry - John Hudson Tiner

Laura (Grade 9)

1.  Emma's Secret - Veda Boyd Jones2. Florence Nightingale - Laura E. Richards
2. Nellie The Brave: The Cherokee Trail of Tears - Veda Boyd Jones
3. Florence Nightingale - Laura E. Richards
4.  Meg follows a Dream: The Fight For Freedom - Norma Jean Lutz
5.  God's Smuggler - Brother Andrew
6.  God Came Near - Max Lucado
7. Misty of Chincoteague - Maguerite Henry
8. Shipwrecked! - Rhoda Blumberg
9.  The Cereal Tycoon - Joe Musser
10.  Maureen the Detective - Veda Boyd Jones
11. Elise the Actress - Norma Jean Lutz
12. Janie's Freedom - Callie Smith Grant
13. Rachel and the Riot - Susan Martins Miller
14.  Emily Makes a Difference - JoAnne A. Grote
15.  Daria Solves a Mystery - Norma Jean Lutz
16. Seaman - Gail Langer Karwoski
17. Betsy's River Adventure - Veda Boyd Jones
18. Grace and the Bully - Norma Jean Lutz
19. Only the Names Remain - Alex W. Bealer
20. The Voyage of Patience Goodspeed - Heather Vogel Frederick
21. Emma's Secret - Veda Boyd Jones
22. Florence Nightingale - Laura E. Richards
23.  Nellie the Brave - Veda Boyd Jones
24. Gabriel's Horses - Alison Hart
25. With Daring Faith - Rebecca Davis
26. George Washington Carver - David Collins
27.  Safely Home - Randy Alcorn
28. The World of Plants - Debbie and Richard Lawrence
29. Number the Stars - Lois Lowry
30.  China: The Hidden Miracle - Ross Paterson & Elisabeth Farrell
31. Little Pilgrim's Progress - Helen L. Taylor
32. Eric Liddell - Janet and Geoff Benge
33. Maria Takes a Stand - Norma Jean Lutz
34. The World of Animals - Debbie and Richard Lawrence
35. Hearts and Hands: Chronicles of the Awakening Church - Mindy & Brandon Winthrow

Megan  (Grade 2)

1.  My Giant Bunny - Russell Ginns and Jonathan Maier
2. How Do We Get There From Here? - Margaret Crocker
3. This Book is Broken - Jonathan Maier
4. Louis Braille, The Boy Who Invented Books for the Blind - Margaret Davidson*
5. Smart Shark - Michelle Knudsen
6.  Louis Braille: The Boy Who Invented Books for the Blind - Margaret Davidson*
7.  The Early Reader's Bible - V. Gilbert Beers
8.  Stories of the Pilgrims - Margaret B. Pumphrey*
9.  Amelia Earhart, Young Air Pioneer - Jane Moore Howe*
10. Hidden Treasure (Abeka Book) - Laurel Hicks
11. Summer Fun with Ace and Christi by Grace Whitehart
12. Sarah Whitcher's Story - Elizabeth Yates
13. If You Lived When There Was Slavery in America - Anne Kamma
14. I Wonder (CLP) - Ruth K. Hobbs
15. Open Doors (Abeka Book) - Ullin W. Leavell and Mary Louise Frieble
16. Christian Liberty Nature Reader Book 2 - Julia McNair Wright

First Piano Recital

The girls (pictured here with a friend) had their very first piano recital on Monday.

They played at the local Care Center (Nursing Home).  It was such fun!

I was taking video.  My mom was taking photos.  Unfortunately her camera messed up and we didn't get any pictures of Megan playing.

The girls all did great, despite nervousness.  It was a great first experience!

Grounded From TV

My daughter is grounded.  After misbehaving on Monday while we were out, I took away some privileges.  The first loss was TV time.

The loss of TV time is a big deal to the seven year old because I limit television viewing anyway.  We don't have cable or satellite, but make use of Netflix and Amazon Prime.  I'm very particular about the shows I allow in our home.  I know how easy the influences of many of the things on TV can seep into the young (or not so young) minds and distort thinking. I also believe that excessive television viewing rewires the brain, causing trouble focusing and even learning. 

However, I don't think all TV is bad.  I'm just careful and selective.  

What I have discovered is that my daughters tend to not get bored.  They will read, paint, go outside, and find all sorts of ways to keep themselves entertained.  It is amazing how much they learn and grow when they aren't participating in passive entertainment. 

I have discovered recently that, while there are a couple shows on Netflix or Amazon that we enjoy that are new, most are not good.  Not only are they full of things I don't want my children or even myself subjected to, such as bad language or sexual situations, they are really just poorly written and distasteful.  Many are predictable, with the same themes.  I've developed a disgust for shows that trash Christians or show them as crazy fundamentalists that breed hatred. It simply isn't truth, and it distorts the public view of Christianity and encourages persecution of those that love and serve Jesus. 

In a few days my daughter will get her privileges back.  But I'm totally enjoying the break from the constant noise. 

Math, Math, Math... A Tale of Another Math-Challenged Child

My girls are doing well in their piano lessons each week.  I am wanting them to practice more, but we do the best we can.  I have read that music lessons can improve math skills.  While that isn't the reason my daughters are taking piano lessons, I wouldn't mind if improved math skills were an effective consequence.

I've struggled with Megan's math this year. She does well on the computer playing games, but I am not overly excited about letting her be on the computer a lot yet.  We spent awhile drilling flash cards and that helped immensely.  I was setting up a math notebook for awhile, but eventually the work was too much.  I had been combining a couple of different programs, attempting to work a couple of different styles of learning.  All I ended up doing was burdening my daughter with too much work.  Her math frustrations were not helped that way.

At this point in homeschooling I have some experience.  I know that pushing my daughter too hard will only make things worse.  So, I went to my other math challenged daughter.  After years of working on her math skills, and finally being where she should be, I hoped she could tell me what she had liked best, what she thought worked best for her.  Sure enough, she had some opinions.

She didn't like the two mastery programs I had used with her.  One didn't explain the material very well or provide enough practice.  The other gave a lot of drill, but didn't review enough.  By the time she got back to a topic, she had forgotten it.  However, the trusty spiral workbook program from Christian Light Education worked well for her.

I had began Megan's math in first grade with CLE Math, but by mid-year she was struggling.  I think it moved very quickly and she wasn't ready for the material at her age.  However, though she is a little behind in the "grade level" that curriculum would have her in, it is an advanced program.  I've learned that the "level" matters less than progressing steadily.  Immediately my seven year old went from despising math to enjoying it again.  I think the spiral approach works well for her because she is reviewing skills constantly and learning new lessons in bite sized steps.  She LOVES Life of Fred, so I am keeping that going at a couple of lessons per week.

My older daughter did tell me that she had loved using specialty programs, like Times Tales and Math-It.  While I may need to reorder Times Tales (I am missing most of it after moving), I do remember it worked well at finally cementing the multiplication tables for my then elementary-aged daughter.

 

Eventually Megan will probably move to Teaching Textbooks.  I know that she can begin this at the third grade level, but I am hesitant to have my young daughter working on the computer a lot.  Yes, technology can be great, but there is something about working a problem with pencil and paper that I feel is important.   She'll be using the computer plenty as she gets older.  

This has been a relatively smooth school year so far.  Yes, I have had to change a few things, like Megan's math, but everything has gone relatively smoothly.

Scene Depictions

Megan and I have been reading Farmer Boy as our read aloud.  Megan is not a sit still and listen type of kid.  She has to keep her hands busy or she'll get bored, fidgety, and distracted.  She may love the story, but simply not be able to sit still.

Since her sisters and father are like this, I'm not bothered by it. I know she is paying attention. 

Today, as I read, Megan had a sheet of paper and a pencil.  She drew a picture of Almanzo breaking the calves, Star and Bright.  

I liked it.  The picture is one of her ways of processing what she's hearing. We are a strongly right-brained family.  We are visual.  Drawing what she is learning seems natural.  Now that I've cut back on required notebooking, Megan is jumping in with her own creative work all on her own.  

Weaving Loom Therapy

It is a bit amazing.  My busy, easily distracted, ADHD daughter is calm.  There really is something to the "keep her hands busy" philosophy.

She received one of those looms to make pot holders as a late Christmas gift.  Suddenly, every break from schoolwork and hours in the evening, my daughter is making and weaving and mixing colors of the special strings.  The entire time she is calm, even quiet occasionally (though usually she is singing). 

During read aloud time, she works on her loom.  She hears every word.  She can narrate back.  Her sisters were always the same way.  They actually focused better on the reading if their hands were busy with some activity.  

I love finding things that work, that are beneficial for my daughters. 

Smart, Sassy, Beautiful, and ADHD

I have known for a long time that my youngest girl has ADD/ADHD.  It runs in the family.  Yes... In our case there is a strong genetic component. It has made things interesting in our home over the years.

My step-daughter has ADD.  My husband was never officially diagnosed, but he meets the criteria on many levels.  I believe his father also had ADD.  There is no disputing if ADD is real here.  

We have resisted medication.  I homeschool and want to do all I can to keep my little girl from having to take drugs daily.  I'm working on changing the diet of my youngest a bit at a time. I know that she can learn coping skills.  I also know that some of the impulsiveness that goes hand in hand with ADD/ADHD fades in the family as they mature. 

But.... I can honestly say... This school year has been so challenging!  She is improving in skills and learning, but keeping her on task has been a full time job.  Even with short, Charlotte Mason-based lessons, lots of variety, and protein for breakfast instead of sugary cereal, my daughter struggles. 

I am learning that consistency helps her.  While we have varied lessons, a mixture of programs and styles, knowing that first is phonics then Bible then Storytime then English then math, helps her... Most of the time.  

Then there are days where it is like a switch was turned on inside her somewhere and her mind is everywhere except on school.  Those are the days I dread.  I try to be patient and gently help her refocus; but by the end of the school day I am exhausted.  Occasionally, like Monday, she only got about half of her work completed before I had to pick up Daddy from work. 

I don't have a yard at the moment to send her outside to "run".  So... I try to give her random breaks.  But, sometimes that backfires because her brain switches to play mode in those few minutes of break time, 

I'm reading everything I can by other homeschoolers with ADD and what works for them.  God made her the way she is for His purposes.  While she may need to learn self-control and focusing skills, I don't want her spunk or sweet personality to be diminished. 

Math Notebooking and Variety

One of the benefits of homeschooling is the ability to structure the lessons for your child.  This year, notebooking has become a favorite tool of mine.  It's become such a great way to encourage art work, writing skills, and original thought.  I've incorporated notebooking assignments into reading, science, history, and even math.

My older two are doing math on the computer with Teaching Textbooks, and it is working out wonderfully.  However, my second grader was struggling right from the beginning of the school year.  

Math is not the subject that my younger children just naturally "get".  I learned a lot of lessons about math struggles with Laura.  I used several different curricula, reviewed concepts over and over, and often our lessons ended up with tears.  I finally learned to back off, keep reviewing what she did know, and reintroduce tougher concepts later.  Often just waiting a bit helped Laura.  Her brain matured, and suddenly she "got" it, the elusive concepts that just weeks earlier brought tears and frustration. 

Once I quit worrying about Laura being at a certain level, her growth was natural, with steady, slow maintaining and some spurts where she would jump quickly when ready. 

I decided to do the same thing with Megan.  The creation of the math notebook came about because I needed a place to centralize her work.  Using a "bit of this and a bit of that" can feel unorganized and overwhelming. Megan despises workbooks, but by adding a few here or there in her notebook, she actually enjoys them.  

We use a variety of materials so that her learning is varied.  I always find it interesting that we will use spelling, copywork, phonics, and a variety of readers to teach reading concepts; but think one program to teach math... One method... will be enough.  For some children, that is true.  But for others, coming at concepts from a few different ways works better. 

And... This isn't expensive (or more expensive than other programs).  I am using bits of Easy Peasy.  The videos and games are amazing for kids that learn well with visual stimuli. I don't do every thing ever day, but I add enough that it reinforces her learning.  

Last year I purchased a workbook program that contains a lot of drill and kill. Well... It was killing my daughter.  In her notebook, I now just glue a worksheet page here or there that reinforces the other work.   We also do flash cards daily.  I split up the cards by fact families, reviewing older ones that she knows well only once per week, working on newer ones or tough ones daily until she knows them well. 

Often I will look for games or activities that I can add to her math lessons that enable greater understanding. Hands-on, visual kids grasp concepts more quickly when it is more than just numbers on a page. 

Probably the greatest find has been Life of Fred. Megan LOVES her Life of Fred.  Everyday we go on a math adventure with Fred.  Her questions and answers for the "Your Turn to Play" section at the end of each chapter go into the notebook.  

Right now, this is working for us wonderfully.  Megan is learning and can be creative with her learning.  With the variety of methods, she doesn't get bored or frustrated.  In fact, she usually looks forward to math now. 

I am amazed that notebooking and math go together so wonderfully.  But, each day that I plan, I'm looking for variety in learning.  Our math time is not stressful as we do little flash card work with a computer game, maybe a skip counting video followed by a worksheet on skip counting, finishing up with a Life of Fred story and five or six questions. 

Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read - A Review

It's her final week.  After two years, my daughter will have completed the Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read program.

Megan in Kindergarten and now, in second grade

Was it really just over two years ago that she first read the book, CAT?  Today she read The Swish-Smacker Dirt Hacker.  

I wanted to write a review of this product because it worked so wonderfully for my daughter.  I was so NERVOUS about teaching my child to read.  What if I stink at it?  What if my child hated reading?  

Despite having four older daughters, I was quite insecure about teaching my child to read.  My older daughters had primarily learned to read in public school, though a couple struggled due to the lack of phonics.  I knew I wanted to use a solid phonics program, but was surprised at just how many there were from which to choose!

I wanted books... Leveled readers that would build, concept upon concept, with plenty of review.  I wanted to hit as many senses as possible... Seeing, hearing, writing, reading... So that she would retain what she was learning.  For the most part, the Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read program hit every area.  

The program begins with short vowel sounds. I didn't use the pre-K levels of Hooked on Phonics, but Megan had learned her letter sounds through our preschool Heart of Dakota program. This was important for success!  Make sure your child learns the letter sounds!

Each lesson begins with a video on DVD.  The video is an animated lesson, only a couple minutes in length, that teaches the sounds and the words for that week. We would start each day with this video. Then, my child would read the words in the lesson to me. After practicing the words, there was a short story to read.  Every few lessons the story would be an actual book that covered all the sounds learned in that unit.  Also, after every few units, there would be helper words introduced.  Helper words are nothing more than sight words.  Unlike sight word programs, though, the focus is on phonics, not sight words.  There was only three to five sight words introduced every four to five lessons.  Since we did one lesson a week, this was not at all taxing or overwhelming. 

After five days of reviewing the same lesson, it was usually mastered. We wouldn't move on to the next lesson until it was mastered.  Only a couple times did it take longer than a week to master the unit and read the lesson flawlessly.  After every several units there was a review week.  

The units came with a lot of extras if we needed or wanted reinforcement.  When you purchase Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read new, it comes with a code that gives you access to online worksheets you can print out.  There is also a list of supplemental books that many libraries have that your child can read for extra lesson practice.  I used the worksheets often in the first year or two.  The printables often came with mini-books that I printed out and had my daughter put together.  She loved the mini-books!  I loved the mini-books!  Each mini-book was an extra book to read that covered the lesson.

Every level is structured the same way: Hearing, seeing, reading, and some writing.  By the end of first grade my daughter was excelling.  Over this past summer, after we had finished the first grade program, I had Megan check out and read level 2 readers from the library. I tried the level one, but she complained they were too easy. This year, when we began the second grade material, she was able to advance through most of it in a few weeks. The foundation of her Kindergarten and First grade years was enough to set her soaring on her own!

This week she is completing the final lesson. 

I will be honest and admit that I did supplement.  I wanted more writing so I purchased the Explode the Code workbooks.  The levels complemented the Hooked on Phonics program nicely.  A page or two a day of Explode the Code helped cement the lessons.  I also had my daughter reading other phonics readers.  I  purchased Christian ones, like the Learning to Read series from Christian Light Education, but only the readers were used.  I didn't purchase the workbooks (though I hear they are excellent). I made good use of readers at the library.  I also continued to read aloud to my daughter a lot. 

Overall the Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read program is excellent.   Occasionally I would find a book I didn't like, that conflicted with my Christian views, such as one with a witch.  I just substituted the book with one that had the same sound we were working on.  Most of the books, while secular, are very fun.  Plus, with supplementing with Christian materials, I had a lot to choose from.  

My daughter is now an avid reader.  Every night at bedtime she reads for an hour to herself.  We do a lot of reading at home for school.  She is easily a grade ahead in her reading level, and advancing.  I am not joking when I state that I believe this is due to her strong foundation she received from Hooked on Phonics.  Yes, as corny as it sounds, my daughter could easily state, "Hooked on Phonics worked for me!"

Many other phonics programs are top quality.  At fifty dollars a year, with the amount of materials and resources provided, I thought this program was great.  Like I said, I added occasionally... but I probably would have added anyway.  I like to mix and max, allowing my children to come at various subjects from more than one way.  Right now I am using bits and pieces of three to four different math programs, at least three different reading programs, and a variety of resources for science and history.  To me, this is the benefit of homeschooling.  Hooked on Phonics was varied enough that it was not boring, and yet the time involved was short enough that I could add this or that and it not be too much.  

I highly recommend the Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read program for other homeschoolers... or parents that want to help their child learn to read with a solid phonics foundation.

A Broken Printer Sparks Creativity

My printer is broken.

This has caused all sorts of dilemmas as I suddenly couldn't print all the wonderful things I have been printing.  With limited funds at the moment, I am stuck making do.  

Our homeschool has been revolutionized this year with the discovery of notebooking.  We've used notebooking before, but for some reason, this year it "clicked" in my heart.  Suddenly, ideas began flowing as I planned.  The workbooks that my children despised became for me what they should have been... tools to use occasionally instead of a curriculum.  The few workbooks I have stuck with are usually cut apart and certain parts glued into the notebooking pages.  The rest I toss. (We still use a couple workbooks as is, such as Explode the Code and CLE Bible.)

I was printing out pre-made notebooking pages and putting them into three-ringed binders after the girls completed them.  However, with my printer on the fritz, that option isn't convenient.  After a few minutes of panic and stress, I realized I had a few composition notebooks.  I ran to the store, and was blessed to discover they were still on sale for back-to-school.  I grabbed a handful more. The fresh blank pages were a bit intimidating at first, but soon I was able to come up with ideas.  (The internet is a wonderful resource; Pinterest, an encyclopedia of creative ideas.)

My older girls have gone from consumers to producers!  They are writing and narrating and learning and RETAINING! Both are very unique in their style.  Laura is my writer.  She puts in images if I request, but she processes information by writing.  I'm encouraging creativity and attempts at visual images, whether she prints something off the internet or creates it herself.  I believe that touching as many senses as possible aids tremendously in learning. Laura is an amazing writer, however, filling notebooks with stories and poems.  I like encouraging her. She paints quite well, so I'm considering using her painting skills in her education.

Jasmine would rather draw.  I have to encourage her to write more.  She is improving with practice.  Her drawing is awesome!  She is very visual and has a photographic memory for images.  I'm using that in her learning.  In LD classes in public school, I secretly think she is a genius that learns very differently than she has been taught. 

My youngest is constantly drawing and coloring.  I mean NON-STOP!  I'm out of display room.  With notebooking, I can add many of her masterpieces.  In fact, she loves to draw pictures based on the poetry and stories we are reading.  

I've added nature study for all of my children, and the results have been impressive.  Each girl is learning so much!  Notebooking what they are learning is fun! 

I even added a math notebook for Megan.  We are using a couple different resources, including Life of Fred.  Megan, who hates math, begs for Life of Fred.  She keeps disappearing into her bedroom with the Life of Fred books to "study". I added a notebook to combine our resources together, give her one place to answer the Life of Fred questions, and to practice concepts.  So far, it's working beautifully! (I am planning a Life of Fred review soon.)

Our learning this year is so different from before, and we love it!  Notebooking has been a key factor in changing our little one-room schoolhouse.  I get so excited about tapping into each of my children's hidden talents.

Language Lessons for the Very Young

My seven year old is progressing quickly in her reading.  I bought her a traditional English program for this year, which included spelling and grammar.  After a week, I put it up.  She was in tears from all the workbooks.

I decided to take a more Charlotte Mason approach to school.  The short, focused lessons are perfect for my ADD children.  I bought Language Lessons for the Very Young from Queen's Homeschool.
 

Queen's Homeschool Language Lessons

I actually downloaded the entire year's worth of curriculum and was able to print out the book.  I figure printing costs were about what shipping would have been, and I didn't have to wait a week for the mail to deliver.

Queen's Website has the following description of this level of Language Lessons for the Very Young:

 This delightful introduction to the language arts is the answer to what our Charlotte Mason style customers have been asking for! Introduces a student who has mastered the art of learning to read to the skills of picture study, narration, copywork, poetry, grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and more - all with a gentle, twaddle free approach. Full-color fine art throughout makes this consumable book for grades 2 - 3 a delight for the eyes as well as the ears.

 A varied approach gives the student something different each day, alleviating the boredom that often comes with those repetitive, dry grammar books you'll find elsewhere. Perfect-bound paperback workbook offers 180 daily lessons - one for each day of the school year.

Megan loves the work, and has been doing so wonderfully!  The last couple of days she has been reviewing capitalization rules.  Her assignment today was to write the names of her family members with correct capitalization.  What a great way to personalize her lesson!  She added her four sisters and parents.  Then she wanted to add her aunts and cousins.   She would have added a lot more if she would have had the lines.  Needless to say, the concept has been learned. 

(Blurred last names for safety)

Over the next few lessons she'll learn about capitalizing in paragraphs, capitalizing the days of the week and months of the year, and learn a poem. 

Later in the year she'll learn about subjects and predicates, whether a sentence is complete, singular and plurals, vowels, using 'A' or 'An', nouns, verbs, and punctuation.  Instead of traditional formats, she'll learn all this while practicing copywork, doing narrations, picture studies, and creative writing.  It's all gentle and yet so comprehensive!

No longer are there tears.  My daughter is doing some amazing work and enjoying it immensely!

I compared this program to the traditional English that I had purchased.  This covers the same grammatical concepts, but without the endless workbook pages and the drill and kill lessons.  Plus, it adds so much more depth with the Charlotte Mason extras.  

Trains and A Bygone Era

We went on our first field trip of the year! We headed over to a place called the Whistle Stop.  If you like trains, this is THE place to visit!  It houses the Monon Connection Museum and the Whistle Stop restaurant.  We ate lunch at the restaurant, which has a nice diner-type atmosphere.  

Lunch at the Whistle Stop

Inside the Whistle Stop Restaurant and Monon Connection Museum is an amazing collection of memorabilia from bygone eras.  There is even some beautiful paintings, indoor toy trains, and old lanterns.  I loved looking at all the "cool old stuff", as my daughters call it.  

Some of the beautiful artifacts inside and outside the Whistle Stop.

One of the painting inside the restaurant.

Jasmine, Laura, and Megan

The best part of the Whistle Stop is outside.  A collection of train memorabilia isn't complete without REAL old trains, train cars, signs, farm equipment, and other odds and ends.  The train cars are all on tracks portions.  It is so neat to walk through!

Some photos of our adventures with the trains!

The artifacts were so neat to see up close.

Laura, Jasmine, and Megan checking out a box car.

It was a unique day, to get to check out all the different trains up close.  We don't get the chance to take many field trips.  When we go, we enjoy every second.  Hopefully we'll be able to do more field trips now that we have moved and my husband is switching his employment.

Jasmine and Megan

There was so much to see!

Yes, Laura has her head in a cast-iron stove.

Megan is so tiny next to the big engine!

Jasmine, in an old phone booth.

The old phone booth was kind of a bonus. Standing outside the restaurant, it was the first things the children wanted to check out, even before we ate lunch!

Laura in the passenger car.

It was tough, at some points, to get pictures of children that were moving so fast. I had to tell them to stand still for a moment several times.

Megan

Ready, Set, Start Over

After a rough start, I am starting our school year over.  Not every subject is a wash or needs a reboot, but a few need a clean slate.  A couple others just need a different approach or a little jazzing up.  Luckily, I homeschool.  If something needs to change, I'm not bound to things that aren't working for me.  As embarrassing as it is to admit, I really messed up the beginning of our year.  All I can do is claim temporary insanity due to stress.  We moved.  I  spent a summer with a very sick daughter in the ICU.  Life threw us obstacles that led to me ordering things that, had I been truly thinking clearly, I would have known were not the right choices for us.

English is one of those subjects where I did well in school.  I received great grades.  I loved reading.  Though grammar was a bit of a pain, I managed to excel because I loved to write.

Teaching grammar is a whole different ball game from when I was the student, but my older girls seem to know their grammar fairly well.  They can diagram a sentence perfectly.  However, I have noticed that those awesome grammar skills don't always carry over into their writing.  It makes me a bit sad because one of my daughters is an excellent writer.  She loves writing stories, filling up notebooks with chapter after chapter of her imagination taking her on adventures.  This year, I discovered she is an amazing poet too.  A simple assignment turned into days of her writing poetry that was deep and thought provoking.

I knew that they didn't really need any more drilling in grammar.  They needed help to improve using that grammar effectively in their writing.  So, in the third week of school, I stopped their "traditional" English lessons.  I went back to what I had used a few years earlier, Queen's Language Lessons.

A few years ago I was trying my hand at some Charlotte Mason work.  I was working with my daughter on a history study on Benjamin Franklin that I had purchased through Queen's Homeschool Supplies.  It was a unique way to learn, and I was a little unsure if it was for us.  However, I was curious about the gentle way Queen's Homeschool stated that they taught Language Arts.  I used it for one glorious year, and then switched to the program that the curriculum I was using recommended.  I regret that, because my daughter loved that program so much!  We had used Language Lessons for the Elementary Child, and I still remember my daughter laughing at coming up with an acrostic for her name as a lesson.  She ended up coming up with acrostics for every member of our home!  Talk about creativity!

I stayed with mostly Charlotte Mason techniques until I got permission to homeschool my step-daughter.  Then, I switched back to more traditional with children so that they were all doing similar curriculum.  Another Big Mistake!  By the end of one semester, I had switched to Charlotte Mason for the younger two.  By the following school year, I began using a lot of Charlotte Mason techniques with the step-daughter.  The results were mostly good, though it was a huge adjustment for her.  Since then, I've been eclectic in my approach.  But when I drifted to more traditional materials, I could see my children were losing the love they had of learning.  It was become drudgery for them.  Even if my children do all the pages in their workbooks  and get correct answers, I find their retention rate suffers.  I don't mind an occasional workbook, but I've learned my children need creativity and a mixture of activities to keep their motivation in high gear.

This has become quite obvious with my littlest pupil.  At seven, Megan is a bundle of energy that is smart, and easily bored.  I cut almost all of the busy work and workbooks out except her Explode the Code and Literature and Creative Writing.  Instead, I am replacing them with things that make her eyes sparkle.  Even math is going to be changed up from workbook drill and kill to math games, living math, Life of Fred, and some flashcards.  I am using Heart of Dakota for history, poetry (though the Language Lessons also has poetry), Bible, Storytime, and Reading.  I love the Emerging Readers that Megan is reading through!  Heart of Dakota is also Charlotte Mason based.

I am most excited that my second grader and I are beginning our first nature study this week as we read through Little House on the Prairie!

My older children will be using Misty of Chincoteague for a nature study, in addition to their chemistry work.  I started them off with an easier book because neither of them have much nature study experience.  For history, as an add-on to our US History study, I have added the book and history study, Streams to the River, River to the Sea.  I have approached history gently, with lots of living books and movies.  I wanted to inspire a love of history, especially in my oldest.  She was in public school for most of her education and developed an intense dislike for history due to how it was taught. Slowly, she has begun to find history more interesting as she has read stories and biographies instead of dry texts.

I am excited about our journey this year, though a couple of weeks ago I was in a very different place.  I have been refreshed.  I took some time to reevaluate and pray.  Last Spring, when I ordered curriculum, I was getting ready to move and was very stressed.  I ordered what I thought would work so that I wouldn't have to worry about it later.  Well... some of the materials will work.  Others, not so much.  Oh well, I can sell it.  I'm not going to stress and leave myself all upset.  The only thing to do is move forward.

The Growth Mindset

I have been really delving into how kids learn. I have been reading and studying how children learn, and why some methods work better than others. This is fascinating to me because my children, in school, would have been or have been labeled "learning disabled".  At home, they may struggle occasionally, but overall, they thrive.

Dad, helping Laura with her new Language Lessons

Some of the materials I have used in the last seven years of homeschooling show my progression of learning how my children learn.  I have went from traditional to literature-based to Charlotte Mason to eclectic and then back to mostly Charlotte Mason.  Truthfully, I find that when my children use traditional materials, they only remember enough to pass the tests.  Then, they forget most of what they learned, or can't apply it to real life.  All their knowledge is disjointed and separated.

This came to light for me in my oldest child still at home.  She has mostly used traditional grammar and language arts texts her entire schooling life.  The exception is when her old tutor used Winston Grammar to help her really see the parts of speech.  My daughter was in public school until ninth grade.  She spent years in tutoring.  She excelled, when we brought her home to be homeschooled, in grammar studies.  She can diagram a sentence so well that it is like a game to her.  However, it doesn't carry over to her writing.  She can pass the tests, but it isn't a practical skill for her.

 I found myself inspired over the last couple of days by an English book.  I purchased Queen's Homeschool Language Lessons for the Secondary Child Volume 2 for my middle child.     My creative, talented, loves to write daughter needed something besides her "traditional" program that we had used for a couple of years.  I had her write some poetry, and discovered that she is very talented.  She had always focused on stories.  I had used Queen's Language Lessons with her before, and she loved it.  I had switched form it in the past, afraid that she wasn't getting enough grammar instruction.  How silly of me.  This gentle approach, with all the writing and copywork, is perfect for her. I switched her back to what worked for her before.  This program, used years ago, sparked a fire in my daughter to write.  She wrote stories to go with her picture studies.  She then moved on to writing longer stories in composition books, and hasn't stopped in years.

My oldest student flipped through her sister's Language Lesson's book.  Her eyes lit up.  "Mom," she pleaded, "Can I do something like this?"

I thought about it as I was planning the lessons.  As I flipped through the book I knew that my oldest student actually needed more practice writing.  For years she had done a traditional English and Language Arts program.  She could diagram a sentence with ease, but her writing didn't show it.  What good is diagramming if she can't apply it to her own writing?  Could the copywork that is in the Language Lessons help?  I decided it was worth a shot.  I looked at the high school levels and decided, since my daughter had struggled so much in English with writing and reading comprehension, that I would have her do the same level as her sister.  

I added a bit of extra work, though.  The copywork in Language Lessons for the Secondary Child volume 2 contains great American speeches, such as the Gettysburg Address.  However, I doubted that the girls understood it or many of the other speeches contained in the book.  They have read it before, but I doubt they ever went through and actually read it for understanding.  So, I decided that they would do the copywork twice.  The first time wouldn't be an exact copy of what was written, but would be written with the words and phrases they didn't understand replaced with definitions of those words.  Wow!  What a difference!

Suddenly the passages came to life.  The girls began with a poem for copywork.  As they looked up the words, the meaning of the poem became so very impacting.  They then would copy the original, but instead of it being just words on a page, it held so much more in the passages. Both girls were a little upset that I was making them look up the meanings.  But, how amazing that it works so well!  The girls will do two lessons a day of shorter passages and grammar portions of Language Lessons so that they can move through the lessons and get to the high school levels.  Grammar has been emphasized for many years.  They both have great knowledge of grammar, but just don't seem to use it well in their writing.  Queen's Language Lessons teaches how to apply that grammar knowledge into their writing.

Last week my youngest daughter, age seven, just melted down.  I had ordered the worst curriculum for her I possibly could.  Why?  Well, all I can say was that when I ordered curriculum, we were in the process of packing up to move.  I was stressed and wanted easy.  So... I ordered easy.  Within two weeks I knew that I had made a HUGE mistake.  I quickly packed up those workbooks that I KNEW were a dumb purchase.  I grabbed out some old curriculum that I had saved.  I then looked into what else I could do that wouldn't break the bank.

My youngest is a tough one.  She LOVES to read!  In fact, when we began this year's phonics, she soared through a semester of work in a week.  We had spent all summer reading so that she wouldn't lose any skills.  Instead, she gained. She reads constantly, reading books in the car and before bed and during dinner.  I speed to the second semester phonics work, and then wondered what to do for English, since her skills were beyond the area where we left off.  The workbooks that I thought she would use became a nightmare with three different books with a couple pages a day per book, all for one subject.  Spelling, reading, and grammar are all separated in traditional programs.  My daughter, who is reading way ahead of her level, broke at all the workbook pages.

Isn't there a way to do these together?  I decided to try. Could Charlotte Mason work as well for my youngest little girl?  Could the Language Lessons series, which my older daughter enjoys so much, work for my little reader? I ordered and downloaded Language Lessons for the Very Young, Volume One.  I was thrilled that I didn't have to wait for the mail to deliver this book, since it was available as an ebook.   We've worked in it for over a week now, and her tears have stopped.  She loves it just as much.

My next challenge is teaching my little one math.  My older daughters have settled into Teaching Textbooks for the upper levels of math.  I'm proud of the fact that they are doing well, because math is NOT my favorite subject to teach.  I've used at least four different programs with my middle daughter in the seven years we've homeschooled.  Most would work for awhile, and then the effectiveness would fade.  She's not a kid that enjoys math.  I finally, last year, had her working through Khan Academy lessons and CLE math.  I was petrified that she wasn't going to be ready for Algebra because math has always been such a struggle for her.  I was actually SHOCKED that she has gotten very good grades with Teaching Textbooks Algebra.  I assumed that I would end up having to find the money for the pre-Algebra program or hope that she could grasp enough from Khan Academy because she wasn't ready.  I guess all that bouncing and all the differing methods wasn't as damaging as I feared. 

I was sent an email by Sal Khan of Khan Academy. It linked to a video entitled You Can Do Anything.

 http://youtu.be/wh0OS4MrN3E



Viewing the brain as a muscle, one that can grow and learn, is fundamentally important. God didn't create us to be stagnant, unable to move beyond what we believe are barriers in our lives. He created us to learn and grow, so that we may use our skills and knowledge for His glory! How wonderful it is to know this is true! How sad to realize that your children don't believe it.

My middle daughter spent years struggling with math.  She struggled to retain the facts, to remember how to do certain skills from one year to the next.  In that struggle, I feared that she was never going to "get it".  I feared that she would always be slower to grasp math concepts.  But, according to Sal Khan, maybe it was that very struggle that helped to grow her brain in such a way where something that isn't a "natural" ability can still be formed and developed.

I see the same struggle in my youngest daughter in math.  However, I don't want to go through four different curricula, hoping to find that "magic" one.  While I don't mind seeing her struggle to figure out tough concepts, I don't want her to develop that intense dislike of math.  The drill and kill method isn't working for her.  Right now I am going over flashcards once a day.  I am going through a fact family every day or two and adding those to the flashcards we review.  Other than that, for now, she is playing math games on the computer.  I want more, and am researching my options.  I like the look of a couple of different curricula.  I am very curious if the story style of Life of Fred will benefit her since she loves reading so much.  I also am curious, if in keeping with a more Charlotte Mason style that has worked so well with my children, if I shouldn't look into Math Lessons for a Living Education.  For now, we are going to keep working on what we are doing until we have the extra money to purchase these things.

One lesson I have learned is to not push.  Often children will grow bit by bit, and then stop for awhile.  Then, all of a sudden, they will grow really fast.  They learn the same way, in spurts.  I am excited about what God is doing in my homeschool, in my children.  We have had a slow and a bit of a rough start to our year.  Of course, we have had a rough year anyway, with moving and my oldest two grown daughters having such severe health issues.  I am sure that I can be forgiven for making some purchasing errors under stress.  God will provide.

Happy to Go To Jail

Megan is studying the pilgrims in history.  This week we read about the persecution of the Pilgrims by King James.  Megan learned about how, when the Pilgrims refused to worship at the King James church, and instead worshipped together the way they believed God wanted, they were jailed.

Today Megan played a game.  We rolled a dice (a virtual one since my games are still packed up).  Certain numbers sent her closer to King James's court and certain numbers sent her closer to prison.  The idea was to teach Megan that, though going to jail wasn't fun, the Pilgrims felt so strongly about their faith that they kept committing "crimes" and going to jail.

Megan was happy when she went to jail. Seems strange, but she played whole-heartedly.  She would take these itty-bitty steps when she was told to take steps toward King James' Court.  She would take GIANT steps backward towards the jail. 

I found it interesting when compared to today. The Pilgrims came to America with the deep desire to be able worship God the way they felt they were supposed to. Their government made it illegal to do so, setting up rules and laws that violated how they lived out their faith. 

Today, in America, more and more Christians are being told HOW to live out our faith.  If what we believe counters societal norms and unjust laws, we are getting fined, sent to "reeducation" camps (a sort of jail), and threatened with legal action every where we turn.  Pastors are told they can't preach God's Word freely from pulpits, whether it be about politics or political correctness. Like the Pilgrims, will we need to search once again for a land where we can be free to live as we feel Christ commands without fear of legal repercussions?  Is America, land of the free, only free if you agree with current cultural norms instead of the Word of God?

Something to consider...

Relaxing and Letting Go of My Plans

Things are improving in our homeschool as we progress forward.  I had to let go a bit of my "plans".  Every couple years I must relearn the lessons I had learned the hard way before, but didn't keep applying.  For some reason, I assumed a different child would be easier to teach since I survived her older siblings.  I was wrong.  This child is her own person, but she rebelled against my public school methods just as vehemently.  

Megan and some of her work

This methods are harder to shake than I thought. They are deeply ingrained after years of public school indoctrination.  I periodically must kick them to the curb or they fester and grow, costing me time, money, and peace. 

I know the public school model doesn't work!  My kids don't need endless workbooks and tests, they need their curiosity and creativity nurtured.  They need inspired!  They need books and music and art and math... Yes, math.  They need to be read to and encouraged and adventures and games!  

The expensive workbooks are in a box.  I put them away for a bit.  I believe in a balance, but knew my littlest daughter was hating every moment of school, despising it, dreading the work. 

Instead, we are reviewing flash cards and fact families after math games on the computer.  We are reading about Amelia Earhart in Storytime.  My little one is reading her Hooked on Phonics lessons and Early Readers Bible.  She began some lessons from the McGuffey Pictorial Primer (lesson 35). She is loving her Language Lessons from Queen's Homeschool and her poetry from Heart of Dakota.  We are reading about the Pilgrims in history and sheep in science. 

My daughter is coloring and painting.  She began some very basic cursive this week after she BEGGED to learn! 

We are done with school by 3... Usually.  I am a lot more relaxed, enjoying what was quickly spiraling into a mess.  

I've revamped or am revamping some of my high school students lessons too, but that's a different post.

I don't have everything figured out yet.  I just know that school is closer to what it is supposed to be... A way to learn about The Lord and His world.