A Tale of Two Levels: Part One

Eighth grade is upon us.  Since we did some other things last year, we could say we are “behind.”  But most homeschoolers know there is no “behind.”  The time away from Heart of Dakota was still filled with learning.  The beauty about Heart of Dakota is that the skills build on each other.  We can just pick up where we were and move forward as long as the child hasn’t progressed too far.  

So a few weeks ago we began eighth grade with half days because Covid had led to the cancellation of nearly every activity in which we normally participate.  Not willing to have a summer of YouTube videos, we began some school.  We picked up right where we left off and have kept moving forward.

However, we are over halfway through Heart of Dakota’s Resurrection to Reformation guide.  This means we will actually do two guides this year.  Megan will finish up Resurrection to Reformation by Christmas.  We will immediately begin Revival to Revolution. 

Part One: Resurrection to Reformation

I’ll go through the first part of our school year by going through Resurrection to Reformation and other things we are using.   There are a LOT of books my daughter will be reading.  That isn’t unusual for our homeschool.  

History:

With Mystery of History as the main spine for the remainder of the guide. Megan will be reading about Shakespeare, Leonardo da Vinci, Sir Walter Raleigh and so much more.  She will read and notebook her way through time as she learns history. 

I love the notebooking pages!  They are colorful and of great quality.  The lessons are so enhanced by the pages!  And it is such a fun way to keep track of what my daughter has learned. 

Science:

My daughter loves Earth Science, so finishing up this study is a joy for her.  She is relishing the experiments and often loves to tell me all about what she is reading. 

Shakespeare:

Resurrection To Reformation does a Shakespeare study.  I was afraid this study would be difficult for my child.  Instead, she LOVES it!  She gets excited when it is Shakespeare day.  Like the history notebooking pages, Heart of Dakota has created these beautiful Shakespeare notebooking pages. And they chose Charles and Mary Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare.  Tales from Shakespeare is written in more modern English for younger readers. 

Bible:

Heart of Dakota’s Resurrection to Reformation uses the inductive Bible study Hidden Treasures in Philippians.  This is scheduled as an independent study to help the child develop good habits in their own personal Bible time with God.  However, I am planning to do this with my daughter.  She is at a sensitive age, and being able to discuss the study with her is important to me.  (Plus, I don’t want to miss out!)

We also have a different Bible study we do every other day or so from Christian Light Education.  I love how deep Christian Light goes into the Bible.  

Reading:

We are continuing with Heart of Dakota’s Drawn Into the Heart of Reading.  I love the perks of this program! I can choose which books to use for the different genres.  I can use library books to save money.  Or, as I tend to do, I can use books I have already purchased over time.  I like the choices Heart of Dakota gives in their book packs, and have used them often also.  But sometimes I switch out the book for something else. 

Extra Reading:

I chose two book series to slowly have Megan read through over the next two years.  These aren’t assigned in Heart of Dakota, but instead are something extra I want my daughter to experience.  She is reading them slowly so she can mature a bit with the characters as they age in the books.  I also want her to savor the books and think about the lessons contained.

The first series is a rewrite of Martha Finley’s Elsie Dinsmore series.  I read them all several years ago from the library.  Mission City Press did such a great job with these books and I am sad they aren’t as easily purchased now.  I still have the last two to purchase before we own the entire set.  Megan will read through at least three of the books this year. 

The second series is the Terrestria Series by Ed Dunlop.  I was first introduced to the series through Heart of Dakota when they offered a couple of the selections in the book packs for Drawn Into the Heart of Reading.  The books are allegorical and engaging.  My daughter often likes fantasy books, and these are very godly.  It will take her two years to get through this entire series when alternated with Elsie Dinsmore.  . 

What’s left?

In the next post I will go through what we are using for Revival to Revolution as well as what we use for math and any alternatives I am using.  It looks to be a very full year!

A Seamless Road of Knowledge

I was caught by the quote:

“Each student simply moves up a seamless road of knowledge at whatever rate of progress his abilities and study habits permit.”  - Art Robinson

Could it be so simple?  

For a long time now I have not liked “grade levels.” I even blogged about it a couple years ago.  Grade levels mean different things in different schools, among different curricula companies, and even through time.  Common Core, which was supposed to unify standards in grade levels throughout the United States, has been rejected by several states and is atrocious with its depleted content. 

Old-fashioned, one-room schoolhouses understood the concept of a seamless road of knowledge.  Using things such as Ray’s Aritmetic and the McGuffey Readers helped to create some of the most literate, creative, innovative people in history.  And yet, we tend to look at these methods as flawed today because the advancements made by those very people have made us egotistical.  It’s as if we lay claim to the advancements of previous generations, but believe it was flawed because the lessons we learned from their combined knowledge make us somehow smarter.

This year has gone a little differently that previous homeschool years.  With the exception of when we need to research something, or the occasional documentary, I have eliminated all screens.  In February, 2018, Business Insider posted an article about how some of those that have a hand in the best technological developments send their children to tech-free schools and limit technology in their homes.  Articles and studies abound online about the dangers and addiction risks of technology.  From the Washington Post to Psychology Today, the risks of technology are well-known.  The New York Times published an article back in 2012 that discussed how technology is creating more attention issues and is changing how children learn.  And then there is the digital versus print debate that is still ongoing.  People tend to read faster and take in less when reading on a digital screen.    Article after article also discuss how social media is being linked to depression in all ages, including young people.

Does this mean we don't ever use technology?  Of course not, but it is limited.  It is a tool.  Technological advances are wonderful in so many ways, but they can also be detrimental. 

Technology isn't the only area where I have made changes.  I have also been adding many "older" books to our reading.  The average, bestselling, popular fiction book has only a sixth grade reading level.  Popular authors, such as James Patterson and Nora Roberts, have an average of 4.4 grade level.  In the sixties, the average bestseller was an eighth grade reading level. Farmers in the 1800s read material such as the Pilgrim’s Progress and The Last of the Mohicans for entertainment.  Both of those selections are considered college level material today.

Using older materials, such as the McGuffey Readers, helps to bring in the incredible sentence structures and vocabulary of earlier writings.  I have also added many older books in my daughter's reading list, such as The Bobbsey Twins series, Little Britches, and the works of L.M. Montgomery.  I don't necessarily think our reading list must all be older books, as there are some more modern books that are wonderful, but I have found a strong appreciation for some of the older works and how they train the brain to think a little more deeply. 

If I had to do it all over, I probably would have not stressed so much about the methods or the materials.  I would have done what I am doing now...  a good math program that has excellent explanations and builds slowly, some grammar, some writing, and a ton of great books.  So many subjects can be contained in "living books."  Most of the time my girl doesn't even realize she is learning when she is reading a book that grabs her attention.  She is caught up in the story.  I have added plenty of read-alouds and audiobooks to the list, because this has also proven to be supremely beneficial to the brain.

Many times my children learn through following their own interests.  To do this, they must have time to do this.  I have noticed that having a set schedule for learning without grade levels, where the child works at their own pace, and the basics are the focus; frees up that time.  It also frees up a lot of time to limit screens.  When I do so, my child will explore her own interests freely.  She will play outside with other children.  She will read more, above and beyond what is on the reading list.  She delved into horses last year, reading and learning all she could. 

I own a lot of materials, acquired after years of homeschooling.   I tried this method and that method.  I researched philosophies. And, despite tying some of this and some of that, I always come back to some core principles.  I want a solid math program and lots of good books, both fiction and nonfiction, that cover a plethora of subjects and topics. 

I believe that a person that knows how to extract knowledge from books can do anything.  They can teach themselves whatever they need to know about whatever subject they need or desire to know about, delve into the greatest minds of history and science, and go on adventures with the world’s greatest characters.  The quote that best exemplifies this is, “A reader lives a thousand lives...”

Education shouldn’t be complicated, and yet people complicate it.  Colleges use big words such as pedagogy to give teachers the feeling that they have some special insight into the minds of children.  Schools expect children to be on a certain level, and treat them differently if they go outside the bounds of that level.  The ones that do best are “gifted” or “advanced.”  The ones that struggle are “learning disabled.”  Many times, neither is true.

A seamless road of knowledge means that a child begins at one spot, and slowly moves forward, at their own pace.  They might move faster or slower in different areas depending on natural proclivities and what is occurring in their lives. But, they are always progressing.  There shouldn't be a bunch of stops and restarts.  An education that has a bunch of leaps that jump too far too quickly will leave the child lost.  A curriculum that is dumbed-down, that keeps the child at a lower level, will never allow him or her to become a self-learner.

I can tell you that, once a child is in the adult world, nearly all learning is self-learning.  We have no way of knowing what the future will hold, and trying to prepare our children for the unknown will be difficult.  Instead, we should teach them how to learn, how to think for themselves, so that they will have the capabilities to meet the future with confidence. 

Some Old Books

The Bobbsey Twins at the Seashore, by Laura Lee Hope, published in 1907.

This year my daughter is reading through the Bobbsey Twins series.  Needing a bit more structure from our delight-directed studies from last year (which I will blog about soon), I went towards more of a Robinson Curriculum style.  What that means is... the three R's with LOTS OF GOOD BOOKS. 

There aren't a lot of Bobbsey Twins books listed in the main book list for the Curriculum, though they are listed in the alternative list.  I enjoy reading through a series of books.  I find that, with a series, you spend a lot of time with the characters and they become a part of you.  I certainly felt that way about the Little House series or Anne of Green Gables.  And while there are some amazing stand-alones in literature, a series of books still gets to me as an adult.  (I'm pretty sure the Baxter family has followed me throughout my Christian walk as an adult.)

Through the years, I have enjoyed sharing some of my favorite series with my children.  I have also discovered others that mean as much to me as they do to my children, such as the Penderwicks or Harry Potter or The Chronicles of Narnia.  Reading an older series, such as the Bobbsey Twins or Ruth Fielding, has some distinct benefits in that the vocabulary and sentence structure is wonderful.

My twelve year old reads at a much higher level than most. The Bobbsey Twins series may be a little beneath her reading level, despite the age of the series, but still the writing is excellent.  For instance, here is a paragraph from chapter 8 of The Bobbsey Twins at the Seashore.

It was not difficult to gather the beautiful blooms, that nested so cosily on the cool waters, too fond of their cradle to ever want to creep, or walk, upon their slender green limbs.  They just rocked there, with every tiny ripple of the water, and only woke up to see the warm sunlight bleaching their dainty, yellow heads.

Yes, cosily was spelled with an "s" and not a "z."  I find the writing flows and is descriptive and is an awesome piece of literature.  And, with older books, I never have to worry about questionable content.  Having a daughter that is a good reader means she could easily choose books from the library that are in the Young Adult section.  But... I don't want her reading many of those books.  When they books are older, I don't usually have to worry about battles with sexual situations or vulgarity.  There are some books that have racism in them, as was typical of the time period, but I can often skip them or talk about it with my child.  

I don't mind a mix of quality newer books with the old, but I find that the older books are often quite engaging.  I use the McGuffey Readers for similar reasons.  The vocabulary and sentence structure is top notch.  I have used the McGuffey Readers as a spine for spelling, vocabulary, and writing for a few years now and find they are supremely effective.  It doesn't take an hour to do, either.  

We have a different sort of education in our home.  No matter whether we are following a curriculum or following our own passions and delights, there are some foundations that I have stuck with for a number of years because they work.   These foundations help me to keep our school simple.  When I begin to add too much, I can tell.  School becomes stressful.  But when it is just the right amount and the foundations are in place, school simply flows much more smoothly.

Weekly Update - October 22-26, 2018

We actually completed a five day week! 

Some Megan Art in McGuffey

History:

Megan finished learning about Adoniram Judson and began to learn about the missionary, Jim Elliot.  She will also learn about Ecuador and the Waodani tribe. 

Bible:

In New Testament study, Megan began to study Paul's letter to the Hebrews.  She also had begun to read about the Birth of Jesus in her Illustrated Family Bible.

Megan's Art

McGuffey:

Megan spent the week studying the story "Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter."  She also has created some original artwork to go with the story.

A Megan Landscape

Literature:

Megan read three chapters in Miracle at Camp Friendship this week.  She has also been studying metaphors, similes, point of view, and personification. She has nearly finished When Will This Cruel War Be Over.  

 

Word Building:

Megan finished her first "spelling" test.  She got a perfect score, so I know dictation has been effective.  Eventually we will go back to alternating dictation and spelling, but she is doing well with the spelling program that is helping her with some phonetic rules.  She began her new workbook, which includes "ch" words and contractions. 

Science:

Megan continued to learn about accurate measurements.  She learned about why there needs to be standards in measurement.

English:

Megan is learning about the different ways to make words plural. 

Math:

Megan dived into more advanced multiplication, factoring, and prime numbers this week.  She needed some work to understand factoring, but I think she gets it now.  She will be venturing into GCF and reducing fractions in the next couple of weeks.  She also covered three more chapters in Life of Fred: Honey.

Read Aloud:

We read several more chapters of Anne of Green Gables this week, putting us at 64% through the book.  

Weekly Update - October 15-19

We had a four day week, and it was a bit stressed.  I got sick and struggled each day to function.  School happened, but I had limited participation due to illness.  On Friday, we skipped school entirely so I could pick up my glasses from the eye doctor, which is an hour away from our home.  But, we had a good time hanging out at Barnes and Nobles for an hour or so.

History:

Megan continued to study Adoniram Judson.  She also learned some of the history of Robert Fulton and his steamboat.  She learned about Myanmar; the climate, geography, natural resources, and the culture.  She will finish her study of Adoniram Judson next week.

Bible:

Megan read about the Poetry and Wisdom books as well as the Prophets in the Old Testament.  She learned about Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and Job.  She read a bit about Amos. 

McGuffey:

Megan finished the story "More Stories about Little Birds."  She did a lot of copywork and drew pictures of various birds.  She began "Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter."

Literature:

Megan began reading the book Miracle at Camp Friendship, reading the first three chapters.   She is learning about point of view in her literature study, such as first person and third person.  She also played an alphabet game where she had to come up with a word for each letter of the alphabet having to do with a topic.  She thought that was a fun activity.

She is still reading When Will This Cruel War Be Over. 

 Word Building:

Megan continued to study "ge," and "dge," words as well as the days of the week.  She also began some plural word spellings, which include words where the spelling changes when it is plural. 

Science:

Science has been relegated to every other day.  This week Megan was learning about Celcius and Fahrenheit.  She also read about how gravity impacts the weight of things.

English:

Megan finished learning about different sentence types and alphabetizing.  This next weeks she will move on to reviewing and learning new skills in nouns.

Math:

I realized I forgot to update Math last week.  Megan has made a lot of progress in her math.  She has been reviewing fractions and ordinal numbers.  She has also been practicing her long division and is doing very well.  The constant review in Ace Math helps her to solidify her skills.  I am proud of her progress.  She will be introduced to some new skills in the coming weeks, and I am certain she is ready now.  She also conquered another couple chapters in Life of Fred Honey. 

 

Read Aloud:

We are continuing to read Anne of Green Gables in the mornings.  We read four chapters, which was pretty good considering my cold limited my ability to read aloud.  

Weekly Update - Crazy Week - October 8-12

School did not happen as normal last week.  And, I am perfectly fine with that reality.  My second grandson was born on Wednesday.

He was in the NICU for a couple of days, fighting low blood sugars because his mom is a type-one diabetic.  So, there was a lot of time spent up at the hospital.

Then, on Friday, we skipped school completely for eye exam day.  This year my little bookworm-in-training needed glasses.  We had avoided them last year, as she was borderline then, but this year the doctor felt that her near-sightedness was getting bad enough that she could use them.  If she was in school, she would have probably struggled to see the board or Power Points.  At home, she does a lot of reading, but she isn't straining her eyes to see, and that might have helped.

With school happening only sporadically, I did make a decision.  I changed up our routine a bit, because Megan seemed to be getting dragged down.  I noticed she had skipped some work, and I don't want her doing that in a rush to get through her day.

History:

Megan is taking a break from World History to study Adoniram Judson and Myanmar.  She is also learning a bit about ships in her lessons.  I find it interesting that a young Adoniram Judson was not a Christian despite growing up in a home where his father was a minister.  This delved into studies about Lazarus and the Rich Man as well as The Prodigal Son.    A break from normal studies seems to help Megan to refocus later. 

Bible:

In her New Testament study, Megan continued to learn about Paul's Letters to Phillip and Thessalonica.  She also read Daniel 10 and part of Daniel 11. 

McGuffey:

In McGuffey, Megan finished up "Stories about Birds" and worked on "More Stories about Birds."  Above is her drawing of a canary.

Literature:

Megan is learning about synonyms and antonyms as she prepares to start Miracle at Camp Friendship.  She is still reading When Will This Cruel War be Over for her independent reading.

Word Building:

We are taking a break from dictation for a few weeks and delving into some Word Building.  Megan and I love dictation, but variety sometimes helps.  Word Building deals with more than just spelling, but adds in some vocabulary and handwriting practice. It also helps to reinforce words through repetition and word groups.  Last week she studied words that has the "o" before "r" sound, such as storm and forty.  This week she is reviewing "dge" words as well as the days of the week.  It's not her favorite, but she can work independently.

Science:

In science, we paused Megan's study of birds to focus on learning about length, weight, temperature, and time.  We will go back to birds when she finishes this study.  Doing two different studies at one time was getting confusing. 

English:

We set aside the Language Lessons briefly to study dictionary skills and alphabetical order.  I realized a couple weeks ago that Megan had not gotten much practical use in using a dictionary for awhile because we were using dictionary.com too often.  It's easy to rely on technology and not use real books.  Because of this, I made the switch and Megan is refreshing skills she hasn't used for awhile.

Read Aloud:

We are loving Anne of Green Gables.  We didn't get as much read aloud time in last week as we would have liked.  We stopped at chapter nine.  But Anne and Megan are quite similar in temperaments and chattiness. 

Weekly Check-Up: September 17-21

It was a busy week, with experiments and drawing and a lot of reading.  We even had a cool experience in meeting a local children's author!

On Thursday evening we went to our local library and got to meet Shannon Anderson, a local teacher and author.  Megan thought meeting an actual author was cool, even if her books are for a younger target audience.  We love books, so it is cool to meet someone published!

We got a lot done this week, even with a couple days where we were delayed in getting started.

History:

Megan began learning about Jonah and Ninevah.  She began to delve into Babylon, Jeremiah's prophecies, and Nebuchadnezzar.  She read the book of Jonah in the Bible and is continuing in the book, Within the Palace Gates, which is a story about Nehemiah.

Bible:

In Bible, Megan read about Ninevah and Judah.  In New Testament, Megan learned more about Paul's letter to Colosse.

Science:

Megan worked on her science experiment, which included soaking a raw egg in vinegar for three days.  She is currently soaking that same egg in Corn Syrup for an additional three days.  This is teaching her about eggs and how baby birds survive and grow before hatching.  She also began studying baby pigeons and sketched some local birds.

Poetry:

This week, Megan studied Robert Frost's poem, Dust of the Snow, and began to paint a snowy landscape.

McGuffey:

In McGuffey, Megan read and learned about turtles, writing facts about turtles and sketching one in her notebook.  She then began reading a story called "The Quarrelsome Roosters."

Language Lessons:

Megan reviewed subjects and predicates as well as complete and incomplete sentences.

Literature:

Megan finished reading My Father's Dragon.  She then began to read The Bridge.  She also learned about the character traits Love, Compassion, and Tolerance.  She touched on emotions displayed in My Father's Dragon.  When she began The Bridge, she studied the setting and began to evaluate the moods displayed in the book.  In her independent reading, she is reading the mystery, The Scripture Sleuth.

Read Aloud:

In our read aloud time, we are still making our way through The Penderwicks at Last.  

Dictation:

Megan only passed one dictation.  We have slowed down in our progress, as the passages begin to progress in difficulty and length.  I am allowing for two days copywork for each passage before we do the day of dictation.

Math:

Megan continued to review in Ace Math.  She will soon be jumping into new concepts, but I have noticed that the review is helping her so much.  Her error rate has dropped drastically.  Often, she doesn't miss any.  This is building her confidence greatly and helping mathematical thinking to come to her more naturally.

In Life of Fred: Goldfish, Megan finished chapters 9, 10, and 11.  She continued to learn about review, sequencing, and algebraic expressions.  She reviewed some multiplication and geometry problems, with real-life examples.   She also worked on some word problems involving money and measurement.  I love that Life of Fred, while funny and fantastical, also uses a lot of scenarios that require the student to think about the math they are doing.  It isn't all by rote. 

Piano:

Megan began piano once again, already getting assigned a Christmas song for the recital in December... a Chimpmunk's Christmas Song.

Weekly Checkup - September 10-14, 2018

 Weekly Checkup

September 10-14, 2018

This week went quickly.  We didn't do school on Monday as there were appointments.  But, that didn't stop my daughter from being such a good help with her nephew while we were in the waiting room.

On Tuesday, we dove back into our studies... both of us.  My college classes continue, and I work steadily beside my girl. It is working well for us so far this year.


Here's a breakdown of my Meggy's week:

History:  

Megan is continuing to record the prophecies and fulfillments of Christ.  This week was about Christ coming out of Galilee. She is also reading about Assyria and the Assyrian King, Sennacherib.  She finished the book, God King, and began to read the book of Jonah in the Bible.  She continued to read the book, Palace Gates.

Bible:

This week Megan read about Hezekiah and Josiah in The Illustrated Family Bible.  In her New Testament study, she also read about Paul writing to the churches of Ephesus and Colosse. 

Science:

Megan is studying the book Birds of the Air in science.  This week she learned about how birds sing and the different types of nests they build.     Last week, she began a book where she will draw different kinds of birds over the next few weeks.

Poetry:

Megan is studying the poem Once by the Pacific by Robert Frost.  This week she painted an ocean with whitecaps.  (I didn't get a picture.)

McGuffey:

Megan is studying the 48th lesson in the Second McGuffey Reader (original), Stories About the Monkey.   She researched facts about monkeys, drew a monkey picture, answered questions, looked up vocabulary words from the story, and wrote original sentences.

Language Lessons:

In Megan's Language Lessons this week, she first reviewed Capitalization.  She reviewed syllables. Then she dived in to learning about Haiku.  She loves using Language Lessons, because it isn't drill and kill and she gets to write more. 

Literature:

In the beginning of the week, Megan finished up a book project over the book Five Smooth Stones.  She then dived into the next genre, Fantasy.  She will be reading My Father's Dragon and The Bridge for this genre.  She began My Father's Dragon on Wednesday. Her study has her searching out different moods in the book as well as differentiating between realistic and unrealistic aspects in the story.

Having a literature focus, I have assigned extra reading every day. She also finished up Penguin Puzzle in her extra reading and began Scripture Sleuth.

Read Aloud:

We finished up Penderwicks in Spring, which broke our hearts.  It was the best one so far.  We began The Penderwicks at Last.

Dictation:

Megan has been completing her dictation as copywork for a day or two before we do the actual dictation.  I like this pattern as she learns the passage much better and has less repeating due to less errors.  The dictation passages are listed in the back of the Heart of Dakota guide and are taken from Dictation Day by Day: Book One by Kate Van Wagenen.  Megan is on Level 4, passage thirty nine. 

Math:

Megan is using two different math curriculum at this time.  She is using ACE Math and Life of Fred at this time.  I really want to strengthen her skills.  We are still doing some review, making sure the skills are strong before we dive into new material. 

In Life of Fred Goldfish, Meg read chapters 7 and 8, which covered sequencing, algebraic concepts, polygons, and perimeter.

In Ace Math, she practiced place value, multiplication and division concepts, expanded form, and fractions.  She complained at first about going to a "drill and kill" program, but she is changing her attitude.  She is understanding so much better and her confidence is growing as she does well on the problems.

Piano:

Megan has practiced a few times.  Her lessons begin again next Monday. 

This was our homeschool week.  Sometimes I wonder if we are doing enough, especially when she completes her entire day in a few hours.  As I go back through the week and actually type all that she has accomplished, I am surprised.  It is definitely a full schedule with a lot of variety in her learning. 

Twenty-Three Days Into Our School Year

We have completed twenty-three days of school.  So far, this year has flowed rather smoothly.  At first, it was taking a LONG time to get through the school days.  But, in the last couple of weeks, a rhythm developed, and my girl is finishing her work for the day in 3-4 hours.

We have been reading aloud regularly, which is often the first thing to go when life gets busy.  I have had a much easier time blending homeschooling with college classes. And with my new grandson due in the next month, helping my daughter with my first grandson has been a treat!

I have a strong literary focus this year in our homeschool.  Perhaps it was the inspiration of Sarah Mackenzie and her book, The Read-Aloud Family.  Perhaps it was reviewing Sally and Clay Clarkson's book, Educating the Whole-Hearted Child.  Either way, I dropped our Heart of Dakota to half-time so I could add more literature and some extra math.

My girl is working diligently, and she is loving the extra literature.  We are both such bookworms that extra reading is a delight.  Yes, Heart of Dakota is a literature-based curriculum, but I have found that sometimes the emphasis on history can feel like overload after awhile, taking away the joy of reading other things.  I am using a lot of Heart of Dakota's Drawn Into The Heart of Reading (DITHOR) this year.  I love that I can choose the literature.  Over the next couple of years I will mix DITHOR and Ace's Literature and Creative Writing. 

I plan to begin weekly updates.  I don't always, with college classes and busy lives, get to post as often as I used to when the older girls were home.  I was looking at some of my older posts, and I loved the times I posted weekly updates.  It was so awesome to look back at the things we worked on and the lessons learned. 

When I kept the weekly updates, I more diligently recorded the art work, what we were learning, the adventures, the ups as well as the downs.  I was more diligent about taking pictures of what we did.  It was such a great record of our homeschool, and a glimpse into our lives.  I loved looking back!  It even helped me with planning what I wanted to do for my youngest girl when I see what I loved and what I hated in the past.

Here's to the more recording of the adventure of Sixth Grade!