Ocean-sized Homeschool Questions

 

As an “experienced” homeschool mama, I find myself often asking the same questions I asked when I first began homeschooling twelve years ago.  Surely I should just “get it” by now.  But the same insecurities often come back to me during the more difficult days. 

Am I doing enough?

Am I doing too much?

Should I be more structured?

Should I be more relaxed?

Is there a magic curriculum that will just do its stuff and give me the desired results?

Should I stick with what I’m doing?

Is my child succeeding?

Question after question plague my mind some days and I wonder if I’m somehow failing my child.  Despite having twelve years of homeschooling experience and three graduates successfully managing adulthood, I still find myself questioning and reading and researching.  I pray and give it to God, and still wonder.  I read a little more and rinse and repeat.  

You see, I’m that mom.  I’m that mom that loves to research.  I’m that mom that never throws away materials that might one day come in useful.  (The boxes of books and curriculum in my garage attest to this fact.). I’m that mom that loves to meet with other homeschooling mamas and discuss what worked for them and what didn’t... and why.  I’m the mom, like many of us moms, that has a head full of ideas and hopes and dreams, but sees the tough days and all the questions in her mind as a personal reflection of where she might fail her child. 

And now I have another teenager.  

It was so much simpler when she was a little sprite that loved to dance to the Hooked on Phonics videos and sang her math facts as she wrote the answers in her messy, left-handed writing.  The days when fall leaves were a fascination and finger paints were a joy have faded. 

Now she wants to study oceanography.  I love the ocean.  I have lived by two oceans in my life.  I want her to be able to dive in (literally would be great) and learn to her heart’s content.  But we live in the Midwest.  My snowplow-driving hubby is on call tonight with a wintry mix expected.  Trying to find hands-on oceanic activities is a little challenging when the Atlantic Ocean is 866 miles away and the Pacific Ocean is nearly 2000 miles away. 

Yes, she has studied the ocean with her earth science studies, but she is missing the experiential aspect of learning oceanography.  The closest we come is Lake Michigan.  And while she may one day get to smell the salt water, collect shells on the shore,  and swim with dolphins; it won’t be in the next year. 

And so, the doubts enter in.  I doubt the reruns of Hawaii Five-O will substitute.  Am I insane for wanting to purchase books on oceanography, perhaps look up educational videos, but know she will be studying something that she can’t experience at this point in time?  And isn’t the earth science studies something that she needs to move past so she can meet the requirements for high school next year with biology and chemistry, etc?

I bounce back and forth between two trains of thought. I tell myself that we have studied centuries of history, but didn’t live at those time periods.  Just today we finished an advent book that dug into the birth of Jesus, studying the time period of Jesus’ birth and the Roman rule over Israel at the time.  We weren’t there.  We didn’t get to see Baby Jesus be born or experience the angelic host as the showed themselves to the shepherds.  And yet, I don’t feel as if I have failed in any way because I could only offer my child the wonder of Christmas without the experience of “being there.”  My goal was to emphasize the meaning of Christmas, to build up my daughter’s knowledge and love of Jesus.  We may not experience ancient Israel, but we do experience Christ.  Would I not be short-changing my child if I didn’t give her the wonder of the birth of Jesus?  Even if our minds have to imagine the young Mary, giving birth to her first child among stable animals?

Is it not the same with the ocean?  Beyond learning the basics, if my daughter is fascinated by an ocean she has never seen, shouldn’t I indulge her interest?  Will she not learn so much more about the world as it relates to many other areas of science if she studies oceanography?  Will she not learn about wildlife and sea creatures in her study?  Will she not go even deeper into weather by studying occurrences that happen over the ocean... like hurricanes and tsunamis and tropical storms? Will she not learn more about gravity and even space as she studies ocean currents?  Will she not touch on biology and astronomy and even some chemistry as she digs and studies?

Won’t she one day stand on an ocean shore and be able to smell the salt water, feel the coolness of the water on her skin, hear the waves crashing in a soothing rhythm, and be able to name the shells and plants and types of fish swimming in the shallow reefs? 

After all, she loves the writings of C.S. Lewis, but isn’t going to England this year. She can still imagine the country and switch into an English accent in a heartbeat.  She won’t be going to Narnia, but she still can learn the lessons Mr. Lewis so eloquently brought to life through his stories. 

These are the thoughts that swirl through a homeschool mom’s mind as she contemplates what to study next and if she should stick to the prescribed curriculum plans or venture on a side quest. 

Homeschooling means I can give my child the world, even if I can’t do so physically at this present time. Homeschooling brings options. And with those options come questions.  Sometimes those questions are small, like which phonics program to use for my creative, ADHD girl.  And sometimes those questions are the size of an ocean. 

It would be easy to just go with what’s next in the carefully chosen curriculum.  After all, I selected a curriculum that is quality, that meets college entrance requirements, that is academically sound but set on a solid Biblical foundation. Carefully laid plans can bring a path, a direction.  They can also shut doors on rabbit trails and curiosity.  

Homeschool moms (and dads) take on a huge responsibility when they decide to shoulder the education of their children.  And while the years of experience often bring the wisdom to discern what is busy work and what is relevant, sometimes in saunters doubts and questions.  For me, letting my child wander off the path to dive into her own interests was easier somehow when she was younger.

We spent nearly two years following passions.  My child’s interests in those two years were vast.  She studied horses, weather, volcanoes, Greek mythology, Harriet Tubman, the Underground Railroad, and anything else that caught her interest.  She devoured The Bobbsey Twins and American Girl.  She read nearly every Andrew Clements book in the library.  Together we read Inkheart and The Narnia series and Harry Potter.  I took a leap of faith and let her explore, let her learn what got her attention.  In typical ADHD style, her hyper-focus let her gain vast amounts of knowledge.  I could barely keep up with her as she devoured books and documentaries.  

But as high school nears, I find myself more hesitant to take that leap.  I find myself with those ocean-sized questions returning.  After all, doesn’t she need to be exposed to more than just what interests her?  Doesn’t she need more structure as she prepares for whatever God has for her future?  And don’t I want that routine, that knowing what’s next in the scope and sequence? Don’t the events of this past year prove to me that it isn’t just important but vital that my girl has a strong grasp of history and civics?  Haven’t we seen many examples students that have graduated with a poor understanding of history and socialism and the Constitution willing to make decisions about our country that causes more damage than good? And as a Christian, don’t I want my child to be able to think critically instead of just believing what is on the news or in a social media post?

How can deciding whether to veer from the science route be this big of a deal?  Having taken the road less traveled for those couple years of exploration, I know one interest often leads to other areas.  Will it just be a substituted science path?  Unlikely.  

My daughter at the moment also has developed an interest in Japanese anime.  She purposely chooses to watch the Japanese show with subtitles instead of the Americanized version.  Often she will walk into a room speaking phrases in Japanese that she has learned from what she is watching.  

But learn she does.  She has been taking Spanish for school; but because her interest is in Japanese at the moment, she has learned more of the Japanese language in a few weeks than the Spanish she has studied for months.  I know when a child is interested in what they are studying, he or she absorbs information like a dry sponge does water.  And I also know that if they are just taking the class because it’s expected and listed on the planner, the lessons might not be retained as well. Ironically, if someone else was in this situation and asked for my advice, I would tell them to let their child study the oceanography. I am actually a little shocked that I’m struggling with this, because I have read the science about how children learn.  I know following a natural curiosity leads to deep learning and a development of study skills that are unrivaled when compared with any other method. 

This year has been difficult.  Money has been tight.  I have had to plan very carefully in every area of our finances.  A set plan brings a comfort because I know it checks all the boxes.  The fact that I have a lot of the materials also is reassuring because I don’t have to worry about straining an already tight budget any further.  Even if I let go of what my plans say our homeschool would hold for the next year or so, I’m still bound by budget constraints. 

Ocean-sized questions mean I give the matter some ocean-sized prayer.  To all those homeschool mamas out there with similar questions about what path to take, know you are not alone. 

Earth’s Plates

 As a lover of Earth Science, I find the science experiments my daughter does are fun!  I was luckily to have the option to study Earth Science in college versus the other options. 

This week my daughter has been studying the causes and consequences of an earthquake.  Now, like me, she also loves Earth Science.  She is fascinated by storms and weather and oceanography.  She loves geology.  She reads books about various Earth Science topics for fun. 

This isn’t exactly new material for her, but she is still as fascinated as if she had never studied the information in the past.  

Today her experiment used a graham cracker to get a visual of what happens to the Earth’s Crust when plates rub during an earthquake.  The visual was changed as she increased the friction or force. 

And at the end of the experiment, she smiled and asked, “Can I eat my science experiment now?”

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!

Weathering and Copper

My daughter was reading and learning about the layers of the atmosphere and what happens when pollutants in the air mix with water vapor in the clouds.  This can result in acid rain. 

The experiment we followed was to show the results of acid rain on The Statue of Liberty.  The Statue of Liberty is made of copper.

We found four copper pennies (1981 and earlier).  We lucked out because it is reported there is a coin shortage right now in the U.S.  We found the needed pennies and placed each one in different solutions for a week.

The one that showed the most dramatic results most mimicked the ocean with weather.  We learned quickly why the Statue of Liberty is green because our penny turned a turquoise color.  We accidentally forgot the pennies for a few days as we have only been doing half-days of school during the summer.

The result was by the time we completed the experiment, the penny with the most weathering had actually disintegrated quite a bit.  There was a noticeable weight difference between this penny and the other pennies that weren't in the most harsh solution.  The engraving of Lincoln was nearly gone and the date stamp had disappeared.

This was probably one of the most fun experiments that we have done. 

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 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. 

Mid-Year Evaluation

When Plans Fail

I had it all planned.  I had what I wanted to accomplish with my fifth grader all written out. I had prayed and researched.  I knew my ten year old wasn't ready for the writing in Heart of Dakota's Creation to Christ.  I wanted to give her a chance to bump up her writing level, while exploring and reading.

Life doesn't often go as planned.  I may want it to, but these past few months have been challenging and full of unexpected crisis moments.  One daughter has been in the ICU twice, for over a week each time.  Another daughter has battled some health issues that require treatment.  My college classes have been more demanding than I anticipated, with project after project.

Re-evaluating

And so, it is about this time each year where I reevaluate what is working and what is not working.  Usually, this is simply a curriculum thing.  Is the child succeeding with this curriculum?  Do I need to switch anything?  Do I need to slow down or speed up in any area?

This semester, to some degree, has felt like a lot of work and little progress for my fifth grader.  The things that need to change are not simply a matter of curriculum.  I need to carve out more time.  Things like read-alouds have been pushed to the background because of my work load and stress level.  Even more, I don't feel like my daughter has improved her writing the way I wanted when I began to plan.

Looking at next semester, I am struggling to find more time. I am planning to drop my class load to part-time.  When I went back to college, I had this idea in my head that I could work when my children were working.  That has only somewhat worked.  I am still needed for my ten year old.  She is growing in independence, but not quite at the rate where I can spend hours on something else.  And so, I am determined to find a compromise so that I can continue my education, even if at a slower pace, and still be here for her.

We have made some headway.  In her dictation level, she has advanced forty-seven passages.  She tends to get the majority of them on the first try, repeating maybe one a week for errors.  She is looking, at this rate, to be well into level four by the next school year.

Plans From Here

Taking a look at different categories of studies, this is the plan for the rest of the year:

English - My fifth grader will continue with dictation daily, to improve writing and spelling skills.  She will slowly do a Word Building program over the next few months to help with handwriting and reinforce her spelling.  She will finish a couple of the workbooks for English that she has, because they focus on writing.  Then she will begin Rod and Staff English.  Rod and Staff emphasizes writing more than our current program, and is wonderful for leveled learning.  She is also slowly going through the McGuffey Reader, which combines reading with writing and vocabulary.

Reading - My fifth grader will continue to read slowly through the reading list I have for her.  She is currently reading through Clara Dillingham Pierson's Among People.  This will take her to the end of the school year, at one chapter every other day.  She is enjoying this series.  She is also going through Literature and Creative Writing, and is currently reading North to Amaroqvik.  She will finish this book and read Heidi before the end of the school year.  She has also started Drawn Into the Heart of Reading (DITHOR).  She is currently reading Fanny Crosby.  Also planned this year is Noah Webster, Kitten's Tale, and Riding Freedom.  She is only working on DITHOR every other day, alternating with the Pierson stories.  Megan is also alternating Abeka readers with her McGuffey Reader. 

Bible - Megan will finish her Christian Light Education workbooks studying the New Testament.  She will then begin Heart of Dakota's Bible as planned in Creation to Christ.

Social Studies/History - Megan is currently finishing some workbooks studying Christian leaders and missionaries in American history as well as Biblical heroes.  After this, around February, she will begin Heart of Dakota's Creation to Christ at half-speed.

Science - Like with History, Megan is finishing up some science workbooks.  In February, she will begin Creation to Christ at half-speed, where she will begin a study of Land Animals.

Math - I have bounced around in math this year, attempting to cement math facts and skills before the math becomes much more challenging.  After some trial and error, I have settled with Singapore math mixed with Life of Fred.  I have Meg reviewing skills until after Christmas.  I like that Singapore is also leveled, and my child can master skills before moving on.  I have scheduled it strangely, however, bouncing between a couple levels at this time so that she is reviewing more in a spiral approach.  However, that stops in a few weeks and she will begin normal plans and working straight through the textbooks and workbooks for Singapore, with a chapter of Life of Fred every couple days. Math is one area where I feel it is okay to slow down and make sure the foundation is solid before moving on to more advanced concepts.  If the foundation isn't solid, the child will not be able to grasp the more advanced concepts.

My high school senior is staying with the plans I made for her.  Unless something is completely not working for her, she won't change.  She is working for credits, and needs to be pretty consistent. She graduates this spring.

It may seem as if my fifth grader is doing too much, but many of the plans spiral.  This means that she may only work in an area every other day or a couple times a week.  When we begin Creation to Christ, she will be working at half-speed because my plan is for the level to last her through sixth grade.  She will begin next year at half-speed also, with some subjects being done daily, such as math and English.  This allows her to focus on core areas, advancing in her writing, so that by the end of Creation to Christ, she is definitely ready for Resurrection to the Reformation and the skills needed at that level.

Over the years, I have often felt that I wasn't doing enough, and I pushed my older children too hard.  I have learned to slow down, to use their natural skills to reinforce areas where they are weak, and to take things a day at a time.

Celery Experiment

As Megan works through some Science Paces before we head  back to Heart of Dakota, she has been learning about water.  She has learned the characteristics of water, the minerals and germs that can be found in water, and why plants need water.

This is a nice lesson.  Soon Megan will study why animals need water, how water is used in the human body for things such as digestion and cleanliness, and why Jesus leads us to lie down by still waters. 

She did an experiment with celery.  She placed a celery stalk into water with dye to see how the water is drawn into the celery stick.  Plants do the same thing when they draw water from the ground. 

Megan loves experiments!  As much as I would rather give her a book to read only, Megan also loves hands-on stuff.  She loves learning by doing as much as she loves reading. 

I have been out of balance lately in this area.  But I’m getting things worked out. 

Summer Library Day - Animal Lady

Our local library puts on an awesome summer reading program.  Once a week the children get to see a program that brings books to live.  A couple days ago was the first show.

We call her the Animal Lady.  She works for a state wildlife rescue agency.  She brought in all sorts of animals for the children to see and learn about.  This thrilled Megan because she loves reading about amphibians and reptiles and wild animals. 

Holding a baby crocodile was a huge highlight for my animal lover!

This program is a favorite among the children.  The Animal Lady brought in a rabbit, a python, the baby crocodile, a huge beetle, and more.  

Eggsactly!

Which is more dense?  Fresh water or sea water?

Megan discovered the answer this week with an experiment that had her floating an egg.  Her face when she actually saw the egg float was priceless!

We are totally loving our school! Bigger Hearts for His Glory is an adventure!

For The Birds!

Megan has been learning about various animals that live at the seashore.  She is reading Seashore by Donald M. Silver and following the plans in Bigger Hearts for His Glory.  

Today was experiment day.  Megan learned about different sizes and shapes of bird beaks.  She learned how God created each bird with beaks perfect for them to meet their needs.

Of course, using different "beaks" only helped Megan to "eat" the bird food.  She enjoyed eating different cereals with different beaks from the "sand"(oatmeal).  

Megan loves experiment day!  She enjoys the whole process of guessing and figuring out if her guess was correct.  It's a game to her, a curiosity.  Isn't that how true science is discovered?  By curious minds seeking answers? 

Making Waves

Megan is reading all about the seashore in science with Heart of Dakota! Today she got to do an experiment in how waves are formed.

It was such a simple, yet fun experiment. Some water in a dish and a blow dryer.  On low we made gentle waves lapping at the edge. Add a little more direct wind and we had the makings of choppy water.  However, turn the blow dryer in high and we could create our own hurricane!

Megan already knew the wind had some to do with the waves, but seeing the demonstration made the understanding much more concrete. 

Just last week we did a different experiment with water.  Megan learned that the water pushes back on items.  Dense, heavy items, like a coin sink.  Lighter items, even if bigger, float because the water is more sense than the air inside some items.  We used her soccer ball.  

Megan loves science. All the hands-on experiments make learning so exciting for her!