Sorry ....

I have been so quiet and non-existent this week, but I promise I will have some great pics to come!!! We have been very very busy and we will be sure to share this weekend!

Egyptian Resources

I got asked about our history plans 3 times over the weekend and twice today on a wet hike so I thought I would get myself together this afternoon and get them posted! Here is what we have so far -

• Complete Book of World History by School Specialty Publishing - this is may all time favorite spine. I am very impressed with how this book lays things out and although it is listed as grades 4-8 it could easily be used for younger or older children with very little modifications as a spine/timeline guide.
  
• Pocket Timeline of Ancient Egypt by Helen Strudwick - this will be our guide to the specific point in history. It has a beautifully done timeline that folds out of the book and looks like it will be a good read for KM.
• History Pockets: Ancient Egypt By Evan-Moor - We are really liking the looks of this series, we have experimented a bit with the lower level ancient civilazation kit when we got it as a free download from currclick a few weeks ago. I wish that I had known about the ebooks beforehand as this is basically a reproducible book, that will need to be photocopied/scanned, but hey at least I get to give you guys the recommendation - right?
• Egyptian Kid Kit by Usborne Books - this is another great hands-on thing and of course this is KM's favorite way to learn.
• Horrible Histories - The Awesome Egyptians - by Terry Deary and Peter Hepplewhite - we came across this series during our Prehistoric Study when KM read and loved Who are You Calling A Wooly Mammoth.
• Egyptology Code-Writing Kit - by Emily Sands - As many of you may remember KM LOVES anything that has anything to with codes, so we had to grab this kit when I came across it on clearance at a local book store.
• Pyramids: 50 Hands on Activities by Avery Hart - You can never have too many hands on things around here!
  
• Ancient Science by Jim Weiss - we have been using this book for a few months now and it has GREAT activities
• Websites that look rather interesting -
  

Ancient Egypt for Kids
Kids Konnect
Eternal Egypt
Mummy Tombs
Ancient Egypt Thematic Unit

I will continue to add to this list once we start the study itself as I know that we will be adding more as we go. If you have any favorite Egyptian resources PLEASE feel free to share!

Garden is growing..

..right along!

This week's experiments - week of 5/11

We did some Ancient Science this week and saw how soap seperates and clings to oil, as well as the differences in using hot and cold water


iThen while KM was working on her Nature Photo Journal for our blog - CJ caught a mosquito and they had to pull out the new microscope to check it out...

If you can see the laptop screen that is a super close-up of the mosquito's proboscis - the part that actually goes into the skin. For some reason I could not get the computer to catch the image that it was streaming, but I am going to figure out how it works this week!

We then did some bubble experiments to see what type of solution works best for different types of wands and pipes - the hardest part was getting SC to use the correct end of the pipes!

All bets are closed...

I did it, I didn't even make it a week and I have already changed my mind...hmmmm I am sure most of you are not surprised! I have decided that since KM is so far ahead in Math that we are going to take a few steps back and work on things in a more focused manner. I have a few workbooks that I think we need to work our way through as I am a bit nervous about her really grasping the full algebra 1 concepts at this stage in the game. So we will be using these instead of Teaching Textbooks Algebra 1 in the fall - though wewill begin to use this program when she completes the four workbooks I have listed below I just think that if we rush it, it may backfire:

• Tables, Charts and Graphs

• The Complete Book of Algebra & Geometry

• Problem Solving: Grade 7

• Graphing: Activities to Stretch Young Minds, Grade 7

I also really just want to have a lighter hardcore schedule next year, as she really is ahead of where other kids her age are. I also went a little crazy and had a bit of a spending accident, but I got Joy Hakim's Story of Science and along with the student and teacher's guides. I think this will be our regrouping curriculum for science as well as all the fun experiments and books that I had listed previously. I think this will be our only changes, but of course I was VERY set on what I had last week as well! Guess that is the best part of homeschooling, switch it up as much as the budget can handle!

Fantastic Day of Play!

We had a fabulous day at the zoo, carousel and playground today! SC had lots of firsts, smiles, laughs and fun. She was attached to KM and had a great time chasing her down all over the playground. We couldn't have asked for a better day!

Balance...

...it seems to be the one thing that I am on a never-ending quest to obtain! In every aspect of my life, I really need to find more balance. Most importantly I feel that we need to find a good balance in our lessons vs. playtime. I really am having some trouble in this area and I think a lot of it is the huge amount of guilt that I feel about having sent my daughter to PS for over 5 years. I feel like she needs to be given time to get some of what she had taken from her back. At the same time however I have this tape playing in the back of my head - I am sure many of you know the one I speak of - it sounds a bit like this "she should be doing work, she should be writing reports, she should be producing physical evidence of what she is accomplishing, it is the middle of the day how can I let her run around outside" and it goes on and on and on. How do you make that tape stop? How do you truly balance what needs to be done, what could get done and what can wait?

Honestly if she were younger, I would have no qualms of saying let her play,- in fact you will often hear me state this to lots of moms who start asking about Kindergarten curriculum as soon as their child turns 5,- but all her friends are starting Middle School next year and I am torn between feeling like I should be preparing her more for High School courses and feeling like she should be allowed to be young and truly "PLAY" while she still can or will for that matter.

As I think back to my college experience I remember that many classes started out right from the beginning of things. It was never assumed that you knew anything about the subject - unless of course there were prerequisites for the class. This is to cover any gaps in core information and to ensure that everyone gets an even playing field.

Science is my arch nemesis, but I am also thinking that for the most part the home school science curriculum for high school are pretty intense and cover A LOT! Why do things over and over and over again. So maybe if I do pull back a bit on certain things over the next year and allow a bit more room for interest-led activities and time for play it would be the perfect time to do it! She is young for her grade level and this could be a bit of a break time. Especially with the new baby on the way VERY shortly - just to clarify I mean another niece of course! I think that I will pull the reins back a bit and maybe try to focus on some of the areas that really need some work - such as writing - and let some of the other areas that she is very strong in -such as math- have a bit more of a break.

Another Great Hike

New Blog - Nature Journal

I was talking to KM the yesterday and we decided that since we both have our incredible new cameras and we have been spending sooooo much time outside taking pictures that we should start a Nature Journal photo blog. Soo we did!

Check it out - HERE!

7th Grade Curriculum - Preliminary Decisions

As most of you have probably figured out - as I know I have stated it SEVERAL times - I am a HUGE planner, I need to feel like I have a game plan and though I am open to flexibility and wiggle room, I NEED to know that I have something set and ready to go! So before the warm weather gets here for real, I want to make sure that I have everything planned out for next year.

For the most part I have known for a while what we would be doing, but there were some final choices that I think I have committed to. So here is what KM's 7th Grade Curriculum will look like -

Summer Session - Yes we do continue our lessons during the summer, but it is on a much lighter scale. KM and I sat down and tried to figure out what she thought would be manageable and what I would agree to as enough. Here is what we came up with:

Daily:
Summer Bridge Activities - This is a review type book that has different activities each day, but helps you kinda stay on track. Most of the things are fun activities and she has been doing them for YEARS now so she figured why change something that has worked for such a long time.

Egyptian Study - if we keep at the pace we are right now with our History timeline study we should be right at Egypt when we start the Summer session. I have TONS of projects, resources, sites, kits and books for this which I think I will list separately. This will be an ongoing thing throughout the summer that I didn't really want to schedule in so we will be working on this bit by bit throughout the session.

Mondays:
Cooking - We will be using the Usbourne Internet Linked Children's World Cookbook - to travel the globe through food. We will also be going to our local farmer's markets to get local produce of the season to cook with as well as using the bounty from our own garden!

Tuesdays:
Geography - along with our world food travels, we will be using Brighter Child Geography Grade 6 which we did not have a chance to get to during this last year's studies.

Wednesday:
ELA - we have been using Scholastics Scope Magazine since last fall, but we could never manage to get to all of it, so we decided to save the reader's plays and the extra worksheets for the summer.

Thursday:
Science - I don't know how long ago it was, but at some point I picked up a copy of Homework Survival Guide: Science and I came across it when we were cleaning out our books over the winter. We decided to use it as a review and do one chapter a week for the summer. We will also be incorporating lots and LOTS of projects to go with each one so be sure to swing by for Science Thursdays starting in July. I think that this will really bring KM up to speed with the basic knowledge that she was SOOOOO lacking from her time at PS.

Fridays:
Math - another book that we just didn't get to as much as we would have liked was Fast Finishers Math so we thought this would be a good time to finish it up!


Starting in the Fall she will be doing -

Math - Teaching Textbooks was such a HUGE hit this year that I will stray from it! She will be starting Algebra 1 in the fall.


ELA - She will be doing 5-minute Daily Grammar - which should help to straighten out some of those things that really just need some repetition to get down. Also upon recommendation by a very good friend, countless internet searches and a LONG discussion with KM we have decided to give Writing Strands a try. We will be starting her off at Level 3 and she is very excited about the way that it is truly written to the student. It also has VERY little prep work for me! I also have on the back burner, Writing Survival Skills for the Middle Grades - which the same friend recommended and I lucked out and found on Paperback Swap! Also a great Paperback Swap find was World Smart Junior which will be in place of a formal vocabulary program.

Literature/Reading Comprehension - For fiction we will be using literature units from Teacher Created Resources. To start we will be doing The Cricket in Times Square, Island of the Blue Dolphin, Bridge to Terabithia and Tuck Everlasting. For non-fiction we will be using a workbook called As a Matter of Fact which seems like it will be a very good fit.

History - We will be continuing our timeline study using the Complete Book of World History as our time-line spine and we will probably begin with Ancient China in the fall. I will list these resources separately as well.

Geography - Our coop group is thinking of doing a full year Geography program, focusing on a different continent each session. This will be a GREAT way for the kids to learn about this in a group setting! I will be sure to post more about this as it develops as well.

Cultural Studies - In the fall we will be focusing on a Thanksgiving Unit that we got from Plimoth Plantation called Investigating the First Thanksgiving which helps to clarify what really happened at the first Thanksgiving and what it was really like for the Pilgrims and the Native Americans. Then we will use several resources to dive deep into the cultures of Southeast Asia, Japan, and Mexico and Central America.

Science - We have a large mismatch group of things that KM really wants to cover for Science next year. We will be starting out with the Basher Series which looks like they are going to be rather enjoyable reading, then we will be using the MOS designed Engineering is Elementary Program, a variety of free electricity resources that we ordered from National Grid and a unit on Inventions and Inventors. We will also be supplementing with a new site that I found through Homeschool Buyers Co-op called Adaptive Curriculum. Once she has all these things done I think she will have a very good basis to start some of the higher level sciences.

Foreign Language Studies - We will be sticking with Latin next year and will be using Minimus Secundus: Moving on in Latin as well as Learning Latin Through Mythology. I am already seeing a huge improvement with KM's word recognition and decoding roots since we started the Minimus: Starting out in Latin.

Art - we will be using a program that looks really intriguing called Meet the Masters. KM is a bit nervous about having to reproduce masterpieces, but I think once she starts and sees that it is really more about the techniques that she will really enjoy the program!

Music - KM is still loving the keyboard so we will be continuing with Piano Adventures. I also came across this rather interesting classroom magazine called Music Alive and for $9 I got all 8 issues of this past years magazines, which feature a current artistic from a different genre each month. KM is so into music that I couldn't pass up a deal like that! We will also continue to utilize the incredible monthly content at Classics for Kids. I am seriously considering signing her up for private keyboard lessons, but I am worried that this may deter her natural drive that she seems to be following. She reads music incredibly and truly enjoys playing, so I will just wait and see if she starts to peak off or has trouble just using the books on her own.


So that is our 7th grade plan - I hope we will stick to it, but if you are a regular reader I would guess that bets are being placed as to when the first change will occur! It feels good to have it all laid out in front of me though and I think that I have found a really good balance of what KM wants and what CJ and I feel that she really NEEDS.

It has been so dreary out...

...we decided to have gym class indoors today!

Sometimes it is good to just stratch the plans...

and stay in bed!

We have been going, going, going, for the past two weeks and there really is no slowing down in sight! However, we were suppose to go to the MOS today - just KM and I -, but when we woke up and was rainy and dreary, neither of us really wanted to get up and go -

SO WE DIDN'T!

INSTEAD...

We lounged around,

got a little work done,


did some chores,

some crafts,


some more chores,
and a little bit of studying.

A Day in the Mud

KM and CJ spent the day doing one of their favorite things -

Playing in the mud!
Here are some pics KM took of her favorite vehicles:

While I was contemplating our learning path -

I came across some articles by Pat Ferenga that really made a lot of sense to me and I thought I would share some of it here...

I define unschooling as allowing children as much freedom to learn in the world, as their parents can comfortably bear...This is the way we learn before going to school and the way we learn when we leave school and enter the world of work...Certainly these interests can lead to reading texts, taking courses, or doing projects, but the important difference is that these activities were chosen and engaged in freely by the learner. They were not dictated to the learner through curricular mandate to be done at a specific time and place, though parents with a more hands-on approach to unschooling certainly can influence and guide their children's choices....Unschooling, for lack of a better term (until people start to accept living as part and parcel of learning), is the natural way to learn. However, this does not mean unschoolers do not take traditional classes or use curricular materials when the student, or parents and children together, decide that this is how they want to do it. Learning to read or do quadratic equations are not "natural" processes, but unschoolers nonetheless learn them when it makes sense to them to do so, not because they have reached a certain age or are compelled to do so by arbitrary authority. - taken in part from this site - HERE

This makes so much sense to me and it is just what I have been looking for as some kind of definition that really clicks! The one line that really makes it work for me is "as their parents can comfortably bear." This one line gives me a clearer link and as I grow more and more comfortable, as KM becomes more and more self-guided and we both get farther and farther from the PS thinking of "this is what you have to learn and when you have to learn it" mindset, I feel that we will be able to more and more free with our thinking, learning and life in general. CJ of course just really wants us to be happy and fully trusts in me to take the path that will get us to an educated end. I am feeling much more confident as this "school year" comes to an end than I did last. I know that we have the supports in place and that we can make these decisions on our own. We (CJ and I) know what is best for our daughter and we (KM and I) are totally capable of having a learning lifestyle that is fulfilling for all of us.

First Hike of the Season

So yesterday was our local homeschool groups first hike of the season and we had such an incredible time!
My absolute favorite thing about homeschooling events is getting to see all the different aged children interacting with each other. It is just amazing to me having come from the PS world were children are so segregated from one another all dependent upon where their date of birth happens to fall. Two children born a week apart from one another and living on the same street could never be friends just because one is in 1st grade and the other is in 2nd - why is that? What makes people think that is okay?
ANYWAY - before I go on a tyrannical rant - here are some of favorite pics of SC and KM on the hike ----oh and I just have to mention that this was a two mile hike, the first mile SC was very content in the backpack, but then I decided I needed a break, so I took her out and SHE HIKED THE LAST MILE all by herself!!! WOOOHOOO you go girl!