Book Review and Plan for the Week

The infamous Saxon Math- Level K

You can pretty much purchase Saxon Math from anywhere. I think Seton has the best price, but I could be wrong.

For the record, I have not tried any other Math program, I'm sticking with Saxon, because it works and Boo is happy with it.

What I like about it:

• Boo likes repetition, and it is repetitious, he thrived on the Meeting book
• It is scripted, though I do not always need it, it is nice to have on days I can't think
• It is fun, we all enjoyed the manipulatives
• No distracting pictures

On it's implementation:

• The meeting book could be skipped but I thought it helped with calendar skills
• I used the arrows in the meeting book to write whatever number Boo could count to. We then practiced counting to that number each month and then used the rest of the arrows for subsequent numbers
• Not all lessons need to be repeated twice
• More than one lesson can be done in a day without being overwhelming
• The program is more appropriate for a pre-schooler, 3-4.5 years old
• I never did the estimating activities later in the book
• some of the activities require practice, like skip counting, or even regular counting, for younger children

Plan for the Week

Language Arts:
OPG- Lesson 49,50(M) 51, 52 (T) 53, 54 (W) 55-56 (F) 57,58 (S)
FLL-Lesson 6 (M) 7 (T) 8 (W) 9 (F) 10 (S)
HW- Seton, extra practice- all week
MW- "O Sacrament Most Holy"-every day
CW- Continue practicing name- all week

Math:
Saxon, Lesson 6(M) 7 (T) 8 (W) 9 (F) (10) S

History:
SOTW Ch. part 1 and review questions from What is History and What is Archaeology, Make a family history book (M)

SOTW Ch 1, Part 2, review questions and cross references (T)

Cave Painting and Map activity (S)

Science:
Continue Bean Sprout experiment and observations for journal (M,T)

Begin Seed Needs experiment, continue Bean Sprout observation, read How and Acorn becomes a Tree or other library books (W)

Green Hour Challenge (TH)

Work on observation pages for experiment and finish any books borrowed from library (F, S)

Geography:
Practice US Geography- all week with wall map update on Monday
New Hampshire Map for US Notebook (T)
Maps, Charts and Graphs, Lesson 2 and continents review(F)
History Mapwork (S)

Art:
How to Draw Lesson (F)

PE:
Trips to park all week and possible Green Hour challenge on Thursday to be considered

Music:
Learn one Catholic hymn and listen to classical music- all week

Religion:
St. Joseph Baltimore Catechism- all week

On Early Education

I'd like to share my thoughts today on formally educating at a young age.

My children are typical children, they are not advanced or gifted (except to me). They are just your average children.

There are a some differences in our home and other homes that, I think, facilitate the children wanting to learn. We do not live a life that is deeply rooted in popular culture. My children cannot name SpongeBob, Dora, or whatever else is new. I do not allow toys in our home that are based on TV shows or false ideas about women (Barbies). So our children are pretty much left to their own imaginations.

Unfortunately, the children do not have a vast bank of loving and caring relatives that live nearby. This has caused us to be a little more withdrawn from social life within the family. We've had to turn to each other for support in everything, as a family should naturally do. But this situation has given us all a strong bond. I think and can see that my children will likely be best friends even into their adulthood. I would rather have this than have bad influences from certain relatives, those kinds of influences are hard to undo.

So here we are with this tight knit small, but growing family, with little interest in fads and fashions of the day. We're boring by American standards. Being "boring" gives us the ability to view the world in a different way. The children think that learning is a fun, worthwhile and fulfilling activity. They bring me things and say "Teach me this, Mama." instead of "Do this for me and buy me that."

My oldest was bored playing with his toys, so I decided to teach him. I was happy to do so, as I do not know what God has in store for the future. Our children are all close in age, and I would have liked to have Boo reading before Meenie starts K. As a new homeschooling mother, I was trying to ease myself into things so I could not get burnt out.

The lessons began shortly before the age of 4 and we're completing level K this week. We worked at Boo's pace, reviewing and taking breaks as necessary. So it was not forceful, but it was disciplined. As in, once lessons begin, we're not getting up. Before I knew it, my son was running to sit at his desk or bringing me the reading lesson book.

Some of the greatest saints of the Church, like St. Robert Bellarmine, were young learners. So I take inspiration and encouragement on early learning from the saints. It is my hope that my children will be able to complete college early. I don't know what kind of vocation they will go into but I am hoping to use the high school years to prepare the boys for seminary (logic, philosophy, theology, Latin), married life (maybe some type of skill or specialization in a subject) and for the girls to be a homemaker (home economics study) or perhaps a religious (which could be a whole variety of skills from nursing to teaching). Maybe my children will all stay single and live with me and take care of me in my old age. Who knows! But I believe early education is beneficial and I hope to set them on a path to fulfill God's plans and accomplish much for Him in the earlier part of their life.

Plans for the week, ending on April 12th, 2008

Well, now I know I want to have all of this done because we just moved up our vacation by one week!

Boo
Monday:
100EL: 95
Saxon K: 97, 101(repeat), 104, 109
--practice counting by 10's for some reason this was not retained-- all week

Tuesday:
100EL: 96
Saxon: 97 (repeat), 110, 111

Wednesday:
100EL: 97
Saxon: 99, 111 (repeat)

Thursday:
Maybe no school but here is contingency...
100EL: 98
Saxon: 99 (repeat), 112- the final evaluation

Friday:
100EL: 99

Saturday:
100EL 100

Then we're going to have a little party for finishing K. I am thinking about baking a cake or brownies and making a paper graduation hat. Later, I'm going to post two pictures of the Boo, one taken right before K and one from right now. I may also write out a little overall evaluation to keep in our records of our accomplishments this year.

Also this week, I am going to make a chore chart because I have a few chore goals in mind for both of my children. One is to make their beds each day, the second is to get all of those clothes into the hamper-- not on the floor, not under the table, not under the bed!

My Home Education Plan and State Law

Today, I am going to explore how the program I created fits into the law and requirements for this state.

First of all, I do not have to give any notification this year. The reason why is that kindergarten is not mandatory; the compulsory attendance age is 6. I often laugh when I think about filing for first grade in 2009- what is it going to look like when my 6 year old is using mostly second grade materials?!

So from the data given at www.hslda.org...

I not even required to teach anything to my children before the age of 6. That would be lazy and irresponsible, wouldn't it?

My home education plan, in relation to state law:
900 hours at the elementary level
---so if I begin in May and we can easily cover that with all of our daily lessons and activities, especially considering that we school on Saturday and sometimes do extra lessons on Sundays

Reading
---I'm teaching a phonics program and we are studying literature, Boo should be reading at a first grade level by fall and maybe even more independently

Writing
---Boo is learning to write his letters and how to spell, so that he can write meaningful things one day

English language and grammar
---We're using First Language Lessons which is great because many of the lessons are oral. I am also trying to remember to get both children to answer in complete sentences.

Geography
---We're going to learn the names and locations of all 50 states. We are also working on learning the names of the continents and oceans. In addition, when geography over laps history we will be locating regions and areas that are pertinent on the map.

Arithmetic
---We've got that covered with Saxon 1.

Drawing
---We will be learning about drawing, I actually possess a little talent for drawing, so this should be a pleasure. I plan on picking up some how-to-draw books.

Music
---We will continue to listen to all kinds of music from around the world. We're keeping formal piano or violin lessons in our minds at some point as well.

History
---We'll be studying ancient history, I can't wait!

I'm not sure that the state requires science but we will be studying the human body which will cover health. We'll also be learning about plants and animals.

I wasn't certain that the requirement for CPR, US Constitution, and duties of citizenship--being taught formally was meant for elementary levels, so I am not going to worry about those.

PE
---if we find a bowling league we're going to go with that. Otherwise, I think we'll just go bowling, for nature walks and do bicycle riding.

Good behavior
---I'm not really sure how the state can require this because it is so subjective. But I think that falls under religion. This is just one of those things that you learn through life's daily tasks anyways.

First Grade or K-5 plans

Beginning in May: Grade K-5/First Grade (call it what you like )

Math: Saxon 1
---I want to use Singapore, but my son loves to use Saxon, I figure why bother with something good! Singapore also has a bit of a culture barrier for me, some of the sample problems on the placement test-- I could not figure out what they meant until I saw the answer.

Handwriting: Seton Handwriting 1 for Young Catholics, plus extra paper for practice

Reading: Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading, Bob Books (all sets), Now I'm Reading series (all levels), various easy readers. ---I want to order the hardbound National Catholic Readers and the McGuffey Readers, but they are a bit expensive so I will have to wait and see. I want to buy the whole sets at once, not just one book at at time! I also have considered ordering the Little Angel Readers. I am also looking into what level that the American Cardinal Readers begin.

English: First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind ---If I can get a sneak peek at the Catholic version of Voyages in English, I may order that later too, but I do want the whole set. First Language Lessons may not last us the whole year, but it is for use in first and second grade so we will use it for 2 years.

Spelling: Spelling Workout Level A ---I am going to probably begin this subject about half-way through the year. I have considering also just making my own spelling lists and doing activities based on them.

Memory work: I plan on keeping a notebook with all of the poems,sayings, etc. that we memorize.

Science: We'll be following the classical sequence described in the WTM, so this year we will be studying Animals, Plants and the Human Body. I plan on doing it by unit studies and doing lots of experiments, museum visits and hands-on stuff. We'll probably be borrowing most of our books from the library. This will probably include getting a pet fish and growing some kind of plant. We'll also probably keep a nature journal, if I can get Boo to do so. (He doesn't really like to draw or color)

History: We'll be also following the WTM sequence here so we will be studying Ancient History. I have the Usborne Encyclopedia of the Ancient World for a reference. We will be using some of the Story of the World and its Activity Book. ---I won't be following the suggestion of studying gods and mythology, especially at this age. I am going to use some of the stories from this time period, but at an innocent level that will be suitable. We will be incorporating the history of our salvation and the creation of the world into everything. I'm going to be looking for a book to fill in my gaps of knowledge of Old Testament history--so I can teach this better. DH said Roman Catholic Books republishes something to that effect. ---I'd like to use a Catholic curricula but I do not think any of the ones currently being published fit my expectations, they tend to be too brief or not even on the same topic as us at the same level.

Geography: Maps charts and Graphs, Level A, memorizing the 50 states and their location using a simple US map and a sticker chart published by Dover, plus the seven continents and the four oceans using puzzles, maps, globe etc. I also plan on using Uncle Josh's Blackline maps for this and History, it's a CD rom so you print it out yourself. ---I believe I also bought a 50 states coloring book which I might copy and turn into part of a geography notebook. The Maps,Charts, Graphs book looks so easy that you could do it in one sitting, I may order the next level. I initially ordered it because graphs were our biggest stumbling block (really the only one) in mathematics.

P.E./Art/ Music: For P.E. we'll be taking nature walks and hikes, bowling--possibly in a league, maybe roller-skating. I've e-mailed a local roller rink to ask if they play classical music or at least oldies instead of Top 40 all the time. For music, I am considering getting a keyboard in order to teach my son piano, I don't know if that will work out. I may spend the next year trying to find a teacher for piano too. I also want the kids to learn violin, we'll see where that goes. We also listen to various music from around the world and different periods, except modern (hehe). For Art we will be doing picture study of great Catholic works as well as using Child-Sized Masterpieces and the book How to use Child-Sized Masterpieces (this book might be out of print). We are also using Art 1 for Young Catholics from Seton. Additionally, A Year with God: Celebrating the Liturgical Year we are using from Catholic Heritage, but omitting the Novus Ordo-y stuff. I also plan on borrowing some how-to-draw books form the library.

Religion: We'll be using and memorizing parts of the St. Joseph Baltimore Catechism (the First Communion one), as well as investing in some more good children's books on the Faith. We also read the New Testament out loud as a family. I have quite a few other resources, we'll use them as need. We also will be following and incorporating the Church year into our daily lives as usual, and reading the lives of the saints for children too! In addition to that, I take every opportunity to instruct the children in good morals, manners and behavior (which I consider to fall under religion because of the virtue of Charity).

Other etc.: I just plan on continuing to use the Kumon workbooks for fun and enrichment. Reading is really our biggest thing because I plan on adding Latin and a modern foreign language, probably Spanish, in the future (I'm thinking third grade).

Our schedule is probably going to look like this:
everyday:
Math 20-45 minutes
Language Arts 1-2 hours
Handwriting 15 minutes
Spelling 15 minutes
memory work 5-10 minutes
geography 10-15 minutes

I almost always do the most disliked subject right away after breakfast, it makes the rest of the day seem easy two days each week for: history ex: Mon, Tues 1 hour science ex: Wed, Thurs 30 minutes-hours art: Friday 30 minutes PE: 1-2 days a week 10-30 minutes