Dolce Vita Academy

Sonlight Reading List - K

2011-11-18T12:23:00.000-08:00

I Heard Good News Today - Lehn

Living Long Ago

The Apple and the Arrow

The Boxcar Children

Dolphin Adventure

Family Under the Bridge

Five True Dog Stories - Davidson

A Grain of Rice

~&The House at Pooh Corner

The Hundred Dresses

In Grandma's Attic - Richardson

James Herriot's Treasury for Children

Johnny Appleseed - Holland

The Light at Tern Rock

The Llama Who Had No Pajama

Mary on Horseback

My Father's Gragon

The Real Mother Goose

Richard Scarry's Please and Thank You Book

&The Story About Ping

The Story of Dr. Dolittle

Twenty and Ten

Capyboppy

Dolphin Treasure

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Who has read it:

&Twins

~Hannah

=We own it

Sonlight Reading list - Preschool 4-5 years

2011-11-18T12:18:00.000-08:00

The Gods Must be Anglry

New Toes for Tia

People - Spier

Stories from Africa

Then and Now

Things People Do

American Tall Tales

=Childrens' Book of Virtues

A Child's Book of Art - Micklethwait

Classic Tales of Brer Rabbit

&The Complete Adventures of Peter Rabbit

Eric Carle's Animals Animals

The Lion Storyteller Bedtime Book

Milly-Molly-Mandy Story Book

Stories from Around the World

A Treasury of Mother Goose Rhymes

Uncle Wiggly's Story Book

The Berenstain Bears Big Book of Science and Nature

Is a Blue Whale the Biggest Thing There Is - Wells

What's Smaller than a Pygmy Shrew - Well

How Do You Lift a Lion

How to Dig a Hole to the Other Side of the World

What's Under the Sea

Why Do Tigers Have Stripes - Unwin

The Year at Maple Hill Farm

Who has read it:

&Twins

~Hannah

=We own it

Sonlight Reading list - Preschool 3-4 years

2011-11-18T12:12:00.000-08:00

20th Century Children's Book Treasury

The Bee Tree

Eloise Wilkin Stories (9 of them)

The First Book of Fairy Tales - Hoffman

~Go Do Go

Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales

Harper Collins Treasury of Picture Book Classics (12 of them)

Horton Hatches the Egg

Ian and the Gigantic Leafy Obstacle

Mighty Mind

Mike Mulligan and More (anthology of 4 stories)

Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs

Noah's Ark - Spier

Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm

Poems and Prayers for the Very Young - Alexander

A Robert McCloskey Collection (anthology of 3 of his stories)

The Tall Book of Nursery Tales (12 tales)

Teddy Mix and Match

The Usborne Flip-Flap Body Book

Wee Sing Nursery Rhymes and Lullabies

What Do People Do All Day - Scarry

How has read:

~Hannah

Car Maintenance Class

2011-10-01T19:37:00.000-07:00

Requirements:

Change the oil

Fill the car with gas

Pay car insurance

Graduation: Dad will take you to get driver's permit

Primarily get through classes during ages 8-12 so during scholar phase, there is more time to focus on studying.

Skills Classes

2011-10-01T19:35:00.001-07:00

Baking Class

Cooking Class

Car Maintenance Class

Home Maintenance Class

Sewing Class

Laundry Class

House Cleaning Class

Yard Maintenance Class

2010-02-15T13:26:00.000-08:00

Solar System Song

Funky ABC Song

USA Capitals with moving Map

USA Capitals with Stationary Map

Universe Song

Nations of the World
and the words

Nations of the World with Flags

Nations of the World with words

Presidents of USA

Parts of the Brain

10 Elements of Periodic Table
20 Elements of Periodic Table

So long. Farewell. Auf wiedersehen.

2009-09-27T15:33:00.000-07:00

I moved.
No, not that move. Just a little bloggy move.
I have combined all my blogs and am now over HERE.
Please come visit me. And comment. It's lonely there.

Twaddle Free in a Twaddle Era

2009-09-02T20:33:00.001-07:00

Charlotte Mason was vehemently opposed to what she labeled "twaddle". She said, "They must grow up upon the best. There must never be a period in their lives when they are allowed to read or listen to twaddle or reading-made-easy. There is never a time when they are unequal to worthy thoughts, well put; inspiring tales, well told" (Vol. 2, p. 263).

I agree. However, the writers of early readers do not agree. Have you read those books? In my efforts to find books my barely readers can read, I have paged through many an early reader. They take a while to get through because I fall asleep by the 3rd page.
(ok, so that isn't a good judge of a book. I fall asleep every time I read a book, just ask my kids) but emotionally I fall asleep on these books.

After scouring two full libraries I finally stumbled upon the answer. Baby books! That's right, take a step backward. Early readers are created based on number and type of words. The "story line" is about 10th in priority level. Those colorful board books were designed to delight brilliant babies. And many were designed to delight bored moms. They are clever, funny, and short w/ a lot of repeat and a lot of rhyming. Only about every 12th book in the baby section fits my criteria but we have found some gems.

The Question I was Dying to Answer

2009-08-25T11:05:00.000-07:00

No one has asked me any doubting questions about homeschooling since I became confident in my answers. Until today. I finally got to answer the most dreaded (perhaps because it's the most absurd) of all.
My neighbor took a break from weeding to join me on the front porch where I was strapping my rollerblades on my one year old. (And their education is what is of most concern??)
Out of the blue she asked how long I intend to homeschool. Until it no longer works.
Do you have a projected grade in mind though? 12th.
How will that work with socialization though? I try to get out with my friends occasionally.
She laughed.
How will you do it without going crazy? I laughed and told her, while hugging the 5 year old who is most driving me batty, "The kids keep me sane".

Ah yes. Socialization. Whose socialization is most in jeopardy? Mine of course! With 2 sports a season and a dozen kids in the classroom (well, 4 at least - hopefully more), I think alone time for every one of us is of more concern than socializing.

File Folder Game Ideas

2009-08-23T19:46:00.000-07:00

I have not made many file folder games yet and am still looking for what and how. These are someone else's ideas in an email I got from Kelley:

The first one was on Proper vs. common nouns. I just wrote "Proper Nouns" on one side of the folder and "Common Nouns" on the other. Then I wrote up a list of nouns, cut them out, and put them in a baggie that is paper-clipped to the folder. The kids just pull out the words, read them, and put them on the side they belong on. It was fairly easy for my neurotypical son, but harder for my AS son. He'll get the concept eventually, but the file folder helped me to see that we still have work to do in that area.

Another game I made was a plotting game, though this one wasn't my idea. I made a graph numbered up to 6 on the X and Y axis. Then I added a baggie of little chips and a couple of dice. Ideally the dice would be different colors, but I just made some markings around the edge of one to differentiate them. That way when the dice are rolled, you can still see which one corresponds to which axis. When the kids play the game, they roll the dice and put the chips on the corresponding graph point (3,2 or 5,1 or something else like that). I'm hoping that it will make graphing fun and it'll be something that evolves as we move through our math.

Another game I made matches numerals with their words, like "1" and "one." This was a challenge for my 7yo because he's still shaky on the reading, but it's helping the number words become sight words for him. I'll probably have him do it again this week.

I'll tell about one more game. It's a synonyms game, and is fairly straight-forward. I wrote lots of different words all over the inside of the file folder. Then I made up a worksheet with words that are sysnonyms of the ones inside the folder. When the kids play the game, they have to match the words on the folder with the ones on the worksheet. I'll probably do ones for antonyms, rhyming words, and probably homonyms, too.

2009-08-21T11:35:00.000-07:00

One of our favorite activities this year has been to visit the aquarium. Not much has changed since our monthly visits when the twins were Pretty Girl's age - they practically have the sea lion show memorized. However, on a visit this past May we saw something new! We watched this 1400 lb sea lion climb a wall. I was able to catch his descent on my camera.

Lists of Rhyming Words aka Word Families

2009-08-20T22:45:00.000-07:00

On several occasions I have made up lists of rhyming words (or word families as they are apparently called). Then I stumbled on THIS wonderful site that had them all listed including a few fun ideas for using them.

-ab

cab dab gab jab tab crab drab

-ack

back hack Jack lack pack quack rack sack tack black clack crack knack shack slack smack snack stack track whack

-ad

bad tad glad fad clad dad brad had lad mad pad sad

-ag

bag gag hag jag lag nag sag tag rag wag brag drag snag flag

-ail

bail fail frail Gail hail jail mail nail quail rail sail snail tail trail wail

-ain

brain chain drain gain grain lain main pain plain rain Spain sprain stain strain train vain

-ake

bake brake cake drake fake flake Jake lake make rake shake snake stake take wake

-ale

bale Dale female gale inhale male pale sale scale stale tale whale

-all

ball call fall gall hall mall small stall tall wall

-am

am ham jam Pam Sam yam

-ame

became blame came dame fame flame frame game
lame name nickname same shame tame

-an

ban bran can clan Dan fan flan Fran man pan plan ran span tan than van

-and

and band bland brand grand hand land sand

-ank

bank blank clank crank dank drank flank Frank Hank lank prank plank rank sank shrank spank tank thank yank

-ap

apple cap chap clap flap gap happy lap map nap pap rap sap slap scrap snap strap trap wrap tap yap

-ar

are bar car far jar star

-ash

ash bash cash clash crash dash eyelash flash gash hash mash rash smash splash trash

-at

acrobat at bat brat cat chat doormat fat flat hat mat pat rat sat splat that

-ate

crate date gate grate hate Kate late locate Nate plate rate skate slate state

-aw

awful claw crawl draw drawing flaw gnaw jaw law paw raw saw straw strawberry thaw

-ay

bay clay day gray hay pay play say spray stay stray sway today tray way

-eat

beat cheat eating heat heater meat meatball neat repeat seat treat wheat

-ed

bed Ed fed Fred led Ned red shed sled Ted wed

-ell

bell cell fell seashell sell shell smell spell tell well yell yellow

-en

Ben den hen Jen men pen ten then when yen

-est

best chest contest crest forest jest nest pest rest test vest west

-et

bet get jet let met net pet set wet yet

-ice

dice ice mice nice price rice slice spice twice
-ick

brick chick click kick lick pick sick slick stick trick

-ide

bride glide hide pride ride side slide stride tide wide

-ig

big dig fig gig jig pig rig twig wig

-ight

bright fight flight fright knight might night light right sight tight tonight

-ill

bill chill dill drill fill grill hill Jill mill pill quill shrill sill spill still thrill will

-in

bin chin fin grin in into kin pin shin skin spin thin tin twin

-ine

dine fine line mine nine pine vine shine spine whine

-ing

bing bring cling ding king ping ring sing spring sting swing thing wing zing

-ink

blink drink ink kink link rink sink stink think wink

-ip

chip clip dip drip flip grip hip lip nip rip ship sip skip snip strip tip trip whip zip

-it

bit fit hit it kit knit lit pit quit sit slit

-ock

block clock dock flock hock knock lock mock rock shock sock smock stock

-oke

broke Coke joke poke smoke spoke stroke woke yoke

-og

bog clog dog fog frog hog jog log smog

-old

bold cold fold gold hold mold sold told

-op

chop crop drop flop gumdrop hop mop pop shop stop top

-ore

bore chore core lore more pore score shore snore tore wore

-ot

cot dot got hot knot lot not pot shot spot

-uck

buck Chuck cluck duck luck pluck stuck struck truck

-ug

bug chug dug hug mug rug slug snug tug

-um

chum drum glum gum hum plum strum sum swum yum

-ump

bump clump dump grump jump lump mump pump stump thump

-unk

bunk chunk dunk junk skunk stunk sunk trunk

Public Speaking: Golf

2009-08-19T11:28:00.000-07:00

We belong to a wonderful group of homeschoolers who gather bimonthly for a Kids' Forum. (On alternate months we do some other group activity.) The children stand in front of the group and present anything they like. For our first forum (I believe it was October 2008) they read a book called "I want to be an astronaut".

This video is a recording of their second presentation (I think February 2009). Tackler is still a little hesitant to speak in front of the crowd. Maybe we need to think of something he can do that requires more showing than speaking to get him comfortable.

Toddler Coordination

2009-08-17T16:39:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to come up with activities to give the baby while the boys are busy with school. This is one she enjoyed. The white plastic thing is for making tiny popsicles. She put the pipe cleaners into the little holes. Good coordination activity.

Count with Beads

2009-08-15T14:34:00.000-07:00

One of our first math games was a visual counting exercise. I laid out number cards up to 29 and gave them pink and blue glass beads. I told them a blue bead was worth 5 pink beads and had them set out the appropriate number of beads for each number. For example, 13 would have two 5's (blue beads) and three 1's (pink beads).

Where in the USA is...

2009-08-13T13:46:00.000-07:00

The boys used their United States flash cards to map out the country. As you can see, the east coast got a little crowded and states didn't quite fit correctly (imagine that) but it was a fun exercise in learning both directions (above, below, between) and geography.

What Floats?

2009-08-06T13:10:00.000-07:00

Back in March (I'm really on top of this blog thing huh?), the boys did a science experiment to see what floats. They collected about 20 items and we made a chart. They predicted what would float and what would sink. Then tested their predictions. Second we tried again with salt water but got less than fascinating results. We discussed our failed salt experiment with a science teacher and were told that never works. You need an EXTREMELY high concentration of salt (we kept adding more but never got there apparently). Someone should tell that to the science experiment book writers.

Still, we had fun and I'm sure they learned something about density.

Step Back

2009-08-06T09:34:00.000-07:00

This spring and early summer we did a Story of the World coop with a couple friends. We read and narrated the chapters in book one on our own, then got together weekly to do the projects from the activity guide. It was wonderful and the kids loved it.

Until we went on vacation for 6+ weeks and got behind. We have been in a mad rush to catch up before our next get together with our friends and the kids are not enjoying having history stuffed down their throats. Hurrying through is pretty contrary to the point of homeschooling and has led me to a lot of rambling thoughts on our methods.

Does it matter if we are caught up? I want to continue the activities with our friends but maybe it's not as important that the activities line up with our reading. Maybe I can just say "remember when we did...." Or maybe I shouldn't be doing history at all yet. We basically started 1st grade this summer but according to Charlotte Mason, I shouldn't be doing any academics until age 6.

So should I stop history on chapter 10 and wait until January? If I do that, will I start over or pick back up on Chapter 10? Part of that decision depends on whether we do this coop I've been tying myself in circles over. If we don't do the full coop, our little coop will end in a couple weeks and it won't matter if we're caught up but if I do it, we need to catch up on history.

But we could still scrap some of the other academics until January. We could go back to more of a preschool type curriculum. Or would we need to do at least kindergarten to satisfy my husband who is still scared the town is going to knock down our door if we aren't rigid and structured despite the lax laws we enjoy in this state.

Any classical or CMers out there with opinions on 5 yr olds?

Incorporate CM Once A Week

2009-08-06T07:29:00.000-07:00

Transition to CM, Stage 2: Once a Week

Once you feel comfortable with The Basics described in last week's post, you can easily add one more CM method per week. Each of the methods listed below can be done once a week--Fine Arts (Picture Study, Music Study, Poetry), Nature Study, Book of Centuries, Dictation.

Simply choose one of them to add to your schedule during the week, and continue incorporating that method once a week for a few weeks until you're comfortable. Then select another one to add to your schedule during the week, and continue doing it once a week until you're ready to add another one.

Here is a quick description of how to do each of the various methods in this stage.

Picture Study

Choose an artist and select one of his pictures from a library book or an Internet art site. Tell the name of the artist and of the picture. Have everyone look at the picture until they can close their eyes and see it clearly and in detail in their minds. When everyone is ready, cover the picture and have everyone narrate, or describe, it. Encourage them to give as many details as they can. After everyone has had an opportunity to add to the description, display the picture again. Next week, select a different picture by the same artist and repeat the process. Stay on the same artist for about six weeks. At the end of the six weeks you should all have a pretty good feel for that artist's style. Then choose a different artist for the next six weeks. Here are some of the artists we've enjoyed over the years.

Music Study

Music Study is very similar to Picture Study. Choose one composer and listen to his works for about six weeks. You can play his music in the background at lunch, in the van while running errands, at night when the children are going to bed, or whenever it fits best in your schedule. Simply say something like, "Let's listen to Bach" and start the CD. Here are some suggestions for composers. If you can find a good living biography of the composer (or artist, for Picture Study), read it together, and have the children narrate it, during the six weeks you are focused on him. You can find some suggestions for living biographies in our CM Bookfinder.

Poetry

As with Picture Study and Music Study, Charlotte Mason's focus for Poetry was not on criticism but on appreciation. The easiest way to add poetry into your CM Education is to read aloud a poem each week. Don't worry about analyzing it, critiquing it, or looking for that elusive symbolism. Just enjoy the words and ideas together. If you would like, you can focus on one poet for six weeks and read only his or her works. Here are some of our favorite poets. Or just get an anthology and have fun hearing the variety of styles. As you get comfortable, you can read poetry more days each week. Charlotte's schools read poetry every day. But start with once a week to get the habit started.

Nature Study and Notebook

One half-day each week go outside and enjoy nature. Give each person a blank sketchbook in which to record observations or drawings of their outdoor discoveries. Nature Study lays the foundation for future science learning, plus it provides a refreshing break mentally and physically. For all the details about Nature Study, take a look at Hours in the Out-of-Doors.

Book of Centuries

A Book of Centuries is a timeline in a book. It's great for making mental connections between people and events that occurred during the same time period. The easy part is that you can enter whatever you want into your Book of Centuries. The hard part is remembering to make those entries. So set aside one day a week in your schedule to get caught up on your Book of Centuries if you need to. Fridays work well for this little review. You can download a free Book of Centuries on our Web site.

Dictation for Spelling

Instead of teaching spelling in lists of words, Charlotte used interesting passages from living books. And she didn't start these spelling lessons until the child was 9 or 10 years old. Here's how it works. Give the child the passage and help him identify any words that he is not certain he knows how to spell. Those are the words to be studied. When he has studied and learned them, and has looked at the capitalization and punctuation of the passage, dictate the passage to him a short phrase at a time while he writes it. You can do this prepared dictation with passages from any good living book. If you would like to have the selections already chosen and compiled for you, check out the Spelling Wisdom series.

Remember, in Stage 2 select one activity to incorporate first and schedule it for once a week. We like to spread these once-a-week activities throughout the week. For example, you could do Picture Study on Mondays, Music Study on Tuesdays, Poetry on Wednesdays, Nature Study on Thursdays, Book of Centuries on Fridays. Dictation can be done once or twice a week, so you might want to add it to Tuesdays and Thursdays. Of course, you know your schedule better than we do, so tuck Dictation in where it works best for you.

TAKEN FROM SIMPLYCHARLOTTEMASON.COM

1000 Good Books for Grades 1-3

2009-08-02T21:21:00.000-07:00

Taken from 1000 Good Books List

*Indicates we own it
~Indicates the twins have read it
# Indicates I disagree with this being called a Good book

1-3 Anthologies & Poetry

The 1-3 Anthologies and Poetry, and 1-3 Picture Books, along with 4-6 books designated RA are excellent read alouds for children from a very early age.

A Apple Pie and Nursery Rhymes and others by Kate Greenaway RA
Aesop for Children illustrated by Milo Winter (126 fables) RA
Alan Garner’s Fairy Tales of Gold by Alan Garner
Best-Loved Fairy Tales by Walter Crane
~*Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith RA
Children’s Treasury of Virtues by William Bennett, illustrated by Michael Hague, and others in the series
Child’s Treasury of Poems by Mark Daniel
Rhymes and Verses: Collected Poems for Children by Walter de la Mare RA
Fables by Arnold Lobel
Favorite Poems of Childhood by Philip Smith
Happy Prince and Other Fairy Tales by Oscar Wilde RA
James Herriot’s Treasury for Children by James Herriot
McGuffey’s Primer, Pictorial Primer, & First Reader by William McGuffey RA
Moral Tales by Maria Edgeworth RA
My Favorite Story Book by W. G. Vande Hulst RA
Nonsense Poems and others by Edward Lear RA
Now We Are Six by A. A. Milne RA
Nursery and Mother Goose Rhymes by Marguerite de Angeli
Once On A Time by A. A. Milne RA
Parent’s Assistant by Maria Edgeworth RA
Pleasant Field Mouse Storybook by Jan Wahl
Poems & Prayers for the Very Young by Martha G. Alexander
Poems to Read to the Very Young by Josette Frank
Prince Rabbit by A. A. Milne RA
Real Mother Goose illustrated by Blanche Fisher Wright
Ruth Ainsworth Book by Ruth Ainsworth
Songs of Childhood by Walter de la Mare RA
Stories Around the Year by Thornton W. Burgess
Tom Thumb & Other Stories by L. Leslie Brooke
*When We Were Very Young by A. A. Milne RA

Return to Primary Reading Level: 1-3
Return to 1000 Good Books List Contents

1-3 Holiday Books

Amish Christmas by Richard Ammon
Christmas in the Barn by Margaret Wise Brown
Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojchiechowski
Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado
First Christmas by Robbie Trent
First Christmas by Tomie de Paola
Grumpy Shepherd by Paddie Devon
Mary, Did You Know? by Mark Lowry
Modestita’s Gift, El Regalo de Modestita by Inez Torres Davis
Peter Spier’s Christmas by Peter Spier
Rembrandt: The Christmas Story published by Thomas Nelson
Silent Night by Susan Jeffers
Story of Christmas: Words from the Gospels of Matthew & Luke by Jane Ray
Who Is Coming to Our House by Joseph Slate

Return to Primary Reading Level: 1-3
Return to 1000 Good Books List Contents

1-3 Picture Books

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by J. Viorst
Always Room For One More by Sorche Nic Leodhas
Amos and Boris and others by William Steig
~*And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street! by Dr. Seuss
Andy and the Lion by James Daugherty
Angus and the Ducks by Marjorie Flack
Animals of Farmer Jones & other Little Golden Books illus. by Richard Scarry
Animals Should Definitely Not Wear Clothing by Judi Barrett
Apple Pie by Kate Greenaway
Apricot ABC by Miska Miles
Baby Farm Animals & other Little Golden Books illus. by Garth Williams
Bambi’s Children by Felix Salten
Beetle Bush by Beverly Keller
Big Book of Brambly Hedge and others by Jill Barklem
Big Snow by Berta Hader
Biggest Bear by Lynd Ward
Biggest House in the World and others by Leo Lionni
Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
Christine's Picture Book by Hans Christian Anderson
Church Mouse and others by Graham Oakley
Clown of God and others by Tomie de Paola
Cock, the Mouse, and the Little Red Hen by Felicite LeFevre
~*Corduroy by Don Freeman
Crane Maiden by Miyoko Matsutani
Cross Country Cat by Mary Calhoun
~Curious George & others by Hans A. Rey
Dandelion Hill by Clyde Robert Bulla
Day at the Fair by Arleta Richardson
Deer at the Brook and others by Jim Arnosky
Doctor Dan the Bandadge Man by Helen Gaspard, ill. by Corinne Malverne
Dogger by Shirley Hughes
Edward Lear Alphabet by Edward Lear, illustrated by Carol Newsom
Emily by Michael Bedard
Emperor’s New Clothes and others by Hans Christian Anderson
Empty Pot by Demi
Fairy Caravan by Beatrix Potter
Faster Sooner Hound by Ama Bontemps
Fiona's Flea by Beverly Keller
Five Hundred Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins by Dr. Seuss
~#Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown
Flip by Wesley Dennis
Frog Band and the Onion Seller by Jim Smith
Frog, Frog, Frog by Robert Welber
Gift for Grandpa by Angela Hunt
Gift for Tia Rosa by Karen Taha
~*Goodnight Moon and others by Margaret Wise Brown
Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion
Hilda the Hen Who Wouldn't Give Up by Jill Tomlinson
Hole is to Dig by Ruth Krauss
Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss
House that Jack Built by Antonio Frasconi
I Saw the Sea Come In by Alvin Tresselt
~*If You Give A Moose A Muffin by Laura Joffe Numeroff (others in series)
~*If You Give A Mouse A Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff
In the Forest and others by Marie Hall Ets
James & the Rain by Karla Kuskin
Johnny Crow’s Garden by L. Leslie Brooke
King at the Door by Cole Brock
Librarian Who Measured the Earth by Kathryn Lasky
Lillie at Ballet by Rachel Isadora
~*Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper
Little House and others by Virginia Burton
Little Old Mrs. Pepperpot and others by Alf Proysen
Little Red Hen and others by Paul Galdone
Little Toot by Hardie Gramatky
Luckiest One of All by Bill Peet
~Madeline and others by Ludwig Bemelmans
~Make Way For Ducklings and others by Robert McCloskey
Marshmallow by Clare T. Newberry
May I Bring a Friend? by Beatrice S. De Regniers
Midnight Adventures of Kelly, Dot, and Esmerelda by John S. Goodall
Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag
Mirette on the High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully
~Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
Mr. Brown and Mr. Gray by William Wondriska
My Island Grandma by Kathryn Lasky
My Little Golden Book About God & others illustrated by Eloise Wilkin
My Mother is the Most Beautiful Woman in the World by Becky Reyher
N. C. Wyeth's Pilgrims by N. C. Wyeth and Robert San Souci
Noah's Ark by Peter Spier
Noah's Ark: Words from the Book of Genesis by Jane Ray
Old Rosie, the Horse Nobody Understood by Lilian Moore & Leone Adelson
On Mother’s Lap by Ann Herbert Scott
Owl Moon by Jane Yolan
Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall
Paper Crane by Molly Bang
Pelle’s New Suit by Elsa Beskow
Penny Wise - Fun Foolish by Judy Delton
Peter Spier's Rain and others by Peter Spier
Petunia by Roger Duvoisin and other Petunia stories
Picture Books by Randolph Caldecott published by Frederick Warne
Pimm’s Place by Beverly Keller
Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowry, illus. by Gustaf Tenggren
Rain, Rain Rivers by Uri Shulevitz
#Richard Scarry's Please and Thank You Book by Richard Scarry
Rome Antics by David Macaulay
Saint Valentine by Robert Sabuda
Shy Little Kitten by Cathleen Schurr, illustrated by Gustaf Tenggren
Sir Francis Drake: His Daring Deeds by Roy Gerrard
Smartest Bear and His Brother Oliver by Alice Bach
Snowy Day and others by Ezra Jack Keats
Snuggle Bunny by Nancy Jewell
St. Francis and the Friendly Beasts by Margaret Hodges
St. George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges
~*Stone Soup and others by Marcia Brown
~Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack
Story of Babar and others by Jean and Laurent de Brunhoff
Story of the Creation: Words from Genesis by Jane Ray
Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf
~*Tale of Peter Rabbit & others by Beatrix Potter
Three Little Horses by Piet Worm
Three Little Kittens by Paul Galdone
Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco
Toad for Tuesday by Russell Erickson
Two Roman Mice by Horace, retold by Marilynne K. Roach
Uncle Wiggly Book by Howard R. Garis
~*Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
Veronica by Roger Duvoisin
~*Very Hungry Caterpillar and others by Eric Carle
Where Does the Butterfly Go When It Rains? by May Garelick
#~Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Return to Primary Reading Level: 1-3
Return to 1000 Good Books List Contents

1-3 Beginning Readers

Beginning and Easy Readers are for children who are just learning to read for themselves.

~*Are You My Mother? by P. D. Eastman
~*Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
Crash! Bang! Boom! by Peter Spier
Do You Know What I Know? by Helen Borten
Dr. Seuss’s ABC by Dr. Seuss
Fire Cat by Esther Holden Averill
Flicka, Ricka, Dicka and others in the series by Maj Lindman ~

~*Foot Book by Dr. Seuss
~*Fox in Sox by Dr. Seuss
~*Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
Leo the Late Bloomer by Robert Kraus
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish by Dr. Seuss
Owl at Home by Arnold Lobel
~*Put Me In the Zoo by Robert Lopshire
Snipp, Snapp, and Snurr by Maj Lindman
Stop That Ball! by Mike McClintock

Return to Primary Reading Level: 1-3
Return to 1000 Good Books List Contents

1-3 Easy Readers

#Amelia Bedelia and others by Peggy Parish
Animals Do the Strangest Things and others by Leonora Hornblow
Bedtime for Frances and other Frances books by Russell Hoban
Bravest Dog Ever by Natalie Standiford
Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss
Daniel's Duck by Clyde Robert Bulla
~*Frog and Toad are Friends and others by Arnold Lobel
George and Martha by James Marshall
George the Drummer Boy by Nathaniel Benchley & other History I Can Read books
George Washington’s Mother by Jean Fritz
Granny and the Desperadoes by Peggy Parish
Greg's Microscope and other Science I Can Read books by Millicent Selsam
Horse in Harry's Room and others by Syd Hoff
Josefina Story Quilt by Eleanor Coerr
Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie by Peter Roop
Little Bear and others by Elise Minarik
Mouse Soup by Arnold Lobel
Mouse Tales by Arnold Lobel
Nate the Great and others by Marjorie Sharmat
New Coat for Anna by Harriet Ziefert
Night Noises and Other Mole & Troll Stories by Tony Johnston
One Bad Thing About Father by F. N. Monjo
Sam the Minuteman by Nathaniel Benchley
Sammy the Seal and others by Syd Hoff
Trojan Horse, or How the Greeks Won the War by Emily Little

At this point many of the 1-3 Anthologies and Poetry and 1-3 Picture Books can be re-read independently by the child himself for additional reading practice.

Return to Primary Reading Level: 1-3
Return to 1000 Good Books List Contents

1-3 Advanced Readers

Abraham Lincoln by Ingri and Edgar Parin d’Aulaire
Adventures of the Little Wooden Horse by Ursula Moray Williams
Adventures of Tom Bombadil by J. R. R. Tolkein
Alligator Case and others by William Pene du Bois
And Then What Happened, Paul Revere? by Jean Fritz
Angry Giant by Oscar Wilde
Apple & the Arrow by Mary Marsh Buff
Bard of Avon: the Story of William Shakespeare by Diane Stanley
Bear Called Paddington and others by Michael Bond
Bears on Hemlock Mountain and others by Alice Dalgliesh
Benjamin Franklin by Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire
Benjamin West and his Cat Grimlakin by Marguerite Henry
Betsy & Billy and others by Carolyn Haywood
Betsy & Tacy Go Over the Big Hill and others by Maude Lovelace
Billy & Blaze and others by C. W. Anderson
Book of Cowboys by Holling C. Holling
Book of Indians by Holling C. Holling
Box-Car Children and others by Gertrude Warner (the first 19 in the series)
Bright April by Marguerite de Angeli
Burt Dow, Deep Water Man by Robert McCloskey
*Can't You Make Them Behave, King George? by Jean Fritz
Capyboppy by Bill Peet
Castle by David Macauley
Cathedral by David Macaulay
Chalk Box Kid by Clyde Robert Bulla
Charles Dickens: the Man Who Had Great Expectations by Diane Stanley
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
City by David Macaulay
Cleopatra by Diane Stanley
Coll and His White Pig by Lloyd Alexander
Columbus by Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire
Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh
d'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire
d'Aulaire's Norse Gods & Giants by Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire
Eric the Red & Leif the Lucky by Barbara Schiller
Fairy Doll by Rumer Godden
Finn Family Moomintroll and others by Tove Jansson
George Washington by Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire
George Washington's Breakfast by Jean Fritz
Good Queen Bess by Diane Stanley
Grain of Rice by Helena Clare Pittman
Happy Hollisters and others by Jerry West
Happy Orpheline and others by Natalie Savage Carlson
Henner's Lydia by Marguerite de Angeli
Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
Hundred Penny Box by Sharon Bell Mathis
I, Columbus and others by Peter & Connie Roop
In Search of Troy by Piero Ventura
~James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
Just a Few Words, Mr. Lincoln by Jean Fritz
Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling RA
Kindle of Kittens by Rumer Godden
Least of All by Carol Purdy
Leave Horatio Alone by Eleanor Clymer
Leif the Lucky by Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire
Leonardo da Vinci by Diane Stanley
Lion to Guard Us by Clyde Robert Bulla
Little Pear by Eleanor Frances Lattimore
Marco Moonlight by Clyde Robert Bulla
Matchlock Gun by Walter Edmonds
Michelangelo's World by Piero Ventura
Mill by David Macaulay
Minn of the Mississippi by Holling C. Holling
Mouse House by Rumer Godden
Mouse on the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary
My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannet
Nothing is Impossible, The Story of Beatrix Potter by Dorothy Aldis
Old Mother West Wind and others by Thornton W. Burgess
Old Woman Who Lived in a Vinegar Bottle by Rumer Godden
Ordinary Princess by Mary Margaret Kaye
Paddle to the Sea by Holling C. Holling
Pagoo by Holling C. Holling
Peter the Great by Diane Stanley
Pilgrims of Plimoth by Marcia Sewall
Puppy Summer by Meindert de Jong
Pyramid by David Macaulay
Reluctant Dragon by Kenneth Grahame
Rocking Horse Secret by Rumer Godden
Sarah Morton's Day and others by Kate Waters
Seabird by Holling C. Holling
Shhhh … We're Writing the Constitution by Jean Fritz
Ship by David Macaulay
Shoeshine Girl by Clyde Robert Bulla
Skippack School by Marguerite de Angeli
Song of the Swallows by Leo Politi
Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims by Clyde Robert Bulla
St. Philip of the Joyous Heart by Francis X. Connolly
Tale of Jolly Robin and others by Arthur Scott Baily
Tale of Three Trees by Angela Hunt
They Were Strong & Good by Robert Lawson
Three Dollar Mule by Clyde Robert Bulla
Three Young Pilgrims by Cheryl Harness
Thy Friend, Obadiah by Brinton Turkle
Tree in the Trail by Holling C. Holling
Truthful Harp by Lloyd Alexander
Twenty and Ten by Claire Huchet Bishop
Twenty Elephant Restaurant by Russell Hoban
What's the Big Idea, Ben Franklin? by Jean Fritz
Where do You Think You're Going, Christopher Columbus? by Jean Fritz
Where Was Patrick Henry on the 29th of May? by Jean Fritz
Who's That Stepping on Plymouth Rock? by Jean Fritz
Why Don't You Get a Horse, Sam Adams? by Jean Fritz
Will You Sign Here, John Hancock? by Jean Fritz
Yellow and Pink by William Steig
Yonie Wondernose by Marguerite de Angeli

If by Rudyard Kipling

2009-07-31T17:56:00.000-07:00

-If by Rudyard Kipling
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on”;

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And - which is more - you’ll be a Man my son!

Dreams by Langston Hughes

2009-07-31T17:55:00.000-07:00

Dreams by Langston Hughes

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.

Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.

Moral Training

2009-07-26T21:51:00.001-07:00

“…human beings must be trained in obedience to the moral intuitions almost before they have them, and years before they are rational enough to discuss them, or they will be corrupted before the time for discussion arrives.” C.S. Lewis in The Weight of Glory

Lessons of Life: Language and Writing Idea

2009-07-26T11:26:00.000-07:00

A fellow hser sent me this idea for "Lessons of Life" (aka LL) as a writing, journaling exercise. My kids are a little young still but I'm tucking it away for a bit down the road. Here is what she said:

LL is a WONDERFUL way of not only helping our children with developing their language arts skills, but also assisting them in their learning to liken the scriptures to themselves while writing either journal entries, or combining their pieces altogether to create their personal life stories.

Basically, writing a LL involves the following:

1) Writing down an experience you've had in life which you don't want to forget, and which has taught you something. In writing it, you're actually bearing testimony to what you've learned.

2) Finding at least one scripture verse which goes hand in hand with your Lesson of Life. Thus, you are adding a second witness to your LL, while learning to liken the scriptures unto yourself.

3) Finding at least one quote by the Brethren regarding your LL. This adds a third witness to your piece.

("And in the mouth of three witnesses shall these things be established. .." (Ether 5:4)

Pretty amazing concept, isn't it? And when they've written several, they will discover for themselves just how handy LLs are when it comes time to being asked to give a talk or teach a lesson! (Ex: If asked to give a talk on the subject of service, all they have to do is go to their LL file and look in the "service" folder, and walaaaah! A LL on service, complete with their own experience, scriptures, and quotes from the Brethren!)

Links I Like

2009-06-13T21:26:00.000-07:00

Resources:
Atlanta Kid Chess - Learn to Play Chess
The Top 100 Educational Websites of 2009
Homeschool Discount Home Educator Discounts
Homeschooling on a Shoestring
Homeschool Buyers Co-op
A-Z Chat
A to Z Home's Cool Homeschool Website
homeschoolclassifieds
Top 100 Preschool Sites
Carolina Biological Supply
Homeschool.com: Curriculum Sampler eKit
4Real Forums at theNetSmith
Interactives
HS Map by State
Kidzone
Resources for Vocabulary Study
Elementary Test Prep Center
World Digital Library Home
Recession-Proof Your Homeschool
Freebie of the Day
Mnemonic Devices
Writing Activities and Games

Other Families:
OurLoudFamily
My Montessori Journey
se7en
Beckys school site
J & M Ranch: celebrate the simple life
Homeschool Creations
Milestones Academy

Art:

that artist woman
Making Books with Children
Art Projects for Kids: 0 grade
kiddio
Baker's Clay
Click Blick Lesson Plans

File Folder Games:
File Folder Fun
HS Hutt

Games:
Deluth Trading
Games
Find the State -- Play Kids Games!
Gamequarium
The Periodic Table of Videos
USA Geography
Online Spelling Program
Starfall
PEEP and the Big Wide World
Animal Games
Kidzone - Fun Facts for Kids!
BigIQkids e-Learning programs for kids

Local:
CHOOSE CT
Letterboxing
Connecticut Museum Quest
CTHomeschoolhikers
Adventure Wednesday
Little League
Soccer
Football

Music:
Children's Songs
YouTube - BerlinPhil's Channel
Pandora Radio
The Violin Book

Science:
Science Fair Projects
Classical Astronomy
Free Astonomy Study
Germs Science Projects
Super Simple Science good experiments
Physics4kids
Chemistry4kids
Astronomy4kids
Geography4kids
Biology4kids
Chemistry: periodic table to print

Nature:
Handbook of Nature Study
Project FeederWatch
Connecticut Wildflowers
Common Plant Names
Foraging With the "Wildman"

Montessori:
Montessori Materials
Delightful Learning
Montessori For Everyone
My Montessori Journey
Tools for Tots
Chasing Cheerios
Preschool
Montessori Chat
Blog
Montessori Materials

Work Boxes:
What's in the Box
File Folder Fun
Notebooking
Lapbooks

Math:
Numbernut
Math Trainer

Foreign Language:
Foreign language learning (including ASL)
Flash Cards : Online French Help
Live Mocha
ASL Pro Dictionary
Sign Language Videos
Play & Learn German

Other:
Baby Steps
Homeschool Helper
Kelly’s Web Page
Homeschooling High School
Think
Magic Tricks
Lesson Plans
MTS Practical Life
Eideneurolearning
Book Units
PBS Masterpiece
Thomas Jefferson

History:
History

Classical:
Classical Network
http://classicalconversations.com/

SOTW Projects - Ch 4

2009-06-12T19:37:00.000-07:00

The Old Kingdom of Egypt

Suggestions:
Make a chicken mummy

Make scented oil: Fill jar to top with spices. Add baby or cooking oil. Set in sun for 1 week - shake 2-3x per day. Drain the oil. Repeat steps for stronger scent. Use as perfume or in mummification.

Make canopic jars

Make a sand cube (or sugar cube) pyramid- mix sand w/ glue until it forms a thick firm moldable mixture. Spread 3/4" thick. Let set 30-45 min (not completely dried). Cut into 3/4" squares. Let dry for 24 hrs. Make a pyramid w/ 25 blocks on bottom and 55 blocks total.

What We Did:
We mummified one of the kids - following ALL the steps.
We built two pyramids from 55 legos and 55 wooden blocks.
We used BAKER's CLAY to make canopic jar toppers to store our organs from the mummification process.

SOTW Projects - Ch 3

2009-06-12T19:29:00.000-07:00

The First Writing

Suggestions:
Make cuneiform tablets

Make a hieroglyphic scroll

Learn why clay tablets lasted longer than paper scrolls:
~Set both outside for one week and see how they both fared.
~Simulate a flood - leave in a tub of water for 5 min. (any longer and the paper might be too far gone)
~Place them in the Egyptian desert (oven set to 200 or less) for 1 hr (peek at 30 min to make sure paper isn't charring. If it is, turn off oven but leave it in).
~Show many other people the scroll, unrolling and rerolling each time. Show off the tablet to the same number of people.

What we did:
Wrote their names on clay tablets using a screwdriver for a wedge.
Translated their names from Hieroglyphics to English.

SOTW Projects - Ch 2

2009-06-12T18:01:00.000-07:00

Egyptians Lived On the Nile River
Suggestions:
Make a model of the Nile River.Make the White Crown of Upper Egypt: wrap wax paper around head to make cone shape. Tape edges closed. Scrunch 8.5x11" paper into egg shape. Push ball of paper into peak of cone and mould waxed paper around it. Result is a cone w/ a flattened top and an indent at the bottom of the egg shaped top. Cut bottom edge of cone so it fits onto head, then cut out ear area.Make Shepherd's crook of the Pharaohs: twist newspaper into cylindrical shape and bend to form 5-6" hook shape. Insert straight end into wrapping paper tube. Cover entire hook with masking tape or paper mache and paint.What We Did:
Pour soil into roasting pan. Form a gulley for Nile River (don't forget the Delta). Use rocks and pebbles to build up sides. Sprinkle grass seed. Flood the Nile.(We didn't do it but it suggests laying foil over the dirt, then weighing down w/ rocks. Flood Nile weekly and watch grass flourish. ...And then play baseball.

SOTW Projects - Ch 1

2009-06-12T17:56:00.000-07:00

Suggestions:

Make a cave painting on brown paper bags (crumpled and flattened to represent cave walls).

Make a prehistoric hunter's "game bag" from animal print material. (like Bahpa's!)
Build your own hut

What We Did:
One a large (2x3') sheet of paper the kids designed their structure. They went to the wooded area behind our house and gathered sticks and bound them together with long grasses to make a sort of teepee. They filled in the walls with dried grasses.

I did not have my camera available the day we did it and didn't get around to taking pictures until 3 full days later ... following a horrendous rain storm. I couldn't believe how much of their dwelling lasted that long. They did a thorough job.

SOTW Projects - Introduction

2009-06-12T17:41:00.000-07:00

Suggestions:
Make a History of My Family book including pictures and a family history page for each family member. Conduct interviews with family members to get early memories.

Make a timeline of your life.

Simulate an archaeological dig to uncover items from your home that represent our civilization.

What We Did:
There were 4 families (9 kids) involved. H created a grid on a large sand pit in her backyard and buried a "treasure" in each square. Each child was assigned a square, handed a shovel and brush, and directed to carefully excavate to find their treasure. They found letters which spelled the word archeology.

Ever wonder what homeschooling is really like?

2009-06-09T23:01:00.000-07:00

2 am conversation with my mom via IM:

me: I thought about mummifying one of the kids.

Linda: you have been teaching toooooo long.

me: [The other kids] could take out the organs, put the heart back in, wrap in toilet paper, place him in the 3 coffins (blanket, sleeping bag and tent for pyramid?)

Linda: that would work.

Linda: would you make paper organs? that could be fun.

I like the tent idea.

with a real kid minus organs in it.

or do you mummify the organs and then put them back inside before putting him in the pyramid?

me: Except the heart which they put back in, they put the organs in canopic jars.

Linda: what are canopic jars?

me: special jars for preserving organs. Don't you have any?

Linda: no, we eat our organs...had liverwurst for lunch!

me: You are supposed to use paper mache to make animals for the lids of the jars, then paint them. Is that too much trouble or could that work?

I thought if we mummify a kid, and each kid was able to retrieve an organ (he might have to have more than one liver) and then make jars to put them in.

Linda: paper mache takes a long time to dry. I don't think you could make them and paint them all in one day.

me: Ok. Now I just need to know how to make a liver.

me: I need to make 8 organs (heart, liver, stomach, lungs, intestines)

me: Ok. You come up w/ an easy way (please!) for me to have 8 organs by Friday morning. I need one heart and one or more of the others. Now that my project is in your hands, I'm off to bed. THANK YOU!

I'm so glad you stay up until the wee hours to help me with my 2am crises. How many mothers get to say they help their kids figure out how to mummify their grandchildren at 2am?
Linda: We need to cut and paste this conversation and save it. People would think we are nuts.

Ok, there you have it. I'm nuts. Are you dying to know what we're talking about?

The kids are in a Story of the World coop. This week we are studying mummies so when the other kids (7 total) come this Friday we will mummify one of them (don't call DCF, we're only going to pretend). Stay tuned for pictures and an update.

Classical Oveview for Gramar Stage

2009-06-08T20:07:00.000-07:00

The overview below is based on The Well Trained Mind. The time commitment seems overly burdensome to me. I'd love to hear details on how others do a classical education. Summary of notebook usage follows this outline.

Kindergarten
Reading:
As much read aloud time as possible.
Basic phonics 10-30 min every day.
Practice reading easy books.

Writing:
Practice printing 10 min daily.
Copy short sentences from model.

Math:
Count and write 1-100.
Skip count by 2's, 5's, and 10's.

First Grade
Language:
Do Spelling Workout A for 10-15 min daily.
Begin First Language Lessons for 15-20 min daily.
Spend 30 min daily reading and making notebook page.
Fun reading 30 min daily.
Practice penmanship.

Writing:
Simple letters to friends 2x week.
Copy short sentences 2-3 days per week for 5-20 min.

Math:
30-40 min daily

History:
Study ancient times (3 hrs a week)
Read biographies and easy history books to child.
Ask child to narrate what you just read.
Make notebook pages.

Science:
Study animals, the human body and plants twice a week for 60 min each

Religion:
World religions through history study.
10-15 min family religious study.

Art:
Do Drawing with Children, art projects, or picture study 1-2x weekly

Music:
1 hr per week listening to classical music.
Begin instrument.

Second Grade
Language:
Do Spelling Workout B or C for 10-15 min daily.
Begin First Language Lessons for 20 min daily.
Spend 30 min daily reading and making notebook page.
Fun reading 30-60 min daily.
Memory work for 10 min daily
Begin cursive penmanship.

Writing:
Simple letters to friends 2x week.
Write from dictation 3 days per week for 10-20 min.

Math:
40-60 min daily

History:
Study medieval- early Renaissance times (3 hrs a week)
Read biographies and easy history books to child.
Ask child to narrate what you just read.
Make notebook pages.

Science:
Study basic earth science and astronomy twice a week for 60 min each

Religion:
World religions through history study.
10-15 min family religious study.

Art:
Picture study for 1 hr weekly or do art projects.

Music:
1 hr per week listening to classical music.
Begin or continue instrument.

Third Grade
Language:
Do Spelling Workout C or D for 15 min daily.
Spend 30 min daily reading and making notebook page.
Do formal grammar for 20-30 min daily
Fun reading 30-60 min daily.
Memory work for 10 min daily
Continue penmanship.

Writing:
Longer letters to friends 1x week.
Write from dictation 3 days per week.
Begin a writing program twice a week for 20-30 min each day

Math:
40-60 min daily

History:
Study late Renaissance - early Modern times (3 hrs a week)
Read history books to child.
Assign easy biographies and history books to child.
Ask child to narrate what you just read.
Make notebook pages.

Science:
Study basic chemistry twice a week for 60-90 min each

Latin:
Memorize vocabulary; study language daily.

Religion:
World religions through history study.
10-15 min family religious study.

Art:
Picture study for 1 hr weekly or do art projects.

Music:
1 hr per week listening to classical music.
Begin or continue instrument.

Fourth Grade
Language:
Do Spelling Workout D, E or F for 15 min daily.
Spend 30-45 min daily reading and making notebook page.
Do formal grammar for 20 min daily
Fun reading 30-60 min daily.
Memory work for 10 min daily
Continue penmanship.

Writing:
Longer letters to friends biweekly.
Write from dictation 2-3 days per week.
Do your own writing program twice a week for 20-30 min each day

Math:
40-60 min daily

History:
Study Modern times (3 hrs a week)
Read history books to child.
Assign easy biographies and history books to child.
Ask child to narrate what you just read.
Make notebook pages.

Science:
Study basic physics twice a week for 90 min each

Latin:
Learn vocabulary and basic syntax rules for 45 min daily.

Religion:
World religions through history study.
10-15 min family religious study.

Art:
Picture study for 1 hr weekly or do art projects.

Music:
1 hr per week listening to classical music.
Begin or continue instrument.

(*All time ranges mean start with lowest time and work up to highest time.)

Notebook Summary
Language:
1. Spelling. Rules the child is having difficulty with and a list of trouble works he consistently misspells.
2. Grammar. File any grammar exercises the child completes.
3. Reading.
a. My reading. Summaries or illustrations of books from reading lists.
b. Memory work. All pieces learned and recited.
c. Writing. Copywork assignments, dictation, composition assignments, letters and other writings.

History:
Contains pictures, compositions and historical narrations, arranged chronologically and separated by year of study.

Science:
1. Life science divided into
Animals
Human Body
Plants

2. Earth science divided into
Earth
Sky and Space

3. Chemistry divided into
Definitions
Experiments

4. Physics divided into
Definitions
Experiments

What are you doing for each subject?

2009-06-02T22:27:00.001-07:00

We are following a Classical Curriculum with a Charlotte Mason bent. ...At the moment we are more Classical than CM because I just finished reading A Well Trained Mind. Next I will go back to CM's series so I can add back in her philosophy. For more details on my version of both methods, peruse my blog.

History:
We try to tackle history 3 days. Each boy has a history journal and all the following goes in it. Day 1 we journal last Friday's group activity and hopefully draw a picture. I let them decide if they want to write or dictate.
Day 2 we read the first section of the next chapter then Narrate and draw a picture.
Day 3 we do the same for the last section.
Sometime during the week we read as many supplemental books as possible. We attempt to read the books suggested in the SOTW activity book but can't usually find many so I just pick books from the library.
On Fridays we get together with our coop group for a review and to do one of the activities from the activity book.

Science:
As soon as our book arrives, we will begin science as defined in A Well Trained Mind (search for the post coming soon). In the meantime we have been doing random experiments and readings.

Sign Language:
I have a set of flashcards and each kid gets 10 a day. Tackler has to pass off reading the card AND knowing the sign. Prince just has to know the sign. Any they know on the first try are retired. Cards they don't know are reviewed 3 times in that session then shown again the next day along with new cards to add to 10.

Reading:
Tackler is working his way through toddler reading books. Prince was not doing well with studying phonics. He can sound out each sound but cannot put the three together. So C-A-T but not CAT. I was always of the philosophy that kids will figure out the phonics rules on their own if you present them with enough words and if that DOESN'T work, THEN do phonics. The Lord sends us kids to challenge every philosophy we make up on our own so we're doing it backward with this kid. He couldn't get phonics so we'll go back to letting him figure out the rules on his own. So far it is going better - he is much less frustrated. Once he gets the hang of it, then we can go back and make sure he knows all the right rules.

Journal:
I think keeping a journal is a habit we should all have so I am including it in their boxes on alternating days. Tackler LOVES it. Prince is learning to enjoy it. They either write or dictate to me and can discuss what they did or think or love or whatever as long as it is true. Prince wanted to use his journal as a creative writing outlet but I insisted it be a true journal.

Math:
I have been doing a lot of my own thing for math (see many of my ideas on various posts). I have Schiller Math for Kindergarten and a couple times I tried to work through it with the kids but they balked. I have started going through it and systematically making games and such for each activity suggested in the book. I figure we'll get through the book by the end of the summer.

I think that covers all our subjects. At other times during the day I read chapter books and where there is room in the schedule I throw in other games and activities. I want to get back to our lapbooks (currently we are doing Antarctica) but our schedule is so full. I am always surprised when I am setting up the boxes how quickly I fill all 6. I can see why the lady who started workboxes advises 12 boxes but I think at the moment 6 is a perfect level for us.

Work Box Examples

2009-06-02T22:18:00.000-07:00

I stopped telling you what was in the boxes each day so I'll give you a bit of an overview of what we're doing and how I'm organized.

I have several bookshelves of school books but in our daily school area I have a shelf of all the books we are currently using. I also have a box filled with workbox fillers - scissors, glue, markers, pens, pencils, and erasers.
Also a plastic bag for each kid of sign language and reading words they have mastered. I fill Tackler's boxes from the main box of cards, and fill Prince's boxes from Tackler's mastered cards. Eventually all the cards will be in Prince's mastered bag.
In this box I also keep other small materials I might want to fill their boxes - little projects or games I create. Next to this box are larger papers we want to work on (mostly lapbooks).

As an example, here are today and tomorrow's boxes. For more detail, visit this post.

Prince today:
Science (I borrowed My Big Backyard from the library. Last week we read the magazine and this week (after waiting 6 days for appropriate weather - ie the SUN - we did the experiment suggested in it)
Journal
Reading
Math
Story of the World journal
Sign Language

Tackler today:
Science (see above)
Reading
SOTW journal
Math
Sign language
Hand sewing project

Prince Tomorrow:
Story of the World
Science
Sign Language
Reading
Rush Hour Railroad
Math

Tackler Tomorrow:
Clock (telling time)
Science
SOTW
Reading
Journal
Sign Language

Ever Have One of those Weeks?

2009-06-02T22:01:00.000-07:00

Last week was a bit of a disaster educationally. In retrospect it probably wasn't all that bad but the week before (our first week on work boxes) had gone SO perfectly, I was discouraged about not doing it right. The kids were getting distracted from schoolwork and not finishing their boxes. It all felt a little out of control and that was what I was trying to avoid by doing boxes.

So what do you do when life tastes like lemons? You figure out why you forgot the sugar. So, what went wrong and how can I avoid future occurrences?

Problem 1:
First of all, after only 4 days of workboxes, we took a 6 day break. Thursday was a museum. Friday was our Story of the World coop. Saturday and Sunday. Then Monday was a holiday and normally I would have still done school but we had my friend's teenager staying with us. So by the time we got back to schoolwork on Tuesday the kids had realized how easy it was to do NOTHING.

Lesson 1:
Unintended breaks will happen but the kids didn't necessarily understand why there was such a long break. I should have explained to them on Thursday that taking a day off was not a vacation but another learning opportunity and talked to them about when we would hit the books again and my expectations when that happened.

Problem 2:
Work boxes allow me so much autonomy that I can occasionally slip in a little of my own work while they are working. I took advantage of this and turned "occasionally" into "frequently" and turned "own work" into "free time".

Lesson 2:
Washing 3 dishes, clearing a counter, even filling a Mary Kay order are acceptable 3 minute jobs I can do while the kids are working. These tasks leave me close enough to direct, intervene, and assist. Laundry, cleaning the basement and (dare I admit it?) getting snagged on the computer are NOT acceptable uses of my free moments. Today we were done with school before lunch and while they played the rest of the afternoon I was able to finish a LOT more of those big tasks than I was able to last week when I tried to sandwich it in between school.

Problem 3:
Last week the kids skipped around to different boxes and left some unfinished.

Lesson 3:
Mostly due to problem #2, I let them get away with too much. Today I insisted the boxes be done in order. The ONLY exception is if mom is busy and you have to skip to a box that doesn't require mom's help. I also monitored more closely which box they were doing, where they put their boxes when finished (NO leaving boxes lying around), and making sure they finished them all. Workboxes should make school streamlined and leave the responsibility on the kids' shoulders. Which means a strict mom at the beginning to help good habits form.

Science Classification

2009-05-29T17:44:00.000-07:00

Phylum (Class) of animals included in The Kingfisher First Animal Encyclopedia.
Discussing groupings is not necessary in 1st grade; however, if you plan to do it (which I do) study animals of same phylum and class together.

Mollusca: octopus, squid, slug, snail, shellfish

Annelida: earthworm

Echinodermata: Starfish, ray

Cnidaria: Jelly fish

Chordates (amphibia): frog and toad, newt, amphibian

Chordates (reptilia): lizard, all snakes, turtle and tortoise, alligator and crocodile, chameleon, komodo dragon and iguana

Chordates (chondroichthyes): shark

Chordates (osteichthyes): eel, salmon and trout, fish, goldfish and carp, seahorse, swordfish,

Chordates (aves): all birds, chicken and turkey, duck and goose

Chordates (mammalia): aardvark, anteater, antelope, armadillo, baboon, badger, bat, bear, beaver, bison and musk ox, buffalo, camel, cat, chimpanzee, cow and bull, deer, dog, dolphin, donkey, elephant, elk, fox, giraffe, goat, gorilla, guinea pig, hedgehog, hippopotamus, horse, hyena, kangaroo and wallaby, killer whale, koala, wombat and opossum, lemur, leopard, lion, llama, meerkat, mole, monkey, mouse, orangutan, otter, panda, pig, polar bear, porcupine, puma, rabbit and hare, racoon, rate, reindeer, rhinoceros, sea cow, seal and sea lion, sheep, skunk, sloth, squirrel, tiger, walrus, weasel, wahle, wolf, yak, zebra

Arthropoda (chilopoda): centipede

Arthropoda (arachnida): spider, scorpion

Arthropoda (insecta): ant and termite, bee and wasp, beetle, butterfly and moth, cricket and grasshopper, dragonfly and damselfly, fly

Crustacea* (malacostraca): crab, lobster and crayfish, shrimp and prawn
*(crustacea is a subphylum of arthropoda)

Classical Education Science

2009-05-29T17:16:00.000-07:00

Science study follows the same time periods as history - we learn the same science people in those time periods knew and discovered.

Grade 1: Biology - the physical world, animals and people
First graders, who are studying the ancients, learn about those things the ancients could see - animal life, the human body, and plants. They make collections, take nature walks, and sprout beans in jars.

Label notebook "Life Science" and divide into 3 sections:
Animals
Choose 20 topics from The Kingfisher First Animal Encyclopedia and spend a week on each. For scientific classification, see this post. For activities suggested in book fill out an experiment page with complete sentences answering the following questions:
What did we use?
What did we do?
What happened?
What did we learn?

Make narration pages (once every two weeks) from outside sources (library books). Hunt for animals outside, put specimens in a bughouse and draw a picture. Write answers to these questions:
Does it have a backbone?
Does it have fur?
Does it have wings?
What does its skin feel like?
How many feet does it have? What do its feet look like?
How many legs does it have? What do the legs look like?
What does its body look like?
What does it eat?
How big is it?
What do its babies look like?
Is it domesticated or wild?
Is it endangered?

The Human Body
Choose ten topics (one a week) from the Kingfisher First Human Body Encyclopedia. Read each topic, make a narration page, do any experiments and make experiment pages, do additional library reading.

Plants
Spend 6 weeks with Green Thumbs: A Kid's Activity Guide to Indoor and Outdoor Gardening
This simple project book explains the basic facts about seeds, plants, and trees and offers indoor and outdoor gardening projects. Pick an activity a week, do it, and make an experiment page.

Grade 2: Earth Science and Astronomy - the earth and the sky
Second graders collect facts about the earth and sky just as Copernicus and Tycho Brahe observed the heavens.

For each unit, choose 18 topics from the text (listed first below), read and narrate (use prompting questions: Tell me 2 or 3 things you learned. What was the most interesting thing we read?). Do additional reading from library and do an activity from one of the activity books suggested and make an experiment page.

Earth Science:
The Usborne First Encyclopedia of Our World
More Mudpies to Magnets

Astronomy:
The Usborne First Encyclopedia of Space.
The Spotter's Guide: The Night Sky
Glow-in-the-Dark Constellations: A Field Guide for Young Stargazers
The Stargazer's Guide to the Galaxy

Grade 3: Chemistry - the way the elements work together
Third graders study atoms and molecules, what elements are, and how they interact. They study the great chemists - Robert Boyle, Georg Ernst Stahl, Antoine Lavoisier, John Dalton.
Divide your notebook into two sections-

Experiments:
The book Adventures with Atoms and Molecules (also book 2) contains 60 experiments so choose two per week and fill out an experiment page (see grade 1).

Definitions:
All chemical terms in the books are underlined. After doing the experiment, look up these underlined terms in a basic or advanced science encyclopedia and make a definition page that contains the term, it's definition and a drawing or diagram that makes the term clear.

Grade 4: Physics - the laws that govern the universe
Fourth graders, studying modern times, learn basic physics and are introduced to the elements of computer science. Physics is simply the study of the physical world and how it works - how sound travels, magnetism, the laws of electricity, energy and motion.

Do two experiments a week from Physics Experiments for Children (9 from each chapter) and fill out an experiment page. Then read more from a science encyclopedia (see Chemistry) and write a 3-4 sentence narration, explaining one or two of the concepts covered.

The book suggested above was chosen because the experiments are simple, use mostly household items and cover all 7 major physics topics (water matter, air matter, mechanical energy and machines, heat, sound, light and magnetism and electricity. If you want more advanced books try these:
Starting with Science: Solids, Liquids and Gases by Louise Osborne
Starting with Science: Simple Machines
Electricity and Magnetism
Sound and Light
Energy and Power

Classical Education History Resource List

2009-05-28T22:22:00.000-07:00

Textbooks:
Story of the World books 1-4
Story of the World activity books 1-4
Usborne Internet Linked Encyclopedia of World History
Kingfisher History Encyclopedia (basic text for Logic stage but helpful in grammar stage)

Great Men and Women to Cover
Grade 1 - Ancients 5000 B.C. - A.D. 400:
Cheops, pharaoh of Egypt (2700-2675 B.C.)
Abraham (2100 B.C.)
Hammurabi (1750 B.C.)
Queen Hatshepsut of Egypt (1480 B.C.)
Moses (1450 B.C.)
Tutankhamen (1355 B.C.)
Nebuchadnezzar (1146-1123 B.C.)
King David (1000 B.C.)
Homer (800 B.C.)
Romulus (753-716 B.C.)
Sennacherib (705-681 B.C.)
Lao-tse, Chinese philosopher (born 604 B.C.)
Pythagoras (581-497 B.C.)
Confucius, K'ung Fu-tsu (551-479 B.C.)
Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama (550-480 B.C.)
Socrates (470-399 B.C.)
Plato (427-347 B.C.)
Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)
Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.)
Hannibal, fought with Rome (218-207B.C.)
Cicero (106-43B.C.)
Julius Caesar (100-44B.C.)
Virgil (70-19B.C.)
Ceasar Augustus (45B.C.-A.D.14)
Jesus Christ (4B.C.-A.D.33)
Saint Paul (A.D.45)
Nero (died A.D. 68)
Constantine the Great (ruled A.D. 306-337)

Grade 2 - Medieval/Early Renaissance 400-1600:
Saint Augustine (writing c. 411)
Attila the Hun (433-453)
King Arthur (probably killed in 537 at Battle of Camlan)
Mohammed (570-632)
Charlemagne (ruled 768-814)
Alfred the Great (849-899)
Leif Ericsson (discovered America c. 1000)
Edward the Confessor (1042-1066)
Genghis Kan (b. 1155)
Dante Alighieri (1265-1321)
Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400)
Jan van Eyck (1390-1441)
Johannes Gutenberg (1396-1468)
Christopher Columbus (1451-1506)
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)
Amerigo Vespucci (1454-1512)
Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543)
Michelangelo (1475-1564)
Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521)
Martin Luther (1483-1546)
Raphael (1483-1520)
Nostradamus (1503-1566)
John Calvin (1509-1564)
Hernando Cortes (entered Mexican capital, 1519)
Tycho Brahe (1546-1601)
Walter Raleigh (1554-1618)
William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)

Suggested biographies (not sure why these aren't in chronological list above):
Sir Francis Drake
Elizabeth I
Joan of Arc
Leif Ericsson
Marco Polo
Montezuma

Grade 3 - Late Renaissance/Early Modern 1600-1850:
Mary Stuart, Mary Queen of Scots (1542-1587)
Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616)
James I of England (1566-1652)
Queen Nzinga of Angola (1582-1644)
Shah Jahan (1592-1666)
Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658)
Charles I (1600-1649)
Rembrandt (1606-1669)
John Milton (1608-1674)
Robert Boyle (1627-1691)
Louis XIV of France (1638-1715)
Issac Newton (1642-1747)
William Penn (1644-1718)
Peter I, Peter the Great (1672-1725)
Yoshimune (1684-1751)
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Frederick William I, Frederick the Great (1688-1740)
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
Qianlong (1711-1795)
Maria Theresa (1717-1780)
Catherine the Great (1729-1796)
George Washington (1732-1799)
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
Betsy Ross (1752-1836)
Phyllis Wheatley (1753-1784)
Louis XVI (1754-1793)
Marie Antoinette (1755-1793)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
George III of England (1760-1820)
Eli Whitney (1765-1825)
Captain James Cook (1768-1771)
Tecumseh (1768-1813)
Napoleon (1769-1821)
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809) and WIlliam Clark (1770-1838)
Simon Bolivar (1783-1830)
Shaka Zulu (1787-1828)
Sacagawea (1788-1812)
Nat Turner (1800-1831)

Historical Topics
the Mayflower
early American Settlements
Russia under Peter the Great and his successors
Prussia in the eighteenth century
the Enlightenment
the agricultural revolution
Native American cultures
the British in India
the French Revolution
British-French conflict in Canada
the American Revolution
the Napoleonic Wars
the industrial revolution
Simon Bolivar's fight for independence in South America
the siege of the Alamo
the California gold rush
Australia's beginnings as a penal colony

Grade 4 - Modern 1850-Present:
Andrew Jackson (1767-1845)
Louis Joseph Papineau (1786-1871)
Samuel Morse (1791-1872)
Commodore Matthew Perry (1794-1858)
Santa Anna (1794-1876)
Robert E Lee (1807-1870)
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
David Livingstone (1813-1873)
Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898)
Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902)
Karl Marx (1818-1883)
Queen Victoria (1819-1901)
Victor Emmanuel II (1820-1878)
Susan B Anthony (1820-1906)
Florence Nightingale (1820-1910)
Harriet Tubman (1820-1913)
Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885)
Catewayo of the Zulus (1826-1884)
Sitting Bull (1831-1890)
Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) (1835-1910)
George Custer (1839-1876)
Claude Monet (1840-1926)
Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922)
Thomas Edison (1847-1931)
Mutsuhito (emperor of Japan) (1852-1912)
Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)
Henry Ford (1863-1947)
Wilbur Wright (1867-1912) and Orville Wright (1871-1948)
Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)
Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924)
Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
Josef Stalin (1879-1953)
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945)
Benito Mussolini (1883-1945)
Adolf Hitler (1889-1945)
Dwight D Eisenhower (1890-1969)
Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970)
Francisco Franco (1892-1975)
Mao Zedong (1893-1976)
Czar Nicholas II (1895-1917)
Amelia Earhart (1897-1932)
Albert Einstein (1897-1955)
Charles Lindbergh (1902-1974)
John F Kennedy (1917-1963)
Nelson Mandela (1918-)
Margaret Thatcher (1925-)
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)
Neil Armstrong (1930-)
Saddam Hussein (1937-)
Bill Gates (1955-)

Suggested biographies (not sure why these aren't in chronological list above):
Louisa May Alcott
Susan B Anthony
Clara Barton
Mary McLeod Bethune (educator born as 15th child of former slaves)
Elizabeth Blackwell (first woman dr)
Frederick Douglass
Emma Edmonds
Albert Einstein
Mohandas Ghandi
Langston Hughes
Helen Keller
Mary Todd Lincoln
Thurgood Marshall
Louis Pasteur
Molly Pitcher
Eleanor Roosevelt
Babe Ruth
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Harriet Tubman

Major Events:
Africa under European control
the Indian mutinies
the Crimean War
the Victorian era
the Civil War
exploration of the American West
Euro-American conflict with the Native American tribes
the Boxer Rebellion
World War I
the Russian Revolution
the Soviet Union
the Great Depression
the New Deal
civil war in Spain
the Axis and the Allies
World War II
Nazi Germany/Hitler
the Holocaust
Zionism/the Jews' return to Palestine
apartheid/South African segregation
China under Mao
the Korean War
the civil-rights movement
the Vietnam War
landing on the moon

~~~~
*Well Trained Mind also includes an extensive list of supplemental reading for all grades which would be worth perusing.

Classical Education: History Memorization

2009-05-28T22:08:00.000-07:00

Grade 1 (Ancient 500BC-AD400):
The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia has a Ready Reference that lists names of Egyptian dynasties, principal pharaohs, Chinese dynasties, kings of Rome, and emperors of the Roman Empire. Aim to memorize at least two of these lists by the end of the first grade year. A first grader who reads a list out loud every day will have it memorized within weeks.

Grade 2 (Medieveal/Early Renaissance 400-1600):
Memorize a Shakespeare Sonnet, a selection from one of his plays and two lists.

#1 - The rulers of England from Egbert through Elizabeth 1, along with each ruler's family allegiance (Saxon, Dane, Norman, Plantagenet, Lancaster, York, Tudor).

#2 - One of the following: Rulers of Scotland from Malcolm II through James VI, the later Holy Roman Emperors or the rulers of other medieval countries - France, Spain, Japan, Russia, or the major wars and major discoveries (listed in back of Kingfisher book).

Grade 3 (Late Renaissance/Early Modern 1600-1850):
Memorize beginning (at least) of Declaration of Independence, the first 12 presidents of the US and major wars for the time period. Assign other lists (rulers of other countries, important discoveries and explorations) at your discretion.

Grade 4 (Modern 1850-Present):
Know the Preamble to the Constitution, the Gettysburg Address and the purpose (if no the exact words) of the ammendments. Finish the list of US Presidents , dates of major wars, and capitals of 50 states.

Classical Education Reading List: Modern

2009-05-28T21:48:00.001-07:00

4th graders should be studying Early Modern times (1850-Present). Stories should be read chronologically in order listed below. In addition to asking for suggestions from children's librarian, read stories and poems by, about, or from the following:

Robert Louis Stevenson, all the novels
Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
Heidi by Johann Spyri
Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi (not the abridged Disney version)
HG Wells, all the novels
Louisa May Alcott, all the novels
Andrew Lang, all the novels
Frances Hodgson Burnett, all the novels
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Peter Pan and all the Plays by James Barrie
Rudyard Kipling, Just So Stories and The Jungle Books
Beatrix Potter, all the novels
Laura Ingalls Wilder, all the novels
Walter de la Mare, collected poems
Carl Sandburg, collected poems
John Ciardi, collected poems
TS Eliot, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats

(For the readings lists for the other grammar years I linked to the specific edition recommended in the Well Trained Mind. At this level I figured it was not as important but check her list if you are having trouble finding a version you like at the appropriate level).

Beginning Reader book idea

2009-05-28T21:30:00.000-07:00

Tackler is reading books because I FINALLY found books on his level. There exists an entire industry of "easy readers" for teaching reading but they are ALL at the level beyond learning to read. If you can read level 1 books, you can read any book in the children's room. It's ridiculous. They completely missed the middle step. The only exception I found is the Bob Books that most people use and rave about but they are small, black and white and BORRRRRIng and I am not subjecting my kids to them.

I FINALLY had a lightbulb. Books made for infants are colorful, engaging and simple. I went through the infant shelves looking for books with simple rhyming words and found a huge stack he can read. Yesterday he read one that totally cracked him up. He read it a dozen times stopping repeatedly to laugh and say "This book is so FUNny." I wish I had it on video. It was hilarious to watch him enjoy a book so much.

The first page is the hardest. Most of the books I found have one sentence that changes slightly on every page so he has to struggle with the first page and feels overwhelmed but so excited when he realizes he can read the whole book. He is working his way through the stack and gaining confidence that he really can read.

Classical Education Reading List: Late Renaissance/Early Modern

2009-05-28T20:30:00.000-07:00

3rd graders should be studying Late Renaissance/Early Modern times (1600-1850). Stories should be read chronologically in order listed below. Read stories and poems by, about, or from the following:

John Milton
French fairy tales (many collected by Charles Perrault)
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel DeFoe

Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift:
~Gulliver's Travels by Riordan and Ambrus

Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan

Victor Hugo:
~The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Hugo and Marc Cerasini
~Les Miserables by Hugo and Monica Kulling

Alexandre Dumas:
~The Three Musketeers by Dumas and Felder

William Blake, Songs of Innocence
William Wordsworth, collected poems
Jane Austen
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Robert Browning, The Pied Piper of Hamelin
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Grimms' Fairy Tales

Charles Dickens:
~A Christmas Carol
~Great Expectations by Dickens and Kulling
~Oliver Twist by Dickens, Martin and Zallinger

Edward Lear, the nonsense poems
Chistina Rosetti, children's poems
Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
Mark Twain, all the stories
James Fenimore Cooper, all the novels
Jules Verne, all the novels

Norwegian folktales:
~East of the Sun and West of the Moon: Fifty-Nine Norwegian Folk-Tales

Herman Melville:
~Moby Dick by Melville and Drummond (uses lines from actual novel)

Classical Education Reading List: Medieval/Early Renaissance

2009-05-28T14:56:00.000-07:00

2nd Graders should be studying Medieval/Early Renaissance times (400 - 1600). Stories should be read chronologically in order listed below. Read stories and poems by, about, or from the following:

Saint Augustine
Beowulf

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight:
~Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady by Hastings

Canterbury Tales:
~Chaucer the Cat and the Animal Pilgrims by Borlenghi
~The Canterbury Tales by McCaughrean
~The Fairie Queene by Edmund Spenser

William Shakespeare (all the plays):
~The Shakespeare Can Be Fun series by Burdett
~William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream by Coville
~William Shakespeare's Macbeth by Coville
~William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet by Coville and Nolan
~Shakespeare Stories by Garfield
~Shakespeare Stories II by Garfield
~ Tales from Shakespeare by Lamb

The Inferno by Dante

King Arthur:
~Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Malory (look for retellings of the Arthur legend; most are based on Malory
~Knights of the Round Table by Gross
~The Kitchen Knight: A Tale of King Arthur by Hodges

Erasmus
Martin Luthur
John Calvin
Sir Thomas Wyatt (sometimes shows up in stories about Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn)
John Knox
Rene Descartes

Classical Education Reading List: Ancient Times

2009-05-27T21:32:00.000-07:00

1st Graders should be studying ancient times (5000BC - AD 400). Stories should be read chronologically in order listed below. Read stories and poems by, about, or from the following:

The Bible

Homer:
~Trojan Horse by Clement-Davies
~The Odyssey by McCaughrean
~Black Ships Before Troy by Sutcliffe

Greek and Roman myths:
~The Gods and Goddesses of Olympus by Aliki
~Pandora by Burleigh
~Twelve Labors of Hercules by Cerasini
~King Midas: The Golden Touch by Demi
~Theseus and the Minotaur by Fisher
~Greek Myths (read all 16 tales) by McCaughrean
~Favorite Greek Myths by Osborne

Aesop's Fables
Plato
Aristotle

Egyptian myths:
~The Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt (all 13 stories) by Fisher

Indian folktales:
~Folk Tales and Fairy Stories from India by Ghose

African folktales:
~The Adventures of Spider: West African Folktales by Arkhurst

Confucius

Chinese and Japanese folktales:
~The Five Chinese Brothers by Bishop

Ancient Chinese and Japanese poetry
Cicero
Virgil

English, Irish, and Welsh fairy tales:
~Traditional Irish Fairy Tales by Stephens
~One Hundred and One Celtic Read-Aloud Myths & Legends by Verniero

Classical Education: Reading in Grammar Stage

2009-05-27T21:09:00.000-07:00

WHAT TO READ:
Read (or be read to) for 20 -30 min in 1st grade, working up to 45 min by 4th grade of assigned reading according to the same schedule as history and science:
Ancients (5000BC-AD400) - Grades 1, 5, 9
Medieval-Early Renaissance (400-1600) - Grades 2, 6, 10
Late Renaissance-early modern (1600-1850) - Grades 3, 7, 11
Modern (1850-present) - Grades 4, 8, 12

Give the child simplified versions of the original literature he'll be reading in higher grades, or introduce him (through stories and biographies) to a writer he'll encounter later. This reading should be a bit of a challenge. Use books on tape as a good supplement. Fun reading (30-60 min daily) is totally separate and should be at or below his reading level.

READING NOTEBOOK:
Keep a My Reading notebook (biographies and nonfiction should be included in the history notebook) which will include narrations on some of the books he has read and enjoyed. By 3rd grade these narrations should be at least 3/4 page long.

POETRY MEMORIZATION:
Every 2-3 weeks child should memorize a poem (any poem at all, not necessarily tied to the correct time period) or speech and recite it to you. This exercises memory, stores beautiful language in his mind and gives him presentation practice. Memorize 8-12 pieces in 2nd grade, and 12-15 in 3rd grade.

Work Box Hiatus and Soap box on what learning really is

2009-05-25T19:32:00.000-07:00

Ok, not really a hiatus but if anyone is reading this blog hoping for a view of what school actually ends up looking like, I should tell you the change of plan we had last week. Wednesday night long after he was in bed, Prince asked if we could go to a specific museum tomorrow. I told him if the weather was nice, we could. Shockingly, it was, so we did.

The place was MOBBED with school groups so we weren't the only ones leaving school for other educational pursuits. Thursday was also the last day of the classes for homeschoolers this museum teaches. We ran across the homeschoolers a couple times but I could tell the difference between their activities and the public school's version of "quick look, learn, let's move on, we have a schedule to keep". I believe classes like this, taught by others are very beneficial. My kids were in one earlier this year. However, my kids learned a LOT more by exploring on their own, at their own pace, than the kids who were shuffled through by hurried adults.

In the afternoon we had both soccer practice and a tball game so that was it for our day.

On Friday we spent the morning at tennis. I read a book today by a homeschooler who admitted her physical education program is severely lacking and it made me chuckle. My kids are currently doing 3 sports (all w/in 12 hrs this week!) and I cannot possibly imagine a life where PE was neglected!

In the afternoon we had our Story of the World history coop which I promise to blog about next. And THEN we went to a science class provided by a local nature center through a grant at the library. Busy couple of days huh? Friday we covered PE, history, science, and even math if you include trying to figure out how to squeeze more hours into a day.

Work Boxes Lessons Learned

2009-05-20T22:26:00.001-07:00

For tomorrow, with a few exceptions, I swapped today's activities.
3 Lessons learned:
#1 - An evolved, time consuming box, especially one that needs to be done together, needs to be last. We have a lot to cover in history before Friday so I gave them too much for one day. We got distracted midway through the material and it took all day to get back to our boxes. If we had finished all the other boxes first, it would have been easy to regroup later to read one or two more history books.

#2 -Both boys had a science research activity today but in different boxes. I explained it thoroughly to boy #1 and assumed since boy #2 was right there beside us, that he heard and grasped the full explanation. Turns out he didn't which caused a lot of problems when he did the activity wrong. Never assume a child is listening when you aren't even talking to him.

#3 - Accept a child's assessment of what is too much. Of course kids will balk at everything - I insist on going over missed reading or sign language words a 2nd time despite their protestations that they have had enough because I know that immediate review will help them immensely. However, today I put the entire box of Math Match It pieces in Tackler's box, and halfway through he was tired so I let him quit. Next time I'll just do the counting or just the addition and subtraction.

#3A - Today I gave Prince a dry erase booklet with a dozen activities in it. I thought he would go through the whole book. He loved doing 3 pages, then quit. I was surprised but let him decide he was done. If I push it on stuff like that, next time I bring out that book he will balk. Instead I bet he'll happily do 3 more.

#4 - I know I said only 3 lessons but this doesn't count because I didn't learn it today. I already knew but it's SO worth pointing out. Several projects we did today could have easily been done with a boring worksheet (the dry erase booklet, the math match it game and the color/shape activity). Instead they were hands-on and in two cases, involved a lot of movement. Same lesson but engaging format. I realize some kids like worksheets but I bet even they would prefer hands-on.

Classical Education Overview

2009-05-18T20:55:00.000-07:00

From the book The Well Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Bauer

Three repetitions of the same four year pattern linking history with the sciences mastered in each period.

Ancients (5000BC-AD400) - Grades 1, 5, 9:
Biology, Classification, Human Body

Medieval-Early Renaissance (400-1600) - Grades 2, 6, 10:
Earth Science, Astronomy

Late Renaissance-early modern (1600-1850) - Grades 3, 7, 11:
Chemistry

Modern (1850-present) - Grades 4, 8, 12:
Physics, Computer Science

Trivium:
Grammar Stage (grades 1-4): Lay the building blocks for all other learning just as grammar is the foundation for language. Focus on fact learning - memorization, rules of phonics and spelling, rules of grammar, poems, vocab of foreign languages, stories of history and literature, descriptions of plants, animals, and human body, math facts, etc.

Logic Stage (grades 5-8): Cause and effect, relationships among different fields of knowledge, the way facts fit together into a logical framework. Learn algebra and logic, the logic of writing (paragraph construction), reading (criticism and analysis of texts), history (why?).

Rhetoric Stage (grades 9-12): Apply the rules of logic learned in the logic stage with the foundational info from the grammar stage and express conclusions in clear, forceful, elegant language. Also specialize in whatever branch of knowledge attracts her.

DISCLAIMER: I plan to use many elements of the classical education; however the entire program is a little more intense than CM, whose philosophies resonate more with me. I am only including the portions of classical I like on this blog. For a more complete reference, refer to The Well Trained Mind by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer.

Work Boxes Day 2

2009-05-18T13:33:00.001-07:00

Today was fabulous. I LOVE work boxes. No complaints about school. Everyone was excited and happily plowed through the boxes. When I was setting up for tomorrow they even tried to start on those boxes. I loved telling them they couldn't do it yet. A little anticipation for tomorrow is a beautiful thing.

The together boxes didn't work great - they made logistics a little tougher. I decided they work better when they are apart so I will only have combined activities when it will really save me time and energy. Tomorrow we have one such box so I put the book in one boys's box and left the other's empty and put it first in the order. So now I have 6 boxes per kid which I like better.

Even though piano wasn't a box, we snuck it in but since piano takes longer than any of the boxes and requires 100% of my attention, it left the other kid stranded. My new plan is to do piano first thing while we are doing chores. While one boy is cleaning, the other will practice, then we'll switch. I still have to figure out where to add in our story time. Maybe after lunch?

Tomorrow's boxes include:
Prince:
1* - Science Horizons by Silver Burdett Ginn Introductory Chapter
2 - A day in the Life worksheet (cut and paste to order morning, midday, night and asks for drawing of activity for each time period)
3 - Match upper and lower case letter cards
4 - Finish shamrock
5* - Sign language and reading cards (I am combining these. Read the card and show the sign)
6 - Railroad Rush Hr.

Tackler:
1* - science book above
2* - Sign language and reading cards
3 - Day in the life sheet
4* - Beginning Writing book - practice rounded letters a,c,e,o,s and find an object in the house beginning with each letter
5 - Boggle Jr.
6 - Finish shamrock

An * indicates they need my assistance. The rest can be done with minimal input from me.

Monday's Workboxes

2009-05-17T11:43:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is day one with our new workboxes.
Prince Boxes:
1 - Addition flash cards and round wooden discs in two colors. They will use the discs to help them count. I was debating how to check their work. Either I need to be right there and approve their answers or I need to make up a sheet and have them fill in the answers.

2 - Reading card

3 - Lap book. I thought we were done with our Manatee lapbooks but Prince reminded me we aren't. There is still a little pasting work to do so I put a glue stick and the papers to glue in the box. The lapbook is on the shelf and he will have to put it on brother's shelf when he is done so Tackler can do his portion.

4 - Friday we started our Story of the World (SOTW) coop. Prince was proud of his chart so we're going to start a history journal and he can dictate to me what we did or what he learned and paste in his chart.

Tackler's Boxes:
1 - Manatee lapbook (as described above)

2- reading flashcards

3 - Railroad Rush Hour

4 - Addition cards (as described above)

Together Boxes:
1 -10 Sign language flashcards - I LOVE these flashcards. We only have set A - I wish I had set B and a few other things from this company. Between them and Signing Time we are learning a TON.

2 - SOTW - I am in charge of our coop this week so we need to read the chapter early so we can start planning for Friday.

3 - Sorting "game" - In order to prepare for tomorrow I "had" to organize our game cupboard. There were a ton of flashcards and playing cards mixed up. I think they will enjoy sorting them.

4 - M&Ms - I gave them each a small package of their favorite M&Ms (one regular, one peanut) and a chart. Hopefully I'll come back later with a picture for you. They have to sort by color and tally, then mark who has more of each color and the total.

What's missing?
I think I have a good mix of fun and play in the boxes and I don't see what I could take out to include two more things I want to do daily - piano and our chapter book. Now I see why she has 12 boxes each!

Work Boxes: Why and How

2009-05-17T11:20:00.000-07:00

At a homeschool park day a couple weeks ago one of the other moms mentioned work boxes. I nodded (un)knowingly and vowed to look up what in the world she was talking about. Work boxes are a fairly new idea that are spreading like wildfire. The most informative site I found is here. She did a better job than I can of telling how it got started and what it entails as well as providing tons of examples of what to put in the boxes.

I'll just give you a 2 second overview of my version.
The kids are to work on the boxes sequentially, though they can decide when to work together on the together boxes. The top shelf is for one kid, the next shelf for the other and the bottom shelf is for them to work on together (since, as twins, a lot of their materials are the same). Anything that doesn't fit IN the boxes goes next to them. Some part of the activity is IN the box.

Now that I've snapped a picture for the world to see I will add labels to the front that have my kids' name and a number 1-4. The lady who created this idea suggests 12 boxes a day, but I think this number will be perfect for my kindergarteners. We'll find out tomorrow!

Three reasons I love this concept -
#1 - They can see how much they are expected to do each day and can see their progress. Whenever there is a system, the "fault" lies more with the system than with mom. This should diminish the "how much more?" arguments. They will be responsible for their own learning now.
#2 - There are SO many fun projects I forget to do. In the midst of dealing with the day, I don't have time or energy to get out everything for the fun stuff. Prince keeps asking to work on his lapbook but it's always "as soon as I put the baby down for a nap" or "right after lunch" and it keeps not happening because several things need to come out for us to do it. Now I can prepare the night before which brings us to
#3 - When mom is busy, they can still do work. That gives them a little more autonomy and gives me a bit of a break w/o missing all the cool school stuff we want to do. It also allows one to do something productive instead of "go play while I give your brother his piano lesson".

Grammar Grades 1, 2

2009-05-15T15:28:00.000-07:00

Topics Covered in Level 1

Common nouns (persons, places, things, and ideas)
Proper nouns
- First names
- Family names
- Middle names
- Cities and states
- Days of week
- Months of the year
- Holidays
Personal pronouns
Action Verbs
Seasons
Initials
Addresses
Titles of Respect
Dates
Sentences
- Statements
- Commands
- Questions
- Exclamations
Capitalization
- The pronoun ??/li>
- Proper nouns
- Titles of works
- In poetry
6 Poem Memorizations
8 Story Narrations
4 Picture Narrations

Topics Covered in Level 2

Common and proper noun review

Day in the Life - Wednesday

2009-05-13T16:26:00.000-07:00

For school today we got a late start. The baby has been sick and up all night so mom has had to sleep in a bit.

I forget to mention it, but every day we read at least one chapter in The Book of Mormon. Most hsers start their school day with some sort of devotional. We start our day with scriptures and morning prayers. We have a neat program we were following at night as a family - every month was a theme and there was a scripture, hymn, and children's hymn for each month, plus a new scripture each day. For a couple months we followed it and I had the kids repeat the scripture after me. It felt a little much with morning scriptures as well and we only did it when dad was around which wasn't quite consistent enough to form a habit. Maybe we'll reintroduce that as part of school.

Today we played our math 10's game right after breakfast, then I let the boys run around the yard (first day with NO rain!), while I got ready for the day.

After I put the baby down for a nap I joined them in the playset again with my pile of school books. We were planning to read just one or two chapters of Bridge to Terabithia but it was right at the crucial point and for the first time in the whole book they begged me to not stop reading. I read all but the last chapter until Prince's attention was waning too much.

I went inside to check on the baby and found dad home and baby awake. A bit later I went back out with the baby and read the last chapter but the baby got really cranky (still feels awful) so I took her back to dad. When I came back out the two neighbor girls were home from school. The girls are a couple years older and rarely include the boys in their play. Since they were playing together I hated to break them up for school.

After that they helped their dad set up his workshop so that's all we got done today. I'm happy we did literature and math. Two subjects isn't bad - it's why we school year round and started Kindergarten at 4 1/2.

Math: 10s game

2009-05-13T16:10:00.000-07:00

For math today we did a spin off on 10's Go Fish from this site. From the Uno Deck I took 4 of each number 1-9 and put them in the middle. Each of us got 2 cards. Each turn we could draw one more card. With each card drawn, I would say "You got a 3. What number do you need to add up to 10?" If they didn't know, I handed them 10 glass beads and told them to take away 3 and tell me how many were left. If they had a 7, they could set aside their match. Then it was the next person's turn.

We all ended up with a lot of leftover cards so next time we might try making it more of a Go Fish type game.

Day in the Life - Monday and Tuesday

2009-05-13T16:09:00.000-07:00

Monday was a wash. Dad stayed home from work and mom was still trying to restart her engine after being lazy and spoiled on mother's day. They learned a lot about yard work and finances - were paid to help dad gather sticks. We squeezed in a reading lesson in the afternoon.

Yesterday for school the boys asked if we could go outside. It was the first warm dry day we've had all week (of course it poured in the afternoon so still not nice weather around here) so I said sure.

We sat on a rock and did our sign language work. We have a deck of flash cards with the printed word on one side (good reading practice!!) and the sign on the other. I had them sound out the word, then show me the sign. If they knew it, it went in the know pile. Otherwise we practiced the sign a few times. We went through about a dozen cards.

Then we moved to the swingset platform for our math game and a reading lesson.

Later in the day Prince got a piano lesson and started to work on his Manatee lapbook but didn't have my attention to help him so didn't get very far. We were planning to do history but didn't get to it.

At bedtime we read a chapter in Bridge to Terabithia, a biography of Jackie Robinson and a book from the Caldecott list.

Reading

2009-05-13T16:07:00.000-07:00

I made up a reading flash card. It has all the common beginning and ending sounds and the vowels in the middle.
Every day I have the boys go through two cycles - first with beginning sounds (ball, fall, hall, small) , then with ending sounds (bad, ball, ban, bath, bat). We randomly pick which letters to use for each cycle.

It has really improved their confidence with reading. They have been reluctant to admit they know how to read and this has shown them they know more than they think. And of course, taught them too.

Math: Divisible by 3

2009-05-13T15:54:00.000-07:00

For math yesterday we took our pile of number cards and divided them into odd and even so each boy got a pile. Then the separated their piles into whether or not each number was divisible by 3. A couple of the easy ones Tackler was able to figure out in his head. For the others, I had them count out the appropriate number of glass beads, then divide them into three even piles.

Sidenote: When showing them how I made up names, Bartholomew, Alice and George. Tackler loved my names and kept asking for a reminder of them and made several accidental variations on the name Bartholomew. Prince on the other hand gave his three piles to himself, mom and his Beanie Puppy Wrinkles. It was fun to watch them.

When they had their even piles I had them tell me how many each person got and how many were left over. When they were all done I had them work together to put their numbers in order (as you see above) and then repeat the list several times until they got comfortable saying 3, 6, 9, 12, etc.

This math game taught division and multiplication and I am looking forward to doing it repeatedly, with the other number groups. It was a great exercise. If you have any fun math activities, I'd love to hear them.

Making a pattern

2009-05-11T10:16:00.000-07:00

The one math skill Kindergartens in our town are supposed to learn is pattern making. Seems to me this is one of those things you just magically pick up by living life as a curious 5 year old but in the spirit of doing the only thing the school things is important for this age, a few months ago I decided to try "teaching" patterns. I brought out blocks and started a pattern and asked them to continue it. Me: Red, blue, red, blue....
Them: red, green yellow, yellow green.

I tried to explain they were supposed to complete my pattern but they said "No, I like this pattern". I think the consistency of a pattern was a little boring to their active minds. I let them play and shelved the lesson until last month. They have been pointing out patterns in real life (funny how they manage to learn stuff that schools think needs to be stuffed into them) so I tried again. I brought out the colored blocks and started a pattern. They complied a little better for about 2 minutes, then asked to make their own patterns.

If I recall correctly, these are patterns of a horse, giraffe and house (I can't remember the last one). I give up. The lesson of creativity wins out over patterns.

Japanese YouTube Videos

2009-04-27T15:51:00.000-07:00

Mary Had a Little Lamb

More Songs and MP3 downloads here

Colors

Alphabet

Another Alphabet Song

Kids Songs

St Patrick's Day Eggshell Shamrocks

2009-04-25T14:20:00.000-07:00

For St. Patrick's day we copied this activity and made our own eggshell mosaics. If you check back in 100 years I might add pictures of the finished product or the other kid but at least here's a glimpse.

A Kindergarten Day

2009-04-23T11:54:00.000-07:00

I would love to know what a real "day in the life" of various homeschoolers actually looks like. For my plethora of readers, I am going to try to offer a glimpse into our daily life. Remember, I consider Kindergarten a fairly easy year. And my K'ers are very young - only two weeks old to enough to qualify as K'ers and 4 months too young in MOST states. So, with all that in mind:

This week:
We are studying Antarctica. We started on Monday? with a review of the world including continents, oceans, hemispheres, and the equator the affect of distance to the equator on climate.
We checked out a slew of books from the library on Antarctica and are working our way through the stack with me taking notes (and commenting on my notes) so we can make an Antarctica Lapbook. We are also using the many resources listed on the wonderful website of a fellow hser with kids surrounding my kids' ages HERE. The following activities are in addition to this reading.

Monday: We started an alphabet book. We practiced our Aa's and then cut out pictures with A items. Tackler was excellent at picking out the actual As in the ads. "Here's one!" "Honey, that says 'assorted'. We need a picture of a THING that starts with an A".

Tuesday: We watched videos on the Aurora Australis or Southern Lights on YouTube
and viewed pix by Anthony Powell.

Yesterday: We played a hilarious shape/memory game. I wanted to video it but didn't have enough hands and was laughing too hard anyway. We cut out shapes (circle, square, oval, triangle, octogon, and rectangle) from various colors of cardstock and assigned motions to each (dance,stop, run, pat your head, somersault, and jump). Starting with 2 cards and building up to all 6, I would hold up the cards to signal which activity they had to do. We got faster and faster and crazier and crazier. When it was Tackler's turn to show the cards his favorite was somersault which was not overly fun for me, especially with my one year old running around mimicing us. I was sure I would squash her. He also figured out the fun of holding up two cards at once.

Today: Their favorite activity is any sort of science experiment. Today we tested about 20 items to see if they would float in plain water and then salt water. I made up a chart and they helped fill it with predictions and results. Pix to come.

As you can see in addition to a lot of reading, I consider one activity a day a successful school day. I think we squeeze in various topics into most activities. Like today we worked on writing and spelling, predicting, and analyzing in our one little project.

Signing Times Lessons

2009-04-19T17:03:00.000-07:00

A New Day:

Counting:

Great Outdoors: Bug

Happy Holidays:

Happy Valentine's Day:

Here I Go: Boat

Let's Be Friends: Happy:

My Day :Sweater:

My Neighborhood: Office

Nice To Meet You:

Sign Review for Teachers:

Time to Eat: Cook

Welcome to School: Smart:

Signing Times Music Videos

2009-04-19T17:00:00.000-07:00

Box of Crayons:

Caterpillar Dreams:

Colors of the Rainbow:

Days of the Week:

Diaper Dance:

Going Outside:

Groove with Me:

Happy Birthday:

Helping Out Around the House:

Leah's Farm:

My Favorite Season:

My Favorite Sport:

My House:

My Things:

Once Upon a Time:

Walking Through the Zoo:

Who Has the Frog:

Stock Market Web Sites

2009-03-18T12:09:00.000-07:00

I have not looked at these. Suggestions from other sources.

For interest in stock market, you might look into participating in stock market
challenge.
http://www.smg2000.org/

A bit more informal is this thinkquest sim
http://library.thinkquest.org/3088/

Also, Econ Ed is a great resource for lesson plans.
They have a few stock market related resources:

http://tinyurl.com/dhxqhh

and who knows, maybe an interest in broader economics will be developed
through the stock market, and Econ Ed is a wonderful resource for economics
lessons.

Web Cams

2009-03-18T12:03:00.000-07:00

Birds from Xcel Energy
Eagle Cam
Falcon
Lion Cubs

Math Websites and Books

2009-03-18T11:56:00.000-07:00

(Explanations are quotes - I haven't checked these out for myself yet)

Livingmath.net Peruse Julie Brennan's extensive book lists. Her site is outstanding.
www.hoagiesgifted.org/mathematics.htm - Sir Cumfrence books. Q is for Quark and G is for Googol are good for older kids

Greg Tang books - They're not traditional math books -- more like problem solving with
numbers. For my mathy kid, they were great because they reinforced his
inherent 'number sense' and were fun and visually-attractive. Tang's books aren't really instructional books, though. More like recess with math
especially try Math For All Seasons.

Nature Study Tree Drawing

2008-11-25T00:16:00.000-08:00

One day last month the kids and I tackled our first nature drawing in our new nature study notebooks. We picked a tree, discussed it, and drew it. The hardest part for the kids was reining in their creative juices - I can't remember now what they wanted to draw the tree doing but it was a heck of a lot more interesting than just a tree standing in the middle of a lawn. The hardest part for me was that they draw better than me.

After our nature study I read a book while the boys rode their bikes around the parking lot and my 11 month old chased them. Yes, she ran around trying to catch them on their bikes. That picture of her crawling is the first time she crawled all month. Of course she picks an asphalt parking lot when she is wearing white leather shoes. Oh, I should specifically mention that middle bottom picture is the tree we drew. Otherwise when we compare it to our nature books later I might wonder why I photographed a completely different tree. Give us time. And lots of practice before you expect our drawings to resemble the actual nature we draw.

Interesting Facts on public schooling

2008-11-24T10:24:00.000-08:00

Various facts I gathered from some book I read - probably by John Holt

The average high school day has 6 hrs and 20 minutes of which 5 hrs and 30 minutes are instructional.

General agreement that 25% of elementary school time is transition.

In 1900 kids school was in session 143.7 days and the average number of days attended was 98.
In 2003 school is in session 180 days.

Secondary schools (jr high?) spend 41% of day on core academic subjects.

In 1896 student subjects included classical, scientific, English, Commercial.
In 1918 they added health and ethics

Biological Taxonomy

2008-11-20T21:55:00.000-08:00

I thought taxonomy was a simple straight forward matter so I thought I could teach it early (aka kindergarten - hey, why not?). Guess what? I am totally confused. I will use this post to try to straighten it all out and hopefully boil it back to simplicity. It doesn't help that everyone has their own theory and no one agrees.

Life
Domain/Empire ( Archaea, Bacteria and Eukarya)
Kingdom
Phylum/Division
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species

Kingdom
Animalia
Plantae
Fungi
Protista
Monera

Kindergarten Schedule

2008-11-20T21:42:00.000-08:00

A. Social Studies - Holidays
B. Social Studies - Families and Communities
C. Social Studies - Maps
D. Science - Shelters
E. Science - Weather
F. Science - Living Things
G. Math - Probability and Statistics
H. Math - Numerical and Proportional Reasoning
I. Math - Geometry and Measurement
J. Math - Patterns

November
(E) Start a Weather chart
(F) Mammals
(B)
(G)

December
(C)
(E) Climate across the globe
(G)

January
(A)
(E) Create a thermometer
(F) Plants
(H)

February
(D)
(F) Birds
(H)

March
(E)
(F) Fish
(I)

April
(F) Insects
(I)

May
(D)
(F)
(J)

June
(J)

Reading Word List

2008-11-10T14:18:00.000-08:00

Kindergarten High Frequency Word List

I
in
look
he
see
my
at
you
the
to
a
can
like
we
is
she
me
will
go
be
no
yes
and
it

National Holidays

2008-11-08T07:11:00.000-08:00

Details on each US Holiday

January 1 New Year's Day
January 21 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (3rd Monday of January, traditionally Jan. 15)
February 2 Groundhog Day
February 3 Super Bowl Sunday (currently the first Sunday of February)
February 6 Ash Wednesday (Christian; moveable based on Easter)
February 14 Valentine's Day
February 18 Presidents Day (officially George Washington's Birthday; 3rd Monday of February, traditionally Feb. 22)
March 16 Palm Sunday (Christian; Sunday before Easter)
March 17 St. Patrick's Day
March 20 Vernal Equinox (based on sun), Lailatul-Qadr (Islamic; moveable, based on lunar calendar)
March 21 Good Friday (Christian; Friday before Easter)
March 23 Easter Sunday (Christian; moveable; Sunday after first full moon during spring)
March 24 Easter Monday (Christian; Monday after Easter)
April 1 April Fool's Day
April 20 First day of Passover (Jewish; moveable based on Jewish calendar)
April 21 Patriot's Day/Marathon Monday (New England and Wisconsin only) (3rd Monday of April)
April 22 Earth Day
April 25 Arbor Day
April 27 Last Day of Passover (Jewish; moveable, based on Jewish Calendar)
May 5 Cinco De Mayo (Mexican holiday often observed in US)
May 11 Mother's Day (2nd Sunday of May), Pentecost Sunday (Christian; 49 days after Easter)
May 26 Memorial Day (last Monday of May, traditionally May 30)
June 14 Flag Day
June 15 Father's Day (3rd Sunday of June)
June 20 Summer Solstice (based on sun)
July 4 Independence Day
September 1 Labor Day (first Monday of September)
September 2 First day of Ramadan (Islamic, moveable based on Lunar calendar)
September 30 - Oct. 1 Rosh Hashanah (Jewish; moveable, based on Jewish calendar)
October 2 Eid-al-Fitr/Day after the end of Ramadan (Islamic, moveable, based on lunar calendar)
October 9 Yom Kippur (Jewish, moveable, 9 days after first day of Rosh Hashanah), Leif Erikson Day
October 13 Columbus Day (2nd Monday of October, traditionally Oct. 12)
October 14 First day of Sukkot (Jewish; moveable, 14 days after Rosh Hashanaah)
October 20 Last Day of Sukkot (Jewish)
October 22 Simchat Torah (Jewish; moveable, 22 days after Rosh Hashanah)
October 23 St. De Ryck's Day (Day dedicated to Rolf)
October 30 Mischief Night
October 31 Halloween
November 1 All Saints Day, Day of the Dead (Mexico)
November 4 Election Day (Tuesday after the first Monday of November)
November 11 Veterans Day
November 27 Thanksgiving (4th Thursday of November)
November 28 Black Friday (Friday after Thanksgiving Day)
December 7 Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
December 21 Winter Solstice (based on sun)
December 22 First day of Hanukkah (Jewish; moveable, based on Jewish calendar)
December 24 Christmas Eve (Christian)
December 25 Christmas Day (Christian)
December 26 First day of Kwanzaa (Kwanzaa is celebrated until January 1, 2009)
December 29 Last day of Hanukkah (Jewish; moveable, based on Jewish Calendar)
December 31 New Year's Eve

Holidays and Famous Americans

2008-11-07T22:45:00.001-08:00

Name the (current) president of the US
What patriotic holidays do we celebrate?
Identify the flag as the symbol that represents our patriotism

Resources:
Time Magazines for Kids
Arthur Meets the President by Marc Brown
If You Sailed on the Mayflower by Ann McGovern
Molly's Pilgrim by Barbara Cohen
How Many Days to America by Eve Bunting
The Story of the White House by Kate Waters
Uncle Sam and Old Glory: Symbols of America by Delno C West
*http://parenting.leehansen.com/holidays/patriotic/index.shtml

WHAT WE DID:
10/08: Tackler made a construction paper flag and Prince sewed a cloth flag. We concentrated on the red and white pattern to include the patterns required for math.

Communities and Families

2008-11-07T22:29:00.000-08:00

COMMUNITIES:
A community is a place where people live, work, play and help each other.
What are different jobs in the community that help to keep it safe?
What are rules and why are they important?
Understand the roles of various community workers. (fieldtrips to several if possible)

Resources:
Community Helpers from A to Z by Bobbie Kalman, Niki Walker
Town Mouse, Country Mouse by Jan Brett
Officer Brown Keeps Neighborhoods Safe by ALice K Flanagan
www.sfsocialstudies.com
www.Hud.gov/kids
Moo in the Morning by Kulman
Old MacDonald in the City by Suzanne Williams
Busy Busy City Streets by Meisker
Castles Caves and Honeycombs by Lauren Stringer
Alphabet City by Stephen Johnson

FAMILIES:
Complete and All About my Family book
How are families alike/different?

Resources:
Me I Am by Jack Prelutsky
I Like Me by Nancy Carlson
Just Me and My Dad by Mercer Mayer
Homes Around the World by Bobbie Kalman
www.kidshealth.org/kid/feeling

Map Skills

2008-11-07T22:25:00.000-08:00

A globe is a sphere and represents the earth
A map is a drawing of a location.
The earth is made up of land and water.
~Color and label land and water on a map

Resources:
www.sfsocialsudies.com
www.nationalgeographic.com/kids
Mapping Penny's World by Loreen Leedy
National Geographic Our World: A Child's First Picture Atlas
Me on The Map by Joan Sweeney

Shelters

2008-11-07T22:15:00.000-08:00

How does technology improve our lives?
What materials should we use to build our houses?
How does where we live affect the materials we use to build our houses?

Describe the types of materials used by people to build houses and the properties that make the materials useful.
Identify which materials are best for building in various environmental conditions (weather, storms, etc)

(Make a model of various types of shelter through time and geography).

Weather Patterns

2008-11-07T22:13:00.000-08:00

Describe and record daily weather conditions
Relate seasonal weather patterns to appropriate choices of clothing and activities
Describe weather by seasons in New England.
Investigate patterns and features of seasons.
Identify the thermometer as the instrument used for measuring temperature (study a thermometer and what makes it work).

Characteristics of Living Things

2008-11-07T22:03:00.000-08:00

How do we use our sense as tools to gather information and describe objects?
Every object has properties by which they can be classified.
Use your senses and simple non standard measuring tools to observe common objectsa nd sort them into groups by size, weight shape or color.
Sort objects made of wood, paper and metal into groups based on properties such as flexibility, attraction to magnets and whether they float or sink in water.
(Visit a recycling plant or somewhere else where sorting occurs)

Describe the similarities and differences in appearance and behavior of plants, birds, fish, insects and mammals.
Describe the similarities/differences in appearance and behavior in adults and their offspring.
Distinguish characteristics of living and nonliving things.
Categorize living things by mammal, fish, bird, insect, etc. (Make a big chart of characteristics that define each and animals that go in each).

Create a collage that separates living and non living things from pictures cut from magazines.

Match baby animals with their parents (make one of emily's books for this).

Public School Overview

2008-11-07T21:58:00.001-08:00

To be used as a checkoff sheet that we have mastered each section.
MATH
o Kindergarten
~Probability and Statistics
~Numerical and Proportional Reasoning
~Geometry and Measurement
~Playing with Patterns

SCIENCE
o Kindergarten
~Characteristics of Living Things
~Weather Patterns
~Properties of Objects
~Shelters

SOCIAL STUDIES
o Kindergarten
~Map Skills
~Communities/Families
~Holidays and Famous Americans

Probability and Statistics

2008-11-07T21:42:00.000-08:00

How do graphs help us?
When is a picture better than words?
What are the chances?
Is it fair?
Why predict?

Pose q's about personal information, experiences and environment.
Explore ways to record and organize the data using tallies and tables
Construct real graphs and picture graphs and describe the data using the term more, less, same. Use a venn diagram.
Identify and extend visual, auditory and physical patterns. (weather patterns?)
Discuss probability using spinners and dice.
Record and discuss results.

Task:
Prediction: Can I fit more tiles or more counters in a handful?
Grab a handful of (scrabble) tiles and a handful of counters (glass beads?). Count each pile.
Discuss the probability of more of the same if done again. Repeat. Create a graph showing results and discuss it.

Numerical and Proportional Reasoning

2008-11-07T21:29:00.000-08:00

What is a number?
How can numbers help us?
What are different ways we can count?
Why is money important?
Can we buy things without money?
What is a fraction?
How can we show a fraction?
Where can fractions be found in the world around us?

Identify numerals 1-10 and match sets of objects to the numbers and order the sets from least to greatest.
Use numbers to locate, order, label, measure and make comparisons.
Identify position of objects: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, last.
Use objects to act out story problems and solve practical problems that model combining, separating, comparing, missing...
Basic multiplication or ratios: 1 cat has 4 legs. 2 cats have 8 legs.

Count past 50. Group and count objects by 2's and 10's.
Estimate number of objects in a set using 10 as a benchmark. Count and determine if amount is more or less than 10.
Identify sets and numbers which are one more and one less.
Recognize pennies and dimes. Count and trade pennies for objects.

Take a set of objects and form two smaller sets that have equal amounts.
Cut objects into 2 parts and describe equal shares as halves and unequal shares as not halves.
Use a variety of models to identify a hole and a half.
Cut an object into two parts and describe the parts as closer to a whole, closer to a half, or closer to having very little.
Recognize that two halves put together make a whole.

Division and fractions:
Take 8 dry kidney beans and separate equally among 4 bowls. Then 9 beans and 3 bowls. 10 beans and 2 bowls. etc.

GEOMETRY AND MEASUREMENT

2008-11-07T19:56:00.000-08:00

Sort, order, compare and use comparative language to describe small sets of objects by length, area, volume.

Compare 2 and 3 dimensional shapes and id shapes and solids in the environment (triangles, squares, rectangles, circles, cubes, spheres, cylinders, and cones).

Use a variety of materials to create geometric shapes and solids and build copies of simple shapes and designs by direct observation and by visual memory.

Describe the position, location and direction of objects (inside, outside, top, bottom, close and closer).

Sequence events on by before and after a date or time.

Estimate the amount of objects in a handful and then county to verify.
Estimate the amount of objects in a set using benchmarks of 10 and count to determine if the estimate is more or less.
Explore, describe and discuss strategies to estimate length, area, temperature and weight using nonstandard units to compare.
Explore using everyday objects as nonstandard units to measure length, area, capacity.
Compare the length of 2 objects using a balance scale and identify which is heavier.

Task 1:
Make a box with block shapes (square, circle, rectangle, triangle) and geometric solids (sphere, cube, cone, cylinder). Give the box to the student and have him identify each shape.
Ask him to do the following:
Put the rectangle in the box
Put the cone on top of the rectangle
Put the circle next to the rectangle
Put the cube near the box
Put the cylinder closer to the box than the cube
Put the sphere inside the box
Put the triangle above the box
put the square somewhere of your choice and tell me where you put it

Task 2:
Show the student a calendar and ask:
What is this and for what is it used?
What is today's date?
What will be the date tomorrow?
What was yesterday's date?

A Day in the Life of _______
Have child put the following words in chronological order - morning, afternoon, night. Draw a picture of something you do during each time and tell about it.

Task 3:
Draw a rectangle. Model how to estimate how many scrabble tiles will cover the rectangle using one tile as a guide. Write down the estimate. Cover the rectangle using the tiles. Count the number of tiles used. Discuss the difference if applicable. Take the tiles and place them in one side of a balance scale (HOW CAN I MAKE MY OWN BALANCE SCALE OR WHERE CAN I BUY ONE?). Find an object whose weight you would like to compare to the tiles. Estimate which side will be heaver. Place the object in the scale and note the actual finding.

Playing with Patterns

2008-11-07T19:39:00.000-08:00

What is a pattern?
Where can we find patterns in our world?
How do you predict what might come next in a pattern?
What are some different ways we can group objects?

Student can create a repeating pattern and explain the attributes used. He can identify the repeating part of the pattern and extend it.

Recognize, copy and extend simple patterns of sounds, colors, shapes, textures and numbers. Identify patterns in poetry, art, music, body movement and physical environment. Make comparisons and describe qualitative and quantitative changes of a given pattern (more, less, longer, one more,...)

Use small objects (paperclip, small toys) to imprint a pattern into playdough.

Take a Walk Around the Sun

2008-10-08T15:30:00.001-07:00

Yes! The Apologia elementary book "Exploring Creation with Astronomy" book by Jeannie Fulbright has a great activity: "Take a Walk Around the Sun."

"You need at least two people and space. Place an object on the floor/ground and call it the sun. One person is the earth and walk in a circle around the sun. Now another is the moon and walks in a circle around the earth while the earth circles the sun. The same side of the moon always faces the earth, so while the moon, be certain that you are always facing the person that is the earth.

Every time a planet goes all the way around sun it has done one orbit (revolution)

. The planets are also rotating (spinning) at the same time. Now do this: just as before put out a sun, pretend you are a planet. Before you begin to walk around the sun, start turning around and around in place. Just twirl in place, then begin to walk around sun while you twirl a the same time! " (shortened and paraphrased a bit)

Caldecott Medal Book List

2008-09-29T21:21:00.000-07:00

Caldecott Medal is awarded annually to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published that year.

Year	Illustrator	Book
2008	Brian Selznick	The Invention of Hugo Cabret
2007	David Wiesner	Flotsam
2006	Chris Raschka	The Hello, Goodbye Window
2005	Kevin Henkes	Kitten's First Full Moon
2004	Mordicai Gerstein	The Man Who Walked Between the Towers
2003	Eric Rohmann	My Friend Rabbit
2002	David Wiesner	The Three Pigs
2001	David Small	So You Want to Be President?
2000	Simms Taback	Joseph Had a Little Overcoat
1999	Mary Azarian	Snowflake Bentley
1998	Paul O. Zelinsky	Rapunzel
1997	David Wisniewski	Golem
1996	Peggy Rathmann	Officer Buckle and Gloria
1995	David Diaz	Smoky Night
1994	Allen Say	Grandfather's Journey
1993	Emily Arnold McCully	Mirette on the High Wire
1992	David Wiesner	Tuesday
1991	David Macaulay	Black and White
1990	Ed Young	Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China
1989	Stephen Gammell	Song and Dance Man
1988	John Schoenherr	Owl Moon
1987	Richard Egielski	Hey, Al
1986	Chris Van Allsburg	The Polar Express
1985	Trina Schart Hyman	Saint George and the Dragon
1984	Alice and Martin Provensen	The Glorious Flight: Across the Channel with Louis Bleriot
1983	Marcia Brown	Shadow
1982	Chris Van Allsburg	Jumanji
1981	Arnold Lobel	Fables
1980	Barbara Cooney	Ox-Cart Man
1979	Paul Goble	The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses
1978	Peter Spier	Noah's Ark
1977	Leo and Diane Dillon	Ashanti to Zulu: African Traditions
1976	Leo and Diane Dillon	Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears
1975	Gerald McDermott	Arrow to the Sun
1974	Margot Zemach	Duffy and the Devil
1973	Blair Lent	The Funny Little Woman
1972	Nonny Hogrogian	One Fine Day
1971	Gail E. Haley	A Story a Story
1970	William Steig	Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
1969	Uri Shulevitz	The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship
1968	Ed Emberley	Drummer Hoff
1967	Evaline Ness	Sam, Bangs, and Moonshine
1966	Nonny Hogrogian	Always Room for One More
1965	Beni Montresor	May I Bring a Friend?
1964	Maurice Sendak	Where the Wild Things Are
1963	Ezra Jack Keats	The Snowy Day
1962	Marcia Brown	Once a Mouse
1961	Nicolas Sidjakov	Baboushka and the Three Kings
1960	Marie Hall Ets	Nine Days to Christmas
1959	Barbara Cooney	Chanticleer and the Fox
1958	Robert McCloskey	Time of Wonder
1957	Marc Simont	A Tree is Nice
1956	Feodor Rojankovsky	Frog Went A-Courtin'
1955	Marcia Brown	Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper
1954	Ludwig Bemelmans	Madeline's Rescue
1953	Lynd Ward	The Biggest Bear
1952	Nicholas Mordvinoff	Finders Keepers
1951	Katherine Milhous	The Egg Tree
1950	Leo Politi	Song of the Swallows
1949	Berta and Elmer Hader	The Big Snow
1948	Roger Duvoisin	White Snow, Bright Snow
1947	Leonard Weisgard	The Little Island
1946	Maud and Miska Petersham	The Rooster Crows
1945	Elizabeth Orton Jones	Prayer for a Child
1944	Louis Slobodkin	Many Moons
1943	Virginia Lee Burton	The Little House
1942	Robert McCloskey	Make Way for Ducklings
1941	Robert Lawson	They Were Strong and Good
1940	Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire	Abraham Lincoln
1939	Thomas Handforth	Mei Li
1938	Dorothy P. Lathrop	Animals of the Bible

Newbery Medal recipients

2008-09-29T20:13:00.000-07:00

By the time I graduated from high school there were 72 Newbery Medal books and I had read 7. I unwittingly read another 5 since then. What kind of books was I assigned to read in school if not Newbery award books? I aim to have my kids read the whole lot by the end of childhood.

NEWBERY BOOKS THE KIDS HAVE READ
NEWBERY BOOKS I HAVE READ TO THE KIDS
NEWBERY BOOKS I HAVE READ
2000 Christopher Paul Curtis Bud, Not Buddy
1999 Louis Sachar Holes
1994 Lois Lowry The Giver
1987 Sid Fleischman The Whipping Boy
1984 Beverly Cleary Dear Mr. Henshaw
1981 Katherine Paterson Jacob Have I Loved
1978 Katherine Paterson Bridge to Terabithia
1972 Robert C. O'Brien Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
1961 Scott O'Dell Island of the Blue Dolphins
1959 Elizabeth George Speare The Witch of Blackbird Pond
1944 Esther Forbes Johnny Tremain
1930 Rachel Field Hitty, Her First Hundred Years

NEWBERY BOOKS NOT YET READ
2008 Laura Amy Schlitz Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village
2007 Susan Patron The Higher Power of Lucky
2006 Lynne Rae Perkins Criss Cross
2005 Cynthia Kadohata Kira-Kira
2004 Kate DiCamillo The Tale of Despereaux
2003 Avi Crispin: The Cross of Lead
2002 Linda Sue Park A Single Shard
2001 Richard Peck A Year Down Yonder
1998 Karen Hesse Out of the Dust
1997 E. L. Konigsburg The View from Saturday
1996 Karen Cushman The Midwife's Apprentice
1995 Sharon Creech Walk Two Moons
1993 Cynthia Rylant Missing May
1992 Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Shiloh
1991 Jerry Spinelli Maniac Magee
1990 Lois Lowry Number the Stars
1989 Paul Fleischman Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices
1988 Russell Freedman Lincoln: A Photobiography
1986 Patricia MacLachlan Sarah, Plain and Tall
1985 Robin McKinley The Hero and the Crown
1983 Cynthia Voigt Dicey's Song
1982 Nancy Willard A Visit to William Blake's Inn
1980 Joan Blos A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal
1979 Ellen Raskin The Westing Game
1977 Mildred Taylor Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
1976 Susan Cooper The Grey King
1975 Virginia Hamilton M. C. Higgins, the Great
1974 Paula Fox The Slave Dancer
1973 Jean Craighead George Julie of the Wolves
1971 Betsy Byars Summer of the Swans
1970 William H. Armstrong Sounder
1969 Lloyd Alexander The High King
1968 E. L. Konigsburg From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
1967 Irene Hunt Up a Road Slowly
1966 Elizabeth Borton de Treviño I, Juan de Pareja
1965 Maia Wojciechowska Shadow of a Bull
1964 Emily Cheney Neville It's Like This, Cat
1963 Madeleine L'Engle A Wrinkle in Time
1962 Elizabeth George Speare The Bronze Bow
1960 Joseph Krumgold Onion John
1958 Harold Keith Rifles for Watie
1957 Virginia Sorenson Miracles on Maple Hill
1956 Jean Lee Latham Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
1955 Meindert DeJong The Wheel on the School
1954 Joseph Krumgold ...And Now Miguel
1953 Ann Nolan Clark Secret of the Andes
1952 Eleanor Estes Ginger Pye
1951 Elizabeth Yates Amos Fortune, Free Man
1950 Marguerite de Angeli The Door in the Wall
1949 Marguerite Henry King of the Wind
1948 William Pène du Bois The Twenty-One Balloons
1947 Carolyn Sherwin Bailey Miss Hickory
1946 Lois Lenski Strawberry Girl
1945 Robert Lawson Rabbit Hill
1943 Elizabeth Gray Vining Adam of the Road
1942 Walter D. Edmonds The Matchlock Gun
1941 Armstrong Sperry Call It Courage
1940 James Daugherty Daniel Boone
1939 Elizabeth Enright Thimble Summer
1938 Kate Seredy The White Stag
1937 Ruth Sawyer Roller Skates
1936 Carol Ryrie Brink Caddie Woodlawn
1935 Monica Shannon Dobry
1934 Cornelia Meigs Invincible Louisa
1933 Elizabeth Foreman Lewis Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze
1932 Laura Adams Armer Waterless Mountain
1931 Elizabeth Coatsworth The Cat Who Went to Heaven
1929 Eric P. Kelly The Trumpeter of Krakow
1928 Dhan Gopal Mukerji Gay Neck, the Story of a Pigeon
1927 Will James Smoky the Cow Horse
1926 Arthur Bowie Chrisman Shen of the Sea
1925 Charles Finger Tales from Silver Lands
1924 Charles Hawes The Dark Frigate
1923 Hugh Lofting The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle
1922 Hendrik Willem van Loon The Story of Mankind

Make your own Paint

2008-09-18T13:43:00.000-07:00

Easy to clean paint: 1 part tempera paint, 2 parts clear dish soap. Wipes off windows with dry paper towel.

Puffy paint: drops of food coloring with equal parts flour, salt, water. Use a squeeze bottle

Finger painting: globs of tempera paint between sheets of wax paper. Press and squish to swirl the colors. Make prints using one side of wax paper.

Bubbles: 6 parts water, 2 parts Joy dishsoap (Joy works best), 3/4 part light corn syrup

Social Behavior as construed in a school

2008-09-13T21:32:00.000-07:00

"And when Maxine confronted the teacher directly, shouting in class and drowning her out, she was punished in some routine way and was again deprived of the individual response which would have meant much to her...

This last sentence is worth thinking about. What are these routine punishments? A teacher might only say something like "We don't do that kind of thing here." More likely there would be demerits, or stayins after school, or trips to the principal's office. In all of these the point is that the child is made to feel, not that he has annoyed real people by breaking into a real conversation, but only that he has broken some rule, interrupted the working of the organization. What comes from the teacher is not a protest, not a personal cry of outrage "Maxine, why do you have to interrupt all the time when I'm talking?" but only orders, threats, punishments.

From a personal response Maxine might learn many things: that people can and do talk seriously to each other, that their talk means something and is important to them, that they can feel it as an attack - as indeed it is - if someone tries to stop them from talking. But in a regular school there is no such real talk. The teacher talks about what is in the curriculum or lesson plan; the children play - or perhaps refuse to play - whatever parts are set out for them.
...
I have never seen more true mean spiritedness among children than when they were in a school and a class in which adults tried to prevent or, if they could no prevent, to selttle all their quarrels. Nothing was ever trully worked out, settled, finished."

(What Do I Do Monday by John Holt pg 49-51)

I have often thought, the one drawback to homeschool, is not learning to sit still and listen. Not following all the rules. I didn't think about how construed those rules are. They learn rules of social behavior from real interactions. They learn to sit and listen in Primary, and even when mom is working with sister. Day after monotonous day of school lectures is never recreated outside of school. You are more likely to get a boss who reacts like mom, than like your school marm. Kids must be left as kids in order to actually socialize.

Math Fun with Food

2008-09-11T08:18:00.001-07:00

Use soda, glasses of water, candy bars, pizza or cookie dough to learn about fractions.

ADD PICTURES!! Leaf Impressions -> Square Area

2008-09-11T08:09:00.000-07:00

Today the boys learned about area and calculated the square area of leaves. They created graph paper by drawing a 1" grid on paper. I held the ruler and they drew the lines. Then they collected 3 leaves each and made crayon impressions of the leaves. They made a line on each square that was mostly filled with leaf impressions and counted the squares. This was the square area of each leaf.

Next time:
They need more practice making leaf impressions before we get busy learning so many concepts at one time. They were not able to take ownership of the project because I didn't explain what we were doing, just directed them on each step. I should have broken it into more sessions so they could understand the point better. Though they "got it", they will get it more deeply when we do it again.

Idea from Janice VanCleave's Play and Find Out about Math: Easy Activities for Young Children (ages 4-8)

Annual Events

2008-09-09T20:21:00.000-07:00

National Education Association's (NEA) Read Across America initiative. This reading motivation and awareness program calls for every child to celebrate reading on or around Dr. Seuss's birthday, March 2

April 12, the birthday of beloved children’s book author Beverly Cleary, has been declared National Drop Everything and Read (D.E.A.R.) Day! Participating in D.E.A.R. Day is a wonderful way to encourage children to read more.

Take 25 on May 25. Put child safety at the top of your to-do list in honor of National Missing Children’s Day, hosted annually by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children®.

Why Is That A Required Subject?

2008-09-07T09:50:00.000-07:00

"The other day a pleasant and problably kindly coach and swimming instructor told me about some child who hadn't wanted to swim, but he had made him, and the child had learned and now liked it, so why shouldn't he have the right to compel everyone to swim?

There are many answers. The child might have in time learned to swim on his own, and not only had the pleasure of swimming, but the far more important pleasure of having found that pleasure for himself. Or he might have used that time to find some other skills and pleasures, just as good.

The real trouble, as I said to the coach, is this: I llove swimming, and in a school where nothing else was compulsory I might see a casxe for making swimming so. But for every child in that school there are dozens of adults, each convinced that he has something of vital importance to "give" the child that he would never get for himself, all saying to the child, "I know better than you do what is good for ou." By te time all those people get through making the child do what they know is good for him, he has no time or energy left.

What is worse he has no sense of being in charge of his life and learning or that he could be in charge, or that he deserves to be in charge, or that if he were in charge it would turn out any way other than badly. In short, he has no sense of his identity or place. He is only where and what others tell him he is."

John Holt, What Do I Do Monday? pg 41

Forced Learning

2008-09-07T09:44:00.000-07:00

"Schools, teachers, parents all believe that their job is to make learning happen in children, and that if it happens it is only because they made it happen. I have known parents who became anxious and angry whenever I told them about something their children had done on their own initiative and for their own reasons. These people, like many teachers, had to believe that anything good the child did or that was in him came and could come only from them. It is as if we all dream of seeing in print, someday, a statement by some famous person that all he is he owes to us. "

John Holt What Do I Do Monday pg 40

I am not responsible for my children learning. If I put the burden of responsibility on me, then I am the one responsible, I am the one required to do the work. It is my responsibility to foster in them a love of learning and provide experiences and materials so they can do the learning themselves. You cannot teach what one does not want to learn. You will only learn that which you seek for yourself. Schools force rote memorization in lieu of true learning so they can reap the credit for all they "taught" the children. If the children do not really learn it, that is their own fault. Pshaw.

Start where he is and move out

2008-09-07T09:39:00.000-07:00

"It would have been pointless to simply undo the errors in Jose's view of the world and supply him with information. It was essential to stand beside him on whatever solid ground he might possess. The learner, child or adult, his experience, his interests, his concerns, his wonders, his hopes, and fears, his likes and dislikes, the things he is good at, must always be at the center of his learning. He can move out into the world only from where he already is in it."

John Holt, What Do I Do Monday pg 37

When an older child struggles with reading, it is because he missed something along the way. You must go back to the beginning and start anew. When he finds the piece he was missing, he will quickly catch up to where he should be. All learning is like this. Just as when I learned how to do story problems in 7th grade. The teacher had to start with where I was. Find a connection to the child, make sure it applies to them. Then and only then can you move forward.

Continuum of Experience

2008-09-04T09:24:00.000-07:00

"We talk about school as a place where people teach (or try to) and others learn (or try to, or try not to) the "skills" of reading, or arithmetic, or this that, or the other. This is not how a child (or anyone else) learns to do things. He learns to do them by doing them. He does not learn the "skills" of speech and then go somewhere and use these skills to speak with. He learns to speak by speaking.

When we try to teach a child a disembodied skill, we say in effect, "You must learn to do this thing in here, so that later on you can go and do something quite different out there." This destroys the continuum of experience within which true learning can only take place. We should try to do instead in school as much as possible of what people are doing in the world."

John Holt, What Do I Do Monday?

The Science of Intuition

2008-09-03T20:23:00.000-07:00

"When we say someone has good intuition...we are saying he has a very good mental model of the way people feel and behave. It is a mistake to assume that intuition or judgment must always be unscientific, less reliable than some sort of test. The intuition of one who has had wide experience and really learned from it is more reliable and scientific than anything else we could find. It takes into account thousands of subtle factors we could never build into a controlled situation or a test."

What Do I Do Monday? by John Holt

Citizenship Reading List

2008-08-25T11:18:00.000-07:00

Stories from the History of Rome by Mrs. Beesley
A Citizen Reader by Arnold Forster
Julius Caesar by Plutarch

Foreign Language Resources

2008-08-25T11:07:00.000-07:00

English from the Roots up (just the flashcards)
Rummy Roots
Power Glide
Ecce Romani by Longman (just the student book, not teacher guide or workbooks)
Siepmann's Primary French Course French Songs by Violet Partington

Magic School Bus Books

2008-08-22T13:11:00.001-07:00

19 - Color Day Relay: color, light, prism, Isaac Newton, refraction, rainbows

Closeup of family pix

2008-08-22T06:29:00.000-07:00

Dolce Vita Academy

Sonlight Reading List - K

Sonlight Reading list - Preschool 4-5 years

Sonlight Reading list - Preschool 3-4 years

Car Maintenance Class

Skills Classes

So long. Farewell. Auf wiedersehen.

Twaddle Free in a Twaddle Era

The Question I was Dying to Answer

File Folder Game Ideas

Lists of Rhyming Words aka Word Families

Public Speaking: Golf

Toddler Coordination

Count with Beads

Where in the USA is...

What Floats?

Step Back

Incorporate CM Once A Week

1000 Good Books for Grades 1-3

Taken from 1000 Good Books List

1-3 Anthologies & Poetry

1-3 Holiday Books

1-3 Picture Books

1-3 Beginning Readers

1-3 Easy Readers

1-3 Advanced Readers

If by Rudyard Kipling

Dreams by Langston Hughes

Moral Training

Lessons of Life: Language and Writing Idea

Links I Like

SOTW Projects - Ch 4

SOTW Projects - Ch 3

SOTW Projects - Ch 2

SOTW Projects - Ch 1

SOTW Projects - Introduction

Ever wonder what homeschooling is really like?

Classical Oveview for Gramar Stage

What are you doing for each subject?

Work Box Examples

Ever Have One of those Weeks?

Science Classification

Classical Education Science

Classical Education History Resource List

Classical Education: History Memorization

Classical Education Reading List: Modern

Beginning Reader book idea

Classical Education Reading List: Late Renaissance/Early Modern

Classical Education Reading List: Medieval/Early Renaissance

Classical Education Reading List: Ancient Times

Classical Education: Reading in Grammar Stage

Work Box Hiatus and Soap box on what learning really is

Work Boxes Lessons Learned

Classical Education Overview

Work Boxes Day 2

Monday's Workboxes

Work Boxes: Why and How

Grammar Grades 1, 2

Topics Covered in Level 1

Topics Covered in Level 2

First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind, Levels 1 + 2 – Paperback

Day in the Life - Wednesday

Math: 10s game

Day in the Life - Monday and Tuesday

Reading

Math: Divisible by 3

Making a pattern

Japanese YouTube Videos

St Patrick's Day Eggshell Shamrocks

A Kindergarten Day

Signing Times Lessons

Signing Times Music Videos

Stock Market Web Sites

Web Cams

Math Websites and Books

Nature Study Tree Drawing

Interesting Facts on public schooling

Biological Taxonomy

Kindergarten Schedule

Reading Word List