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11月5日 As the first quarter ends....we find ourselves settling into a routine for the week. We still have a few logistical bumps here and there, but for the most part, we have things figured out. Each of the children is finding things a bit more challenging this year. The 9 year old and the 13 year old have each been "bumped up" a grade level. I did this in order to challenge them and see if they would rise to the occasion. For the most part, they are both doing a pretty good job. DS is really enjoying both his art and science classes at co-op. He does not particularly enjoy his writing class, as it is a challenge for him, but he is putting forth decent effort. DD is enjoying her art class, Apologetics class, Church history class, literature class, and "gym" class. She is doing the work for science, but it is not her favorite. Both of their grades are a little lower than they would be at a lower grade level, but that is because of the difficulty of the work expected from them. Lord, Thank You for helping us to make a good start. Please be with us as we continue along this path You have set us on. Amen. 9月14日 Starting the school yearWe started co-op classes today. YDS has 3 classes and his sister has 6 or 7...I lost count! Our co-op has a very full junior high/high school level "program" and she will participate in that. It is 2 days and will probably fill most of her week after "homework" is assigned. I had won a Picturing America grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and we are sharing it with our co-op. One of the other mothers has a degree in art and agreed to teach with the grant. Both of my children had her class today. She is teaching twice...once for the younger group and once for the older group. They used clay today to sculpt after looking at and learning about southwestern pottery. Both of my children enjoyed it.
YDD has a literature class this year. I was informed by her teacher that she was enthusiastic during class and even asked if they might get to read and study more than just the 3 books currently on the syllabus. I wondered if it could possibly have been my child she was talking about, or perhaps a body snatcher alien.....
Both students have science classes with a wonderful retired science teacher. We will see how the year goes. It is the first time YDS has been sent off into classrooms without mom hovering around.
I get to be hall monitor. I don't mind being the mean mom who has to corral little ones back to pre-school music, or tell teens to lower their voices. I also monitor the door to the building we use. There is an office there for a missions group and there are elderly sisters who live in half of the building so we are not the only people in and out. It is an old convent building. We are grateful that we have use of the building. It has given us the opportunity to have a really full co-op.
Dear Lord,
Please guide us on the path of your choosing this year. May we be humble and loving. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen. 7月6日 Wrapping up I am still processing all the end of the school year stuff. You know
what I mean. The essays and papers that still need to be corrected,
the portfolio that still needs to be assembled. I am also waiting for
the standardized test results for my 3 children who are at home. We
are also thinking about next year and planning for curriculum. We are
venturing back into a co-op for many of our classes next year after
staying home for all of our classes this past year. I love the co-op
as far as opportunity to be with other families goes, however, I am
afraid my children see only the social opportunity, and do not
understand that this is a wonderful learning opportunity. I am wondering about how to balance the co-op with the rest of the week. I am also trying to determine if I will continue to attend the Ladies Bible Study that has been a part of my life for so many years. I am not sure if I can justify another day out of the house with 2 co-op days. In the mean time, one of my dear homeschooling friends is taking classes and talking about becoming a public school teacher.  I will miss her if and when she starts teaching in brick and mortar schools.Dear Lord, Thank You for opportunities and changes. May we follow Your will for us. Please help us to discern the way You would have us follow. Amen. 6月7日 NECHC Well, we survived the First Annual(hopefully)NECHC. If you had asked me a month ago if I thought this conference would be successful, I would have scratched my head and and mumbled "ummmmm...." as a vague kind of "I really don't think so, and I think we have been absolutely crazy to undertake this!" After yesterday, though, I am pleased to say that the conference was a success. We had a beautiful day, a great turnout, and happy vendors. Our lovely Challenge Club girls (with a lot of help from Mrs. Seaver and Mrs. Hill) put together and manned a "food court" to raise money to help defray the costs of the Challenge Summer Convention for the girls who would like to attend this year. Attendees raved about the food. Dr. William Fahey, President of Thomas More College in NH presented a talk about homeschool fathers. He was very well received by the mixed audience of moms, dads, grandparents and religious who attended. He was at turns witty and serious, and touched on the disconnect that can occur if fathers are "divorced" from the homeschool situation. Cynthia Montanaro spoke of her years as a homeschool mom and all the lessons she learned along the way. Dr. Jean Golden-Tevald shared her faith journey as a doctor, wife and mother of natural born and adopted children. There was a music workshop done by Making Music, Praying Twice which seemed geared toward younger children and the importance of surrounding our children with all different types of music from an early age. Nick Morganelli rounded out the afternoon with some fun science experiments that can be done at home. He also demonstrated a "here comes the rain" rhythm with clapping, snapping, stomping that he has used in co-op classes. I am certain that children in a class would love this so much we might have a hard time returning to quiet. The Daughters of St. Paul presented a lovely hour of Eucharistic Adoration for the hour before Mass. The readings and music brought great peace to the room and very nicely helped to lead everyone into the close of the day. The two sisters also manned a table for Pauline Books and Media. I think my favorite part of the day, however, was the attendees. People came from as far away as Quebec, Canada, and as near as right here in Chicopee, MA. We had a large turnout of Catholic homeschoolers from CT, RI, and NH. One family came in from Boston very close to the end of the day, having only just heard about the conference on Friday June 5th. There were several Catholic support groups represented from different areas including this one and this one. It was wonderful to meet so many people dedicated to teaching their children at home. Many people seemed excited about having a Catholic Homeschooling conference. I know that the Holy Spirit led those of us involved in planning this conference. He laid on our hearts an ache for something that we miss at other homeschool conferences. Our Catholic identity makes us yearn for the presence of the Lord in a way that only Catholics truly appreciate: Our Lord in the Eucharist. Having both Adoration and the Holy Mass available fulfills in us something that other forms of prayer simply don't give us. It brings the Lord more fully into our hearts and souls. Dear Lord, Thank you for Your guiding hand in the NECHC. I am truly awed by the spirit of joy that surrounded all who volunteered and attended the conference. You have blessed us with children who not only help out when "forced," but who also cheerfully offer their assistance where ever they see a need. Please help us to continue to lead them to have servant's hearts. Thank you, Lord, for all those who volunteered at the conference. There were so many who arrived and pitched in. I am humbled by their generous spirits, Lord. Amen. 6月2日 Conference boxes5月20日 A notebooking give awayApologia
is now producing notebooking journals that accompany each of the
elementary science books. Both Botany and Astronomy are now available.
You can see samples on the Apologia website here: These
journals are beautiful spiral bound notebooks that will save you time
and money. You won't have to print and keep up with your child's
notebook pages, buy and maintain page protectors, or purchase and
compile binders...everything that makes notebooking time-consuming and
labor intensive for mom. Also, your child will adore having their own
notebooking journal. Each of the notebooking journals include:
See the sample pages here: Botany: https://apologia.securesites.net/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=128 and Astronomy: https://apologia.securesites.net/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=127 Jeannie
is giving away four Astronomy Notebooking Journals and four Botany
Notebooking Journals to bloggers who post about this on their site.
Visit her blog to learn more about this contest: www.jeanniesjournal.com 5月13日 Rosetta Stone ContestRosetta Stone is the fastest way to learn a language and has been the #1 foreign language curriculum among homeschoolers for a while — and you can WIN the *all new* version 3 Rosetta Stone Homeschool LATIN program… FOR FREE! This is the first year you can get Latin in the brand new Version III update. This is a $259 program (and believe me it’s worth every penny!) To win this most excellent Latin program copy these paragraphs and post them in (or as) your next blog post, and/OR link to the contest from your facebook page and/OR email the information to your homeschool support group – Then go to the original page http://Jeneralities.com and leave a comment saying that you’ve posted about, or have linked to, the contest. Please make sure the link works to get back to the original contest page when you post. And good luck! 5月9日 Physical education These photos are from YDS' first baseball game of the season. They
still don't keep score and they get 6 pitches, but the kids know which
team really won the game. If you get tagged out, you are out. I am not
sure if they are counting outs. It would appear they are not. They go
through the entire batting order (9 batters). It is coach pitch. My little guy made a couple of really great plays and got a couple of outs. This is physical education in my homeschool world. This and jumping on the trampoline!  Playing first base Running to first base He swings and connects! First up to bat.
4月27日 Water, water everywhere We signed up for an online video science class by that title through Currclick.com.
Here are some photos from some of the experiments we have done. This
one is an air pressure experiment. We learned that 1 atmosphere is 14.6
pounds of pressure per square inch and that the air pressure will keep
the water in a submerged glass and even push more water into it. The
second photo is also the air pressure experiment.   We made a water clock last week. This photo shows the finished product held by YDS. This
photo shows the lines within the bottom cup. It took 90 seconds for
water to reach the first line, another 60 seconds to reach the second
line, another 105 seconds to reach the third. The total time it took
for water to reach the third line was 4 minutes, 15 seconds. We
did an ice cutting experiment using dental floss and an ice cube.
Unfortunately, the cut in the ice from the floss did not show up in the
photos we took. It was fun to see the ice being cut by dental floss,
though. We are looking forward to more experiments in the weeks to
come.
2月16日 A great homeschool resourceI have been using The Homeschool Freebie of the Day for about a year now. It has saved me money and trips to the library. There are special freebies each week for subscribers to the weekly e-mail reminder newsletter that are not available on the website.  1月15日 A grant!My homeschool received a grant from the National Endowment for Humanities. It is a Picturing America Award. It includes 40 reproductions of American art and a teacher resource book. I am looking forward to discussing this with my homeschool group to see if we could use it for an art/art history class so more students can benefit from the wealth of this grant. Dear Lord, I was so surprised by the letter I received via e-mail today telling me about this grant. I had forgotten about applying for it. Thank you for sending this to brighten things up here during the cold dreary winter. It is a reminder that spring will come as the package should arrive in March or April. Amen. 12月21日 what we have been up toupdate/what we have been up toYDS had his MRI last Sunday evening. We are still awaiting results. He saw the ENT on Thursday. An area in his left nostril was cauterized. He had had 6 nosebleeds in the 24 hours prior to the ENT visit. He has had no nosebleeds since the cauterization. Hopefully he is "cured" of the nosebleeds. Here are a few photos of things we have been doing: A giant nutcracker at Yankee Candle. We went on a field trip there on Wednesday 12/17/2008. They have an area devoted to the history of candle making within their flagship store in South Deerfield, MA, as well as a history of the founding of Yankee Candle.  A "wax hand" made at Yankee Candle as a Christmas gift for our wonderful neighbor who already has everything.
 YDS with "Santa and Mrs. Claus" at Yankee Candle. We did a fair bit of baking this week. A tray of finished Christmas cookies:  A kitten named George who was helping to get out storage bags. (hehe) Decorated cookies A few cookies that had been made into sandwiches with chocolate and sprinkles: The baked cookies prior to decorating: Cookies and pumpkin bread were distributed to neighbors and friends.
A gingerbread house that we assembled and decorated. Gingerbread is not my forte, so I bought a kit for this. It was a fun activity.     Wishing all of our family and friends a Blessed and Holy Christmas!11月29日 A couple of ProjectsJust a couple of projects   I have been meaning to make this Liturgical Year wheel since August. I finally made it last night...just in time for Advent. We made these pine cone, peanut butter and bird seed feeders for the birds, but the squirrels stole them right off the tree! 8月28日 Getting ReadyAs homeschoolers, we are getting ready to begin our new school year. I am trying something different this year, well, at least with the youngest and oldest....I did not purchase pre-written lesson plans this year. The last several years, I used the CHC curriculum lesson plan guides for my youngest. This year I borrowed a friend's MODG third grade syllabus. I will adapt this to suit our books and needs. This really means a good deal more work on my part. The oldest(at home-we have 2 in college and one who is floundering right now) is a freshman this year. He will be using Saxon Algebra 1 and Switched on Schoolhouse for language arts, science and history. He enjoys the computer, so I am hoping SOS is a good fit for him. My daughter, who is 12 and driving me crazy with the attitude, will be following a MODG syllabus. Again, we will use only some of the books that are listed. We will substitute in other areas. The biggest difference for her, however, is her math program. Her math program is called Applying Mathematics and is from Systematic Mathematics. I started using "Systemath" last year, and we saw a 57 point increase in DD's standardized test scores. Systematic Mathematics does not use a spiral method as most math programs do. It, instead, teaches one concept at a time until it is mastered. It also uses real life applications (recipes, sqare footage of houses) to demonstrate a concept. This year there are amortization schedules for a mortgage in the packet. My daughter does not enjoy math at all. She does not even like this program. The program includes DVD's and a CD-ROM that includes all the worksheets, answer sheets, tests and other data for the year. I enjoy the dry wit of the teach on the DVD's. His name is Paul Ziegler, and he is a retired math teacher who set out to create a math program for homeschoolers after retiring. He occasionally makes an error, but usually catches himself. I know my daughter usually catches the errors. Of course, maybe this is part of the education...if the student is catching the errors, the student is really learning. Well, I need to make a couple of phone calls and gather the last few books I will need for the school year. I also need to drop off a book to a friend. Lord, Please bless our little homeschool as we begin a new year. Please be with me as I write out lesson plans. Please help me to be more attentive to my children's needs. I need to remember that they learn better from hearing things. This really means I need to read out loud to them at least some of the time. Please help me to do this. Our little homeschool is dedicated to Your Grace. Help us to remember to call on You in prayer each morning as we begin. Amen. 8月14日 A review of the Schoolhouse PlannerI have had the opportunity to check out The Schoolhouse Planner from The Old Schoolhouse. This resource, which is divided into 3 sections, is much more than just a planner! The first section contains a two page, whole year calendar. This section then is divided into 12 months. The planner runs from July 2008-June 2009. Each month includes resource lists, calendars and recipes. Also included in this section are lists of presidents and their wives, kitchen conversion charts, lists of artists, composers, countries and capitals. There are articles on various homeschool topics such as, "Making Math Stick." Each monthly calendar includes space for notes. Holidays have not been labeled so you are free to label according to your beliefs. There is a periodic table which includes quotes from Marie Curie and George Washington Carver. There is a history timeline. This resource is a Christian resource and includes the Reformation in the timeline. One of the most impressive parts of the homeschool resources is the inclusion of transcripts of historical documents including the Declaration of Independence and the Gettysburg address. These are only a few of the resources included in the first 120 pages of the planner which is 247 pages all together. The second section is made up of homeschool forms, and the final section is household forms. There are annual plans, annual goals, report cards, curriculum planning and curriculum recording sheets. There are also pages for co-op and support group information. The household forms include grocery lists, menu plans, and chore lists, just to name a few. I am looking forward to having so much information at my fingertips while we learn at home this year. The Old Shoolhouse has put together a wonderful resource. 3月28日 field tripWe went on a field trip to today to a Science Museum in a neighboring bigger city. This was planned with the science coop class that we had been in at the beginning of the "school year" but which proved to be a scheduling nightmare for us. I see the woman who coordinates the coop frequently, and she has invited us to participate in these field trips.
The program today was mostly about dinosaurs. Of course, the biggest problem with most "scientific" programs about dinosaurs is that they present evolution as fact instead of as theory. I was quite pleased with this presentation today, though. While they did talk about the "timeline" of hundreds of millions of years, the presenter stated everything like this: "Scientists Think that ...." While she didn't say "this is a theory" to the children, she definitely presented it in a manner consistent with the presentation of theory instead of fact. We had discussed prior to the trip that things might be presented a bit differently than what we believe. I must admit, that we all learned a few new things. We had not studied at all about the Rancho La Brea tarpits, but we learned quite a bit about them today....as far as the types and quantity of animals that have been found there. Did you know that the fossils of over 2000 saber tooth cats (smilodon) have been found there? Or that there have been 59 different species remains found there?
There were also exhibits of artifacts and fine art, but YDS will only tolerate so much, and about half way through the day, I got a migraine, so while YDD went into other exhibits with another family, YDS and I were out in the yard where he could run around and burn some energy.
It was a beautiful spring day today, so outside was a good place to be. YDS seems to be coming down with a cold, though, so he was not quite as fast as he would normally be.
Dear Lord,
Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this program today. Thank you for the opportunity to educate my children as You lead. Please guide us as we enter the end of our structured school year. Education never really stops, even though we grow older or take a break from the more formal. Lord, help me to realize how much my children have learned and grown this year, and help me to continue on Your paths in guiding them.
Amen. 1月19日 About our homeschoolI am relatively new to homeschooling, having just brought my 10 year old home this year after kinder through grade 4 at a Catholic school. If I had been obedient to God, she would have been home last year, but I let fear get in the way of obedience. 1月12日 Homeschooling tools and reflectionsI was looking for a way to keep better track of my daughter's grades. I typed "grade book" into Google and I found this FANTASTIC, FREE, grade book tool!!!!! http://ww1.engrade.com/
I have put YDD's math grades for the last 2 "marking periods" and started putting in the grades for this "marking period." I figured I would go with 4 marking periods per year as she has been accustomed to in school prior to coming home this year. I was pleasantly surprised to see that her grades, when I actually put them all together, were much better than I had thought. I guess I must be a bit of a "glass is half empty" person when it comes to grades....
I am trying to start thinking ahead to next year for YDS. He is about 6 months ahead in his studies so far making him grade 1 1/2. He has started a second grade arithmetic curriculum and is nearly finished with Hooked On Phonics at approximately the first grade level. I anticipate finishing the entire HOP Deluxe program by the end of the "school year" which I anticipate will be around the end of May. According to the folks at Hooked On Phonics, completing the deluxe program brings a child through second grade. Nothing is set in stone, though. Who knows, we may wind things up earlier or later.
I talked to my friend Mary who has homeschooled for many years now. She told me to not worry about it right now and just enjoy what we are doing. I guess I am trying to prepare for the financial aspect by planning what I will need to purchase for next year. The second bit of advice from Mary: NEVER make a decision in February. I am not certain why, but this is my first "real" homeschool year. YDS has been homeschooled for the last 2 years with preschool and kinder curricula, but this year I have the privilege of homeschooling 2 children at different age levels. I have the impression that February can be a kind of "hairy" month.
In looking back on our year thus far, I am pretty pleased. We have settled into a bit of a routine. The children know what is expected from them (even if they do not alway give what is expected). YDD is becoming more confident in the area of mathematics and I think we may have her on what is considered "grade level" by the end of the year. She is a much more pleasant child than she was at this time last year. I believe that having her around children from families with similar belief systems to ours has had a huge impact. She participates in a Challenge Club (http://www.challengeclubs.org/) where she has met some wonderful young women who share our beliefs. She has become less "me,me,me" and more giving. YDS has become more able to focus, and while he is still "busy," even DH's aunt who sees him a few times a year commented on how much he has "calmed down."
Dear Lord,
You called me to home school these wonderful children. They are your children. Please help me to guide them along "the paths of righteousnous for Your name's sake." I am trying to be the mother and wife You want me to be, Lord, but I know that I need to F.R.O.G. (Fully Rely On God) much more than I have been. Please fill my heart, oh God. Pour Your fire into my soul and help me to see out of the desert and into the promised land.
Amen. 12月3日 What to call it?I have been giving a great deal of thought to naming our home school. I want a name that sums up, in just a few words, what we are try to live here. I have tossed around Amazing Grace Academy, Christ the King Academy, Grace and Peace of our Lord Academy....but none of them is quite right.
The one thing that has been going really well in our life lately is the home schooling. I am starting to see YDD have more confidence and better manners. She is making fewer mistakes and takes criticism constructively instead of falling apart and crying. She will still denigrate her own work on occasion, but she is doing so less often, and with less insistence. YDS has finally settled down and is progressing rapidly. He has completed level 2 of his Hooked on Phonics program and begun level 3. He is almost done with his first grade arithmetic curriculum. We will begin second grade math in January.
I have been a bit lax in the science area. We started out in a science co-op class, but we spent so much time driving around between that and writing class and Bible Study that something had to go. After much thought and prayer, we decided that the science class was the "weak link" in our schedule. I looked around and realized my house is full of science books, and since I purchased the science curricula for the class, all I had to do was follow through and do the work at home with the kids. We will be catching up this week. We are really only about a week behind the co-op.
I started Latin with YDD, but we have not been consistent with that. I am hoping to get back into that more in January.
I am grateful that I have so many friends who also home school. I have gleaned useful hints and information from them all. There are so many sources for free worksheets and stories and other curricula. It can be overwhelming. I try to make sure that whatever I give my children from any of these free sources does not contradict our beliefs in any way. It is a fine line to be in the world and not OF the world.
Lord,
Thank you for the peace you have given me this week about the schooling. I have had so much emotional turmoil in other areas lately, Lord, so I am all the more grateful for the peace. Please send a name for our home school, Lord. You know the perfect name for it. Thank you for my children. Help me to see them as you see them, Lord, and to love them as you do.
Amen 9月27日 deep sighStill alive, just extremely busy. Six yr. old is acting 3...I think because he is used to having me to himself during the "school day" but now he has to share me with his sister. Trying to find the balance, and asking God to help me to not lose patience with the children.
Lord,
Give me patience, please!
Amen |
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