Road Trip: Then and Now

Remember those long car rides you took when you were a kid? I vividly remember our family vacation trips to Florida (about a 10-11 hour drive from where we lived). My brother, sister and I used to pile all of our pillows and blankets in the floor of the station wagon (70's and early 80's) or Suburban (80's). We would bring books, snacks, toys and games, and make tents and have a ball. I still remember my favorite treat to take was those little baskets of gum that were shaped like strawberries - they even came in a little green plastic basket like real strawberries. What fun those trips were! I am sure that is not quite how my parents remember it. I am sure there were hours of "are we there yet?" and "I need to potty" and "hey, get off my side of the car!" And my father will never let me forget the time when I was 3 and threw up on the way home from D*sney W*rld, all over his brand new company station wagon.
Well, boy have times changed. We just arrived home from a long trip to visit my husband's extended family. The car ride there was 9 1/2 hours long. It was rather odd to look around our car and see my 2 older ones with headphones listening to Chronicles of Narnia on CD, the 3 year old (christened "the queen" by her godfather) with her headphones watching March of the Penguins on a small TV we had strapped to the console with bungee cords, and my husband and I both with our headphones on listening to our respective i-pods. Now, if only they made little headphones for a 9 month old :). She slept a total of 30 minutes the whole drive (did I mention it was a 9 1/2 hour trip ?) and cried for the last three hours straight. While I miss the days of making tents in the floor of the car on the way to Florida, I will confess, if you have to strap them down for 9 1/2 hours (and only make two 20 minute stops), then at least let them be entertained! That is hard for me to say, since I am all for them coming up with their own entertainment, but for sanity, we gave in to the technology, and only had to listen to "are we there yet?" a few hundred times.

Our Plans for 2008-2009

I know,I promised I would not post another book list. This is not really a book list, rather an outline of our studies for next year, so I really didn't break my promise :) Today I sat down and really spent some time looking through all of the books I have been considering. I am still struggling with a few decisions, but here is what I think I have settled on.

2nd grader

Christian Studies: Old Testament
Children's Bible Reader (she will read these aloud to me or her little sisters)
Days of Creation Art
various children's lives of the saints books
Let the Little Children Come to Me

Arithmetic
Math on the Level - we will be using this as our guide this year, and I plan to continue with Ray's as needed.

English Studies
Yesterday's Classics - First and Second Readers
Explode the Code - book 4
SWR - still debating
The Sentence Family - for fun
Copywork - poems for poetry book

History
Greenleaf Guide to Ancient Egypt

4th grader

Christian Studies
Golden Children's Bible
Memoria Press Christian Studies I
Forty Saints

Arithmetic
Math on the Level - and Singapore if needed

Latin
Lively Latin

English Studies
Writing Tales or Classical Writing - still struggling with this one
The Sentence Family

History
Colonization to the American Revolution - Time Travelers series

Both will be doing:

Geography - North and South America - probably just using maps, living books and encyclopedia

Science
Among the .. series
nature journal

Art
Atelier Art, and CM artist study

Music
piano lessons, and our CM composer study

If I stick with these decisions, then I will not have to do any more purchasing for next year, other than the occasional living book I might add in, and few books to cover our geography lessons. I am still working on a schedule for the year, so when I get my lesson plans worked out, I will post those also. At that point I will be creating my teacher's planner for this year, and will post the sections as I create them for this year.

What would I do?

Someone asked a great question on a homeschool forum the other day. What would you do if you had three years to prepare to homeschool? Would you start buying curriculum, would you start buying supplies? Would you begin making schedules and lesson plans? After thinking about it, I know exactly what I would do. I would read. I would read about different teaching methods and educational philosphies. And I would pray. I would pray for God to show me what was right for my kids. I will admit that I did not really know if I wanted to homeschool when my kids were toddlers. When the time for that decision came, I was a young mom, with a 4 year old and a 2 year old. I am a homeschool graduate myself, having been homeschooled from 3rd grade through high school. I LOVED being homeschooled, and can honestly say I have never regretted it, or felt as if I missed out on anything. I also know first hand the sacrifice required. I look back and see how many things my mother missed out on, how many other activities she could have been doing, how many talents she could have explored. So as my oldest approached school age, I began to really wonder, was I up to it? I find myself still asking that question, especially as I begin to think about a new school year, and new challenges. Looking back, there are so many things I wish I had known, so many books I wish I had read. So here is my list of books I think are most helpful as one begins to consider homeschooling. If I had a year to prepare, I would spend it reading these books and praying.

The Well Trained Mind - This book was the one that gave me the confidence to begin, a path to follow, from preschool to highschool. While we have strayed from that path, I still consider it an invaluable resource for any homeschooler.

Education Is - a free E-book - a short collection of Charlotte Mason's writings and commentary
on what education truly is - an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life. This little book is invaluable for any parent, even if you are not planning to homeschool.

A Charlotte Mason Education - This easy to read book gives an overview of CM, broken down by subject. It is a very practical guide for how to implement the principles of beauty in education professed by Charlotte Mason.

Dumbing Us Down - an insightful look at the current educational system, why it is failing, and what it is doing to the future generations of America. Fair Warning: you may not be able to ever consider sending your kids to public school after reading this book!

Educating the WholeHearted Child - This one I have added to my summer reading. A wonderful book about educating your child, from instilling habits and choosing curriculum to planning lessons and determining learning styles in your children.

The Lost Tools of Learning - an essay by Dorothy Sayers on the need for a return to classical education

Multum non Multa - an essay by Andrew Campbell, author of The Latin Centered Curriculum. It is a brief look at the principle of "much, not many", and for me was a balance to the Well Trained Mind, which can become a daunting curriculum to follow if you feel you "have to do it all." For that matter, any article in the Memoria Press magazine is worth reading :)

So there is my list - and I promise not to post another book list the next time I post :)

Summer Reading for the Kids

While we are on the topic of reading, let me share with you several thoughts on selecting books for kids. I really love what Andrew Campbell has to say in LCC:

"When selecting books, look for three things: literary language; worthy stories and characters; and quality illustrations. Ask yourself, "Does this story ennoble the child's mind? Does it speak to her heart? What aesthetic, intellectual, and moral models does it place before her? Will she be a better person for having read it?" (p.75)

Quality illustrations factor in pretty heavily when it comes to my purchases, and some of my favorite illustrators for young children's tales include K.Y. Craft (breathtaking fairy tales), Paul O. Zelinsky (beautifully illustrated Grimm's tales), A.A. Milne and Beatrix Potter (my three year old is totally infatuated with Peter Rabbit right now, nap time cannot begin without a short story about Peter, Jemima Puddle Duck or Jeremy Fisher). Milo Winter's version of Aesop's fables is simple and beautiful. I also love Arthur Rackham, but some might consider Rackham a bit dark for the youngest.

Many people struggle with making decisions about literature, especially when it comes to fairy tales, mythology and fantasy literature. A Landscape with Dragons is a wonderful resource if you are unsure about how to approach these genre, and how to determine whether a book puts forth moral models (not every "good v. evil" story is a positive moral model!). It is written from a Christian perspective, and discusses the usefulness of appropriate fairy tales, while comparing older stories with some of the currently popular myth adventures, pointing out that many can appear "Christian" or moral, while in reality they are often subtly undermining true Christian values. While I don't agree with everything the author writes, it gave me some insight into many of these issues. That said, here is a list of what the kids will be reading this summer:

"the crocodile hunter" - age 9
Wonderbook for Boys and Girls (he needs to finish the last 2 stories from school year)
Black Ships Before Troy - Sutcliff
Wanderings of Odysseus - Sutcliff
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - Lewis

"the little princess" - age 7
Reading-Literature: First Reader - Yesterday's Classics

Read Alouds:
Swiss Family Robinson (I have been reading this to them for over a year, they love it, but we just have not been able to finish it, so this summer we will finish the last few chapters)
The Secret Garden (I am planning to plant a "secret" garden space for the kids in addition to our vegetable garden, so I thought this would be a fun read)
The Jungle Book
Among the Pond People - I cannot say enough about how much fun this series is! - great living books science!

Summer Reading List

I love to read. I mean, I really, really love to read. And I am one of those people who will pick up a book and not put it down until it is finished. Prime example: this past Christmas my mother loaned me her copy of Atlas Shrugged . I had just had a baby in October, and much of my time was spent sitting and nursing (and very little leaving the house), so I decided I would read the book over our Christmas break. I read it in 4 days. The book has 1200 pages. For four days I sat in my kitchen and read. I read while I nursed, I read while the kids fixed their own lunches, I read all day. I could not put it down. Thankfully, there are not many 1200 page books out there that I care to read, or my poor family would be in trouble. That book reminded me though of just how little I get to read these days. And what I do read is almost always school related. That is a good thing, but I decided I need to get back to reading a broader range of books. So here is my summer reading list. Many of these I am rereading, because they help me to re-center and begin a new school and church year with a fresh reminder of why I am doing the things I do.

For School:
The Latin Centered Curriculum 2nd edition - Andrew Campbell - finally arrived, and I have already read most of it :)

Laying Down the Rails: A Charlotte Mason Habit Handbook

Keeping a Nature Journal - Leslie & Roth (need to get motivated and inspired!)

Climbing Parnassus - Tracy Lee Simmons (need to reread)

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain - Betty Edwards

For Me:
Seven Habits of Highly Successful People (started this one a while back but I need to go back through it again)

Quotidian Mysteries (I like to reread this 2-3 times a year)

A Mother's Rule of Life - (need to reread this and revamp my "rule")

Letters to a Beginner - Abbess Thaisia

The Mission of Motherhood - Sally Clarkson

Raising Them Right - St. Theophan the Recluse

Making God Real in the Orthodox Christian Home - Anthony Coniaris

Thirsting for God in a Land of Shallow Wells - Matthew Gallatin - (love his podcasts on Ancient Faith radio!)

For Fun:
A Tale of Two Cities

Secret Garden (going to read this one aloud to the kids this summer)

A Lesson in Patience?

No, I am not referring to the fact that it has been a little while since I posted! I have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of my copy of Latin Centered Curriculum (the revised and updated version). I placed my pre-order back in April, sold my old copy of the original, and patiently waited for the end of May to roll around (all the while trying to NOT buy any new curriculum until I at least saw the new LCC). So, joy of joys, I received an email on Monday saying it had shipped. I check the mail each day with the anticipation of a child waiting for Santa to come. But is hasn't come. I just checked the mail today, thinking, surely it will arrive in time for me to read it over the weekend (I mean, after all, it's not like I live across the country - in fact, if gas didn't cost so much I would be tempted to take a "field trip" to go pick up my book!). It wasn't there. And I don't suppose it will be there before next week now, since I just checked my email notice - which informs me that is was shipped media mail. MEDIA MAIL!!!! And a holiday weekend!!!! So, I will patiently wait until next week, unless some wonderful mailman miracle occurs and it shows up tomorrow. Usually by this time I have most things generally planned out in my mind for the next school year. This year I forced myself to not do that. I did go to our local homeschool fair, and yes, I did buy something :) but I feel that I restrained myself quite well overall. I really am looking forward to spending a few weeks this summer reading a number of books, and preparing for the next school year. I will post my summer reading list the next chance I get.

Scheduling: Part 2: My Teacher's Planner

Someone asked at WTM about teacher's planners, and what people include in them so I thought I would post some information on my planner as a part of my posts on scheduling. Now, first let me say it has taken several years to get my planner to where it is now. Second, not everyone needs or wants a planner. If this includes you, you have my permission to ignore this post :) I say that because I think we as homeschoolers get so caught up in things sometimes, and we start looking at what everyone else is doing, and worrying because we may not be doing it too! So if you homeschool without a planner, you will hear no complaints from me. For me, it is a natural tendency to want to have everything all laid out, and I really like checking off my little boxes! I do NOT like feeling behind! That is why programs that come with a weekly schedule turn me off - I know I will not be able to stick to someone else's schedule, and tend to set myself up for failure if I have that expectation for myself. That is part of why I created this planner; it relieves that feeling, and it gives me something to show if others ask what we are doing. It is my map which guides and gives me a sense of progress through the year. I use a 3 ring binder (I think it is a 2" binder?) with the plastic on the front and back so I can personalize the cover and back. Here is the table of contents in my planner:

Table of Contents
Prayers & Inspiration
Morning & Midday Prayers
Daily Schedule & Calendar
Weekly Lesson Plans
Attendance & Assignments Record
Lesson Plans by Subject
Overview for Year
Christian Studies
Icon Study plan
Grandma’s Stories
Greek Myths
Mathematics
World and Modern Studies
Middle Ages plan
Middle Ages Art plan
Explorers Unit Study
Explorers Readings
Colonization Unit Study
Paddle to the Sea & Seabird
CM Geography plan
English Studies
Fifty Famous Stories
Wonderbook & Tanglewood Tales
Classical Writing: Aesop
Grammar Study
Science
Poet Study
Art Study
Composer Study
Spanish
Field Trip Information
Homeschool Information
State Laws
Socialization Articles
Recitation/Memory Work

In the next few posts I will explain what each of these sections are, and give more details on how I use my binder.