As I've been anticipating the arrival of a new baby in August, I've been trying desperately to figure out how this is all going to work. I know it will work, it's just a matter of HOW. After pondering and a bit of prayer, I decided to start first grade all over again and include Sean this time. Sean is finally ready to sit still and listen for more than 10 minutes, and while Ethan is doing well with the work I've given him, he would do well with a methodical review. My goal is to have them both at a second grade level by the end of the summer.
I've also re-read the book The Well Trained Mind by Jessie Wise and decided to do a few things differently. I'd taken her advise in some areas, and deviated from it in others. The truth is everything I do that she suggests is working well, and the other subjects I've chosen to do differently are floundering. Go figure. So this book is becoming my own personal homeschooling Bible and I went ahead and ordered all the other curricula she suggests. So now we are into a full classical education and I already see an improvement in the retention rate. (OK, it helps this is the second time through.) We are starting over in Math, History and Grammar, starting new methods for spelling, reading, writing. I kicked our Science into the corner for now, we'll start it back up again when I've got the other subjects into a comfortable daily schedule.
Our new schedule goes something like this:
Math worksheet
Writing practice
Spelling
(These three things require only light supervision, so I feed Aaron, do the dishes, start on dinner, clean up, etc. at the same time.)
Math Lesson (Throw Jenna and Aaron into the bathtub so I can give it my full attention. This buys me at least a half hour.)
Grammar Lesson (MTW)/ Health (Th)
Poetry/ Memorization practice
Lunch
Clean-up/ Aaron Naps (Yay!)
Read Aloud
History Lesson and Activity
Outside 30 min (We've been stuck inside for so long that, yes, we have to schedule this in.)
Silent Reading 30 min.
On Fridays we get out of the house and do something fun. We're meeting some friends at the zoo tomorrow to celebrate the 50 degree weather we've been craving.
For History, like I said we're starting over again, and we are now making a portfolio or a personal history book. The kids narrate each section we cover and I type it up and make a history book for them. We also include any maps, pictures or projects we do. I plan on taking pictures of the projects we do that don't fit into a book.
So this is the real reason I'm bringing this blog back, because I'm taking pictures of the kids projects to include in their books, so it will be easy for me to put the projects up on the blog as well. Here's what we did today:
Sean
Ethan
Cuneiform writing on clay tablets. They each wrote their names. Here's the very easy recipe for clay that hardens as it dries:
Clay
1/2 C cornstarch
1 C baking soda
10 T water
2 drops red food coloring
1 drop blue
1 T cinnamon
Mix cornstarch and baking soda in medium saucepan and gradually add water until smooth. Add remaining ingredients for color. Stir constantly until it pulls together into a dough.
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