Fun with Glass

While we were doing our family holiday rompings, we came across an opportunity that most kids never get. We found a place where our youngest could make his own glass icicle. Take a look!

The PLAN (Home Learning - Grade 5)

A note before we begin. I've been working on this blog post for a couple of weeks. Not because it is so hard to get the information together, I have it in our planning journal. Not because I'm uninspired, I am. But because it seems so overwhelming to put it all out there. I feel like a pushy overachiever. The thing is, we're moving through somewhat according to the plan, and finding new things to add along the way. Nathan LOVES to learn. I asked him yesterday if he was having fun with our school year. Yes. I asked him if there was anything he just really didn't like. No. I asked if we work too long, too hard, not hard enough, etc. He said he is happy. He acts like he is challenged. He still prefers his home learning life to the idea of going to school. He said he likes the quiet and peacefulness. With that in mind ...

  

  THE PLAN

Each year, I try to re-evaluate the prior year and outline a plan for the new year that not only addresses the basic academic goals of the year, but keeps in mind one of my favorite sayings:

You're not raising a boy, you're raising a man.

Homeschool isn't just about academics, but also about life. Living life. Learning in life. Becoming in life.

Homeschooling, Socialization, and the Vet

Ask any homeschooling parent, and they will tell you that the one thing people ALWAYS ask about is socialization. Children need intense age-level peer interaction, right?  The idea of homeschooling seems to fly in the face of all that is appropriate for proper socialization.

Or does it?

The Plan

Here I am. I have a plan. It is a good plan, or so I think. It is a plan based on a tried-and-true approach. It is my plan, and I'm comfortable with it.

And then, I read THE book. Not a book that necessarily changes the plan, but one that puts a filter between my eyes and my good plan, and highlights all its flaws. Been there?

Tick Tock, Tick Tock, Tick Tock

Time flies when you're having fun! That's what THEY say ... whoever THEY are. Well, so true. It has been a while since I've blogged, mainly because we were too busy having fun to write about all the fun we were having.

Goodbye 4th Grade!

Can't believe it! We have finished 4th grade! For you homeschool moms, you know what I mean. It is definitely a WE thing. The structured learning doesn't happen without learning on my part ... often we discover things together, sometimes I come to the learning moments with prior knowledge. Sometimes, I knew it at one time, but have to refresh my mind with relevant facts and stories. Not to mention the teachable moments where Google is a lifesaver! Regardless, 4th grade is a memory.

Oh, I'm showing my American-ness. I should be saying Grade 4! {grin} Before we forge ahead to Grade 5 and planning the learning adventures for next year, a recap.

Math: Books 3B, 4A, and 4B of Singapore Math are history. No, they are math. But not math Nathan will have to face again. A year and a half in 11 months. Nice job! The octopus was created while he was studying symmetry. 

Grammar: Charlotte Mason's Simply Grammar was the fare of this year ... slowly and deliberately. Today, as we were looking at his work from the year, Nathan said, "I love Grammar!" I taught him the beginnings of how to diagram sentences this year. Love. He is indeed my son!

Writing: Daily, weekly, some "published", some drafted, enjoyed and forgotten. The year began with a unit study on writing poetry. We worked on non-fiction writing that culminated in a 5 paragraph essay about the Battle of Bunker Hill. Fiction writing is an ongoing joint effort via email with a friend back in Colorado. Ask Nathan what a Wonkaluk is.

Reading: We didn't have any curriculum concerning reading or spelling. Nathan reads at least an hour, usually two or more, daily. And if he has seen it written, he can usually spell it. He has consumed The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien, Eragon, Eldest, Brisinger and Inheritance by Christopher Paolini, Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling, Esther Forbes' Johnny Tremain, Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo, Lynne Reid Banks' The Indian in the Cupboard, and a never-ending list of library books. I say "consumed" because he is on his 18th read of The Hobbit, or something like that, and that is typical. He has read each of the above, with the exception of Johnny Tremain, multiple times, and often in a single day. "Consumed" yields the perfect image!

Science: In the fall, we completed two studies about trees. Both were Simple Schooling courses. The first titled "Tree-Leaf-Seed" and the second "Evergreen Trees." Apologia Astronomy has been our curriculum since Christmas. Nathan enjoyed the first half, but the repetition of the exercises got a little old after a while. However, he did create an amazing Astronomy game called "Race through the Solar System" that contains a review of facts from each chapter. If you're using this curriculum, I would highly recommend this activity when it gets a little dry during the last few chapters.

World History: Story of the World Volume 1: Ancient Times took us on a tour of world history from the nomadic people in the fertile crescent through the end of the Roman empire. Great activities this year included adventures in the catacombs with the early Christians, creating sand paintings like the early South Americans, and making a miniature model fasces when studying the rise of Rome. And who knew that Attila the Hun died of a nose bleed!

US History: We began in the colonies, complete with a model of Jamestown made with salt clay, sticks, paint and popsicle sticks. The adventure continued through a week study of the French and Indian War, and culminated with the colonial victory at Yorktown to conclude the Revolutionary War. In November, we also took a week to study the presidential election process and track the election in its final days. Nathan says that this subject was his favorite for the year.

Brazil: Nathan wanted to study Brazil this year, so we did! Ahh, the beauty of homeschool. We took more of a student-led approach, which meant much more reading, fewer deliverables. But one of the greatest art projects of the year was a wire model of Pele.

Herb Study: Herb Fairies gave us hours of reading and exploring herbs and their medicinal uses. Highly recommend, if you're asking! Eight more months of online curriculum to go.

Century Book: Another of Charlotte Mason's, the Century Book has grown with times and dates from each subject area. Over and over, we gasp and say, "I didn't know those things were happening at the same time!" Highly recommend, for all you homeschool families. We made our own. If you want the templates for the pages, just comment below and let me know.

Art: Thank you, Sarah, for helping Nathan create such a beautiful copy of Van Gogh's Starry Night. It was a perfect Father's Day present for Dad. His days at Boulder Explore were filled with a variety of art mediums including paint, pottery, chalk, pencil, etc. as they studied the great artists. Thank you to others for filling in where I'm very weak!

Boulder Explore: While we were living in Colorado, Nathan attended Boulder Explore every Tuesday. If you live in the area and are looking for an amazing one-day program, check it out. It is free through Boulder Valley School District.

Music: Another year of piano lessons dwindled as we moved to Canada. We'll be picking up where we left off once we start the new school year. Nathan has a keen ear, and has written several songs to go with words found in books he's reading, including his own version of the dwarves' song in The Hobbit.  He not only composed them in his head, but wrote them down to remember forever.

Well, that's about it ... the year in a nutshell. Hope you have all spent the year filling your brains to the brim, too.

17 July ... eh?

How did it get to be half way through July? My Colorado-programmed body keeps waiting for the 90 degree temperatures, and keeps waiting, and keeps waiting. Then it will feel like summer. Incidentally, our pepper plants are waiting too! I wonder if I will keep waiting, and waiting, and waiting for snow in six months to mark the winter season, only to be drowning in the grey fall-ish (made me think of "small-ish" which made me think of Dr. Seuss - happy thoughts) rain of the pacific northwest. Will be strange come Christmas time. But ... certainly no complaints. The coolness of the days is such a blessing! I'm loving the fact that I'm still wearing sweaters inside the house. Perfect!

Meanwhile, the days pass so quickly. We've enjoyed a week of VBS, filled with exciting science experiments and great music (which we keep listening to day after day on the CD that was a gift at the end). I spent my days toting a puppy and trying to be the VBS photographer. In spite of our Shadow, I was able to get some pretty good shots. A great week.

And Shadow ... well, I didn't realize just how much a puppy can turn your world upside-down. We're beginning to settle now, and I'm getting about 6 hours of sleep at night. A major improvement. It is much like having a newborn. Okay, not really. But the sleeplessness isn't fun, regardless. No sleep makes for a VERY grumpy and unproductive me! Thus ... a rather silent blog, among other things.

Over the weekend, we ventured up into the mountains. It felt very much like home. Rocky. Lots of evergreen trees. No aspens, oh well. The river was much larger as well. We all needed a dose of the mountains.

This week, we've been going through the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills to determine whether or not I've been doing my job as Nathan's primary educator. He's a whiz! No issues with standardized testing here! We'll see in a few weeks when they return the scores just how many things I haven't gotten around to teaching him yet. Boulder Valley School District will be happy to receive the test scores and find that I'm still fulfilling my part of the bargain, since we are registered there until September.

That's the current update. Not exactly the kind of post I'm hoping to write on a regular basis, but an update for those who love us and like knowing what is going on. Happy Summer!

Teaching US History Away from US Soil

Back last summer, as with most homeschooling families, we came up with a plan for the school year. Nathan is in 4th grade this year. Too astounding is the idea that I’ll be teaching him 5th grade next year. Then middle school? I get ahead of myself.

Since we began to homeschool, US history has been an integral part of our curriculum. We don't study it all the time, but in blocks called Unit Studies, which can last from a week (The French and Indian War) to four months ... the American Revolution. We began the American Revolution last November, discovered we were moving in January, took a month off from school in March while we moved to Canada, and find ourselves in June, finally at Yorktown.

After years of believing in the importance of studying the history of the country we live in, here we are living in another country. I want Nathan to have a good understanding of where he comes from. The history of the United States is his history, sort of. At least, I think it is. But is it?

My dilemma is this: Is the process of teaching US History as an exclusive subject, separate from the history of the world as a whole, teaching a separatist attitude? Am I training him to believe that Americans are better, more special than the populace of other countries? Can you teach patriotism without teaching prejudice? Patriotism is ingrained in me. Give me two measures of "Proud to be an American" (with or without a laser light show, for you Georgians) and I’m weeping.

What does all this patriotism mean? We think we’re special? Yes. We think we have done more to get where we are than the citizens from other nations have? Possibly. Maybe it is a problem of not having learned enough World History. Perhaps that’s the key. But I don’t want Nathan growing up thinking that the history of the United States is more precious than any other people’s history. We’re all citizens of this globe, and it would be a much more peaceful globe if we didn’t expend so much energy looking at the boundaries between us.

I don’t know. I only know that there is a part of me that cannot fathom setting the study of US History aside. It is important. If only to teach him why it is that his momma cries when someone sings “America the Beautiful”.

Next on the agenda after the American Revolution ... a study of Canada. That will be something new and interesting for both of us to learn.