One of the most important things I've learned about customizing, adding-in, or modifying curriculum for my kids is that I can't write anything down in a schedule. I will be much happier if I just go with the flow. This year, I'm using BKSK 5 with a 13b, 10g, 8g, and 6b and modifying for all by flying by the seat of my pants ;) That is why I will use a title like 1-ish...
The biggest complaint I've read in the forums and on Facebook is that the World Book Encyclopedia is boring and difficult for a 5th grader to read. Sonlight and Bookshark released their own version of a spine called Eastern Hemisphere to replace the World Book. This book really isn't any more 5th-grader friendly. It's certainly full of important information and I like reading it for my own knowledge, but reading it out loud to a bunch of kids? Bleh.
Now, my 13b can and should be able to read the World Book Encyclopedia/Eastern Hemisphere book and fill out the Notebooking pages. He does this in his own study area where he won't be distracted by the younger kids. I am having him use BKSK 5 as a Geography course only. His history this year is BKSK 8.
But this is my big secret for my middle three: I use the scheduled Read Aloud to hook their interest. After a few days of getting into the story, my students are ready for more information about the country that the story takes place in. Bait and switch, baby. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is a delightful story that all my kids are enjoying.
Today, before everyone was all settled and ready for some story time, I casually introduced some interesting age-appropriate information about China from the Eastern Hemisphere book. After I read the chapters I could read from Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (I can't follow the schedule, I have to follow what I can do with seven kids in the house), I quizzed them on the facts of China and then....
....we made rice (and only rice) for lunch. Just like Minli!
Tuesday, September 6, 2016
Monday, August 15, 2016
Planning Planning
Summer is coming to an end and I have really enjoyed my break. I spent my whole break loving my kids and not worrying about anything. It was wonderful. Now, I've been homeschooling for ten years and I feel like I can call myself a veteran. But I read a very inspiring set of books that made me feel like I could start all over again, with a fresh perspective. The book, or I should say the series of books, is A Thomas Jefferson Education. Read it. You won't be sorry.
So without further ado, here is the line up for the 2016-2017 school year:
My 10G, 8G, and 6B will be doing Level 5: Eastern Hemisphere. I am absolutely ecstatic about this level. Not because I think the World Book DVD or the new Eastern Hemisphere book are going to be fabulous, but because this level lends itself to many additional fun projects.
They will also be doing Science 5, along with Exploring Creation with Anatomy and Physiology. The books in Bookshark are great on their own, but I like the notebook that goes along with Apologia.
My 13B will be doing BKSK 8: History of Science. I have been waiting for this forever! I can't wait to get it ordered! I will be buying it the day it comes out, which just happens to be a day or so away from my son's birthday.
He says I can't use the books for his birthday present. I don't understand why. It's what I'd get myself!
So without further ado, here is the line up for the 2016-2017 school year:
They will also be doing Science 5, along with Exploring Creation with Anatomy and Physiology. The books in Bookshark are great on their own, but I like the notebook that goes along with Apologia.
My 13B will be doing BKSK 8: History of Science. I have been waiting for this forever! I can't wait to get it ordered! I will be buying it the day it comes out, which just happens to be a day or so away from my son's birthday.
Thursday, March 24, 2016
Springing Along
We are finally coming out of the winter doldrums here in the Pacific Northwest, which means the weather changes from cold grey rain to.... cold greenish-grey rain. Well, not always. We do have amazing spring weather with plenty of sunny days. I have a hard time sticking to a schedule when the weather gets nice and my kids are not at all motivated for school projects.
Books are being discarded left and right as kids go slipping outside to play... in fact, I just told my 10 year old to put her language arts assignment away and get outside!
...they are finding frogs and snakes, building forts and climbing trees, taking lessons and starting spring sports... they are choosing to skip the "hands on" portions of their schoolwork so they can go off and play. Read, fill out the worksheets, go play. And play and play and play.
But this is why we homeschool!
We do tend to take an extended Spring Vacation that I like to call Spring Turnover (that is a term that describe the way water moves in a lake when the surface warms or cools with the seasons). I spend my pondering hours planning my curriculum choices for next year and plan how we are going to spend the rest of this school year.
We've decided that the oldest is going to high school next year, so I don't get to be waiting excitedly with the rest of the homeschoolers for BookShark to release their high school levels. We will just get there if we get there.
But, I am really excited for the new Eastern Hemisphere book! I started drooling over this level back when there was only Sonlight and my oldest was in Kindergarten. I couldn't wait until he was in 5th grade and we could snuggle up together and read all those wonderful books! The reality however, was that life happened and when we got to this level, he didn't like school anymore. He became the typical preteen that just wanted to sleep in and play video games. So the school year (and every year thereafter) was a flop.
But next year is my year. Next year we will attempt this level again, this time with the whole crew: 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th graders (and 4, 3, and 1yo). We will add the fun hands-on projects. We will snuggle and read! And to get us ready for that, I will be redesigning the rest of this year.... so stay tuned!
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| A quick game of foosball interrupts reading time |
Books are being discarded left and right as kids go slipping outside to play... in fact, I just told my 10 year old to put her language arts assignment away and get outside!
 |
| The 8th grader sleeps in... |
...they are finding frogs and snakes, building forts and climbing trees, taking lessons and starting spring sports... they are choosing to skip the "hands on" portions of their schoolwork so they can go off and play. Read, fill out the worksheets, go play. And play and play and play.
 |
| Schoolwork on the trampoline |
We do tend to take an extended Spring Vacation that I like to call Spring Turnover (that is a term that describe the way water moves in a lake when the surface warms or cools with the seasons). I spend my pondering hours planning my curriculum choices for next year and plan how we are going to spend the rest of this school year.
We've decided that the oldest is going to high school next year, so I don't get to be waiting excitedly with the rest of the homeschoolers for BookShark to release their high school levels. We will just get there if we get there.
But, I am really excited for the new Eastern Hemisphere book! I started drooling over this level back when there was only Sonlight and my oldest was in Kindergarten. I couldn't wait until he was in 5th grade and we could snuggle up together and read all those wonderful books! The reality however, was that life happened and when we got to this level, he didn't like school anymore. He became the typical preteen that just wanted to sleep in and play video games. So the school year (and every year thereafter) was a flop.
But next year is my year. Next year we will attempt this level again, this time with the whole crew: 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th graders (and 4, 3, and 1yo). We will add the fun hands-on projects. We will snuggle and read! And to get us ready for that, I will be redesigning the rest of this year.... so stay tuned!
Monday, February 15, 2016
Half Way Mark
I knew going into this school year things would be hard. I did have to neglect most fun things, including projects, photographing projects, and blogging. Sorry.
I had no idea just how hard a 3yo, a 2yo, and a baby could be while also homeschooling five other kids.
Here is a quick update:
My oldest is truckin' along in BKSK 8. He is reading the history books and answering the questions in a spiral notebook that I correct on the weekends. He does no map work and no time line. He claims that if he needs to know where something is, he can just look it up online. And he knows how a timeline works. He does all the literature reading on the weekend after we've cut him off from screens and he wants to stay up late. Not my ideal schedule, but as he gets older and wants more independence, I'm okay with him trying new ways of homeschooling. He is on Week 22 and is on track to finish school by the end of May!
The second two, the 12 and 10 year olds, are around Week 18. We are just getting into World War I. This is the point in history where I look at my current fourth grader and shake my head. The World Wars straight out of the Landmark and Usborne books are just too much for this age. I've decided to cut my 10 year old loose and let her read American Girl books for the next few topics, along with biographies for the Wright Brothers, Hellen Keller, and whatever I come up with... They are both told what reader to read on Monday and what chapter to be finished with by Friday. They are learning to budget their time with their language arts assignments.
I've had to follow that same plan with science as well. I hand the 10 and 12 year olds their science activity sheets and tell them what book to read. I've given up on the TOPS books for now. I'm hoping to add some of the other projects when spring rolls around. But for now they are fine with a bare minimum schedule.
My 12 year old is not liking BKSK Science 7, which is sad. Too many labs from the Robotics book don't work out, so he is discouraged. The solar panel lost its wire, so his solar bot couldn't work. The walking robot wouldn't walk. But he is still doing the reading and worksheets in the other books.
My BKSK Level 1 groups was dissolved. My special little Kindergartener just needs more time before he is ready for organized learning and this is the perfect year to let him play. He does like to earn screen time by doing a math sheet, so we keep that up. My 2nd grader really does need to do more, but she will not miss out on too much and will join us all next year when we start the Eastern Hemisphere as a group. She is cruising through the reader schedule for LA 2.
I had no idea just how hard a 3yo, a 2yo, and a baby could be while also homeschooling five other kids.
Here is a quick update:
My oldest is truckin' along in BKSK 8. He is reading the history books and answering the questions in a spiral notebook that I correct on the weekends. He does no map work and no time line. He claims that if he needs to know where something is, he can just look it up online. And he knows how a timeline works. He does all the literature reading on the weekend after we've cut him off from screens and he wants to stay up late. Not my ideal schedule, but as he gets older and wants more independence, I'm okay with him trying new ways of homeschooling. He is on Week 22 and is on track to finish school by the end of May!
The second two, the 12 and 10 year olds, are around Week 18. We are just getting into World War I. This is the point in history where I look at my current fourth grader and shake my head. The World Wars straight out of the Landmark and Usborne books are just too much for this age. I've decided to cut my 10 year old loose and let her read American Girl books for the next few topics, along with biographies for the Wright Brothers, Hellen Keller, and whatever I come up with... They are both told what reader to read on Monday and what chapter to be finished with by Friday. They are learning to budget their time with their language arts assignments.
I've had to follow that same plan with science as well. I hand the 10 and 12 year olds their science activity sheets and tell them what book to read. I've given up on the TOPS books for now. I'm hoping to add some of the other projects when spring rolls around. But for now they are fine with a bare minimum schedule.
My 12 year old is not liking BKSK Science 7, which is sad. Too many labs from the Robotics book don't work out, so he is discouraged. The solar panel lost its wire, so his solar bot couldn't work. The walking robot wouldn't walk. But he is still doing the reading and worksheets in the other books.
My BKSK Level 1 groups was dissolved. My special little Kindergartener just needs more time before he is ready for organized learning and this is the perfect year to let him play. He does like to earn screen time by doing a math sheet, so we keep that up. My 2nd grader really does need to do more, but she will not miss out on too much and will join us all next year when we start the Eastern Hemisphere as a group. She is cruising through the reader schedule for LA 2.
Sunday, October 25, 2015
Week 7: The Monopolies
The highlight of this week was the addition of The Men Who Built America series. We watched the first three episodes and covered Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, and Carnegie. Even my Level 1 group enjoyed the shows!
My oldest wisely suggested we play Monopoly as a "hands-on" accompaniment to the lesson. Oh, he knows his mother well. Of course we can spend the afternoon playing a board game!
At our house, we constantly lose game pieces. We have fun choosing replacements too. The turtle is my son and the rubber fly is me. I'm obviously visiting my child in jail. Funny times, I tell ya.
After much luck, I showed no mercy to my children once I secured the four railroads, Park Place, and Boardwalk. With my earnings from the railroads, I built houses and then hotels. And won easily. History lesson complete!
My oldest wisely suggested we play Monopoly as a "hands-on" accompaniment to the lesson. Oh, he knows his mother well. Of course we can spend the afternoon playing a board game!
At our house, we constantly lose game pieces. We have fun choosing replacements too. The turtle is my son and the rubber fly is me. I'm obviously visiting my child in jail. Funny times, I tell ya.
After much luck, I showed no mercy to my children once I secured the four railroads, Park Place, and Boardwalk. With my earnings from the railroads, I built houses and then hotels. And won easily. History lesson complete!
Monday, October 12, 2015
Sixth Week Slump
This is right about the time homeschoolers start to feel the slump. Studies become routine. Routine becomes boring. The excitement of the new pencils and new books wears off. I have the slump. I think I got through Day 3 of Week 6 before I needed to take a break. The straw that broke this camel's back wasn't even homeschool related: a coyote killed one of our geese. I don't even like the geese, but I know my husband does. I took Thursday off teaching to preserve some harvest and spent Friday, Saturday, and Sunday switching bedrooms around...and now we should be on Week 7, but....
....I've been way to busy with kids activities to catch up. I lost the TV remote. My schoolroom is a mess of unfinished projects. The baby won't give me a break. Six weeks was all it took.
But never fear! The books haven't gone anywhere, the schedule is there for when I can dig myself out, and we will pick ourselves up where we left off... Besides, the local school district is having half-days for parent/teacher conferences, so this may be a good time for me to evaluate how we are doing!
....I've been way to busy with kids activities to catch up. I lost the TV remote. My schoolroom is a mess of unfinished projects. The baby won't give me a break. Six weeks was all it took.
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| BookShark Science 7: First Project, a Dancing Robot! |
Monday, October 5, 2015
Charlotte's Web
We are just starting Week 6 across all levels. I am amazed at how well we are staying on schedule this year and I have to think it is all because of the 4-day BookShark schedules. I've done the 5-day Sonlight schedule (and other plans), but this one seems to keeps us going.
My 12 year old son exclaimed, "What? First you read history to us, then I read history to myself, and then you read some more history stories out loud? That's too much history!" And that is the end of Week 5: an introduction to the Civil War, a biography on Harriet Tubman, and starting Across Five Aprils. He'd much rather do science, not only because science is far more interesting, but having a strong background in science is far more important career-wise than a strong background in history.
Lucky for him, BookShark 7 Science came out. I ordered it the first day, received the first five weeks of the Instructor's Guide, the books, and the science kit. I think he has already read the robotics book, cover to cover. I can't wait until Friday (experiment day) when he finds out he gets to build something!
My Level 1 group seems to need catch up on Thursday and Friday thanks to our ultra-busy activity schedule Monday through Wednesday. We are in the midst of Charlotte's Web as our read aloud. Most kids turn vegetarian and become animal rights activists after their first exposure to Charlotte and Wilbur. My kids, however, have become spider rights activists and refuse to let me vacuum down the cobwebs in the corners. They add that the cobwebs are perfect decorations for Halloween and why take down the natural webs and replace them with fake ones? Why indeed?
My 12 year old son exclaimed, "What? First you read history to us, then I read history to myself, and then you read some more history stories out loud? That's too much history!" And that is the end of Week 5: an introduction to the Civil War, a biography on Harriet Tubman, and starting Across Five Aprils. He'd much rather do science, not only because science is far more interesting, but having a strong background in science is far more important career-wise than a strong background in history.
Lucky for him, BookShark 7 Science came out. I ordered it the first day, received the first five weeks of the Instructor's Guide, the books, and the science kit. I think he has already read the robotics book, cover to cover. I can't wait until Friday (experiment day) when he finds out he gets to build something!
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| Charlotte and her babies |
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