Week 3: Water

This last week's best moment was the water experiment on surface tension in Science 1.  We've all been getting through our work faster than I had planned, so I had plenty of older helpers for gathering materials and managing little siblings.

After we did all the projects in the book, we headed down to our pond to see if we could find some water striders:

We've had a drought this summer, so the water level is way lower than it usually is.  We found some dragonflies, but no water striders.  Maybe they are a spring insect!

We left our science supplies unattended long enough for the little ones to turn them into a tea party.  No needles or coins were consumed ;)

Week 1 and 2

We have miraculously stayed on schedule for the first two weeks.  Well, almost.  My 5yo and 7yo are still finishing up some language arts from last year before they move on.  But, they did language arts instead of skipping!

My BKSK 8 guy is holding up.  He says his schoolwork "sucks," but he gets it all done.  He reads the chapters in the assigned history books (A History of US and Before Columbus) and writes the answers from the questions in the student guide in a spiral notebook.  I agree about the sucking part. I once had a class in high school where all we did was read the textbook and answer the questions on paper. Boring. I retained nothing. I can't even remember what that class was about.  This is where additional activities would make information stick, but unless he is willing, the projects will not be assigned.  He is also reading Guests for literature.  The main character is a 13yo boy who is coming of age and struggling to find his identity. It is an easy read. He says the book is "good."  We'll save our soul-searching discussions for a better book later in the year ;)

The BKSK 4 RH group learned about William Wilberforce. Neither one had an easy time comprehending the book as written.  I spent a lot of time paraphrasing and summarizing.  They do however understand that the whole point of learning about Wilberforce was that he managed to abolish slavery in Britain without war and it took him 18 years to do it.  We did end up just reading ahead and finishing up today so we would have something else to look forward to on Monday.

They are plugging along in BKSK 4 Science as well.  Diary of an Early American Boy is also difficult to read and we stop and look at the illustrations frequently.  The kids have enjoyed learning about how things used to be done on a farm and comparing how we do things now on our hobby farm.  We work through the activity sheets together after the reading so I know they both understand.  When we read about the mill wheel, I had to find modern day examples to help them visualize what a mill wheel was.  We started with Zelda: Ocarina of Time when Link is jumping on the mill wheel for jewels, remembered that one time Pa needed to make some money on Little House on the Prairie and dug a sluice for a guy, and ended with episodes of Pokemon where Pikachu needed more electricity. Video games and TV are finally educational! I find myself reminding them that listening to hard books is part of their education.  Trying to understand is like push ups for their brains.

My BKSK 1 group skips a day or two here, but it doesn't take more than 15-20 minutes to catch up.  And since I've been teaching my kids for so long and I know their learning styles, I know some shortcuts to make learning for them a little easier.  These Usborne books can be overwhelming and dry for little kids.  We covered food and cooking, clothing, and hair, jewelry, and makeup this week.  Food and Cooking was the assignment that needed catching up and we did it right before dinner.  The baby had been fussing all day and my husband wasn't home to help out, so dinner was a daunting task.  How fun it was to think about just skipping dinner and calling it a "hands on" lesson about starvation.  Instead we had a simple meal of corn on the cob while playing on the swing set. While learning about clothing, my 5yo wanted to run around in his underpants while the weather was still warm.  I told my husband he was experimenting with clothing and climate for a joke.  This morning, my 5yo asked me if I was going to shave my head so I could be beautiful.  This is a perfect example of assessment of learning.

Work Boxes!

With the first week of juggling three cores over, I can honestly say, "YES! You can do three cores (or levels) at once!"

Since I find myself moving all around my main living area, I have found work boxes are the only way to keep everything from getting lost.

F's (7yo) work box.  She is still finishing up workbooks from LA 1, but has moved on to reading LA 2.

My work boxes are simply cheap plastic totes from Target.  I have one for each student's math and language arts workbooks, readers, and weekly 3-ring binder with additional worksheets inside.

In addition, I have one box that holds the IGs and the scheduled books for both reading/history and science.  The box with the purple and blue tape in the lower right is for Level 1 (Intro to World History and Science 1).  Each kid got to choose a tape color to identify the box because I knew they would never agree on one color.  I can say, "F (or D) go get the blue and purple box, please," and they will know exactly which one I mean.  The box right above it holds the reading/history for Level 4.  This has been so great for our crazy, go-with-the-flow style of learning.  Not only can I send a child to fetch a box and bring it downstairs to me while I nurse the baby, we can just head outside...

William Wilberforce (Level 4 Week 1) and water experiment (Level 1 Week 1)

...and enjoy the last nice days of summer.

Line Up 2015-2016

This year, with five school aged kids, I am trying to keep things simple.  And by simple, I mean not planning anything myself.  I'm going to attempt to use my BookShark (or Sonlight in some cases) curriculum as scheduled and not deviate or do other things.  Nothing bugs me more on recipe websites than people writing a review that says, "I love this recipe! Only I added more cinnamon and less baking powder and and extra cup of chocolate chips!" because that isn't using the recipe-that is creating something else.  Which isn't bad of course, but this year I'm not going there.  For the first time ever.

I love adding extra hands-on projects and documentaries and actually had to stop myself from planning a list of extras.  I just don't need the work this year.  Now, if my kids come up with a self-directed project, I have no problem opening the craft cupboard and setting them loose.  I just don't want to put my own effort into anything.  Three kids under three is enough extra hands-on project for me!

This year, my 13yo son will be using Teaching Textbooks Algebra 2 for math, Rosetta Stone Spanish 1 and The Fallacy Detective for his electives, The Big History Project for science, and BookShark Level 8, a one year course of American history, for history and literature.  He is also taking a writing course outside our home for a classroom experience.

My 12yo son and 9 (almost 10) yo daughter will be using BookShark 4 Reading with History, the second year of the American History curriculum.  They are using their own levels of Teaching Textbooks for math (Pre-Algebra and Grade 5).  S (12yo) is using BookShark 4 for language arts, which uses readers from the reading and history.  E (9yo) is using Sonlight's language arts for 4th/5th graders.  Her readers are slightly easier than the readers that are scheduled for the reading/history course.  These two students are also working together in science.  There is not a huge difference between Sonlight's Science E and BookShark's Level 4 Science.  So we are learning from the Sonlight version, because I already bought it a long time ago, but we are using BookShark's worksheets.  S has already read most of the books simply because they have been on my shelf for four or five years, but going through the material, experiments, and worksheets will be good for his organizational and writing skills.

My 7yo daughter and 5yo son will be using Saxon 2 and 1 for math.  They will be using BookShark's Level 1 Reading with History program, which is an introduction to world history.  They will have their own language arts levels, also BookShark: F (7yo) is using Grade 2 and D (5yo) will be finishing up some kindergarten work before he starts Grade 1.  They will be using Sonlight's Core B science, again, because I already own it.  However, because I bought it seven (or more?) years ago, the books are slightly different than what is now offered.

All of my kids will be going to Homeschool PE and taekwondo at the YMCA.  The older boys are active in Boy Scouts and the girls participate in dance classes.  I've tried to focus on just the bare minimum for our activities and obligations, but I also know that I'm going to need a break from time to time, so I will be going to a MOPS meeting one time per month.

My goal this year is to just do my best...and forgive myself if I don't :)

Notebooking

Notebooking is a great way to shake things up in the literature-based style of home education.  One only needs to check the topic before the reading (today's was Daniel Boone) and simply do an internet search on the topic plus the word "notebooking."

I have a lifetime membership to Notebookingpages.com, so I just printed a simple one-page document with a picture of Daniel Boone for my BKSK 3 group.  I read the entire Daniel Boone assignment from the Beginner's American History (to make up for taking yesterday off) and assigned a "complete" written piece on whatever part of the chapter struck their fancy.

I do not assign a number of sentences or a certain length of writing.  I just want them to write and produce something that I can put in a page protector in a three-ring binder for all eternity.  Notebooking really is that easy.

I've over-thought the whole notebooking topic for years; all it did was set me up for failure.  I found all sorts of really cool free printables for different subjects, but I didn't want to spend a ton of money in colored ink.  I tried lapbooking, which is just notebooking in 3-D, and my kids hated all the cutting, folding, and gluing.  I tried the Evan Moor History Pockets, but again, my kids hated all the cutting, folding, and gluing and I hated all the photocopies I had to make.

But notebooking when the mood strikes? That keeps things interesting and prevents waste and burnout.

Just make sure you keep your notebooking pages away from your baby sister!

Box Day!

In one of my earlier posts, I wrote that we (my husband and I) weren't sure if my 13 year old would be joining the homeschool next year or if he would go to the local middle school.  The main reason he would go was that I didn't think I could continue to meet everyone's educational needs, especially with three little ones three years old and younger.  The last two years have been extremely difficult thanks to L (3yo) and especially H (1 1/2yo).  H was born in November of 2013, right at the beginning of a school year, and was extremely colicky until the following summer.  With another baby joining us next month, I thought for sure he would be better off in public school...

...only we don't live in the best of areas.  The public school does have nice teachers and some nice kids, but overall, this isn't our first choice for "socialization" or character development.  Our small town has a library, a grocery store, and a fire station.  It also has three bars, four marijuana dispensaries, a tobacco shop, a liquor store, and a wine store...all within walking distance of one of three food banks.  Since over 60% of the students attending the schools qualify for the free/reduced lunch program, the schools just hand out free food for both breakfast and lunch to all kids, plus they send them home with backpacks full of food on the weekends.  Our little region is also famous for its meth houses, homeless camps, and bank-owned homes overrun with squatters.  The school buses are used as public transportation during the day while the kids are in school.  I know they don't clean the buses before the kids get back on.  And my friends often report they find drug needles at the bus stops.

After we tested IJ (he scored very high for his age) and much talk about social issues, finding alternatives to the "teacher experience," and admitting that whatever path we choose will mean work for me-no matter what-it was easy to decide to keep him home.  I happily ordered BKSK 8th grade Reading with History and it arrived today, along with the IGs for the younger kids.

When I was unpacking all the new books, I wished I had been homeschooled.  Maybe I will take the Reading with History course with him!

Shifting to Technology

When I first started homeschooling, the year was 2006, which seems ages ago, but really wasn't.  I was still using dial-up internet and we had only one computer in the house.  I didn't have a cell phone, but my husband had one for work.  We still watched movies on VHS, but we were gradually moving over to DVDs.  My kids were playing video games on a Nintendo 64 handed down from their older sisters when they got a Playstation.  We have always been a bit slow when it comes to accepting new technology.  Don't get me wrong, we love technology.  We just always seemed to have something more important to upgrade than the entertainment systems.

We are now running three computers on a network in our house, including a special hard drive that holds all our movies.  We have a 62 inch sorta flat-screen TV with one of those expensive light bulbs that need to be replaced every few years.  The kids are playing on a WiiU (but the 64 is still hooked up on the "old TV").  We still aren't keeping up with Jonses; we don't have Netflix or Hulu or Amazon Prime.  We still use the library to get DVDs, which can be a really slow process when I want a documentary to go with a science or history lesson.  I really have to know what subjects are coming up in the next three weeks to stay on top of that kind of a life style!

Just a few months ago, my old cell phone was upgraded to a smart phone when my husband got frustrated with me missing appointments or double scheduling.  Seriously, when one gets to seven kids, the memory starts to slip!  And then, just a few weeks ago...we got WiFi in our house. 

Why?

All because BookShark has electronic instructor's guides!  I can access them with my phone!  I have a huge basket of binders that I have to haul to my different teaching stations, but starting next year, those binders stay on the shelf and all my Sonlight IGs are getting upgraded to BookShark IGs.  I'll be running five language arts levels, three reading/history levels, and three science levels.

I'm pretty excited!