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During my reflection time on how last school year went, one thing stood out as the problem area. Last year our out-of-the- home schedule was out of control. We were at one appointment or another every day of the week. So after much prayer and thinking, I decided that we had to be home as many days as possible this year. That is not to say that we are not going to continue to take classes and do doctor/therapy appointments. However, I am hoping to find a balance this year. Here is what is important to me...
So this is what I have so far.... Monday~
Tuesday~
W/Th/Fri.~
Saturday~
Sunday~
So what is left ~ not much thankfully... I still have to set up Tom Sawyer's private swimming lessons. He really likes his current teacher and we are waiting to hear her new schedule. It looks like it will be at night but that is ok since my dh will be able to take him. Also, I will be signing us up for a theater production or two with our homeschool support group for the group discount. Secondly, I belong to 5 support groups in the area. Each meets once a month at night. I am considering taking a break from our main homeschool group, since I get lots of support online and from our homeschool group for special needs kids. We will continue on with our homeschool special needs support group, FASD support group and RAD support group. We also will continue with our adoption play group. Lastly, I am trying to start up a homeschool special needs co-op with my special needs support group. If I have to do it all by myself, we will only get together once every other month; but hopefully, I will get some volunteers that will help so that we can get together every month. I am thinking of doing a FIAR book, activity, social time and potluck. I see a real need for a co-op that would be a "safe haven" of sorts for those with special needs. This is not to say that local homeschoolers and co-ops have been unwelcoming. However, our special kids are sometimes disruptive with their behaviors and often aren't able to do the level of academics that is expected in normal co-ops. Sheesh, this post got much longer that I thought. Thanks for hanging in there. Blessings, Dawn |
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This sounds like a really fun meme. It will be held every week. I am not sure I can keep up but think I will give it a go. If you would like to get to know more homeschoolers go here. This week's theme is "All About You". I am a blessed homeschool mom of 10 years and am married to my college sweetheart. We have 4 imaginative and creative children, two homemade and two sewn into our hearts and lives through adoption. Our children are in 12th grade, 2nd grade, 1st grade, and Kindergarten. Three of our children have a variety of special needs which keeps us hopping from appointment to appointment. Some weeks it feels like we carschool more than homeschool, but we are finding a balance. We decided to homeschool when our oldest was in third grade. He is very learning challenged and has many developmental delays. He is also pacemaker dependent and suffers from lung issues. We had tried public and private schools in two different states and were continuely unhappy with the schools. The final straw was the bullying our son had to deal with every time he stepped out of his medically fragile classroom and that he still could not read at the end of third grade. The teachers felt that he was unable to learn, and I just could not believe that. In addition, I was working in his school and could not believe what I was seeing (way too much to go into here). Anyway, we pulled him out and began homeschooling the next year. We repeated third grade and he was reading before our first year was complete. We also saw his love of learning come back to life. We have never looked back and love homeschooling more and more with each passing year.
This picture is from last Christmas. However, it was the only picture of the 4 kiddos I could find quickly. Blessings, Dawn |
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It's time for another Show and Tell Friday with Canadagirl. We started tea time this week.
I love to follow the Charlotte Mason style of homeschooling whenever I can. How much more Charlotte Mason can you get than to cuddle up with a good book and drink tea while reading to your dear children? Each afternoon when the kids start asking for snack, I bring out a tea set and serve tea or hot chocolate and our snack. While they are eating, I read to them. Then when the tea runs out, they narrate back what I have read. We are currently reading a whimsical tale about a stuffed bunny who must deliver himself to the far off land of North Carolina, America. Since we live in North Carolina, I think the kids are half expecting a bunny to knock on our door at the end of the book. LOL!!! So far, this special time is going better than I expected. The kids are listening much better and narrating back more information.
My little guy with his tea, marshmallows and sunflower seeds. Strange tea time snack, I know.
Blessings, Dawn |
Last thought~here is a real little bunny who visted our yard the other day.|
Wow! It is time for another great Charlotte Mason carnival hosted by Westward. To see more great entries, go to Westward. I am going to talk about the areas I am planning to change or improve in my homeschool for this post. If you want to read about all of the subjects we are doing this year, go here to read the big teen's plans and here for the 3 little ones' plans. There are several areas of a Charlotte Mason education that I want to improve in our homeschool this year. First, I want to use many more living books for math. There are so many wonderful living books out there for math now. I plan on using at least two a month with the little ones. I will read them and do a few lessons around each book. I also plan on adding in more hands-on activities such as measuring/weighing stuff, playing all kinds of time/clock games and lots more measuring in the kitchen. However, I was concerned about how I was going to add in living books for the big teen. He is doing Algebra this year. I have found two literature-based books on Algebra and so far they are going well. They are The Journey of Al and Gebra to the Land of Algebra and A Gebra name Al. My son is really enjoying doing literature instead of math. LOL! He doesn't even mind learning the terms and definitions that will help him so much when we crack open the Algebra textbook. The second area that I would like to spend more time on is drawing with the children. I still have not gotten nature journals going because I have a few kids that want to draw what they actually see, and their hands can't create it exactly. We spend a lot of time out in nature, but they are never satisfied with their drawings. So instead of being excited about drawing what they see, they complain. The point of education is to learn and get joy in doing it. So this year, I am going to work on teaching the kids to draw so that they will hopefully enjoy keeping nature journals next year. I am using the Draw Write Now series. The kids really respond well to this series and are pleased with their drawings. I hope to have all the books in the next few months. The third area that I want to see the little ones improve in is narration and attention to task. The main way that I will be working on these areas is by reading chapter books to the children. This has been going okay in the past few months, but I am not completely pleased. For one thing, they like to play on the floor while I read. This always worked fine with my oldest, an only child at the time, but the littlest ones start playing with each other and forget about listening to me. Also, I have one dd who is a visual learner and staying with me is very hard for her. I try to pick chapter books that have a picture somewhere in each chapter but that is sometimes limiting. I have decided to move chapter books to the afternoon and have a tea time where the kids can eat and drink tea/hot chocolate while I read. No more playing while I am reading. As for narration, I am sure that will improve as they become more practiced. I am still thinking about how I can help my visual learner concentrate better on chapter readings. She is my flighty child anyway, so this is an area that is very hard for her. I plan on reading the littles 12 to 15 chapter books this year. We are currently on our second book, Jeremy the Tale of an Honest Bunny by Jan Karon and will then move onto Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls. Lastly, I will be working very hard on character training this year. Most of my children just need a tune up, but my dd (7) needs an overhaul. For those of you who follow this blog, you know that she has many issues, and although I understand that she is disabled, this does not excuse her constant disruptions in the home, disrespect to elders, and unkind attitude toward her siblings. I have decided to take a "no tolerance" attitude toward her for the next few months and see if it will pull her around. This does not mean that she will not be nurtured and have fun, but a lot more of her days are going to look like this until I see a shift in her attitude. Thanks so much for coming by. I hope we all gain lots of ideas from this great carnival. Blessings, Dawn
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It's Friday!!! Time for another of Canadagirl's show and tell! This week I am going to show you the latest way my dh and children have found to give me gray hair. LOL! The city has put in a sidewalk from our house to the church up the street. It spans about a total of 4 houses and the church parking lot. It is a gradual hill all the way down past our house. That is a gradual hill that goes pretty fast when you are on wheels. We have been busy playing with our new sidewalk. My husband had the grand idea to start giving rides to the kids on our flying turtle.
Here he is giving our oldest daughter a ride. They are going at a pretty good clip. My dh is using his shoes as brakes which is quickly ruining the rubber soles. All in the name of fun, right?
Tom Sawyer wanted to ride alone with daddy running along behind holding his shirt. I am so glad that my dh is out there playing with them. He is a great dad!
The big teen had to get in on the action with his skateboard. I am proud that in 18 years of being a mother none of the children have ever had a broken bone. I hope this new sidewalk doesn't ruin that record. I hope you all have a great weekend. Blessings, Dawn |
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I hope I don't come off too public school like, but I decided to add in circle time this year. I felt like there were so many subjects that I was not hitting regularly last year. However, they were subjects that I did not want to create 20 to 40 minutes of space for everyday. So I decided that circle time was the way to get all the little things squeezed in. Everyday circle time consists of family prayer, saying what we are thankful for, calendar skills, the Spanish word of the day and an Occupational Therapy (OT) project. I also add in something else such as music, character training, math game, reading game, or cooperative game. This way I can touch on a lot of subjects in 40 minutes or less. So far this week, our circle time is looking like this~ Monday~ After opening prayer and saying what we were thankful for, we learned our Spanish word of the day (El Globo~balloon). Then we did our calendar skills. We then moved on to a money matching game, Don't Break the Ice game (OT and cooperation), and two songs from the kindergarten song cd's I have.
Today~ We opened with prayer and gratitude. We then reviewed our Spanish words so far and added in El libro (book). The kids loved doing the mazes and did several before I could get them to do the dot to dots (OT). We finished with more Kindergarten songs.
Blessings, Dawn |
Tuesday~ We did calendar skills, Spanish word~La flor~Flower, Cutting skills (OT) and more Kindergarten songs and reviewed the Brother Offended chart (character training).
Little Red Ridinghood loved cutting time! She is really concentrating in this picture. I think she cut out about 5 patterns and asked to do more later in the day.
I think this is going to prove to be a great way to get in the extras and wake up the kids brains at the same time. Now I just have to figure out a way they can exercise so that I can exercise. They walk so slowwwwly!|
Westward has given me the Arte y Pico award. The award is dedicated to "those who nourish and enrich the spirit of creativity". Thank you so much! I would love to pass this award right back to her because she inspires me so much. However, I am supposed to pass it on to 5 new people. Preschoolers and peace~ She is filled with so many wonderful ideas from art projects to raising a handful of kiddos. homeschoolingmommaof4~ She has so many Internet resources that help so much in planning cool projects. A tasted of Chocolate~ writes thought provoking entries that refresh the soul. Kellieann~ always has a very clever and funny story to tell about her life. I love the way she writes and her feelings about grammar. LOL! Proverbsmomof3~ I love her writing promps for children and she is always creating some lovely craft. Blessings, Dawn |
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This week we stepped away from SOTW to concentrate on a FIAR book. We did The Little Red Lighthouse and the Big Gray Bridge. This is a great book with several themes to follow. We chose to study New York City, lighthouses, bridges, compound words and boats. The kids also made a lapbook about the book. The kids loved making lighthouses out of cups, paper plates and lots of paint.
Then we studied bridges. What can you do with 300 tongue depressors and a glue gun?
Make a bridge of course!
The big teen joined us on this venture. Of course, after you have made a bridge it is time to walk on it.
Looks safe enough for a 4 year old.
Hmmmm!
I'm not sure about this bridge....
Yikes!!!! Remarkably, the bridge did not break, but we decided it was a proper bridge for Playmobile figures, not real people. LOL! To see more great show and tells go to Canadagirl. Blessings, Dawn |
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Outside my Window~ The sun is just now coming up. It is going to be HOT. Rub a dub dub two kids in a tub... To see more simple woman's daybooks go to The simple woman. Blessings, Dawn |
Posted in Homeschooling
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Things continue to go well with the SOTW. The kids are really enjoying the coloring pages while I read and doing all the great activities. Actually, we have only been doing about half of the suggested projects. I love how they have so much variety so that I can pick and choose what we are up to. The kids made a sugar cube pyramid this week. It is amazing how many building blocks disappear when they are made out of sugar.
The dry stage with grass seed.
After the kids flooded the Nile River for about a week, grass seed appeared. What a great way to teach about early irrigation. The pot in the corner represents the mountains.
Our mummy, pyramid, and Cuneiform tablet.
A close up of Tom Sawyer's Cuneiform tablet. We are going to take a one week break from SOTW to do a FIAR book. I found it hard with our many doctor appointments this week to keep up with both SOTW and reading, math, and language arts. We have even more appointments next week, so I am hoping that doing a unit study that includes all the subjects will help. Blessings, Dawn |
They also made Cuneiform tablets. Tom Sawyer wrote the word "tap" in Cuneiform. He decided which letters were easist to write and than made a word out of them. The kids also made a model of the Nile River and a doll mummy.
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My kids and I love different art mediums. We are really excited about the newest one we have been exploring. It is called PLAYMAIS! It is a kind of cornstarch pellet that looks like a packing pellet and comes in lots of colors. What is really great about these pellets is they require no glue. All you need is a damp sponge and a surface to attach them onto. You just touch the pellet to the sponge and then stick it onto cardboard, paper, glass, wood or whatever else you want. You can squeeze them into different shapes and pull them up and resuse them if you wish. I love things that allow my kids to explore their imaginations. They made magic wands, villages and a house.
Tom Sawyer wanted to make a house. After his sisters explored their own ideas, they decided to help him with his house.
This was a lot of fun. They had a great time and we look forward to using PLAYMAIS again. PLAYMAIS is sold at Amazon, but I found it for cheaper in a museum gift shop. To see more great show and tells go to Canadagirl. Blessings, Dawn |
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We have been blessed with a couple of almost free, fun-filled days. I am really trying to come up with family events that do not cost anything. On Saturday we hit the jackpot for free fun stuff. First we went to Lowe's Build It With Kids' Club. The kids got to make a hand-held ball game. Personally, I think that Home Depot's kids' club has better thought out kits that last longer. However, the point was a kid friendly free day. Lowe's was also doing an event with GMC. They were holding a test drive of GMC cars in return for a Lowe's $15 gift card. My husband drove a pick-up truck and spent his gift card on a new garden hose. He only went over the gift card by a few cents. Yippie! We then went to family free day at our Nature Center (which is more like a small zoo). It was raining, so we had the place just about to ourselves. We enjoyed playing in puddles and seeing all the new baby animals. When my son got off work (he volunteers at the Nature Center), we went home and watched a new DVD that I had bought on clearance awhile back. I was waiting for a rainy day to pull it out. We also made it to the last free summer movie at the theater today. It was Happy Feet and the kids enjoyed the music. We packed our own soda, popcorn and $1.50 worth of candy from our neighborhood pharmacy. So, except for gas, we only spent $1.50 on a lot of family fun in the last few days. I hope you all are finding cheap fun this summer. To get more ideas, go to Canadagirl. Blessings, Dawn |
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Outside my Window~ The sun is just now coming up. It looks like it is going to be a nice day.
To see more Simple Woman's Daybook go to simple woman. Blessings, Dawn |
This is my first time doing Friday Show and Tell and I am excited about joining in. I am going to show how I control the toys in our home. This new system is only a month old in my home and it is working great. We don't have a play room or family room so toys were stored wherever I could find a spot. We used to keep toys all over the place. You had to walk all over to put things away. It really wasn't working. So I started exploring how others did it and discovered some people use a toy closet. We have a strange little area in our kitchen that really isn't big enough for a table and always seemed like wasted space. I decided to turn it into our toy "closet".
The new toy "closet". We used our old computer cabinet and old tubs from the basement.
The inside of the old computer cabinet. I managed to squeeze in all the toy tools, legos, play food, technics, brio track and trains, marbles and tubes, doll house furniture, playmobile, army men, puppets, and bay blades (spinning tops game). I still need to finish labeling everything.
Along the floor are tubs of blocks, Lincoln Logs, musical instruments, figurines and the kid's matchbox car mountain. When they want something, they get the tub out and then bring it all back in the same tub when they are done. So far, they are doing a great job returning everything.
This is our table time cabinet (old pie safe). The kids can get anything out of here and play with it at the dining room table. This part of the system has been around for a long time. In here we have; Mr. Potato head, Lite Brite, playdough, money play, puzzles, coloring books and sticker books, crayons, markers, pencils, and lots of small games or games one can play by oneself. There are still some toys in the kid's rooms. However, those toys are supposed to stay in their rooms. In their rooms are dolls, our rather large Fisher Price village, dress up and the My Little Pony collection. We also have a lot of games, family puzzles, and art supplies in two closets that the kids cannot get into by themselves. I am so pleased with how this new system is working. It is about time my home does not look like a toy store all the time. To see more show and tell Friday entries, go to Canadagirl . Blessings, Dawn | ||
Posted in RAD FASD and Goldilocks Journey
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No more we suspect.... or there is a history of... or most likely she has.... Yesterday, the Geneticist diagnosised my 7 year old daughter with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), and depending on a few measurements that need to be confirmed from her birth records, she may be upgraded to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). There really is very little difference between the two, the latter has more facial anomalies. We always had heard the stories that her birth mother was "falling down drunk" as we moved through different departments of the government such as WIC and DSS, but it seemed strange to us and the doctors that Goldilock's younger brother (Tom Sawyer) showed no effects of alcohol, and just the opposite, he is very very bright and growing like a weed. Because of her brother's success the doctors in the past felt that, although she may be labeled with FASD someday, it was probably that her environment had been so poor/abusive in infancy and that once she was healed from RAD (Reactive Attachment Disorder), her development, academics and behavior would catch up. She is considered to be mostly healed from RAD; but her behavior is still very upredictable, processing is very slow, academics are coming out very poor on tests (as if I didn't already know that), and she came out again with an IQ in the high 70's and now her growth has slowed down a great deal. She hasn't changed shoe sizes or clothing sizes in 2 years, but has grown taller, a bit. So back we went to the doctors for another evaluation. In some ways I feel relieved and in other ways devastated. My little girl really is bonded to us and knows and wants us as her parents. I figure it took her 5 years and many, many hours of therapy to get her here. This is great news. However, FASD is permanent brain damage and there is no recovering from or healing from it. There is only learning how to live with it and helping her meet her full potential within it. I knew in my heart that this was coming for a long time but it is still hard to digest. This new diagnosis means that she most likely will qualify for CAP, a program that provides a one on one to help her with school, behavior managment, and so on. This is great since all mental health support is drying up rapidly in this state. It also means more books to read and a new support group to join which may afford me more tricks of the trade. I am not at all new to raising complicated children and searching out and finding the gifts God has bestowed upon my little ones. I have been raising complicated children for 18 years now. My big teen is meeting his God-given potential and turning into a wonderful young man (who will always need support on the home front), despite dire predictions that he would only be able to function in a group home/institution. So we embark on this new path with our Goldilocks. Please pray that we will find the right support and answers to help our little girl ... that she will meet her fullest possible potential. That we will continue to see her grow and develop. That we will find her true gifts and figure out how to help her bring them to life. A side note~The doctor begged me to never put her into public school
Blessings, Dawn |
Posted in Homeschooling
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Wow! It still amazes me that we have been on this homeschool journey for 10 years now and love it more all the time! How cool is that!! Well, the littles and I are using Story of the World (SOTW) this year and may I say we love love love it. So far it is just what I wanted, with very few of my own additions. In fact looking over the first few months, there is very little I would add. I actually own a lot of their extra reading suggestions, too. We kicked off the new year with an archaeological dig in the sandbox. I buried about 40 things and the kids all had their own section. After they dug up the household items, they told me what they were used for and what it said about our family. They loved this activity.
We then moved on to making handprints out of Plaster of Paris to remind ourselves what our hands looked like in 2008. Another great way to understand history in a hands-on way. LOL!
The kids also loved doing cave painting. They really worked at it until they were pleased with the outcome.
The top one is done by my Tom Sawyer (6). The kids enjoy coloring the coloring pages that come with the SOTW workbook, while I read to them, and are also having fun with the map work. We are starting a timeline so they can watch history go by (more on that in another post). Reading and math are getting off the ground, too, and I hope to have circle time up and happening by next week. The big teen is off to a good start with his studies. However, the nature center that he interns at has asked him back for an additional week as a camp counselor so I guess we will have to school " light" for another week. BLessings, Dawn |
Posted in meme
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I was tagged by proverbsmomof3 for this fun tag. So here we go. Two names I go by 1. Dawn 2. Mom Two things I am wearing right now 1. My yellow Ronald McDonald House shirt 2. My tan capris Two of my favorite things today: 1.That my house is much more "put together" than usual. 2.Waking up next to my dh and my sneaky dd who crawled in bed with us sometime during the night. Two things I want at this moment: 1. That we will have a peaceful last school day to the week. 2. That we will get our families exercise program underway. Two favorite pets I have had 1. Britches~A wonderful Golden Retriever who passed away a few years ago. 2. Lady~ our current dog who is a beagle/lab mix and always up for fun. Two people I hope fill this out 1. anyone 2. anyone let me know if you did it. Two things I did last night 1. Read Christy by Catherine Marshal out loud to my teenager. We are enjoying trying to use southern mountain voices with this story that took place only 150 miles or so from our home. 2. Talked to my teenager about his career goals. Two things I ate last night 1. a chicken noodle dish 2. Salad Two people I talked last 1. My son Tom Sawyer 2. My dd Goldilocks Two things I am doing tomorrow 1. Weeding the garden 2. Taking a long family walk Two farthest trips I have taken in the last 5 years 1. Montegomery, AL 2. Washington D.C. Two favorite holidays 1. Christmas 2. Easter Two favorite beverages 1. homemade Lemonade 2. water with lots of ice cubes Blessings, Dawn |
Posted in Homeschooling
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IF you want to read plans for my big teen scroll down to the post below. This post lists the plans for my 3 little ones. We start school officially on Monday! Double aack!! My baby is a kindergartner this year! So according to the government my littles ones are in 2nd, 1st, and K this year. However, as all of us who homeschool know, that doesn't mean that the grade level is the same as the kid's level. In our case. the 2nd grader is on PreK/K level, depending on the topic; the brand new 1st grader is a very solid middle to late year 1st grader; and the kindergartner is a kindergartner. I will be teaching them separately in the 3 R's and keeping them together for history, literature, Spanish, art, circle time and FIAR activities. I really wanted to use Winter Promise this year but decided that it was cost prohibitive. I already had a lot of great stuff and just needed to add a history program. We decided to go with The Story of the World starting with Vol. I. I am so excited about this program. The activity book that you can buy with the book is just great. I look forward to making the history very hands-on for my kiddos.
For the 3 R's, I will be using Teach your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons for the kindergartner, Museum Phonics for the 1st grader, and many many games, Explode the Code, etc for the 2nd grader with 100 Easy Lessons being the backbone. With her brain damage issues, she needs heavy repetition but in a very novel way. Everything must be kept fresh, new and exciting. For math we will continue with Miquon Math which they are all enjoying. I hope to add im more living math books this year as well.
For Literature we will continue with FIAR. I have about 12 books lined up already. They are all organized in their large zip lock bags complete with lapbooking material, instructions, shopping lists, worksheets and anything else that relates to the book. I plan on taking a break from our history program every few weeks and doing some FIAR books. In this way we can go back and forth and not overwhelm mommy!
(This is what my FIAR packs look like) I also bought some big workbooks for those days that are just too crazy for anything else. We do indeed have those days with our many, many doctor/therapy appointments. My kids enjoy workbooks a lot as long as they are not an everyday thing. I find workbooks good for review and reinforcement.
I plan on breaking up the day with morning circle time and the 3 R's. After lunch will be fun school~ special activity, FIAR, Story of the World or other events. The big teen will work near/with me in the morning after the kids are done with the 3 R's and again in late afternoon/evenings. Later next week, I will post a part III which will be about our outside activities, special plans, and special things that help my special kids cope better. Blessings, Dawn |
We will be covering Spanish (word of the day), calendar skills, character training, sensory activity and family prayer in circle time each morning. Art/music/science will be covered when they come up in the Story of the World and FIAR books. Also, those of you who follow this blog, know that my Tom Sawyer won't let a day go by without art or science happening! Posted in Homeschooling
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I know it is only July, but we have plans to take most of October off for several special events, so it is time for us to buckle back down to the books. We will officially start school on Monday! This entry will be about my big teen's course work and part II will be about the little one's education. Aack!! My big teen is entering his Senior year~12th grade could it really be?!?!? This year he will be doing course work in~ U.S. Government, World Literature, World Religions, Algebra I, Career Prep (work skills), Community Service, and Chemistry/Physics (survey course one semester each). Yes, my head is spinning about helping him get through all of this material, but I have faith that I have picked good books and that will make all the difference. For Algebra we will be using Teaching Textbooks. I have heard so many great things about these textbooks; I hope they will not disapoint.
For U.S. Government we are using Exploring Government by Notgrass. I love the layout of this book and my big teen has already been sneaking to read this text. Hee Hee Hee!!!
For Chemisty and Physics, I will be using Real Science 4 Kids. Now this is an elementary text but my son's learning differences are so severe that this will be appropriate for him. I will be teaching this course heavy in lab experiments, many from additional books. He will also be reading some famous scientist biographies and watching some DVDs. I still have to make a big order from a science catalog, so we will not get around to this course for a few weeks.
For Career Prep, he will be counting his internship at the Nature Center and several DVDs on interviewing skills, work ethics, etc. He will also be working on his resume (many hours are already logged in this course). For Community Service, many hours are already logged. He does a lot of community service with our church, extra service with the nature center, family activities and work with the food bank. He will do about 100 hours per course. Blessings, Dawn |
World Literature will be covered by reading a variety of stories, poetry and essays from two 
World Religions will be covered in part by me and in part by the retired college professor who taught his homeschool world history class last year. I plan on having him listen to the Bible on CD once more, reading Quiet Rebels (a story of Quakerism in America which is our family heritage and how I was raised), and a large selection of DVDs from Blockbusters Online that explore several faiths that I really don't know much about. He also would like to visit a few different faiths to see them in action on Sundays. His teacher will be giving a historical explanation of how all of the world religions formed and explore why they are so often at war. We feel that it is important that our son understand different faiths so he can stand on solid ground in defense of his own. We also feel that understanding those that are different than you helps break down walls of fear and create tolerance.
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This week's assingment at unplug your kids is SKY. We have been enjoying our new book Little Cloud by Eric Carle, so I built my theme around that. I also found some Klutz Eric Carle collage paper hidden away while organizing my homeschooling materials. I decided to have the children explore collage while doing a sky theme. First we read our book and discussed all the things that clouds can look like. Then we talked about all the things you can see in the sky during the day and night. I then pulled out our collage materials and let the creative bug take over.
Most of the kids and I really enjoyed this project. They made rain clouds over flowers, a sunrise, a fireworks display and a bunny hiding from the sun.
Blessings, Dawn |
