Our 2006-07 Year

My End of the Year Thoughts (August, 2007):

I think that this year I felt like I was the most organized, had all of my shining academic goals and lesson plans well laid out for the kids, schedules printed (a first for me), and visions of serious scholarly learning dancing in my head… But then, life happened. Much Most of what I’d planned for this year did not happen, but as always goes, a lot DID happen that we didn’t plan, and isn’t here on my little list, but was real-life learning that apparently needed to happen, and took precedence over my plans.

Little did I know as I fashioned this array of plans, that out of necessity and our desire to contribute to the family’s well-being, the kids and I would end up <<babysitting>> every week day from September of 2006, until May of 2007. And so, we shared our days with two infants and two toddlers for the entire school year, quite unexpected, and challenging (oh, what an understatement!). Needless to say, we made adjustments, and as I trudged through the weeks, prayerfully determining to make the best of it and love these little ones under my feet, I/we let go of alot of preconceived ideas and notions of how this year would go for us, and just tried to hold down the fort as best as we could.

N and T were an invaluable help and encouragement to me, and I was so blessed to see them rise to our daily challenges and changes with such beautiful smiles and helpful attitudes. Academically, we did what we could when we could… tried to at least stay in touch with the basics, reading, writing and arithmetic. We did finish reading through The Chronicles of Narnia together, our treasured evening ritual, and we stayed fairly consistent with their copywork and math (finished a Developmental Math book each, and continued with their Singapore).

This next school year (2007-08) we’ll simply be jumping right back in, where we left off, with a few adjustments. And though we won’t be babysitting (whew!), we will be welcoming another permanent addition the Brew*crew in August, our own long awaited, little baby girl, Savannah Abigail. I’m sure that much of our learning and scheduling will thus revolve around her. Life is good, and though the days be long, the years are short, so above all, we shall continue to thankfully focus our attentions on living together and loving every minute of it, soaking up the lessons life offers to teach us along the way.

Our 2006-07 Lesson Plans

Our son: 10yo N is officially in 5th grd. this year and is working through Ambleside Online’s Year 3

Our daughter: 7yo T is officially in 2nd grd. this year and is working through Ambleside Online’s Y1

N and T both enjoy weekly riding lessons, barn/horse maintenance chores to pay for their lessons, tap dancing lessons, and household maintenance/critter chores at home. They’ve also been an invaluable help to me in our home childcare business endeavour. They always lend a helping hand wherever needed with the two toddler boys and two baby girls that we babysit on the weekdays. This in itself has been an education in life skills, and family interdependence. They like that I’m paying them a small portion of my weekly income as well, which they’ve more than earned!

We usually do most everything together, but I’m hoping to see N take off in doing many of his academics (mainly math and AO~Y3 readings) more independently. We will continue doing many of our history, science and geography reads together. Instead of trying to do two seperate years of history at once, we’re doing the early American History of AO~Y3 (with our TruthQuest Guides) and the English History of AIS, as it fits in chronologically. I’m using the AO Chronological World History Readings Chart as put together by Lisa Dal Santo for AO users.

We’ll also be supplementing with portions from The Home Educator’s Tutor magazine (an absolutely beautiful, helpful publication!).

I’ve added in a few more of my favorites that we had around here already, some of which we’re reading for the 2nd time around.

I would like to thank the Ambleside Online Advisory members who put together this lovely, *free* curriculum. It is such a blessing to so many. Thanks also to Lindafay for her scheduling pointers, as well as so many other ladies who have posted their scheduling ideas on the Ambelside email group’s files. They have inspired and helped me tremendously.

As a point of interest, we (usually) have a daily routine/plan of what we’d like to accomplish each day, but our days are not scheduled out into time slots, and are always subject to change. We just do what we can each day, and continue on the next day with what’s next. Some days we’ll get immersed in something (like the day my kids wanted to do 7 spelling lists in a row! or oftentimes continue on in a book, or even play outside all day- and why not~ I say?), and so then we just forego something else until later. The Deputy Headmistress over at The Common Room has a wonderfully encouraging post here, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective New Schoolyears”.

Disclaimer** Please make no mistake, we will most certainly probably not be able to accomplish all of this this year. But we’ll try! I realize that I have included a lot here. Yet I have found from experience that I need goals, plans to aspire to. I have wasted so many days, simply for lack of planning, lack of a framework has left me listless and regretful in the past. And so… this is my armature upon which to hang my dreams of education, and from which to pull our daily lessons.

Private Bible/Journal Time

During our private daily Bible reading & Journal time:
N~ is reading his choice of:

• Story portions from his NIV Bible:  Old Testament readings or New Testament readings
• The Warrior King~ David Becomes King over Israel, Vol. 10 from The Book of Life by V.Gilbert Beers, Th.D.. Ph.D.~ He’s chosen to read through this book right now. It’s a great read, mixing archaeological, and historical details with the Biblical account of David, who is N’s favorite Bible character.

T~ is reading her choice of:

• Story portions from her NKJV Bible: 1 & 2 Kings and Mark, and Old Testament readings or New Testament readings
• The Children’s Story Bible by Vos
• Stories About God’s People, Rod & Staff 2nd gr. Bible reader ~ T adores this reader, and she, who loves workbooky stuff, likes to do the reading workbook that goes along with this book. So, she does that of her own accord, and goes through spurts of keeping up with it almost daily. This it the set that I’d bought for N years ago, but he hated (so I sure didn’t make him do it)! They’re just so different.

Keep a Prayer Journal

Bible Study Together

Heart Of Wisdom Adam to Abraham Unit Study by Robin Sampson
>> Book of Genesis

Discover Jesus in GenesisThe Greenleaf Guide to Old Testament History by Rob and Cyndy Shearer, N and T love to take turns answering the questions from this guide, after reading a correlating portion from The Narrated Bible, which ofen leads to great discussions.
A Family Guide to the Biblical Holidays by Robin Sampson: We have drawn from and referred to this book for years, LOVE it! It’s probably been one of my most used homeschooling resources thusfar, besides my own Bible.

Bible References we already have on hand and use regularly:

• Complete Guide to the Bible by Reader’s Digest
• Who’s Who in the Bible: An Illus. Biographical Dictionary

• For Instructions In Righteousness: A Topical Reference Guide for Biblical Child Training by Pam Forster (for copywork mainly)

Misc. Faith Read-Alouds:
Hero Tales Vol 1 by Dave and Neta Jackson
Parables from Nature by Margaret Gatty
Wisdom and the Millers by Mildred Martin
Missionary Stories with the Millers by Mildred Martin
Prudence and the Millers by Mildred Martin
New Toes for Tia an OMF Book from Sonlight
Granny Han’s Breakfast an OMF Book from Sonlight

Writing & Copywork Ideas

N~10yo/5th :

• Transcribe favorite passages from the Shakespeare play we are reading. Two perfectly written lines every week (in cursive).
• Do the same for the poetry you are studying and the Scriptures for recitation.
• Written narration chosen from literature (1-2 per week, may be in cursive or manuscript).
• Draw a narration chosen from literature.
• Start Dictation, work up to one paragraph by end of year.
• Writing Strands 3: 2 pgs weekly.
• Learn to write a paragraph and outline.

T~7yo/2nd :

• Transcribe (copy in cursive) from reading books and Scriptures.
• Write spelling words from dictation on medium lined paper- daily.
• Written narration chosen from literature (1-2 per week, may be in cursive or manuscript).
• Draw a narration chosen from literature (1 per week).
• Writing Strands 3: 2 pgs weekly.
• Keeps a personal Journal (actually 3 or 4- of her own accord, writes in it daily).
• Start Dictation, work up to one paragraph by end of year. (Whereas N never could nor would have done this at her age, she is eager and ready.)

Typing

Practice online.

Phonics & Spelling

Copywork! Copywork has worked wonders for my kids these past couple of years.

Happy Phonics games together.
AVKO Sequential Spelling 1, 5 days/wk. for both N and T (they love Spelling time, always have)

Rule-Ette: a Spelling Game by Arlie Roffman: We have this on loan from a friend. I really like that the letters and phonograms on each card are written in cursive, which is great reinforcement.

Grammar

Simply Grammar~ together, 20 mins. 1x/wk.

Family Literature Read-Alouds
(if we don’t get to them all this year, then so be it, we’ll continue on into the next year, but this is our reading list)

• Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb: I have been surprised at how well my kids love these tales! They literally begged me to finish The Merchant of Venice.
• Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan ~ RA once/wk
• The Book of the Dun Cow by Walter Wangerin, Jr.
• The Princess and the Goblin by George McDonald
• The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
• The Magician’s Nephew by C. S. Lewis
• The Horse and His Boy by C. S. Lewis
• Prince Caspian by C. S. Lewis
• The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis
• The Silver Chair by C. S. Lewis
• The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis
• Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling (reading this one for the second time)
• Blue Fairy Book (reading this one for the second time)
• The Wind in the Willows by Grahame
• Five Children and It by E. Nesbit
• Wise Words: Family Stories that bring the Proverbs to Life, Leithart

N10’s Tales to Read Independently OR Aloud to Mom/Dad

1. Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary
2. The Twenty-One Balloons by Pene Du Bois
3. Heroes by Charles Kingsley
4. Water Babies by Charles Kingsley
5. The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
6. Michelangelo by Diane Stanley
7. The Power of Un by Etchemendy (Living Math)
8. At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald
9. American Tall Tales by Stoutenburg
10. Where do You Think You’re Going Christopher Columbus? by Jean Fritz (Samson ate it before he finished it, oh well)

T7’s Tales to Read Independently OR Aloud to Mom/Dad

1. Pictorial Pilgrim’s Progress published by Moody
2. Aesop for Children by Milo Winter
3. The Beatrix Potter Treasury by Beatrix Potter
4. The Gods Must Be Angry an OMF Book from Sonlight
5. The Little Bear Treasury by Homelund Minarik
6. The Frog and Toad Treasury by Arnold Lobel
7. The Serendipity Treasury by Stephen Cosgrove
8. The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses by Paul Goble
9. Storytime with the Millers by Mildred Miller
10. In Grandma’s Attic by RichardsonI
11. Pathway Readers: Busy Times, More Busy Times, Climbing Higher
12. Kaya Story Collection, An American Girl
13. Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie by Peter and Connie Roop
14. The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
15. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

Additional Reading

Anderson’s Fairy Tales
Lightfoot the Deer by Thornton Burgess
Wheel on the School by Miendert DeJong
Trailblazer Books by Dave Jackson (our library has the entire set)
Dr. Seuss books (we all love these!)

Poetry

*Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson
**Now We Are Six and When We Were Very Young by A.A. Milne
***Oxford Book of Children’s Verse by Iona and Peter Opie
*Songs of Innocence by William Blake
** SarahTeasdale and Hilda Conkling
*** Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Poems for Memorization by Rod & Staff
Praying with the Jewish Tradition compiled by Kopciowski
Hailstones and Halibut Bones by Mary O’Neill

Early American History

(Exploration – 1800)
Main Texts:
• Truthquest History~ American History For Young Students I by Michelle Miller
• The Story of the 13 Colonies by H.A. Guerber
• A Child’s Story of America by CLP
• The Story of the World, Vol.3 (portions only, with Activitiy Book)
• American History Through Art by Rich & Sharon Jeffus, Visual Manna

History Reads~
Around the World in a Hundred Years by Jean Fritz
Explorers Who Got Lost by Dreher
American History Stories…You Never Read in School by Pratt
If You Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 by McGovern
Who’s That Stepping On Plymouth Rock by Jean Fritz
North American Indians by Random House
The Landing of the Pilgrims by Daugherty (Landmark Book)
The American Revolution by Bliven (Landmark Book)
Fourth of July Raid by Hays
What’s the Big Idea Ben Franklin? by Jean Fritz
George Washington’s Mother by Jean Fritz
George Washington’s Breakfast by Jean Fritz
Phoebe and the General by Griffin
Archaeology for Young Explorers: Uncovering History at Colonial Williamsburg
Where was Patrick Henry on the 29th of May? by Jean Fritz
The Incredible Journey of Lewis and Clark by Blumberg
The Adventures of Lewis and Clark by Random
Cities of the Revolution: New York by Lee
Stories of the Pilgrims by Pumphrey, CLP or view here, in public domain

• Your Story Hour~ CD Album 6
• Bellerophon Coloring Books (amazingly beautiful, historically informative)
• Explorers of North America History Pockets by Evan-Moore
• Colonial America History Pockets by Evan-Moore
• Draw-Write-Now, Book 3: Native Americans

Historical Fiction:

• Johnny Tremain by Forbes
• The Sign of the Beaver by Speare
• Caddie Woodlawn by Brink
• Alone yet not Alone by Leininger
• The Land Beyond the Setting Sun, the Story of Sacagewea by Leininger
• The Last of the Mohicans by Cooper

Children to narrate from tales.

Biographies:

• Christopher Columbus by Ingri D’Aulaire
• Leif the Lucky by Ingri D’Aulaire (reading this one for the second time)
• Pocahontas by Ingri D’Aulaire (reading this one for the second time)
• Benjamin Franklin by Ingri D’Aulaire
• George Washington by Ingri D’Aulaire
• Carry On, Mr Bowditch
• Benjamin Franklin (Childhood of Famous Americans)~ T will read, N already read
• George Washington: A Picture Book Biography
• Amos Fortune Free Man by Yates
• In God We Trust: Stories of Faith in American History by Crater & Hunsicker

World & Church History

Main Texts: (We will only read from these as they fit chronologically with our American history readings.)

• Child’s History of the World by V.M. Hillyer
• Viking Tales by Jennie Hall
• Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin
• Our Island Story by H. E. Marshall
• Trial and Triumph by Hannula (Church History)

Geography

US~ Minn of the Mississippi by Holling C. Holling
*Paddle to the Sea by Holling C. Holling
**Tree in the Trail by Holling C. Holling
***Seabird by Holling C. Holling

• Learn States and Capitals> Wall Maps
  My Sticker Atlas of the US and Canada
  The Complete Book of Maps & Geography
  My Father’s World by Rod & Staff (Continents, Cultures, Oceans and Landforms)

Natural History and Science

Keep a Nature Notebook

1. Handbook of Nature Study By Anna Botsford Comstock- may be used for special studies and for reference as well as various field guides and picture books.
2. Exploring Creation with Astronomy by Jeannie Fulbright (14 wks.)
3. 365 Starry Nights: An Intro. To Astronomy for Every Night of the Year by Raymo
4. Dinosaurs by Design by Duane T. Gish (reading this one for the second time)
5. Life in the Great Ice Age by Oard (reading this one for the second time)
6. Story of Inventions by Frank P. Bachman ~ N10yo reading indep.
7. Mistakes that Worked
8. Magic School Bus Inside the Solar System cd-rom
9. Magic School Bus Inside the Earth cd-rom
10. Draw-Write-Now Animals and Habitats
11. The Usborne Book of Science Experiments
12. Science Arts: Discovering Science Through Art Experiences by Kohl and Potter

Mathematics

N~ Singapore Math
T~ Singapore Math

Supplemental for both: Developmental Mathematics

together:

• Geoboard and “Try It!” task cards
• Math-It games
• Addition Flash cards
• Multiplication Flash cards
• Division Flash cards
• Math computer game CDs: Rainbow Rock (Singapore) and Quarter- Mile Math drills
• Wrap-Ups for fractions and addition facts
• A Fractions Board game I picked up at a thrift store years ago.
• Pattern Blocks with Exploring with Pattern Blocks by Cuisenaire
• Money~ Prest-O Change-O board game and Quick Pix card game
• Weekly games of Backgammon, Battleship, Stratego, Masterminds and Chess with Dad
• Miquon Math

Foreign LanguageSigning for Kids by Mickey Flodin
Greek Alphabet~ Hey Andrew! Teach me some Greek! Reader by Karen Mohs and Little Bitty Baby Learns Greek by Bluedorn
Hebrew Alef bet~ Little Bitty Baby Learns Hebrew by Bluedorn and online resources

ART

Picture Studies focusing on 1-2 artists per 12 wk. term. For Term 1 of this year we’ll be studying William Adolphe Bouguereau to begin with, maybe another if we have time.

Drawing from nature and narrating tales with drawings.

Drawing with Children by Mona Brookes ~ Lesson Plans here
Painting with Children by Topal ~ formal painting lessons
A Method for Creative Design by Adolfo Best-Maugard

Recitations from Memory Work

Memorize weekly AWANAs verses
Keep reviewing passages and verses already memorized last year, including Psalm 23, Matthew 5:1-11 and Matthew 6:9-15.
This year we are starting with Romans 6:1-11 & Psalm 54
Then we’ll memorize the following passages Exodus 19-20:20 and Psalm 91, and so on as the Lord leads us.

Also, possibly a scene from the Shakespeare play being studied, or a passage from a poet being studied per term.

Elocution

N~ McGuffey’s Eclectic Third Reader (Truly, this is a living book. The first couple of stories entitled, “Effects of Rashness” parts 1 & 2 literally brought N to tears, and he said that he didn’t want to narrate it to Dad right away “because I don’t want to start crying again” and “Why do they have to write such sad stories?”.)
T~ McGuffey’s Eclectic First Reader

Music

Practice Recorders (T especially loves this, and is doing quite well on her own, now that I’ve gone over the notes and practiced with her! )
Practice Harmonicas (they do this on their own already)

Musical Appreciation

Listen to 1 composer (specifically) per term, read his life story from biographies found at the local library.

We are starting this year with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Franz Joseph Haydn during Term 1.

Singing

Plenty of Praise and Worship songs (never a shortage there around here)

At least three folk songs per term (we’re using Wee Sing America)

At least two hymns per term
For Term 1 of this year we’re learning Amazing Grace (a fave of the kids anyways) and I Surrender All, from the CD that came with our Home Educator’s Tutor mag.

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