Brain-in-a-book (what a relief!)

One of the things on my list for today, believe it or not, is to write a little bit for this blog.

I've been bustling around this week working on getting the school room tidied up for the upcoming school year. I also finally figured out how to get some planning done, turns out I really just needed a format.

I found it!

I tried so many ideas for planning my "soft" schedule (meaning it's not rigid) and at last I came up with this binder:

I am all about the binder this year. Each boy has one that will hold any notebooking pages or loose paper for each subject; Language Arts, Geography, History, Art, Latin, Science...you get the idea. I'm going to add a section for them to track all the books they've read. What a good feeling to look back over the titles you've worked through! They also have a tab for tests and scores. Keeping the important things!

I have several binders for myself; one for tutoring the Apprentice Class (this is a seperate lesson plan), one for important papers (all the love notes I get from the boys and can't bear to part with), one for my household paperwork, and one for school at home.

This school-at-home notebook is the one that calms my storming brain. (The window and the birdies beyond help too)

I have three sections in this notebook:

• Calendar (to mark what days we do school, holidays to remember)
• Weekly Lesson Plans
• Curriculum we use, books we read

The weekly lesson plan was the biggest for me. I need a calendar where I can loosely write down what we're studying with Classical Conversations so I can coordinate our home studies. I need a place to set goals with Math and reading. I need a calendar in which I can write up three separate plans for math, language arts and reading, AND coordinate our plans for history, science, latin, geography and reading. I needed a place to loosely list ideas for nature studies so that I can choose it, or not, depending what we stumble upon outside.

I'm really pleased with how it's all falling into place....which was the big problem. I couldn't think clearly for days because I had all these ideas bouncing around in my head, no where for them to fall.

At any rate, sometime I'll photo the school room but for now it's just cleaned out. Phew!

Going to spend the remainder of the week playing and filling out pages in my new favorite book. Next week pressing on to wrap up around-the-house-projects (namely a half-painted bedroom) and the following work I'll plan for tutoring.

Did I tell you what a relief it is to cruise through all my favorite homeschooling-family blogs & see that I'm not the only one who is rearranging almost everything right now? Truth is I'd love to paint the school room before class starts too, but let's not be silly now! It really does help to see all the photos of everyone else's chaos....this is our busy time of year, isn't it?

Have a wonderful day, and soon I'll post some photos of the mess....just have to zoom out. ;)

November Homeschool

October School

December is always a full month. I have set out to keep it as simple as I can over the last years, but no matter how I try it's full. Events and gifts, cards , decluttering, and school.

Yes, school is just about last on the list. And it's good, we do light school. A few more reading aloud, a little less seat work. It's kind for all of us, peaceful December.

My most recent excitement is deciding that we need a school room. It is not an easy interruption, clearing the table for meals or any other thing that needs to take place on the kitchen table. Not only that, but I think it would be lovely to have walls on which to pin my maps and other school wall-art. Mostly, I'd love to have a chalk or white board.

I started dreaming on moving school to the basement. We have a large playroom down there, it seemed the logical place to have school and tables, posters and pencils. However I've since changed my mind, and decided to put school in the room that has no name. It's a small room off our family room. Right now it's a Lego room, home to a large collection of toys sprawled across the floor. A bookshelf, a drying rack, a file cabinet. Nothing much in there but space and window and WALLS. So I'm excited to begin the changes this room needs to work school out of the kitchen. Oh, can you tell I'm excited? I can't stop rambling about it.

The other wonderful part is that my grandmother has asked if I want her old teaching table. My grandmother got her teaching certificate when she was 16 years old. Must have been about 1930. She worked in a one-room school house in Nebraska for 6 years, running the school and the furnace to keep them warm. What a lovely story! Years later after my father was born, she held a Kindergarten in a finished garage off of their home. In these days Kindergarten was optional. So in this Kindergarten she had four large tables for her students, my grandfather made each of quality Walnut. And she would like to know if I want the table! Oh joy! I cannot wait!

I did go to visit my grandparents over the weekend, a very, very sweet time. I wasn't able to bring the truck to move the table though, the roads were snowy and I drove my car.

I will be posting photos of the new school room as it develops.

Reviewing the month of November goes like this;

We stuck to our plan of Unschooling Fridays. We had a lovely time focusing on Nature Studies but also spending time on Autumn crafts and then, snow play!

For all of my three students;

I'm using Start Write to work on Penmanship. I usually copy of the memory verse the boys are working on for Awana and they copy them daily. The boys need plenty of work on Penmanship, all three. We also read through their Awana books for Bible stories and conversation.

The boys continue to practice Classical Conversations memory work as usual, and Joey is doing extra practice work. Joey will try for Memory Master this year, which will require him to have memorized 100% of the facts we've learned this year; English, World History Timeline, Geography, Latin, Science, History, Math. This is a lot of work but memorizing seems to come easily to him and he gets better.

Our Classical Conversations has spurred topics and mini studies in the solar system and constellations, and we follow up with Story of the World learning about Islam and other Medieval Middle Eastern History.

We continue with Nature Studies, Art, and have practiced Tin Whistle in Novemember.

Eldest, Third Grade, turned 9 in November! What a fun month for him.

Saxon Math

For his Essentials Writing Class, we're reading through First Language Lessons. He's been writing about Knights and the Middle Ages, and Honey Pot Ants.

For Spelling we've used SpellingCity.com (too fun!) and practice. Luckily, Spelling comes easily to Joe.

Middlest , First Grade

Saxon Math

We keep personal Calendars to discuss the format & work on the concepts of time and planning.

Nate is working through Teaching Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lesson and improving on his reading daily. He likes to read Bob books and I am working through Writing With Ease with he and Eli.

Littlest, Kinderyear

Eli has been working through various workbooks for Math. Numbers, addition and subtraction seem to come quickly to Eli.

He is also doing daily reading lessons in 100 Easy Lessons. Eli has read a few books, but I think this book is a good place for him to start.

Other Thoughts:

My husband suggested that I begin to create monthly report to keep record of what we're doing, what materials we're using, etc. Truthfully, I'm a little miserable at keeping track elsewhere. In doing this, I'm also seeing some weak areas I'd like to improve upon.

I haven't really taken time to set goals in our work. Perhaps I'll set some sort of calendar to create goals. I'd like to work through our read alouds more quickly, and work more quickly through our Math books too. I will start Eli on Saxon 1, and probably begin 1/4 into the book, and take Nate there with us. Going back a little will reinforce the work that he has done and he and Eli can do the work together. Nate is ready to begin spelling, and it's just time to make some changes. I'll post my plan one day. :)

Classical Conversations Endorsement

Our Classical Convesations School 2009-2010


This year was the beginning of our Classical Conversations journey. If you have a chapter near you, and it's quite possible you do, maybe you're thinking of checking it out. If so, head on over to the Classical Conversations website and check out why we love it so much, and can't imagine life without it.

So I'll share with you a bit of what we've learned about Classical Conversations....a bit of what it looks like in our weeks and days.

First off, my boys are younger (4, 6 & 8) so we aren't yet doing Essentials or Challenge, just Foundations.

Foundations is a curriculum, but it's different than anything I've ever done. Each week we memorize a fact or statement for Math, Bible, English, Latin, History, Geography, Science, and 8 points on the time line. We also get in on hands on science experiments and art projects/music. Each child also gets to present something each week to their own class. This is one of my favorite parts of CC, my kids are so comfortable speaking to a group now. Then we go home and practice all of this memorization in addition to the Language Arts and Math curriculum that you do independently, as well as any other subjects you care to do. The following week the kids come back and learn new memory work & review what they've learned.

In the Essentials program (4th-8th grade, I think) the kids stay later in the afternoon and learn more about writing, breaking down parts of speech and the English Language. Now that sounds pretty simple but it's seems to be very, very challenging for the kids who are doing that class. We'll be learning more about this in a year or two. I can't yet tell you about how the Challenge program works. We're too far from that to have seen it in action.

So I guess you could say it's supplemental to the basics (math and reading) that you already do. Some moms piggyback lessons on what we're learning at CC....if in science we're studying volcanoes you can study them at home or online, etc. Our family follows History and our time line with The Story of the World.''

Some links to some other bloggin' mamas descriptions to Classical Conversations;
The Ten O'clock Scholar
Pages of Our Life
Home is Where You Start From


If you're thinking of a homeschool program, looking for some curriculum, excellent Christian education, an irreplacable support group, let me encourage you to check out Classical Conversations.

*I'll be posting soon on "Why Memorization?"