Two first; no pictures

First FIRST:

On Sunday, I decided there was no point in Trevor getting used to a post-Holly routine, and then have to readjust in a few weeks to a school routine.

I haven't done much planning, but I pretty much know what Trevor will be doing this school year. We started with math only for this week, and I'll add things in as the weeks pass.  I'm not sure if we've ever begun school before Labor Day, so there's plenty of time.

Algebra II.  This is the same book that Holly used and the same series that both used for Algebra I.  It's written as a remedial textbook for college students, so while it's a "college" book, it's not college level math.  What I like, no, what I *love,* about Lial's is that the entire book is written to the student and intended to be self-teaching.  This also means that if they get stuck, I have a chance of helping them wade through it (surely much easier in Alg I).  When I bought this book, the seller unexpectedly threw in the solutions manual and accompanying never-used CD lecture set. The solutions manual is great--while the textbook includes answers to odd problems in back, the solutions manual explains the answers step by step.


Science/The Human Body.  Apologia, the go-to, trusted science curriculum.  Trevor had an excellent but entirely scattered biology course two years ago (the beloved but absent-minded Dr. Abraham) and online Apology Chemistry last year.  It will be different for him to self pace through this course, but the format makes it easy to do.

United States History.  Trevor has really enjoyed MFW's history, but the texts change for 11th and 12th grade.  Holly used a few other CLP packs for history, and while they are not my absolute favorite, they are both thorough and to the point.  Trevor may be a little disappointed, but it will be super easy to add more fun reading in, if he has time. 

Biblical Worldview. The Holy Spirit must have prompted me for this one!  I have no idea what I was looking for or why I chose it.  Worldview, check.  Summit Ministries, check.  I've heard only great reviews. I recently saw this as a free course offered through VHSG, but I quickly decided that this is a subject I would prefer to teach myself and not trust to a random, virtual stranger.


English/Comp.  We'll be using Windows to the World, and Trevor is going to try an online class through VHSG to guide him through The Elegant Essay.

Logic.  This is an outside course which will be taught by a religion/philosophy instructor from the local community college.  Twelve students are signed up, including Kurt and Samuel, two additional  boys from our soccer team, two other girls we know from soccer, and a boy from CAP.  We are all pretty exciting about this one.

Music Appreciation. Because it's good stuff to know, because I paid under $5 for a once-used set at the library book sale, and because this is something I can do with Trevor (and I don't have to teach it!).  

So we had our FIRST day of school, one subject, no pictures.  But it's begun, and that's a very good thing.


Second FIRST:

(Yes, I was headed here.) FIRST night of soccer practice!!  Another first, no photos. That's what I get for being social and talking to another mom.  I could have happily sat in my chair all alone and taken a few pics, but that's not how it happened. 

Curriculum

It's probably time I do at least a short curriculum list, particularly considering that I don't think I did one last year.

My Father's World was such a big hit last year.  After making the initial decision to go with MFW, I began to believe that I was setting us up for a very hard time.  It was a huge jump from the middle school work Trevor was doing.  It involved a lot of reading, intense reading, along with demanding writing projects. It was written for the student to be almost entirely independent.  Trevor jumped right in and embraced all of it.  While I continued to meet with him several times a week, he was very diligent at completing the work as scheduled.  He completely stepped up to the challenge and really impressed me.  Among other things, his books included Beowulf, The Iliad, and The Odyssey.

It was an easy choice to continue MFW this year.  He'll earn a credit in world history, English/literature, and Bible.  We'll deviate a bit with writing. The curriculum uses one book for writing instruction, and I prefer using something else.  I'll also switch out some of the lit books, choosing material that Trevor prefers. He's already requested to read more Shakespeare (in the original writing), and it's easy for me to use some of what Holly's Shakespeare choices for high school.

Trevor started the year taking an online geometry class with his algebra teacher from last year. It was not working, not for him, nor for me--not the least of which problems included the 11 paragraph explanation I finally received this week, detailing how to manage each week's homework (what to print, what was required, what videos to watch-or-not-watch, when to look in the text, and what was --sometimes--optional-but-not-always).  It was the straw that convinced me to drop the class and pick up Jacob's, which is what Holly used a few years ago.  We'll be supplementing with a Great Course video on high school geometery.

He's been taking chemistry through Virtual Homeschool Support Group, which uses Apologia.  The class meets three mornings a week, and while he was not thrilled with that idea when we registered, so far, he's totally loving the class and the teacher. I also purchased a lab kit so he'll get the lab credit.

We decided also that Trevor would take an introductory economics course, using Uncle Eric's Whatever Happened to Penny Candy, along with the Bluestocking Guide to Economics.  That's just a semester course.

He'll continue to be active with TeenPact (but may not attend state or NC this year), and piece together a gastronomy course.

We continue to look toward the following two years, when he'll start taking classes at Virginia Western.  That was such a good experience for Holly, and I am expecting it will be an advantage for Trevor also.

End of biology

Trevor's biology class officially ended last week with the Museum field trip (which he missed).  However, the Professor invited Trevor and Jason (another student) to meet him for coffee yesterday morning.  Dr. Abraham encouraged the boys to take notes for two hours as he discussed creation vs. evolution. 

What an honor and a privilege for Trevor to be under the instruction of this Godly man for this time.  His life is a testimony to his faith as he's stood up for what he believes, unmoved by a worldly desire to fit in, to do the "comfortable" thing.  Dr. Abraham was in between full time teaching jobs, after leaving Liberty, and spending this semester in an adjunct position at our local community college.  It is our loss that it seems he will be leaving for a position in Oklahoma that will begin in the fall.

I told Trevor that he will have profs like this, who invite students out, separately from class, students who are sparked by the teacher's passion for his subject . . .

I know I've posted recently about the blessing this class, this instructor, has been, but I am blown away by God's perfect timing to put this man into the lives of these kids.

Biology

Trevor's biology class has gone so well this semester.  The class was unplanned, a last minute opportunity that began mid-semester.  Originally, the details were sketchy.  A former Liberty biology professor would lead a biology class for homeschoolers if there was enough interest.  He had no schedule, no plan, just a BJU book that was suggested to him as a spine.  As the prof suggested parents attend the first class with their students to give it a try, Trevor and I went, even though we were not expecting it to work out for us. 

Within ten minutes, we had both changed our minds.

Dr. Abraham's testimony, brilliance, and passion for his subject hooked us instantly.  The class has not been structured; it's a small class, with the prof unfamiliar with the ways of homeschoolers (and he's had my sympathy, lol), and for most of the class of five, the first time in an outside learning environment.  Rabbit trails are numerous.  But he holds the students to very high standards--the content is deep, in line with what he's been teaching at a local community college.

Trevor's loved almost every minute of it.  What a blessing it's been to us this year, as Roanoke lost its long time, favorite science teacher a few years ago. This class, taught by this way, by this Godly man, has been a perfect fit for Trevor.

Break time for the class.  

I failed miserably at my attempt to stealthily 

snap a picture with my phone, lol.

The new school year and curriculum

I've been somewhat consistent posting this each year in the past, so here goes:

Holly:

As I wrote earlier, Holly will be taking two community college courses, counting as dual enrollment for both high school and college credit.  So far, it's been great.  She's taking Chinese online and spent a few hours last week familiarizing herself with the website, format, and class materials.  She's already turned in a few assignments, and she expressed appreciation at receiving both a grading rubric and a study guide to prepare for her final. The class will meet once a week online, and also team up with language/study partners.

At this writing, she's only had one English class so far. She liked the teacher immediately, and she liked her even more when the teacher said she's not big on homework.  Huh.  I was kind of hoping for that!  Looking at the College Composition course syllabus, it appears it will be an easy class.

English and Chinese are this semester; next semester, she'll be taking Chinese II and a geography course.  Each semester will count as one high school credit.

She's using Lial's Intermediate Algebra by Lial for Algebra II.  This textbook is for use in college remedial math, written directly to the student, with great explanations.  Holly used this series for Algebra I, and I'm sold on it.

She'll also be taking Driver's Ed and counting a P.E. credit.  On paper, it seems like a rather light year, but  in reality, it hasn't been yet and won't be. She's in the final prep for her ACT next week and will retake the SAT in October.  We're also considering the SAT Subject Test in Spanish for November (which will give a back up for a Spanish credit). We've been planning on some sort of community service (honestly, just to have it on a transcript), and she'll be in the throes of college applications shortly.

Trevor:


Trevor is beginning 9th  grade. I'd been praying for something that would be interesting and yet still challenge him.  He'll be using My Father's World Ancient History and Literature. It uses Notgrass's Exploring World History as a spine, spreading it out over a two year span. There are a dozen other books included, so while Trev will still be reading a lot, it will be pages here, pages there, going from selected books each day.  The actual schedule is a bit ??? to get used to (think Sonlight's), but he's already getting the hang of it, and it will give him the independence he needs to achieve his own goals for high school.

We toyed with the idea of using Life of Fred for math, but in the end, I chose the sure thing, Introductory Algebra, again by Lial, the same series Holly is using.  In addition to the textbook (which is written directly to the student), Trevor will be taking an online class once a week for additional instruction. Jann's held my hand through Lial's in the past. I'm thrilled he's in this class, and while he was looking forward to Fred, I think he's pretty on board with this option too.  (I would consider the AlgII class for Holly, but she's already started her math, and the timing would be a conflict for us too.)

With his MFW schedule, I'm not ready to also throw in Biology. That will wait until next year.  Meanwhile, we've talked in the past about him pursuing a subject in which he's passionate and making it into a class.  Hello, Molecular Gastronomy!  Using Alton Brown's show, following up with cooking labs, and tossing in a few additional resources, Trevor will enjoy this science credit.

He'll also be finishing up the second Fallacy Detective book to gain a half credit in Logic, and will count a P.E. credit.  We are considering a foreign language but will wait for everything else to settle down before making a final decision.

And that's it.  Seems a lot shorter than my curriculum-for-the-year posts in the past!

Curriculum for the new school year!

I never got around to making this post last year, so I'm not going to postpone this time one bit. We have a few changes, nothing major. My goals include SAT prep work for Holly and to encourage thinking skills for Trevor.

I'm excited about a few subjects that will involve both kids at the same time:

Philosophy. We're using Philosophy for Kids: 40 Fun Questions That Help You Wonder . . . About Everything by David A. White, Ph.D. Holly will also read an extra book or two, or perhaps watch The Teaching Company's lecture series on Philosophy, and she will count it as half a high school credit.

Eschatology. We're using CDs from our former pastor's teachings through the Book of Revelation. .5 credit.

The rest of the lineup.

Holly:

Chemistry. Continuing to go with Lee's advice to "invest in your weakness," this will be an outside class that Holly will take, using Apologia. The woman who's taught this class for years has moved on and no longer teaching, but I'm optimistic. The new teachers are a husband/wife team, currently teaching in a public high school and homeschooling their son. They have all of the notes and information from the former teacher and are excited about this class. Apologia is also not that difficult to teach. 1 credit.

Geometry. Nothing special here, strictly Jacobs. I've heard enough negative comments about the new 3d edition, so we made an effort to find an older 2d ed. 1 credit.

Writing. Holly will be using a combination of different programs: IEW's High School Essay Intensive, Writing Strands: Writing Exposition, and reading The Lively Art of Writing. 1 credit.

Economics. Taking Lee's advice here too, choosing Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? by Richard Maybury, and the accompanying workbook, A Bluestocking Guide: Economics by Jane A. Williams. My notes to myself say, "Oh, for heaven's sake, if you feel you must do more, have her watch a Khan (Academy) video or two." .5 credit

Government. Not sure how this will all work out. Holly has considerable time with TeenPact. I may take some of that and make it into a Leadership course. If so, I have a few other ideas with what she'll do for government, but either way, she'll be reading The 5000 Year Leap and Making of America book and study guide. .5 credit.

Neurobiology. Holly specifically requested this course after discovering an interest in her biology class from last year. Her spine will be a video lecture series, Understanding the Brain from The Great Courses. She'll supplement with another video, Optimizing Brain Fitness, assorted reading, and labs that I'll be pulling together from online sources. (I have to add that I bought The Great Courses videos as a set during the annual 70% off sale.) 1 credit.

Foreign Language. I'm not sure how this will play out yet, but the goal is to get credit in this course either through a CLEP or SAT subject test. An alternative is to quickly go through two years of a text. Holly has an ear for languages and has dabbled in several over the past two years. We considered, and ultimately decided against, a dual enrollment community college Spanish class. Although it will be held just around the corner from us and is specifically for dual enrollment homeschoolers, the cost was over $500. Not worth the money and time to go twice a week just for this. 1 credit.

P.E. Playing two seasons; the coaching will go toward community service instead of P.E. 1 credit.

Study Skills. This will include PSAT and SAT prep work. .5 credit.

In print, it looks a little ambitious, but she shouldn't have any trouble keeping up with the work as long as she stays focused on the year ahead.

I'm very comfortable with Trevor's upcoming schedule, as I've used most of it in the past, either already with Holly or the same curriculum, just at a lower level. There's really nothing new here.

Devotional. Bob Schultz's Practical Happiness. Trevor's used the author's first two books in years past.

Math. Life of Fred pre-algebra. There are two books, one with an emphasis on biology, the other, economics. Trevor's completed Singapore through 6B and ready for algebra, but I'd prefer he be a little more grounded. I also wasn't up to the task of teaching another year of algebra right away, and I'll have my hands full enough with geometry. This seemed like a good middle ground, and he'll be able to cover two books during the course of the school year, enjoying Fred's escapades in a math program unlike any other (and that's an understatement!).

Writing. He'll continue with Writing Strands, finishing up Level 5 and moving into Level 6.

Literature. We'll again use Lightning Lit. Trevor used this last year, and Holly used it for 8th grade, requesting it again for 10th. Additionally, Trevor and I will continue our morning read alouds. Oh, I hope I have at least one more year of reading aloud to my son! I usually like the books we choose, and I treasure the time together!

Grammar. Shurley English, Level 7. This is the final level of Shurley. We began using this when Holly attended the cottage school in first and second grade. Both kids have used Shurley since then. At home, we've used it every other year, skipping every other level. It's worked beautifully that way for us.

History. Hmm. Thinking and rethinking this still. I want to focus on American history, and I am looking for something that will be the right "fit." My plan tonight is to focus on suggestions in The Well Trained Mind and see what I can tweak that would work for us.

Logic. The Fallacy Detective. Holly used this at about the same age, and I'm looking forward to using it again. (Hmm, looking at the website makes me wish we had the newer edition.)

He'll also be busy with Civil Air Patrol and two seasons of soccer. He's considering playing basketball again this winter.

That's it! We started today, another post on that later. I think we are all pretty good with settling back into the routine of school.

Trevor's art

While I was running crazy on Monday, Trevor sketched this during his art time. He's using Artistic Pursuits.



He never fails to amaze me.

Our Wednesday

Trevor is settling in with Beautiful Feet Geography, and the first book is Paddle to the Sea. While googling, I stumbled across a 170 paged activity guide to go along with this book, and then I found a program specifically written for Paddle on Google Earth. VERY cool!!!

Trevor flies over icy Lake Nipigon

He also spent much time entertaining himself with his circuit set. (Definitely recommended for any boy's Christmas list!)

Lucky snoozes, happy to be close by

We dropped Holly off at riding and went to the library. I found this sign hilarious and couldn't help but take a picture. Facebook classes at the library. What will they think of next?


I mentioned last week that Holly had gone back to her old barn. While the lessons down the street from us were wonderfully convenient, it was quickly apparent that things were not going to work out. (I do not need drama in my life!)




Seeing how happy Holly is to be back makes me happy too. :)

Part 2 of 2: Our school year and Andrew Pudewa

As Trevor continued with most of the same curriuculum and subjects as last year, I was completely surprised that he is my challenge this year. Singapore, lit, SWR, Shurley, Writing Strands . . . all status quo. His new Rainbow Science has been a pretty good fit, I think he likes it. As always, *I* am the one challenged to keep up the pace of three lessons a week. Robert was going to work on this with Trevor, but I'm doing most of it. That's fine.

However, our Story of the World has been a complete bust. We've used SOTW longer than any other curriculum, since Holly was in second grade. It's not working, not sticking, not engaging him any more. As this realization dawned on me, and I began praying about what in the world I am supposed to do now, I also made plans to attend Andrew Pudewa's Nurturing Excellent Communicators seminar. Silly me, I thought it had something to do with public speaking.

Andrew discussed our children's sources for information: media, peers, parents, in that order. He spoke of why good readers are not automatically good writers. He shared the many benefits of reading aloud, of memorization, and of music. I was so inspired and encouraged, completely blown away at how I could apply this at my house.

Everything we were missing fell into place.

The new plan is to switch over to Beautiful Feet's Geography Through Literature, and IEW's corresponding Geography-Based Writing Lessons (replacing Writing Strands, which we're almost done with anyway). Thanks to my loopy friend, Susan, I already have a copy of the geography; and one of Trevor's favorite books is Pagoo, also written by Holling C. Holling (whose books make up the geography course). It will free up some of our history time AND put more emphasis on reading aloud. I'm excited, and even better, Trev is too.

* * *

Andrew's speech is available as a free download from his website, if you have the coupon code from the current catalog. As he encouraged us to burn the download and share with friends, I am happy to share the password with anyone who leaves a comment here asking for it. I've already given away a few copies on Facebook, and I'm sharing some with my hs mom friends locally too.

* * *

And, believe it or not, my camera was at my side the entire evening. I even touched it a time or two. My two friends and I briefly chatted with Andrew at the end of the evening, and I was too shy to ask for a picture.

Somehow I think my daughter would be proud of me, lol.

Part 1 of 2: Our school year so far

We have just completed week 8, and all is going well. I am tweaking as expected; I always do after the school year begins.

Holly is using all new material this year. It's the first time she's done every subject independently, although we touch base to go over some of her work. She's adapted very well, and I'm pleased at how she's managing her time. She's maintained the work schedule that I oh-so-optimistcally set for her at the start of the school year, with the exception of being one week behind in history. I'm very pleased. The rundown:

Life of Fred algebra. Great! The plan was for Robert to work on this with her. Holly found that to be enough motivation to do it on her own. (LOL, I'm sure we're all glad for this.) Math has never been her favorite, but it's not the most hated subject this year either. I love the way Fred is laid out, how it teaches in such a friendly, easy to understand manner.

Notgrass. Not working for Holly. Providing one credit each in history, lit, and Bible, there is a lot of work each day. We very quickly dropped the Bible work, and she decided to substitute a quarter (semester?) of IEW for a half writing credit. The history is intense; she finds it very dry and boring. We've decided that she won't continue with Notgrass next year. I really want to say here that *I* really love Notgrass, I think's it wonderfully written. I'd love to do it in my spare time (hahahahahaha). But I couldn't keep up the reading pace demanded by the curriculum. I'm disappointed that she doesn't like it the way that I do, but I learned quite a while back that it all comes down to what works for each person.

Signs & Seasons astronomy. I'm completely responsible for this never getting off the ground. (No pun intended.) Holly read the first chapter as planned; I dropped the ball on getting materials for the corresponding projects. I dread the thought of doing much work outside with the cold weather setting in. Robert finally picked up what I needed, which I've ignored for the past two weeks. On the plus side, this curriculum was written to alternatively cover over one summer, which I find quite appealing. Okay, so this is something else that fell off the schedule, but it's my fault. It will get done.

Getting Started With Latin. Since Holly's not a math fan, and intensely dislikes her history program, Latin has become her favorite subject this year. Who ever could have guessed this? She used the audio lesson downloads in the beginning but found them unnecessary. She's been covering 10 lessons per week. This will only last about 1/3 of the school year, and I'm not yet sure what she'll transition into. GSWL's author has written lessons to go with Gunnison & Harley's The First Year of Latin, preparing the student to read Caesar's Gallic Wars. (I can just hear Holly's enthusiasm over that.) At the beginning of the school year, I'd planned for and purchased Henle, following lesson plans through Mother of Divine Grace school. We shall see. (After writing this paragraph, the answer is becoming clearer, lol.)

Institute for Excellence in Writing, Writing Intensive C. Oh, how I wish Holly loved listening to Andrew as much as I do. She's not amused but, rather, finds him amusing. The work is getting done, and that's about all I can say. IEW's never been the best fit for her, so we skip the checklists, dress-ups, etc.

Extracurricular. She's counting soccer towards a P.E. credit. She's keeping track of riding/lesson/horse time, and we'll decide later whether it will count as P.E. or equestrian credit. She's again volunteering two hours a week as a grade helper for Good News Bible Club, which is sponsored by our church at a neighborhood school.

So far, it's been great. I can't believe we're a quarter of the way through. Holly's done a terrific job meeting both my demands and the demands of the curriculum. This has been a smooth transition, surpassing my expectations.

Curriculum plans for the year

I love the planning part of school. I enjoy seeing what's out there, the endless choices I have before me. Ater 8-1/2 years, I no longer see them as the endless choices I have to screw up my kids' lives either! I love to look at everything, touch it when possible, and imagine the possibilities. I've been pretty good at fighting the "grass is always greener" syndrome, an early challenge for me. When we find what works, we stick with it, and when we change, it has been for the right reasons.

With Holly in high school this year, I now need to keep track of credits. It's no longer daunting. I've watched enough of my friends go through this, quite successfully, and two books have been particularly helpful and encouraging, Barb Shelton's Form+U+la and Cafi Cohen's Homeschoolers' College Admissions Handbook.

Here's the rundown on our plans for the year. I prayed about this a lot last year, needing the balance of the teaching/learning style that has worked for us, yet knowing that I'd again have outside commitments.

Holly, 9th grade:

Algebra. Life of Fred. The biggest challenge might be what to call this on a transcript, lol.

American History, American Literature and Composition, and Biblical Issues in American Christianity. Notgrass. Covering three subject areas and credits, this will be the bulk of her daily work. Some of the Composition portion will be substituted with The Institute for Excellence in Writing's Student Writing Intensive Level C.

Latin. Getting Started with Latin, and when this is completed, my current plan is for her to begin Henle, along with the syllabus from Mother of Divine Grace.

Classical Astronomy. Signs and Seasons, including the lab/field work.

Biblical Worldview. She'll take this one-semester outside class during the second half of the school year.

Holly will be playing fall and spring rec league soccer, and horseback riding a few times a month, both of which will count towards a P.E. credit. Additionally, she'll be volunteering again with the Bible Club which our church sponsors. It will be a busy year, I think.


Trevor, 6th grade:

Memory work. I'll continue to select a variety of materials, a continuation of what we've done for several years.

Bible. Boyhood & Beyond by Bob Schultz. For now, we'll be reading this together out loud.

Math. Primary Mathematics/"Singapore." This has been a good fit at our house for a while now.

Spelling. Spell to Write and Read. This has been my favorite curriculum for the elementary grades, and it will be sad to stop using it--almost sad anyway!

Grammar. Shurley English. This fell off the radar last year. Trevor began Level 5 in 4th grade, but at the beginning of 6th grade, I noticed that we are only on Lesson (Week) 15! We've used Shurley for years, and I'm confident we'll keep up with it this year. I've always disliked Shurley's writing instruction, so we skip that.

Writing. Writing Strands. It looks like we're overloading the Language Arts, but in reality, each of these fits into a piece of the puzzle. I'm not a big fan of Writing Strands' author's writing style, but my kids are good with the instruction. Instead, I use the author's writing as an example of what I *don't* want them to do. :)

While we're not formally using Teaching the Classics, I have to insert it here. I frequently use the methods taught in TtC, and it's been my favorite curriculum for the upper elementary and middle school grades. Typing this, though, has me consider that we CAN use this if we let anything else fall off the schedule. Hmm, that's so tempting! (And THERE's that 'grass is always greener' mentality....)

History. Story of the World, vol. 3. I've used SOTW and the accompanying Activity Guide with one or both kids for the past 6-1/2 years. It's the longest-running curriculum that we've stuck with. I love the flexibility! Trevor's not wild over a lot of reading assignments, so we'll be supplementing with my long time favorite Art in Story by Marianne Saccardi, and Trev's excited to once again be using the test booklet that is available with SOTW too.

Science. Rainbow. I think Trevor's most excited about this. Holly used it two years ago, and even then, he couldn't wait to try it himself.

Trev will also be using a keyboarding/typing computer program, playing soccer, and he may join the chess club nights when soccer is over.

So that's it. Usually a few things fade away, but we're still left with a solid year. I expect this year to be no different than any other. Yay!!!

Curriculum Review! Lightning Literature

I have been wanting to review a few programs that we used last year, but this is the first one I've gotten around to. For 8th grade history, Holly used Beautiful Feet history. Because I felt it was light on literature compared to what we were used to, I chose Elizabeth Kamath's Lightning Lit & Comp as an additional literature course.



The curriculum consists of two books in notebook binders. The student's book is large and includes twelve chapters planned to cover two semesters. Each chapter contains a brief author bio, a short list of items to watch for while reading, recommended vocabulary lists, several comprehension questions, two literary lessons relating to a particular writing style or element, and several suggested writing exercises. The second half of the student's book contains a variety of workbook pages for each chapter, to be completed following the reading and literary lessons. Most of these I felt were worthwhile, although we skipped the busywork word search and crossword puzzle in each chapter.

The total cost for the teacher's guide and student book was about $65. It was not necessary for me to buy additional books, as I was able to find everything at my library.

Lightning Lit was an excellent choice for our school year. The book selections were not what I would have otherwise used; and Holly, for the most part, enjoyed them. Several of the readings were short stories or poems from Harold Bloom's Stories and Poems for Extremely Intelligent Children of All Ages, authored by G.K. Chesterton, Christina Rosetti, Lewis Carroll, Walt Whitman, Ralph Waldo Emerson. The books, both fiction and non-fiction, included A Day of Pleasure by Isaac Bashevis Singer, Dickens' A Christmas Carol, and Tolkien's The Hobbitt.

(I have to admit I was shocked to discover how much TREVOR knew A Christmas Carol--apparently from watching the MICKEY MOUSE cartoon. Sigh. I suppose I can never say that Disney didn't teach us anything...)

Early on, I told Holly she could opt out of one book throughout the course, and after she began reading Treasure Island, she decided that would be the one to skip.

What I liked:
- The book selections. For so long, I've handpicked books that fit both our curriculum and my daughter's tastes. This was great exposure to a variety of writing.
- Ease of use. Holly easily picked this up to do on her own, yet it was for me to pick up at the end of the day to later review with her. With me working part time this year, ease of use for both of us was crucial.
- Flexibility! It's easy to adapt the workload to fit the student, skipping over any workbook pages, based on what the student already knows (or may not need to cover). While there are guidelines on what should be completed each week, I had no problem adapting to fit us. I think we began several weeks into the school year, and we completed about 80% of the book.
- The lessons. They make the student think. These are not fill-in-the-blank answers.
- The writing exercises. Each chapter includes several writing exercises, and the student is told to choose just one. You can assign an additional exercise if there is time. Many of the exercises build on what the student has worked on earlier in the lesson. It was easy for Holly to choose the one that best fit her.
- The variety. Over the course of the year, students study and then apply a wide variety of skills, including identifying bias, taking notes, rewriting source material, writing ballads and free verse, and creating allegory.

What I didn't like:
It's minor, really. While the teacher's guide lays out lesson plans in an easy-to-read, check-the-box format, it didn't include any mention of reviewing the comprehension and discussion questions with the student. I NEED this reminder. It was easy to fix; I just penciled it in for each chapter. But it's a relevant part of the study to not include!

Lightning Lit has courses that continue through high school. I wish we were continuing to use it; it worked that well. Instead, we'll be using Notgrass-- partially because of how much it reminds me of Lightning Lit. The additional appeal of Notgrass is that it combines history, literature and Bible. If Notgrass doesn't work out, I'll definitely be back considering Lightning Lit. Meanwhile, I'll be planning to use this 8th grade book for Trevor in a few years. This was definitely a HIT at our house!

It's that time again!!

All the new, shiny books, fresh curriculum to start off a fresh year! While we won't actually begin school until after Labor Day, my biggest order arrived today. I'll have plenty of time to leaf through it, plan, and imagine. THIS will be the year that everything is PERFECT. THIS will be the year that I do it ALL right. THIS will be our BEST year YET, all because of these choices I'VE made.

And then I'll fall over laughing.

Fred is here

Meet Fred. He's a six year old genius who will be staying with us, hopefully for this school year, at least. This is the Life of Fred, and his story will be our algebra curriculum. I say "our," but that might not quite be true. Robert has offered to take over math with Holly for the upcoming school year. What I really should post is a picture of me with a great big fat smile of relief on my face. But all I have for this post is a picture of Fred.



It's a pretty small book, small and thin. That's a plus, as long as it works.



And it's even autographed, another plus, I guess. LOL

The accompanying Home Companion breaks down Fred's twelve chapters into manageable daily lesson plans, includes teaching notes, and gives extra practice problems.

Straight from the text: The five of them sat down at the poker table. When they had first started playing poker on Thursday nights back in August, they had used a square card table, but that didn't seem to work out very well with five players. The ratio of players to sides of the table was 5:4. Darlene didn't mind since she got to sit next to Joe.

But everyone else did mind since: 1) Darlene couldn't concentrate on the game with Joe so close to her and 2) Joe kept forgetting that you're supposed to keep your cards secret. Whenever he got a good hand, he'd show it proudly to Darlene.

Sound a little silly? It twists its way into negative and positive numbers, with problems to work such as: What does (-1)(-2)(-3)(-4) equal? How about -15/+2?

It's definitely an out-of-the box approach, but that might be the key word there, too, approach. We shall see. I'm looking forward to it; Holly's at least interested; and Robert has no idea what he's in for. Muhahahaha!!

Art is history

So it's been one of those "years" where history has lasted for a year and a half. We had one of these way back when Holly first began Story of the World; at that point, I resolved to work through one volume over the course of one year. It amazes me that I've stuck with that schedule for so long. Until now. This is the first time that Trevor has been the sole user of SOTW, and he's enjoyed spending time to soak up the Middle Ages. No complaints from me, I want that flexibility; as long as we are working and learning, I'm not too concerned about how long it takes (math and science being the exceptions).

Under usual circumstances, we'd move right into the next volume. But Trevor's ready to skip Vol. 3 and move into Vol. 4. He's excited about WWI, WWII. I'm not so sure, and I want some time to think about this. I have always been drawn to the chronological aspect of SOTW, and there's just too much good stuff to skip. So we're taking a break.

We haven't done much art this year, either in history or application, but that's changing. (Woo-hooo!) I've pulled together a few things to wind up the year on a great note. We're starting with the fabulously wonderful Art in Story. This is a terrific book to use either at home or in a classroom/co-op setting. Artists are loosely grouped chronologically (see the appeal?!), by genre, and each artist has his (her) own chapter. Beginning with background information for the teacher, there is a read aloud story about the artist. They are interesting and age appropriate, often from the artist's childhood. There area recommendations to the teacher for viewing the art, where to find resources, and what to point out to the students. There is a brief suggestion for "journaling," where the child will write something about the artist: It might be a reaction to a style, or the child's opinion on comparing artists from a similar time period, or what a child noticed in a particular painting. The journaling activities are always varied, and we like that around here too. There is a section for a corresponding art and/or drama activity with each artist too. Each section also contains "Curriculum Connections," ideas for combining other subjects into the artist study, along with a wider range of book suggestions.

(Click here)

Discovering Great Artists is another book providing additional choices for art application ideas. I've used this periodically for several years. The art ideas are simple to pull together, and also cover a wide variety of techniques.

(Click here)

Earlier this month, we began with studying Giotto. From Art in Story, we read about Giotto's childhood and apprenticeship with the great Cimabue. We read Mike Venezia's Giotto; Venezia has a series of a few dozen books on famous artists. They are engaging and quick reads; I'd used these from my library in Colorado and recently ordered a bunch for our children's department here. To view the art, we paged through L'Engle's The Glorious Appearing, and we looked at a work or two of Cimabue's online. We used an idea from Discovering Great Artists, and Trevor created his own paint by grinding up pastel chalk and mixing the colors with egg.


He later wrote a paragraph describing his reactions to the art if he were a child living in Florence in Giotto's time, and seeing Giotto's work for the first time.


Last week, we did something similar with Donatello, Brunelleschi, and Ghiberti. Trevor's really pleased with the hands-on work, and I'm just happy to be out of my usual rut that I fall into this time of year.


We are definitely looking forward to the remaining eight weeks of school!

First casualty of the school year

The best-laid plans of mice and men
often go awry

Isn't that the truth?

I'm pleased with how our first week went. Most everything was done as scheduled. The new changes that we've introduced so far have gone over very well. We need to revisit Our 24 Family Ways; this is not working for us at night, and we will move it back to early in our school day.

As I was preparing our schedule for the upcoming school week, I glanced through our new Spectrum Writing books. EEEEEEK! WHY is "Updated and Revised" so often synonymous with "Kiss of Death"? I've raved about Spectrum but I must Update and Revise.

Gone are the black and white pages. Gone are the two-page lesson spreads. Gone are wide lines for easy writing. As disappointed as I was, I was thinking, maybe we can still make this work. (Actually I was thinking What in the World Do I Do Now?) And then I saw the story circles, or story wheels, whatever those dumb things are called. I hate those things, and there's no way that "Updated and Revised" will work for us.

At least I have options. I own IEW; I have several of the Logos School Imitation in Writing books, along with IEW's Bible Based Writing Lessons. We're already using Shurley, which includes a writing curriculum. And I have several Writing Strands lesson books. I probably have more; that's just what I can recall off the top of my head.

So it's back to Writing Strands. WHEW. I will have to pick up a higher level book for Holly, but I already have the book for Trev. The first casualty was totally out of the blue, unexpected, but at least it's a minor one.

So far, so good. I can go a little awry.

The plan

After a few hours and two pots of coffee, I am ready to go on Monday morning. I'll be taking a deep breath, praying really hard, and jumping in. This is my main plan of attack:

Math: Both kids will continue with Singapore.

Literature: I'll continue reading aloud to Trevor, choosing good books that I think he'll enjoy, benefit from, and sometimes tie in with our history. We'll again loosely follow Teaching the Classics (oh, I so love this curriculum and way of teaching!).

Holly's no longer that into being read to (sniff, sniff), and I can't read enough for her anyway. We'll be trying Lightning Lit this year. I've heard good things about it, and it will be good for her to be reading selections we might otherwise not choose. Another advantage is that she'll be able to work somewhat independently with it.

Spelling: Trevor will continue with Spell to Write and Read (my second all time favorite curriculum).

Grammar: Latin is the one thing that had to go this year. It's been pretty teacher intensive, and while the kids picked it up fairly well, I struggled. I considered switching to the DVDs, but I don't think that would have gone over well. We've used Shurley off and on for several years, and both kids will be using it again this year. Trev began Level 5 in the spring, and Holly will begin Level 7. Shurley requires direct instruction, but we all know it well, and it shouldn't be that time consuming.

Vocabulary: They'll also be picking up a new Latin/Greek root-based vocabulary program, Roots and Fruits. This is something they should be able to work on mostly independently.

Writing: While they will both have writing assignments through other curriculum, they'll also have formal writing. Trevor's used Spectrum for years; Holly did quite a while ago, and she'll go back to it again this year just for ease of use. I generally turn my nose up at workbook curriculum (math being the exception), but even though I bought this out of desperation many years ago, I've always been quite pleased with the way it teaches. An added advantage is that I can usually easily adjust each day's final writing assignment to fit what they are writing about in another subject.

History: Trevor will continue with Story of the World, Holly with Beautiful Feet. These worked very well for us last year, and I'm thankful that I can keep the kids in the same general time period. Each give us plenty of flexibility, a quality I've always appreciated in any curriculum.

Science: The official plan is to continue with Apologia Elementary for Trev, Rainbow for Holly. But I know we won't stick for either for the entire year. We have several other options that I've been looking at, and we'll switch around when the enthusiasm for these begins to wane.

Bible: Thanks to DeEtta (and others!), we'll be using Our 24 Family Ways. I bought it several months ago but haven't used it yet. Rob's been wanting to join in on this, and we'll be using it in the evening, a bit of a switch for us.

So that's the backbone of our school year. I have a few other ideas that we'll be blending in: memory work (as usual); Living Math; studying one composer each month; adding in more educational games, computer games/learning, and educational tv. Trevor will continue copywork and will learn keyboarding. I'll continue to assign "Free Time." It sounds silly, but it's scheduled time dedicated to doing what they want to do--as long as they are learning.

My goal for Holly is to discuss as much as possible with her. (Trevor too, but on a smaller scale.) Although I won't be reading to Holly, I will be trying to keep up with at least one book that she'll be reading (history or lit), so I can have decent conversations with her. Kathleen and Lee have continued to inspire and encourage me to just get my kids talking about what they are learning, to voice opinions, and back up what they say. It's not about convincing my kids; I want them to express themselves, their reasons, their thought processes. Along these lines, too, Holly will be assigned daily "Current Affairs," a fancy subject title to discuss something she's read in the newspaper. (Such a great opportunity with the elections coming up!)

We'll start out at about 40% this week, and build up over the next two or three weeks. Between the kids' soccer, Trevor's art and chess, Holly's riding and 4H, my working, and just life in general, things will get busy quickly.

I'm excited. And that makes at least one of us! Haha


* * *
Note to Lori: Would you point out any major grammatical or other errors to me? It's late and I'm going to bed!!!

Curriculum !! Trevor's science

Hah, this is way overdue, more so than I'd even imagine...but it's been sitting around as an unfinished post for quite awhile, so here goes.

I've already written a little (okay, a lot) about our science choices, both past and current. This is the first year that the kids have been separated in science, and it was a great opportunity to let Trevor have a lot of input on what he would learn this year. By the time September rolled around, he was still somewhat undecided.

"Turtles," he declared, "I want to learn about turtles." Hmm. There's only so much to learn about turtles, and that would probably take all of three weeks. Not to mention that I doubt my small library has an abundance of turtle books. The same thing held true with penguins. And bears. At one point he suggested alligators, and I reminded him that we studied those last year.

I tried to persuade him to consider different science kits, how much fun different experiments would be to try. (Probably because I've had such GREAT luck with this in the past--not.) Then I began adding up the prices of a "few" kits and dropped that idea.

A few weeks later, it was, "Rocks. I want to learn about rocks." Wonderful! Until I began looking at a few geology curriculums. I knew he'd want a lot of hands on projects, and I couldn't justify the expense for elementary science that would only last part of the year. Desperation began setting in.

Eventually, Trevor asked about Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day, part of Apologia's elementary science series. As we'd already used Astronomy and Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day, and we have the Botany book, we knew exactly what to expect. This is an excellent curriculum, one we've used for several years, and I highly recommend it.



We've gone at a pace that works for Trevor. Using a Charlotte Mason approach, the book is meant to be read aloud, with lots of emphasis on discussion and hands on activities. Sometimes we read more, sometimes less. There are questions at the end of every few topics, several times within a chapter. The questions can either be answered orally or can be assigned as a writing project. There are often "try this" segments within a chapter. Each chapter finishes with several different hands on activities pertinent to the chapter, and it's easy to pick and choose what YOU want to do. There are free pages available online, with drawings or other features relevant to each lesson.

Trevor draws and describes different whales.

The text and accompanying photographs are excellent. Answers to discussion questions are provided at the back of the book, along with notes for experiments.

Downsides: 1) Not all of the experiments turn out the way they should, which we've also experienced with the Astronomy and Zoology I book.
2) Even though it's very in depth, it can get boring studying the same topic all year.

He measured and then laid out sticks to show the size of the largest turtle.

(Don't ask ME what kind of turtle, it's not MY science!)

This year, Trevor's learned about Aquatic Habitat, Whales, Seals, Herps and Reptiles. By the time we hit Fish, he burned out. (As I write this, I'm wondering if the fish were a little too dry. No pun intended...) just bored him.) We've put the book away for now, again following his interests: Magic School Bus and gross anatomy-type books, Animal Planet, nature study and birdwatching. I'm quite sure even mud holes have some redeeming science-related quality. Today he chose several Zoobooks (magazines) from the library and pored over them tonight.

We have about nine weeks left of school WOOOOO-HOOOOOO!!! and whatever he chooses to do will be fine. The topic isn't important. Elementary science should be FUN, relaxed, and child-directed, and my goal is to keep him engaged and interested.

Curriculum Review!

Trevor finished his Spectrum Writing book last week. I figured he'd be done with it early, and I've been waiting to jump back in to Shurley. I like Spectrum Writing just fine; this is the fifth year that one of my kids has used it. But as soon as I open up that Shurley book, I get excited all over again. (I obviously don't get out quite enough.)

Shurley is pretty intense for elementary grammar. It is written to rely a lot on memorization of jingles and a specific order of questions to determine different parts of grammar within a sentence. The Level 5 book is full of all kinds of fun things: predicate nouns, indirect objects, antecedents, adverb exceptions. ("Fun" meaning I have no idea what these things are.) And to be honest, while I learned most of these three years ago with Holly, I can't tell you today what any of that means.



We were first introduced to Shurley when Holly attended the part time school. I didn't understand any of it, but Holly took to it like a duck to water. (Sorry, Holly!) She was taught Shurley there for 2nd and 3rd grade. When we withdrew her from the school, we tried two other grammar programs, both of which were huge flops AND colossal wastes of time. By the time 5th grade rolled around, I took the plunge and went back to Shurley.

It's expensive compared to other grammar choices. It's time intensive, and the teacher needs to have a good grasp of what's being taught. If not the teacher, then the student--even though Holly had not used it for a year, and had skipped a level, she took off like she had never stopped. This was helpful to me, since I'd never taught it.

It worked so well that I bought Level 2 for Trevor a few months later, and he did Level 3 last year. Since I already had the Level 5 Teacher's Manual, and since we're doing Latin this year for grammar, and since I didn't want to spend money on Level 4, Trevor's jumping back into Shurley Level 5.

In addition to teaching grammar, the lessons cover punctuation/capitalization rules, usage, vocabulary and dictionary practice, and writing lessons. I am not a big fan of Shurley's writing, much preferring Spectrum and IEW. But the lessons are easy to fit to my family; we've never used the jingle CD; Holly's never done vocabulary and Trevor's not doing it this year; neither have used the writing portion. (One more ding, really, against it, because of the cost.) But it's worked best for us, and I really am glad to be using it again.

Curriculum! (Part 34B)

I started writing about science curriculum two months ago. And it took me two or three times longer than that to decide what we were going to use this year.

It seems that Apologia is by far the most popular middle school science curriculum. But when I first saw it several years ago, I wanted to cry. I knew it would never be a good fit at our house; Holly and I would both hate it. It was way too dry and way too long. I've been considering other possibilities--ANY possibility--ever since.

My loopy friends Cindy and Lisa highly recommended Rainbow Science. The hardest part about choosing Rainbow was the cost. Curriculum definitely increases in cost as the kids get older. It included a two year textbook and all supplies for 7th grade, but the cost was $250. (There's also a teacher's manual and a lab book.) I don't have to say that's a lot of money to commit. But Cindy and Lisa continued to encourage me, and Lee always recommends investing in your weakness.



We jumped in with both eyes closed, but it's been an excellent choice. Seventh grade covers physics, chemistry and biology. The program is set up for two lessons per week, plus one lab. The lessons are short, 1-2 pages, jam packed with information, along with great photos; the labs, which vary in length, are self-explanatory and usually basic. Each lab typically requires several materials, and it's been a huge convenience to have everything right there in the kit. The only thing I've needed to come up with is a gallon of distilled water.

For more than a year, I'd hoped, then planned, then begged Robert to teach Holly science this year. When we finally got the materials in September, I mentioned it again, and he seemed surprised that I'd asked. (It seems to be a male genetic trait in the family.) He was less than enthusiastic. I considered giving it over to Holly to do on her own; it's written at a 7th grade level. But the author often states that the parents should be at least familiar with the material, so I knew it would be best if I committed myself. I'm learning a LOT. Usually Holly and I do the lessons together, sometimes she'll do them on her own. When she needs a lab helper, I'll volunteer.



While we've used some type of science curriculum throughout elementary, I've tried to keep it relaxed, allowing my kids to follow their interests. Rainbow has been a great transition into a formal science program. It's easy, even for a non-sciencey mom, to teach, and Holly finds it engaging. (She catches the concepts much more quickly, and I'm often left scrambling to look at my answer book to see if she's right--and she always is.) It would have been possible to bring Trevor along in this, he would not have had trouble keeping up but would have needed guidance with the labs. Rainbow has definitely been a HIT for us this year.