Curriculum 2011-2012

Princess is going into 6th grade and Buddy is going into 2nd.  Taz and Peanut are only 2 and 3, and I am hoping that coloring books will suffice for the year.  I know Taz wants so badly to do school , but  I am tihnking I might be able to improve some behavior by telling him that he has to behave like a big boy (and that includes using the potty) before he gets big kid school.  If he really gets antsy, my plan is to read Just So Stories and jungle Book and have him color pictures from the stories, and have him do some basic counting teddy bears activities and sit with the bigs during Latin and phonogram recitation....  My #1 wish for school right now - an iPad.  there are some awesome apps for little ones' to work on gross and fine motor skills while tracing cursive letters with their fingers.  


Geography
Evan Moor's North America and South America workbooks.  As well as looking at the globe and finding Greece and Rome and discussing places mentioned in our history reading....

Religion
St Joseph's Baltimore Catechism , Faith and Life Series and Memoria Press' Christian Studies Book 1.

Nature Study
I have a few books with ideas.  The main idea here is to get them to NOTICE nature.  We are going to be going out a lot to parks and I am going to give them each their own sketch book.  I am also going to be using the book "Hands-On Nature: Information and Activities for Exploring the Environment With Children and "I Love Dirt!" I am looking forward to a messy year :)

History
Ancient Greece for the first half of the year and Ancient Rome for the second half.  My plan is to join a Junior Classical League Chapter next year - or start one for local homeschoolers as a "Latin Club". But, I am getting ahead of myself.
The books I plan to use for history are:
The Children's Homer: The Adventures of Odysseus and the Tale of Troy
Aesops Fables (not history per se, but we will read a Fable every day, and Aesop was Greek...)
Children's Plutarch
The Story of the Greeks
The Greenleaf Guide to Famous Men of Greeceand the Famous Men of Greece by John Haaren (this will be our primary history text for the first half of the year)
Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of 'The Iliad' (optional choice for independent reading)
The Wanderings of Odysseus
The Golden Fleece
Herodotus and the Road to History (optional choice for independent reading)Archimedes and the Door of Science (optional choice for independent reading)D'Aulaire's Greek Myths (again, not exactly history, but we will read this each dya and draw a family tree of the Greek gods and goddesses)
The Tale of Troy
The Tales of the Greek Heroes
Classic Myths to Read Aloud
Galen and the Gateway to Medicine (optional choice for independent reading)Famous Men of Rome (this will be our primary history text for the second half of the year)
In Search of A Homeland
Orchard Book of Roman Myths

The Aeneid: A RetellingFor Young People (optional choice for independent reading)Classical Kids (because there should be some sort of fun activities, and I am not very good at thinking of them myself...)

Art and Music will be taken online through LPH Resource Center.  In fact, we are taking Logic and Church Latin through them as well.  We are also doing Latina Christiana Book 1 and I am hoping to pick up Lingua Latina as well. I will also be using "How To introduce Your child to Classical Music in 52 Easy Lessons" at the rate of one lesson per week for the next year.

Math
We are using Singapore Math, Standards Edition for math at their grade levels

Phonics
Spell to Write and Read and The WISE Guide to Spelling

Literature
I am hosting Socratic Seminars (aka Book discussion groups) for the kids.  A boys group to discuss Thornton Burgess's Animal Stories and a girls group to discuss the Anne of Green Gables Series.  Princess will be in 2 groups discussing the same series this year...  A little social, that one....

Composition
I am planning on using Classical Writing: Aesop and Homer for Older Beginners for Princess and Primer:Autumn for Buddy. 

A schedule that I can stick to is the next hurdle I need to jump - and soon.  School beings in less than 2 weeks.....  And my plan (do I hear laughing?) is to school year round with 1-2 week breaks as needed for holidays and vacations.  If learning is fun and interesting, why should it stop in the summer?  My over-arching educational goal is to inculcate a love of learning in my children and motivate them to be lifelong students, not people who turn off their brins because "It's Summer." or "I'm not in school."  Prayers for success in this endeavor would be greatly appreciated.

Proverbs 6:20-21:
20 My son, observe the commandment of your father
and do not forsake the teaching of your mother;
21 Bind them continually on your heart;
Tie them around your neck.
Dearest Father in Heaven, please let me teach as you would have me teach, and be an example of your wisdom and love and light for my children.

Sibling Rivalry

I just read a GREAT blog post about sibling fighting.  Anne does a fantastic job of giving Biblical background for the principles we live.  I am, unfortunately, not as well versed in my - um - verse.

The unfortunate fact is that sibling fighting DOES happen, that is certain, and when I need to get involved, I do my best to encourage them to look at the situation from the other's perspective and really try to imagine how the other feels.  It has helped them to be empathetic to not only each-others' feelings, but also those of their friends.  I think that may be one of the reasons why our daughter got involved in anti-genocide activism when she was 8 years old.

For my kids, arguing seems to stem from an inability to see things from another's point of view.  When they forget that there are many ways of viewing the same thing, I take them to a room in the house and tell them to look, REALLY look, at the room.  Then I take them out of the room and have them each describe, in front of the other, 'exactly' what the room looked like to them.  After they are done, I remind them that it was the same room they were both looking at, yet they saw it differently.  It seems to help......

I was on a two week road trip with my father and my 12 year old twin nephews and my children as we moved from Minnesota to Virginia.  By the third full day of driving, the kids were all at each-other's throats and on my nerves (what can I say?  I am human, too.)  I do not tolerate my children treating each other badly.  I think that is one of the worst offenses in our home (that and lying).  I am really curious to know if there are any studies done on sibling relationships within homeschooling families versus public schooled kids.  My father had said on our trip that "siblings treat each other the worst."  Is that really the norm?  Is that really the way God intended?  I really doubt it.

I heard somewhere that Third World Countries - where the kids spend much time together and in the family - have less sibling rivalry and virtually no "teenage rebellion".  Is that because they are less educated or perhaps because they do not have all the things that distract us from the Truth?

Points for consideration:
1 Jn 4:16 - ...God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him.
1 Jn 4:19 - We love because he first loved us.
1 Jn 4:20-21 - If anyone says, "I love God," but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.  This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Prayers Answered! Viruses, Earthquakes and Storms. Oh My!

Well, after over 16 months of unemployment and 11 months of under-employment, God has answered our prayers for a permanent position for my husband.  This position had us move from Minnesota (Twin cities area) to Northern Virginia.  I am so very thankful that my husband is employed in a position that utilizes his experience and challenges him and he is pleased to have.  I am enjoying the new digs, but I am sorely missing old friends.....

Withing two weeks of our arrival in Virginia, we had a wonderful virus which caused pink eye, ear infections, and colorful throat maladies in various family members; we had an earthquake (two years of living in California and I never felt anything like the 5.9 we had last week), and Hurricane Irene decided to blow our way (luckily, almost no real damage in our area.  A few trees down, tons of branches and a few blown over patio sets were all the casualties we were hit with.  Much better for us than New Jersey or Vermont...)

We weathered these things in addition to the daily duties and responsibilities of having 4 children and a husband, planning for the school year (yes, I totally procrastinated this time!), and getting the house unpacked and organized.  Oh, did I mention my car died?  The only car we have in which the entire family will fit....  That's the one!

Thanks and praise be to God (and my wonderful husband, really) for helping me get through things as they come.  Seriously.  If I had to handle all of these things on my own, by now I'd be a blathering idiot curled up in fetal position in a dark corner somewhere.....

Now it is time for me to make sure all my ducks are in a row for this school year.  (I only have about 100 books left to shelve and one room to unpack and organize - the ever dreaded 'storage area' with all my scrapbooking and sewing stuff.... No problem.)  It looks like this year might be the calmest since my first year.  No pregnancies, no bedrest, no nursing babies (at least, it SEEMS as though that's not going to happen any time in the near future :) Maybe.... Anyway.  The biggest thing for me is getting God involved in the planning.  Making sure all my ducks are in a row means making sure He is at the helm of this homeschool ship. 

I found a beautiful Novena for Homeschool Mothers.  I am thinking this will help me to make sure I am beginning the year with the proper perspective......  

As of right now, we are looking at some intense studies on Ancient Greece and Rome, along with our Latin, Math and Reading.  Science will be Nature Study this year and we are taking Logic, Church Latin, Music Theory and Art Projects online.  Catechism and Bible History... I am thinking that since this is the 150th Anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War, we are going to focus on that for our US History.....  And, the most important subject of all - the 'keeping busy' of the 2 and 3 year olds.....  It should be a fun year :)

Blessings!