August 6, 2009
Writing and Spelling
Kelsea did Write Shop I with a group of friends a few years ago. I really like the way it's laid out. For each lesson the student writes a paragraph and learns a new skill. The lessons each have three tailor-made checklists: one for the student to use before they turn in their rough draft, one for the teacher to evaluate the work for the revision, and the third for the teacher to give a fair grade based on meeting the criteria for the lesson.
This year I am going to use Write Shop for Ishmael and Joshua. I'm going to schedule it over the course of two years. I'd rather take our time and learn from it slowly, especially since they are only in 4th and 5th grade.
Kelsea will start Write Shop II this year.
For spelling I am going to give Sequential Spelling a try. I like the look of it and that all of the kids will use it at the same time. Our family seems to do well with incremental studies. We've done four lessons now and so far it's going pretty well.
This year I am going to use Write Shop for Ishmael and Joshua. I'm going to schedule it over the course of two years. I'd rather take our time and learn from it slowly, especially since they are only in 4th and 5th grade.
Kelsea will start Write Shop II this year.
For spelling I am going to give Sequential Spelling a try. I like the look of it and that all of the kids will use it at the same time. Our family seems to do well with incremental studies. We've done four lessons now and so far it's going pretty well.
August 5, 2009
History and Geography
We study history as a family. I have learned so much with the kids, and have enjoyed every minute of it. Our history lessons are my favorite time of day. This year's focus is on the Middle Ages. I use two different curriculums.
Mystery of History (MOH) is fun and engaging. We finished Volume I last year. I love the Christian perspective. It starts with Creation and teaches history from a Young Earth point of view. Our B.C. timeline is complete and we are moving on. (previous blog post about this time line)
I supplement with Beautiful Feet (BF). I love the literature base of this curriculum. I only picked up MOH because BF doesn't have a Ancient History series for young children. I understand and respect their philosophy (you can download a pdf of their philosophy here). However, I disagree and wanted to teach Ancient History to my crew. The writing assignments from BF are also challenging and good for my older kids.
For geography we'll pick back up Galloping the Globe. Once a month we'll "take a trip" to a foreign country and "spend the day there." This is just a fun game the kids and I play. We wake up and "pack" for our journey. We get on board "the plane" and watch our in flight movie (usually a travel video). Then when we land we have our passports stamped, read a few books, do a few crafts, have an authentic lunch, and learn some phrases. It's a day to break from the monotony of schoolwork. The kids look forward to it and will probably always remember it.
Some of my favorite geography resources are my maps from Geo Matters. They are laminated black outline maps. We usually write on them with wet erase markers. We've pulled them out for history and marked battle lines. When we studied WWI we marked off the Western Front and the trenches. For WWII occupying powers kept changing and it was really neat to be able to work it out together and see how the war progressed. These maps were worth every penny I paid for them.
For fun we've been working on Beautiful Feet's Geography course. The kids map out the stories of a few Holling C. Holling classics. So far we've finished Tree in the Trail and Paddle to the Sea.
Mystery of History (MOH) is fun and engaging. We finished Volume I last year. I love the Christian perspective. It starts with Creation and teaches history from a Young Earth point of view. Our B.C. timeline is complete and we are moving on. (previous blog post about this time line)
I supplement with Beautiful Feet (BF). I love the literature base of this curriculum. I only picked up MOH because BF doesn't have a Ancient History series for young children. I understand and respect their philosophy (you can download a pdf of their philosophy here). However, I disagree and wanted to teach Ancient History to my crew. The writing assignments from BF are also challenging and good for my older kids.
For geography we'll pick back up Galloping the Globe. Once a month we'll "take a trip" to a foreign country and "spend the day there." This is just a fun game the kids and I play. We wake up and "pack" for our journey. We get on board "the plane" and watch our in flight movie (usually a travel video). Then when we land we have our passports stamped, read a few books, do a few crafts, have an authentic lunch, and learn some phrases. It's a day to break from the monotony of schoolwork. The kids look forward to it and will probably always remember it.
Some of my favorite geography resources are my maps from Geo Matters. They are laminated black outline maps. We usually write on them with wet erase markers. We've pulled them out for history and marked battle lines. When we studied WWI we marked off the Western Front and the trenches. For WWII occupying powers kept changing and it was really neat to be able to work it out together and see how the war progressed. These maps were worth every penny I paid for them.
For fun we've been working on Beautiful Feet's Geography course. The kids map out the stories of a few Holling C. Holling classics. So far we've finished Tree in the Trail and Paddle to the Sea.
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