I am a curriculum research addict. There, I said it. The first stage to recovery is admitting you have a problem. Sometimes, this little "problem" really gets me into trouble. I will go bumping along smoothly, happy with my curriculum choices and then see something that makes me second guess my approach.
Fortunetly, I don't change my kids curriculum all that much. This problem seems to only drive me insane and doesn't leak out on anyone else. I think I might have finally kicked the habit though.
I spent a long weekend charting out a rough draft of curriculums I can use until 8th grade. I don't know if my husband will let me homeschool that long, but I am a planner. I am following a sort of Well-Trained Mind/Charlotte Mason hybrid.
My main focus is getting through this year. I am spending a lot of time as a caregiver for my grandmother and lessons are not on the same days or times as usual. Routine is difficult right now, so we are doing our best.
Morning lessons run about one hour for each child. Our family lessons run between 1-4 hours.
If I can get the time, I will post about teaching each of the curriculums I use.
Optimus, 3rd grade (Morning lessons)
Writing With Ease, Level 3
First Language Lessons, Level 3
New American Cursive, Workbook 1
McGuffey’s Eclectic Reader, Third
Math-U-See, Gamma
Math-U-See, Delta
Usborne IL Encyclopedia of World Geography
Tink, 1st grade (Morning Lessons)
Writing With Ease, Level 1
First Language Lessons, Level 1
Practice and Learn, 1st grade
School Zone Phonics Workbook, Grades 1-3
Phonics Pathways
Dolch Site Words flashcards
McGuffey’s Eclectic Reader, Primer
McGuffey’s Eclectic Reader, First
Math-U-See, Alpha
Usborne IL Encyclopedia of World Geography
Both children
Science:
Burgess Book of Animals
Usborne First Encyclopedia of the Human Body
R.E.A.L Science Odyssey for Kids Life, Level 1
Atlas of the Universe (Insiders)
R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey for Kids Earth and Space, Level 1
History:
Usborne IL Encyclopedia of World History
Story of the World, Volume 2 textbook and activity guide
The Story of US, Volume 1
3-D Maps of American History
History Pockets, Native Americans
Art:
various printed art cards
Music:
YouTube
America:
State Study Guide, pdf file
The United States of America: A State by State Guide
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of American Landmarks
Many Biomes, One Earth
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
3rd Grade homeschool test
At the end of August we will have finished our 1st quarter of 3rd grade for my son. I have been working on a test to put into his portfolio. This is something new that will be added from now on to the portfolios. In prior years I pulled samples from his work during the year to make up his portfolio. I will still be doing this, but I would like to add the tests as well. In Arizona, the public schools test in 3rd and I will start this also.
Here is my rough draft for the test. I will post up the finished copy later if anyone is interested in using it.
3rd Grade Skills Test (1st quarter)
Writing
1. Write 2-4 lines of a poem that you memorized this quarter. Please include the title and author.
2. Write this sentence in cursive.
The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.
Dictation
1. (I will read the sentence and he will write it).
"In spring, the boy and the rabbit spent long days in the garden." from The Velveteen Rabbit
Narration
1. Write a narrative about the following story.
Mercury and the Woodman
A Woodman was felling a tree on the bank of a river, when his axe,
glancing off the trunk, flew out of his hands and fell into the water.
As he stood by the water's edge lamenting his loss, Mercury appeared
and asked him the reason for his grief. On learning what had happened,
out of pity for his distress, Mercury dived into the river and,
bringing up a golden axe, asked him if that was the one he had lost.
The Woodman replied that it was not, and Mercury then dived a second
time, and, bringing up a silver axe, asked if that was his. "No,
that is not mine either," said the Woodman. Once more Mercury dived
into the river, and brought up the missing axe. The Woodman was
overjoyed at recovering his property, and thanked his benefactor
warmly; and the latter was so pleased with his honesty that he made
him a present of the other two axes. When the Woodman told the story
to his companions, one of these was filled with envy of his good
fortune and determined to try his luck for himself. So he went and
began to fell a tree at the edge of the river, and presently contrived
to let his axe drop into the water. Mercury appeared as before, and,
on learning that his axe had fallen in, he dived and brought up a
golden axe, as he had done on the previous occasion. Without waiting
to be asked whether it was his or not, the fellow cried, "That's mine,
that's mine," and stretched out his hand eagerly for the prize: but
Mercury was so disgusted at his dishonesty that he not only declined
to give him the golden axe, but also refused to recover for him the
one he had let fall into the stream.
"Honesty is the best policy." Aesop
Composition
1. Describe your favorite book from this quarter. Please include the title and author.
2. Tell a story from another book from this quarter. Please include the title and author.
Grammar
1. Underline the subject and circle the predicate in the sentence.
2. Diagram these sentences.
The Sahara Desert is dry.
Mount Rushmore is spectacular.
3. Write the definition of a noun.
4. List 5 linking verbs.
5. Change these words to plurals.
History
1. Describe something we learned about in history. Make sure to use names, locations, and details.
Geography
1. Please write the name of the states on the map for the following numbers. 6, 19, 24, 36, 47, 50
2. What is a valley?
3. Name the 5 oceans. Circle the two that surround North America.
Natural History and General Science
1. What order does the beaver belong to? Describe the beavers traits and habitat.
2. Describe one other animal. Remember to add information about its habitat, traits, and enemies.
3. Name three types of matter and explain why water can be each of them.
Reading Skill
1. Lexile Level of last book read
2. Schonell reading test score
Mathematics
1. Math-U-See 6-14 unit test
Here is my rough draft for the test. I will post up the finished copy later if anyone is interested in using it.
3rd Grade Skills Test (1st quarter)
Writing
1. Write 2-4 lines of a poem that you memorized this quarter. Please include the title and author.
2. Write this sentence in cursive.
The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.
Dictation
1. (I will read the sentence and he will write it).
"In spring, the boy and the rabbit spent long days in the garden." from The Velveteen Rabbit
Narration
1. Write a narrative about the following story.
Mercury and the Woodman
A Woodman was felling a tree on the bank of a river, when his axe,
glancing off the trunk, flew out of his hands and fell into the water.
As he stood by the water's edge lamenting his loss, Mercury appeared
and asked him the reason for his grief. On learning what had happened,
out of pity for his distress, Mercury dived into the river and,
bringing up a golden axe, asked him if that was the one he had lost.
The Woodman replied that it was not, and Mercury then dived a second
time, and, bringing up a silver axe, asked if that was his. "No,
that is not mine either," said the Woodman. Once more Mercury dived
into the river, and brought up the missing axe. The Woodman was
overjoyed at recovering his property, and thanked his benefactor
warmly; and the latter was so pleased with his honesty that he made
him a present of the other two axes. When the Woodman told the story
to his companions, one of these was filled with envy of his good
fortune and determined to try his luck for himself. So he went and
began to fell a tree at the edge of the river, and presently contrived
to let his axe drop into the water. Mercury appeared as before, and,
on learning that his axe had fallen in, he dived and brought up a
golden axe, as he had done on the previous occasion. Without waiting
to be asked whether it was his or not, the fellow cried, "That's mine,
that's mine," and stretched out his hand eagerly for the prize: but
Mercury was so disgusted at his dishonesty that he not only declined
to give him the golden axe, but also refused to recover for him the
one he had let fall into the stream.
"Honesty is the best policy." Aesop
Composition
1. Describe your favorite book from this quarter. Please include the title and author.
2. Tell a story from another book from this quarter. Please include the title and author.
Grammar
1. Underline the subject and circle the predicate in the sentence.
Pythons are snakes.
2. Diagram these sentences.
The Sahara Desert is dry.
Mount Rushmore is spectacular.
3. Write the definition of a noun.
4. List 5 linking verbs.
5. Change these words to plurals.
child
fox
family
History
1. Describe something we learned about in history. Make sure to use names, locations, and details.
Geography
1. Please write the name of the states on the map for the following numbers. 6, 19, 24, 36, 47, 50
2. What is a valley?
3. Name the 5 oceans. Circle the two that surround North America.
Natural History and General Science
1. What order does the beaver belong to? Describe the beavers traits and habitat.
2. Describe one other animal. Remember to add information about its habitat, traits, and enemies.
3. Name three types of matter and explain why water can be each of them.
Reading Skill
1. Lexile Level of last book read
2. Schonell reading test score
Mathematics
1. Math-U-See 6-14 unit test
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
3rd Grade (1st Quarter)
This week is week two in our 1st Quarter for 3rd grade. I thought I would share my lesson plan for Optimus. We may not get to everything each day, but for the most part we will. Most lessons don't usually take more than 20 minutes. Some lessons I think will be short turn out to be all day affairs. I try to let the kids interest level decide on the length of the lesson. Except of course for math and language arts. Those subjects just need to be done, no matter how low their interest level! Some of the resources I use are cataloged at Old Fashioned Education, a very interesting site with tons of free resources.
May - August
LA Extras (Mon, Wed, Thurs, Fri)
Dictionary use
Bear Essential News for Kids worksheet
Boys Life (read an article, write on reading log, summerize the article)
Ranger Rick (same as above)
Grammar (Mon, Wed, Thurs, Fri)
1st Language Lessons, Level 3 (4x a week)
Spectrum Language Arts, Grade 3 (2-3x a week)
Reading (Mon, Wed, Thurs, Fri)
Read a book of choice for 30 mins, write book summary
Phonics (Mon, Wed, Thurs)
Funnix (2x a week)
Online Phonics (2-3x a week)
Literature (Mon, Wed, Thurs) These are selections that I read to the kids.
Poems
Historical Novel
Writing (Mon, Wed, Thurs)
Project (news story, interview, letters, etc)
McGuffey Reader (Read story and write copywork in cursive)
Math (Mon, Wed, Thurs, Fri)
Practice math facts
MEP
Timez Attack
MUS
Social Studies (Wed, Thurs, Fri)
Foreign country research paper or lapbook
Geography (Mon, Wed, Thurs)
Memorize state locations
Work on United States packet
Geography lesson
History (Mon, Wed)
SOTW 1
Science (Thurs, Fri)
Listen to science story
Conduct experiments
Complete botany lesson
Typing (Mon, Fri)
http://www.typingweb.com/
Art (Wed, Thurs)
Use http://www.googleartproject.com/ to explore Artist (2 a month) works
Complete art project
Complete artist pages for binder
Music (Mon, Fri)
Listen to Musician (2 a month)
Complete musician pages for binder
Use http://www.sfskids.org/ to learn about each instrument
Unit Study (Mon, Wed, Thurs)
Work on independant unit study of choice (lapbook/notebook)
May - August
LA Extras (Mon, Wed, Thurs, Fri)
Dictionary use
Bear Essential News for Kids worksheet
Boys Life (read an article, write on reading log, summerize the article)
Ranger Rick (same as above)
Grammar (Mon, Wed, Thurs, Fri)
1st Language Lessons, Level 3 (4x a week)
Spectrum Language Arts, Grade 3 (2-3x a week)
Reading (Mon, Wed, Thurs, Fri)
Read a book of choice for 30 mins, write book summary
Phonics (Mon, Wed, Thurs)
Funnix (2x a week)
Online Phonics (2-3x a week)
Literature (Mon, Wed, Thurs) These are selections that I read to the kids.
Poems
Historical Novel
Writing (Mon, Wed, Thurs)
Project (news story, interview, letters, etc)
McGuffey Reader (Read story and write copywork in cursive)
Math (Mon, Wed, Thurs, Fri)
Practice math facts
MEP
Timez Attack
MUS
Social Studies (Wed, Thurs, Fri)
Foreign country research paper or lapbook
Geography (Mon, Wed, Thurs)
Memorize state locations
Work on United States packet
Geography lesson
History (Mon, Wed)
SOTW 1
Science (Thurs, Fri)
Listen to science story
Conduct experiments
Complete botany lesson
Typing (Mon, Fri)
http://www.typingweb.com/
Art (Wed, Thurs)
Use http://www.googleartproject.com/ to explore Artist (2 a month) works
Complete art project
Complete artist pages for binder
Music (Mon, Fri)
Listen to Musician (2 a month)
Complete musician pages for binder
Use http://www.sfskids.org/ to learn about each instrument
Unit Study (Mon, Wed, Thurs)
Work on independant unit study of choice (lapbook/notebook)
Saturday, May 7, 2011
3 Reasons to Consider Homeschooling
The truth is that homeschooling is not about making your children into college professors or religious robots. Parents that homeschool do so for a myriad of reasons. Religion, academics, and morality are just a few. These reasons may not even be the most important for some homeschoolers.
Homeschooling is a way of life. Now, you may have heard that before. It is true non the less. Those families that choose to homeschool open themselves up to a world of possibilities that are not available to their public school parent peers.
The first and most important in my opinion, is time. Your family schedule is completely open. You, as the parent, decide what is important to your family and can fill your schedule with activities that reflect personal beliefs and goals.
Another key advantage to homeschooling is religious, spiritual, and moral freedom. I have heard many parents that are concerned with images and content in media. If your children are in PS (public school) it is very difficult if not impossible to censor exposure of "negative" media they get from peers and staff. PSers have to use the time they have with their kids to combat these concerning influences. I'm not only writing about religious influence, but also about things like sex, lying, drugs, disrespect, and their like.
I'll be the first to admit that I might err more on the side of sheltering the kids and my husband is more on the side of more exposure. Most of the time we meet in the middle and the kids are exposed to things that are age appropriate (or slightly above). I will also readily admit that being around other homeschooled families does not mean your child will never hear, see, or pick up negative things. My children have had a few very interesting experience with other homeschooled children. The difference from PS is that I have the immediate opportunity to help my children sort through these sometimes difficult situations and guide them back to our family's core beliefs.
The last of the three reasons to homeschool is freedom of curriculum. Every child is different and in my opinion deserves a certain amount of individual attention in their studies. Take my two precious ones as examples:
My son at four-and-a-half was ready to read. He asked me to teach him and we worked 15-20 minutes a day until he was reading on his own. By five years old he was reading level 1 readers. My daughter on the other hand could not be bothered to remember a letter we worked on for several days at four-and-a-half. I took a break and started again with letters at the age of five. Again she wasn't ready. We started yet again at five-and-a-half and that is when she was ready. She started learning letters, began to write everything, and slowly started reading. She is now almost six-and-a-half and reading sight word cards and phonics books.
Without the freedom to tailor my homeschool curriculum both of my kids would be miserable. My son would not be challenged enough and my daughter would not be given the creative outlets that have helped her develop in her own time. I doubt that this ebb and flow of accelerating and slowing down will stop while I homeschool. Homeschooling allows us to adjust to the students current abilities and prepare them for when they hit the gas and speed through a semesters worth of work.
Homeschoolers also get the unique opportunity to choose curriculum that upholds family beliefs and values while still catering to the child's interests and ability.
How important are Art, Music, and PE to your family? These subjects are virtually disappearing in PS. If your child loves these subjects or has a particular aptitude you can make sure that their lessons are filled with these creative outlets.
Imagine you have a child that is certain of their career path. As a homeschooler you can allow her to pursue studies that are needed in that career. She uses her time to sign up for a community college course (our cc allows kids as young as 13 with a parent), internship, or volunteer in that field. Perhaps this time she spends pursuing her goal teaches her that this is the right path and she can then focus on her career more in depth than before. Maybe this time teaches her that she is not passionate about this career choice. Better to find out now then after spending a year and thousands of dollars in college.
So these are my top three reasons to consider homeschooling. There are as many reasons as there are homeschoolers. What are your top three?
happy homeschooling
-Michele
The first and most important in my opinion, is time. Your family schedule is completely open. You, as the parent, decide what is important to your family and can fill your schedule with activities that reflect personal beliefs and goals.
Another key advantage to homeschooling is religious, spiritual, and moral freedom. I have heard many parents that are concerned with images and content in media. If your children are in PS (public school) it is very difficult if not impossible to censor exposure of "negative" media they get from peers and staff. PSers have to use the time they have with their kids to combat these concerning influences. I'm not only writing about religious influence, but also about things like sex, lying, drugs, disrespect, and their like.
I'll be the first to admit that I might err more on the side of sheltering the kids and my husband is more on the side of more exposure. Most of the time we meet in the middle and the kids are exposed to things that are age appropriate (or slightly above). I will also readily admit that being around other homeschooled families does not mean your child will never hear, see, or pick up negative things. My children have had a few very interesting experience with other homeschooled children. The difference from PS is that I have the immediate opportunity to help my children sort through these sometimes difficult situations and guide them back to our family's core beliefs.
The last of the three reasons to homeschool is freedom of curriculum. Every child is different and in my opinion deserves a certain amount of individual attention in their studies. Take my two precious ones as examples:
My son at four-and-a-half was ready to read. He asked me to teach him and we worked 15-20 minutes a day until he was reading on his own. By five years old he was reading level 1 readers. My daughter on the other hand could not be bothered to remember a letter we worked on for several days at four-and-a-half. I took a break and started again with letters at the age of five. Again she wasn't ready. We started yet again at five-and-a-half and that is when she was ready. She started learning letters, began to write everything, and slowly started reading. She is now almost six-and-a-half and reading sight word cards and phonics books.
Without the freedom to tailor my homeschool curriculum both of my kids would be miserable. My son would not be challenged enough and my daughter would not be given the creative outlets that have helped her develop in her own time. I doubt that this ebb and flow of accelerating and slowing down will stop while I homeschool. Homeschooling allows us to adjust to the students current abilities and prepare them for when they hit the gas and speed through a semesters worth of work.
Homeschoolers also get the unique opportunity to choose curriculum that upholds family beliefs and values while still catering to the child's interests and ability.
How important are Art, Music, and PE to your family? These subjects are virtually disappearing in PS. If your child loves these subjects or has a particular aptitude you can make sure that their lessons are filled with these creative outlets.
Imagine you have a child that is certain of their career path. As a homeschooler you can allow her to pursue studies that are needed in that career. She uses her time to sign up for a community college course (our cc allows kids as young as 13 with a parent), internship, or volunteer in that field. Perhaps this time she spends pursuing her goal teaches her that this is the right path and she can then focus on her career more in depth than before. Maybe this time teaches her that she is not passionate about this career choice. Better to find out now then after spending a year and thousands of dollars in college.
So these are my top three reasons to consider homeschooling. There are as many reasons as there are homeschoolers. What are your top three?
happy homeschooling
-Michele
Friday, April 15, 2011
Naked Eggs and Flying Potatoes
While searching Youtube for science activities, I came across an Ellen show clip with science guy, Steve Spangler. The clip showed the two shooting potatoes across the studio. After searching for more of Steve Spangler, the kids and I found some awesome Halloween experiments. You can check out his site here http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/. My kids love his videos from his site. He is very energetic and entertaining. Optimus is very interested in a few of the kits offered on the site.
For Optimus' birthday, his Oma (grandmother) and Grandpa Mike bought him Steve Spangler's book.
It didn't take him long to open it up and start the density project inside.
Tink also wanted to make a similar project. The book is filled with great science facts and experiments. Both of the kids are looking forward to diving in deeper to the book. I highly recommend it! At about $15 you can't go wrong.
-Michele
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Week in Review
NTH Geography Fair
Optimus showcased his Brazil project.
Tink's South America project.
Tink singing about water.
Optimus' flight with the Tucson 99's Club.
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