A Plain and Simple Homeschool

LHOP: Long Winter, week 4 notes

2011-11-19T05:26:00.000-06:00

Week 4 links via We Love The Prairie Primer

Reading:
Monday: chapters 28-29
Tuesday: chapters 30-31
Wednesday: chapters 32- 33, finishes the book
Thursday...if you have the book Laura Ingalls Wilder Country, ready The Long Winter, chapter 6

What did Pa get angry with (pg 288)?
What made Pa mind the weather more than usual? What was Laura's solution?
Had they prayed for Almanzo and Cap? What made it ok intheir eyes to pray for them?
Who did the town's people look to for wisdom?
What was Pa's argument?
What dide Almanzo notice about Pa (pg 308)?
Discuss: Proverbs 1:19, 15:27, Amos 5:9, Matthew 5:9, 4:4 in light of these chapters
Learn about the nutritional differences between whole wheat flour and non-enriched white flour. What vitamins does white flour lack? What vitamins did the Ingalls receive by eating whole wheat instead of white?
How was God's Provision better than Laura's desire for white bread? How is God's Will better than our own will for our lives? Name an instance where God's Will proved much better than your own will.
God provided for the Ingalls...consider the verses Philippians 4:11, 13, 19, Psalm 146:7, 37:25, Matthew 6:8-13
learn some songs from Laura's time, lyrics from some of Pa's songs here
What is Chinook, and what differences did it bring? read about the Legend of The Chinook Wind here, learn how the Chinook winds work here and here
Apply Proverbs 17:22 and 16:24 to the story
Pa called Ma 'Nebuchadnezzar' when she suggested eating greens. Read the story of Nebuchadnezzar from Daniel 4 or Daniel 5 (or here at History World). Who was he? Why did he eat grass?
Learn about the wind and how wind is caused by temperature differences and the rotation of the Earth
The last of the wheat was used the day the train arrived in town. Read more stories in your Bible of how God's Provision lasted only as long as was needed (The Israelites and manna, the widow woman and the oil, etc.)

LHOP: Long Winter, week 3 notes

2011-11-11T05:58:00.000-06:00

Our We Love the Prairie Primer notes this week

Notes:
frostbite
differences in flour, white flour vs wheat flour
Livingstone's Africa text online here at Google books, the Primer also suggests the movie Stanley and Livingstone, with Spencer Tracy, 1939 Netflix has Forbidden Territory: Stanley's Search for Livingstone (1997) but I have not viewed this movie

Reading:
Monday: chapters 19-20
Tuesday: chapters 21-22
Wednesday: chapters 23-25
Thursday: chapters 26-27
Friday: catch up and review

What good character attribute did Laura show in this chapter?
How did Ma grind the wheat?
What did Ma think to use instead of kerosene for light (pg 192)?
What does the common saying "count your chickens before they are hatched" mean?
Narrate/Dictate/Copywork: tell what happened on the antelope hunt
On page 193 Pa makes a statement about modern conveniences. List some modern conveniences/luxuries we have grown dependent on
make a nutritional chart and place a star on each time you eat something from the chart groupings
make a button lamp
How do you think the town of DeSmet received word the trains would not be running until spring?
Narrate/Dictate: tell the story of the train superintendent
What did they do to lift their spirits?
What did the girls do for fun?
What unique way did Pa make to feed the horses? How did patience and perserverance fit his actions?
Why was the house warmer?
What did Pa find that he could not do?
Who was Paul Revere? a biography is here, Enchanted Learning page here
Read selections from McGuffey's Fifth Reader like Laura did in school at Google Books, Project Gutenberg here is a list of more online vintage Readers
How are Laura's Readers from school different from some of your textbooks today?
Use a Bible Concordance to find mention of Tubal Cain. What did Tubal Cain do?
What did ma say about complaining? What does God say about complaining?
Why was killing Ellen and the heifer calf a last resort?
How did Pa get food? How were the weather and lack of food affecting the family?
What was Almanzo thinking about doing?
Which of Almanzo's parents' saying is better (pg 258)?
Based on earlier events in the book, what arte the dangers Almanzo faces on his mission?
Apply the verses Philippians 2:14-15 and Psalm 111:5 to the story and your life.
Copywork: copy out some verses about complaining, such as Numbers 11:1
Memorize your favorite poem from McGuffey's Fifth Reader
Apply Proverbs 29:7 to chapter 25
What image of a blizzard does the word 'scouring' give?
Narrate/Dictate: describe the work Pa had to do to get hay to the house so they would not freeze to death.
What special joke did Pa and Grace share (pg 261)?
What did Pa do for entertainment (pg 261)?
When was Almanzo not glad he was free and independent? What do you think he might miss about living at home?
What did Almanzo like about mornings?
Why did Almanzo like Cap?
Was Anderson happy to see the boys? How long had it been since he had seen someone?
What was the most convicting argument for him to sell the wheat?
From where did Almanzo get the courage to face the elements?
Narrate/Dictate: write a report on frostbite and its effects
Did Almanzo treat his frostbite correctly? What should he have done? When exposed to extreme cold, how can we help prevent frostbite?
Discuss John 15:13 and apply this verse to the story and to your life. Memorize this verse.

CurrCllick Class: A Pioneeer Christmas

2011-11-07T13:16:00.000-06:00

I love CurrClick's resources!
In fitting with our Little House on the Prairie study, I wanted to pass this notice along for a one day online class CurrClick and Lessons Worth Learning are offering.

Here's the info...go check it out and get registered:

Schedule

Starts	December 5, 2011
Sessions	1
Meets	Monday
At	2:00 pm Central Time (UTC-6)
	2:00 pm your time
For	90 minutes

Description

A Pioneer Christmas in America is a live class all about pioneer life in America and how they celebrated Christmas. Monday December 5th at 2 pm Central Time

Come share an old-fashioned Christmas with me!

I will send out a project pack of ideas before class begins. These can be used for follow up after the class, or to share in class with us by emailing a picture of a completed project.

*A project is not required. You can just join us to enjoy the class.

Check out my other seasonal classes, also!!

Date of Class

This class will meet at 2 pm Central Time on Monday, December 5. Plan for a about a 1 1/2 hour class. This should give us time for class participation as well.

What You Need

The class will meet in the virtual classroom. It is suggested that you have a headset with microphone for best results. You can use the computer speakers for the whole family to participate. You can also use the chat box to participate in class.

This is a special price. You pay only once for the whole family to enjoy!

If you enjoyed my Pioneer Christmas class last year, you will still enjoy this one. I always add new things each year.

About the Teacher

Loretta Rhodes is a homeschool mom of 4, ranging in age from 4-18. She has a Bachelor of Science in Education from Athens University, Athens, AL and has been teaching for 20 years, both public and private classes. She loves teaching. Her classes are interactive, meaning that she loves to do Q&A discussions with the students, group work, and interesting projects. "I love to have the children get involved in learning, so that learning becomes an awesome experience for them." You can contact her at lessonsworthlearning@yahoo.com. She would love to hear from you!

All Lessons Worth Learning classes are taught from a Christian worldview perspective.

BlogShare: Deep Space Sparkle

2011-11-07T13:09:00.002-06:00

Deep Space Sparkle has some great ideas, PDF lessons, links and more...enjoy!

LHOP: Long Winter, week 2 notes

2011-11-07T11:15:00.001-06:00

Another bout of vanishing drafts here at Blogger.

As always, we are following along with our Primer and the great resources available at We Love the Prairie Primer blog, week 2 links here.

Monday: chapters 11-12
Tuesday: chapters 13-15
Wednesday: chapters 16-17
Thursday: chapter 18
Friday: catch up and review

Highlights to study this week:
dietary fat intake
sunrise/sunset times on the longest and shortest days for your area and for South Dakota
Wind chill factor
coal oil and other forms of energy
the eye, cornea and snow blindness
ultraviolet light
the effects of light deprivation

Who returned with Pa? What did the girls remember about him?
What did the Ingalls do for church?
What do you think was the wisest idea for survival, if caught in a blizzard?
What did they do to conserve coal? kerosene?
How did the girls occupy their time during the blizzard?
What is the wind chill factor? Here is the NOAA chart
Compare and discuss: Psalm 119:16, 52 with reading chapter chapter 13
have a family night like Laura's family did
where does kerosene come from? read here from The Secret of Everyday Things at The Baldwyn Project
learn where crude oil comes from, here is one source
Where did Pa go and why (pg 151)? What took him so long (pgs 154-155)?
what did Ma and the girls do that night?
What supplies were low? What was the family out of?
Why were butter and fat meat drippings an important to the Ingalls' diet? Why do we limit these now? Discuss the link between fat intake and cancer, obesity, heart disease,e tc.
Describe how to blacken a stove (pg 171). What purpose did this serve?
What did laura give for Christmas? What special treat did they have for Christmas? What did planning ahead make available for them on Christmas?
discuss snow blindness and how to prevent it
What did Pa invent?

LHOP: Long Winter week 1

2011-10-29T08:15:00.000-05:00

Monday we begin my favorite Little House book, The Long Winter. For our first week, we will look at:
emergency preparedness and winter survival kits winter preparedness coloring book disaster preparedness/Red Cross coloring book emergency preparedness coloring book
Muskrats
Homesteading in the United States in the 1800's
Earth's water cycle coloring book
the Souix and Blackfoot Indians
The Battle of Wounded Knee
Medicinal uses for ginger
Samuel F. B. Morse biography, and the telegraph itself
climate changes (Earth's axis)
Chicken digestive systems

Weekly Reading and Notes:
Monday: chapters 1-2
Tuesday: chapters 3-5
Wednesday: chapters 6-8
Thursday: chapters 9-10
Friday: catch up day :o)

What was Ma's opinion of Laura helping in the field?
What did Mary do to help?
How did Pa know it would be a bad winter?
Discuss what Pa said the difference was between animals and humans? Animals and the weather
What did the girls do wrong, and whose fault was it?
What did Ma surprise Pa with?
Why did Laura not like to sew?
How could Pa find his way to the stable?
Why did they have to be careful with water? What did Laura do to conserve water (pg 38)?
What did they do all day?
What happened to the cows?
What help did the haystacks provide?
What is Indian summer?
What did the Indian have to say? What did the Indian have to gain by warning the settlers?
Why was town a better place to spend the winter?
Where into town did they move?
Why did they fill the straw ticks with hay?
Where did Pa want to go and why did he not go there?

Research and write/narrate a report on The Homestead Act of 1862 to complete this week.
What are the medicinal uses of ginger?
Discuss the descriptive language used on page 8 to explain the work.
Name and discuss the 3 types of exercise needed for a healthy life (aerobic, strengthening and flexibility)
Read about muskrats, draw pictures for your nature notebooks showing their habitat, feeding habits, lifestyle, etc.
Apply these verses to your life: Proverbs 10:5, 12:11, 20:11.
Discuss Proverbs 4:26 and 6:6-8 in context with the 2nd chapter of your reading.
Begin a biography of Samuel Morse by the end of the Long Winter.
Discuss 'equinoctial' and study the rotation of the earth on its axis and the effect this has on sunrise, sunset and climate Orbit craft
How are some ways you conserve water.
Learn about the water cycle. activities from Cookies Domain HotChalk lesson plan water cycle lapbook
Discuss Genesis 4:9 and Romans 2:13-15 regarding the indian. What tribes lived where Laura's family lived?
Read about the Battle of Wounded Knee and write/narrate a report on this last Indian battle.
Draw a picture of a tree with whiffle characteristics
Discuss the saying "money is scarcer than hens' teeth" learn about how chickens digest their food

As with our entire read through this series, our main guide is our Prairie Primer and We Love The Prairie Primer, week 1 links. While searching for goodies to add and share, I stumbled across a great looking blog called Cookies Domain, sharing lots of links and pages for padding out your adventures in free homeschooling. Enjoy!

LHOP: The Long Winter General Notes

2011-10-29T08:00:00.000-05:00

The Long Winter is definitely one of my most favorite of the Little House series. Little House in The Big Woods is a very close second...Farmer Boy comes in 3rd. I love winter. I am a definite northern gal! Despite the tragedies that often come with hard winters, it is still my favorite season.
Here is a great lapbook from HomeschoolShare for The Long Winter.

The winter of 1880-1881 was one of unrelenting, paralyzing winter cold. Here are some general notes to study:
Blizzard of 1880-1881
nice South Dakota History notes, with mentions of the hard winter
Black Hawk...Sans Arc Lakota
an interactive Winter Storm Timeline
a National Weather Meteorologist researches The Long Winter

Somer activities suggested during this reading include selecting a handwork project and completing it by the end of the story. With the holiday season coming for most families, perhaps stretching thpre ojects out longer and crafting gifts would work better. Handwork is what occupied some of the cold winter months for pioneering families, though the winter written about here was more about survival than handwork. Some projects could include crafting mittens, hats and scarves for the family, crreative projects like cross stitch samplers, embroidering pillowcases or handkerchiefs, etc. Here are some links to spark your creative juices:
NeedlePointers.com site with free patterns and ideas
AllCrafts site of needlework patterns, including learning to do tatting.
NeedleworkPlace has lots of photo's to give you ideas...redwork, tea towels, etc.
HobbyLoco
Antique Pattern Library has some nice links
Crazy Creek Quilts has some great Redwork pattern and project notes
Raggedy Scrappin has some cute Primitive designs perfect for embroidery
Or craft some autumn and winter pincushions, ornaments...whatever you want to use them for...and have some fun crafting afternoons using up your scrappy stash (c'mon now...admit it...we all have a scrap stash...right???)
These neat thread and pin fabric caddies sell great at farm stands...and make great gifts for the handcrafter and stitcher you may know. They not only hold thread spools, but work just as well for embroidery floss cards, too.
Maybe crafting a set of clothespin dolls for play-time during the reading would make some little fingers happy...make the whole family, or create your own cast of characters, and enjoy some creative narrations from our stories!

As always, We Love The Prairie Primer blog has a great collection of links and notes to pad out your reading adventures!

During this reading, take time to discuss basic and extreme winter precautions for your family. Make a plan for extreme events, such as a blizzard that cuts your power or transportation for days or even weeks. Discuss ways your family is prepared...food, heating, etc. and put together an emergency travel kit for your vehicles. You can access ideas and lists of supplies thru your local Red Cross.

Crafting fun for the long days...

2011-10-24T12:22:00.000-05:00

Ok, so we don't exactcly get 'snowbound' here in north Mississippi...okay, we did get a fair amount of snow for being down South over the last winter here...

but that is hardly typical. At least not in my 6 years down here. Still, it's what I've got and I'll take it.

Crafting is just a natural winter sort of thing. The days grow shorter, outdoor activities, at least most of the fun ones, are curbed and it's more about keeping occupied inside as the days grow dark earlier and the inklings of 'cabin fever' begin to set in.

In our Little House books we are reading through, wintertime is for handwork of all kinds...whittling, leather repair, hand-sewing, knitting, and more. I love the short cozy days when a comfy chair, a warm fire and some handwork finish my days. It's just not the same in the summer, kwim?

Here are some gathered crafty ideas to spur your imagination as we come into the perfect crafting season...

Scrappy Pumpkins... or apples, or whatever! Stuff extra thick for a great pincushion, or even gift-toppers or tree ornaments
Craft a family of Clothespin Dolls for fun wintertime play
Whip up loads of fabric napkins for the family or for quick gifts
McCall's Patterns has a great list of sewing ideas in free downloadable patterns
Fleece gifts...a dog sweater, mittens, slipper booties, hood with scarf, snow pants and more!
a cute way to use up a few scraps...a dishsoap apron

And there's always scrap quilting projects like table runners, placemats, couch or chair throws....yarnwork like knitting and crocheting...embroidery and cross stitch samplers...

...the lists can go on all winter long!

LHOP: By The Shores, week 3-4

2011-10-22T11:57:00.001-05:00

I did have Week 3/4 in queue here, but it vanished. It took several days to get week's 1 and 2 to queue up, but when they didi I assumed week's 3/4 fell in line as well. I'm getting annoyed at my apparent lack of blogging talent these days.

Here are the core notes and links from We Love The Prairie Primer blog for week 3 and week 4: Week 3 and Week 4

Reading Schedule: Week 3
Monday: chapters 18-20
Tuesday: chapters 21-22
Wedensday: chapters 23-24
Thursday: chapters 25-26

This week is full of crafty fun making recycled gifts. We found some online resources for learning about Braille and it's 'inventor' Louis Braille, and we also learning about the history of our city here.

Locally, being in the middle of a heavy Civil War battle region here (Battle of Booneville, July 1, 1862) In fact, this area between Corinth and Tupelo and off to Iuka, was fairly active in 1862. We had plenty to dig into around here. Our city was named for R.H. Boone, a relative of Daniel Boone, something my children thought was just too cool. We have Brice's Crossroads, site of a 'substantial Confederate victory' in 1864. We are close to the Natchez Trace as well.

Weekly Notes:
Why did the wolves return?
What had the Ingalls girls recycle for Christmas?
What was for supper on Christmas Eve?
Why didn't the Boasts wait until spring?
Show how the plates and silverware were set.
What creative way did Ma solve the problem of having no presents for the Boasts?
Hhow did Ma make good biscuits without sour milk?
What was Laura's attitude about growing up?
What did Pa think about the winter?
What did Mr. Boast use instead of coal?
How were stormy afternoons spent?
What had Pa propmised Ma before leaving for Minnesota?
What was Ma thankful for regarding the time they all had scarlet fever? What dud Ma praise in Mary?
What important homesteading news did the preachers bring? What month was it?
Who did the naming of the town of De Smet honor?
Why did the Ingalls allow the strangers to stay? What do you think about the INgalls charging for food and lodging? How much did they charge?
Narrate the story of Pa getting the claim?
Explain the common saying, "There's nothing for certain, but death and taxes."

Memorize and mark your US map
Reread the highlights of Ingalls' Chrstmases on pg 178-179, write a composition from the remembrances of your own Christmases.
List the ways Mrs. Ingalls was a good hostess, comparing to the good hostess verses from Romans 12:13, I Timothy 3:2, Titus 1:8, I Peter 4:9-10. Make a poster displaying how to be a good hostess using the above verses.
Make some recycled gifts.
What are wristlets?
Locate Iowa on a map. How will Mary get there?
Write/narrate a report about your favorite part of your local state of city history.
God prepares us for future events. What previous events in their lives had prepared them for the many houseguests they had?
Compare the preacher's visit with the 5 strange men. What precautions did Ma make? What do you think she might have been worried about?
The Bible says to be as wise as serpents but peaceful as doves, Matthew 10:16. How did the Ingalls perform this principle.

Week 4:
Monday: chapters 27-28
Tuesday: chapters 29-30
Wednesday: chapters 31-32, finishing the book

Weekly Notes:
Where did the Ingalls move to? How did Laura feel about living in town vs on the prairie?
What did Laura wake to one cold morning? How did this happen?
What was fortunate about the blizzard occurring at night (pg 252)?
Discuss what Pa said about waiting for things to change to suit us?
What are the oldest buildings in your town? For what purpose were they built? Take some photos of these buildings for your State notebook.
Discuss and compare the architectural differences in your region.
Research the Timber Culture Act. Why did the government enact this?
Research cottonwood trees and locate one in your area. Draw a picture and label for your notebook. Trace and cut out leaves to add to the drawing.
Write a brief report about the history of your city. What factors have caused any major increases or decreases in population over it's history?
List the people who have played an important part in your city's history.
Write a description of Laura...include basic information like age, appearance and personality.
Write a book report about the life of Louis Braille.
Write out your favorite Scripture verse using Braille.

Recite Romans 8:31-39.

LHOP: By The Shores week 2

2011-10-07T07:00:00.000-05:00

This week we continue with the study of our own state and it's history. This week we will look at our State government and it's Constitution. Are you keeping special notebook pages, or simply adding to your Little House notebooks?
We will look at the history or train travel more.
We will look at bird migration. Good timing as in the US, autumn is the beginning of a great migration time.
Continuing with our study of diseases and such, we will learn about consumption, known today as tuberculosis.

Reading:
Monday: ch 9-10
Tuesday: ch 11-12
Wednesday: ch 13-14
Thursday: ch 15-17
Friday, as usual, is your day to catch-up with reading or crafting, or dig deeper into the bunny trail studies you find along the way.

We Love The Prairie Prime blog link ups this week are here...

I found our State (Mississippi) Constitution online by simply searching Mississippi State Constitution...try to find your state's constitution.

Discussion:
What did the company do when someone was too old to work?
What should Laura do to keep the wind from drying out her hair?
What did Ma tell Laura a lady should act like? What differences do you think there are between 'ladies' of Laura's time and today?
How were Lena and Laura able to see each other? What did they do while they mnilked the cows?
Why were they leveling the tracks?
What was the key to being a good boss?
Ephesians 4:9, Colossians 4:12, Mark 10:42-45, Romans 12:3-8,
Keep up on your states/capitols/statehood memory work!
Draw a picture of what the dump wagons look like and add to your notebook.
List the steps to building a railroad, create a mini lapbook.
Read about the invention of the train...The History of Railroad Innovations at About.com, Railroad History Timeline

How was Pa's job different to Laura than any he had had?
What did Pa bring to the house? What did Laura see in his hip pocket?
What happened on pay day? Explain the pay system.
What happened at the Stebbins' camp?
Why did Laura like where they lived?
When would Pa look for a homestead?
What had Pa mistakenly shot? How big was the wing span? What did they do with it?
How were they collecting feathers? What would they do with them?
Why must Laura be a teacher?
Locate Iowa on the map, mark its capitol (mark each location if different from today's capitol)
Explain the saying "better a live dog than a dead lion" Read Ecclesiastes 9:4.
Write/dictate/narrate a report on the history of the railroad and create a mini lapbook
Research what the requirements were for obtaining Statehood. What factors encouraged statehood? How and when was your state's first Constitution drafted? How many changes has it undergone since then?
Locate Montana on your map, note its capitol.
Pa and laura learned about relinquishing their desires. pa gave up his desire to come west because of Ma, Laura purposed to become a school teacher. Read I Corinthians 13:5, Ephesians %:25-28, Matthew 5:37-40, James 3:14-18, Romans 12:10 and discuss what they say about you.
Visit a state historical site near you, such as a battlefield, President's home, mission, fort, trading post, etc.

Why would Laura not seen Lena for a while?
Why couldn't Pa cut down trees for a house?
Why must they have coal?
Why did it look as if they must go East for the winter? What did laura think about leaving?
What enabled them to stay for the winter?
What was Mrs. Boast's proble...and his creative solution?
Why were there no laws, or officers, not even a county sheriff, to help Mr. Boast?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of hardwood floors?
What staples had the surveyors left?
How was Mary made comfortable first? What did Mary do to help the family?
How long did it take to get things settled in?
What was the grand dessert (pg 143)?
Describe and draw Grace's trundle bed?
Read about the history of your state from its induction into statehood to present day. Write/dictate/narrate a report or make a mini lapbook about it.
Draw your state's symbols...bird, flag, tree, etc. Enchanted learning pages, States by FactMonster, 50 States Facts List

Who helped ma get breakfast?
Who came by and got Pa/ What did Pa do while he was gone?
Describe their evening?
What did Mary do to help with the family?
What did the Ingalls' women do after their housework was completed?
What work did Pa do in the winter?
What did Pa and Laura do during the storm? How did Pa make it?
What did Laura and Carrie do for fun?
What did they see?
Were they in good physical shape? How did that help?
What did they use to keep warm at night?
Finish your report on the railroad and its history, include facts about the government's role, its effects on westward expansion, the race across the west, the golden spike, etc.
Read about consumption (tuberculosis). Describe the method of transmission, factors that caused the disease to become active, symptoms, and past treatment as well as common treatment today. Include information about sanitariums and their routines and information on how it is screened in the body today, the presence of the disease itself, the treatment plans, etc.
Learn a simply polka or waltz.
Learn about and locate latitude and longitude lines on a globe or map. Note the degrees of location for known landmarks locally, your own home, other family members, etc.
Draw a picture and describe each piece of Lauyra's clothing listed on page 164, and what type of yarn was used in it's making.
Discuss the checks and balances within your state government and its chain of command.

LHOP: ByThe Shores week 1

2011-09-30T15:55:00.000-05:00

October 3rd begins our next book in line with the series...By The Shores of Silver Lake.

In the fall of 1875, Pa returned home and moved Ma and the girls into a rented house in Walnut Grove. On November 1, 1875, Charles Frederick Ingalls was born. When the 1876 crop, Pa felt he could no longer remain in Wlanut Grove. Friends from their church urged them to become their partners in a hotel business in Burr oak, Iowa. Pa agreed. En route to Iowa, while visiting Uncle Peter and Aunt Eliza Ingalls, illness struck laura's only brother. On August 27, 1876, less than a year after his birth, little Freddie died.
Along with possibly 200 other wagons, the Ingalls family arrived in Burr Oak, sad and tired from the events of their journey. The Ingalls quickly went to work caring for the guests. Laura, now age 10, went to school with Mary. It was during their year long stay in Burr Oak that Grace Pearl Ingalls was born.
After a year in Burr Oak, the Ingalls returned to Walnut Grove. While living in town, Pa supported his family with a variety of odd jobs as a carpenter, a clerk, a butcher, a storekeeper and a miller. Then, in 1879, the opportunity to move westward happened and Pa was again on the move.

Notes of background: The Dakota Territory from Wikipedia, Creating a Dakota Territory from the State Historical Society of North Dakota, Dakota Territory and Statehood
The Homestead Act of 1862 via documents, Library of Congress, National Park Service
Thhe Chicago & Northwestern Railroad via ND Studies: Railroads Open Dakota for Settlement, Railroad Parts: History for Kids pages

Reading Schedule:
Monday: chapters 1-2
Tuesday: chapters 3-4
Wednesday: chapters 5-6
Thursday: chapters 7-8

Memory Work: Romans 8:31-39
Memorize each state and state capitol, in the order of their entrance to the Union (to finish by the end of this book, you'll need to learn 3 states per day).
Keep a State Notebook during this book. A resource we enjoy here is Trail Guide to US Geography from GeoMatters.

This first week we will trail into areas such as causes of diseases,immunizations, how germs enter the body and how infections are spread, all about bacteria and viruses particularly meningitis, scarlet fever and measles. We will also learn about eyes, and eyesight.
We will begin learning about Statehood, the various design of the United States territories over the decades, and our own state history.

Weekly Notes:
What happened to Mary as a result of her illness with scarlet fever?
What was mary's reaction to her misfortune?
Why did Pa not like the country? What did he want to do?Why had the family not followed Pa's desires?
What did they think of riding the train? Do you have any railway museums in your area?
What enabled them to pay their debts before moving on? What might a family of lesser character done?
What was jack's reaction to moving? Where had Jack previously traveled with the family?
Where did jack sleep, and why? What did Laura do before bedtime each night?
What did Laura regret (pg 13)?
What did Laura now know (pg 14)?
Study the purpose, then and now, of the United States territories/states.
Research the signs, causes, and treatments and effects of meningitis and scarlet fever. What are the differences in the illnesses between today and Laura's time?
Learn about antibiotics, how they are produced and how they are administered.
Draw a map of your state and label it with agricultural, mineral, forest products and industries.
Read about Fanny Crosby and write/dictate/narrate a report about her life as a blind poet.

What had the family done preparing for their departure?
How did Laura compare wagon travel by train travel?
How did Mary "see" the seat?
What fueled the train?
How did the train turn around?
What was Laura's opinion of Pa (pg 31)?
Why did they dread going to the dining room? Why were the dishes covered with screen?
What did the waitress assume about the Ingalls? Why do most families come in the spring?
Keep memorizing your states/capitols/dates of statehood!
Mark your state map with lnadmarks and geographical features. Write some notes on the Indians, land, weather and first explorers to your state.
Study types of viruses. Label a paper with the headings: Bacteria, Virus, Both. List as many diseases as you can under these headings.
Make a poster showing the 'life cycle' of a germ, how they enter the body, how they spread, how they are dealt with.
Learn about measles and rubella (measles is another disease that was known to cause blindness)
What event on page 24 proves that their society did not apply the knowledge of the time about germ therapy?
What are satchels?
Discuss the differences between being physically blind and spiritually blind...John 12:40, II Corinthians 4:4, I John 2:11)

Were the Ingalls environmentally conscience?
Continue work on your US States memorization.
Write/Dictate/Narrate a report about the first men to come to your state....Missionaries, trappers, explorers, etc.
Study the eye, diagram the parts and explain their purpose, look at things that can impair vision.
Dissection of a cow eye, Enchanted Learning's eye page, anatomy of an eye
Explain the saying "you look as if butter would melt in your mouth"

Journaling Around Nature

2011-09-23T22:01:00.001-05:00

We aren't huge with nature journals here, but we should be. We love the outdoors, we take slot of walks and quiet time in the wooded lands on and around our homestead here, and the 'nature' keeps coming inside with us...grasshoppers, dragonflies, weird spiders, lizards and definitely a well-rounded assortment of frogs and toads! We draw pictures, sure. We look up interesting notes and the like online, in field guides, and in our go-to resource, The Handbook of Nature Study.

What we don't do, though, is really put our hearts into our nature pages and notebooks. They are rather dry. Just sketches and little note bits to remember something by. Maybe a pressed flower or leaf as well. But no real depth, no heart.

Barb over at The Handbook of Nature Study blog has some great resources and guides. Her ideas have sparked many children, and their parent/teachers, to give heart to their notebooks. She inspires you to be simple in some aspects, but to remember that heart and soul created nature, and heart and soul need to share in it as well. And deep artistic talent isn't even required! Drawing may come naturally to many folks, though I am not one of them, but it doesn't matter. Desire far outweighs talent. And, as with the more traditional journal of thoughts and ideas, it's your notebook...does it matter your maple tree is a bit lopsided? Or your red-breasted robin is looking more like an Angry Bird than a realistic view? Or your clouds are stretched and pulled cotton balls, pasted in, rather than drawn, wispy strings from a 2b pencil?

Trust me, it doesn't matter. Give up on the Van Gogh and Rembrandt ideals...they started somewhere, too, you know. Enjoy nature journalling, enjoy the drawing, enjoy the time spent just soaking up nature's offerings and in time those Van Gogh and Rembrandt moments will come. Practice makes perfect...or at least a very passable copy.

Barb's blog is just too full of wonderful ideas and guides to get your nature journals off and running. And autumn...what better season to start taking in nature's bounty? Yes, I'm a definite autumn and winter person :-) Here are Barb's pages for getting started:
Nature Study Helps
Getting Started
Autumn Challenges
...and I definitely recommend the Outdoor Hour Challenge ebooks she puts together. They look to be the perfect addition to your creative juices.

No, I do not nor have I ever been, compensated by Barb in any way. I merely like to share the good things I find along the way so that someone else can be inspired and encouraged. I promise Barb and The Handbook of Nature Study blog will do just that...inspire and encourage!
-blessings from Hands and Hearts Homestead!

LHOP: Plum Creek, week 4

2011-09-23T12:46:00.000-05:00

Fun Extra's this week: On The Banks of Plum Creek Trivia, extra sites and learning with On The Banks of Plum Creek, Harper Collins' 17 page PDF on the series.

We Love the Prairie Primer Blog Links and Notes for week 4.

Quilt patterns, particularly 9-Patch (or Disappearing 9-Patch...even a Crazy 9-Patch with no straight lines!)) and Bear's Track. Have you started a quilt of your own during our reading? Have you considered all the things that you could make while learning to quilt? Pot holders, table runners, doll quilts, sampler blocks, etc.

Weekly Reading:
Monday: chapters 35-36
Tuesday: chapters 37-38
Wednesday: chapters 39-41, end of the book!

Which of Ma's character qualities were given on pg 285? How would you describe your mother's qualities?
Which of Pa's stories prompted the girls to carry in the firewood?
How did Pa find his way to the stable and back with limited visibility?
Why did Pa milk the cow, even though he wouldn't make it back with much milk?
With what did Pa compare the previous places they had lived?
What did the girls do during the day?
What did the girls do with their slate?
What type of quilts were the girls working on? Whose quilt pattern was more difficult?
What did they do on Sundays? Why did they not go to church?
Choose an experience from the story told from laura's point of view and rewrite it from another point of view (Ma, Pa or Mary) Ideas: How Pa felt walking East for work, what Ma thought while Pa was gone to town, What Carrie thought of her sisters carrying in the wood, or when the oxen ran away...
Learn about Beavers...Enchanted learning pages, Beavers: Wetlands and Wildlife, National Geographic Wildlife: Beavers, learning activities page...
What are the health hazards of tobacco use? Design an anti-smoking poster for your home.
Apply these verses to tobacco use: Proverbs 14:12, John 10:10
Read page 291 and discuss what Laura thought would happen when they got older.

What chores did Ma do in the barn?
Why did ma put a lamp in the window?
What did Laura sneek down to see Ma doing?
What did Ma do to Carrie's pajamas?
What came down the stovepipe? What do you think caused it?
What character qualities did the girls show while Ma was doing Pa's chores?
What happened when Ma went out to do the chores?
What did Laura think about crying?
Why did Ma not leave the lantern in the window on the second night?

What did all the snow mean for the wheat crop?
What had Pa bought in town? How did each help him when he was stranded?
Why could Pa not stop walking? What kept Pa from having a sense of direction in the storm?
Pa knew he had to keep walking and not give up. Proverbs 24:10, Isaiah 40:29, Romans 8:31-39, Psalm 27:5. What gave him strength to continue?
How did God provide for Pa?
How close was Pa from home?
What was the girls' reaction to Pa eating their candy?
What did they do for Christmas eve?
Which is your favorite song that they sang?
What did laura say was so good about this Christmas?
Write a 2 page report on Noah Webster.

It's time to recite Psalm 51 :o)

LHOP: Plum Creek, week 3

2011-09-23T11:52:00.001-05:00

As always, our primary guide online is We Love The Prairie Primer blog.
Do you have your own set of the original Little House on the Prairie series? ABC Distributing has them for a great price if you're interested...check them out here.

Suggested crafts this week are working on that 9-patch quilt, doll quilt, table runner, etc.

Weekly Reading:
Monday: chapters 24-25
Tuesday: chapters 26-28
Wednesday: chapters 29-31
Thursday: chapters 32-34

Discussion:
What was Ma excited about?
What was different about the girls' hair? What determined the color ribbon they were to wear?
How was town different on Sunday? Do you notice any changes in your own town on Sundays vs other days of the week?
Why did Rev. Alden only come to town once a month? What did they do on the other Sundays?
Apply these verses to the observance of Sunday: Isaiah 56:2, Hebrews 5:9-10, Exodus 20:8-11
What did Pa do with the money for his boots?
Why did the walls drip with sticky pine juice?
How did the grasshopper's coming change their lives?
Do you think another grasshopper plague could happen today?
Draw a food chain cycle using the grasshopper.
Pretend you are an Israelite and write a descriptive story about the coming of the grasshopper plague in Egypt.
Read Psalm 46 when facing a crisis. How does this Psalm pass along comfort?

What did Laura see? What did Pa see?
How did the girl's honor their Pa?
How did Pa say they were better off than most folks?
What was pa's solution to provide for his family?
Where would he go and how would he get there?
How did Ma get water for the family?
What do you think about Ma having the girl's dress properly, even though it was so hot and no one else was around?
Why were the boots an important part of the letter?
Use the information on page 208 to calculate how many potential grasshoppers were in each square foot of ground.
If a person can walk 4 miles per hour, how long would it take to walk 250 miles? How many days would it take if one stopped for 8 hours a day to rest?
They mention reading Psalm 21 when traveling. How might this chapter have 'talked' to Pa?
What does the Bible say about providing for your family (I Timothy 5:7-8)
Proverbs 24 distinguishes the fall of the righteous man vs the fall of the wicked. What is the difference? Read Psalm 57:1 also.
How many gallons of water do the Ingall's use daily? Compare this to your water usage daily.
Laura describes the drought on pg 219. On a page, write the 5 senses across the top and under each sense, list those that Laura used.
Learn about the underground water tables in your area.
learn about the heat index (and the wind chill...)

What is a thresher?
What was the first problem Pa solved when he arrived home?
What did Laura think about Mary getting new shoes? Was this right? Have you ever felt like this?
What did Pa trap and why?
Why would it still be "grasshopper weather"?
What schedule did the Ingalls girls follow for homeschool (pg 245)
Talk about the process of taking a bath in Laura's day vs now.
Make a warning poster about envy using each of the following verses: Job 5:2, Proverbs 14:30, I Timothy 6:3-5, Titus 3:3-5, James 3:16
God provided what Laura secretly wanted. Any coat would have kept her warm, but this one shows how God cares about even the details in our lives. Memorize the following verses: Philippeans 4:19, I John 5:14-15, Psalm 23:6
Write a descriptive story about a favorite doll or toy you've had.

How long did the grasshopper walking last?
Why did Pa leave whistling?
What caused the fire? How did they fight the fire? Who helped? How did he know they needed help?
Why did the girls not wear their mittend when digging in the garden on a cold day?
What was the salve on their hands made of?
What did the girls do to calculate Pa's arrival? Why did he arrive earlier than they expected?
Draw a picture of the most immpressive part of the grasshopper's migration.
Copy (narrate or dictate) your 2 most favorite descriptive paragrahs in these chapters. Underline the verbs, circle the nouns, etc.
Apply Joel 2:25-26 to the grasshopper problem at Plum Creek.
Look up and draw pictures of ragweed and tumbleweed (Russian Thistle) for your nature journals.
Eat turnips :o)
Discuss how true Proverbs 27:10 proved to be. What else could this verse mean?
Study the properties of fire:
kindling temperature...fuel...oxygen...
Knowing these properties, how does a firebreak work?
Send letters to families and friends in other areas and note the dates sent with the dates arrived and see how long the postal service takes today compared to Laura's time.

LHOP: Plum Creek wee 2

2011-09-23T11:06:00.001-05:00

After several failed attempts at posting, or at least saving these last fe3w weeks, I think we have it worked out. At least I hope so! I don’t know how many are even following along with our reading here, but I’m sure those that are have managed along perfectly well without my little input here. Our main text (the book series as well as our guide, The Prairie Primer) and the great directions and notes shared by We Love the Prairie Primer blog are more than enough to keep us going along. The units are fun, not strict ;-)

Do you have your own set of the original Little House on the Prairie series, illustrated by Garth Williams? I found a great price recently, via ABC Distributing on the original boxed set. You can check them out here

Notes and Links for week 2 here.
Monday: ch 13-15
Tuesday: ch 16-18
Wednesday: ch 19-21
Thursday: ch 22-23
Friday is the catch-up and crafting day this week.

week 2 On the Banks...

2011-09-10T14:02:00.001-05:00

My entire post has been eaten apparently. I will try to have it up and ready for Monday, but seems all my archived drafts are just gone

-blessings from Hands and Hearts Homestead!

BlogShare: Raising Godly Children: What is a Biblical Worldview?

2011-09-08T07:07:00.000-05:00

Raising Godly Children: What is a Biblical Worldview?: The history as recorded in the Bible has been attacked by our increasingly secular culture. As a result, recent generations have been brough...

BlogShare: Common Sense Homesteading: FDA to Consumers- "You Do Not Have the Right to C...

2011-09-08T06:47:00.000-05:00

Common Sense Homesteading: FDA to Consumers- "You Do Not Have the Right to C...: I came across an article in Countryside magazine recently that got my attention. In it, the author pointed out how the Food Safety and Mo...

IPad Blogging....a test

2011-09-06T10:00:00.001-05:00

We put the iPad to slot of use around here. While I don't much like typing via the iPad touchscreen, it sure beats sharing finds via the cell! I know...we still have a computer...a real keyboard input netbook machine...but I get busy with day to day things around here and I just never seem to take the time to pull it out and use it. It takes effort.

Of course, taking a deliberate effort is usually a good thing. A deliberate effort means I have scheduled a specific time frame for drafting entries and sharing. It (should) mean that I have completed other necessary duties of the day and have 'earned' that deliberate effort of computer blogging fun.

I found this iPad app to aid in my blogging (I know...I had that same gasp...I think it will be ok. Really.). It's called BlogPress and can be found at BlogPress App
It works with several blog platforms, including Blogger, which seems to have a limited access face with these things. There are others, maybe great ones even, but I'm not familiar with them...like Blogsy or QuickWordPress for the iOS.

Do you utilize an iPad in your daily networking or schooling? Do you have some favorite apps that make your iPad more useful in your day? I would love to hear what you use and what you like or dislike. Please take a moment to share!

-blessings from Hands and Hearts Homestead!

On The Banks of Plum Creek Intro Notes and Week 1

2011-09-04T08:43:00.000-05:00

September finds us following Laura and her family from the prairies of Kansas back 'home' to Pepin, Wisconsin and onto Walnut Grove, Minnesota.

Reading Schedules and Primer Links:
Week 1: We Love the Prairie Primer Links, Chapters 1-12, up to 3 chapters daily reading
Week 2: Prairie Primer Links, Chapters 13-23, up to 3 chapters daily
Week 3: Prairie Primer Links, Chapters 24-34, up to 3 chapters daily
Week 4: We Love the Prairie Primer Links, Chapters 35-41

Noah Webster's biography is also suggested during this book reading.
Our suggested memory verse for this book is Psalm 51.

During Plum Creek, we will touch on areas including:
Animals, insects...
grasshoppers, butterflies, moths, bees, badgers, mammals in general, leeches, blue herons, beavers,
Plants...
diagramming parts of a tree, Willows morning glories, lichens, ragweed, tumbleweed,
Science in general...
Classifications of plants, animals, etc., sources of heat exchange (conduction, convection, radiation), water safety, the human body's response to fear, drying fruit to preserve, water purification, how to produce paper, hazards of tobacco use.

Follow the bunny trails you and your children find along your reading! That's what makes reading such a great learning adventure!

A great project to begin if you haven't already is work on a 9 patch quilt, or table runner. Plan to work on it regularly and complete by the end of the book.

Week 1:
Monday: Chapters 1-3
Visit a pond, lake or creek, collect some water and grasses. Place in a sunny window, then sample and view under a microscope...note your observations.
Discuss water purification reasons and methods, water safety concerns today vs Laura's time, water-born diseases.
Map the trail Pa took from the prairies to Pepin, note the terrain, compare the mileage to travels today.
Discuss the 3 methods of heat transfer, the benefits of living in an earth home or underground home.
Practice shading and drawing techniques and draw morning glories and blue flags.
Discuss incidents of complaining in Scripture.
Tuesday: Chapters 4-6
Discuss geographical terms such as butte, mesa, plateau, plain.
Apply I John 1:8-9, James 5:16, and Proverbs 28:13 to Laura's need to tell Pa about the swimming hole adventure. Compare to an event in your own experience.
Discuss and map the countries you find Swedes, Germans and Norwegians, map the areas of immigration, explore their characteristics and culture.
Life cycle and habitat of butterflies.
Collect lichens and learn how they exist.
Discuss water safety.
Read about badgers, their habitat, part in the food chain, lifestyle, etc.
Wednesday: Chapters 7-9
learn about wheat, how and where it grows, harvest and usages.
Discuss the steps to falling into sin (questioning the Lord, telling half-truths, excusing actions by technicalities, etc.
Laura led Mary astray...discuss how we must be careful to not lead our friends, or allow ourselves to be led, into situations that are not proper. Matthew 18:6 James 3:1
Study the life of bees and bumblebees.
Learn about preserving fruits by drying.
Foreshadowing...the mention of grasshoppers now and the plague in chapter 25.
Thursday: Chapters 10-12
do a word study on idleness
discuss the body's reaction to fear
mammals...characteristics, classifications and Orders
Read about the first Thanksgiving and learn about the Festival of Booths and the Israelites.

Friday is a review or catch-up day this week.

On the Prairie, week 4

2011-08-24T10:36:00.000-05:00

This week we are wrapping up our adventures with Laura on the Prairie...
Monday: Chapter 22-23
Tuesday: Chapter 24-25
Wednesday: Chapter 26

Here are the link ups from We Love The Prairie Primer blog, and some notes via The Prairie Primer:
We are learning about prairie fires and the beginnings of the Homestead Runs. We read about the Forts that were a part of the westward expansion efforts, we built a stockade with blocks, and we read alot about the Indians Laura's family experienced, and the controversary over exactly who she ws referring to in her book.. The newer movie of Little House on the Prairie definitely follows this book more closely than the series did, though we love the series.

We listened to the fiddle tunes popular with Pa and the settlers of the time, and even practiced some jiggin' of our own here.

On The Prairie, week 3

2011-08-14T06:00:00.001-05:00

Week 3...already. Seems we are flying through this book!

Here are the We Love the Prairie Primer blog links for this week...

Other topics touched on in this week's reading include:
Chicken Pox
fever
Indian sign language
methods of travel (Indian trails, etc)
Indian ceremonial headdresses
panthers and lions
Oak, sycamore and cottonwood trees

Projects, like making moccasins, beaded necklaces, making salt rising bread, stewed dried fruit, bean porridge and more!

Our reading schedule will be similar to other weeks:
Monday chapters 14-15
Tuesday chapters 16-17
Wednesday chapters 18-19
Thursday chapters 20-21
Friday is a catch-up day this week ;o)

We will be working with out Handbook of Nature Study text this week and discuss the Oak, Sycamore and Cottonwood trees, adding pictures and notes to our nature book. We will also be adding drawings and notes on wolves, beaver, fox, muskrat and mink, and panthers using our Illustrated Encyclopedia of Animal Life set (probably my favorite 'old' set of books here!).

Using The Bible in School Lessons

2011-08-12T12:22:00.003-05:00

Of course every family has a different way of incorporating The Bible into their school lessons. Some prefer to keep The Word more separated, not watered down as it were, by a surrounding math lesson, or grammar notations. Others will find ways to incorporate every lesson taught us by Scripture into every step of daily life. That, imo, is how The Scriptures should be...integrated throughout the daily fiber of everything we do, and provide a direct thread to our focus and goals.

Some lessons in Scripture are more forthcoming than others, their teaching is outward and easily deciphered…the story of obedience as with Noah, Abraham, the Call of Moses. Some lessons, however, are best viewed over a lengthy reading, such as faith, courage, steadfastness as seen through the entire life of Paul. The Bible can be viewed as individual teachings, grabbing out topics and passages as needed to enhance or direct a specific lesson, but a slow, meaningful approach of reading through story and experience slowly, one at a time, cover to cover simply can’t be beat. We prefer chronological here, but any method of Old Testament to New Testament will work just as well. There is no secret method that works better or is more thorough than any other. I prefer King James, and that is what we use for reading and teaching here, but there again, it isn’t a matter of version as much as it is a matter of opening your heart and truly taking it all in.

Here are some ideas for teaching character using the stories, experiences and passages of Scripture…
Every child should be taught a few ‘basics’ of Scripture early on:

The Ten Commandments are never outdated. If more Christians would take these commandments truly to heart, there would be a huge change in this world we live in. We have to believe that it is black and white….stealing is stealing, whether outright taking of another’s property, accepting too much change back without correcting the clerk, returning a used item as though it was still new because we have changed our mind, etc. Lying is lying. There are no white lies, no half-truths. To omit something is the same as lying. To teach character to your children, you cannot begin with anything less than the Ten Commandments as your foundation.
The Beatitudes and The Golden Rule. These are the great ‘Yes’ that Jesus shared, where the Commandments were the great ‘No’ of the Old Testament. These are the fulfillment of the law and should be taught early and practiced often. Virtually every religious base has a version of The Golden Rule.
The 23rd Psalm is definitely one to get into the hearts of your children early on. It’s beauty and comfort can bring a great deal of peace in their lives.
The Lord’s Prayer is another must for early memorization and repeated use. Of course, other passages are perfect for prayer and memory, but the 23rd Psalm and Lord’s Prayer should certainly be at the top of the list for not only our children, but ourselves as well.

Some other great passages for memorization include The Good Samaritan Luke 10:25-37, The Prodigal Son Luke 15:11-32, The Lost Sheep Luke 15:4-7, Isaiah 40:28-31, John 14, John 15, Romans 12, I Corinthians 13, II Corinthians 4:16-18, Galatians 6:1-10, Ephesians 6:10-20, Philippians 3:13-21, II Timothy 4:6-8, James 3, Revelation 21:1-4, Revelation 22:1-5, and larger portions such as any Psalms or Proverbs.

Human life is portrayed in the Bible. They are not stories created for educational or interesting reading, but the real experiences of real people. In any given passage or story in the Bible, there is not merely one trait of character illustrated, but several, one blending imperceptibly into another. A single act is often a cross-section of a complete character teaching.

Obedience:
Noah and The Ark

Abraham’s Call

Abraham and Isaac

The Call of Moses

The Boy Samuel

The Call of Isaiah

The Parable of Two Sons

The Call of The Disciples

Helpfulness, The Spirit of Service:
Abraham and Lot

Rebekah at the Well

Jacob and Rachel

Miriam and Moses

David and The Mad King Saul

The Good Widow of Zarephath

Elisha and the Poor Widow

Elisha and the Workmen

Jesus at the Marriage Feast

The Good Samaritan

Jesus at the Last Supper

Moral and Physical Courage, Steadfastness:
Caleb and Joshua

Joshua

Deborah

Gideon

David and The Bear

David and Goliath

Elijah and the Priests of Baal

Jeremiah’s Bravery

Daniel and the Lions

Nehemiah and The Wall

The Valiant Deeds of The Maccabees

Brave Queen Esther

Jesus and His Temptation

Jesus and His Foes

The Disciples of Jesus

The entire life of Paul

Devotion to God and His Church:
Moses at Mt. Sinai

The Free Will Offering for the Tabernacle

Hannah

The Prayers of David

David and the Threshing-floor of Araunah

Solomon and the Temple

Joash and the Repairing of the Temple

Hezekiah

Josiah

Daniel

The Boy Jesus

Faith, Trust, Honor:
Elijah at Carmel

The Seige of Samaria

The healing of Jairus’ Daughter

The Centurion’s Servant

Thomas

The Spirit of Brotherhood:
Abraham and Sodom

The Rescue of the Baby Moses

The Good Samaritan

Elisha and the helpless

The Vision of Peter

Loyalty to God, Patriotism:
Joseph

Moses

Ruth and Naomi

David and Jonathan

Jeremiah

Daniel

The Hebrew Youths and the Fiery Furnace

Nehemiah

The Maccabees

Esther

The Disciples

Love and Friendship:
Ruth and Naomi

David and Jonathan

Jesus and His Disciples

Jesus and the family at Bethany

Gratitude and Appreciation:
David and the Three Captains

Elisha and the sick boy

The Two Debtors

The Ten Lepers

Forgiveness and Peace:
Esau and Jacob

Joseph and His Brothers

David and Saul

David and Absalom

The Prodigal Son

The Healing of Malchus

Repentance:
Joseph’s Brothers

David

Manasseh

The Prodigal Son

The Ninety and Nine

Peter

How Paul became a follower of Jesus

Self-Sacrifice:
Abraham and Isaac

The Three Brave Captains

The Widow’s Mite

The Cross

Honesty and Truthfulness:
Jacob and Rachel

Joseph in Egypt

Nehemiah

The Talents

Courtesy and Kindness:
Abraham

David spares Saul’s Life

Jethro

The Widow of Zarephath

The Rich Woman of Shumen

Paul at Athens

Paul before Felix

Paul before Agrippa

The Disregard of Others:
Joseph’s Brothers

Pharaoh the Oppressor

David and Uriah

Rehoboam

Naboth’s Vineyard

Greed:
The Son’s of Eli

The Punishment of the Greedy

Gehazi

Achan

Dishonesty, Disobedience:
Jacob and Esau

The Trick of the Gibeonites

Achan

Saul and the Spoil of the Amalekites

Ananias and Sapphira

Absalom, lawless and disobedient boy

Intemperance:
The Prodigal Son

Elah

Hatred, Intolerance, Jealousy:
Cain and Abel

The Twins who hated each other

Joseph’s Brothers

Saul and David

The Enemies of Jesus

Prairie: Week 2 Notes

2011-08-08T21:28:00.002-05:00

This week’s reading schedule will take us through to chapter 13. Here are the great notes shared at We Love The Prairie Primer blog for this week.

Monday: Chapter 7…with branches in studying the physical traits of mules vs horses, studying about wolves and their habitat, social structure, character and feeding habits, learning about malaria as a disease, and selecting an Indian biography to read along with this book.
Tuesday: Chapters 8-9…added lessons like building the door Pa created (using popsicle sticks, string and toothpicks), studying mosquitoes and the role they play in transmitting disease, learning about goldenrod and it’s medicinal uses, safe vs unsafe practices for heating an area and the effects of smoke inhalation, poisonous snakes in your area, how they live and hunt, how they use their venom, etc.
Wednesday: Chapters 10-11…lessons such as making a sunbonnet, learning about the Sun in relation to our planet and seasons, exposure to and the process and treatment of sunburns, studying the sensory organs a snake uses (eyes, pits, and the Jacobson’s organ), practice splitting wood and straightening nails, Learn about various Indian dress, community and lifestyle.
Thursday: Chapters 12-13…learn about old fashioned ways vs modern methods for well digging, get information about putting in a well in your area and figure up the cost in terms of how many days your family would have to work to earn that much money, learn about aquifers, artesian wells, natural springs, and the water table in your area, discuss the naturally occurring gases derived from geological formations in the earth’s crust, practice rope climbing hand-over-hand like Pa did, discuss foolish acts (like Mr Scott and the well digging).
Vocabulary to look at this week: windlass, quicksand and scalawag

LHOP: On the Prairie Schedule

2011-07-29T14:25:00.000-05:00

The Reading plan is pretty much the same set up:

Week 1: Reading thru Chapter 6, Links Page
Week 2: Chapters 7-13, Links Page
Week 3: Chapters 14-21, Links Page
Week 4: Chapters 22-26, Links Page

I've already listed alot of the goodies to pad out your reading of On the Prairie, plus there are wonderful links and Youtube clips at We Love the Prairie Primer blog (I've linked the individual weeks above with our reading plan) as always.

During this book, we can work on so many fun things that flow along with the book. Some suggestions in the Primer include checking out your family tree for your relatives living during the 1870s. You can also add in some extra geography by mapping out the Ingalls' route as they traveled across the various states, learning about each state along the way, including a study on the prairie lands of North America. We have been using GeoMatters Trail Guide to US Geography for a couple years now and love it. It works well as a stand-alone program, but it also lends itself nicely to virtually any other curriculum as well.

On the Prairie is perfect for branching off in may different directions...a study of the Native American groups that have a foundation in so much of our history, (which can lead to a whole variety of art and craft projects as well, like beaded belts, mocassin making, Indian dwellings, games, etc...), a study of the Pony Express and the history of our postal service (which could lead into a cultural discussion on postal offerings in other countries, or just a comparison of then and now, as we keep running into the electronic age, etc.) You can easily study the nuances of the English language and review the many differences in speech styles and phrasing from the late 1800s to today (the word 'providential' is used so often in the late 1800's speech, and we have turned it into something as short and lacking as 'lucky'...).

During this book you can discuss a variety of animal and plant life...the Mustang, meadow larks, chickadees, mockingbirds, Phoebe birds, gophers, goldenrod, mosquitos, snakes common to the prairie lands, wolves, beaver, muskrat, mink, panthers, oak, sycamore and cottonwood trees and of course, the buffalo.

From a science standpoint you have simple machines, the study of your blood and its components and their functions, the affects of chewing tobacco, the disease malaria (fever 'n' ague), sun exposure ( which will lead us to a study of the Sun in general), the water table and water aquifers, etc.

Some larger projects for this story could be continued work on a simple quilt project, sampler stitching, needlework or for the boys, building a stockade or Calvary fort, or even a scale model of an Indian village.

Keep an open mind while reading and I'm sure your children will lead the way in discovering all sorts of fun projects and learning directions along Laura's journeys!

LHOP: On The Prairie

2011-07-29T07:00:00.015-05:00

(click the image to view the page and enlarge)

Starting August 1st, we will begin the second book in the Little House on The Prairie Series, Little House on The Prairie. In this book, Ma and Pa make the move from the Big Woods to the prairie land of Kansas. Originally, Ms. Wilder intended only to write the one book, but the response was so great, she continued along producing 8 volumes of her story.

In The Big Woods, Laura was said to have been 6 years old. In reality, Laura was just 2 years old, and Baby Carrie was not born yet. In planning only 1 book, she connected stories in a way that flowed quite well, but created a problem for the future stories. Many of the events in Little House on The Prairie actually occured before Big Woods, as the journey to the Kansas prairie happened when Laura was 2 years old.

Does it bother the story really to know this? It sure didn't for us! The adventures are just as inspiring and engrossing, no matter what her age!

The Osage Indians are a part of Laura's adventures in this story. Here are several links for learning more about the Osage History
Facts for Kids: The Osage
The Osage
Osage Indian Culture and History
Kansas Book Collection, The Osage
Kansas Genealogy Osage Tribe...there are some good links at the bottom of the page in additional information.

United States Postal Service Notes:
History of the USPS from their own site
About.com has a great collection of historical notes on the postal service and pony express
History of the Post Office

Bible Memory for this book is Psalm 8 and here are Matthew Henry's notes from his Commentary.

As with Big Woods, we will definitely keep following along with great links shared at We Love The Prairie Primer each week (here are links for Week 1) as we read through Little House on The Prairie.

Please share your thoughts, links and projects with us weekly as we go along so others may benefit from your adventures as well.

LHOP: Big Woods Week 3 and 4 Notes

2011-07-18T09:14:00.000-05:00

This is our final week of reading Big Woods, chapters 10-13, although we can easily stretch out our time and spend some fun researching the California Gold Rush, and following the great Gold Rush links shared by We Love The Prairie Primer. Or complete the memory section, Psalm 91. How about a crafting week...did you start any special projects to go along with our Little House reading, like a stitched sampler or a lap quilt, maybe your own popsicle or stick built little log cabin or full town set?

Some Bible verses this week include:
Proverbs 22:15, 13:24, 29:15
Hebrews 12:5-11
Proverbs 24:13, 25:16, 25:27
I Peter 3:2
Titus 2:4-5
Proverbs 20:11
Proverbs 10:15, 10:23, 15:21, 26:18-19
Proverbs 17:12...try making your own warning poster about this verse!
Proverbs 17:25, 19:13
Proverbs 9:10-11, 16:6, 10:27, 14:27, 8:13...discuss what the fear of the Lord is :-)

Links for this week:
As always, follow along with We Love The Prairie Primer blog, and here are some links I've shared

Laura has seen and heard quite a few adventures in this first story, hasn't she? All the 'family stories' about life in the Big Woods, the day to day life of family visits, dances, trips to town and more, the loving times of a close-knit family...Laura and her family have provided a wonderful view for us reading her adventures.

Do you have any favorite tales from within the pagesof The Big Woods? Any favorite quotes that sparked your reading time into visions of her quiet but exciting life? We sure did. With the local bear sightings, my children were fixed on the bear tales and life in the Big Woods. Despite the heat wave that we've been under these past weeks, they have had many adventures of their own in our woods. I love living in the country and being so rural. It's the best place for my children to thrive and grow their imaginations and play!

Thankfully, books can open these kinds of adventures for anyone who reads them! City or country, adventures are just waiting to be had!

Some passages we enjoyed:
....The Little House was fairly bursting with good food stored away for the long winter. The pantry and the shed and the cellar were full, and so was the attic. Laura and Mary must play in the house now, for it was cold outdoors and the brown leaves were all falling from the trees. The fire in the cookstove never went out. At night Pa banked it with ashes to keep the coals alive till morning.
The attic was a lovely place to play. The large, round, colored pumpkins made beautiful chairs and tables. The red peppers and the onions dangled overhead. The hams and the venison hung in their paper wrappings, and all the bunches of dried herbs, the spicy herbs for cooking and the bitter herbs for medicine, gave the place a dusty-spicy smell. (pg 19-20)

....Ma began the work that belonged to that day. each day had its own proper work. Ma used to say: Wash on Monday, Iron on Tuesday, Mend on Wednesday, Churn on Thursday, Clean on Friday, Bake on Saturday, Rest on Sunday. (pg 29)

....Christmas was coming. The little log house was almost buried in snow. Great drifts were banked against the walls and windows, and in the morning when Pa opened the door, there was a wall of snow as high as Laura's head. Pa took the shovel and shoveled it away, and then he shoveled a path to the barn, where the horses and the cows were snug and warm in their stalls.
The days were clear and bright. laura and Mary stood on charis by the window and looked out across the glittering snow at the glittering trees. Snow was piled all along their bare, dark branches, and it sparkled in the sunshine. Icicles hung from the eaves of the house to the snow-banks, great icicles as large at the top as Laura's arm. They were like glass and full of sharp lights. (pg 59-60)

....As soon as the days were warm, Laura and Mary begged to be allowed to run barefoot. At first they might only run around the woodpile and back, in their bare feet. Next day they could run farther, and soon their shoes were oiled and put away and they ran barefoot all day long.
Every night they washed their feet before they went to bed. Under the hems of their skirts their ankles and their feet were as brown as their faces.
They had playhouses under two big oak trees in front of the house. Mary's playhouse was under Mary's tree, and Laura's playhouse was under Laura's tree. The soft grass made a green carpet for them. The leaves were the roofs, and through them could see bits of blue sky.
Pay made a swing of tough bark and hung it to a llarge, low branch of Laura's tree. It was Laura's swing because it was in her tree, but she had to be unselfish and let Mary swing in it whever she wanted to. (pg 156-157)

...The store was full of things to look at. All along one side of it were shelves full of colored prints and calicos. There were beautiful pinks and blues and reds and browns and purples. On the floor along side the plank counters there were kegs of nails, and kegs of round, gray shot, and there were big wooden pails full of candy. There were sacks of salt, and sacks of store sugar.
In the middle of the store was a plow made of shiny wood, with a glittering bright plowshare, and there were steel ax heads, and hammer heads, and sawsn and all kinds of knives -- hunting knives, and skinning knives and butcher knives and jack knives. There were big boots and little boots, big shoes and little shoes.
laura could have looked for weeks and not seen all the things that were in that store. She had not known there were so many things in the world. (pg 167-168)

There were just too many favorite passages to share them all, but these are some of our most favorites.

just some Laura Ingalls Wilder links...

2011-07-11T10:12:00.000-05:00

Just a few odds and ends I've found and thought I'd share....

Laura's Little Houses has some neat pages and information

Little House on The Prairie Living...shares a few goodies, as well as some great Little House style recipes.

Need ideas for sites to see connected to Little House? Check out the reference pages at Beyond Little House blog.

Laura's Sweet Memories looks promising, and such delicious recipes shared!

LHOP: Big Woods Week 2 intro

2011-07-10T17:22:00.002-05:00

How was your first week sharing in the adventures of Mary, Laura, Ma and Pa and little Carrie? We had a blast. My children love the adventurous tales Pa shares. It didn't hurt that we actually had black bear sightings only about 3-4 miles from our homestead, either! They aren't terrible common around here, but they aren't that rare, either. Seems during June and July, the young males between 2 and 3 years old, leave their mothers and head off to stake their own territory. Most often found in the Delta area of our state, they can be seen farther north here, as well as throughout Alabama as well. Of course that meant we had to pay close attention to things here.....like making rounds to check the animals in the barn, you know, just in case of bear attack!

Now we head into Week 2, reading chapters 5-9 this week. We'll learn about how Laura's family spent their sabbath time, we'll read of the great adventure Grandpa's pig took (LOL), Ma and the bear, and Pa's "bear". We'll work on learning some church hymns for our own Sunday time, including Rock of Ages, as Pa sang for the family. We'll also get to learn about the sugar snow....maple syrup time.

I've linked the Week 2 pages in the tab along with this post. I'd love to hear if anyone sharing in the reading here has made their own maple syrup. We have friends in Tennessee who do try each year, though it's a bit more difficult down here as opposed to the wintry north country Laura and her family are from!

Enjoy Week 2, and if you are working on any crafts along the way, or have plans for some local field trips that tie in with the story,or activities you're doing, please share them with us!

Here is the link to We Love The Prairie Primer blog's Week 2 lessons....enjoy!

added note: Here is another blog with a few goodies on Little House and Laura herself...

Westward Ho Everyone!

2011-07-04T13:08:00.001-05:00

This week begins Little House in the Big Woods. Each day we'll read one chapter, ending with chapter 4 on Friday. Be sure to check out We Love The Prairie Primer blog for some great links and YouTube resources for each chapter as we go along! Don't have the books? Check out some sources here and here, including other titles of interest with Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Vocabulary lists can be made as you read, or you can use these great lists over at Garden of Praise.
There is also a great lapbook for Big Woods here at HomeschoolShare and another great one at Lapbook Lessons. Be sure to check out EasyFunSchool's Little House pages for ideas for crafts and more, as well as puzzles and games connected with the various books. A page of Laura Ingalls Prairie Books resources are here, with some crafts, some musid and more.

Pa spends time whittling...a great way to make this story a little more "boy friendly" might be learning to whittle, or easier yet: soap carving! Ivory Soap Carving. There is a great book for kids on soap carving, Soap Carving for Children of All Ages.

There are plenty of resources for crafting corn cob dolls...but if a corn cob isn't available, try easy corn husk dolls instead! Most large grocery stores or specialty food stores carry bulk corn husks in the section with Mexican foods. Native American Corn Husk Dolls...NativeTech...and a great YouTube source.

Some other things to discuss this week....food preservation such as smoking foods,drying foods and root cellaring, gun safety and hunting regulations for your state, God's Umbrella of Protection in the home and His Order of Authority, etc. There will be plenty of ideas coming to life as you read through this week's chapters and find areas of interest with your children!

PP: The Long Winter

2011-06-13T11:32:00.000-05:00

This is probably one of my favorite Little House on The Prairie Books.

Memory Work:

Psalm 34 or Psalm 37

Activities, Studies and Crafts:

weather patterns, including natural disasters such as tornadoes, blizzards, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc) We will utilize The Handbook of Nature Study and Considering God’s Creation with this study.

modern agencies that help victims of storm-related disasters (FEMA, Red Cross, National Guard, etc)

make a plan of action for the common natural occurrences in your region…include emergency bags and kits, safety plans, etc.

learn about Samuel Morse (online here and here) and Morse Code and the telegraph (online here and here)

Muskrats,

the water cycle

Indians of South Dakota Souix, Blackfeet

The Battle of Wounded Knee

Earth’s rotation, effects on sunrise, sunset, climate, etc.

heat index and wind chill

Chicken digestive system

medicinal properties of ginger

light, effects of light deprivation

crude oil, kerosene, coal…for heating and lighting (where does it come from)

grind wheat and bake bread

study verses on complaining, use a Concordance

learn about the effects, prevention and treatments for frostbite

the importance of vitamins, the effects of vitamin deficiency

braid straw (how a straw hat is sewn here and here) a bracelet using straws, but could be done with straw

Word List:

equinoctial

whiffle characteristics of trees

PP: By The Shores of Silver Lake

2011-06-10T10:49:00.001-05:00

Memory Work:
Romans 8:31-39
50 States has a nice site, including this chart on Statehood order.

Activities and Studies:
Read a biography on Fanny Crosby online here, and here, and here
learn some causes of various diseases
learn about germs and infections and how they work online here and here
Meningistis, Measles, Scarlet Fever, Immunizations, Tuberculosis
Your own State history
Dissection and study of a cow eye online here, here and YouTube
study the anatomy of an eye
steam engines, trains, history of the railroad
study the purposes of United States territories/states
read about Helen Keller, Loius Braille and the Braille system
bird migration
discuss the uses and structures of root cellars in food preservation/storage
study the Timber Culture Act
cottonwood trees,

Word List:
satchels
greenhorn
literary terms: setting, plot, characters, conflict, climax
slough

Topics Covered by The Prairie Primer

2011-06-09T16:29:00.002-05:00

As mentioned before, you don’t have to have a copy of the Prairie Primer. It isn’t a hard fast rule for enjoying the Little House on The Prairie books. It will, however, give you a great direction to follow to get as much out of the books as you can. Here are the Topics and their entries, as listed in The Primer itself.
Bible Concepts/Character Builders
Bible Memory
Crafts
Health
History, Government, Social Studies and Geography
History – Biographies
Literature and Language Arts
Living (as in conservation, manners, music, gun safety)
Science (bacteria, viruses, light and prism, heat transfer, food chain, electricity, energy and fuel, distillation, pollination, properties of fire, rust, simple machines, trees, telegraph, water table, water purification, weather)
Science – Animal Kingdom (animal classification, tracks, and a wide variety of animals)
Science – Human Body (digestive systems, ears, eyes and eyesight, genetics, blood, heart and vascular, immune system, lungs and breathing, nervous system, reproduction, skin and taste)

Some additional suggestions shared in The Primer are creating a historical timeline on butcher paper. We have several kits from Homeschool in The Woods History Time Travelers that we love, but you don’t need anything fancy. Use what you have :) Also making note of your memory work along the way, on index cards kept in a file, or worked out with drawings and copywork or as lapbook coponents.

You can also add in some good old fashioned (and so often better) math and handwriting curriculum to give a complete schooling adventure. For a curriculum from the 1800s, try Ray’s Arithmetic and the Spencerian System of Practical Penmanship. Folks just don’t teach good handwriting anymore. Most schools have worked over the past few years to cut cursive writing altogether. It’s a shame. I suppose in an age of computerized everything from ebook texts for school and assignments handed in on flashdrives, folks just don’t need to use real penmanship anymore :(
So there you go. The Primer has all the guidance and direction you need to get the most from your Little House on The Prairie series. You can add and subtract at will, the ideas throughout the Primer will certainly spur your creativity along…but it will carry you along very nicely on those hectic days when gathering and planning just aren’t going to happen.

Enjoy! I look forward to hearing from everyone joining the summer reading series!

A Typical Primer Day…

2011-06-09T15:50:00.002-05:00

Cadron Creek's award-winning curriculum has been utilized by government, private, and home schools for both regular academic programs and as a summer supplemental course. Although developed for students in grades 3–6, it has been used successfully with younger as well as older students.

I definitely agree that the Prairie Primer can be easily adapted to children younger, as well as older.
For example, in Little House in The Big Woods, Week 1/Day 1 we are reading chapter 1. Your child isn’t ready to read Big Woods on their own? No problem! I don’t know about you, but even at my age (ahem) I still enjoy reading the Little House books. I want to be involved in this curriculum as much as they do. I will do most of the reading, the children will read bits and pieces.
Some comprehension questions are asked….how old was Laura when the book was written (it’s right there on page 1, so if they listened to the reading, they know the answer). What made Laura feel safe when the wolves were howling? Retell how the Ingalls preserved their meat (a great opportunity to narrate, have Mom write out some sentences for copywork, draw pictures showing the process…). What was Mary’s doll like? What was Laura’s doll like? What did Laura and her family do in the evenings? How did Pa keep the coals alive until morning? What was the hogs bladder used for? All of these are simple comprehension questions. Whether you do the reading or the children read for themselves, even a younger child listening can come up with suitable answers to the questions.
A typical day looks like this, after reading the chapter or two required and discussing the comprehension questions, the fun part comes in. You will find crafts, writing and vocabulary work, science applications to dig deeper into, perhaps geography, a Bible lesson and more. The work for the day varies, but you are getting most areas covered aside from math.
(Literature) is this a fiction or non-fiction book? Biography or auto-biography? Who is telling the story? These are great ways to talk about true stories vs made-up stories. You might even end up in a discussion about lies vs truth :)
(Science) We learn about bears and their habitat. Maybe your younger children aren’t interested in bears, but my 5 and 6 year olds are. We can look up any number of books about bears, even picture books for those younger than mine. Another topic for science is preserving food using means like dehydrating, freezing, canning. Even if you don’t do these activities yourself, the foods you buy at the local store are preserved in one way or another.
(Vocabulary) This is the fun part. The Primer shares some word suggestions, but obviously any word your children don’t have a clear understanding of can be used. We will be making an on-going dictionary as we work through the books.
(Bible) Laura’s father was an important part of her life. What does Malachi 4:6 say? Good manners help a person to carry out biblical principles. In the book Laura interrupts Mary, displaying poor manners. There are several good resources for discussing manners with young children, and countless Bible verses you can utilize in the discussion.
(Living) They suggest eating cracklings or adding them to cornbread.
(Art) Make a corn cob doll. If you don’t have access to corn on the cob to strip and dry for yourself, you can alter this craft and make a simple rag doll, a yarn doll, a pillowcase doll…be creative! The Primer is a great guide, but it’s not set in stone. Sure, a corn cob doll is mentioned in the book and making your own would be great, but if you can’t, no point skipping such a great project altogether. The same goes for making a balloon from a pigs bladder :o) You can certainly locate one somewhere, either local or online, but I don’t know…I think we’ll go with an ordinary balloon and just smile at this one! LOL

That’s it. Big Woods Week 1/Day1 has many possibilities, even if you can’t follow the Primer to the letter. I love my Primer, and I definitely suggest getting a copy for yourself, but with some imagination and a bit of planning, you can do a great deal with just the book series on its own.
Next I’ll share the Topics covered by The Primer…

LHOP: Big Woods, Week 4

2011-06-09T12:29:00.002-05:00

The Gold Rush tops this week’s study. See our resources in the first unit as well.

A Gold Rush Poem from History-for-kids
PBS GO! WayBack Files: The Gold Rush
Huntington Education interactive story page on the Gold Rush
American History Kids Page and here for teachers
The History of The Gold Rush
California Gold Rush for Kids….and scroll down to the bottom for additional related articles
History.com The Gold Rush
study the refining and processing of gold and its uses
study mining techniques
Have a Gold Rush Day: layout a ‘claim’ with your Bible memory verses written on yellow paper and crumpled up (gold nuggets), eat yellow foods (cornbread, jell-o, pears, bananas, yellow squash, honey, lemonade, etc)…

some fun movies and documentaries:
The Gold Rush…maybe not historical correct, but Charlie Chaplin is a classic!
American Experience: The Gold Rush
The History Channel’s documentary on Gold

PP: On The Banks of Plum Creek

2011-06-09T10:12:00.001-05:00

According to the Primer, we will begin to dig a bit deeper into nature with things like classifications: plant, animal, fungi, protista, and monera.

Kingdoms are divided into a classification’s pattern from the largest to the smallest categories. As an example, the animal kingdom categories are: Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species. Each plant or animal is specifically identified by its genus and species name. This is called binomial nomenclature.

Whew….ok, I was never a big science major I’m afraid. I know alot more than I realize I know, but still… Here are some varied websites you might find useful in planning through this book

Our favorite find: Sorting and Classifying Organisms for Kids

Kingdom to Subphylum

Experimental Biosciences introductory pages

The (Modern) Six Kingdom Classification this would be a decent chart to print for a notebook or lapbook

Kids Biology site using an example of classifying candy. Another good page in the Kids Biology site

We will also be putting out Considering God’s Creation workbook and teacher guide to use.

Also touched on for some extra study, the grasshopper plagues between 1873-1877.

We will work on our study using our favorite must-have homeschooling resource for science, The Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock. You can download it free here, but I definitely suggest getting a copy of your own.

Also, you might want to get the Outdoor Series over at the Handbook of Nature Study Blog. Barb has an incredible collection of goodies shared, some free, some in her great ebook form.

Our Memory Work for this book is Psalm 51.

Other activities include:

reading a biography of Noah Webster

making a 9-patch quilt

a study of trees

water safety

tobacco, use, cancers related to tobacco

learning about Bees, Moths, Butterflies, Mammals in general, leeches, beavers, leeches and their old time medical uses,

preserving fruit by dehydration

learning about water purification

a study of Plains for geography

the history and origin of American Folk Songs

crafting window stars

Some of our study words include:

conduction, convection, radiation, butte, mesa, plateau, plain, preservation, idleness (both a dictionary definition, as well as using our Strong’s Concordance, and For Instruction in Righteousness books), knoll, snipe, belfry, cravat and more. We generally add any word that is new to the children to their on-going list.

Elsie Dinsmore series at Project Gutenberg

2011-06-03T14:05:00.000-05:00

Elsie Dinsmore

Some Old Time Radio Singles for History

2011-02-28T15:57:00.000-06:00

We love audio resources, and old radio type shows are definitely a favorite...

Old Time Radio Singles (we'll use alot of these, but right now, scroll mid-page to the Singles section)

Next Stop: The American Revolution

2011-02-28T15:15:00.000-06:00

Jumbling several directional thoughts together here, so bear with the chaos and take what you might like to use, share whatever resources and ideas you may have yourself in my comments :o)

Books to read:
Johnny Tremain
My Brother Sam is Dead
Guns for General Washington
Phoebe the Spy
Toliver's Secret
The Fighting Ground
George Washington's Socks
And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?
Woods Runner, Gary Paulsen
The Felicity series, American Girls
Yankee Doodle and The Secret Society
The Winter of Red Snow, Dear America Series
Magic Tree House #22...Revolutionary War on Wednesday
Sign of The Beaver is a favorite here, both book and movie version
The Matchlock Gun
A collection of Amazon books on the Revolutionary War
Some Bestseller's in Colonial from Amazon...

Unit Studies and Resources Online:
Homeschool Helper Online
Eclectic Homeschool's Unit
The Homeschool Mom
Easy Fun School
HotChalk Lesson Plans page
Homeschool in the Woods' Time Travelers -- we loved our Colonial lapbook resources and I expect the American Revolution to be just as fun
The Old Schoolhouse article
KidInfo site
American Revolution...pre-cause, people, events, post-cause
The American Revolution.org
The History Place...always a favorite!
My Revolutionary War.com
The Revolutionary War links
Revolutionary War Timeline from USHistory.org
KidPort pages
Social Studies for Kids
National Park Service pages
CurrClick American Revolution links CurrClick has many resources available to browse
American Sons of Liberty
Early America.com

Bloggers sharing their lists and ideas:
The School Down the Lane
Oklahoma Homeschool/Cindy Downes

Documentaries and other Media:
Liberty!
Liberty's Kids
and Liberty's Kids online episodes via Clicker Online TV
Founding Brothers... book form, Netflix, Clicker online TV, VideoSurf Online, Desired Movies online **I have NOT checked the validity or service of any of these providers aside from Netflix. I have collected these links by doing a simple search. Use caution when viewing.
You also have 1776, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson...the adult reading books are endless....

Crafts & Project ideas:
Dover Publications
SpaceStation42.com collection of paper dolls of all kinds
Paper Dali...ok, rather cheesey free paper dolls, but use it to spark your own creativity :o)
of course, Felicity of the American Girls collection
A Book in Time craft ideas
Junior General...tons of files of paper soldiers you make yourself, scroll thru, print and have fun!
American Kids in History - Revolutionary War Days activity book

Still Schooling Along...and Kindle-ing Along

2011-02-24T11:03:00.000-06:00

We have a well-loaded Kindle. I am sure there are drawbacks to a Kindle over say a Nook, and iPad, and all the other colorful eReaders out there now, but I love this Kindle. I'm a bit envious of the iPad, but not enough to plunk down that kind of money for one. So, Kindle it is here around here.

We have loaded some audio books to use for schooling...Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen is one. I started a small monthly subscription to Audibles and we'll see how that goes. I may or may not keep it going. I'd love the 49 hour Gone with The Wind :o) but I have more practical audibles in my wish list, too...like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer, Anne of Green Gables, some other Gary Paulsen. Who knows? I've also put a few human-read audios from Project Gutenburg on the Kindle as well.

We are slowly getting back on track with Paths of Exploration here. Daniel Boone has lounged here long enough, time to move onward through the Revolutionary War and meet up with Lewis and Clark. I will be ordering Paths of Settlement in the next month or two so it's here and ready. I'd like to preview it a bit and line up my added resources so we're ready to hit the desks running :o)

I know we use Rod & Staff, and that works well for us most often, but I am going to finish the current grade levels this year with Christian Light Education Light Units. They are the equvilant of Alpha Omega's LifePacs, just without all the showy color and added pretties. We have used them many times before, and I thought I was settled indefinitely with Rod & Staff....but, we are out of sync here with regularly scheduled schooling, and the LightUnits are what I need to get us set back on the track to regular and normal again. So, that's on the agenda for ordering in a week or so here, too.

We have also been enjoying our various nature readings and fun. Aside from the Handbook of Nature Study that we love love love, we are using some resources from Woodland Trust's Nature Detectives. No, I'm not in the UK, but I can certainly glean many ideas from this great site :) The Nature Calendar, the Half-term idea pack...all good stuff :o)

So...what's the latest adventures in your homeschooling? Do you have a theme unit right now like our Daniel Boone and the Revolutionary War? Any great reads you want to share? Are you using your Kindle for schooling?

What's up around your desks these days...

It's a Kindle sort of Classroom....

2010-12-27T12:15:00.000-06:00

Well, it's going to be.
I got a Kindle for Christmas and I'm loving it so far. Today I pulled out the notebook computer and just spent over an hour loading that little reader wonder with the books we'll use in our studies as well as practical goodies (several cookbooks, reference books, etc.) and then just some plain fun for momma who never gets to read anything other than school books :o)

Of course, now I have to sit and go back through them all and get them placed into some sort of usable reference order. Thank you Kindle folks for making "collections" on this little wonder!

I'm totally new to Kindle schooling, but I've noticed alot of others already on the wagon. I have lots of books....the real deal, pages, covers and all that...and while alot of tech-saavy schoolers are using this little smartbook for their home libraries, I will not be down-sizing my physical bookshelves in favor of smartbooks. I love real books. I love turning pages, smelling a good old book, listening to that paper noise. I love this Kindle thus far, but it's not going to replace books here in this little homestead school, but it will definitely add to our library.

Sara shared with me a great blog link, a compiled grouping of Ambleside Online/Home Education books, all Kindle-ready! She even shared a great link for making your own Kindle covers. I had a Kindle cover...a nice leather one with a light. It didn't work. Fresh out of the box, nothing. Don't even get me started on the numb-nuts I had to deal with trying to return the stupid thing. So, I'm looking at options today to get this little wonder book into some protection :o)

So....do you have a Kindle? Do you like it? Do you use it in your hoomeschooling, or just for personal use?

Some free nature readers:

2010-12-22T14:24:00.000-06:00

Here are some wonderful readers you can download (or read online) free!
I've spent my day downloading to a memory stick practical all of the ebooks available at Temkit's site! Here are some of my favorites so far:

Exploring Nature in Stories.....from Robert Burns, to Abe Lincoln and more!
An entire PDF Nature Library
Down Nature's Paths....inspiring stories with a Sabbath moral

And Temkit Sunday Papers for study

Oh just go start downloading the whole site :o)

A Hebrew Model of Education

2010-12-22T13:44:00.000-06:00

One quick question....actual think about it before you answer.

Who says a child has to read by age 6 or 7?

I mean, seriously, does life end in misery from that point forward if a child isn't reading? What exactly is "on grade level" anyway? Who determines what that is? Oh sure, in public or state run school, they have to set some sort of target, I understand that. But I'm not in the public or state run school arena. I don't plan to be. And honestly, if they were doing that great a job we wouldn't rate so low among every other country of industry. Ok, so we aren't low low...but really, hanging out in the middle with just as many below us as above us, is hardly worth tooting a horn of pride over. Not for all the big talk this country puts out about no child left behind and all.

So, back to the question....what do you think?

Obviously I'm not saying leave a child to his own devices and let him learn what may, in his own time frame. I never could wrap my mind around the whole idea of 'unschooling' and such. I like natural learning and all, but I've seen too many parents take it to the far side and simply allow free ranging well beyond anything proper for a child to really be learning. I've seen it work, too, but it's just not something I can put my entire mom-as-teacher cap behind. Kudos if you've got unschooling working for your children!

My children, my older children, learned to read in Kindergarten in public school, so I'm hardly saying it can't be done. They were in the public arena, were blessed enough to have small classes for their fledgling year. My 3rd child, started school at our small church, and blew thru Kindergarten before their Christmas break, and 1st grade before the year ended that May. She breezed thru learning to read at age 6. My other children didn't read so quickly, or thoroughly. And of course, I worried it was due more to my homeschooling from there on out than anything else. The idea of 'nature' simply kicking in and the heart for reading not coming to all of them in the exact same time frame never crossed my mind.

And I stressed terribly over that.

A couple years ago I finally settled down more. Sure, I still have worries about keeping up with those Joneses there in the public school arena, especially when no one in my area that I socialize with homeschools. Those that do are more of the satellite school bend, and big Bob Jones folks. I like Bob Jones. It's not in my future, but I have no serious complaints about it. We use mainly Rod & Staff for math and English, and their Bible series for reading. We love The Handbook of Nature Study as our main course for nature/science studies. We are following our Paths of Learning curriculum for everything else, with tons of added reading and bunny trails along the topic flow.

And now, I'm adding in Sonlight Education. No, not the Sonlight, with cores and IEPs and all. This Sonlight Education is more of an old fashioned, Hebrew model of education. It revolves around The Bible, building ones character and sense of morals, the study of nature around us, and grows upon the everyday life experiences that help to develop the deeper understanding of the other areas. All four work together to grow Godly children into God-driven adults. From there the cycle can't help but continue along.

“In an age like ours, in which iniquity abounds, and God’s character and His law are alike regarded with contempt, special care must be taken to teach the youth to study, to reverence and obey the divine will as revealed to man. The fear of the Lord is fading from the minds of our youth, because of their neglect of Bible study."

Don't you agree with that statement? There is very little fear of The Lord in the youth today. I'd go as far to say even in the adults. There are a few here and there, but by and large, it's been put away with grandmother's china and crocheted doilies. What has replaced it is plastic disposable junk.

The work of the parents in the homeschool begins at birth. Long before formal schooling is started, you are already educating your child.

“It is in the home that the education of the child is to begin. Here is his ﬁrst school. Here, with his parents as instructors, he is to learn the lessons that are to guide him throughout life—lessons of respect, obedience, reverence, self-control. The educational inﬂuences of the home are a decided power for good or for evil. They are in many respects silent and gradual, but if exerted on the right side, they become a far-reaching power for truth and righteousness. If the child is not instructed aright here, Satan will educate him through agencies of his choosing. How important, then, is the school in the home!

“Upon all parents there rests the obligation of giving physical, mental, and spiritual instruction. It should be the object of every parent to secure to his child a well-balanced, symmetrical character. This is a work of no small magnitude and importance—a work requiring earnest thought and prayer no less than patient, persevering effort. A right foundation must be laid, a framework, strong and ﬁrm, erected; and then day by day the work of building, polishing, perfecting, must go forward.”

The most important subjects taught in these ﬁrst years are Bible, Character, Nature, and Practical Work. It is best to leave the Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic for a later time when the child has developed more mentally, physically, and spiritually. When the child is more mature, he will learn more quickly and easily what would have been difﬁcult and frustrating at a younger age. This method helps to encourage a love of learning and the child will catch up with or excel beyond his or her peers.

Their idea of 'grade level' placing truly mimics what we long ago determined suited our needs better than the cookie cutter levels offered up by a failing American educational system:

Kindergarten/Pre-school – 0-7 years

First Grade – 8 years

Grades 2-8 – 9-14 or

15 years

Grades 9-12 – 15 or 16-19 years

Apprenticeship Under Parent or

Godly Adults – 20-25 years

We don't necessarily learn to read before that first grade 'age' there. And during that time we aren't simply playing games and running around, we are schooling with lots of read-alouds, plenty of good stories and experiences. We do connect the stories together and have been working on lapbook type projects and narrations to practice writing and such. But even with a few short lessons here and there with learning to read (we have Learning to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, as well as our McGuffeys, and our Pathway Readers), my children have fallen into a routine of reading and really grasping it around age 8 or 9.

I know. Gasps and hushed murmurings usually follow that. So, by that standard, am I saying my children are barely 3rd grade at age 12? No, not at all. So far, they've seemed to grasp the whole understanding of other subjects ahead of those reading and true comprehension skills. It just seems to be natural for them. I can't believe it's just me. I mean, sure, I suppose we are lazy in schooling, moreso than some, much less than others, but we get our needs done and my children will not graduate as half-read fools to join the ranks of the far-too-many already existing out there.

What I'm lacking is the apprenticeship end of education. We keep looking, hoping to find resources for that.

So, how does your homeschool play out? Are you struggling to keep up appearances with the Joneses of the state run arena because that is what "school" seems to dictate to you? Or are you forging ahead and making your own pathways that your children can follow with their own children's education in the years to come?

hello? still homeschooling?

2010-12-08T18:27:00.000-06:00

I know....of course you all still are. And we are, too. I'm just not blogging much. sigh like I need a school blog, a kitchen blog and a family blog. I can't keep up with any of them. I simply don't get online via computer much at all these days. I grab a few downloads when Homeschool Freebie of The Day has something we're interested in (which is at least twice a week). Sadly, most of my sharing experiences lately are via the Blackberry. I like my Blackberry, don't get me wrong, but I'm too easily side-tracked by these things. however, if I could hook up my printer to that cell we'd have it made!

So, where are we school-wise? Well, I'm re-evaluating again. I need to stop doing this. In my defense, I have been settled in for quite some time now with our curriculum, so maybe I was just due for a re-work. I used to do it quite often. I am actually looking at the current flow of our schooling and trying to figure out what will work better for the children. We are not 'on target' via public schools.....however I do not give a purple fig about that in all honesty. I have family members who stress that fact quite a bit, but if I was that concerned, we'd be part of the public school drone assembly.

Still, there is a part of me that lets that nag in the back of my mind to a certain extent. It's really like comparing apples to oranges as far as I'm concerned. Ahh, I'm sure most homeschoolers have folks who linger over traditional grade levels and the like.

So, here's what my mind has been pondering of late. I love Paths of Exploration....even though we are lingering far too long on the Pilgrim colonies and not really gaining anything from it. I am a book junkie and bought their full package. In all honesty, we never follow step-by-step any curriculum we use. We stay very free-form and gravitate along the interest levels, which often trails us away from the original plan. We have done so with Paths as well. We are working the majority of it as lapbooks and/or notebooking components. We have pulled lapbook units in from other resources, and it's been alot of fun.. I will probably order the next level, Paths of Settlement, and again go with the full deal. That said, the way we school here, I do not see that the specified reading resources are set in stone. We could have read any books on Columbus, Jamestown, The Mayflower, etc. and garnered just as much with this curriculum. But that's because we deviate alot.

I have used Christian Light Education a lot, as well as their counterpart, Alpha Omega, and I am looking at going back to the CLE workbooks for a season to see what the lay of our land is here. I have a full set of Rod and Staff curriculum from 3rd grade up when hardcover "textbooks' begin and that seems to be posing an issue right now. We have a couple of competitive children and book sharing isn't playing out well, no matter how I work it. I am thinking that we could go with the individual unit workbooks for math and English for this year and then see where we stand. More than likely, I have one child who will by-pass the other 2 in no time and be ahead in grade level and our problem will work itself out to a great extent. We have one who really thrives more with one-on-one schooling, and individual workbooks will help ME with that as well.

I also have one who is ready to finish her 'formal' book work and graduate from that onto more extra-curricular study lines, pretty much on the targeted time frame she has always expected to. Good grief, what will we do with her now??? And we are pretty much finished with the oldest at home currently, as she has decided she is not interested in continuing beyond the point she has completed, and yes, it's ok with us but I had really hoped for a bit more :(

So, there are my update rambles....and here are some links shared with me this week I thought I'd pass along:
Top 50 Best Homeschool Blogs

Some great links shared by an online friend this past week:

AAA Math...free math by grade level
AAA Spelling...free spelling by grade level

And lastly, Daniel Boone, here we come...after the New Year takes off, that is!
Famous Missourians
Daniel Boone TV and Movies
Biography...and a great online book to read
Daniel Boone Homestead
from Netflix....Time Machine: Boone and Crockett, The Hunter Heroes
Daniel Boone unit goodies
YWAM Publishing...a great book on Boone (we have the entire Heroes of History set)
Daniel Boone at EasyFunSchool
a CurrClick goodie
Homeschooling The Middle Years blogshare
Lesson Pathways page

Button Bauble Ornaments | Christmas ornaments

2010-11-05T11:53:00.000-05:00

Button Bauble Ornaments Christmas ornaments

Thanksgiving Crafts and fun

2010-11-04T09:18:00.000-05:00

Yes...we sort of stalled out on the start of Jamestown...and are working on the actual Pilgrims themselves this month. It's November, so not a total wash out. Pilgrim study...November...they just go together.
But still, we should have finished Daniel Boone already and been starting on Lewis & Clark right now. Just for the record, I can already tell you we will, yet again, be stalled out on Daniel Boone. I have a clan of Daniel Boone followers here. We will definitely have to extend that unit beyond 6 weeks just to appease the masses here!

Ok...pilgrims:
Cindy Downes and Oklahoma Homeschool....love this site. I get a good start to my idea planning here.
A neat find from Amazon...a cut-n-build 3D Mayflower!
Activity Village pages for all manner of Thanksgiving fun...crafts, puzzles and more!
The Toy Maker has some fun crafts for the Thanksgiving theme
a sort of origami turkey...
Artists Helping Children site...well worth a look-thru the whole site, but today my focuse was Mayflower boats to build (a fun foam one here)
and a milk carton one...Martha Stewart has a small version here...a walnut shell Mayflower...another walnut shell version...
more folding paper boats (an ehow video)
Pitara makes one using a cork...
origami boats...and several other origami crafts...
Pilgrim Centerpiece made from styrofoam balls...
or one made with condiment bottles....
coffee filter turkeys...
BHG's Pilgrim Family and Indian Family paper tube people...
Parents Magazine shares how to make napkin ring turkeys (I'm thinking colored cardstock instead of foam)
how about paper serving baskets? or small ones filled with a treat to share with neighbors and family?
marshmellow pilgrim hat treat :o)
Easy Fun School, of course...

and for later, with our pioneers and Little House studies....a covered wagon :o)

and no Thanksgiving plans should be without the reading of An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving by Louisa May Alcott. The movie version...while not bad, is just not the story and well, it's really shouldn't be called the same :o(

BlogShare: Moments with Mother Culture

2010-09-13T13:44:00.000-05:00

Karen Andreola's wonderful Charlotte Mason blog...
Moments with Mother Culture

Learning to Read? We like Progressive Phonics books and sheets!

2010-09-13T13:33:00.000-05:00

Progressive Phonics....
free readers for 5 levels, from ABS learners, to early readers and those needing more encouragement, as well as files for each book containing flash cards, activity pages and puzzles, each pertaining to the individual reader book.

and FREE, too :o)

Some Links to Share

2010-09-13T13:30:00.000-05:00

National Geographic Coloring Pages....we are putting these to use as we can with our Paths curriculum nature portions
And more here at Grandparents.com site...
Bird coloring pages...
Jim Arnosky has a set of pages as well...and his famous Crinkleroot
Edupicks has some good pictures as well...

And some butterfly pages, perfect for putting together a fun lapbook or notebooking pages
And Plants lapbook/notebooking pages

lots of Nature coloring pages

Barb/Harmony Arts Mom has a great Squidoo lens on Autumn...artistic links and all

Cornell"s Bird pages are excellent...they even have a Home Study in Bird Biology course you can order

Animal Tracks...they are very interested in tracking skills after reading about the Shadow Wolves

lessons on drawing nature (or anything really) with your children...and here...and Nature Friend magazine We have a subscription to Artistic Nature thru CurrClick and absolutely LOVE it...
Writing Field Notes in your nature journal and here...

and my favorite for notebooking pages...NotebookingPages.com and their great Treasury pages of freebies!

POE: Jamestown Weekly Highlights for Study

2010-07-20T15:55:00.004-05:00

We're about to start...yes, we had planned to start this week, but Columbus seems to have set anchor here :(

Some things we have lined up, floating around in my Netflix Queue include:

The New World, Christian Bale, Collin Farrell
National Geographic: Jamestown
Pocahontas....and Pocahontas: Her True Story....and Pocahontas: The Legend....and Pocahontas (Nova Doc.)

We will touch on Pirates while studying Virgina:
The Golden Age of Caribbean Pirates....Pirates: Dead Men Tell Their Tales...The Real Pirates of The Caribbean...The Pirate Code: Real Pirates...Blackbeard the Pirate

And who can look at pirates and not think Long John Silver, with Richard Newton....or Treasure Island, the original version as well as The Muppet version :o)

We will be touching on various Indian nations, The French and Indian War, We also have America's Godly Heritage, by David Barton waiting in queue for its release.

We are waiting for some more books to arrive via Amazon:
My America: Elizabeth's Jamestown Colony Diary (there are 3 in the series)
Dear America: Standing in The Light (although it's 1763...we'll add it in later on)
Betsy Maestro books...The Discovery of The Americas, The New Americans: Colonial Times
The Double Life of Pocahontas, Jean Fritz
Pocahontas, Joseph Bruchac
The Captive Princess (we are working on the entire Daughters of The Faith series)
The Arrow over the Door (1770's, so for later)
Calico Bush
The Courage of Sarah Noble (early 1700's)

We have lots of book reading plans :o) We will be doing several lapbook/notebook pages along with our Paths studies, and several hands-on projects during arts and crafts.

Week 1: starts out with more of a background lesson, reading about some of history between Columbus and Jamestown, looking at the 'pilgrims' who came, some of the Indian history that was already waiting here, etc. We will take a short look at Queen Elizabeth, Sir Walter Raleigh, John Smith, England during the early 1600's and so forth. We will look at the types of ships that were in use during the time as well, and get an overview of the chronological history around Jamestown.

The olders will focus more on the religious tone of the time, as well as the governmental and economical views of colonizing America. We'll use just a few resources that we have here, as well as the Virtual Jamestown Colony site lesson plans here, and some found here at JamesQuest.

Week 2: We start looking at John Smith; we will look at the water cycle and map out several rivers of fame around the World; We will practice reading with Richard of Jamestown; our animal studies will start off with swans, otters, mudminnows and stickleback fish. I'm thinking of adding Trumpet of the Swan by E.B.White in for reading...don't know yet; we will compare and contrast landmarks between England and here locally; our art lessons will focus on pond and creek life. Would be nice if our seasonal pond had some water, but we'll adjust.We will also begin studying the state of Virginia using our Trail Guide to US Geography as a guide. We will also look at the Virginia Company Colonies and Bermuda. I will probably look more at these museum guides and see if we can incorporate their information into our lapbooks/notebooks.

Week 3: We take a look at tidal marsh land, clams, crabs, oysters, alligators and loggerhead turtles; our look at Indians moves to the Algonquin tribe and Chief Powhatan and his tribe (here, here, here, and here...just some of what we will look at) as well as Werowocomoco; We will map out the James River; and sketch out what we think the 'island' of Virginia looked like, based on the descriptions in our reading. We will look at the countries of note along the paths here...London, Canary Islands, The West Indies. Somewhere in this week we will do the pirate adventures, as well as some string art ships we plan to make using these as a guide.

Week 4: Pocahontas study; wild plants native to Virginia, as well as some herbal medicines that would have been common to the first settlers; along those same lines, we will get our the various herbal/wild plant books we have here and branch off with herbal meds. Some of what we will use:
Shonda Parker books
Medicinal Plants and Herbs, Peterson Field Guide
Using Plants for Healing, Nelson Coon
Jude's Herbal Home Remedies, Jude C. Williams
Herbs for The Home, Jekka McVicar
Home Remedies from Amish Country, vol 1 & 2

Our nature books will start to fill in more, with various birds such as pelicans, storm-petrels, bitterns, herons, spoonbills and others. Plant life will include cedars, palmettos, and mangroves. We will have a nice collection of wildlife and plant life by the end of this unit, even though we plan to blend right on in to the Mayflower Pilgrims.

Weeks 5 & 6: Nature studies keep going with belted kingfishers and Canadian geese; we will continue mapping the paths the 'pilgrims' took to get to Jamestown, from London, Chesapeake Bay, Canary Islands and the West Indies, and touch on their government back in the 1600's, as well as daily lifestyle. During these last weeks, we will print off the Jamestown Replica as well. We will also do the interactive and other readings at the National Geographic site.

We will mainly use Paths of Exploration as our 'spine' for this, but will draw from several other resources as well, such as lapbooks on Colonial Life, Early American Life, Jamestown Colony, etc.
**GuestHollow has some great links...an American History Curriculum already laid out, Historical Fiction book lists, resource ideas and more!
Literature Supplement to History Listing
The History Place
Timeline Ideas...
Jamestown Colony mini test
Jamestown short unit
Colonization of Jamestown unit
    there are some nice "tests" to be found on this site :o)
The JamesQuest links
plenty of YouTube clips about whatever we can find that fit in!
History of The United States textbook, 1921 @ Project Gutenberg, just right for this particular unit
Academic Kids site, specifically Pre-Colonial and Colonial time...we'll put this to use through several units I'm sure.
Lesson Plan Central...specifically Colonial times for right now.
Fact Monster 50 States
   and their Fact Monster US Pages
The US 50 site
50 States.com
**The 50 States...and their Colonies to Revolution pages...this has so many things we will put to use again and again!

Oh...and for later, with the "real pilgrims" we'll use The Plymouth Colony Archive Project. Great site!
Colonial Money
Colonial America Archive Document page
Colonial Radio Theater audio stories
Listing of The Landmark Series of books...out of print, but worth keeping your eyes open for!
Listing of The Signature Series of books...also out of print, but again well worth finding if you can!

I will keep updating as we go along, but if anyone has anything to share that might be fun with this Path, drop us a line!

what do they call it...a little Linky Love?

2010-07-08T20:33:00.001-05:00

Whatever it is, here are some fun links I found and wanted to pass along:

Earth Science Lesson Plans looks interesting...

As does Progressive Phonics...

I love the looks of The Simple Homeschool site (there is even a Simple Homeschool blog...and even a Simple Homeschooling Community) and can't wait to look around a bit more...I liked this look at Cell Biology, Plant Biology...quite a few goodies I think.
There is even a Weekly Freebie every Monday...

Blog Construction Ahead...

2010-07-07T11:14:00.000-05:00

I will be working (slow as molasses I'm sure) at changing the blog around to better fit what I need to have here as an interface.

I will be making alot of changes to the sidebars, and maybe the entire template in general.

If by chance I've shared something via a sidebar link that you are interested in, you might want to grab it for yourself and bookmark it, as I make no claim to being a blog designer and who knows what links I'll lose in those sidebar areas. You know, best laid plans and all that.

Just a heads up. I don't think too many folks are chomping at the bit for my terrific blog shares here, but you just never know who is checking in and lurking about :o)

Jamestown Gathering is Done...Olders, Youngers and Mom (and lapbooking talk)

2010-07-07T11:07:00.001-05:00

I know...you and I both know that the word "done" in my vocabulary is just a filler sort of word. I'm never really done with a unit...I tweak repeatedly.

However, for the most part, should I never touch another computer search bar, we are way beyond prepared for boarding a ship to Jamestown here. The Paths of Exploration curriculum is already complete as it stands, but for fun, I started searching through all the goodies offered up along the trail, and we put together some resources outside of what they offer. That's the fun of homeschooling anyway, right? Of course, this is all just extra work for me...because as of this week, they have their lapbooking packs available for the Paths volumes as well.

So, really, I've just pulled resources and lapbook goodies together for nothing....but I had fun. Even if I am a bit bug-eyed and carpal-tunnel-ated from all the computer roaming.

I have not pulled together pages for all the various mammals, birds, trees and such that are discussed, or would be fun to search out during this lesson. The list is just too full and my arms are just too tired :o) I will hunt for those as we come to them. I will share a bit of what we are researching as we go along each week, starting toward the end of this month. I will be posting things at least a week in advance of our actually using them, and if you have any resources, interesting pages or book ideas that we don't cover, please let me know so I can check them out before we are ready for them.

With the Paths unit, we are really only working math and English from our Rod & Staff curriculum. Reading is amply covered in Paths, as well as the various resources I am pulling in, so aside from our Word Mastery or Learning to Read/100 Easy Lessons for the youngers, our full school day is Bible, Math, English, Spanish and Sign Language (a couple times a week) and Paths of Exploration. Geography, history, writing/copywork/narrations/reports, arts and crafts, science, nature study....these are all well-covered with Paths. I would like to incorporate some "outdoor survival" skills into the studies as well (we are planning to read Sign of The Beaver as our pm reading...maybe even do Robinson Crusoe or Swiss Family Robinson again, though I thing SFR would work in better later, history-era wise).

The olders will come into the picture from a wider view, reading additional resources focusing on the governmental and civic issues, as well as the religious foundations of the era, besides just main points of American History itself. There are several resources available through Vision Forum I would like to get for this. I would really like to get this set of American History lectures from them, but we'll see.

The youngest of the group will be worked in with their own lapbook work on alot of the same topics as the "targeted" grade levels are, but honestly, I have a wide variety of ages/grade here with 8 children schooling and no one set of lapbook/notebook units is going to fit everyone across the board. So, we tweak. The littles (almost 6yo, 4yo) will be working on the same nature and science goodies, they will get coloring pages and card game fun with Jamestown, pilgrims, Mayflower, Indians etc. to do, they will have similar lapbooks to do, just geared a bit differently than the layout of the curriculum itself. We love reading, so they will enjoy a coloring page while we read our chapters. The lapbook "pieces" can help with motor skills like cutting, they will do some printing and lots of coloring.

I have some lapbooks here aleady, and we will see what elements we can pull from them...most of them came free or very inexpensive, through CurrClick and the like. We have a 17th and 18th Century Life unit, several History Scribes, ideas from Squidoo, HomeschoolShare, a Wordpress blog on Lapbooking (I really like this one...it will be a definite go-to resource!), Lapbook Lessons at Ning, Lapbook Lessons blog, and Homeschool Helper Online, among others.

I know there are alot of folks on the Lapbook bandwagon and I'm merely a late-bloomer with it all, but I'm excited. If you have children who like projects, hands-on schoolwork, and so on, I don't see why you aren't already lapbooking. There doesn't have to be a great deal of money spent on fancy unit kits, lapbook bundles, clipart and so forth. There are just too many free units already laid out, and far too many resources available online to say you can't do it. And lapbooks are a great way to incorporate several age groups together on similar topics. Look at us -- we have 17yo, 14yo, 12yo,10yo, 8yo, 7yo, 5yo and 4 yo (give or take, as everyone is about to change-over with a birthday...) all schooling together and we'll be doing alot of notebooking and lapbooking with our units coming up!!

What are you waiting for???

BlogShare: Boost for Readers, Word Mastery, American History

2010-07-06T09:52:00.000-05:00

Ok, in the technical sense, Boost for Readers is not a blog...it is a website.

It's full of goodies to give a boost to young readers. Pages of word lists, decoding pages, early reader booklets to print as well as 1st grade reader booklets. There are a lot of useful things there. We use the spelling lists alot with young readers here.

Along the same lines, Word Mastery is good program for teaching reading, and it's free :o) In fact, Don Potter has an excellent collection within his Education Pages worth checking out (and printing!).

And one more favorite of mine -- Mr Donn's History Pages. Obviously, we are looking more into his American History pages right now, but he has several other worth a peek!

Ok, I'm off the computer and back to the task at hand today -- all our Jamestown pages are printed and ready to notebook-up. I need to lay out all these puzzle pieces....POE Jamestown, POE Pilgrims, indian lapbooking and notebooking units, Pilgrim lapbooking units, early 17th - 18th century life units...and figure out how to fit them all together!

Adding to my POE Jamestown/Colonial links

2010-07-05T20:02:00.002-05:00

I thought I was done. I really did. I mean, I have units here with notebooking pages, lapbooking components, I have the entire POE unit printed....2 older sets, 2 younger sets, and 2 sets of assorted pages that we can use with David and Emily (trust me...my printer is smokin' after all this printing. I'm on ink cartridge #3 and I believe paper pack 5, but I lost count on that....it's ALOT...I really need a good duplex printer I think...)

Either way, I stumbled on some more...and I have yet to really sit down with it all and piece it into some coherent footprint for us to use!

Someone want to share with me some good reasons as to why I do this?
Why, when I have a perfectly good curriculum all right in front of me, complete with books, a few projects, all the papers needed, my bookcases full of math and English studies, WHY WHY WHY must I always start tweaking and adding????
What's wrong with being a boxed curriculum sort of mom?
What guilt is there in simply using the curriculum I've paid good money for AS-IS??

Ok. Doesn't matter now. I've done strolled 'net land and found things that I simply must add in. I have found pages of creative, fun, witty homeschool moms sharing such interesting goodies, I just can't avoid the inevitable portion of my nature that causes me to tweak almost endlessly. There are just too many great ideas out there. Too many to dismiss.

And after all I've added so far...here are some more:

Our Journey Westward blog...
The 42Explore Thematic Pathfinders site has a great Colonial America page I'll be using to lay things out and glean ideas from...
and this neat yarn boat...sure, it's a sailboat, but that's ok...it's going to be our Mayflower anyway!
And a paper mache boat we can easily turn into the Mayflower...

I'm going to have to stop wandering and say enough is enough....stick to what you have...stop looking over the fence at other folks' school yards...

unless, of course, you have some other pages I might want to check out....just to be neighborly, you know...

Craft Recipes: Homemade Glue and Paste

2010-07-05T19:35:00.000-05:00

Homemade Paste

Ingredients:

1/2 cup flour
cold water

Method: Add flour to a sauce pan. Add cold water until a thick cream forms. Simmer on stove for 5 minutes. Warning:This paste takes a long time to dry.

Library Paste
Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. alum
4 cups water
30 drops of oil of cloves

Mix all ingredients in saucepan and cook until clear and thick. Remove from heat and add drops of oil of cloves.

Clear Library Paste
Ingredients:

3/4 cup rice flour
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup cold water
2 1/2 cups boiling water
1/2 teaspoon oil of witnergreen

Mix rice flour, sugar, and cold water in a pan until smooth. Add boiling water and bring to a boil over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and add oil of wintergreen.

Stamp Gum
Ingredients:

1 packet (1/4 ounce) of unflavored gelatin
1 Tbs. cold water
3 Tbs. boiling water
1/2 tsp. white corn syrup
1/2 tsp. lemon or peppermint extract
2 drops boric acid solution

Sprinkle the gelatin into the cold water and wait until softened. Pour softened gelatin into the boiling water, stirring until dissolved. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. When ready to use brush a little to the area that you would like it and let dry. When you need it to stick, moisten it a bit. If the gum dries up in your storage container, just scoop it out into a saucepan and heat it again.

Envelope Mucilage
Ingredients:

6 tablespoons pure white vinegar
4 packets (1 ounce) unflavored gelatin
1 tablespoon peppermint extract

Method: Pour vinegar in a pot and bring to a boil. Add gelatin and stir until completely dissolved. Add peppermint extract and stir until thoroughly mixed. And a YouTube for making edible glue of course..

Note/Lap Booking Resources: templates, supplies, and more!

2010-07-03T15:16:00.001-05:00

Templates by Donovan looks to be a promising add on to my growing list of resources!

and a basics and more list of supplies to have handy for notebooking adventures...

More POE Jamestown/Mayflower Notes

2010-07-03T14:29:00.000-05:00

Granted, when you go a bout looking at various unit studies, information, resources for extra reading, projects and the like for something like Jamestown and The Mayflower and the Pilgrims, you are pretty much going to find a lot of repeated stuff. I mean, it's history -- it all happened the way it happened, and folks have been there/done that with lesson plans for years using the same dried up facts. As they say, there is nothing new under the sun (or under THE SON)...

But, nonetheless, I keep googling under various terms to see what new sites pop up. And I'll share what I find, repeated projects and information or not, and when our time begins on this path of lessons, we will pick and choose ideas from all of them. So, here are more "stepping stones" as it were along our Paths of Exploration studies:

Us History Lesson Plans and Resources -- they have links for all time frames, not just Colonial
Carole Hurst Literature Site -- discussion starters, book listings, etc. We will print her list and check out the library for added reading opportunities
This TeacherLink site has some books and outline ideas based on them
This ProTeacher site has some offerings
EasyFunSchool....of course!
The Teacher's Corner...

HSLDA even has a page of information and links we will be looking into between the Pilgrims and beginning the Revolutionary War

And I keep coming back to Homeschool in The Woods' products, like their History Through The Ages: Time Travelers Colonial Life. I really think we will order it. It will add alot to our fun, I'm sure.

Danielle's Place has several craft goodies we will go through and keep bookmarked
The Kids Kreate site is the same...definitely a bookmark page for the littles
Just for fun and future reference, the Craft Tales site offers free projects, start to finish...

There's just so much out there that looks fun! I need to really lay out a plan before we get started on/around late July!!

Independence Day: Thoughts, Crafts and Food Fun...

2010-07-01T12:58:00.000-05:00

We have a short unit study we will be doing for the July 4th "holiday", although I think this year we will be very low-key for the weekend. Normally we put out a great deal of time...and funds...into a great fireworks show. We have alot of neighbors who have come to enjoy our display here, and I suppose it's almost a tradition, but not this year.

One, this bi-monthly budget plan I'm working the kinks out of didn't allow for it...
And two, is there really a call for celebration of some level of independence in the United States anymore? Not to get overly political and all, but really folks...we've leased off, sold out, and otherwise given away our freedoms by allowing the government such a far reach.

But, I digress...Independence Day, 4th of July...Miss Emily's birthday celebration :o) Miss Emily turns 4 on July 9th, but she fully believes that the fireworks...everyone's fireworks displays...are in celebration of her :o) We don't correct her -- she's too cute, young, and innocent to have her fireworks bubble burst, just yet. But, this year will be decidedly more quiet, more prayer-filled...yet full of fun crafts :o)

Here's some of what I've found so far:
The Crafty Crow has several pages of 4th of July craft links....here, here, here and here and several fun games for any summer fun day.

We'll be making our Amish Sugar Cut-Outs and decorating them with red, white and blue for fun

POE Plans Ahead...

2010-07-01T12:32:00.000-05:00

Well, I've run the ~~numbers,~~ um, dates, and we won't be walking along with the Jamestown folks and Pilgrims during (or even just before) Thanksgiving. Oh well...it's not set in stone that November is the month for Pilgrims, right? (uh...right?)

Here's how it appears to be working out:

Columbus sails off into the bookcase in a couple more weeks
Jamestown, 6 weeks, starting the week of July 19th, ending the week of August 23
The Pilgrims, 6 weeks, Aug. 30-September 27th
Daniel Boone, October 4-Nov 11th
Lewis & Clark, Nov 15-December 20th

a break for alot of Christmas baking and regrouping, and starting with the New Year, we begin the Trails West portion, Jan 3-Feb 7th

That actually works out well. I will be able to get prepared for buying the Paths of Settlement curriculum next and move on to the Revolutionary Way and Civil War. And, those dates are really just tentative. We have been dragging Columbus along like dead weight, but the end is near :o)
Given plain daily LIFE, we could end up adding time to any (or each) of those 6 week plans, which . That's just how things happen...we're a large family, canning season is coming, goat breeding is here....just regular life in any farm family, really.

Organizing: File Tubs, Crates, Binders and Piles

2010-07-01T10:45:00.000-05:00

Which one suits me? LOL....more often than not it a mish-mash of them all!

I have LOTS of piles, clipped with one or two binder clips to keep them "together and organized", kept stacked (precariously, at best) on a lower shelf of a bookcase.And, yes....usually forgotten.
I also have several file tubs. Handy they are...practical to store with limited space, not so bad compared to some methods of organizing, but not the greatest either.
File Crates just never did it for me. They tend to get smooshed -- little ones have trouble "stacking" them back up, you can see into them...we are not Martha Stewart Homeschoolers here, sorry. We have a very much lived-in house...and equally lived-in/on/around/with bookcases, school areas and school materials. Open crates, young children, dust...no, just doesn't work for me.
I have a 2 drawer file cabinet. Poor thing is in serious need of cleaning out and maybe attacked with some cool scrapbook papers and a clear coat. I'd love a wall of 4 drawer cabinets...maybe just 2, but 3 would be ok, too.

Then again, I have bookcases lining what few walls I have here, where would I put a couple of file cabinets?

So far, what seems to work best, what we keep coming back to, is binders. I have lots of them (bless you Sam Walton and your "Club" where I can buy bulk binders reasonably priced). They have a dual purpose for me in that I can select whatever sizes best fit the need -- some unit study selections fit in 1", some lapbooking units need a 2", my own home/school binder needs a honkin' 4" and so on. The other big draw for me is they fit right along with the books on the shelves. Already have bookcases...just add binders here and there.

I could see becoming a multi-organizatinal task mistress, though...combining the current notebooks and maybe adding one of those 4-drawer cabinets for the goodies I glean to put into "maybe later" use. I don't know. We'll see how that vision works out.

Here are some sites I ran across about organizing:
Sunflower School House -- I have a wonderful pack here, Memory Verse Pack, Vol. 1 that we are implementing (finally...I just discovered it...bundled with a binder clip on a lower shelf!)
Sunflower Faith has at least one good post on organizing...I can't wait to check it out more.
By Sun and Candlelight has a good post...another site I'll be checking back with many times
Donna Young's site...if she doesn't have a form you want, you just plain don't need it!

I'm sure there are plenty more...share the sites or blog posts you have found useful for setting up (or discarding) your own organizational system!

POE: Jamestown, The Mayflower, Pilgrims, etc.

2010-06-30T23:32:00.001-05:00

While I'm waiting on a mega download of new printer drivers for this mini (I love this thing, but oh how I miss having a disk drive!!!!) I started scanning around for some extra books to add to our coming Jamestown portion of Paths of Exploration study. Here's what I have so far -- if anyone has any favorites or other suggestions, do share!!
(I may come back to this same page and update things...any changes will be marked in red text)

BOOKS:
Almost Home: A Story Based on The Life of The Mayflower's Mary Chilton, Wendy Lawton (A Daughters of The Faith series)
The Captive Princess: A Story Based on The Life of Young Pocahontas, Wendy Lawton (a Daughters of The Faith series)
Blood on The River: James Town, 1607, Elisa Carbone
Surviving Jamestown: The Adventures of Sam Collier, Gail Karwoski
1607: A New Look at Jamestown, Karen Lange
The Lost Colony of Roanoke, Jean Fritz
Mystery of the Lost Colony (Roanoke), Lee Miller
Pocahontas, Joseph Bruchac (and later, for Lewis & Clark: Sacajawea, by him as well)
The Landing of The Pilgrims, James Daugherty
A Gathering of Days, Joan W. Blos
The Story of Liberty: So You Will Comprehend What Liberty Has Cost...And What It's Worth, Charles Carleton Coffin
Mayflower 1620: A New Look at a Pilgrim Voyage, Peter Arenstam
Tapenum's Day: A Wampanoag Indian Boy's Day in Pilgrim Times, Kate Waters
We will probably check out Sarah Morton's Day and Samuel Eaton's Day, and On The Mayflower as well...they are favorites!)
Three Young Pilgrims, Cheryl Harness
The Mayflower and The Pilgrim's New World, Nathaniel Philbrick
Squanto: Friend of The Pilgrims and A Lion To Guide Us, Clyde Robert Bulla
Stories of The Pilgrims, Margaret B. Pumphrey
A Journey To The New World: The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple, Mayflower 1620 (a Dear America series)
The Starving Time: Elizabeth's Jamestown Colony Diary (A My America series), Patricia Hermes
Sign of The Beaver, Elizabeth George Speare is a great read-aloud
The Felicity series (American Girls)
We have selected chapters in This Country of Ours, H.E. Marshall (parts 2 & 3 for sure...) and
The Story of The World, vol. 3 (chapter 15+)
I'd like to check into the Besty Maestro series of history stories as well...
And maybe some of the various "If You Lived..." books that would coincide with our studies...

We might find something worth using on Wowio, to use as well.

LAPBOOK/NOTEBOOK:
I am interested in The Colonial Life set from Homeschool In The Woods, but I don't know if we'll order it. I have a couple other unit study/lapbook sets here already that will probably prove more than enough. We have a History Scribe set on Indians we can pull some pages from, as well as a 17th Century Life lapbook set. I just love CurrClick!
Highland Heritage Homeschool has a unit on Colonial America...among several other great pages!
Learning Through History Newsletter, Pocahontas Study
Instructor Web, Jamestown Lesson Plan

Social Studies for Kids site, Jamestown

CRAFTING:
We will definitely be creating the Jamestown Replica!
Colonial Craft Day
Ye Olde Colonial Craft Book (probably give the entire site a good once over with the children)
A Book In Time has some crafting ideas, as well as a great listing of books, ideas and the like: The 1600's, The 1700's, The 1800's, The 1900's
I'd like to add the books in the Hands-On America series to our home library....crafts and handwork projects covering all peoples, countries and such.
Suite 101 has some links I want to check out, even if just to glean more ideas
The Teen listing at LibraryPoint

OTHER:
Old Time Radio Shows has several You Are There programs to listen to as well...great resource!
Edupicks is a terrific coloring page, timeline art, etc. site. They have EVERYTHING, I swear!
Passport To Colonial Times site...looks really neat, we might do this.

POE Work quick update

2010-06-30T14:29:00.000-05:00

We are over halfway through Columbus, and I think we might break between so that we are in Jamestown during late October and November, to tie in some craft fun with pilgrims and Thanksgiving. I need to get it laid out and run the calender first.

I ordered several mini units through CurrClick today and they look to be fun additions to our full unit here. I have also set up my list over at Homeschool in The Woods and we will be getting their Colonial Life Time Travelers History Study unit as well.

Has anyone ever used the Homeschool in The Woods products? What about History Pockets?

Paths of Exploration: Jamestown

2010-06-21T15:25:00.000-05:00

Gathering some ideas to supplement our next unit in Paths...

Hotchalk Lesson Plans on Jamestown
JamesQuest
JamesQuest has some wonderful links I'm sure we'll put to use
Homeschool In The Woods has several great products we have been talking about trying out...a replica of Jamestown to put together, and a whole slew of Time Travelers packs...
Creative Learning Connection has a couple we are pondering...Jamestown The Birth of a Nation, Jamestown Lapbook components....looks like a neat site to order from.

We will probably go back and look around at Sea Scholars Lessons Plans, too.

Various sub-topics will include things like oceans and seas, Queen Elizabeth I, Sir Walter Raleigh, the Lost Colony at Roanoke, lifestyle during the 1600's (dress, everyday life, customs, religions, etc). And, of course, look at native tribes and Indians (who studies the Pilgrims without reading about Pocahontas??)

We will be studying climates, elevation, physical maps, latitude/longitude, comparing the climate of England with that of Seattle, Washington. We will continue with clouds and wind currents, water cycles, evaporation and such. And mammals of all kinds, which will work into our drawing and nature notebooks.

Paths of Exploration: Christopher Columbus

2010-06-21T14:46:00.001-05:00

We're doing more on oceans, salt water, navigation, parts of ships, types of ships (caravels and a nao). We are going to read Carry On, Mr. Bowditch in another week or so, studying navigation techniques again; etc. We found a neat page called The Times of Mr. Bowditch.

We'll look into several tropical areas -- Jamaica, Canary Island, Cuba, San Salvador, the Azores, Dominican Republic, Bahamas, Puerto Rico...studying aspects of a tropical island life, such as flora and fauna, native dress and customs, and so forth.

We'll be looking at a study of wind currents, clouds, and sea/ocean life.

Here are some pages we're using or have used:
Columbus' Ships
Sailing into the 19th Century
Sea Scholars Lessons Plans...a variety we have/will put to use

We are growing a bit weary of Christopher Columbus to tell the truth, and we will finish his adventures, but bring on Jamestown!!

Sumer Schooling: Crafty Round-Up

2010-06-08T13:55:00.000-05:00

We don't actually "summer school" here, but we do school all year, so I suppose that is summer school, heh?

While working on this and that today I came across a great blog called Creative Jewish Mom. Wow! What fun she shares. Homemade Water Colors are definitely coming to this schooling experience this week! Homemade Puff Paints, too. Or a cute little Matchbox Chest of Drawers.

Some fun Ruby Dolls...I could see these done up perhaps in costume following our current study (right now with Paths, it's Columbus, Marco Polo, China, Italy, etc.).

Perhaps some creative Stained Glass Melts...

For some fun sewing (perhaps to add to my Farm market list, who knows?) there is a really cute Reversible Bonnet pattern here...And she has a really neat notebook and pencil holder I'd like to do as well.

Some really neat veggie can crafts....and recycling pop cans into a neat mobile.

Modge Podge and food coloring! Imagine the possibilities!

A Gazing Ball for the garden...made from styrofoam??? My mom has managed to break like 3 gazing balls lately. This could be just the thing for her :o)

And More Goodies...

2010-05-14T18:29:00.001-05:00

Ok, everyone knows about Project Gutenberg...we just printed off This Country of Ours by H.E. Marshall to add to our reading with the Paths curriculum. You knew I'd keep hunting, didn't you? I can never just get a curriculum and leave it as it stands. No, I'm weird. Gotta always tweak and adjust.

Well, after This Country of Ours, I moved along to The Baldwin Project and The Story of The Worlds, by M.B. Synge. The second volume, The Discovery of New Worlds, has a lot of good reading for explorers, including more on Columbus. The first volume, On The Shores of The Great Sea, we've already read through with some ancient history. There are 5 volumes...(3) The Awakening of Europe, (4)The Struggle for Sea Power (5)Growth of The British Empire.

As we move on through Paths, we'll go back and grab other books...James Otis...Richard of Jamestown is a fun reader for the youngers.

I'll probably add more to this post as I wind through the various books available at The Baldwin Project.

A Moral Alphabet is fun...goofy, but fun...
America First...
American History Stories, Vol I II III IV...
A First Book in American History...
Historical Tales, Vol I II...there are also volumes on Greek, Spanish, Roman, Japanese, English, German, etc.
Several volumes of Streams of History by Ellwood W. Kemp

Gearing up: Things we're planning, help we need

2010-05-14T10:47:00.000-05:00

I don't have a world map. How sad is that? I have US maps, nice outline blank maps, full page size, not too compressed you can't read them. I even have a large US map on our bulletin board. But when I need a world map, do I have one? Shoot no. What kind of homeschool mom am I?

So, scanning the 'net today we are in search of compass crafts and activities, Columbus fun, and a blank, printable world map we can put in our notebooks. We have to mark Genoa Italy, show Spain, route some of Columbus' voyages....all mappy things.

We found some, but not quite what I want...I'm dealing with youngers who need a lot less detail and a bit more space to color and mark things. Of course, the olders could stand a lot of detail, but still...this one-room schoolhouse has issues with combining lessons.

National Geographic: Xpeditions
National Geographic site also has lesson plans...in fact, when we get to Lewis & Clark, we'll be back for more fun!
National Geographic also has a MapMachine site

AOL @ School site...lots of stuff, but maps are what I went for...I'll definitely be back as their selection of goodies is huge! Like under Explorers, there's a nice section on Christopher Columbus...
World Atlas site
for books and such on mapping and related activities, there is also A Book in Time...they sell several books on all sorts of subjects.
an illustrated guide to using a compass...we'll read this along with other things
GISnet has a nice page on the origins of the compass and a study on the 32 compass points we'll check out as well
Of course, the curriculum included the 1911 Boy Scout handbook...plenty of decent orienteering notes there.
Theodora's offers several map selections, print and purchase both

We're pretty much ready to go with the Paths curriculum and will probably do some reading and checking things out this afternoon to start tomorrow. I've printed off the first 2 weeks of student sheets and gathered some coloring pages and Bible sheets for the youngers, our books are ready, our notebooks set up, and but for that world map I've yet to find, we are good to!

Here's what I shared yesterday when the books arrived:
New Books: our Paths of Exploration set arrived this morning! Ahhh, the book junkie in me is feeling quite satisfied right now :o)
I have a nice, tightly bound new Handbook of Nature Study. I have discovered the Reader's Digest North American Wildlife book. How we have crept along homeschooling without that beauty is beyond me. It's my new definite "must have" title now.
We have several other titles that will make a great addition to our homestead library here. I didn't see a dud in the bunch.
And somehow I totally missed that the POE texts were hardcover. Hardcover. We love the sturdiness of hardcover books here. Considering they need to last thru several children, hardcover is always what I try to search out. I never paid any attention to the main texts in the curriculum being hardbound.
I'm over the moon :o)
I've already maxed out the ink cartridge printing student sheets, supplements for David and Emily that flow along with the week's work, Bible sheets, and a copy of the week at a glance checklist. We are doing over the binders we had for Nim's Island and other projects and if I can contain myself, we will start Monday morning. Most likely we will start tomorrow :o)
I'd start now, but I suppose that is just a tad over zealous, beginning at nearly 8 pm, heh?

Our day will mesh like this:
Math lessons
main English lesson
Light for the Trail (Bible study)
Paths of Exploration...
We'll have copywork/dictation/narration work, reading aloud, word study, geography, writing (reports and creative), art projects/skills, country/state studies (we will tie in the Trail Guide to US Geography later with this).

I don't have a laminated world map. I'll have to get one at Books-A-Million next week. Wish we had done it -- Dewey was planning to take a World map and US map, place them back to back between thin plexiglass and seal them up so we had a true write on/wipe off map instead of changing ours out all the time. Oh well...we'll be ready to put one together now :o)
We'll be mapping the journeys, countries of origin and destination for Columbus. We have 6 weeks of his era, then off to Jamestown, the pilgrims and more!
I'm really enjoying the looks of the Paths curriculum so far. I think I've read pretty much the entire first volume since it arrived this morning :o) We like the flow of the Trail Guide to US Geography, aand this is rather similar. It's set up mainly for a typical 3rd-4th-5th grade run, but we will be tweaking (as usual) to include Jacob (8), KatiAnne (7), David (5) and Emily (almost 4).
The olders will also participate, with deeper work on the same topics in the history and science areas especially. We will find additional titles for them...any suggestions? We're looking for upper elementary and high school reading. Historical fiction is fine, biographies are better :o)

*Columbus
*Jamestown
*Squanto
*Lewis & Clark expedition
*Johnny Appleseed
*Daniel Boone
*Pilgrims
*Westward Expansion

And perhaps some thoughts on crafts/skills/projects for the olders as well :o)
You can look over the areas of exploration at Paths of Exploration
scroll down and you can read all that's offered in this comprehensive Ruth Beechick/CM style curriculum, including the future additions coming out!

Have I mentioned needing some accountability in my life?

2010-05-11T19:28:00.000-05:00

We are so close to "finishing" school for the season, even though I don't school to a calender really. We school year-round here, changing grade levels as the time comes, in various subjects.

However, calender schooling or not, I can always use accountability to keep me spurred along. As I mentioned, we now have Prepare and Pray and Blessed Assurance to start delving into, and by the week's end we will have Paths of Exploration, the first of the Learning Adventures series, as well as Light for The Trail Bible study. I hopped onto Amazon and found hardcover unabridged copies of The Swiss Family Robinson, Robinson Crusoe, The Sign of The Beaver...and added in the Nourishing Traditions and the Traditional Foods cookbooks for good measure. Can't always fit things into the budget, but when I can without stress and strain, it's time to go for it.

So, I've looked over Prepare and Pray/Blessed Assurance....and I'm leaning toward starting backwards. yeah, don't I always go against the flow? We are wanting a bit of a lighter reading as we get our feet wet this summer. The Sign of The Beaver, moving off into Robinson Crusoe, sounds like something more doable at this point. Then we can shift gears again and go for The Swiss Family Robinson. Am I wrong in thinking that way? Should I just buckle up and go along with the designed flow?

Then again...I do have the Paths coming....maybe we should just start there.

LOL...I'm nothing but indecision. I think too much for everyone's good I believe.

The general days will play out like this...
Rod & Staff math lessons, flashcards, review sheets, etc.
Rod & Staff English lessons, Working with Words
Our Bible will flow mainly from the lessons of the unit studies...there are memorization passages, Scriptural notes, character traits, and with Paths, we have Light for the Trail.
There are all manner of trails to follow on both unit studies...
under Science you have animal studies, clouds, weather patterns, levers and simple machines, outdoor activities (building shelters, rafts, camp items, etc)
and History is covered, obviously...
The olders have the CLE Home Ec series to finish through as well...

That gives us a rounded program I believe. I can easily work the youngers in with alternate stories and coloring pages, and we like reading aloud, and narration times. I think we can easily work the olders in, focusing more along the history sides and science trails with a bit more indepth work on their part. I don't believe for one minute that being written for "grade such and such thru such and such" locks me in in any way, shape or form. Adjustments are always there if you want them. I have ages 3 1/2 on up to 17...I always make adjustments to include everyone in as many areas as I can. I have to. There's only one of me and 8 of them. I'm out-numbered!

So...what do you think? On top of all this, I have a 17 yo not the least interested in finishing her assigned graduate work, and a 14 year old determined to graduate by years' end. Always something tossing rocks in my road I guess.

Paths of Exploration unit...

2010-05-11T13:44:00.000-05:00

I broke down and ordered it. I've wanted it for some time now. We have really enjoyed GeoMatters' Trail Guide to US Geography, and wanted more like it.

I'm becoming a unit study junkie, I think.

We ordered the complete unit, text and all resources. I needed another copy of The Handbook of Nature Study as ours is pretty much nothing but duct tape and prayer binding at this point. Wonder if I can get it spiral bound? It's rather thick...probably not. And I really wanted most of the resources they use for our own shelves. I like reading for fun sorts of books, but I want a library built on resources and references, with fun fictional reading added as a secondary focus, not as our primary focus.

So, between Pray and Prepare, Blessed Assurance and Paths to Exploration I think we have another year covered pretty well. Math continues along, as does core English work (spelling work, parts of speech, etc) and areas of bunny trailing as usual.

Maybe I can stick to it for a while...?

Prepare and Pray unit study curriculum

2010-05-11T12:03:00.001-05:00

An online friend, Beth from Northern Sky Art, loaned us her copy of the unit study Prepare and Pray! and it arrived today.

We have long looked at this unit as something we would like. We enjoy the Swiss Family Robinson book, so what's better than the story and some learning fun along with it?

A vital part of any well rounded education will include emergency preparedness. This extensive, yet practical hands-on course will equip the participants to be ready to face whatever the future brings, while always acknowledging the True Source of our well being: God Himself!

A 36 week literary unit study designed for the whole family, toddler through resident Grandma and teaches a confident, positive approach to impending difficulties using simple resources and family teamwork. Fear is not the object of this study, but it is our desire to stimulate a watchful, prudent attitude which will equip children and parents to develop untapped abilities, press through physical limitations, and respond reasonably and scripturally to threatening situations and the challenges of end-times living.

Learn outdoorsmanship, survival skills, and sustainable living skills from a practical academic course for all ages 3-103!

Based on the Swiss Family Robinson , a classic novel for children written by Johann (David) Wyss, a radical believer who used every available opportunity in the story to emphasize character training and true godliness. The written original version has little or nothing in common with the Disney version. There are no pirate battles, squabbles over a flirtatious young lady, or allowances for laziness. The curriculum was originally developed in 1997, has been widely and successfully distributed, with endorsements from many homeschooling veterans, experts, and publications. It was never intended as a "y2k" curriculum, as we have clearly and repeatedly stated that judgment upon the ungodliness of our nation could clearly take many unpredictable forms. So we cover a variety of scenarios, including natural disasters, economic downturns, terrorism, plague, etc. It is a miracle, but we have managed to develop a curriculum preparing for these events that children and families consider fun! Your child's life may depend on skills he learns while having fun.

Sounds like something right op our alley! I can't wait to really dig in and read through the unit and make some plans. There is another one we may go for once this is over...Blessed Assurance, based on The Sign of The beaver and Robinson Crusoe as its text.

Blessed Assurance! is based upon The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare and Robinson Crusoe, the timeless classic by Daniel Defoe. These books were chosen for a distinctive purpose. As Prepare and Pray! developed the foundation for family teamwork in preparation for perilous times using Swiss Family Robinson, the stories chosen as the foundation for Blessed Assurance prepare your children to develop independent skills and a very personal relationship of trust in their Redeemer. In preparation for a life of responsibility during increasingly difficult days, these stories focus on characters who must stand alone, remain loyal to what is right and true, and rely upon resourcefulness and prayer to solve a multitude of problems.

The Sign of the Beaver is the story of thirteen year old Matt, a colonial American boy who is left alone on a n undeveloped homestead in the Maine wilderness, while his father is delayed in returning with his mother and sister. To survive, he learns to cooperate with a Native American tribe who teach him many skills in exchange for lessons in reading using a Bible and Robinson Crusoe. He has many adventures and the story is one the whole family will enjoy. Part Two in Blessed Assurance proceeds into reading the true story of Robinson Crusoe, the story of a young man who rebels against the guidance of his parents and reaps catastrophic consequences. He winds up on a deserted island, repents of his sin, comes into an intimate place of fellowship with the Savior where he no longer feels profound loneliness, and becomes skilled in primitive self -sufficiency. He is faced with issues as varied as self-defense, racial prejudice, and assurance of salvation. Blessed Assurance is designed to build character in your sons and wisdom in daughters who must also learn to make an independent stand for truth and honor in these last days.

LOL:...I'm such a dolt! I stopped and looked over the binders Beth sent and BOTH units are there!!! Prepare and Pray and Blessed Assurance both waiting for me to notice!!!

Oh Boy!!! This is great!

2010-05-09T18:27:00.000-05:00

I know...everyone knew about this but me, right? I have downloaded soooo many audiobooks this afternoon I've got to be smokin' the site! They are available in ITunes and MP3 format.

Books Should Be Free

oh my gosh -- the children's selection alone is burning up my computer!

This Country of Ours, H.E. Marshall
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Tom Saywer
Huckleberry Finn

And History --
Our Island Story is just a good read
Story of The Middle Ages, Samuel B. Harding
James Otis....Richard of Jamestown, Ruth of Boston
G.A. Henty titles as well!

I will spend a lot more time there for sure. I'm tickled Jennifer shared this link!!!! I had no idea about it...it's that cave I live in. I need to get out more, heh?

Insects: Grasshoppers and Crickets and more

2010-04-05T14:26:00.000-05:00

Here we go...insects. We're starting with some grasshoppers, and other "straight-wings" like mantids, walking sticks, katydids, cockroaches, and crickets.

Seems it will be a high year for grasshoppers up in Saskatchewan...

Here's a basic information page on grasshoppers (there are pages for crickets as well there) from the University of Arizona Center for Insect Science Education Outreach...

The Handbook of Nature Study Blog also has pages for crickets here. Barb shares a neat YouTube of a cricket singing here. And the Handbook itself has a large selection of insects for us to cover: grasshoppers pgs. 338-341, crickets pgs. 344-348, walking sticks pgs. 402-403, and katydids pgs. 343-344.

And a video on raising crickets...and making your own Cricket Keeper...

And some of the units already shared out there we will be using and touching on...
This Homeschool Share page has several insects we'll look through and print what we want to use
Here is the unit put together on insects in general by Oklahoma Homeschool page
Enchanted Learning Pages for everything...here are the assorted bug/insect pages
Bug Finder...identify those bugs in your yard ;o)
Nature Songs...songs and calls of all sorts of insects

Plenty to keep us busy. We're thinking 2 weeks in this section of "bugs" then on to others...maybe Bees nest. We have plenty of those around right now.

History, Science and Unit Studies...

2010-04-05T07:31:00.000-05:00

If you know anything about me from the regular blog, then you already know, I'm eclectic...to put it loosely. Really loosely. (LOL...that just doesn't seem grammatically correct there, but you get the idea...)

I am settled, happily, with Math and Grammar, spelling, Bible, and so forth. We are using Rod & Staff and it's working really well for us. I know some folks don't like it, but that's what "homeschooling" is all about, right -- the choices are in the thousands for style and materials. My 'home' isn't your 'home' in the schooling realm anymore than it is in the decorating realm, the meal planning realm and so on. Ahhh, the colors of life :o)

Go figure...I digress...

While my core there might be settled and content, the various off-shoots to complete a rounded sort of education are most certainly not. This is where the eclectic comes into play. I'm all over the place with science and history topics here. It isn't that they aren't important to our schooling really, but more like they just seem to drag us down. It's all in the method, I know. My method just isn't interesting I guess. We really are a rather boring family here, just mundane daily stuff. We hit on a gold strike every so often, but by and large, we are just plain vanilla folks here. The schooling tends to be the same way, at least with science and history.

But, that really does have to change. And it should at some point before ALL of them leave the school of the dining room table, don't you think?

Take History, for example. Where do you begin? If I flow with the interest level here, we will certainly miss a lot of history. This family lives in the 1860's. Always has. We don't mind a good mummy now and then, maybe a pyramid or something, and even a Torrey thrown in for good measure. But something as long and extended as several weeks of them? No, but thank you for asking. It's just not our cup of tea. Give us the Civil War/War Between the States, we're there. Give us the Westward Expansion, we're johnny pioneer ready with the wagon train. Hey, toss in a Little House on The Prairie or even one of the old Bonanza episodes and we're yours, 100% attention included. We're Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and Trigger, The Lone Ranger and Tonto, The Gold Rush, The Donner Party, The Pony Express. We don't even mind venturing a bit farther back and picking up a pilgrim, those lost folks at Roanoke, or even Daniel Boone. Bring em' along! It'll be a hoot-nanny of grand proportions :o)

But to stick with pyramids, Pharaohs, ancient Mesopotamia for more than a week at best, I don't know. We like our prairie land. Deserts just aren't our dessert tray.

But look at all the HISTORY we miss that way! We miss Cleopatra. We miss the intricacies of King Tut and that awesome tomb. We miss mummies and cats...and the Cat of Bubastes! We miss dinosaurs. We miss huge bugs and various ecosystems I know these guys would find an interest in. I may not be a desert person myself, but when you start talking weird bugs of the desert, my brood would be all over it and wanting to cover the yard in sand to build their own biodome on the homestead.

Maybe not for 6 weeks or so, but still.

History connects. And Science does too. They interlock with each other. You can sort of force a connection with grammar, spelling and math, but really, history and science just snap together very easily, truly effortlessly. Even for me, who isn't totally in love with the pair as a whole. And by skipping through the part of history we really really love, we are missing out on a lot of science and creating rather large gaps in our learning.

I'm looking at unit studies to help with these areas. I love the idea of unit studies, and am beginning to grow some really nice appendages there for the concept of notebooking and lapbooking in terms of putting some FUN into history and science studies. We already enjoy using some of the 'units' or challenges over at Handbook of Nature Study blog. That is by and large one of THE BEST books I've ever bought. I can't imagine anyone schooling, or just being outside, without a copy. We like to choose from the resources and ideas of a more Charlotte Mason-style method, using Ambleside Online for nature studies, as well as other areas. And I've been really looking over my resources here for a full history plan, incorporating some science as it comes along (no, we probably won't be mummifying anything other than maybe the stray doll...). In the resource department, I have alot here really. Even a stash of worksheets and information bites perfect for lapbooking. And I do think we could find plenty of enjoyment with it all. Ancient stuff, that is. I like antiques ;o)

When I look around at scheduling ideas for history, I pretty much find the same thing...a rotation of 4 to 6 years, building one upon the other.

Ambleside/Charlotte Mason:
Year 1 -- early history, focusing on people rather than events
Year 2 -- 1000 AD - Middle Ages
Year 3 -- 1400 - 1600 (Renaissance to Reformation)
Year 4 -- 1700's up to the French Revolution and American Revolution
Year 5 -- 1800 to 1920 up to WWI
Year 6 -- end of WWI to present day, then a term in ancient history
Year 7 -- 800-1400's Middle Ages (Alfred, King Arthur, Joan of Arc)
Year 8 -- 1400-1600's (Reniassance to Reformation)
Year 9 -- 1688-1815 including French and American revolutions
Year 10 -- 1815-1901 including the American Civil War
Year 11 -- 20th Century
Year 12 -- ancient history

And you HAVE to check our Oklahoma Homeschool site...great ideas and resources to get me off and running. We will be using their suggestions alot.

History/Geography-Year 1
Ancient World History: Creation, Ancient Middle East, Ancient China, Mayas, Incas
(9 wks)
Ancient World History: Egypt (9 wks)
US History: Early Settlements, Pilgrims (9 wks)
US History: Colonial Days (9 wks)
Beginning Mapping Skills & Current Events
History/Geography-Year 2
Ancient World History: Greece (9 wks)
Ancient World History: Rome (9 wks)
US History: American Revolution (9 wks)
US Government: Presidents, Government, Elections (9 wks)
Mapping Skills & Current Events
History/Geography-Year 3
World History: Middle Ages (12 wks)
World History: Renaissance, Reformation (12 wks)
US & World History: Explorers (12 wks)
Mapping Skills & Current Events
History/Geography-Year 4
World History: 1700-1800 (6 wks)
US History: Westward Expansion & Frontier (6 wks)
Oklahoma History (18 wks)
US Geography (6 wks)
Mapping Skills & Current Events
History/GeographyYear 5
World History: 1800 - 1900 (6 wks)
World Geography—Eastern Hemisphere (6 wks)
US History: Civil War & Reconstruction (12 wks)
US & World History - Industrial Revolution, Prohibition, Labor Unions (12 wks)
Mapping Skills & Current Events
History/Geography-Year 6
US & World History - World War I (3 wks)
US & World History - Stock Market Crash, World War II, Depression, New Deal (6 wks)
US & World History - Korean War, Cold War, Civil Rights, 1950-1960’s (3 wks)
US & World History - Vietnam War, 1960-1970’s (3 wks)
US & World History - Space Race, 1970’s-1980’s (3 wks)
US & World History - Middle East Conflict, 1990's - current (6 wks)
World Geography—Western Hemisphere (6 wks)
Mapping Skills & Current Events

Notice the point?? Durn history starts at the ancients...we have to study them. We don't get a full view of the world without them And I have several texts here...including the first volume of Mystery of History, sad to say we've never really put it to good use. We've read it, just never really taken it to any hands-on level. I'm a curriculum junkie. I like the security of having books available...I just don't use them as well as they should be used. Their full potential is just lost here most the time.

What resources do you have for units on History and Science? How do you use them in your day to day schooling? What is your science plan? Where is your history going? I need some help here! :o) Share!!!

Ancient Rome resources...Learning Adventures

2010-04-02T15:16:00.002-05:00

Rome Unit

English skills webs:
Pronouns, Adjectives, lessons, or whatever in the texts we printed out. http://www.dailygrammar.com (I think) is perfect for
teaching language skills. You get a full page of teaching text, sample questions with answers, and another quiz.
_________
Dress/Costume:
http://www.costumes.org/pages/romanlnx.htm
___________
Just for fun:
Here is an excellent resource page I found. It has to do with some Lego contest, but it has great ideas for the kids if they want to do some Roman/Greek buildings out of Legos. The 1998 contest has some entries with the Roman Coliseum and Parthenon. http://www.ancient-theme.com
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Coloring pages:
ANCIENT ROME COLORING PAGES:
http://info.riverdeep.net/Key=41077.HS.4.HkCgQP
http://www.coloring.ws/rome.htm

Click on any of the selections to download and print out a coloring page of Roman cultural life, including the Coliseum, aqueducts, and gladiators.
Actually, this link also contains coloring pages for Egypt and Greece: http://www.coloring.ws/
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General info:
Lessons:
http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/ancienttimes/index.html Ancient Times...K-2
http://www.coreknowledge.org/CKproto2/resrcs/lessons/32K_Hear_Ye.pdf Romans Unit for 2 weeks 3rd grade level
http://home.freeuk.net/elloughton13/index.htm
VRoma http://www.vroma.org/
Pompeii Forum Project http://pompeii.virginia.edu/
Mythology:
Greek & Roman: It Came from Greek Mythology http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=234
Living in Ancient Rome:
In Old Pompeii http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=271
Exploring Ancient World Cultures http://eawc.evansville.edu/index.htm
http://www.carlos.emory.edu/ODYSSEY/MidElem_Home.html
http://www.mrdowling.com/702rome.html
http://www.roman-empire.net/
Daily Life in Ancient Rome http://members.aol.com/Donnclass/Romelife.html

At one time the Roman Empire reached throughout the greater part of Europe and parts of the area we now call the Middle East. In fact, in the first century AD, Rome conquered most of the known, civilized world.

I flipped through the history section of my book, Using The Internet In Your Homeschool, and found these sites that might help:

The Roman Empire for Kids - This site features interactive maps, timelines, quizzes and more designed for kids grades 4 - 8. They even have a "Brief History of the Roman Empire" that you and your son could read together.
http://www.roman-empire.net/children/index.html

The Romans from BBC -- this is a fantastic site! Covers several different areas of Roman history and civilization. It includes activity suggestions too. Keep in mind that this is written mainly for the benefit of Britains, so there is some focus on the influence of the Roman Empire on what is now England
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/romans/
Olympics:
Live from Ancient Olympia http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=230
Miscellaneous:
* Egypt - Reformation New/Used Curriculum http://www.4HomeSchool.info/EgyptToReformation.htm
* Construct an Aqueduct. Explore the NOVA Online Aqueduct Project page, and then create an aqueduct. Read more about aqueducts at Roman Aqueducts and Water Systems. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lostempires/roman/aqueduct.html
*Pictures of Rome - including aqueducts/old buildings/houses and more. http://clawww.lmu.edu/faculty/fjust/Rome.htm
* Roman art: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/romans/ It has a lot of useful ideas for Rome.
* If you go to the parent page it is a great resource page for history, math, etc... http://www.bbc.co.uk/learning/
ROMAN ROADS:
http://info.riverdeep.net/Key=41077.HS.1.NfP8MB
http://www.teachingideas.co.uk/history/romanrd.htm
Learn just how those famous Roman roads were built, and then work with your children to recreate your own model of Roman road construction.

MATHEMATICS IN ANCIENT ROME:
http://info.riverdeep.net/Key=41077.HS.2.GbnfrS
http://www.educ.uvic.ca/faculty/mroth/438/ROME/group_math.html
http://info.riverdeep.net/Key=41077.HS.3.CZWn1B
http://www.abcteach.com/Math/roman1.htm
Children will first review the basic structure of Roman numerals, practice converting numerals, and then decode a secret message. Use the 2nd URL above for a printable Roman Numerals chart.

Roman Numerals: http://www.wilkiecollins.demon.co.uk/roman/front.htm
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Rocks:
We found a child-friendly site that has some interactive activities about rocks and minerals. It is http://www.childrensmuseum.org/geomysteries/mysteries.html
I found the perfect edible project for Day 62 science in the Rome unit. It is talking about the Earth and how it is made up of a core, the mantle and the crust. Take a marshmallow, cut a slit in it, stick a round peppermint candy into the center of the marshmallow, and then place the marshmallow on the toothpick. Then dip the marshmallow in melted chocolate chips. The peppermint candy is the core, the marshmallow is the mantle and the chocolate is the crust. I found it in a book called "Geology Rocks- 50 hands-on activities to Explore the Earth" by Cindy Blobaum. It is full of fun stuff. Enjoy!

I purchased the Delta Science -In-A-Nutshell kit called Rock Origins. We had a lot of fun with it. It came with activity books for two kids and had about 10 lessons a together. The lessons took between 30-60 minutes depending on how into it we were and how many extra questions my kids came up with.

Volcanoes:
1. I purchased a reproducible book about earthquakes and volcanoes and it has been sitting on my shelf ever since. I haven't done a bit of research on this book, but here is the title and author and you can check if interested to see if it's still in print:

Earthquakes and Volcanoes by Ruth Deery
Illustrated by Sue Ellen Miller-Ray
from The Natural Disaster Series
A Good Apple Activity Book for grades 4-8
Copyright 1985
ISBN No. 0-86653-272-2

It is really a fantastic teaching tool with short stories and activities that involve the child in learning. You read about the topic in 3-4 paragraphs and then answer 3 multiple-choice questions, which have some really, really funny 'wrong' answers. My girls were in stitches. Then, there is an activity page. One was on how a seismograph works, and you use a toy car on the paper, the child holds the pencil straight and in the same place so that it just touches the paper and the mom first moves the paper slowly so that the car doesn't move and the pencil draws a straight line. Then, mom moves the paper with a bit more erratic motion and the car bounces a bit and the pencil draws a squiggly line. Then, mom moves the paper back and forth wildly and the car bounces right off the paper and the pencil draws crazy up and down lines. This was a great visual demonstration for the different scales of earthquakes and how the seismograph records them. Both girls were thrilled.

Other activities include coloring several flip books to cut out on the subjects of plates & caldera's, coloring the insides of each of the three types of volcanoes. There was one paper that showed a house, barn, yard and fence before an earthquake and after an earthquake. You colored each part of the picture the same and it was striking (when colored, not black and white) how much each item had shifted. There are myths about volcanoes and earthquakes and the child get to write their own myth. A real variety of fun and learning activities.
I highly recommend this book! Kathy in IA

VOLCANO LINKS
Scroll Down to the "V" section http://members.aol.com/bowermanb/games.html
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Movies to Teach
For those of you interested in using movies to help teach or reinforce, there is a great website you may find helpful.
www.teachwithmovies.com

For $8.99/year you can access 250+ teaching guides. If you're only interested in seeing the titles, it's free. Here is a link to their site that lists some for ancient and world history:
http://www.teachwithmovies.org/world-history-other-cultures-subject-list.htm
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Books:
1. The Eyewitness Handbook Rocks and Minerals (by Chris Pellant, DK Publishing) has a section on identifying rocks. It begins with identifying the type of rock, then the grain size, the color and mineral content. We haven't tried using this flow chart with any unknown rocks so I cannot vouch for it. It has good pictures and has been easy to use for other types of rock/mineral look-up questions.
2. Books for 7th-8th grade, check out just about any of Rosemary Sutcliff's books about the Romans in Britain (didn't care for The Scarlet Warrior but could be just me). "The Eagle of the Ninth" has a part where the main character goes to steal back the standard from the tribesmen/priests north of Hadrian's Wall (which raised the hairs on the back of my neck, so to speak). For a mature 8th grade (or higher reader.) It has lots of suspense, centurion battles, gladiator/slave action, Roman culture, and a little tame love-interest stuff. Might be helpful to know a little of Rome's presence in Britain, but not necessary. The main character (centurion) is badly hurt during an early battle and can't be a centurion any more and his wound pains him a lot. Great story for someone with physical ailment/challenges as the centurion "finds a purpose" again after centurion dream dies.
(Remember Blackstone Audio (www.blackstoneaudio.com) has several of Sutcliff's books on cassette to buy or rent. Also, I rented their Bronze Bow (about $17 incl. s/h) for 30 days, and it's so great to listen to it late at night and then give to the kids during the day so I can work with younger children, etc. etc. Plus, having to return it by 8 Feb keeps me hopping!)
3. Patricia St. John's "Runaway", about bitter Phoenician boy who learns of Jesus and wants him to save demon-possessed sister...Sound familiar? Really good.
4. Lamplighter's book "Titus: A Comrade of the Cross". Plot occurs during the time of Jesus' crucifixion (includes another sick friend/brother/sister?) and the title gives it away. Good, but in the old fashioned ("wilt thou?") language which mayeth irritateth someth kidseth.
5. "Masada", by Gloria D Miklowitz. Two definite love interests with young people in Masada (nothing inappropriate) with lots of history, Roman battle-siege techniques, and Jewish culture. Sad but good.
6. Bethlehem Book's "Beorn the Proud" by Madeline Polland was really good about Vikings marauding the British coast, the taking of a Christian girl (solid faith, lots of spunk, admirable) and Beorn's proud, conceited nature which he lives to regret. Great for boys and girls: Viking customs (they return to Denmark), hunting, warfare.etc. Only bad thing I remember is monks dying and the Vikings callous to it but she shows proper Christian horror so great talking point about how dramatically Christ changed the world. (the back cover says ages 10 and up).
7. Terry Deary's "Rotten Romans" and "The Roman News" are fun reading.
8. Story of the World: Volume 1 by Susan Wise Bauer would be an excellent read-a-loud for history. In some ways, I like it better than Hillyer's Story of the World. Story of the World is more thorough than Hillyer. It reads well, but is definitely geared to younger children. You may also wish to look in Veritas Press catalog www.veritaspress.com , Greenleaf Press www.greenleafpress.com, and page Rainbow Resource catalog pages 350-351. Rainbow lists a lot of books to go with Story of the World!!!
9. Vinegar Boy by Alberta Hawse
Ben Hur by Lew Wallace
The Young Carthaginian by GA Henty
For the Temple, A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem by G.A Henty,
The Ides of April by Mary Ray
Detectives in Togas and Mystery of the Roman Ransom (Odyssey Classic) by Henry Winterfeld
10. I have just found a series of books called 'The Royal Diaries'. They are wonderful. It is written as if it is Cleopatra as a 12-year-old writing in her diary. The lady that wrote it just loves history and the book has a wonderful way of showing what life was like in Egypt and also Rome as Cleopatra spent time there also, 57BC. These books are written for the middle school age group, but if your child is a good reader or you like to read to them I think 7-8 year olds would love them. Scholastic publishes these books.
11. We just finished reading "Martyr of the Catacombs: A Tale of Ancient Rome". Very good -- it went hand in hand with much of what Dorian has written. We purchased our copy from www.anabaptistbooks.com/

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Crafts/Recipes
When it was time for us to do the mosaic project, I went to Michael's and found a plaster coaster kit done with square tiles. I bought a bag of colored glass pieces and used those instead. Each of my 4 oldest made a wonderful coaster that we now use in our living room. My youngest made a mosaic butterfly using bits of colored paper. The kids were so pleased with how their projects turned out.
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My kids found a mosaic a wonderful project to imagine but almost too much trouble to complete. Interestingly, the most art-oriented child was the only one that did not finish. The 5 y.o. did a 6x6 inch picture. The other two worked on 10x12 mat board. If you only have a few eggshells, or if you think your kids are like mine, make something small. In retrospect I think a small project would have been more fulfilling. We could have made a tree ornament of some sort, given it a protective coating, and used it for several years.
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I think that we're going to substitute little squares of colored construction paper for the eggshells
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I was looking at mosaic stepping stones in Hearthsong. They look like a 'real' project, but are still mosaic. Very nice and functional. www.hearthsong.com
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Can anyone who has made the bread (Day 71) for Rome unit tell me what I can use in place of a yeast cake?? I have active dry yeast. Any ratio help would be greatly appreciated since I am not one to "wing it" when it comes to recipe measurements.

I've not made it yet, but it looks like a typical bread recipe with the amount of flour and water - I don't know the exact measurement, but probably 2 to 2 1/4 tsp. yeast (based on the bread I usually bake). I think a yeast cake is equal to one of those individual packets of yeast you can buy and that is 2-1/4 tsp.

Sharing ideas:
Our first few days of Rome are going well. My son is not thrilled with the Messiah, mostly the solos, but he listens enough that today he stated he knew that piece. As we were reading the text he proceeded to sing it. SO… I guess some of it actually sinks in! LOL!
I also started him with a simple Latin book today. I wanted to share the website with the group. Even if you don't wish to teach Latin, it's a fun site. I didn't purchase the teacher manual to this as it was really pricey, but I have had 2 years of Latin (even if it was more than 20 years ago) and I am praying that it will come back to me. The textbook is available through Amazon and Barnes/Noble. The site: http://www.minimus-etc.co.uk/index.shtml
To ask them " Who are you?" The phrase would be "Quis es?
Boys/Men’s names usually ended with -us so Mark in Latin would be Markus.
Girls/Women's names usually ended with -a so Helen in Latin would be Helena.
To state your name you would say "Helena sum" translated, as "I am Helena."
Now you can teach them how to say their names and how to ask each other who they are. Just a little bit of Rome brought home.

Ancients: Resource blog

2010-04-02T15:05:00.001-05:00

This looks promising...Dynamic 2 Moms there are several notebooking resources available here I think we might use.

There are several other areas covered at Dynamic 2 Moms as well as Ancient Civilizations...Carnivorous plants, The Rainforest, Daniel Boone...plenty to keep you busy for a while.

She also shares several of her favorite blogs...Just Us/Hebrews 110, Dori Oakes, books from MEIHA, Daily Grammar, and more.

High School Documentation...One thought

2010-04-02T11:41:00.000-05:00

These sharings are from the Learning Adventures blog, but I'm sure you could tweak them to fit what you are currently doing in your own schooling efforts.

Using Learning Adventures for High School:

You can easily make the adjustments and use LA as a "spine." You will just have to toss out any ideas that your high-schooler doesn't want to do. College-bound students should do something like the following:

First - get a high school/home school plan book so you know what you are doing and will know what is required, how to do transcripts, etc. They explain what is required for college-bound and non-college-bound students. We use Home School, High School, and Beyond by Beverly Adams-Gordon. There are two basic ways of gaining credits - the first is to complete a
year-long-grade-level text in a year and it counts as 1 credit. The second is to count hours that pretty much amount to 50 minutes to an hour per subject per day for 180 days. We count an hour each day in each subject that we do this. (Schools account for extra homework time in that amount - so I think requiring our son, Ryan, to work an hour per day is an easier way than making him do separate "homework" beyond a typical 50 minute class period.) But, that's just how we do it.

Now for using LA with a high schooler - here's what I'd do in each subject:

BIBLE
Do with the rest of family. This is not a required school subject so any time spent together is just "icing" in terms of family bonding and spiritual growth.

LANGUAGE ARTS
Literature - Do read-alouds with rest of family for discussion and family bonding. These are all family books, so they aren't going to seem "babyish" - and the fundamentals and elements of literature that we cover are good, solid concepts that high schoolers would be covering anyway. IN ADDITION to this, though - I would assign an extra higher level book (use some of the ones I suggest in the beginning of the units) - Treasure Island, Robinson Crusoe, and The King's Fifth are all good choices for the Explorers Unit, for example - Ben Hur, The Robe, Quo Vadis are good for the Roman Unit, etc. If you can find Progeny Press literature guides to go with some of
these extra literature readings once in awhile - it would be good, to help in following along with what is happening, etc. since these collateral books will be read independently. (I list LOTS of higher level stuff in Book Two, so you will have plenty to choose from there as well.) Have your
high schooler count the hours spent on reading (including the family read aloud and discussion time) and list alphabetically all of the books he/she has read (in bibliographic format, like I list all of the regular suggested books in AWOA). This would go in his/her English folder. The literature times are very bonding for families. The collateral reading is important because there are books that every high schooler "should" read by the time he/she is finished with 12th grade. Many of these I will list in the extended sections of the curriculum - but you will need to be on the lookout for classics, etc. and keep your high schooler reading, reading, and reading.

Grammar/Vocab./Writing - Skip the grammar and spelling in LA - For a high schooler you will need to get a formal grammar program, and get Vocabulary from Classical Roots - this series will last you through all four years of high school, and for writing, stay with the LA lessons - especially for the first two years of high school - only you will have to lengthen them
considerably, requiring a page instead of a paragraph, and stuff like that. The fundamentals in LA are all pretty much the same as any high schooler or even college student would have anyway - if you think about it - we do summaries, reaction papers, contrast and comparison, biographical sketches, we just do them on a very manageable level that doesn't seem too intimidating - see what I mean? PLUS, you should assign at least one research paper a year. They don't have to be super long, though. Buy a book that tells you how to do this if necessary. I have seen lots of them at my library - check there first. He/she should be able to learn this pretty much on his own - it's not hard.

For all the language arts elements of literature, vocab, grammar, and writing - I call them ENGLISH 9 - depending on the grade, and then I include the number of hours spent on all of these things combined. If your high schooler works on all of the suggestions I have made here, he/she will go WAYYYYYY over the required time - and that's good - because he will be
challenged in a very important area.

MATH
Formal program of your choice - complete a graded text in a year - OR count 180 hours of math work.

SCIENCE
Formal program of your choice - although I can't recommend Apologia highly enough - we LOVE it and the student can work independently on it. Complete a text in a year and gain a credit.

SOCIAL STUDIES
History - follow the format of LA and have your high schooler read histories and biographies according to the period studied. PLUS - a separate unit for each unit would be good. An explorers notebook is already a part of AWOA, and in Book Two there will be the World, Presidents, Native Americans and State notebooks, so even a high schooler would be fairly well
covered automatically if you stick with LA. That means, an Egypt Notebook, a Greece Notebook, a Roman Notebook, a Middle Ages Notebook, and a Renaissance Notebook would be good supplements for a high schooler - just to help wrap all the information up as a unit is covered. We will also be doing more report writing in Book Two, and these can be added to the notebooks. I might add two additional notebooks to Book Two - "Colonial Notebook" which would cover the period and customs from Jamestown up to the War, and "American Revolution and Beyond Notebook" which would cover the specifics of the War and the Constitution. Remember - the notebooks aren't ONLY written reports, but information researched and printed from the
internet - maps and charts, battles and photos of battlefields, copies of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, etc. This is an EXTREMELY effective way for high schoolers to learn - and they actually sort of enjoy it if they can surf the net to do it. Count all of of these
hours and keep track of a COMBINED total for history and geography and call it SOCIAL STUDIES 9 - or use the appropriate grade as you move through high school.

Geography - I have seen lots of geography programs and I think what we do in LA is better because it is meaningful when we study the geography at the same time we study the country and culture. Keep doing that, but if you want to go through a really good map-reading series - look into Modern Curriculum Press - they have a series called MAPS-CHARTS-GRAPHS that is
excellent. They are like what we do in LA only MORE. Of course they won't relate to the study - but these are the same kinds of questions they always ask on standardized tests and they even include stuff like how to read and understand political cartoons. I'm telling you - they are excellent. I think they are pretty much considered elementary to junior high - and they come in levels A-H. But in my opinion, levels E,F,G, and H are worth having a high schooler do. Ryan loved these - he even did some of them for "fun" when he was stuck and "bored" at a home school conference a few years ago. Another great game to get and have your high schooler master all the levels of is Where in the World - and the rest of the family could play it too. The combination of learning all the details of the game, studying LA in a meaningful way, and the MCP maps books - will be a good plan of action. And boy, oh boy will your kids impress the relatives if they learn the stuff in Where in the World! I've seen people's mouths drop open when Ryan could rattle off places and facts from the game! Who says learning can't be fun - right!!! Even in high school!

FOREIGN LANGUAGE
College-bound students should have two years of a language - most colleges want to see this. If you complete a graded text in a year it counts as a credit

PE
Usually two years are required and we count hours that Ryan does ANYTHING athletic - but he has more than enough just from soccer practice and games to add up to a credit per year. Count hours and keep track.

So, you see how you can work things around LA and still keep your high schooler involved with the unit study and the rest of the family. The high school plan book will help give you ideas about what you might want to do. The above are not really "professional recommendations" as much as they are what works for us and what my opinions are of what a college-bound high
school student should accomplish. But I'm kind of hard on our son, Ryan, so everyone wouldn't necessarily have exactly the same ideas as me on this.

The above suggestions would be the highest level of achievement, in my opinion. You can cut down from there in terms of what your high schooler's future plans are and what your state requires.

Dorian

and Documenting High School:

Here are ideas from other homeschoolers....
I have Barb's Book and it is great!!! A big one for sure. I have read one book by the Author of Home School High School and Beyond and she is a very good writier and easy to follow. I highly recommend Barb Shelton's book (and anything by Cafi Cohen). It will put perspective on highschool and also give lots of ideas on how to use forms she has to help you out. It has given me a spring board to think of of ways to help my dd with her education.

I have Barb Shelton's book "Senior High-A Home Designed Form-U-la" and it is awesome! I haven't finished it yet, but it is so refreshing to know someone else out there thinks like I do. I am not into doing "school" for school's sake. I am preparing eternal beings to take their place in the world, according to what God has designed for them to do and be. I highly recommend her book!

Well, thanks for listening. I am looking forward to gleaning from everyone's wisdom, and perhaps dropping a "nugget" in here and there myself.

First, I got a copy of "Senior High: A Home Designed Form-U-la" by Barbara Shelton. I would highly recommend this if you would like to continue doing unit study type work for high school. I think it will work great in implementing LA into high school credits.

This is what I have come up with for our oldest daughter to cover in high school: (1 credit is one full year of a class) (This is also based on the minimum credits for Texas - non college bound.)

English (4 credits): Easy Grammar, Easy Writing, Learning Adventures (also 1/2 credit of speech is included) - main emphasis will be in the writing from LA, just expecting more and better quality.

Math (3 credits): Business/Consumer Math - Ray's Arithmetics and Teaching Our Daughters to Be Keepers At Home (TODKAH); Algebra; Geometry (have not decided yet what we will be using).

History (3 credits): US History (1), World History/Geography (1), Government (1/2), and Economics (1/2) - all covered in LA

Science (2 credits): Biology, Physics/Chemistry - "Science Scope" and the science covered in LA and TODKAH placed under these 2 categories.

Health (1/2 credit): TODKAH (and whatever is in LA)

Computer Science (1 credit): computer programs - ie learning to use a word processing program, writing projects from LA.

Music (1 credit): violin, piano, vocal, theory, music appreciation

Foreign Language (2 credits): Spanish, Greek, sign language (?) computer programs etc.

Home Ec (1 credit - at least): TODKAH

Bible (2 credits): Polished Cornerstones, TODKAH, LA

Arts & Crafts (1 credit): TODKAH, LA

In Form-U-la, she shows you how to implement what you study into credits. Mainly, you would just want to make sure that you not just read little kids books. Form-U-la is a fairly expensive book to buy, it is well worth it. But I would suggest that you do an interlibrary loan ($1). Also, the latest edition is 1999, only a few libraries nationally have it, and it is not available for interlibrary loan. But there were close to 100 of the 1996 edition available nationwide. In fact that is the one that I own. This would be a great way for you to read the book to see if you would like to purchase it.

Also, Dorian suggests "Home School, High School, and Beyond" by Beverly Adams-Gordon. I did get the latest edition through interlibrary loan, and I think that Form-U-la would work the best
with LA!!!

I am going to check into making forms to use with LA to cover History mainly. I am going to check with Barbara Shelton to make sure I am not infinging on copyrights. I will be designing my own.

I plan on using as much of LA as I can to fit into these subjects. As you will notice, I do not have any textbooks (I guess Easy Grammar & Writing sort of are, I just happen to own them, but they are as a supplement/guide) listed in my classes. I plan on using "ALL" real books, library or purchased.

This makes a very inexpensive high school curriculum, as well as enjoyable. I am currently making games to cover math in K-8th so I am looking into ways to continue this in high school as well. I hope this gives you some ideas.

Ok........if you use LA units for 5 years....there will be allot of credits there you are NOT seeing.
The main thrust of a unit study is to look at where you can get credits. And at times,you might have to adjust the name.......ok? There will be Ancient hx.,there will be Geography in all units,there is the American hx,in LA #2-you can add your 1/2 credit for your state hx. there,
and depending on your state-you can get other credits for whichever kinds of hx. they need.
Government in there as well. OK......science. With 9th grade and up,I would skip the science in LA units and add another program. The science in LA is more general science/earth/life type. They need more than that in high school. The recipes in the book can be added to with more home type books and there is your HomeEc credit. PE-well,if your child is into sports already-use that as part of credit. If your child is not-let them use an exercise aerobic tape. Then add health type stuff. There is a study on the body in LA #1.Use that in that unit. And you can add biographies on sports people. Or you can gives essays on various health topics of your choice. You can do this for ever how many years PE is required in your state for those credits.
Fine Arts.....another credit. There are studies in LA #1 on composers and artists. There are projects to do as well. You can add more reading literature books and get more credits in things like Communication or speech. This will allow the child to share verbally with the family, friends, church, neighbors what they are learning. Also,your Bible will be given as credits as well. Let's see...... how many credits here???? And you have to add in Literature/grammar credits. The Literature part of that has already been done in LA readings. Vocab already with LA Greek/Latin roots And your math.....whichever you need for graduation. You can add any needed extra credits on anything else you might need. Such as foreign language. If you want to add art course if you need any more credits. Shop,if your child works with Dad in building things.
Remember though,find out what you need from your state with requirements. Go from there.
And,you do not need to do a full year of any 1 elective. Let say your son starts woodworking with a neighbor and that man moves mid stream. You can assign 1/2 credit there. Give the credits where appropriate.

Keepers Of The Faith has wonderful books on all subjects. There you might get ideas. If your child is interested in computers-buy him a Computers for Dummies book. Ah-la........give a credit as elective for him completing that book. Just make sure you get in all the main credits like Math,Lit.. That will be the focus. And sciences, It will also depend on if your child is going to college. There will be different courses to add to that as well. And remember,Abeka and BJ has videos of the higher maths and sciences that you can get if these subjects scare you. There is also Alpha Omega out there as well. If you need a credit or help in science or math. They have several different 1/2 credits as well.

The Texas info I got online at http://www.tea.state.tx.us (ours is listed under curriculum, then there is requirements for high school graduation). I think you could probably put your states two letter abreviation in place of "tx".

College Bound:
English - 4 years
Math - 3 (or 4) years (Algebra 1 & 2, and Geometry)
Science - 3 (or 4) years (Biology, Chemistry & Physics)
History - 4 years (World History, World Geography, US
History, US Govt - 1/2, & Economics - 1/2)
Physical Education - 1 1/2 years
Foreign Language - 2 to 3 years (same language)
Health - 1/2 year
Computer - 1 year
Fine Arts - 1 year
Electives to equal 24 credits (1 year = 1 credit)

Math and Science requirements are only 3 years, but you may want to add the 4th. Pretty much, my plan for my daughter will be college level too. We would just have to change a couple of hours (which we will probably be covering anyways).

I am also going to have her start working on high school credits (slowly) next year - 8th grade. This will lesson her hours a little. But also, we would be covering more of her world history in
volume 1. (Which of course, will be repeated in her senior year.)

If you take a look at my Pace Determiner Worksheet, you will see how much time needs to be spent each day in each subject. You could either spend that amount of time each day (for a four year plan, it comes to 4 hours). Or only do the class on certain days. This plan also shows that unlike conventional school, the 1/2 credit of health for example, does not need to be covered in 1/2 year. You could spread it across 4 years (ie 5 min a day). This lets us use what is in LA to cover these subjects. At the end of the year, you would figure out how many hours were completed, then subtract from total need to graduate. Then this would be the amount needed to cover in the following years. When you do finish a subject, then you do not "need" to count that subject any longer. But I do plan on counting these as "extra credits".

What you do to receive credit with unit studies is to add up your hours. When you are reading history books you have your child time herself. Use a timer if necessary. Plan an hour for history or what ever time you go with. An hour for highschool classes is good to go with because they total up to 180 hours durring the year. This will give a whole credit. Some choose as low as 150 hours others choose as much as 270 hours. (This is rare) You would do this with all the subjects unless you use a text. The compleation of a text will count as a credit itself.

If your child spends 2 hours reading about history and the book being read is something like Tempest, then you would be able to split the credit, by giving 1 hour to history and 1 hour to literature. You have plenty time to digest this, don't let let it get you down. Once you get the hang of it, it is easy, and well worth the effort.

You can grade on class participation, essay grades, and test, so on. What ever you choose, or all of them. You must require your dd to learn the material as well as enjoy the hands on things. That is important. If she chooses to not learn you may want to take away the hands on till you see an improvement in her learning. (This is if she is doing it purposely, it would be another story if she has a learning disibility.)

Now as far as a diploma or a GED, most colleges aren't worried about either. It may be different where you are. You would need to call the college that you plan to send your daughter to and ask what they require. Most colleges want test scores. For a transcript I would suggest that you get the progam Transcript Pro or some other program that will walk you through the steps. It is not too hard but I can't explaine it. Maybe someone else here can do that.

We have text books for math and science, sometimes grammar as it is not necessary to have grammar every year. These we do not have to calculate hours for. We time ourselves for history, literature (when not using a set program), Bible, and basic living skills (home ec or shop) this would include cooking, sewing, changing oil, building a bird house, and so on.

I hope this helps in some way, as I am not the best person in the world to answer your questions. I recenly went to go see Inge Cannon, who is wonderful at explaining all of this. If you ever get a chance you may want to attend one of her conferences. Here is her website: http://www.edplus.com/

Colleges want homeschoolers because they have learned to study and to think. These students often know what they want to do and why they are going there; they know what they are trying to accomplish and have goals in mind. This is rare, and makes homeschooling the success that it is. It is not due to regulating and structuring the homeschool according to any particular pattern of 'school'. We've learned there is a difference between homeschooling and "school at home". Homeschooling is whole life or "natural learning", as Susie explained. . Homeschoolers score well on tests whether they have been used to a school setting or not, if they have studied and learned the subject material and developed the ability to think. Learning this has helped me a lot in letting go of the "academic" biases and prejudice that "structured" or "institutional" learning set in place for me. So often if everything is done "for" you, then you lack confidence in yourself to do what otherwise you would know that you can do, having to learn by experience. Some of us are only being allowed, in letting ourselves learn, to think freely now for the first time in our lives. Thinking is much that way.

When asked to explain what homeschooling means to them, most students after a few highschool years of learning in an even somewhat flexible environment, can explain that it is that flexibility (or time) that gave them the opportunity to discover their own particular abilities, strengths and weaknesses and how to improve themselves. Such is what Education truly means, and the colleges that we are interested in having our young people attend have that understanding as well. There are some colleges now that are moving beyond the "structured" approach also in their instruction and finding that such a close-knit environment for learning, such as a family working together and having resources to share by many at various levels, is the ideal one for excellence, invention, and genius. Taking time to think is a wonderful thing to do at such a time as this.

Pondering Unit Studies...

2010-04-02T11:15:00.000-05:00

I'm looking at Prepare and Pray, using the novel Swiss Family Robinson, which is a favorite of ours for reading aloud. This blogger has a good collection of links and ideas for this novel as well.

I'm also looking at a site called Learning Adventures. They seem to have a great deal available for some really good looking unit studies. The blog I shared above has several really good links and pages for various studies/units.

Anyone have any hands-on experience with either of these unit study curriculum? A dear online sister is sending me her copy of Prepare and Pray to check out...I'll let you know what it looks like soon. But I'm wondering, with our fondness for reading books here, aloud or alone, perhaps we could get a bit more out of another study similar in design to the Prairie Primer. It would certainly cover our history and science, which is where we always find gaping holes.

Here are some of the things I found so far for Swiss Family Robinson...
Homeschool Helper pages
The book itself, Swiss Family Robinson (here's the Plain text...)

A Page of EasyFunSchool links...

2010-03-30T09:44:00.000-05:00

There are quite a few links no longer active, but still...something to spark your imagination as you move along:

EasyFunSchool Links to All Topics