Books are here! The countdown starts.....

Ok, so I don't know about where you live, but school starts here in my neck of the world in less than 2 weeks.
I got the last 2 books in the mail today to begin our schooling adventure for an entire year this time!
As most of you know, I pulled my girl out of school in February of her 3rd grade year. Our thoughts were, if it was a total fail, well she could probably go into 4th grade this year unharmed.
Well, there is no turning back now and what a positive thing. What a solid decision.
It is just one of those things that I feel really good about. It is RIGHT. I feel at peace and calm about my three year old not having to do the public school thing at all.


Though I am adding, and substituting out in a few spots-
we are sticking with the ambleside online curriculum and the books are AMAZING this year. I wish this was how I learned!
(Though I guess I will be learning from them after all. right ?? ;-) )

I wanted to tell you about my three favorites so far:

Minn of the Mississippi by Holling C. Holling

I found a great study guide here which includes:
Students will know the location and basic geography surrounding the Mississippi River.

- Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the contributions of the

Mississippi River, both past and current, to our nation.

- Students will be able to articulate basic facts about the river itself and some of the

various life forms that exist in and through it.

- Students will understand the life cycle and basic characteristics of the Snapping

Turtle.

- Students will be able to draw correlations between the characteristics of the Snapping

Turtle’s life and the virtue of thriftiness, or learning how to live with basic provisions

I am using this guide to go along with Minn. I plan on using the 3 week guide but break it down to 1 day a week to follow ambleside's schedule.

George Washington's World by Genevieve Foster

I flipped through this book today and in addition to some great black and white ink drawings throughout, this book presents a slice of life during George Washington's lifetime. Chapters cover major periods of his life, from a boy, a soldier, a farmer, a regular citizen and then our first president.

The writing style is engaging, and the narrative, which contains unattributed dialogue, and reads more like fiction than a history text.

and

Poor Richard by James Daugherty

This book is full of some excellent illustrations too. It is the biography of Ben Franklin written in a way that captures the actual person Ben Franklin was; full of energy and optimism. It really is a great glimpse of how life was during his time.


Ok, there, so like I said, the books are here. The stuff is looking organized. A plan is in place AND the count down for home school has begun. Call me weird but, I'm starting to get excited!

Thoughts on school stuff and Friday reviews-

SO I have been missing for a couple of weeks...or I have just named the Friday posts different than what I had planned with "review." Looks like I may be doing some actual reviews of Children's DVD's in the coming week/months. So I guess I will have to reserve that word for that? Oh who cares, here I am and I am sharing, ready or not!

This might be a boring post for those of you who don't do this homeschool thing, so I will tell you now. Sorry, catch you next time :-) But, I promised I would post some bits here. I have also seen many new moms on our ramble yahoo group that are feeling as lost and unsure as I was a few months back. So, If you are on this homeschool journey with me, then I hope this may help you or that you can at least relate.

We have had a few breaks in there recently. There was spring break, that we just took like our public school did. I think I may follow their schedule. At least for now. AND last week- I ended up staying in the hospital with my son, so there was a break those days too. But you know, that is life and it would have happened no matter what right?

I have had a few people ask which curriculum I bought or decided to go with. And I am very very happy with Ambleside Online. It is a completely FREE online curriculum that is based on the beliefs of a woman named Charlotte Mason. The lessons come from books of literature, or "living books" and it is truly an enriched approach to learning that does not have the sterility of text books. I think, that in life, once you are passed all your "schooling" anyway, that IS how we learn. So I am really loving it. And My daughter seems to be blooming with it. The first few weeks, I was sort of feeling my way, and I like to "follow the rules" once I commit to something. But I have slowly learned and decided that although that is the curriculum we are going to stick with, I do not have to follow it exactly. So maybe I do have a little rule breaking in me ;-)

There have been a couple of books or lessons that I have felt are either irrelevant to us or just too dull to even focus on, and have come to learn how easy it is to replace or just skip all together.

Ah, Ha moment. This is why we so homeschooling. What works the best for our children, and ourselves as their teachers! There really aren't any real rules! Other than providing the best possible education for your child, and not dying or becoming a complete uptight-wad in the process!

I have also fallen in love with (as I have said in an earlier post) the Core Knowledge series. "What your __________should know". I have been using it extensively. Breaking up the lessons a chapter each section per week. AND since the internet is so CHOCKED full of just about anything, I can usually type a subject and have unlimited options on things to use, print, learn with. For example I typed John Muir and found an entire lesson packet to use. There we go,

another example of how we don't have to use the book and will just do the packet with her this time instead.

Okay. SO what tools have I used to keep us on track? Keep us organized? Productive?

I have made up the weekly sheet that I fill in to have it all laid out for us each week. I have a binder that we use for the week, and another GIGANTIC binder that I move everything into once we've completed them. (This is to show our county, and since I am new at this, I am keeping everything just to be safe).

I have seen a lot of posts about timelines. I have never been able to find the timeline links mentioned on Ambleside. But I have a very smart home school mom who posted about a timeline binder on her blog lightning igniting. That has been a great help for us. Right now It is all grouped together in this giant binder by time. Every Friday we make up a sheet for anyone we studied that week that deserves a spot in history. They range from Queen Elizabeth, Kublai Khan to Georgia O'keaffe. My Daughter enjoys it, and it is definitely a great way to place the person in the right spot of reference in your mind.

Other ways we have been breaking up our learning is lapbooks. I did a post last month on the statue of liberty. We have a couple going sort of simultaneously that we are adding to a little bit more each week till we are finished with those subjects. Which currently are "animals that work together" for nature studies science and Greek mythology.

Okay- so if you are doing the Ambleside along with me. Just know that you can ALWAYS sub out a book from your library on a topic if you want to. I use it as a guideline. And follow the basic philosophy. And mostly follow the topics too.You do not HAVE to do it exact.

{I was surprised to learn how modern most libraries are now too. You can go online, find your book and reserve it. Just like that. Awesome right?}

There are many ways to approach something right? Don't sweat the small stuff. I have learned it will drive you to insanity.

Alright, I am done now. Enough rambling. ;-)

Lady Liberty Lap Book

WOW! What a week!  We took an unexpected trip to NYC.  We explored the city for 2 days and didn't get home until early, early Wednesday.  Me, being prepared had already printed out the weeks worth of work suddenly felt stressed by how we could possibly manage to get it all done now?
My husband being of sound mind (and rest) suggested we just study some of the things we saw in NY.
Do the work next week. Phew.


SO ENTER the world of LAP BOOKS!
Lap books.  I have seen those words around on certain sites lately but was unsure of what exactly they were.  WEll, google "what is a lap book", and you will see. :-)

I think one thing in particular that was of high interest was the statue of Liberty that we saw during our entire trip there, and then were up close and personal on a ferry ride.   
I searched the Statue of Liberty and found this Lap book all ready for us.  AWESOME!!!

This was an excellent project that my little home school girl thought was "cool" and "so fun to do!"


Here are a couple of links to the youtube videos that explained to us how to make a lap book. Here and Here.
We made one that even had a flap and a pocket to hold all her handwriting sheets (that all were themed for freedom and liberty).

I am not sure how often we will do these.  But we will definitely be doing them again!  It was a great project to fill up our week. (of 2 and 1/2 days)


AND the book that was suggested to go along with the Lap book is really great.  Super interesting and great illustrations.  PERFECT for kids to learn pretty much everything that happened to make the Statue of Liberty what she is. Lady Liberty: A Biography


This was a great week!

Another Friday...

I taught her to cross stitch this week.  I remember my grandma doing that with me.  I was actually excited about it.  It is for her "handicraft."  She's making a bookmark. :-)

Ok, so here's the deal.  We've made it to another Friday and I do have more spots to share.
AND overall it was another good week of home school.   I had a couple of moments this week where I asked myself,  "what have I done?"  and "can I really do this?"  The truth is, in those moments I had a three year old who has just entered the "terrible two's" wreaking havoc.  So this is what I've learned:


If we are having a day or a moment where the 3 year old is making the ability to focus impossible.  Then take a break, give something that can be done alone, and come back to the lesson tomorrow (or later).
Even though I have made a schedule for the week, I can skip to the next day if that helps, and vice-versa.
Of course during the moments this didn't occur to me and I felt really frustrated.  But I am learning how to do this too right?


And.  I had to tell my daughter that when I am teacher, I am not mom.  Do not interrupt me, or argue with me.  Do not do to me what you would not do to your teacher.


So any bits of advice on these things....I'll take them!


But here are the cool spots I've discovered this week:


This is a cool site that has Radio shows about different composers.  They are really cute and fun to listen to. It also has back archives of the worksheet lessons for that particular show, for each composer.

classics for kids

Another site that has a chart with lessons and pictures for famous composers:

practical pages

SO she is learning her multiplication tables and truly not digging it.  I found this site that has games .  A couple of the games you can tell which factors to use.  And the penguin ice cream game she got to decorate the penguins room more and more as she got through each level.  Made learning math more fun this week.math games


And Lastly I am going to put this one up.  We are studying Marco Polo for geography and this site is good because it has several weeks of lessons following his journey and at the end of each lesson a GREAT idea for a project.  1st week she was a travel agent and had to make a travel brochure.  This week she had to pretend she was Marco and design a post card she picked up in Peru to mail home.  And to describe her journey so far.  She has had fun with the little projects.


This website is a little confusing following the lessons though.  So I might just use it for the clever ideas at the end of each lesson, and use the chapters in a book I picked up called Who was Marco Polo? 


I haven't looked through the entire site, but Edsitement seems to have MANY lessons on here for MANY subjects: Edsitement


There your go!
Hope your journey this week was easier than mine!

Friday Review

So, a crazy yet incredible thing has happened in the past month and I now am a home schooling mama.
This has been something that has been whispering to me for more than a couple of years, and well, it was finally the time.  


This was our first week, and I have to say it went surprisingly SMOOTH.
I am a very over organized person with lists and check lists, so of course that is what keeps me dotting all our i's and crossing all our t's each week and touching on all our subjects.


I decided that Friday's will be our day for REVIEW and tying up anything that we've left unfinished.  
I have to admit I was smiling from ear to ear at my daughters excitement of a friday quiz. It is a low key quiz that covers EVERY subject we covered during the week. (little does she know it really is to tell me what she soaked up during our week.)   She aced every question and it was not a small quiz. Yeah Me!
ANYWAY, I thought it fitting that I do some Friday "reviews" (sharing) of tools, books or sites that I have found to help me paddle our journey more smoothly.


So here we go....


First off, I have a friend who is another mom schooling at home, and I have found her blog to be a very valuable resource.  Check her out here: http://lightningigniting.blogspot.com/


Next is the most amazing historical books by Diane Stanley.  You can see them here at amazon.
We only have Good Queen Bess. (The story of Elizabeth I of England).  But, let me tell you it has gorgeous artwork and the language and story is so easy and fun it is a delight to read.  I would love to get my hands on some of her others such as Michelangelo, Cleopatra, Da Vinci, Joan of Arc and Bard of Avon (the story of Shakespeare).  I am truly inspired by them!


Ok, there was a website I found this week to help make spelling lessons fun here: http://www.spellingcity.com/
You create a free account and then create your own spelling lists, and then your kids play fun games based on YOUR own list.  The games were things like "hang mouse" and word searches, and many more!


There has been LOTS and LOTS of new findings for me over the month, but I hope that every Friday I will have new ones to share with you.


The last book I got my hands on yesterday.  I think it is an absolutely amazing book.  Charming and delightful and quite possibly a MUST in my curriculum.
The Core Knowledge series:
What your 3rd grader needs to know.
Peek at it on amazon.
It is chocked full of every bit of CORE knowledge that your child should know at certain grade levels, but it is in a story book format that addresses your child directly and is FULL of stories and sayings and phrases that are right there in the book with the lesson that is trying to be conveyed.
I am in love, and can not wait to get my hands on every single grade that it offers.


So that is my review guys.  I am feeling like a rock star momma after this week.  Hopefully the momentum will last!


Oh. P.S.
My daughter started her own blog this week.  It is her view of home schooling.  It might be fun to follow a 9 year olds mind in the world of home schooling.
Here