Home School Open House!

Welcome to the March edition of Home School Open House!

Today, I thought I'd simply show you a sampling of some of the curriculum we use.

We're kind of eclectic both in our home school methods and curriculum. What does that mean, exactly?

Well, for one thing, I don't go by strict lesson plans laid out by my curriculum...I pretty much decide our own lesson plans and schedule.
I don't even have a huge schedule made out like some of my home school friends, but I do usually have an agenda in my head of the general things I want to accomplish that week. (The exception would be with math, where I've marked the pages they need to do each day several weeks in advance. It's just seems to work best for us for this subject.)

Also, being eclectic in curriculum means that I pick and choose from various curriculum what we like best.

For example, I might love the math workbooks of Horizon, but prefer Bob Jones language arts. (Which exactly happens to be true, in our case!)

As I show you some of our books, keep in mind that I'm only showing a fraction of what we have...(though we certainly don't cover every subject on a daily basis!) However, we usually do consistently do math, language arts or writing every day...so that's what I'll show you first...



I have to say, my six year old loves math quite a bit more than my fourth grader...who use to love math until this year when it got just a wee bit more complicated!

She does, however, like her English book quite a bit...

And today, these arrived from one of my favorite places, Christianbooks.com...

My girls actually get excited when new workbooks or textbooks arrive at our front door!

I'm looking forward to using the first one with both girls...learning about cells and molecules at a very beginning level (for ages 5-10) .
The second one was the same workbook about maps that my oldest used in first grade and loved.
The third book went along with all of the recent Oregon trail field trips we've been on, and at such a bargain price, I couldn't resist it!

And now- in keeping with my eclectic theme- I want to show you something totally different!
On a beautiful day clear back last May, we decided to go for a walk, keeping our eyes and ears out for neighborhood birds.
Then we followed it up by researching other types of birds on the internet...and then I took it even another step further by having them pick out a few of their favorites and drawing and labeling them. Since I knew they always love drawing about something they've just learned about, I try to encourage it from time to time.

Here's what my then just-turned-six year old drew:


In case you're unclear, they are the Violet Green Swallow, the Sapsucker, and the ever popular Northern Pulmar.
(And if you're not that familiar with all of them, don't worry...neither was I! Exploring things with my children is one of the things l love about home schooling!)

I hope you've enjoyed another peek into our home school. Please take a moment to check out any of the other participants, as well!

And since I have a few Irish ancestors in my family tree, I'd be amiss if I didn't end by wishing each of you a warm...


Blessings!

Wind Tossed Week...and Open House reminder

Thank you everyone for your warm congratulations on my first published article...it meant a lot to me and read every one!

I have to say...it's been a very strange week for us here. Both wonderful moments and not so wonderful moments...highs and lows... days that remind me a little of the March weather we've been experiencing.
Turbulent and stormy...jubilant and springlike. That's been our week.

One family member asked the Lord to come into her heart and life... another family member lost his job. We celebrated my mom's birthday by my girls and I seeing a wonderful play with her and sleeping over...but came back to find that my own husband's job is in complete jeopardy.

Still, with all of this going on, we are trusting in God's provision and care...although I'd be lying if I said we didn't feel anxiety, especially yesterday. But we know in our hearts that God is going to go before us and today we feel an odd sense of hope in the midst of all of this.

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ~ Jeremiah 29:11




A quick reminder that Tuesday is once again Home School Open House so grab the button and "show and tell" us about what you've been doing!
And as always, even if you don't home school, I do hope you'll drop in!


I do hope to tell about the play that we saw a little later in the week...as well as some other wonderful things that have blessed and encouraged our family.
But in the meantime, I hope to see you on Tuesday for the Open House!

Blessings!

Home School Open House #4

Hello and Welcome to the Home School Open House!

Today I'm going to show you two themes that we've been working on lately. But first let me begin by explaining that there are so many ways to home school...

Some people pick one curriculum that tells them exactly what to do on a given day or week.
Others (like me!) choose different workbooks for different subjects and supplement various projects on their own.
I like this approach personally because it appeals to "teacher" in me. Back in college I did major in Elementary Ed. and then later taught preschool...so although I'm not always so creative, I do enjoy trying to be!
Plus, I'm the type that doesn't like having to follow a strict schedule...it makes me feel hindered and sometimes even stressed.
But I realize others that home school actually appreciate having a schedule...or else they get stressed!
And that's the beauty of home schooling to me- finding what best fits your family's personality and learning styles.

Anyway...on with the show!

On top of our regular workbooks we do for "reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic" I chose a fun "Polar Region" theme. It's been fun to try to adapt this for both of my girls ages. (6 and 9). We've been learning about where the polar regions are and what animals live nearby, ect. Here is one of the unit study books I'm using...

I also read to them a chapter a day from The Magic School Bus book, "Penguin Puzzle". It seemed to appeal to both of them, despite their age gap...and in fact, when I would stop they would beg me to keep reading! :) And here is a sample of the world map they made with animals of the regions. (This one made by my 6 yr old.)

For this project, I had them trace a large circle and then they drew "the world" completely on their own. Then I printed off some various arctic and antarctic animals so that they could cut them out and paste them to the appropriate polar region! (They had to figure that part out on their own...and yay, they got them right!)

And today...
n honor of President's Day, we only did a little school work since the public school kids did have off...but it was all related to either George Washington or presidents in general!
I simply printed out some worksheets I found off the computer and then read out of this book I picked up awhile back: "George Washington's Birthdays" by Wilma Pitchford Hays. We also just now -this second- finished a "Presidential Tree". We only went up to the first 16 for this one...ending with a pretty good one, Honest Abe!

Here's more of a close up...



I only printed out three pictures (Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln) and the rest are names written on "cherries".

I hope you enjoyed another peek into our school at home! I'm looking forward to seeing what a few of you are up to, as well!

Also, hope all of you had a wonderful Valentine's weekend! Blessings!