I am not so organized as most of you at the moment! I haven't sat down with the books or anything, but I might not need to. Sounds weird, I know, but life is very busy and homeschooling is just part of our life no matter what time of year it is. If we are off doing something or the fruit needs canning we don't study, but if we are home it is just a natural part of our daily routine. So, maybe this is more to organize my thoughts than to really "tell" what we are doing.
At the Moment....
Bible: All three girls study the Young Disciple lesson. They are also taking turns with the kids at church leading out in Prayer meeting. Tomorrow evening is Christina's (10) turn. She is presenting the State of the Dead and everyone who attends was suppose to memorize 4 key texts. Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6. Psalm 115:17. Psalm 6:5, and Job 14:12. Next week it is Brianna's (13) turn and she is presenting our body temple. They are also preparing a VBS program for 300 African children. We leave for a 2 month mission trip in October and all the kids are putting on a VBS that includes a Bible and Health theme. Also, for Bible in September our church is sponsoring the Amazing Adventures by Amazing Facts. I think this is a wonderful program and none of you need miss it if you have the internet!! One other thing, as a family we are working on a presentation on the Sanctuary.
Math: We are enjoying Teaching Textbooks for math! Vanessa (14) is our high schooler, Brianna (13) is in 7th grade and is hoping to complete it by October 15th so that when we get back from Africa she will do the 8th grade program. Christina (10) is half way through the 6th grade program.
Reading: They read a lot of books. My husband still pays them to read :-) They have to turn in all their reading hours and a book report in order to get money to buy more books. They have a minimum they have to reach to get anything. At the moment Brianna is reading George Washington's World by Genevieve Foster. According to her digital bookmark she has logged 12 hours of reading this month. Thankfully the kids can read in the car without getting carsick! Vanessa is reading Augustus Caesar's World by the same author. And Christina just borrowed 8 books from a friend this afternoon. She just finished reading a book about Molly Pitcher from the Childhood of Famous American series. So, I consider that HISTORY. Sometimes it is science. Vanessa is also reading one of the Tiner books on the history of medicine.
Grammar: We like Easy Grammar! Vanessa is using Easy Grammar Plus! And Brianna the 5&6 and Christina the 4&5. There is a lady in town who is an English teacher. She has been a teacher for over 40 years. She is great and the kids like her. She uses Easy Grammar and teaches a homeschool class so we are planning to participate in that this year.
Writing: The same lady that teaches grammar teaches a writing course. Vanessa has been in that course for a year now and she has learned a lot. I am planning on using Excellence in Writing for the other two. All three have to keep a journal of our trip to Tanzania.
Science: The plan is for me to present Biology 101 as a class to our homeschool group beginning in January when we are all back from Africa. I think it's going to be fun to do it together.
Music:
Vanessa- Piano, harp, church pianist at our church , Reflections Choir pianist, United church pianist, piano teacher to 3 girls and singer in double trio (Echoes of Heaven). She is preparing to be the featured harpist for Symphony this fall. She is in the bell choir.
Brianna - Violin, piano, choir, church ensemble and singing in Echoes of Heaven. Bells. Also preparing to be featured violinist for symphony this fall.
Christina - Flute, choir, church ensemble and singing in the Cashmere girl's group and bells. I would like to get her going more on piano but waiting for the right time.
Speech: This is very important on my list.... but it is part of choir and it is part of their church experience and it is part of the outreach they do. I drill them and work on their presentation as opportunities present themselves.
Spelling: Ummmm... we are not so good at it. I would like to fix that somehow. Don't know what to do about it at the moment. We've been using Phonics Zoo but they are so tired of it. We tried doing no spelling some years, Calvert, R &S, Abeka, and keeping lists (as long as our arms and legs) of misspelled words and drilling and all that, but so far we aren't great spellers.
Handwriting: The artist, Brianna, has nice handwriting but the other two are working on their cursive.
Foreign Language: Swahili is the language of choice at the moment and has been since about April. Along with their friends who are going with us, they practice all the time. Tanzania will test their skills!
I don't do anything the way it is "suppose" to be done. I believe in the discipline of studying and learning and practicing, I just don't believe it all has to be done like they do it in school. I don't like the box the world has put education in. My goals for my children are these; To know their Bible inside and out and be dedicated Christians. To be self-governed. To be able to read and absorb information well.To be excellent communicators in everything, whether they are writing, speaking, singing, teaching, or just playing the piano. The rest they will teach themselves!
Untitled Comment
Posted by Schatzi on Tuesday, August 19, 2008 at 09:45 - Link
Sounds like you are more organized than you realize...and just stopping by to say hi.
Blessings,
Connie
Spelling program
Posted by Becky on Wednesday, August 20, 2008 at 10:59 - Link
I really enjoyed reading everything you have listed - it looks pretty organized to me. =)
We started a spelling program with our 2 blessings this year, we are using Sequential Spelling. It is done on a daily basis (but a friend of mine did it whenever they thought of it, lol) and the words build on each other.
<>< Becky
Sounds great!
Posted by Ann@ His Grace To Me on Thursday, August 21, 2008 at 02:10 - Link
My favorite part of your post is when you said that you don't do things the way they are supposed to be done. I love that about homeschooling. There is no one way or one size fits all in homeschooling.
That age
Posted by Anonymous on Monday, September 8, 2008 at 03:48 - Link
I can't imagine myself homeschooling my 2 munchkins when they are that age-it's just a lack of self-confidence I suppose. They are 2 and 3 years old right now. But by God's grace, even I can, right? I've been struggling to find home-schooling blogs, in fact, yours is the first one I've found by SDA's.Now Jason has another reason to be happy he has his blog on the net too!
PS
Posted by Anonymous on Monday, September 8, 2008 at 03:51 - Link
Forgot to say who I am!Thandi from South Africa.I found Jason's blog on Friday, clicked on your link today.
