School Pictures

My How Do You...? series will return next week.  (All archived posts can be accessed in the index by clicking here.) In the meantime, I need new questions.  If you have an idea, e-mail me and I'll get to it in the coming weeks. 

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On what was to be our first day back to (home)school, we made other plans. 

Maddie signed up for Circus Horse Camp so she spent the day away.  This was her third year attending and it is the highlight of her entire summer.  She learned to groom the horses and do tricks like hang upside down from the horse and stand up on its back.  They took a ride down a trail and had a picnic lunch, then ended the afternoon with a swim in the pool. 

So it turned out that Tuesday was the first day of school instead.  I've learned that when expectations are high for the first day, it all goes miserably wrong.  Now, we plan a light and easy transition day...or week... to ease all of us back in.  Our primary goal of Day 1 was to color signs and take school pictures. 

Our class this year consists of

a 5th grader, a 3rd grader, a 1st grader, a pre-schooler, and a pre-pre-pre-schooler. 

Look how they've grown since last year!



I pray that as they grow, they continue to grow in the knowledge of God.






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T.I.P.sters: Schooling Kids of Different Ages

This week is Back to (home) School at our house.

Gavin is beginning 5th grade, Maddie will be in 3rd grade, Owen is entering 1st grade, Benjamin will be 4 in October, and Alaine is turning 2 in about three weeks. 

photo credit: Kati

I love how the start of a new school year signifies a fresh start.  We are making a few changes this year and going back to some old favorites, too.  (There are numerous links in this post.  Click to find out more about each product or book.  Some are Amazon affiliate links, some are not.)

Because I have five students to teach and care for, our goal is to do and learn the majority of our studies together.  With the exception of math and English, we are successful!  

"The Togethers"

For Bible this year, I have chosen to read aloud to them directly from the Bible, instead of a Bible story book or Bible study book.  We are beginning with Section 1 of this daily Bible reading plan for children. 


We are beginning the scripture memory box system for Bible memory which I hope will help all of us to retain the verses we're learning long after we're done memorizing them. 

We will also continue to learn with the What's in the Bible? DVDs during family devotional time. (The series is finishing up the study of  Old Testament and will begin releasing the DVDs covering the New Testament in January 2013.)

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For history, we are beginning The Mystery of History, Volume 1 by Linda Lacour Hobar.  After scouring the library for the past four years during our living book approach to American history, I am looking forward to reading through a living textbook where everything is in one place!  I love how The Mystery of History is an integrated history program that weaves Biblical and secular history together chronologically.

We're also doing a weekly geography study using  Maps,  Charts, and Graphs: States and Regions with the three older kids sharing a workbook.  

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For science, we are doing a living book approach to astronomy.  After the success of our living book and hands-on  study of trees last year, we are going to recreate the idea by learning about the moon, sun, comets, asteroids, constellations, and planets.

Our study of the human body that we completed this summer for health could also count for science.  

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For art, we will continue our study of fine art.  This year, I've chosen to focus on two artists.  We'll study Grandma Moses from August through December.   We'll read a few biographies and focus on one of the her paintings each month.  Last year, the kids enjoyed trying to copy/sketch what they saw in each piece of artwork so we'll probably do that again, too.  During our second semester (February through May), I'm torn between Georgia O'Keefe and Edward Hicks.

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For music, we are using Christmas Carols for Kid's Heart (Hymns For A Kid's Heart, Volume 3) by Bobbie Wolgemuth and Joni Eareckson Tada.  Everyone is excited about singing Christmas carols all year long.  We have used both Hymns for a Kid's Heart, Volume 1 and Passion Hymns for a Kid's Heart in previous school years.  We'll read a short story or description of a song, then listen or sing along to the music on the accompanying CD for several weeks in a row.  Doesn't get much easier than that!

"The Independent Work"

I've had difficulties choosing a math program that we're all happy with.  I've struggled to find the  balance between engaging, challenging, affordable, and enjoyable.  Gavin will begin an older edition of Saxon Math 65 this year. I plan to have him do only the even-numbered problems every day (because 30 problems is a lot for any kid!) I'm hoping this is it and we can stick with Saxon through middle school and high school.

Maddie and Owen will doing Math Basics Grade 3 (from School Zone) together but with separate workbooks.  They are also begging to do the (non-consumable) Times Tales book by Jennie Von Eggers so I'll probably dig that back out by mid-year.  (If your children are having trouble with learning their times tables, Times Tales is the way to go!  Gavin learned the times tables in TWO DAYS using this book!) 

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Maddie and Owen finished phonics last year so they are improving their reading proficiency by reading to themselves and reading aloud to me.  For handwriting, Maddie is beginning A Reason for Handwriting: Book C which introduces cursive and Owen will start  Mastering Manuscript  Book 2.  

Gavin will continue working through  Language Lessons for the Very Young: Volume 1 and Volume 2(from Queen Homeschooling) which combine copywork and grammar.  He loves the short (5-10 minutes  a day) lessons.  He'll also continue Natural Speller by Kathryn Stout. 

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Have you made plans for your school year? 
What are you learning this year?

We're pleased to welcome another Guest T.I.P.ster this week! Suanna from Enjoying My Family will be sharing how she Schools Kids of Different Ages.  Please click over to her blog to read about her ideas...and tell her we sent you. 

As always...take a moment to visit my fellow T.I.P.sters,

Allyson and  Christy.
 
Coming Soon:

August 21: Teaching Kids to Read

Linking to...

Farewell to Summer?

It's not really farewell to summer, but we're back to (home)school next week.  Our schedule will be flexible.  It has to be to fit in all the celebrations.  (Our little family of seven celebrates 4 birthdays and an anniversary between July 28 and September 1! Plus we're hosting three birthday parties in one day.  More on that in another post.) 

Still, hanging a new map on the wall, shopping for new pencils, and beginning our new history book signals a semi-end to the freedom of the summer months.  So how did we fill the past eleven weeks?

• We went to the beach not once, not twice...

      but THREE times!

• We took a day trip with the four older kids and left a very generous Aunt Kati home with Alaine, Finn (the dog), and Kitt (the cat). 

The next day, Alaine decided that if she was old enough to be left at home without Mama, she was old enough to learn to climb out of her crib.  Rather than train her to stay in, we decided it was time for the big girl bed.

•  We spent a morning at the $1 movies and an afternoon at Chuck E. Cheese.

• And while we may have done our own Summer Reading Program at home, we still enjoyed our local libraries, attending a performance of Alice in Wonderland, a show by The Bubble Lady, an inflatable planetarium presentation, a meet-and-greet of nocturnal animals from the zoo, and a Lego Robotics class. 

• We took advantage of some at-home days to get started on a few Christmas presents.

• We spent countless hours building Legos and cleaning up Legos and stepping on Legos and sorting Legos and sending in photos to the Lego magazine. 

• We hosted a morning craft at our house.  With thirteen children under the age of ten, I didn't have a chance to take photos until after everyone went home.  
  

• Twice, we went swimming at a friend's house.

•  We also did a little wading in our own backyard (well, on our back deck). 
  
  
  

• The four oldest went to Bible school with Grandma.  Regrettably, I have no pictures, but they are already talking about next year, plus they had  a thrill riding in her car and being treated to snow cones, too!

• The kids hosted a sleepover for their Aunt Bekah (who is 11). Then Bekah hosted a sleepover for them. 

• As a last hoorah, Maddie was invited to spend a Girl Day at her Gammy's house.  They ate grilled cheese and drank root beer floats, watched a cooking show and played Tiddly Winks. 

She's the youngest looking great-grandmother I know!

Oh, summer, we're going to miss you (though we'll gladly welcome fall's temperatures!).  

How Do You... Keep Kids Out Late?

*** You can now access all "How Do You...?"  posts in one handy-dandy spot by clicking here. ***

How do you prepare to keep your kids out past their bedtime? 

We discovered early in our parenting journey that it was easiest to keep kids at home close to their bedtimes.  Having sleepy, cranky kids in the car or out at the store or even at the playground was more effort than it was worth.  However, sometimes it is necessary to be out past the time when our kids are usually in bed. 

There are a few things to I do to prepare.

1) I adjust naptime.  I let the little ones sleep a little later into the afternoon so that they are well rested and not ready to go to bed quite so early. 

2) When appropriate, I pack a snack to hand out during our evening outing.  Food gives them the extra fuel to keep going a little longer.  Plus it is a great distraction.  It also means that when we return home, little ones can go straight to bed.

3) I pack pajamas to be worn on the ride home.  Anytime I think we'll be out late, I slip pajamas into my purse or diaper bag.  If we're with friends or family, I change the kids before we leave.  On the Fourth of July, we were at a nearby town for a fireworks show.  It didn't end until ten o'clock so while we were waiting for the parking lot to clear enough for us to leave, I dressed the youngest kids for bed and buckled them into their car seats.  When we arrived home, Brian transferred sleeping bodies directly into bed.  

How do you prepare to be out late?  Let us know in the comments. 

Also, if you have a question for a future "How Do You...?" post, share that in the comments, too, or send me an e-mail! I'd love to hear from you. 

The Dress Project-- Final Month

Sarah and Jenna are friends who blog together at Delighting in Today.  Now, not only do they blog together, but they also both entered The Dress Project's Summer Challenge! 

Sarah bought a women's shirt on clearance at Target and then made it over into a summer dress for her daughter. This kind of project is what The Dress Project is all about:  taking something too small or too big or too whatever...and making it wearable again!

For more pictures and details of how she did it, click on the above photo.

I'm so glad Jenna entered, too, because she gave The Summer Challenge something it hadn't yet seen-- a boy!  Jenna took a plain white T and, with a little paint, made it a knock-off J. Crew shirt!  How cool is that (and how kind to the pocketbook)! 

For many more adorable photos, click on the above photo.

There are 30 days left to enter  The Dress Project: Summer Challenge.  I'm excited to see what you can come up with.  Blog about it and then add your link HERE.  Don't forget... you could win one of two prizes!