TIHWDI, Pt. 3: Last Week Was Pretty Great

We went to the lovely Outer Banks for a perfect camping trip:



Ian got a spiffy new guitar and is learning to play The Essex Green's "Late Great Cassiopeia" for his guitar school's upcoming show. (I know, he's so cool. That's how we raise them.)

We went to a Greek Festival in Raleigh:

Aaaand we saw They Might Be Giants at the NC Museum of Art's amphitheater!:



Lucky, lucky us.

This Is How We Do It, Pt. 2: Sunday Night

Right now, I'm preparing the lessons for this week. I'm surrounded by printers, paper, books, and folders, am watching Bottle Rocket, and am already on my third Coke Zero. This is what we're using this week (after the ACTION SHOT!):


History:
Eyewitness Books: North American Indian
Tools of Native Americans (Kavin)
History Pockets: Native Americans (Evan-Moor Publishing, who print many of my favorite resources and are also the people behind Teacher File Box, which I use daily.)
Eyewitness Books: Explorer (for Ian's homeschool group presentation on Magellan)
Explorers Fandex (more Magellan magic)
Ancient Greece (Moore)
Tools of the Ancient Greeks
You Are in Ancient Greece (Minnis)
Spend the Day in Ancient Greece (Honan)
The Ancient Greek World (Roberts/Barrett)
City States (Wright)
History Pockets: Ancient Greece (Evan-Moor)
(Dude, we love Greece.)
+ worksheets from www.teacherfilebox.com

Latin:
Prima Latina Student Book
Prima Latina Teacher Manual

Grammar & Spelling:
Red Hot Root Words Book 1 (Draze)
Building Spelling Skills 2 (Evan-Moor)
Building Spelling Skills 4 (Evan-Moor)
+ worksheets galore from Teacher File Box

Greek:
Greek Alphabet Code Cracker (Perrin)

Literature:
Random House Book of Poetry for Children
The Golden Fleece (Colum)
Independent reading: Ian: Mysterious Benedict Society (Stewart)
Allie: King Arthur tales
Read aloud: Spiderwick Chronicles, Bk 3 (DiTerlizzi/Black)
+ poetry worksheets from Teacher File Box

Science:
Find the Constellations (Rey)
DK Guide: Space (Bond)
Atlas of Space (Scholastic Reference)
+ worksheets (Have I mentioned Teacher File Box? Also: NASA's websites)

Math:
Homemade worksheets galore.

Writing letters to:
-Penpals (Panagiotis in Greece, Fara, Victoria & Chloe in France, & Roberto and Andreas in Italy)
-pick an author (will let kids decide. Ian wrote a letter to Brian Selznick last year and got a great letter back within a couple of weeks. Let me take a moment to *really* recommend his book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret. (Check out the website. Become obsessed with automatons and Georges Melies.) Beautiful. We also love The Houdini Box, and we just found Amelia & Eleanor Go for a Ride, which he only illustrated, but it's wonderful. Check them all out. Do it now.)

Field trips:
Library story time on Tuesday. Will look for more stuff on Magellan & will practice library skills
Friday: Apple picking
(Nothing much planned this week due to the craziness of every week this summer. It's time to slow down a bit. Maybe.)

-Will *finally* start practicing our play about Bellerophon, Pegasus, & the Chimaera. The sets are ready, and the kids are just waiting for me to print out the script they wrote.

They also have daily journal writing, art, music, and recess.
And that's it.

This Is How We Do It, Pt. 1: Your Questions, Satisfactorily Answered

Q: Why do you homeschool? Is it for religious reasons? Do you have a problem with public schools?
A: We do not homeschool for religious reasons, and we don't have problems with the public schools, other than I think they're too crowded. When I pulled Ian out of elementary school in the middle of 2nd grade, there were 26 students in his class. I read an article in the News & Observer the other day that quoted Ian's friend's (and former classmate's) mother saying that there were now 33 students in each class in the 4th grade (Ian's current grade.) I have nothing but respect and awe for teachers, and do not feel that my kids were failed or let down. However, Ian needed particular attention in math and was getting behind, despite hours of homework and tutoring in the evening. He was too advanced in reading and writing, though, and was getting bored with his assignments there. Allie was behind in spelling, but was too far ahead in math. Finally, I feel that by homeschooling, I can offer a broader education, teaching my kids Greek and Latin, mythology, exploration, astronomy, etc., and can cater to their interests and strengths. Finally, we just have a lot of fun. That's the why.

Q: How do you do it? Do you have a schedule?
A: Yes, I do have a schedule. I spend a few hours every Sunday evening preparing lessons, printing worksheets, planning art projects, scheduling field trips, and deciding the subject rotation. Not all homeschoolers do this, but I do because it helps keep me focused and on track. However, I'm not super-strict: if it's a pretty day, we'll spend some time outside reading or exploring. If there's a class or activity organized by our homeschool group, we'll make time for that. If I want to go to the zoo, then darn it, we're going to the zoo. It's not all Spongebob and pajamas, though.

Q: What curriculum do you use?
A: I make my own. I like to be a little flexible in what we do & when we want to do it. If we want to study polar explorers for three months, then we will. (And we did.) Using that same example: I do try to tie in all subjects...For history, we studied the heroic age of polar exploration. For geography, we studied the poles. For science, we studied the climate and life at the poles. For spelling and grammar, we learned words relating to exploration, and I made grammar & punctuation worksheets featuring explorers, stories, Robert Scott's journals (minus the commas and capitalization so the kids could correct it), etc. And so on. We're fortunate that we have a decent library of books to choose from, thanks to great local used/new/independent/homeschool bookstores, a large homeschool population in the area that put their books and supplies on Craigslist regularly and have good yard sales, and of course, Amazon.com.
Another reason we don't use prepackaged curricula is because, as I mentioned before, my kids aren't just on a 4th (or 2nd, or K) grade level in all subjects. Ian tests at an 8th grade level in reading, grammar, and writing, but struggles (and never gives up!) in math. I can give Ian big honkin' books to read and expect more from him in writing, but take our time in math and make sure he understands the concepts before we move on. Allie's the exact opposite: I can't go fast enough in math, but I'll just say that her spelling is adorable and creative and her grammar is free-form, and we have to review constantly to make sure she gets it.

Q: Do you think the kids are getting the socialization skills they need?
A: Yes, or we wouldn't homeschool at all. Strangely, I have the most outgoing, friendly, social, LOUDEST, happiest kids EVER. (Strange because my husband & I both are fairly introverted. The kids always amaze us.) They have lots of friends in the neighborhood and in our huge, busy homeschool group (more on them later.) They go to game days and park days. They have friends over often. Ian has guitar & karate lessons, and Allie will probably start something soon, once she can decide what she wants to do. (Drum lessons? More swim lessons? Back to Girl Scouts? Start karate? I guess we'll see.) So, nope, I'm not at all worried about my well-adjusted, extroverted, mile-a-minute kids.

So. There some very basic answers. I'll expand on each a little throughout the week. (You're welcome!) Right now it's time to crack open a Coke Zero, put in a movie, and start getting ready for the week ahead. I love doing this. I really do.

campy

A lot of people have been asking a lot of questions lately about our homeschool. We're getting ready to go to the Outer Banks on a camping trip, but when we return I'll start posting more about what we do. I plan on discussing what books we use, how we socialize, our schedule, and how it works for us. Feel free to write with any questions you might have and I'll be giddy to reply.
Have a swell weekend! I'll put up some pictures here when we get back.

"Some days are fancy days." -Allie

letters to the president

On Tuesday, like many other schools across the country, we watched President Obama give his speech on education, responsibility, and accountability. We began that day by discussing goals: by defining the word, talking about the difference between short-term and long-term goals, understanding why they're important, and figuring out how we can achieve them. The kids then wrote a paper listing their goals, picked the one they thought was most important, and illustrated it.We followed that by talking a little about the President and why he is qualified to speak about working hard to meet your goals, taking responsibility for your education, and being accountable for your own actions. The kids enjoyed learning about his childhood and thought he was very interesting.It was then time for the speech to begin. My kids paid close attention and were suprisingly quiet throughout. When it was over, they were quick to point out their favorite parts of the talk, how likeable the President seemed, and asked if we could start homeschool at 4:30 in the morning. (Um, nope.) They wanted to know if it would be okay if they wrote a letter to Obama (they love to write letters...more on that in another post), and of course I said that would be wonderful.
Here's what they wrote:

Dear Mr. President,
Thank you for the speech you made about education and responsibility. I liked when you said failure doesn't define us, it teaches us to try again, and when you said how other students became great heroes, inventors, and leaders. Also I liked the story about your mom. I am in 4th grade in homeschool. I like to study Greece. My goal is to become an archaeologist. I liked how your speech inspired me to reach my goal. You do an excellent job as president. I am glad I saw you twice in North Carolina when you were campaigning. Thank you for working so hard for us! Your Friend,
Ian

Dear Mr. President,
Thank you for the speech you made about education and responsibility. I liked when you said your mom woke you up a 4:30 in the morning. I also thought it was very inspiring and made me want me to work harder. I also liked how you reminded us to not quit and to keep trying. I am a 2nd grader. I like math and art. When I grow up I'm going to be a zookeeper. Thank you for your work. You are a nice man.
Your friend,
Allie
They also enclosed the drawings they made of their most important goal, and Annie, my four year old, included her lovely drawing of her being a famous "arter." Then they addressed the envelope and ran outside to put it in the mailbox. They told me they should hear back from Obama "in about a week." I told them to relax and be extra-patient.

I thought it was a terrific, inspirational speech that was perfectly targeted to any school-aged child. And it motivated me to be a better teacher.

you're welcome for the most pretentious kid update ever

I was stringing tape around the baseboards of the girls' room so I can paint tonight, and I overheard my seven year old daughter teaching my four year old daughter Latin vocabulary. Adorable.
That's all for now. We've been too busy to update, which is a good thing, I think.

still summer

Mercy on us, little children...!

We found a copy of Myths Every Child Should Know (1905) on Amazon...for $1. It was edited by HW Mabie, and has a few stories from Nathaniel Hawthorne's Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys. Hawthorne's writing is so playful and gentle in these retellings, and my kids (although quick to point out the gorier stuff he omitted) are as crazy about them as I am...his joy is contagious. You can read his tale of our beloved Chimaera here.

According to Allie's wanted poster: Catch the Chimera, get a kingdom, the princess, $200 and a dog. How could Bellerophon say no? (Answer: He couldn't. Man needs a dog.)

We're taking a break tomorrow. The kids are having friends over for water balloon/water gun fights, and we're going to eat cookies (Christmas cookies in August!) and be merry. Thursday we'll be back to work, and will hopefully get the play finished then. The sets are mostly done, and I have to say, they're pretty fantastic.

Four year olds are the best storytellers.

The girls and I were sitting in the waiting room, waiting for Ian to finish his guitar lesson for the week. Allie was drawing, filling her sketch book with daisies and smiling puppies, loving family and happy owls. Annie was drawing, too. She was sketching a story while she was telling it. It went something like this:
"I am the princess. I am the daughter of the king. I have a golden bride and I ride Pegasus all around. Then one sad day I got stolen. I got stolen all the way to Egypt. The mean men left me in the desert and I was lost. I was surrounded by camel balls."
"You were surrounded by what, dear?" I asked delicately, noticing that the other parents in the room had grown very quiet and were working hard to not look at us.
"CAMEL BALLS. Camel balls were EVERYWHERE!" Annie yelled dramatically, flinging her arms over her head and spinning around. She stopped and looked at me so, so seriously.
"They were going to EAT ME."
I sighed.
"You're talking about 'cannibals,' aren't you?"
"YES! And then Pegasus flew all the way from Greece and saved me and then I flew up to France on vacation. The end."

We've been working like little bees on our play, which we hope to have ready on Monday. I'll put it up here when it's done. It's going to be a winner, I promise!