1st Week of the 2015-2016 School Year

Our first week of school went very well. 

Attitudes were good. 

We finished all that I had planned, even though we pushed a couple of things back from Monday to Tuesday. 

The kids were excited about what we were learning in science about the body; they rattled off everything to their Dad at dinner each night. We started our first experiment - to see what substance (Epsom salt, salt, baking soda or air) would best preserve apple slices.

They took well to the IEW curriculum which I'll write about more later when we finish the first lesson later this week. 

I am finding history very interesting so far, but I don't care for the new format. Having to get all activities from the CD-ROM is not as convenient as having it in the book to refer to whenever I want. This year I am having the kids take notes in a spiral notebook. They are doing well with this. I hope it will help them remember what we are learning better as well as pave the way for note taking in high school and college. Their timeline figures have been super too!

So far so good. I'm thankful for this as I needed some calm, happy activity to occupy my time and mind. I love my kiddos and am thankful that we're home learning together.

Ellie drew a new mascot each day. I think you can guess who they are intended to represent!

First Day of 2015-2016 School Year

I told a few friends on Sunday that ready or not, we were starting school today. It made me think of Stephen Curtis Chapman's song "Dive".  "Ready or not, I'm diving in.". . .

As I was getting ready to work on lesson plans, I decided to reorganize the order in which we do our subjects. We will start with Bible and then do math followed by a break. After the break we'll do our IEW work, spelling and history. Then it will be time for lunch. After lunch we'll do science and language. I figure this way my daughter can get her math out of the way earlier so she won't have to face it later when she's feeling tired and ready to quit for the day.

My goal is start school each day by 9 a.m. Today, Ellie was still sleeping at 8:30. It takes her a while to get up and moving, so we didn't start school until 9:45 a.m. I set IEW and spelling aside today. We can do these in four days, so we'll work on them through Friday instead of Thursday.

We are studying the book of Jonah first. Today the study focused on who God is and what He can do. We saw from Jonah 1:1-9 that God speaks to ordinary people. He is all-powerful and He rules over nature. God is Elohim, the Creator; He created everything!

Our memory verse for this week is Psalm 135:5-6:

For I know that the Lord is great and that our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the Lord pleases, He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps. 

From these verses we see that the Lord is great; He is above all gods; and whatever the Lord pleases, He does.

We were then asked to write something that has happened in our lives or the life of another that shows "the Lord is great." We agreed that Dennis being healed of cancer was one. I also see how God always provides for our needs.

I really liked our Mystery of History lesson today. We learned about the battle for rule between the House of Lancaster and the House of York. They were finally united by Henry VII who then named his family the House of Tudor. It was also very interesting to learn about the Yeoman Warders or "beefeaters". They must serve in the English military for 22 years and reach the rank of senior officer; they live with their families at the Tower of London so they can be "on call"; they wear their red uniforms for special occasions, otherwise they were a navy one; and their name may have come from a French word for "food tester" or because they were well fed!

I know that studying anatomy and physiology is going to be very interesting. The first lesson is an introduction to the subject. Today we learned that the Egyptians had an early knowledge of anatomy and physiology as they mummified their dead. And we also saw that the many laws God gave the Hebrews regarding food, the washing of the body and clothing as well as what to do with people who had various skin diseases were actually for their physical protection from germs and the spreading of contagious disease. Those instructions given in Old Testament times were scientifically accurate and beneficial. "God is the original Scientist of the world."

Overall, it was a good first day. We followed our school day with a trip to the library and a stop at Trader Joe's for a few things. The kids were happy to come home and have some time to relax. We'll be waiting for our new washer to be delivered tomorrow and not going anywhere, so we'll tackle some chores then. We can't always do it all. . . At least that is what I keep reminding myself.

First day of 5th grade

First day of 7th grade

Our mascot for the day

Teaching Friday School

One thing about homeschooling that can be difficult is paying for things. Our PSP offers classes on Tuesdays and Fridays for the K-8th graders. These enrichment classes are great for several reasons. The kids can learn something different than what they are learning at home. They get the experience of taking instruction from someone other than their own parent(s). They learn how to work with others in a classroom setting. It's a time to socialize with friends/peers their own age. And frankly, it gives the kids a break from mom and their siblings and vice versa!

In our PSP, parents have to pay for their kids to participate in these classes. The reasons for a fee are that the PSP has to pay for the use of the church where we meet, the teachers are paid, and teachers are reimbursed for the supplies they use in class. Considering that all the teachers have degrees and have either taught or worked in their field, have to plan and prepare for their classes, and give of their time to teach, I do not mind paying for the kids to participate. Except for one experience, so far, we have felt fully confident in those who are teaching our children.

Not minding the fee and being able to pay it are two different things. Two years ago, we felt we needed to drop the kids from attending Friday school for the second semester because we needed that money to go elsewhere in the budget. God faithfully made a way for the kids to continue that year, but I knew that there was something I could do to make it possible for them to continue - I could ask to teach myself.

So last summer I approached our administrator to see if there were any openings. Not only was there an opening at the Friday school location where we had been attending, but it was for 4th grade; and I was given permission to teach a survey of California history! This was a huge answer to prayer in every way. My first teaching job was in a 4th grade classroom and I taught that grade for four years. After teaching a year of 3rd grade and three years of 6th grade, I found that 4th grade was my favorite. I enjoyed the stage the students were in and the topics that we studied - especially California history.

My first Friday school class was very reminiscent of my first year of teaching - the class was mostly boys; and very active boys! I'll admit I was pretty overwhelmed my first day. Thankfully I didn't have unkind parents like I did my first year of teaching. Our PSP parents are very nice and gracious. As I adjusted my expectations (less writing) and got to know the kids better, the class went pretty well over all. 

By teaching a class, my kids were able to attend Friday school for free. The amount that I was paid covered the cost of our tuition and curriculum. We only needed to pay for field trips and sports. This was a help to us. So, I am scheduled to teach again this year. Since my planning is done, I think it will be less time consuming than last year. As I went along, I made notes of what worked and what didn't. I have found other activities that look better (more interesting/more fun) than what I did before, so I might add them in this time around.

As I am going through my lessons, I will post them here to share. Keep in mind this is a "survey" of California history. We are not covering every aspect nor are we covering it in detail. I am just hitting the highlights. I only teach every-other-Friday, so I go over one topic each week. Feel free to share any ideas you have as well.

Here is the link to my Pinterest board with all of my California history ideas.

California, here we come!

Promotion Night 2015

We have been with our current PSP for four years, but have never attended the Promotion Night. This year, since Ellie was finishing elementary school, we thought it would be nice for her to commemorate it by attending this event. Things started out a bit rough, but with a little help from our high school counselor, things got on track and it all went well.

Josh has completed 4th grade. . . 

. . . and is now a 5th grader!

Ellie has completed 6th grade and ended her elementary years.

Wow! She's now a 7th grade junior higher!

The Hardest Part of my Homeschool Year

This is a series going on at the Simple Homeschool blog. I thought I'd add my own. . .

Right now the hardest part of my homeschool year is GETTING STARTED!

My curriculum is here. My husband went back to school today for meetings. I know we are in need of the routine of school. It will be good to get in a few full weeks before activities begin. . .

But I don't feel like starting.

This summer has not been all I'd hoped. I don't feel rested. I don't feel like I accomplished anything productive. We didn't do many of the fun things I had hoped to do.

Maybe one more week will help me reclaim some of what I feel has lacked this summer. But ready or not, next Monday is Day One. . .

2015-2016 Curriculum

All of our curriculum is in. I have even done our 1st semester course of study plan. Here's what's on our agenda for 5th and 7th grade this year. . . 

We have really enjoyed Kay Arthur's studies. Even though they are intended for the elementary grades, I feel they are thorough enough to do them in junior high. I plan to finish out the series in the next two years. This year we will cover Jonah, Esther, 2 Timothy and James. 

We will continue with Learning Language Arts Through Literature. Josh will be in the purple book for 5th grade and Ellie will be in the green book for 7th. 

This year I am adding Institute for Excellence in Writing's Level B for both kids. They have done well with writing so far; but I feel they will benefit from more instruction in this area. I have heard very good things about this curriculum and look forward to using the history-based curriculum in future years.

This spelling structure has been good for Ellie. We will finish up book 2 during the first semester and then begin book 3. 

Still going with Saxon math. I considered getting the Dive CD for Ellie. Although she has improved in math, she still does not like the subject. She was starting to struggle more at the end of the year. I plan to work alongside her for this subject. As long as I can keep up, I think we will hold off on the CD. 

Next to our Bible studies, this is my favorite curriculum. Looking forward to learning more!

Even though Ellie will be in junior high, I decided to do the anatomy and physiology from Apologia with both kids. It is so nice to do subjects together. Next year we may be doing two separate sciences, but we'll see!

4th Quarter 2014-2015

Well, we made it to the end of our 4th quarter. I wish I could say we also made it to the end of ALL of our curriculum, but sadly, that is not the case. There will be a little "summer school" going on here.

We did finish our study in Revelation. When you are just reading through this book of the Bible, it can be confusing. But as we have studied it verse by verse, I feel that I have a better understanding of the imagery used to explain the end times. There were several things that stood out to me the most in this book of prophecy. The first lesson came from the letters to the seven churches. To those who believe in Christ, we are promised eternal victory over death as well as victory in our daily Christian living. The second lesson served as a reminder of what it means to truly worship God. As we neared the end of our study, the third lesson had to do with the Great White Throne Judgment. The good news for those who believe in Christ as Savior is that in the end, Christ will defeat Satan. But until that time, Satan works over-time trying to keep people from seeing the Truth. Oh, how I continue to pray my kids will always see, believe and follow the Truth. The final lesson was a reminder that a saved life should reflect a changed life. Jesus is coming soon. Are we ready?

Ellie did not finish her language; she still had a handful of lessons to finish. I blame myself for letting her take too long on her two research projects. Her final book study was on "The Horse and his Boy". Dennis read the entire Chronicles of Narnia series with both kids, so she was already familiar with the book. It was a good one to end the year with. Her lessons this quarter focused on prepositions/prepositional phrases/objects of prepositions, adverbs, quotations, and interjections. Josh learned about newspapers, the correct use of various adjectives/adverbs, helping verbs and homonyms, the difference between compound verbs and compound sentences and more on correct punctuation. His final lesson was on story writing. By the time he got to this, he had just completed a 19 page story on the computer and had an idea for a second one. I proofread his finished story and had him make corrections. Since he was done and Ellie was not, I added in a book study on "The Great Horn Spoon". I had some supplemental materials to go along with this book. I also had him finish up some left over Skill Sheets from Abeka.

Neither of the kids finished their math. They had 10 lessons left as well as one final math test. I suppose I could have let them go as they will review next year; but I really like to know we have completed the material, especially in this core subject.

We did complete our science curriculum. We ended the year learning about and comparing: turtles, terrapins and tortoises; alligators and crocodiles; newts and salamanders. We enjoyed learning further about the classification of dinosaurs. (From the description given in Job chapter 40, Behemoth was likely a Sauropod.) We learned about the different types of webs made by spiders in our study of Arthropods as well as the defenses of scorpions, millipedes and wood lice. It was not all that pleasant to be reminded of all the mites living around and on us! Our final study was on gastropods and worms.Those living outside the body are yucky enough, but reading about the various ones we can have living inside of us was very creepy. Make sure you cook your food!

And as for history, we did not finish the last week's worth of material. This quarter we learned about Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Clara and Saint Dominic (all had good works, but we were reminded that we are saved by grace!); the philosopher of the Middle Ages, St. Thomas Aquinas; the scientist of the Middle Ages, Roger Bacon; the Great Khans; Marco Polo; Sir William Wallace and Robert Bruce; the poet of the Middles Ages, Dante; the Hundred Years' War and the Black Death; the Morning Star of the Reformation, John Wycliffe (he believed the Bible was for everyone, not just the priests and worked to have it translated from Latin to English); Chaucer (the Father of the English language) and Joan of Arc. We will finish up during the summer with the Ottoman Turks and finally, Johannes Gutenberg's printing press. The author points out that although many consider the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks as the end of the Middle (Dark) Ages, she chose to end this volume with Gutenberg's printing press. The invention of the printing press allowed the Word of God to spread which in effect brought an end to the dark area we have been studying and the beginning of a lighter one. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." -John 1:1

Our final field trip for the school year was to the California Science Center to see the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit. Dennis took the day off to go with us. He was able to count it as a professional develop day since he would be teaching Geography in the summer.

Ellie played basketball with CYAA. Our friend was the head coach and Dennis assisted. Josh took golf lessons with First Tee of Pasadena. Both kids will be in the skit for VBS in July, so the three of us have been attending rehearsals every Sunday in preparation.

We attended our first promotion night with our PSP in June. It was a nice event. Our kiddos are growing up! We now have a 5th grader and a 7th grader! Time sure does fly. It seems just yesterday we started this homeschooling journey.

And it certainly has been a journey. We have gone from a very academic, comprehensive, workbook type of curriculum to one that embraces literature, journaling, notebooking and learning together. I have greatly appreciated being able to do most of our subjects - Bible, History, Science and Spelling - together. I also like that I am able to learn alongside them as we read and discuss the lessons. Yes, some days I wish we didn't have to do school because I don't feel like it or there are other things I would like to do; but I know it's important to press on. Not just because I want my kids to get an education, but because the discipline to do it has helped us to mature in our walks with the Lord, to grow personally and to bond as a family. And yes, some days my kids drive me crazy and I think about throwing in the towel and sending them to school; but I would miss them and the experience of teaching them and watching them grow. I don't know everything. I don't have it all together. I'm not the best teacher out there. But with the Lord, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26) and all things work for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28).

Dead Sea Scrolls Field Trip

Basketball 2015

Golf Spring 2015

Promotion Night 2015; From 4th grade to 5th grade

Promotion Night 2015; from 6th grade to 7th grade