We have been using Mystery of History Volume 1 this year, taking it slowly through the text, doing 3 lessons a week or so. We are now on lesson 43 which is an introduction to the City of Rome, c. 753 BC.
This past week, the children took an oral quiz - 30 questions asking: Who is..Eve...the Sumerians....Hammurabi....King Wen...etc....? They got 26 of them right! Here are the 4 they missed. Do you know who these historical people are?
Who was King Minos?
Who was Khufu?
Who was Jeroboam? (They knew it was a Biblical king, so MORE than that is needed!)
Who were the Aryans?
I love the clearly written Christian perspective of the text and the choices of activities are varied and fun, yet bring home the point of the lesson.
The memory cards have been the main sticking point for us. We are keeping up with them, but it is the only thing the kids really complain about. We have enjoyed doing the map work and the timeline.
The activities really complement the lessons. We made a plumb line to go along with the lesson on the prophet Amos. The kids dyed cloth with stinky dye to remember the Phoenicians. They made Lego ziggurats to illustrate the Tower of Babel.
The thing I love about MOH is that Biblical history is integrated seamlessly with the rest of world history, putting it on the same level. I want my kids to see the events of the Bible as true beyond a shadow of a doubt, as well as know when the events occurred and in what order. This is something I never learned, but I am learning now and MOH is a great tool to help my kids to see the big picture.
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Wednesday, March 1, 2006
To Epsilon or Not to Epsilon
Well, for weeks and weeks now, I've needed to order Math-U-See Epsilon for David. He finished Delta mid-January. It was supposed to be a $95 order (with shipping), but then I decided not to order the Fraction Overlays as David probably wouldn't need those anyway. So, I was left with the teacher book/CD and the student book for Epsilon which would be $55 plus shipping. (I think.)
Well, I didn't HAVE $55. Then I had it, but I needed it for bills. Then I didn't have it again, lol. Then I had it again, but needed it for bills again. With no $55 looming easily in the horizon, I needed to find another solution. (No, I can't get it on eBay. It's too new and no one is selling it. In the rare event it does come up on auction, it usually sells for retail!)
So, I finally decided to see if David could pass the Epsilon placement test. He didn't pass, but he came pretty close. So, I figured I would just teach him fractions (Epsilon's focus) out of some books I already have. He understands the concepts fine and doesn't really need the hands-on part anyway. IF there is something we don't get, I have 2 friends that have the Epsilon stuff and I could take David over and show him the lesson on the DVD.
So, I've decided just to CLEP him out of Epsilon after some intense fraction study. :-)
Then, on to ZETA!
Well, I didn't HAVE $55. Then I had it, but I needed it for bills. Then I didn't have it again, lol. Then I had it again, but needed it for bills again. With no $55 looming easily in the horizon, I needed to find another solution. (No, I can't get it on eBay. It's too new and no one is selling it. In the rare event it does come up on auction, it usually sells for retail!)
So, I finally decided to see if David could pass the Epsilon placement test. He didn't pass, but he came pretty close. So, I figured I would just teach him fractions (Epsilon's focus) out of some books I already have. He understands the concepts fine and doesn't really need the hands-on part anyway. IF there is something we don't get, I have 2 friends that have the Epsilon stuff and I could take David over and show him the lesson on the DVD.
So, I've decided just to CLEP him out of Epsilon after some intense fraction study. :-)
Then, on to ZETA!
Saturday, January 7, 2006
Sitting Still Training
I've been working with all 4 of my kids on Sitting Still Training. "What's that?" you ask. "Why?" you wonder.
Well, I've realized that most of my kids have no tolerance at all for sitting still. I'd like to be able to take them somewhere - church, the dentist's office, to a movie, etc. and have them be able to sit still in their chairs. They don't sit still. They wiggle. They talk. They crawl under the chair. They fidget. They get up and run around. They change seats. Enough already! Ta-dah! Sitting Still Training!
How exactly am I doing it? Well, it's pretty simple. They practice sitting still.
I line them up sitting on the couch. I want them all together because that's the hardest time to sit still - when you are with your siblings.
I put on classical music. (They love classical, by the way, thanks to the Classical Kids audiotapes I mentioned on this blog a while back.)
I set the timer.
They sit. And sit. And sit some more.
They aren't always sitting perfectly still and quiet, but that's the goal and they are learning how.
I am working on 90 minutes of sitting still. Once they have all achieved it, which could take a while, we will do a big family prize.
They each have a chart to keep track of how long they can sit. They earn 3 individual prizes along the way (to keep things exciting! and no, I don't care if you call it bribing, if my kids will be sitting still while you say it!).
David is up to something like 45 minutes. Emily is around 30. James and Suzy, not surprisingly, are much farther behind. But I have confidence they can learn it.
And after Sitting Still is achieved, we move on to STANDING STILL. Oy.
Well, I've realized that most of my kids have no tolerance at all for sitting still. I'd like to be able to take them somewhere - church, the dentist's office, to a movie, etc. and have them be able to sit still in their chairs. They don't sit still. They wiggle. They talk. They crawl under the chair. They fidget. They get up and run around. They change seats. Enough already! Ta-dah! Sitting Still Training!
How exactly am I doing it? Well, it's pretty simple. They practice sitting still.
I line them up sitting on the couch. I want them all together because that's the hardest time to sit still - when you are with your siblings.
I put on classical music. (They love classical, by the way, thanks to the Classical Kids audiotapes I mentioned on this blog a while back.)
I set the timer.
They sit. And sit. And sit some more.
They aren't always sitting perfectly still and quiet, but that's the goal and they are learning how.
I am working on 90 minutes of sitting still. Once they have all achieved it, which could take a while, we will do a big family prize.
They each have a chart to keep track of how long they can sit. They earn 3 individual prizes along the way (to keep things exciting! and no, I don't care if you call it bribing, if my kids will be sitting still while you say it!).
David is up to something like 45 minutes. Emily is around 30. James and Suzy, not surprisingly, are much farther behind. But I have confidence they can learn it.
And after Sitting Still is achieved, we move on to STANDING STILL. Oy.
Tuesday, December 6, 2005
Christmas School
Between Thanksgiving and Epiphany, we don't do any "real" school. Instead we work at what I have termed "Christmas School". I've been asked to post some of the activities we have been working on the past couple of weeks and what we plan for the coming weeks as well.
First off, I'd like to list a few of the reasons why I've chosen to do Christmas School. First, since we do school more or less year-round, I don't have any problem taking off 6 weeks or so at this time of year. Second, I found that I never had enough time to do all the fun Christmas-y activities I wanted to do with my kids when we did regular schoolwork. Another reason is that I found that this time of year is a great time for a break; otherwise I get totally burned out trying to accomplish everything and by February I am ready for it to all be over. (This is something I learned while teaching at a Christian school years ago.) When I take a break for Christmas School, I am ready to dive back into our regular schoolwork in the second week of January. There are more reasons, but that's a good part of it.
I should also state that we are continuing on with our math studies during our Christmas School respite. Last year we did NOT do Math, and I regretted it in January. :-)
So, what do we do? I choose some appropriate Bible study. Last year we did a Jesse Tree. Here is a good example of that: http://www.rca.org/worship/material/advent/makingtree.html I used the patterns on this page to print out for the kids to color and make a Jesse tree out of paper.
This year, our Bible study is Color the Christmas Classics. (http://www.colortheclassics.com/) This study comes with an audio cassette or CD and information and coloring sheets for 13 Christmas carols that describe the history of the carol - both lyrics and music. We are enjoying this and it is very different from the Jesse tree study.
We also just finished reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, mainly in preparation for the movie that was just released. I took David (almost age 11) and Emily (age 8) to see the movie on Friday night. They've already demanded that I read another book, and so we will continue with Prince Caspian, because that is the next book that features the 4 children. (I do NOT like the renumbering of the series, and much prefer the old way of numbering that I remember from my childhood.)
We also have tickets for a live performance of A Christmas Carol, so I decided the children should have the book read to them beforehand. Quite unknown to me, the edition of the book I had on my shelf had a read-along CD included in it! So the kids have been listening to that when I am not here. Something that Bob can have them do for school, ye ken? (That's Scottish for "kwim". -g-) They will finish that this week, as our tickets are for this Wednesday.
All the children have created art projects as gifts for their aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Suzy, James, and Emily had fun foam ornaments in varying degrees of difficulty. Suzy did a snowman star, James did a Christmas tree with jeweled ornaments, and Emily did a more complicated sequined snowman. All of them added their photographs to the ornaments. It took several days for them to complete these ornaments which made for a nice relaxed pace.
David, instead of making a craft, learned how to use Windows Movie Maker, which came free with my computer (although apparently not with all computers that have Windows XP). He created a 3 minute movie/slideshow of family photographs accompanied by music. He burned 7 of them to CD's and decorated the paper CD envelopes as gifts for his grandparents and aunts and uncles on my side of the family.For David, I am encouraging every practical use of the computer possible.
OK, let's see. Still to come? Handmade Christmas cards, Decorated Christmas PJ's, Writing a Christmas letter, addressing Christmas cards and mailing them. Baking Christmas cookies, making gingerbread houses, making Christmas candies. Wrapping Christmas gifts, finishing up the last bits of Christmas shopping. Instead of me doing all this stuff late at night after the kids are in bed, we will do it together. Ye ken?
Hope this helps! I will try to post more. Questions? Ask 'em!
First off, I'd like to list a few of the reasons why I've chosen to do Christmas School. First, since we do school more or less year-round, I don't have any problem taking off 6 weeks or so at this time of year. Second, I found that I never had enough time to do all the fun Christmas-y activities I wanted to do with my kids when we did regular schoolwork. Another reason is that I found that this time of year is a great time for a break; otherwise I get totally burned out trying to accomplish everything and by February I am ready for it to all be over. (This is something I learned while teaching at a Christian school years ago.) When I take a break for Christmas School, I am ready to dive back into our regular schoolwork in the second week of January. There are more reasons, but that's a good part of it.
I should also state that we are continuing on with our math studies during our Christmas School respite. Last year we did NOT do Math, and I regretted it in January. :-)
So, what do we do? I choose some appropriate Bible study. Last year we did a Jesse Tree. Here is a good example of that: http://www.rca.org/worship/material/advent/makingtree.html I used the patterns on this page to print out for the kids to color and make a Jesse tree out of paper.
This year, our Bible study is Color the Christmas Classics. (http://www.colortheclassics.com/) This study comes with an audio cassette or CD and information and coloring sheets for 13 Christmas carols that describe the history of the carol - both lyrics and music. We are enjoying this and it is very different from the Jesse tree study.
We also just finished reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, mainly in preparation for the movie that was just released. I took David (almost age 11) and Emily (age 8) to see the movie on Friday night. They've already demanded that I read another book, and so we will continue with Prince Caspian, because that is the next book that features the 4 children. (I do NOT like the renumbering of the series, and much prefer the old way of numbering that I remember from my childhood.)
We also have tickets for a live performance of A Christmas Carol, so I decided the children should have the book read to them beforehand. Quite unknown to me, the edition of the book I had on my shelf had a read-along CD included in it! So the kids have been listening to that when I am not here. Something that Bob can have them do for school, ye ken? (That's Scottish for "kwim". -g-) They will finish that this week, as our tickets are for this Wednesday.
All the children have created art projects as gifts for their aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Suzy, James, and Emily had fun foam ornaments in varying degrees of difficulty. Suzy did a snowman star, James did a Christmas tree with jeweled ornaments, and Emily did a more complicated sequined snowman. All of them added their photographs to the ornaments. It took several days for them to complete these ornaments which made for a nice relaxed pace.
David, instead of making a craft, learned how to use Windows Movie Maker, which came free with my computer (although apparently not with all computers that have Windows XP). He created a 3 minute movie/slideshow of family photographs accompanied by music. He burned 7 of them to CD's and decorated the paper CD envelopes as gifts for his grandparents and aunts and uncles on my side of the family.For David, I am encouraging every practical use of the computer possible.
OK, let's see. Still to come? Handmade Christmas cards, Decorated Christmas PJ's, Writing a Christmas letter, addressing Christmas cards and mailing them. Baking Christmas cookies, making gingerbread houses, making Christmas candies. Wrapping Christmas gifts, finishing up the last bits of Christmas shopping. Instead of me doing all this stuff late at night after the kids are in bed, we will do it together. Ye ken?
Hope this helps! I will try to post more. Questions? Ask 'em!
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Spelling Power
My first rebellion against the traditional spelling curriculums came when I was teaching in a Christian school back in the early 90's. I could see that the traditional spelling books weren't effective in actually teaching the children the word spellings. They could get A's on the tests and then spell the same words wrong in their writing the next week.
At that time, I decided to use a individualized spelling program, but the board of the school vetoed my plan. (None of them were even teachers, but using the A Beka curriculum was a selling point of the school. Sigh.)
So, when it came time to teach my own kids, I decided to forego spelling instruction during the early elementary years. I didn't want to do the traditional weekly plan of a new list every Monday and a test every Friday, with meaningless practice in between. I wanted my children to be able to internalize the spellings of words, instead of memorizing them for the tests and then forgetting them immediately.
I decided to focus on phonics instruction and allow my children the freedom to write without spelling instruction during their early years. David was not ready, by my estimation, for spelling instruction until the fourth grade. Emily was ready at the same time, however, and she was in the second grade.
So, I had heard such good things about Spelling Power and it fit my requirements. I wanted something non-consumable that I could use with all my kids. I wanted it to be personalized. I wanted it to be comprehensive. I wanted it to be easy to use. The research included by the author, Beverly Adams-Gordon, was very impressive to me as well.
So we began.
My children haven't loved it, but what children love learning to spell? Not many, in my experience. I, however, have loved it. Once I learned the method, it was very easy to use. (There was a steep learning curve, which frustrated me at first. I highly suggest finding someone who has used it and ask for their help in deciphering the instructions. I also watched the video, borrowed from a friend, and that helped some.)
It takes just 15 minutes to complete the lesson each day, and about 5-10 minutes of that is direct instruction time. The remainder of the time is for the student to complete the 10 step practice and write the sentences.
The ten step practice is the strength of the program, in my opinion. And the practice steps could be used with any spelling program. The tactile step is the most important (and the easiest to skip) and it has made a big difference for David.
Spelling has been hard for David and extremely easy for Emily. She is ahead of him in spelling, but he doesn't seem to be aware of the fact. He does ask her for help in spelling sometimes, so he does recognize her abilities. Spelling Power works great for both of them. I intend to use it through high school.
At that time, I decided to use a individualized spelling program, but the board of the school vetoed my plan. (None of them were even teachers, but using the A Beka curriculum was a selling point of the school. Sigh.)
So, when it came time to teach my own kids, I decided to forego spelling instruction during the early elementary years. I didn't want to do the traditional weekly plan of a new list every Monday and a test every Friday, with meaningless practice in between. I wanted my children to be able to internalize the spellings of words, instead of memorizing them for the tests and then forgetting them immediately.
I decided to focus on phonics instruction and allow my children the freedom to write without spelling instruction during their early years. David was not ready, by my estimation, for spelling instruction until the fourth grade. Emily was ready at the same time, however, and she was in the second grade.
So, I had heard such good things about Spelling Power and it fit my requirements. I wanted something non-consumable that I could use with all my kids. I wanted it to be personalized. I wanted it to be comprehensive. I wanted it to be easy to use. The research included by the author, Beverly Adams-Gordon, was very impressive to me as well.
So we began.
My children haven't loved it, but what children love learning to spell? Not many, in my experience. I, however, have loved it. Once I learned the method, it was very easy to use. (There was a steep learning curve, which frustrated me at first. I highly suggest finding someone who has used it and ask for their help in deciphering the instructions. I also watched the video, borrowed from a friend, and that helped some.)
It takes just 15 minutes to complete the lesson each day, and about 5-10 minutes of that is direct instruction time. The remainder of the time is for the student to complete the 10 step practice and write the sentences.
The ten step practice is the strength of the program, in my opinion. And the practice steps could be used with any spelling program. The tactile step is the most important (and the easiest to skip) and it has made a big difference for David.
Spelling has been hard for David and extremely easy for Emily. She is ahead of him in spelling, but he doesn't seem to be aware of the fact. He does ask her for help in spelling sometimes, so he does recognize her abilities. Spelling Power works great for both of them. I intend to use it through high school.
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Math-U-See
I resisted Math-U-See for years. Too expensive, I said. Too exclusive; why, it's only sold through distributers! I am sure it must be trendy and have no substance.
So, first I used Miquon because it was cheap, but still manipulative-based. Then I flip-flopped over to A Beka, because although the Miquon was non-traditional, I also found that it wasn't very effective or very well-organized. But I missed the hands-on and hated the busy work of A Beka. Then I looked at Saxon - eww! I must have done some other things in there too, including some Walmart-type workbooks.
Then my friend Barb gave a short presentation on MUS during our homeschool support meeting. I was enthralled. It made sense! It was hands-on! It was mastery-based! She had been using it for years with her four kids and still liked it! I was sold.
I went to place my order only to find that they were coming out with new books in the next few weeks, so I breathlessly waited for the new editions.
Oh when I finally got them, I was so excited, but also intimidated! I had to make something called Decimal Street. Man, I was a little overwhelmed by that, but I finally buckled down and got to it. It was AWESOME!!
The lessons all come on DVD. I use the DVD's to teach the kids. I sit with them and watch their new lessons and then they do the pages pretty much independently, unless they have a problems. Mr. Demme explains things very thoroughly and clearly, using the blocks to illustrate. I often learn to look at math in a new way myself! The nice thing about the DVD is, no matter how many times you replay it, Mr. Demme is always just as sweet and patient as he was the first time. Unlike Mom. LOL
I like the fact that there are 6 pages per lesson and you can do them all or just 1, depending on the mastery the child has of the information.
I love the blocks! A friend just told me she was trying to do MUS and it wasn't working out well. In the course of the conversation, she told me she hadn't bought the blocks! What? You're teaching MUS to a 1st grader without the blocks? I don't think I'd attempt that! I think I've convinced her to order them! LOL
This will be our second full year with Math-U-See and I don't foresee us ever needing to change curriculums!
So, first I used Miquon because it was cheap, but still manipulative-based. Then I flip-flopped over to A Beka, because although the Miquon was non-traditional, I also found that it wasn't very effective or very well-organized. But I missed the hands-on and hated the busy work of A Beka. Then I looked at Saxon - eww! I must have done some other things in there too, including some Walmart-type workbooks.
Then my friend Barb gave a short presentation on MUS during our homeschool support meeting. I was enthralled. It made sense! It was hands-on! It was mastery-based! She had been using it for years with her four kids and still liked it! I was sold.
I went to place my order only to find that they were coming out with new books in the next few weeks, so I breathlessly waited for the new editions.
Oh when I finally got them, I was so excited, but also intimidated! I had to make something called Decimal Street. Man, I was a little overwhelmed by that, but I finally buckled down and got to it. It was AWESOME!!
The lessons all come on DVD. I use the DVD's to teach the kids. I sit with them and watch their new lessons and then they do the pages pretty much independently, unless they have a problems. Mr. Demme explains things very thoroughly and clearly, using the blocks to illustrate. I often learn to look at math in a new way myself! The nice thing about the DVD is, no matter how many times you replay it, Mr. Demme is always just as sweet and patient as he was the first time. Unlike Mom. LOL
I like the fact that there are 6 pages per lesson and you can do them all or just 1, depending on the mastery the child has of the information.
I love the blocks! A friend just told me she was trying to do MUS and it wasn't working out well. In the course of the conversation, she told me she hadn't bought the blocks! What? You're teaching MUS to a 1st grader without the blocks? I don't think I'd attempt that! I think I've convinced her to order them! LOL
This will be our second full year with Math-U-See and I don't foresee us ever needing to change curriculums!
Thursday, September 1, 2005
Mystery of History
Thanks to my good friend Maryann, I found the perfect History curriculum. In my humble opinion, of course. :-)
HERE IT IS!! The Mystery of History: Volume 1 by Linda Lacour Hobar.
As soon as I picked it up and started paging through it, I knew it was perfect for us.
Short lessons written in a conversational manner
Starts at Creation and has a Biblical point of view
Includes Biblical events mixed in with other historical events
Can be done with all age students
Not a traditional "textbook" or a workbook
Has cool hands-on activities for each lesson
Organized chronologically and includes history from all over the world, not just western civilization
Includes timeline work
Includes map work
Hobar has written Volume 2 and is working on Volume 3. There will be 5 volumes when it is all completed. When I get to the end of Volume 5, I plan to start over again with Volume 1.
I planned my lessons out by writing down the pages we plan to cover each day and by choosing the activities we plan to do. I noted the items needed for each activity, so I am not surprised on the day that we need a white sheet cake and colored frosting.
Several of the homeschooling moms I know have also decided to use Mystery of History. I am excited that other people will be doing it alongside of us, because that only can mean more support!
If you are still looking for a history curriculum you can really enjoy, give this one a try! (Will post more later in the year, after I've had a chance to try it.)
HERE IT IS!! The Mystery of History: Volume 1 by Linda Lacour Hobar.
As soon as I picked it up and started paging through it, I knew it was perfect for us.
Short lessons written in a conversational manner
Starts at Creation and has a Biblical point of view
Includes Biblical events mixed in with other historical events
Can be done with all age students
Not a traditional "textbook" or a workbook
Has cool hands-on activities for each lesson
Organized chronologically and includes history from all over the world, not just western civilization
Includes timeline work
Includes map work
Hobar has written Volume 2 and is working on Volume 3. There will be 5 volumes when it is all completed. When I get to the end of Volume 5, I plan to start over again with Volume 1.
I planned my lessons out by writing down the pages we plan to cover each day and by choosing the activities we plan to do. I noted the items needed for each activity, so I am not surprised on the day that we need a white sheet cake and colored frosting.
Several of the homeschooling moms I know have also decided to use Mystery of History. I am excited that other people will be doing it alongside of us, because that only can mean more support!
If you are still looking for a history curriculum you can really enjoy, give this one a try! (Will post more later in the year, after I've had a chance to try it.)
Alphabet Island Phonics
I used Alphabet Island Phonics to teach Emily to read and it worked very well. Now it is entirely possible that Emily would have learned to read easily with ANY program. I didn't discover this program until David had tried A Beka phonics, Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, and probably some other things that have thankfully faded into the depths of my memory. David had a much harder time learning to read than Emily did, but I have a feeling that is just their different learning styles and not the curriculum. HOWEVER, I was very pleased with Alphabet Island Phonics and plan to use it with James and Suzy.
Eagles Wings Products - Alphabet Island Phonics
I am going to start using Alphabet Island Level 1 with James next week. He is 5-3/4. We will start with the kindergarten level curriculum, even though he is going into "first grade". There are 2 sections in the first level.
Each lesson is supposed to take 15 minutes, but in my experience with Emily, they took longer. Songs, games, stories, and more are all included to make the phonics rules memorable. There are workbook pages too to reinforce the concepts, and since we are doing phonics and it is important to see the letters and to write them, I will likely have him do all of the workbook.
Depending on how quickly he picks it up, we may supplement with Phonics Pathways and the Pyramid book that goes along with it. If he needs more practice, I will add those in.
Looking forward to introducing James to the world of reading!
Eagles Wings Products - Alphabet Island Phonics
I am going to start using Alphabet Island Level 1 with James next week. He is 5-3/4. We will start with the kindergarten level curriculum, even though he is going into "first grade". There are 2 sections in the first level.
Each lesson is supposed to take 15 minutes, but in my experience with Emily, they took longer. Songs, games, stories, and more are all included to make the phonics rules memorable. There are workbook pages too to reinforce the concepts, and since we are doing phonics and it is important to see the letters and to write them, I will likely have him do all of the workbook.
Depending on how quickly he picks it up, we may supplement with Phonics Pathways and the Pyramid book that goes along with it. If he needs more practice, I will add those in.
Looking forward to introducing James to the world of reading!
Monday, August 29, 2005
Art Curriculum
I posted a few weeks ago about my art curriculum, or really about the importance of it. But since I planned out art for the year today, I thought I would at least mention it again and give a few details.
I use 2 main books to teach art.
How to Teach Art to Children - Evan-Moor Publishers (for grades 1-6)
and
Meet the Masterpieces: Strategies, Activities, and Posters to Explore Great Works of Art - Scholastic (for grades 2-5)
(I cannot find an online pic I can show you, but here is the amazon page - Amazon.com book page (It's apparently out of print now, but well worth finding if you can.)
Last year, we studied Line, Shape, and Color from the Evan-Moor book and Pieter Bruegel, Diego Velasquez, and Hokusai from the Scholastic book.
This year we will study Value, Texture, Form, and Space, as well as study the following artists: Winslow Homer, Pierre Auguste Renoir, Mary Cassatt, Pablo Picasso, and Romare Bearden.
I planned 83 art lessons. We do art nearly every day, but since we are adding history this year, I think there will be days when we do art in history or science and won't do it separately too. I schedule Art right after Bible, so it is our second subject of the day. I find that it helps the kids get "into" school and gets their creativity flowing, which in turn helps them academically. Also I can get the "together" work out of the way first and then they can do their independent work later, rather than me trying to gather everyone back at a later time, when someone might be in the middle of an important assignment.
The Evan-Moor book has two parts. Part 1 is the main section of the book. It includes the art lessons that are about Value, Texture, Form, and Space all are introducing an art concept to the children. Each lesson has either an art project or a small group experience to reinforce the concept. The art projects in this book are particularly eye-catching and attractive, in my opinion.
Part 2 is all art projects based on a famous artist, such as Edward Degas, or a famous art technique, such as Anasazi pottery. I have sprinkled these 24 lessons throughout the year, so we get a break from the normal routine. I also found examples of each of these famous works or techniques online and saved them to my hard drive, so I can show the children some examples when it's time for that lesson. No more jumping online while they wait, colored pencils in hand.
After every section from the Evan-Moor book, I have scheduled a section from Meet the Masterpieces. This book has a short section on the artist's life, which will be our Day 1 of that section. We will add the artist to our main timeline and find out more about him/her if we so desire. On Day 2, we take a close look at one of the artist's works. The book gives some excellent questions to ask the students about the work, and even gives you the answers, which is great for those of us who did not study much great art. (Apparently this book originally came with posters of these works, but I do not have those. Therefore, I searched the internet for copies of the works and printed them out. I put them in my lesson plan binder, along with my lesson sheets for art and I'm all set!)
For Days 3-5 of these lessons, the book has differing activities that build on the concepts learned about the artist and/or the time period. Some of these I like, and some I don't, but I have chosen the ones I want to do and listed them on my plan sheet.
Something else I did to make all this easier was to list out all the supplies needed for each lesson, so I can quickly look ahead and make sure I have the 12x18 white paper that is needed, or stop at the store for dried beans.
I think Suzy and James will be doing art with us most days this year and I am looking forward to something else that we can all do together!
If you do not schedule art regularly, I encourage you to do it. It has made a big difference in our homeschooling!
I use 2 main books to teach art.
How to Teach Art to Children - Evan-Moor Publishers (for grades 1-6)
andMeet the Masterpieces: Strategies, Activities, and Posters to Explore Great Works of Art - Scholastic (for grades 2-5)
(I cannot find an online pic I can show you, but here is the amazon page - Amazon.com book page (It's apparently out of print now, but well worth finding if you can.)
Last year, we studied Line, Shape, and Color from the Evan-Moor book and Pieter Bruegel, Diego Velasquez, and Hokusai from the Scholastic book.
This year we will study Value, Texture, Form, and Space, as well as study the following artists: Winslow Homer, Pierre Auguste Renoir, Mary Cassatt, Pablo Picasso, and Romare Bearden.
I planned 83 art lessons. We do art nearly every day, but since we are adding history this year, I think there will be days when we do art in history or science and won't do it separately too. I schedule Art right after Bible, so it is our second subject of the day. I find that it helps the kids get "into" school and gets their creativity flowing, which in turn helps them academically. Also I can get the "together" work out of the way first and then they can do their independent work later, rather than me trying to gather everyone back at a later time, when someone might be in the middle of an important assignment.
The Evan-Moor book has two parts. Part 1 is the main section of the book. It includes the art lessons that are about Value, Texture, Form, and Space all are introducing an art concept to the children. Each lesson has either an art project or a small group experience to reinforce the concept. The art projects in this book are particularly eye-catching and attractive, in my opinion.
Part 2 is all art projects based on a famous artist, such as Edward Degas, or a famous art technique, such as Anasazi pottery. I have sprinkled these 24 lessons throughout the year, so we get a break from the normal routine. I also found examples of each of these famous works or techniques online and saved them to my hard drive, so I can show the children some examples when it's time for that lesson. No more jumping online while they wait, colored pencils in hand.
After every section from the Evan-Moor book, I have scheduled a section from Meet the Masterpieces. This book has a short section on the artist's life, which will be our Day 1 of that section. We will add the artist to our main timeline and find out more about him/her if we so desire. On Day 2, we take a close look at one of the artist's works. The book gives some excellent questions to ask the students about the work, and even gives you the answers, which is great for those of us who did not study much great art. (Apparently this book originally came with posters of these works, but I do not have those. Therefore, I searched the internet for copies of the works and printed them out. I put them in my lesson plan binder, along with my lesson sheets for art and I'm all set!)
For Days 3-5 of these lessons, the book has differing activities that build on the concepts learned about the artist and/or the time period. Some of these I like, and some I don't, but I have chosen the ones I want to do and listed them on my plan sheet.
Something else I did to make all this easier was to list out all the supplies needed for each lesson, so I can quickly look ahead and make sure I have the 12x18 white paper that is needed, or stop at the store for dried beans.
I think Suzy and James will be doing art with us most days this year and I am looking forward to something else that we can all do together!
If you do not schedule art regularly, I encourage you to do it. It has made a big difference in our homeschooling!
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Homeschool Camping
One of the leadership team members of my homeschool group had a great idea this summer - how about a week of homeschool camping?! FUN, I thought! So she planned out the week and we just returned from it yesterday. It was a LOVELY time.
Here are some of the details.
We chose the dates to coincide with the start of school here, so the campground would be emptier. We chose to camp Monday-Friday, so as to avoid weekend campground congestion. We chose a state park in our county, so it would be close enough to most people's homes that they could go home if they needed to - for sports practice, feeding animals, etc...
State parks in Michigan allow site-specific reservations, so we chose a section of the campground and each family made its own reservations in whatever site they wanted to have. We ended up with 4 families spending all 4 nights and 8-9 more families spending 2 or 3 nights.
We planned activities each day, such as face painting, rock painting, night hike, fishing, swimming, etc... We invited families from our group to come out and join us for the daytime activities if they couldn't camp with us. We had several more families join us for those activities. We tried very hard to have something each day, but not so many activities that we felt overscheduled.
We shared some meals - sometimes intentionally, and sometimes it just happened. We gathered around one or two main fire pits. The kids had a lot of freedom to run around because there were only a few other campers on our end of the campground.
I think everyone enjoyed it a lot and we plan to schedule another camping week next year!
Here are some of the details.
We chose the dates to coincide with the start of school here, so the campground would be emptier. We chose to camp Monday-Friday, so as to avoid weekend campground congestion. We chose a state park in our county, so it would be close enough to most people's homes that they could go home if they needed to - for sports practice, feeding animals, etc...
State parks in Michigan allow site-specific reservations, so we chose a section of the campground and each family made its own reservations in whatever site they wanted to have. We ended up with 4 families spending all 4 nights and 8-9 more families spending 2 or 3 nights.
We planned activities each day, such as face painting, rock painting, night hike, fishing, swimming, etc... We invited families from our group to come out and join us for the daytime activities if they couldn't camp with us. We had several more families join us for those activities. We tried very hard to have something each day, but not so many activities that we felt overscheduled.
We shared some meals - sometimes intentionally, and sometimes it just happened. We gathered around one or two main fire pits. The kids had a lot of freedom to run around because there were only a few other campers on our end of the campground.
I think everyone enjoyed it a lot and we plan to schedule another camping week next year!
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