Television

The Old Schoolhouse just sent out a weekly newsletter with the theme Television. This is an off and on again topic in our home so I read with interest what others had to say. It is amazing how many adults of today were raised on Television, my husband and myself being among them. It is hard to think of not having that connection to the outside world, that portal of news, entertainment, how-to shows, and animal rescue channels. But unless you are a very disciplined person (I am NOT) this portal also brings a lot of exposed skin, back talk, bad attitude, commercialism and many other things I really do not want my kids exposed. I would not let my children bring home or be among people who behaved this way so why would I allow them to give undivided attention to a screen showing and encouraging this behavior. We currently do not have cable or public television. We haven't had it for close to 4 years now. As much as I would love to say this is because we made a conscious decision to take the smut out of our lives this isn't entirely accurate. We moved into a house that is unable to get the little satellite and cable is not available on our street which means we also do not get a signal for public television either. We have chosen to go without. I know many people that have chosen this avenue that would never turn back and haven't missed a day of television but we have missed it on certain days. I'm a political junkie and I would have loved to watch the election results as they rolled in, I feel out of the loop on a lot of news and political happenings. My husband loves Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel and we both have longed to just veg in front of the Home and Garden Channel. Now we do own a television, 2 actually, and we do rent movies, a lot of movies. And for the most part we are very careful about what we let the kids watch. I have had a few slip-ups from being lazy or forgetting about a certain scene but for the most part I love this way of watching TV. My kids will watch and enjoy things I wold have never watched and much less enjoyed as a kid. My 5 & 4 year old were enthralled with Hamlet last night, I had a hard time making myself watch it as an adult. They love musicals and movies from great literature as well as animal exploration & discovery movies. The other day my 5 year old was trying to wrap his head around the concept of all day television. My 8 yr old tried to explain to him, " You know, it's like when we go to a hotel & turn on the TV and it just comes on and the shows stay on until we turn it off." His eyes got huge as he realized that wasn't just something special they did at a hotel, people have that in their homes. I would like us to curb our movie watching a bit as that can get a bit excessive but it's still a better option than non-stop bombardment of scantily clad chicks selling toothpaste. We may at some point have television in our home again but I dread the day because I know I am weak and I am afraid I will become complacent with all of the junk on TV & start thinking it really isn't that bad, like I did before.

Reading Challenges

I have been very fortunate with my older 2 daughters. They are both avid readers. My 8yr old gave me a run for my money when we introduced phonics & beginning reading skills. She would look at me as if I were an alien, it seemed as if she could not comprehend anything I was saying/teaching her. It was a very frustrating time for me. My oldest learned to read so easily, I thought I was just such a great teacher, LOL!!! With daughter #2 I quickly learned that I had lucked out with my oldest and that each child approaches learning with different abilities, interests, and learning styles. But once she finally grasped that these symbols represented specific sounds and when put together unlocked the words in her favorite books, she was hooked. She is now 8yr old and is currently reading Caddie Woodlawn and Heidi (unabridged) on her own. Above grade level is my point. From there I am at a loss. I am currently trying to teach my 5 (almost 6) yr old BOY to read. This is proving itself to be a bigger challenge than daughter #2. Some days we will start the lessons & he will have no clue that we have ever discussed the sounds before. This would be an indication that he is not ready for this yet, I should wait a few more months & try again, Better Late Than Early and all that jazz. But the very next day he will rattle of the sounds perfectly, as if he has known them his whole life, HUH?! Now I am really confused, what do I do?! Of course, when he is cooperative we plow full steam ahead but when he starts looking at me cross-eyed we put it away for the day and move on to something else before Mommy gets too frustrated. So I can see that this is going to be a challenge especially when he announced today that he doesn't want to learn to read, he likes it when we read to him. For the first time I have mulled over bribery. I do NOT like giving rewards for reading. The reward in reading is the knowledge gained and the story enjoyed but he is tempting me. I have never allowed my kids to join in summer reading programs or anything that gives them toys or food for reading so many books. Though I did consider trying the one from Barnes and Noble this summer. They were offering a free book for every 8 books read. This sounded like a good deal until I found out the books the kids would get for free, it is of less value than a candy bar. Actually, my 8 yr old might have enjoyed them, Magic Tree House books but they were way below the books my 10 yr old is reading, this would not have been a worthwhile prize for her. So, in lieu of the junky books, we opted to start our own summer reading program. She is allowed to read any 8 books off of her free reading list for school & she can pick out a book that I will buy for her. This goes for both girls. So far Abby has read 4 books (we started this 2 weeks ago) and she is in process with 4 more. She has finished the Chronicles of Narnia Series and The Lord of the Rings series, she loves these types of books. Not my thing at all but this will be the type of thing she will choose. Now I'm trying to figure out how to tweak this incentive for Jack to encourage him to try harder to learn to read, maybe when he can read the first series of BOB books he can pick out a free book, I'm just afraid he will choose a picture & sound book from Pirates of the Caribbean or something absurd like that. To his credit though, he is really enjoying Charlotte's Web (which I am reading to him), Peter Pan (Abby is reading to him), and Pinocchio (Erin is reading to him) all unabridged so I know he is capable of grasping the good stuff, it's just not his first choice. The challenge of boys and I've got one more (at least) coming up after him....

Who is your Jane Austen husband?

You scored as Knightley, Your husband/boyfriend is most like Mr. Knightley of Emma! He probably gives you kind lectures to help you in certain matters, though he does these out of true devotion and in your best interests. Others look to him for his wisdom and good sense. He is generous and steadfast, though not afraid to politely argue with you. The two of you enjoy a challenging, sweet partnership and are most likely very active in your community. Knightley 70% Tilney 65% Edmund Bertram 65% Col. Brandon 60% Darcy 50% Captain Wentworth 45% Edward Ferrars 40% Who is Your Jane Austen Boyfriend/Husband? created with QuizFarm.com

Year 4, Term 3: Abigail's Schedule

I started Abby on Year 4 from Ambleside Online last school year, she would have been in 3rd grade. My rationale was that we had been using a classical education model, which is advanced in it's own right, so this Charlotte Mason stuff would be a breeze to her. Ha, ha, ha, there is no fluff in the Ambleside curriculum, it's all great quality literature that is nourishing for their minds. Rather than put her a year back after working our way through the first term we decided to take 2 school years to complete Year 4, slow and (somewhat) steady has made all the difference in the world. Her comprehension, narrations (written & oral), and reading skills have improved immensely in this time. It was definitely the right decision for her. So with that said, here is her curriculum overview & schedule for the current term:

Daily Lessons
Copywork: Classically Cursive Shorter Catechism Book III
Math: Singapore & Archimedes and the Door of Science
Foreign Language: The Easy French level 1
Latin: Latina Christiana 1

Weekly Lessons
Art Appreciation: Eugene Delacroix
Art: Drawing with Children
Grammar: English for the Thoughtful Child 2
Book of Centuries: timeline corresponding to current history readings
Handicrafts: The American Girls Book of Handicrafts
Music Appreciation: Frederic Chopin (composer); Barbara Allen, Cherry
Ripe, I'm Seventeen Come Sunday (Folksongs); Amazing Grace, O For a
Thousand Tongues, How Firm a Foundation (Hymns)
Nature Study: nothing planned, just as we observe we use the Handbook
of Nature Study or field guides.
One Life from Plutarch: Solon (from The Young Folks Plutarch)
Shakespeare: Hamlet

Bible: Alternate readings from NT & OT, reading through Biblical Holidays,
& studying Matthew

History: This Country of Ours (George III, 1765-1782)
George Washington's World

History Tales and/or Biography: Trial and Triumph;
Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution

Geography: Elementary Geography & A Child's Geography of the World

Natural History: Madame How and Lady Why

Science: Physics Lab in the Home; Exploring Creation with Astronomy

Poetry: William Wordsworth

Literature: The Age of Fable by Bullfinch, Kidnapped by Stevenson, The Incredible Journey by Burnford, short works: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Irving, Paul Revere's Ride by Longfellow, Rip Van Winkle by Irving

Free Reading: (since we started term 3 a few weeks ago she has finished a few of her term 3 free reading books but I am going to list them anyway to give an idea of what she reads in a term)
The Railway Children by Nesbit, A Book of Golden Deeds by Yonge, Bambi by Salten (finished), Man of the Family by Moody (family read-aloud), Gentle Ben by Morey (finished), Thimble Summer by Enright, Return to Gone Away Lake by Enright (almost finished), By the Shores of Silver Lake by Wilder, The Complete Peterkin Papers by Hale, Johnny Tremain by Forbes, Amos Fortune, Free Man by Yates (she reads this aloud to me), The Reb & the Redcoats by Savery (just 2 or 3 ch left)

So, for instance, last Monday looked like:
Bible: Genesis 15:1-18, Biblical Holidays-Understanding the Hebrew Calendar,
Matthew study Matt 9:9-17 (Distinctions of Disciples)
Plutarch: One page of Solon
Copywork: Cursive, 2 to 3 lines
Latin: Latina Christiana I: Work on Lesson 5, "First Declension"
French: La Francais Facile, Level I: Lesson 1 listen to story & vocabulary
Geography: A Child's Geography of the World: Rd & narrate ch. 3, "The Inside of the World"
Grammar: English for the Thoughtful Child: Read Independently lesson 28, "Synonyms"
History: This Country of Ours: Rd. & narrate ch. 53, "The First Thrust"
George Washington's World: Rd & narrate, "Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI"
Free Reading: Amos Fortune, Free man: Rd Ch. 4, "Woburn 1740-1779"
The Reb and the Redcoats: Rd. ch. 8
Literature: Kidnapped: Rd and narrate ch. 23, "Cluny's Cage"
Math: Singapore Math: Ex. 15 & 16
Archimedes and the Door of Science: rd & narrate ch 1, "Who was Archimedes?"
Music Appreciation: Frederic Chopin, Son of Poland, Early Years: Rd & narrate ch. 2 & listen to music
Folksong & Hymns: listen
Poetry: William Wordsworth: "How Sweet It Is, When Mother Fancy Rocks"
Science: Exploring Creation with Astronomy: lesson 4, "Venus"

That pretty much sums it up. Her day can take 3 to 4 hours, depending on how much free reading she does but she is very independent and does just about all of her readings herself with one or two written narrations a day, one or two picture narrations, and the rest oral. I usually read one of her readings to her each day, she prefers for me to read Madame How and Lady Why, she said it makes more sense when I read it to her so that is how we do it, not too mention, I enjoy that book. I try to read ahead of her so I know what to look for in narrations in her other books, especially history but it doesn't always work out. For science, the girls do that together and I have them read it aloud to me, while I'm making meals or walking the treadmill. That way I know what is going on when it's time for projects and activities.

Tough Life Lessons

Let me just preface this post with a little personal background. I was NOT raised in a family that loved nature. If God made it outside it should stay outside, don't bring it in the house. I am weird about the kids bringing in sticks, leaves, anything of that nature and when it comes to live creatures, forget about it, I do NOT want them in my house and in all honesty, I really don't want to be out there with it either. Now, I realize this mentality goes heavily against the CM philosophy of education and I am trying to have a deeper appreciation of nature. This is a work in progress for me while I am trying to instill a love of nature in my children. This is an area I truly struggle in. That being said, let me get on with our story...

This week my kids were checking on their baby birds living in a nest on our basement deck. While doing so they also spent some time playing in the basement (mostly a playroom). They (usually the boys) have a tendency to leave the back door to the deck wide open. This allows any little woodland creature to meander in at will. Well this time it was an injured bird. The kids found him on the floor. I assumed it was dead & told them to sweep it outside & off the deck. As they were doing this, the little guy began to flutter a bit. OK, so now we have a live bird, that is not doing well. My thought (see preface) get it out of my house & onto the back deck. It's going to die anyway & I don't know the first thing about birds. So we swept it onto the back deck & left. After a few hours it was still alive, ugh! Now what do I do? I can't sweep it into the woods alive & injured. I finally talked to my husband about it (this man will try to save an ant if he can) and he was mortified that we had left it on the porch to suffer. He said we should at least try to do something or I should put it out of it's misery & kill it. OK, I did not have the stomach to kill it so I let the kids put it into a shoebox & bring it in. Now the thing was going to die in my house, yuck! Not too mention the bird poop & mess it would make in the box. The kids wanted to keep it on my kitchen counter, NO WAY! But we did keep it on the bathroom counter, close to the water. We found out that we were taking care of a House Wren, looked up what they ate (bugs, moths, spiders, flies, etc.) & Jack set off to find food. We also set him up with a towel for comfort & a small container of water. The little one survived the night, drank the water & ate all but 1 of the bugs that Jack caught. Jack even went through the trouble of tearing off the wings of the moths he caught because we read that they usually don't eat the wings. Erin and Jack were very good caretakers, they spent a lot of time talking to the bird, they wanted to name it but I wouldn't let them. They had grandiose plans of getting a cage & keeping it for a pet. He seemed to be in better spirits the next morning but by early afternoon was not doing well. I would stop in to talk to him and he would just look at me as if he was so grateful to be taken care of, when I walked away he would chirp for me to come back and talk to him. It was so sweet. Every time we would turn him right side up he would flip over to his back, I could tell he was having trouble breathing but we couldn't get him to stay right side up. Right before dinner the kids realized he had died. They were so upset, I have to admit, I was a little disappointed also, not surprised, just sad. Jack and Erin just cried their little hearts out. I tried to explain that they had done a wonderful & beautiful thing, they had helped one of God's smallest & most helpless creatures live it's last few hours very comfortably. No matter what they or we did, he was going to die anyway, he was injured & sick, but they did everything they could and I know God is pleased with them. It's been about 3 days now & they are still sad about it. Death is hard to face, it's a difficult lesson to deal with but one of the joys of having my kids home with me all day is they learn how to deal with these experiences in our home with momma to cry on & comfort them. I have to admit that I'm glad we brought him into our home and tried to help him. Hopefully, he died knowing that he was being cared for and he wasn't alone.

Ambleside Online Year 2, Term 2: Erin

Here is Erin's schedule for the term we started this week:

Daily Instruction:
Copywork/Penmanship: Docere, Delectare, Movere Copybook II published
by Memoria Presss
Math: Singapore Math and living math books (currently Anno's Math
Games)
Foreign Language: Latin: Prima Latina
French: Phrase-a-Day & Le Francais Facile! Level I
Bible: OT readings on M,W,F; NT readings on T, Th. More in-depth study of
Matthew, and reading through Biblical Holidays as a family

Weekly Instruction:
Art: Drawing with Children
Book of Centuries: Timeline to go along with corresponding history
readings, and other significant figures (artist, composer, biblical, etc.)
Music Appreciation: Folksongs: Barbara Allen, Cherry Ripe, I'm Seventeen
Come Sunday
Hymns: O for a Thousand Tongues, How Firm a Foundation, Amazing Grace
Artist: Eugene Delacroix
Composer: Frederic Chopin
Grammar/Spelling/Dictation: English for the Thoughtful Child (once/wk); Spelling Wisdom, Book 1 (2x/wk), Story Starters (2x/wk)
History:
An Island Story (British History: 1189-1399, Richard I-Richard II)
A Child's History of the World (World History: Richard I-John I Magna
Charta)

History Tales and/or Biography:
Trial and Triumph by Richard Hannula
The Little Duke by Charlotte Younge

Geography:
Elementary Geography by Charlotte Mason
A Child's Geography of the World by VM Hillyer

Natural History/Science:
The Handbook of Nature Study by Comstock
Pagoo by Holling

Science: Exploring Creation with Astronomy

Poetry:
Eugene Field

Literature:
Tales from Shakespeare by Lamb
Little Pilgrim's Progress
Parables from Nature by Gatty
The Wind in the Willows by Grahame

Free Reading Books:
Heidi by Spyri
A Wonder Book by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Tanglewood Tales by Hawthorne
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Sidney
Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales
Pied Piper of Hamlin
Abraham Lincoln by D'Aulaire
Five Children and It by Nesbit

To see how this plays out on a daily basis, here is last Thursdays schedule:
Bible: NT reading Matt 8:18-27 & orally narrated; Biblical Holidays-read verses demonstrating God's designated times, Matthew Study Matt. 8:18-22 (Demands of Discipleship)
Copywork: Docere, Delectare, Movere Copybook Book II-completed 2 pgs.
Dictation/Spelling: Spelling Wisdom, Book I, Ex.6, "Happy Thought"
Foreign Language: Prima Latina-listened to Lesson 4 on CD, The Sanctus, & vocabulary words & invisible verbs
Phrase-a-day French-Je vais me promener. (I'm going for a walk.)
Geography: Elementary Geography Book I; Rd & narrate Lesson 10, "The
Blind Boy (C. Cibber)"
History: A Child's History of the World; Rd. & narrate story 54, "Tick-Tack-
Toe; Three Kings in a Row"
The little Duke; Rd 1/4 of Ch. 7
Literature: The Wind in the Willows, Rd 1/5 of ch. 1, "The River Bank"
Free Reading: Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, Rd 1/5 of Ch. 16,
"Getting a Christmas for the Little Ones"
Math: Singapore Math p. 31-36, Ex. 14-16
Music: Frederic Chopin, Son of Poland, Early Years; rd 1/5 of ch.1, listened to
music, & colored picture to go w/ reading.
Listened to folksongs & hymns
Nature Study: Pagoo, Rd. Ch.3 "Pagoo Is A Hermit Crab!" & picture
narration
Poetry: Lullaby Land. Songs of Childhood, by Eugene Field; Rd poem 4, "The
Dinkey Bird"
Science: Exploring Creation with Astronomy; Do final activity in lesson 3,
"Mercury" (Made craters in flour to simulate craters in Mercury)

We keep all lessons short, no longer than 20 min. This schedule does not take more than 3 hrs tops, that is, if she stays focused (which, in all honesty, is not her strong point, LOL) She also has lots of outside time to explore, play, observe. She is currently keeping a close eye on a momma bird & her new babies.

OK, I'll add Abby's schedule as time allows...

Cashen Happenings!

The Sparrow's Nest
by William Wordsworth

Look, five blue eggs are gleaming there!

Few visions have I seen more fair,

Nor many prospects of delight

More pleasing than that simple sight!

I started, seeming to espy

The home and sheltered bed,

The Sparrow's dwelling, which, hard by

My Father's House, in wet or dry,

My Sister Emmeline and I

Together visited.

She looked at it as if she feared it;

Still wishing, dreading to be near it:

Such Heart was in her, being then

A little Prattler among men.

The Blessing of my later years

Was with me when a Boy;

She gave me eyes, she gave me ears;

And humble cares, and delicate fears;

A heart, the fountain of sweet tears;

And love, and thought, and joy.

(This is a birds nest that Erin & Ruby found last week. Yesterday we noticed a baby had hatched, we are anxiously awaiting the others to break out of their shell. )



We have had quite the busy end of May, I'd thought I would share what else has been going on with us besides preparing for a new school term.

(I know this is a terrible picture but being the great mom that I am I didn't charge my camera & had to take this quickly, right before it died!)
Both of my older daughters have birthdays the last week of May. We are not real big on the birthday party scene but try to keep it more family oriented. So Eric took an extra day off over the Memorial Day weekend & we had him home for 4 whole days! It was wonderful but not quiet. My parents also came to help us celebrate the girls b-days & they brought my 2 older nieces. My mom watched our littlest one while we took all the other kids to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie. (GASP-I know, it is a really bad movie for little kids but it is a huge weakness for us, we are hooked & love them, we own the other 2 & will own this one when it is available) Anyway, we had pizza & cake & Ice cream for dinner & opened presents & played & played. We had a cookout over the weekend w/ my parents, Eric & I were able to steal away for a date night & leave the kids with my parents (pure heaven!!). My parents left on Saturday & my sister came on Monday w/ her 2 younger kiddos. So the older 2 were here for over a week altogether, it was like a week long slumber party for my kids.
We went on a picnic, the kids went for hikes, read books, watched movies, ATE a ton of food,
played at the playground, swam (sort-of) in the creek, hunted for frogs, lizards, and fish (which they dissected, yuck!), found a birds nest complete with eggs, and just really had a great time. I had a wonderful time just visiting with my sister, playing with our babies, and looking forward to our new ones. We compared & talked about school curriculum, our kids, life in general. It was so nice to have her here all week. We had a few funny moments, Erin & Ruby decided to make brownies one night. Erin uses my mom's recipe & makes them better than I do so I always let her make them when she wants. But this time she had a companion in the kitchen so her attention to detail was sorely lacking (keep in mind she just turned 8). She showed me the batter before she put it into the oven & it looked very soupy and frothy. We went through all the ingredients & the amount she put in (she was doubling the recipe so I had to check that she doubled her measurements correctly). When we got to the eggs, I asked if she had doubled the 2 eggs to 4 eggs, her face went pale, "It says 2 eggs, I thought it said 6 eggs". This took a minute to sink in. "So you doubled 6 eggs, you put 12 eggs in the mix?!" Not only did they put 12 eggs into the mix but they had miscounted & actually used 14 eggs!! So, dump the first batch of brownies & try again, this time she comes in to ask me something & I'm wondering why she reeks of mint. "Oh, we ran out of vanilla extract so we used mint extract instead." An entire bottle!! The girls, my kitchen, everything they touched smelled of mint extract. Luckily, I love mint & I don't think they put too much in the brownies, I think they spilled the bottle. The 2nd batch of brownies did turn out very good and we had a good laugh over the 14 eggs. Dad especially thought this was particularly funny. Then we have my little Jack, he is always thinking, he has non-stop questions, some of my recent favorites, "Mom are you 25 or 85?" This one he asks on an almost daily basis and of course I answer him honestly, "25 sweetie!" LOL! But my new favorite, during Bible study this week he wanted to know if Jesus was a Christian! I'm still not sure how to answer that but I said "yes". And then little Katy has learned to dangle off the bars of my treadmill, she and Seth hang side by side, they crack me up. Katy refuses to talk, she just makes funny vowel sounds for whatever it is she is trying to say, she'll be 2 in July. She says "mama", "dada", "abba" (Abby), "papa" (Grandpa) but other than that she just makes noises. She loves to taunt poor Seth by grabbing his blanket, wrapping it around her neck & running for her life with it. This, of course, sets off my little Linus & he screams & chases her. She is totally in her glory when he reacts to her. But for as much as she taunts & tortures him, he loves her. He loves to hold her hand and give her kisses. He always makes sure she is OK & I have to watch that he doesn't wake her up from naps b/c he loves to be with her. Why, I don't know, she is rotten, LOL!

Jackson

My handsome son will be 6 in August, I had planned on waiting until Fall to officially start school with him but his interest level is high & with our newest addition due in September I thought we would take this opportunity to get a jump on AO Year 1. Here is our curricula-of-choice for little Jack:

Art: Drawing with Children by Mona Brookes
Beginner Reading: Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons
Bible: Alternate stories from OT & NT & Leading Little One's to God
Foreign Language: Phrase-a-Day French
Geography: Paddle to the Sea by HC Holling with corresponding map work
Handicrafts/Life Skills: An American Boys Handibook
History: Trial and Triumph by Richard Hannula(Protestant Church History), An Island Story by HE Marshall, and Fifty Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin
American History Biography: Benjamin Franklin by Ingri D'Aulaire
Natural Science: Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock, James Herriot's Treasury for Children by James Herriot, The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton Burgess
Mathematics: Singapore Math K
Poetry: A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson
Literature: The Aesop for Children by Milo Winter, Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare by Edith Nesbit, The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang, Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling, and Parables from Nature by Margaret Gatty
Free Reading: (This is for the entire Year 1, not just Term 1) Charlotte's Web by EB White (currently reading w/ mom), King of the Golden River by John Ruskin, Peter Pan by JM Barrie (currently reading w/ big sis Erin), Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi (currently reading w/ big sis Abby), The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang (currently reading w/ whomever he can get to read it to him), St. George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges (read over & over & over, a favorite), The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams, Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Pocahontas by Ingri D'Aularie

Now, I realize this list may seem a bit much for a 5/6 yr old but we read small chunks at a time, do not read from every book every week and take it one small bit at a time. For example, today's schedule looks like this:

Monday June 4, 2007
Phonics: 100 Easy Lessons, Lesson 1 (15 to 20 min)
Bible: Read Story from OT and read 1st page of ch. 5 in Leading Little One's to God, start memorizing Bible verse for the week. (15 to 20 min.)
French: Phrase-a-Day (5 min)
Handicrafts: Read 2 pages from An American Boys Handibook (10min)
History: Read 1st 1/2 of Ch. 1 "Polycarp" (about 2.5 pages, 10 min allowing for oral narration)
Free Reading: Charlotte's Web, Ch. 2 (bedtime story, about 10 min), Peter Pan ch. 5 (bedtime Story, about 10 min), Pinocchio (bedtime Story, about 10 min)
Literature: Aesop for Children, read "Belling the Cat" & "The Eagle and the Jackdaw" (maybe 10 min)
Math: Singapore Math K (about 15 min working through lesson)
Music: Listen to music by Chopin, color a picture about him while we read 2 pages of his bio. (maybe 15 min, the music will be background music during meals)
Nature Study/PE: 1.6 mile walk & observe nature, plus lots of outside play time (2 hrs)
Poetry: A Child's Garden of Verses, read 1 poem each day (maybe 5 min)

So, how long is his day? About 2 hrs plus 30 min of stories at bedtime plus at least 2 hrs of outside play & nature observation.

My computer time is up for the day so I will post Erin's schedule tomorrow.

New Term, New Schedule

I love starting a new term or new school year, starting new books, learning about a new artist & composer, reading a new or different Shakespeare play and Plutarch. We are starting a new term today. I've been up since 3:00 am to help hubby off to work for the week & stayed up to finish putting together a few things for our schedules. I know I will be feeling it by noon but until then I hope we can stay on track. I want to list the kiddos schedules and where they are in their current year. I will post each child individually so this isn't too long in any one post. Just a little background, we use Charlotte Mason teaching methods in our homeschool. We follow Ambleside Online with just a few minor adjustments to fit our family. So, here goes...