Schedule for 2008/2009 Homeschool

This is what I have so far. I have spent many months getting books together and working on a schedule that I think will work for our family and especially for my 6 yr ds. Let us not forget the twins, my 18 month old little darlings who do factor in when it comes to homeschooling. I am following Ambleside online year 1 schedule of readings, many thanks to the writers of this lovely curriculum. Also, I am using Simply Charlotte Mason for memory verse.
Here it is:
DAILY:
Bible
Memory verse- Simply Charlotte Mason
Hymn/Praise song- Hymn's for a Kid's Heart vol 2
Character- An Honorable Boy by Michelle Zoppa,
Poetry- Ambleside online schedule of poems
Copywork- Copywork for Young Ones-by Sandi Queen
Phonics- finish 100 Easy Lessons
Math- Shiller Math
Artist focus- Ambleside online term artist
Composer focus- Ambleside online term composer

Weekly:
Monday:

1. World History-An Island Story
2. Natural History- The Burgess Bird Book or James's Herriot's Treasury for Children

Tuesday:

1. American History- A First Book in American History
2. Literature and Tales- The Aesop for Children

Wednesday:

1. Geography-Paddle to the Sea
   
2. Literature and Tales- Just So Stories or The Blue Fairy Book or Shakespeare ( Beautiful Stories for Children)

Thursday:

1. Church History- Trial and Triumph
   
2. History-Fifty Famous Stories Retold
   
3. Science- my husband's choice

Friday:

1. Nature History- Handbook of Nature Study-mammals
   
2. Art- Art With A Purpose book 1
   
3. Handicrafts

I know this seems like alot, but actually it is not. We will have short 15 minute sessions. Poetry,Hymn/ Praise songs and memory verse will be done over breakfast. Bible and character are done right after breakfast. Then, of course, Curious George time on TV, this will allow me to clean up breakfast and start the dishwasher and put a load of clothes on. Next, will be copywork that my son can do while I play with the babies. After copywork, it will be time for one of the readings of the day. Then break time which means outside time. We might go to the park, go for a walk,etc, as long as it is outside. After lunch and the twins are down for a nap- phonics, break with the composer of the term playing in the background, then math followed by another reading for the day. Narrations are included with the readings. We are done by 1:30 pm on most days. I will have the artist of the term picture and bio hanging along with a piece of the artwork in the kitchen where it can be easily seen. We will talk about the artwork at different times. By the cd player, there will be a picture of the composer with his short bio. Of course, this is the ideal and I know things like life might change the schedule on some days. But, I am hopeful that the majority of days, we will follow this. We get up early, so being done early will be nice. That way the kids and I can study God's creation the rest of the day. Blessings.

Hello, are you hungry?

One of my son's highlights was feeding the giraffe at the zoo yesterday. The twins were wide eyed and laughing, especially when the long tongue appeared. We all love the zoo.

Bird Surprise

We were on our way to the park yesterday, when we came upon these birds. I stopped the car and took pictures. It was amazing. I think the birds were feeding on crabs and small fish. We live on the coast and there are wetlands "marsh" all around. The three bigger birds were just wandering around like they were on a stroll. These birds are called Wood Storks and are endangered birds. The last picture is a White Heron. We see these alot. Now, that we are taking the time to observe God's creation more, we are really "seeing" things that before we just would pass by. Thank you God for such lovely birds.

Green Hour Challenge #11

After we choose our tree, my son and I went out to make observations and get samples. We did a rubbing of the bark, looked for acorns and leaves. The acorns were hard to find, but we did manage to find a few pieces. We noticed the moss on the oak to which my son warned me that the moss will make you itch. We measured the width of the trunk. We listened to the birds and did recognize a robin's song. We plan to go out later to make more observations and update our tree study book.

Green Hour Challenge #11

My son and I have chosen our tree for our seasonal tree study. It is a Oak. What specific type of oak, we do not know, but are excited to start our research.

A Pretty Tree

We were in our local park yesterday, this magnolia tree always catches my 6 yr ds eyes. He collects a few leaves that have fallen on the ground each time we go to the park. We are there several times a week, so we have a big collection of leaves. We were going to choose this tree for our Green Hour Challenge #11, but have decided on another beautilful tree. I will post that tree tomorrow, but for now, we will enjoy this pretty tree.

We are off to the beach, to see what we can find- take two

Don't you just love when you forget something and fixing it is harder than you know it should be.

Anyway, I left this picture off from our beach trip. My oldest wanted to know where he was.

We are off to the beach, to see what we can find

All three of my sons love the beach and we are fortunate to live near several. Of course all three go different directions. It is fun to watch them explore. To touch, to see, to hear, to smell, and as with the little ones, to taste everything. We are blessed.

God's Creation Walk

My sons and I went for a walk. As we looked around and listened, I thought to myself that we are not going on a nature study walk, but on a God's creation study walk. The picture of the flower reminds me of the days that my 6 yr old brings home handfuls of these and others with roots and all. We place them in a special vase and put them where all can see.

Home School Conference

My husband, my now 6 yr ds, and I went to a home school conference this past weekend. This was our first experience with a home school conference. We went to as many classes as we could, even bought a few tapes of classes we missed. The conference was very informative and fun. I bought several old classic books at the used book sale. Looking forward to reading them to my children. We were able to put our hands on curriculum we were looking at on the Internet. This was very good and cost effective because we decided against many things that we might have purchased, but after seeing them in person, we were not so impressed. One class I went to was lead by Sonya Shafer, the author of "Laying Down the Rails", a Charlotte Mason habit handbook. This class inspired me and was uplifting. I went to the vendor hall and purchased it right after the class. I know this book will impact the way we will instill good habits in our children. What I have learned so far from Sonya Shafer is that each habit takes about 6-8 weeks to become a "habit". Also Sonya stated that Charlotte put the habits of obedience, attention, and truthfulness as three of the most important habits to instill in our children. I agree. I think attention will be the habit I will focus on first. I do not know what specific habit yet, but I think I will start out simple.
My husband focused on science topics and anything that had to do with the law and homeschooling. My husband bought just as much as I did at the vendor tables. We mostly bought reading material to help guide us in teaching our children. Overall, we truly enjoyed our first home school conference.