Our Curriculum this year - Languange Arts

This year for Language Arts, we have 4 separate components: Handwriting, Phonics, Oral Reading (both that the children read to me from simple readers and that they listen to good literature that I read aloud to them), and the Riggs Program (which includes memorizing phonograms, spelling rules and spelling words).  Since reading and writing are foundational skills to master for learning and neither of my children are proficient yet, working toward independent reading and writing is one of our primary goals for the year.  For this reason, we begin and end our school day with Language arts.

After our opening Calendar activities, we begin with Handwriting. We chose to use Handwriting without Tears for William last year and I was really happy with the program so we continued with the 2nd grade book this year.  I also ordered the kindergarten text for Miriam.  She is speeding through the text so next year, and maybe even later this year, I'll be exploring other options for her.  We ordered the wood blocks and letter cards for Luke and he is doing great as well.  He loves their wet, dry try chalk board practice and does amazingly well at writing his letters for a three year old. 

I help Luke and Miriam learn to form their letter of the Day while William works on his writing. Then Miriam works in their Phonics book (MCP Book A), while William reads to me and then works in his Phonics book.  I chose MCP phonics simply because I was already familiar with it from when I taught kindergarten.  I find it helpful to reinforce phonics practice with William since he really struggles in this area and the book has a variety of fun activities to practice phonics.  I bought one for Miriam because she enjoys doing the pages.  There are other options out there but I feel this is a helpful resource though neither of my children can complete the activities without help at this time.

 
This is a video of William reading last year - he's reading much better now but I haven't video taped him lately ;-)

At some point, I listen to Miriam read a "Bob book" and read with Luke as well.  William and Miriam are working their way through the Bob books, Luke just has to do everything that his siblings do :-).  We originally would check these simple readers out of our Library and the kids enjoyed them well enough that I decided to order them for daily reading practice.  I really like that the books are phonetic readers that gradually build in difficulty and both children have enjoyed mastering the various books.

In the afternoon, we have a story time where I read aloud to them.  Right now we are reading The Swiss Family Robinson (Illustrated Family Classics).  There are many suggested books that tie in with our curriculum and I use the Well Trained Mind and Laura Berquist's books to choose read alouds throughout the year.  I also often just go through and request books online from our library so it's quick and easy to pick them up when we go to the library.  We finish the day with a phonogram/spelling lesson from the Riggs Writing and Spelling Road to Reading Program.  I use this program because I was trained in it as a kindergarten teacher and find it a very helpful tool for teaching reading and phonics and English grammar/spelling rules.  It does take a bit of time to learn how to teach this method so it may not be the best fit for many homeschoolers, but if you really want a strong foundation in Language arts it's worth looking into.  However, if you just want to teach your child to read, there are plenty of other highly recommended user-friendly programs out there. 

We work on the Riggs at the end of our school day because it is nap time so the house is quieter for William's sake. William's most challenging subject is Phonics. He is a very strong visual/spacial learner and has no problem memorizing words and the isolated phonograms but it is very hard for him to blend sounds together to decode a new word and to break a word into sounds. To avoid as much frustration as possible for him, we have focused more on learning words (whole language) while still plugging away at the phonics and we are making headway but he is just beginning to gain proficiency in reading.  Miriam, a strong auditory learner, is well advanced for her just beginning kindergarten stage and does quite well with Phonics and reading the simple "Bob books.".

Calendar Activities

Each morning we always begin our school day together with a Prayer, Pledge, Saint of the Day reading and then Calendar Activities. For our first two years, I had the Calendar Activities posted on the wall and the second year I read about and added a Calendar notebook to our routine.

This year, due to our temporary circumstances, we are just using our Calendar binders. Each child has a Binder with a Calendar page where they mark the day's date.  I also call it a "quiet work" binder because I intend to put activities they can work on quietly and independently in the binder while I'm working with another child.

William also has a page to write the date so he can get practice with writing the full date and "code date."

William and Miriam then "Make the Date" with money. I printed and laminated the coins from here (scroll down the page).

They then write (or put a sticker on) the number of days in school,

mark the day with tally marks and check and graph the weather.

I also added a Liturgical calendar page to encourage them to look at the color at Mass. I love that the Calendar Binder is an easy way to practice necessary skills on a daily basis and the kids enjoy this predictable and somewhat independent activity.

Some Helpful Organization in our Classroom

We have been a family in transition for the last year and a half and so our classroom has had several temporary homes.We will be moving one last time to our new home on October 5th (Praise the Lord!).

Thus our classroom organization has all been temporary in the three rental homes we've occupied.

Yet, despite our transitory circumstances, there are a few ways I've found it really helpful to keep our supplies organized and accessible.

We have our "workbox drawers" where I have often kept all the necessary teachers manual's and supplies for each subject organized, ready and accessible.  Right now, since I have a toddler who likes to empty drawers, my manuals are all conveniently accessible in their crate.

 For my son who is an advancing beginning reader, we have a word wall to help him practice his vocabulary and spelling words.  For my three year old, we have his letters up on the wall as well.  For both, we just used sticky tack to stick them up.


Because of our temporary circumstances, we only have one bookshelf in our classroom, but I keep it well stocked with library books for our current subjects.

I've put all of our puzzles in ziplock bags for easy storage and access for the children to work on during "quiet times" and have a few baskets out for my 12 month old to explore and play in while we do our homeschool lessons.  I've also posted a list with pictures of things my children can choose for quiet work.




We have a small math station, a religion "Mass/Prayer Corner" and a small table that is easily moved and used for projects. 

Plastic shoe boxes keep our various supplies organized and accessible but not easily dumped by my toddler.
 
To organize their supplies, each child has a crate by their desk to hold all of their school books, binders and supplies (our desks open on top so we don't use them for daily activities, just for storage of special projects).


To keep all of their papers in order,they have a binder where everything we save for the year will be kept.  I'll talk more about the binders as I explain what we are doing this year for each subject.

Much of our organization will change or be adapted to our new homeschooling space once we move but the beauty of our current set-up is that everything is easily transferred to a new location.

The Schedule and How Our Day is Organized

On a typical day of school, after attending 8:30am Mass at our parish, we begin our day with prayer (Morning Offering and Ave Maria), songs (Good Morning Jesus and You're a Grand Ol' Flag), the Pledge of Allegiance and then the Saint of the day.

The children then work in their calendar binders followed by phonics, handwriting and reading.

 I generally work with Luke first and use the HWT blocks and chalk board to teach him a letter (then send him off to play) while William and Miriam work on their writing and phonics, coming to me for help as necessary.  I then listen to each child read a short story to me from our reading books and we have a short recess.

Our morning is extremely flexible and prone to interruptions from our toddler who on a good day just wanders around the classroom emptying crates and baskets and knocking down pencil cases.  On a bad day, well, at times there are multiple children in tears for various reasons.

  After everyone is refreshed from our recess and snack, we tackle math

 

and then proceed to Exercise (P.E.) Spanish/Latin, Religion, History/Science, Music, Story time, Nap time for Luke and Phonograms/Spelling for William and Miriam. Lunch and another recess are also inserted at some point before naptime but it varies depending on when we started school and how efficiently we have worked through the various subjects.

 Normally we wrap up our day before 2pm and have our afternoon free for a trip to the library or family project, errands or free playtime, walks or bike rides and chores.Once a week we may also spend the morning with friends on a field trip for some hands on learning in which case, I'll apply this to whichever subject area it fulfills and we'll have school before and after.

To help the kids know what to expect for the day and to help the older children work as independently as possible, I love the idea of Workboxes or at least the many adaptations I've read about on the blogosphere. Since my kids are all so young and we have a destructive toddler who likes to pull out things from bins, I had to come up with my own adaptation.

We used these nice little pictures on our schedule in past years but I was ready to give each of my children their own schedule and thought that it would be too much work to print out the little tabs times three, cut them out and laminate them so I made a schedule book for each of my kids.

 I found the mini photo albums at JoAnne's Fabric store (I also got some at the Dollar store around Mother's Day for our Holy Cards) - they are hard to find! I then just typed the name of each subject (4 subjects to a page in Word) and added a picture to help the kids know what to do during our school day. I then slipped the papers into the photo sleeve and it is easy for me to adjust their schedules as necessary for the next day without too much effort.

For subjects that alternate like Science and History, I just keep them in the same photo sleeve and extra activities that are weekly, like Library and Religious Education(CREDO), are kept in the back of the photo book until their appropriate day. The kids really like their schedule books and enjoy knowing what to do "next."

To keep things clear in my own mind, I have a block schedule and lesson plan sheet where I plan and keep track of what we've completed.  At the beginning of the year I made a year plan and planned out our four quarters and divided the subject material up that we need to complete this year so I can stay on track and to help me with my weekly plans.  I try to lesson plan ahead during the week as we complete work in class and make sure to finish my plans on Saturday or Sunday so our week goes smoothly.   I only plan 1 week in advance so that my plans are accurate since you never know what may come up :-)

Our Basic Educational Philosophy/ Approach (The Why)

After deciding to home school, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the many, many options there are out there.  I found that Cathy Duffy's book 101 Top picks for Homeschooling Curriculum helpful because it describes the many styles of homeschooling, helps you identify what would best fit your family and then offers curriculum options.  The book was available at my library and I've checked it out each year as I plan curriculum best suits my children's needs.

In looking at all of the homeschooling options, I've found it helpful to be clear on the goals we have for the education of our children.  My desire for them, in a nutshell, is that they grow up to be well-formed, Catholic adults who love God, desire above all to embrace God's will for their lives(Vocation), are able to think for themselves, are able to discern and choose the Truth, love learning and ultimately desire to become saints. 

Because of my background and my desire for them, I prefer to use a classical education model since this has withstood the test of time and seems to me best suited to giving them a solid education.

The guides I have chosen for this education are "The Well Trained Mind" by Susan Wise Bauer and Laura Berquists' "Design your own Classical Curriculum."  I also insert Montessori and Charlotte Mason aspects often and use our own version of Sue Patrick's Workboxes to organize our day.

 

We love homeschooling because in the heart of our Domestic Church our children are free to encounter Christ, to be themselves, to have good friendships free of negative peer pressure and learn about the many good, true and beautiful aspects of God's creation and so find joy in learning. 

They have the freedom to blossom surrounded by love and encouragement. 

We have always been blessed with many friends who also desire this for their children and it is a beautiful gift for our children to have friends who also love and live their faith

Our family has felt called to embrace this beautiful lifestyle and we know the blessings and joys outweigh the struggles and daily trials of homeschooling.  I always try to keep our end goal and the many tangible fruits in mind when encountering the daily struggles of balancing the roles of wife, mother and teacher and the difficulties of little ones in a classroom or a child who struggles to master a skill or grasp a concept. It is a great gift to be able to witness my children's growth and those moments when the joy of learning shines through and I wouldn't change this for the world!
   
  

Our Homeschooling Adventure - The What, How and Why

Are you ready for an Adventure? Let's go, what are you waiting for?

Ever since my first post on our Homeschooling Adventure, I intended to give updates about our homeschool days. 

Many drafts have been begun, only to be left incomplete in the "to post" file until they were out-dated as things became busy.  Well, this time, I've planned and begun to write a whole series of posts on what we're studying, how our homeschooling is going and how we've organized our days.  I'll be posting them each week with pictures.

As each family prepares their "Homeschool" they put a lot of time and thought into choosing the education and curriculum that best fits their family's particular dynamics from the many options out there.  I think it's helpful to see what has worked for other families and so I hope my posts are helpful for you though every Homeschool will be a bit different . There are, of course, many wonderful blogs out there.  If you've stumbled across mine, hopefully it'll help you to see what it's like to step into a homeschooling family's day :-)

I'll be posting on the following topics on the dates listed below in parenthesis and linking them back to this post as I publish them.

Our Basic Educational Philosophy/ Approach (The Why)

The Schedule and How our Day is Organized

Helpful Organization in Our Classroom



Our Curriculum this year(Grade 2 and Kindergarten):

Calendar Activities

Language Arts

 Math (10-23-13)

 Science(10-30-13)

History(11-6-13)

Religion (11-13-13)

Spanish and Latin(11-20-13)

P.E., Music, and Art (11-27-13)

A Lifestyle of Learning  - Learning throughout the day, Field trips, and Friends (12-1-13)

Thanks for visiting!

1st Day of School!

Yesterday was our first day of school at Sancta Familia Academy!
This year we have four students in our homeschool and we are beginning our third year.  

William is in 2nd Grade

Miriam is beginning Kindergarten (but thinks she's in 1st Grade.)

Luke our Preschooler

Thomas who's in "play school"

The children were excited for our first day!

Here is a quick video of our first day as we got started in our classroom.

We'll be moving in October (If, God-willing, all goes smoothly with our home purchase) so I did not spend a lot of time preparing the classroom space but spent more time organizing our day. It is a bit tricky to make the day go smoothly with four students at such varying levels of maturity.  The kids enjoyed the day and we got through most of what I had planned so I think the day was a success.

Our format is very similar to what we've been doing the past two years.  I plan what we will do for the day and the order we'll do it in but the time is very flexible.  I also have planned some quiet time activities for each child to work on while I work with them individually in Language Arts and Math but we still do the bulk of our learning together for Calendar Activities, Religion, Science, History, Latin/Spanish, Music and Physical Education.  Since William is in 2nd grade now he'll be able to do more work independently so he can do extra activities for the subjects as needed in our "quiet work times".  We'll see how it goes!