"Anything Works If The Teacher Works"

Here is the original title for this post:  Advice for History 2013-14......or Just About Anything.....

Edelfelt, Albert - Boys Playing at the Beach

 

 .....because I am looking for advice on how to proceed with history this year.....for my 6th grader, an 11 year old boy.....

.....but after Willa's post, I changed it.......because once I started writing this post.....I realized the title did not actually represent the content anymore.

And, I am well aware that the quote in the post title refers to "the student will learn anything if the teacher will 'work' to bring to the student or bring the student to the learning opportunities"........I cannot help but think of it as a pun. 

A PUN  because THIS teacher IS working.  Working a full-time job.  Which interferes with my ability to homeschool.....with my ability to bring to my student his learning.....with my enjoyment or even my ability to care that I must educate this little man. I seriously forget that we homeschool.  Yeah, really.

So, the details.....

Work perspective:

Some of you may have figured out that I am currently working a full-time job.  An RN, I work five twelve hour shifts out of every 14 days in a stressful rural Obstetrics department.  Most my shifts are not less than 13 hours.  Sometimes more.  I am usually wiped out the next day.....especially if there are two shifts in a row (headache, mild nausea and serious concentration issues...and a very strong desire to be left alone.......because everything and everyone is over-stimulating).  And then...there is the rest of life to attend to on the days off......So, not many days out of 14, but that makes me feel ill a possible 5 out of 14 which means that for about 10 out of 14 days, I am not available to my student.

Homeschooling perspective:

Some of you may have noticed that I have begun calling my current homeschooling philosophy:  NON-schooling.  Most of my days' off I actually forget that I am supposed to be homeschooling my little man. Poor guy got some schooling done last year....but barely.

I spent some time this time last year trying to figure out how best to educate him in this situation.  I looked at each subject........made some great notes in a post that I never finished or published (but did a few days ago.......) .....and tried to think outside of the box to figure out how best to make it all work, even if I was not there.

I typically have a loose plan.....literature-based......unschooling by default.  :)

The successes:

Language Arts:  He attends his sister's writing workshop which covers so much non-reading LA, that he is waaaaaay covered.  He is natural writer and story-teller......he loves this class and does not mind the work.  I am so blessed.

Science:  I contracted with a friend to take him once a week for a day.  They did chemistry lessons and experiments.  The rest of the day was a "play day", but you know in a homeschooling household, that often just means unschooling.  ;)

Signing him up for Lego Robotics this year.

Piano:  He takes piano lessons.  Speaks for itself.

Physical education:  He does well on all of his sports teams and only has a small amount of time off in between.


That's it.  Almost everything else was a failure.  You can read about the details in post linked above. There may be some redundancy in this post.......sorry about that.  Just trying to have complete thoughts.  Well, as best as I can.  ;)


Part-way through last year, I was reevaluating.....well, that happens at least weekly.........and even though he was capable of doing the Math-U-See on his own, he was moving waaaaaay toooooo slow, especially for the little math-brain that he is.  I was encouraged to try Teaching Textbooks......but I did not want him in front of a screen more than he already was......nor was I willing to invest in a new program considering he was the only one left at home.  I finally gave in......and my friend found him a copy of the one he needed.  It worked well those last few months.  So, that was a partial-success.

Another partial-success was that I realized I could give him his American history through Great Courses Lectures.  I then just wrote little quizzes for him from the info in the booklet........just one a month, to turn in as a learning sample to our charter school.  I would have liked to have had more discussion with him.....but he has a good memory, so I am sure he got something out of them. So, that could be an option.......

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So, I am praying that I can spend more time being INTENTIONAL with my boy. I am praying that it is easier this year than last because I have graduated my senior AND I am sending her away. ;)

AND.....I am hoping that my sophomore in the Independent Study Program at the local high school ---so he can play sports---will be more independent with his schooling. He was quite independent by the end of the year last year........I told him he has to be.....so I can concentrate my efforts on his little brother......

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Boy Reading
Thomas Pollock Anshutz (1851 – 1912)

 

 

I really hate that I have to expect my 11 year old to homeschool himself.  It is not very fair, to him.  But, it is our reality.  And I guess I could console myself that lots of homeschoolers do this every day when they use certain programs for their kids......with parental guidance, of course. 


I have a few.......

Obstacles:

Or, maybe issues.....or major considerations.....

• My little man is not yet a fast reader.

• My homeschooling has always been literature-based. I am an unschooler by default, but we do provide some plans.....and take up rabbit trails whenever needed or desired.

I cannot assign him lots of reading; I am not around to do most of the read-alouds.  I need to work around these two things. And still be satisfied.  Is that possible????

I don't want to give up my literature-based education.

• I work and it wears my body and brain out. Too tired to read aloud, or even cuddle, much less teach. 

• I have a lot of Mondays off........he does not.  He has two classes and always sports every Monday.  (Since I originally wrote this....one of his classes has been changed to Thursday morning so I will probably change his piano to another day as well.....he may have free Monday mornings and early afternoons for the first time in his life  :) .....and me, too!  Strange concept!)

I need to take these into consideration when I make my plans.


Other items of consideration:

He loves art and is good at it.

He loves playing on the computer.  I do not like him even looking at it.  ;)

I need to give him a checklist that works.

I want him to read/hear good literature.

I probably will not buy anything new......I need to use the resources I have available to me already, or borrowed, or free.

We have already listened to two or three of The Story of the World sets on CD.

(I just started peeking around Simply Charlotte Mason for something.....I might find simple inspiration there.....)

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"Mrs. Cassatt Reading to her Grandchildren" -1888
by Mary Cassatt



Bottom-line:  Does anyone have any recommendations:

• of what time period to study for history
• of what resources to use, specific ideas welcome
• for any other ideas about our year, for any subjects or......

I welcome any thoughts that you might have after reading through this........


Summer Blessings & Prayers for YOUR school planning,


                                                                                        Chari         

Planning for my 2012 5th Grader: Theme...Must.Read.Aloud

Nope.  That is NOT a typo........I mean for it to say 2012 in that title...because I wrote it last summer.........but I might as well adapt it for 2013-14.........since most of it was a bust. :/


The post below was originally written in late August 2012.  I was planning my youngest's school year 2012-13......and these were the plans which arose.......

I never did post these.  I still had more fine tuning to do.......and then I just never got back to do that.  But, I did get all of the resources into their respective baskets.....so we trodded (did you know that is not really a word????  trotted, then) ahead.  I am posting these here today.......because I have another blog post to publish......and it will make more sense and be more useful if these plans go public. (....though after fine-tuning this post and adding the purple italics may cause me to change the focus of the other post......)

In parenthesis, and in this color, are the up-to-date comments about how the year went in each subject.....and how I expect to utilize them for this upcoming school year.

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     I love my little man.  He is only ten now (eleven now) .....but I know my time with him is going to go fast.  According to my predictions, I only have eight more years left to homeschool him......which sadly translates to only eight years of homeschooling for my home-education career.  Unless, he decides he only needs three years of high school........in which case that number gets reduced to a brief seven years. As I recently posted on Facebook:  Hear that sound?  It is the sound of my heart breaking.  So sad that there is an actual end in sight........(....and if he follows in his older brother's footsteps and attends the Independent Study Program at the local high school to play sports......I only have three years left.  Hopefully, he will stay home for his schooling......)

     But, it is not yet here.  And I need to make the next 7-8 years good for him.  Last year really did feel like a bust.  Oh, we got some math done.....but not as much as he was capable of.  We learned a lot about WWI and WWII.......but not as far as we should have got.  We never reached the Korean or Vietnam Wars.  The art study was brief.  He finally read his first chapter book.....but the fluency still has not clicked.  And, there were not enough read-alouds.  Thanks to his sister adding him to an IEW writing workshop she was leading, we found that he is a prolific and capable writer, in spite of his slow fluency in the reading department.  He probably has a gift of putting pen to paper.  I suppose if I add in to this list his sports accomplishments last year (we call that education, of course)....he improved and excelled in basketball, learned excellent team leadership skills with soccer, and had an amazing year pitching in his baseball league and the All-Stars.



     As I go through the school resources left out and about on the shelves on the boys' rooms for last year's Great School Plan, I will use this space to write my thoughts related to planning for this boy for this new school year. That starts, like, next week, right?  Supposedly.  ;)

     I am also trying to keep in mind that one of the reasons last year was a bit of a bust was because I was working more hours in order to make up for the decrease in income after my husband was laid off.  Since I will definitely be working at least the same amount of hours this year, I must find a way to plan for him to work independently on the days when I cannot be there or when I feel ill.

Keep in mind that most of this is done in a Charlotte Mason style.......or in a strewing kind of unschooly way.......whatever that means.  :)  This is just a guide.  It gives me a place to start.....but most rabbit trails are followed.  The resources are rich enough to give him a well-rounded year.....even if we only do about half of it.  Of course, all of it is literature-based.  Because that is my style. :)



Religion:

A major goal is to give him the resources to complete his First Holy Communion Notebook or scrapbook.  I made a comprehensive plan for him, but never followed through and now his FHC is many years past.  But........he loves scrapbooking, and now that he is older, he will be more independent doing it. So that part will make it easier for me to leave him to his own devices........

I plan to give him the lessons I had planned to go with it......with lots of picture books.  He will grow closer to his faith and create memories and connections while doing a hands-on project......something he thrives on.  I am excited about this.  It will also include using the New Catholic Picture Bible as well.  Nice thing about this project?  It is already gathered in one box with all of the supplies......and the lesson plans.  Please pray this finally works out. (Pleeeeease pray!) He will be too old for it, eventually. 

I might have him read through the appropriate book of Living My Religion series........but we should have enough if the above works out.

(August 2, 2013 comment:  BUST. 

For this next year, I will try yet again.  I looked at the Living My Religion series and picked out Book 6 for him.  He will need to be preparing for his Confirmation and it looks like a good fit for that. I will also use the booklet Preparation for Confirmation According to the Baltimore Catechism because it is what our priest would like him to have memorized for the sacrament. I think that putting the Notebook together will help him to spiritually prepare for confirmation.  I may have to call it a Confirmation Notebook now. :) )


History:

     When I viewed my stack of wonderful picture books on the Revolutionary War time period, I realized that I had never read them to Malachy. In looking back at his homeschooling, I came to see that this kid has had two seasons of ancient history and two seasons of medieval history and two seasons of WWI & WWII.  Yikes.  That is what happens when we follow the high schoolers in their history.

     So, I am going to start with the French and Indian War....and go to the Revolutionary War.....along with anything in between and around.......and that will probably be all we get to.....if we have the same experience my other kids did......loving this time period so much and enjoying all of the rich resources that we could never stop.  :) Know anyone else who has spent a year on the French and Indian War?  Three years on the Revolutionary War period??  Yeah, we really did.  Those are some of my kids favorite years of homeschooling.

I am still trying to decide if there is going to be a spine.....maybe a Genevieve Foster book....or perhaps Father Furlong's sweet little text.

     For the French and Indian War, I am definitely going to use Albert Marrin's book, Struggle for a Continent:  The French and Indian Wars.  This was the first book of his that we had ever read.  And we loved it.  All of us have read several other of his history books.....and we are never disappointed.  He takes his historical research and turns them into great stories, pleasing both this mom and her kids.

     I will also have him listen to the audio version of Madeleine Takes Command, another family favorite read aloud.

     In addition to me reading most of his history aloud to him, I will have him read simple biographies of Americans of those time.......starting with Dan Morgan: Boy of the Wilderness, I think........and also see what American Saints of that time I can throw in as well.  I am thinking Father Marquette, Father Jogues, St. Kateri......

I have a nice "My State Book"......I could have him work on that independently with some books on California so he can have some easy practice doing research.  Not sure yet about this......might be too much.

(August 2, 2013 comment:  BUST........I tried the Foster Book...but it sort of made me crazy....too little info and too many pieces of little info.  We only read about 25 pages of Marrin book. History is a hard subject for a full-time working mama who wants it literature-based for someone who cannot read a lot on his own.  This issue is the inspiration for that other post I am working on.  I need some ideas and help.......

Oh!  Another partial-success was that I realized I could give him his American history through Great Courses Lectures.  I then just wrote little quizzes for him from the info in the booklet.  I would have liked to have had more discussion with him.....but he has a good memory, so I am sure he got something out of them. So, that could be an option for this school year.......


As for this next year, I am not sure what to do.  I could just continue down the path I set above.......And now I think he is old enough to do the My State Book research on his own......I was tempted by my excellent library on Lewis and Clark history.....maybe I should just pick out a few BIG historical things that occurred and give a big focus on those, rather than an huge overview?  I hope to get his Book of Centuries updated and ready for him to use independently.)

Geography:

He loves this kind of stuff......so I should try to find something that he can do that is somewhat independent.  I will probably do something similar to what Simply Charlotte Mason recommends....  We did it a bit this last year (oh!  another pro for last year!) and it went well when we did it.  I will begin with Canada and the United States so it goes with his history.

I will read this book to him:  Maps:  Getting From Here to There by Harvey Weiss.

We had started the Holling C. Holling geography unit a couple of years ago, starting with Paddle-to-the-sea.....the Beautiful Feet Unit.  I might delve into that, too.......I have some of their beautiful maps to use.

(August 2, 2013 comment:  mostly BUST........we did do the Simply CM geography drill for a few weeks....and I utilized another workbook as well, that was mildly successful. 

 For this year, I should just plan to do the same.........)

Maths:

He will move forward to finish up all of the Math-U-See books he has left:  A few lessons of Delta, and then Epsilon and Zeta.  We might not finish all of them.....but it will be our aim. I think he might get to meet with my older kids' math tutor once in a while for some inspiration.  He likes her. 
I hope it will keep him on track more this year.

Since he will finish with the MUS books before he will probably be ready for Jacob's Algebra, after talking with my math tutor friend, I have decided to just have him work through the MUS pre-algebra book...to keep him in practice.....but that is for next year...and I am concentrating on this year......

I found a copy of G is for Googol:  A Math Alphabet Book by David M. Schwartz.....so I will read through that slowly.....over a few weeks or months.

And any other math literature that comes along....like our favorites such as Sir Cumference and the Knights of the Round Table......and the others in that series.

(August 2, 2013 comment:  BUST.......he could, but wasn't motivated to move fast without some prodding.  I finally gave in to try Teaching Textbooks 6........that worked well for about 6 weeks in the spring till we went out of town....and he has not touched it since. I never did read anything math lit. 

For this year, I will resume with the Teaching Textbooks 6.....since he is so independent with it.....and he likes it well enough.  Our Educational Facilitator with our charter school was thinking of having a Math Workshop with some kids his age, working with "real life" math.  She is a Math Major.  I sure hope she follows through with that idea.  I just sent her a text.....to remind and  encourage her.)

Science:

     I am a little unsure about what I want to do.......

    I took a look at some of those Creation Science books by Apologia.....but they did not feel right for right now.  Maybe next year......

     I think I am too tired and busy to create unit studies........like in the old days.....

     So....at this moment, I think I will take a look at doing the Beautiful Feet's A History of Science.  Not sure I will have enough time to do all of the read aloud required......but I might give it a try.

     Nature study is simply a given in this family.  Hopefully the smoke that has choked up all of the month of August will finally pass away so we can get back to the  out of doors.  We have been housebound for entirely too long.

      I hope to set him up with a nature sketchbook.......he loves to draw......and perhaps when I am unable to be with him, he can reproduce those drawings for me.

Take a look at.......
Zingy Science
Khan Academy

(August 2, 2013 comment:  BUST........mostly.  Finally in the spring, I began reading the Beautiful Feet books to him.....which he enjoyed.  And here it is, August 2013 now.....and it is smoky yet  again. It has been so long since we have had a summer without smoke......that I cannot even remember when that last summer was......maybe 2007?  While I never inspired him to use a Nature Notebook or draw from nature, he certainly got lots of quality time in nature.  That is one area I can usually keep alive around here. ;)

The other way that I was able to salvage some science was to have him go one day a week to my friend's home to do organized chemistry with her daughter.  That was definitely NOT a bust!

I looked at the Khan Academy......and I cannot figure out how I am supposed to utilize it.  Anyone have any advice???

For this year, my friend has agreed to take him again this year.  I think I will continue with the Beautiful Feet science as best I can.......and keep on hanging out in Nature, of course.  And I have like 20 science experiment kits that someone ought to be using..... :/ )

Language Arts:

Reading: 

This kid will be such a lover of literature.....if I can just get him fluent.  He had all of those early reading signs at age four.......and yet still has not fallen in love with reading at age ten (eleven).  It makes no sense.  So, this year, I want to read to him like crazy.....and keep him reading something......till he takes off.  He will, right????

I might make a shelf for him of easy chapter books.

Encyclopedia Brown.....have him read these aloud to me.......till he just wants to dive in on his own.

I need to try to remember to offer him some of the sports stories written by Matt Christopher.  I had a few already....and just picked up three more for free at the library.

(August 2, 2013 comment:  mostly BUST.....he is still not picking up books on his own.......but his fluency has improved, thanks be to God!  I did read aloud to him......just not enough.  We never tried the Encyclopedia brown books......I still might. I did get him to read a few Gary Paulsen books....but I really want him to get lost in books....sheesh.  Oh!  I was able to get a Kindle for him to use.......just to see if that would help.  Not much.

For this year, just keep on reading.....I will have him read aloud to me as I can remember.......and to keep him reading something, always.)

Literature:

     I am going to start the year with Amazons and Swallows by Arthur Ransome.....one of those great classics I missed as a child.  My oldest did not care for it....but two of  my others loved them. Thanks to the generosity of a friend (Hi, there, Helen!), I have the entire series.  I am hoping that we do fall in love with them.......that series should keep us busy the whole year.  This will be only the second time I have read a book just with him as an audience.  I realized this summer that I have to do that now.......I do not have all of the kids available at the same time for our family reads anymore......maybe because they went and grew up on me???  :(

      I will have one family read aloud.....with the three youngest kids (10, 15, 17).  We started The Hobbit this summer.  My two youngest have never heard it read aloud nor have they read it. I want them to have the family-read-aloud memory of  Tolkien's books. And the oldest of the youngest, the 17 year old, says she wants to sit in as well.  We all want to be ready for the movie that is coming out in December......and now I see it will be three whole movies!  How cool is that!?  They cannot leave much out with three movies!

     I will continue to expose him to Shakespeare through the two books: 

            

(August 2, 2013 comment:  This was not a total BUST........we are over halfway through both books, a year later.......sigh.  As for the movie........I am quite angry with them for messing so much of it up. Grrrrrr.  We ended up with an amazing and unexpected World-Class Shakespeare experience last spring.  There will hopefully be more plays for us to see through the end of October.

For this year, the two books mentioned will be our read-alouds. And we will squeeze some Shakespeare stories in there.  We must!)

Writing: 

     This is pretty easy to plan.  IEW, or Institute for Excellence in Writing, is our preferred method of teaching writing.......the one homeschool program I have tweaked the least for our use.  The best part:  my oldest daughter is a very fine writing teacher and will continue to teach Malachy in one of her writing workshops.  I am so blessed. Bonus:  she teaches lots of poetry and grammar and lots of other LA stuff, as well.

(August 2, 2013 comment:  NOT a BUST at all.  Anne was wonderful and Malachy progressed so very well.  I just went through his writings from last year......a very prolific little writer.  And he thrived on the poetry she shared.

For this year, we will continue with the same plan.  My daughter will be able to continue teaching at least one more year......while she works on her graduate degree and teaching certification. More poetry and continue to work through the Continuation Program B.  Did I mention that I was blessed???? So is Malachy.  :) )

Picture Books:  Willa and I are creating a challenge for this......

(August 2, 2013 comment:  BUST?  We were consistent for a few months........we meant to be stay consistent.  Maybe we need a sign on our bathroom mirrors to remind us? :)

For this year.......Willa and I will have to discuss this possibility.)

Latin:

Phooey!  I had forgotten that I was going to start him in the Latina Primera? this year......but Vicki over at Creating With Wisdom reminded me.....

(August 2, 2013 comment:  partial BUST.  We did get through five lessons.  It was easy for him.

For this year, we should review and get going.  I can give him lessons and he can use the workbook the rest of the week.)


Art:

      Malachy has natural artistic talent.  I always try to keep him exposed to all art stuffs, just in case he makes it a permanent part of his life in some way. Not sure where it will go...but I want him to have a chance to practice all of the skills.......he is generally good at drawing, creating, crafts, painting........etc.

     Having been a lover of art from way back when I was young, I have collected many resources for all-things-art-related.  I just need to decide what to use for him...and then follow through.  For once.

His artsy sister has recently returned home from her year away in Austria....so while she is studying art at the local Junior College, I am hoping there will be some trickle-down teaching from her, to him.

I have an old set of six videos from Calvert School, Discovering Art. I will probably use this until they are done.  I like that they model skills and share art history as well in an ongoing story.....even if they are a bit goofy and over-acted.  The information is sound.

I also have a book I want to read through with him called:  How to Be an Artist:  the Fun of Drawing.......it is just a quick self-published book that I came across.  I like how it seems to give the perspective of what an artist sees when he or she looks at things.

I will provide a blank sketch diary and just assign him to use it on those days when I am not home...in any way he wants.  Some of my kids would be intimidated or put off by this....but not Malachy.  Or his artsy sister.  :)

I just came across my copy of Storybook Art:  Hands-on Art For Children in the Styles of 100 Great Picture Book Illustrators by MaryAnn F. Kohl & Jean Potter.  I may combine this with our Picture Book Challenge. 


Hailstones and Halibut Bones for sure.  Ah.  turns out I will not have to do this one myself.....my oldest daughter Anne, who is teaching his IEW Writing Workshop, wants to do this for his class......off the hook!  This is good...but I am a bit sad........I was looking forward to sharing it with him.  This book needs its own post.  Perhaps I can wait till Anne teaches with it and create the post then.  I love this book and I want all to enjoy it as well.  Excellent poetry and art possibilities!


 (August 2, 2013 comment:  BUST.  Yep. Like all of it.  I did create a Pinterest board for online art lessons and loaded it with watercolor lessons so that he and I could work together.  We got as far as watching a lesson late one night....inspired. Of course he did do art on his own.  Oh!  We did get to take him to an awesome Art Walk in the town south on his 11th birthday.  Very cool.  Loads of fun.

For this year, I would like try to accomplish the above, plus watercolor lessons together, local Art Walks when we can make it......at least one in Ashland, Oregon......and some artist studies.  I have TONS of art and art history resources.  I really need to tap into those for this kid.  My four older kids got lots of artist study.......I want him to get the chance. )


Cooking:

     He has a great interest in food preparation.  Thinks he might want to be a chef someday.......so, I think I will encourage him to choose one recipe a week to try.  I wonder if he will do mostly desserts.  He is quite partial to making pies.  :)

(August 2, 2013 comment:  This was only NOT a BUST.....because he loves to cook.  He made at least five or more different kinds of pies........and some of them up to five different times. Of course, I never did tell him to try something once a week......maybe I will this year.

Once a week may be too much between all his sports, etc.......and I want him to find cooking relaxing and enjoyable.......so I will aim for 1-4 times a month, at his preference.  I think he cooks more in the fall and winter anyway.......)

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      Not sure what subjects will get covered, but I have made arrangements that once a week he will go to my friend's home to "do school" with her daughter who is about 18 months younger.  They are good playmates and she could use a peer for some schooly stuff, like doing science labs.

((August 2, 2013 comment:  NOT a BUST.  But only because I was not responsible for it.  Sigh.  Like I said above, under science, they did chemistry lessons and experiments.

For this year, we will repeat this......)


Using this platform, of blogging, as I sit here and plan, has been so helpful in exciting me about the new school year.  Finally some positive school spirit.  :)

(August 2, 2013 comment:  TOTAL BUST......I was only excited for a moment.  But rereading this post and reevaluating the ideas...is almost inspiring.  And it is only the fourth day in August!!! Yay, me!)


I have told my boy that based on our current crazy and hectic schedule, that he will need to be flexible enough to do schooly stuff whenever I call him to it:  day or not, weekday or weeknight.

(Definitely will need to do that again.....but better this year.)

WOW.  This is quite a project.  Hope I can get at least half of it done!  So, I am now off to get started!

(August 2, 2013 comment:  BUST.  Yep.  TOTAL.  I doubt we even got 25% of it done.)

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And so, all of that above, not in purple italics, was written about this time last year.  I guess I will probably just keep the same general plan because it was a pretty good one in the first place.  ;)  Definitely ambitious.

I am wondering if it will help if I put his subjects in their own bins instead just one for all subjects......to help me not feel so overwhelmed.

Wow, I am actually going to post my plans for the school year.......before it even starts.  Haha.....only because I had written my plans last year, but never posted.


Smoky Summer Blessings,

                                           Chari

Edited to Add, on August 23rd, 2013:  Really?  I forgot Music!  We have weekly piano lessons with a Classically-trained teacher........he is our sixth homeschool student to take lessons.......and she thinks he may well be our most musical.  It is his 5th or 6th year.....I can't remember. We also need composer studies......

Keyboarding.  He needs it.  Especially with all of the writing he does for his writing workshop.

Son of Charlemagne

Oops, I accidentally hit publish on this too soon, so 2 long posts in one day.  Sorry!  Either a feast or a famine around here :-)

I said in another post that I wanted to try to blog the books I read in the children's and high schooler category. Here is the first one. I wish I could think of a catchy title for the series. How about TUAR Book Spotlight? Well, I will think about it for next week! And ask Chari :-)

  This week I read:  

Son of Charlemagne

You can preview it here

Author
Barbara Willard

Barbara Willard was a prolific author for both children and adults.  Here is a list of her books

Setting:

The book takes place in Frankish Europe, covering the years fom 781 AD to 800 AD.    The action ranges from Aix La Chapelle (Aachen) where Charlemagne made his capital, to Rome, to various parts of Gaul/France. 

Overview:

The story centers around Charles the Younger, the second son of Charles the Great (aka Charlemagne).     Like Willard's other historical fiction, it takes a minor historical figure as the viewpoint for showing the life of a great man.      As the introduction to the Bethlehem edition points out, Charlemagne heavily influenced the direction Christendom would take after him.   His military achievements consolidated Europe, his interest in education helped the Frankish people transition from barbarism to civilization, and his dedication to his faith (though he was a flawed man and did some things that wouldn't be considered Christian today) had at least a partial integrating effect on the medieval balance between Church and State. 

 The book shows Charlemagne making difficult decisions, sometimes personally costly, to further his idea of Christian leadership.    Since it is through the eyes of his son and main heir, it is a sympathetic but sometimes painful portrayal.   Other characters, like Charlemagne's wives, the older but crippled son Gobbo who conspires with traitors, and the overly pious Louis who will someday become Charlemagne's ineffective successor, are also portrayed. 

Some of the historical characters mentioned in the book:

Popes Adrian (Hadrian) and Leo III
Charlemagne and his extensive family (he married several times and had quite a few children).
Alcuin (notable English scholar who helped define doctrine on the Holy Spirit)
Einhard (Charlemagne's biographer, who was also a fosterling of the great king).

Some internet and other resources:

Some "living books" and tales on the internet:

Heritage History:  Page on Charlemagne
Baldwin Project:  Charlemagne

A more factual account:

Charlemagne (Catholic Encyclopedia)

Some modern internet resources with links to more: 

 What Made Charles So Great
Charlemagne Study Guide
History of Charlemagne

Charlemagne:  Mr Donn's Site 
A somewhat informal but entertaining presentation for middle school and younger.  The case he makes about Charlemagne's relations with two popes is secularly told, but tallies with Willard's more insightful take on the same events.


Some resources on supplementary characters:

Alcuin of York

 Charles the Younger
This gives the historical facts on the protagonist of the book.

Einhard 

A couple of primary sources

Einhard's Life of Charlemagne
This is a fast read and interesting, written by someone who knew Charlemagne.   I am going to have my highschooler read it.
Monk of Gall's Life of Charlemagne 
This is more anecdotal and less focused than Einhard's life. 



 Quizlet Vocabulary Cards

Son of Charlemagne
Son of Charlemagne Week Two
Son of Charlemagne Vocab

Highland Heritage Homeschool has quite a lot of notebooking pages and other resources on this historical period.

HomeschoolShare's Middle Ages resources are a useful supplement. 

Some paid resources

Discussion Guide from Hillside Press -- Medieval Titles  This includes brief studies on several medieval titles used by MODG.  This study focuses on the question of Charlemagne's greatness, whether you can be flawed and still a great Christian leader.

Biography Workbook for Charlemagne  Only $1 at CurrClick.  For ages 12 +.

More History Pages

These are pages I made using some printouts I designed before Christmas:

Mohammed (PDF)
Charles Martel (PDF)


Page 1:  Overview of Mohammed

Close-Up of Left side -- this uses a Quilt Template (though I made my own, out of homemade paper, very easy, just take a square sheet, turn it so it is a rhombus or diamond-shape, then fold in the four corners to meet the middle).

My son's narration is the middle part.  I find it easier to have him do narrations if we have a picture to start with, which is how I use the notebook pages I made. 

On each flap I put origami paper cut in triangles, and put some fact about Mohammed's life or importance, using the facts from Heritage History's bio page. 

Page 2:   Mohammed Review, and map showing spread of Islam.

Still using the Mohammed Mini-Workbook linked above.
I used origami paper for decoration.

Right:  Map showing the spread of Islam during the century following Mohammed's death.  

Left:  

The fold on the left is a vocabulary shutter book.  It's basically like this and again, very easy to make; you just fold some paper lengthwise in three, then cut however many divisions you want on the right.

I put review questions in here but am going to have Paddy fill out when we do term review.

A couple of visuals inside the shutter book -- both from the Mohammed notebook pages linked above.

A timeline (presently blank) accordion-folded on the front of the review book. 

Page 3:   Charles Martel (see printable at the top of the post).

Overview of page:

Left:   Charles Martel narration (with some pictures)

It is a modified flap book... you can see it has a flap that goes up and one that goes sideways.
My son's narration.

Right:  Another Quilt fold (I hadn't tried those before so was experimenting).
I used origami paper from my "stash" (luckily I have lots of decorative paper scraps around the house).  

Inside was a simple flap with my son's narration about the "Do-Nothing" kings. 
Flap open:

The flap inside the quilt, closed now.

 On this page is also a timeline and a map, but they were simple enough so I am not going to describe them in detail. 

My vacation time is almost over, so I will probably not be inflicting these on you daily for very much longer.   However, it has been very fun to do them and write about them.     I think this form of notebooking will be a permanent addition to our homeschool because:

1) it is a creative outlet for me (I don't quilt or knit or scrapbook or anything like that, at least not right now).

2) it inspires Aidan to be creative with his own paper stash.

3) It seems like a natural way to review and consolidate things that we are studying in the homeschool -- working on these is a sort of informal "lesson plan" for me since it allows me to focus on what I want the children to learn, or remember that they have learned.

4) it allows me to take material from lots of sources without getting confused.  Priceless, as they say.

Papery, Printable Things

I've been planning in my spare time....

I thought I would quickly share some resources I found while searching the web.

I love paper so I have been happily building notebooks.   

FREE Holy Simplicity Planner -- beautiful! and very Catholic.  As she says, more than just a planner.  If you go to her site, you will also find a lovely liturgical calendar. 


Book of Virtues Study Project -- this mom has made a 900 page resource for those who want to notebook along with William Bennet's classic anthology.

I also made a couple of mini-workbooks for my 4th grader's study of the middle ages.   We are reading Famous Men of the Middle Ages, along with the Vision saints' books.

Mohammed (PDF)

St Anthony of Padua (PDF)


They were quickly done; I hope there aren't any mistakes, but I can't say for sure.  Let me know if you find one!

Strewsday Tuesday: Even the Library Can Strew!

     I am SOOOO excited!  Tonight there is a lecture at our library.  I am so excited to go, I even dreamed about it.....luckily it was only a dream...because as we were getting ready to leave for the lecture in the dream.....I realized that the lecture was in my hometown, not in Los Angeles where we were visiting.  Silly, weird dream.

(Actually, we have already attended this excellent lecture.  I could not finish this post before we went.  My kids were the only youth present :( ......and after them, I may well have been the next youngest person there. : )  )


      And after I awakened, and reflected on the dream, I began thinking about this awesome lecture tonight........which got me thinking about writing a blog post about it.......which made me realized:

My little library STREWED for me.....

.......and I jumped for the bait! 

     Too funny.  I am such a sucker for educational and cultural opportunities.  :)

     So here is how it all came to be.........Our little library had a major crisis  (Wow.  I just re-read that article....a good one!) in June of 2010.  In the time that followed, many people came together and volunteered the time to keep our library running.  And you know what happened???  Our library is better than ever! Well, interlibrary loan would be the last perk we are waiting for.....maybe someday soon.......Some.day.

     (As I am proofreading this article......I just want to make it clear: my library IS a little library because I live in a small town...........in comparison, Willa's library is a closet.  :)  )


      The volunteers and the Friends of the Library have created many opportunities for the patrons since that crisis.  One of them applied for a grant.  She got it!  This grant allows for slecting a book from a specific group of books and providing opportunities in a sort of Unit Study format.  I believc the grant is from Cal Reads. The focus for this year is on democracy. The book she chose for the grant was.....

Farewell to Manzanar

by

Jeanne Wakatsuki

     One of the main reasons that she chose this book is because the site of the largest of the Japanese internment camp is actually in our very own county.  The Tule Lake Camp was recently added to the National Park System as part of the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument, which also includes Pearl Harbor, which I was so blessed to visit last June.  Our family intends to take a field trip to visit the Tule Lake Camp this summer.


     So, the library set a whole bunch of interrelated books on the counter.....STREWING the books right where I would have to pass them.....every time I came into the library.........which is several times a week.  Of course I began fondling the books......and that lead to conversations with the volunteer who coordinates this program.  And that lead to me checking the books out.  Of course.


      Even though the boys and I have been reading about WWI.........I just had to take advantage of the possibilities in front of us, related to WWII and the Japanese Internment camps.  I began reading Farewell to Manzanar aloud to the boys right away.  They good-humoredly put up with me......with a bit of rolling eyes.


     One of the comments from the lecturer was that the camps were not too well known to most people and that the history books in schools pretty much neglect this history.  In my own case, I cannot really remember not knowing about them.  From the time I was sixteen years old, my family drove from Lake Tahoe, where we had just moved to, back to Los Angeles, where we had moved from, frequently enough........along Highway 395, which means that we passed the Manzanar Camp regularly.  It was just a fenced area with an old tower or two.  But we would stop and look at it....and you could feel the historical energy there. 


      Now it is a part of the National Park system, as it should be......and has been developed as an official place to visit, but I have yet to stop there since this took place.  Having passed it so many times, it has almost become my "home" Japanese Internment Camp, if there can be such a thing.......and every time I have passed it with the kids, I have given the lecture about the history of it to them.  At least to the ones that were awake on our nine-hour drive.  :)


     I also read Journey to Topaz by Yoshiko Uchida as a preteen, so I definitely knew about the camps.  My oldest daughter read this same book as a preteen.


      It was so exciting to the boys and I that we were reading Farewell to Manzanar.......and that we would actually be getting to meet the author.  As part of the grant........the coordinator has been able to invite a handful of the authors to visit our little community.  We are so blessed!


     Mrs. Houston, the author, was here last week and I was able to get four of my six kids to the lecture.  The ten year old said:  Every time she talked about something in the book, I remembered reading it.  He enjoyed the lecture.  The other kids did, too.  I very much enjoyed chatting with her afterward.  She was very warm and took the time to visit with us.

     Let me pause here, for just a moment, and share an interesting connection to all of this.  My oldest daughter, Anne, will be graduating from college in June with a degree in English Education.  For her Capstone Project (her senior project), she has been focusing on creating an educational plan on using the book Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford.

     Because Anne was doing this project, I read the book, too, so I would know what she was up to.  Hotel (as Anne has come to call it for short) was also one of the books STREWED on that counter for me.  It was the strewing that finally got me to read it.  Perfect timing…..to read this book in time for the topic of Japanese Internment camps.

     When I mentioned to one of the doctors that I work with that I was reading Hotel, she said:  It was good.  But predictable.  I talked her the other day and told her that while it may have been a bit predictable, I found the book was an excellent opportunity to get in close to the emotions of that time…..to get inside of the camp in an intimate way.  The book is totally worth a read…..and an excellent first novel.  If you enjoy Jazz and its history…..there is a nice component to the story with Jazz as an important character.

     Anne, as a formerly homeschooled kid, was thrilled to have this “unit study” going on in her hometown.  She attends college close enough to come home for the lectures.  As a future educator, the experiences of hearing these lectures will only enhance her ability to teach.

     Our learning is all about CONNECTIONS, right?  For the rest of our lives, right?  I love how this opportunity proves that this is so.  I will never be done learning.  I hope that for my kids, too.  So far……..my three homeschool graduates feel that way. Phew.  One goal met.  Three times.

     This graphic book below about Camp Manzanar was perfect for my little guy to read.  I think he enjoyed reading about the camp, knowing the details of its history that he has learned. I am not personally fond of graphic novels……..but, this one was just perfect for our situation.

     Another STREWED book was called Baseball Saved Us by Ken Mochizuki.  It was a great picture book for explaiining the camp to the young kids.  The illustrations are lovely.

     Because the creation of the camps and the internment of the Japanese was unconstitutional, this book, Constitution Café by Christopher Phillips was among the books STREWED on that counter.  I picked it up for two reasons.  First, I had previously read Phillip’s other book, Socrates Café, which I enjoyed very much. And second, he was one of the authors that was coming for a visit!  I was not able to read the whole book before his arrival, but I got the first couple of chapters read so I would have an idea about his Constitution Café before we started.  I am currently rreadin it through now......I am loving the history he brings into his book.  I am loving the Thomas Jefferson quotes.

     I was able to drag at least four of my kids to his talk.  I left the little guy with friends.  Good thing, as I think a lot of the vocabulary would have been over his head.  I wish I had time to chat about Phillips’s ideas that were shared, but I am already going at it long here.  Perhaps he deserves his own blog post?  Yeah, probably. 

 

     Suffice it to say that is was a good experience to attend his Café, where we spent time discussing each phrase of the Preamble to the Constitution.  I was planning to just go and sit on the outside of the crowd, listening.  Thus I was quite surprised to hear my voice when I actually contributed to the conversation.  So were my kids!  J  Three of my kids also spoke.  They are smart kids….with some good ideas.  They must get that from their father…….or books.  J

   I am so glad that I did not cave into my desire to just cozy up at home and miss out on his visit.  This was good for all of us.  I believe the dialogue inspired by this Constitution Café will continue for years, just in our own family.

     While we were sitting in the library, I watched the “super moon” rise through our pretty windows.  I wish the cell phone could take the picture as pretty as it really was…….

     The final lecture of the STREWING is the author of the book below.  Lawson Fusao Inada is a past Poet Laureate of the state of Oregon.  His book, Only What We Could Carry, is a compilation of short stories, journal entries, poems, artwork, photos and more …….. from or about the Japanese Internment Camps.  He will be here on the 20^th of May.  He is doing a writing workshop in the afternoon and a poetry reading in the evening.  This is stressing me out just a little bit……because we have two piano recitals the same day, as well as a basketball tournament an hour away from home.  That was already enough for our days total activities.  I hope we can figure out how to make it work.

      My oldest daughter is about to graduate from the university where he used to teach. Over the past two years, her English professors have said to her: You should meet Lawson Fusao Inada. Well, finally, she will. 

+++++++  +++++ ++++++

     So……...there you have it.  All my library has to do for me……is STREW.  And off I go!  Do you know…….that sometimes I have put myself on a self-imposed library fast…….just because I am such a sucker for their STREWING.  J

 

     I may live in a small town, but I live in a culturally-aware town.  Our opportunities may be slim compared to the big city…….but at least we have something to see, do, learn.

     Blessings, 

              Chari

Celtic Legends and Literature (a simple unit plan)

I made a summer unit for my kids.  If you are interested in previewing or downloading, go here:

Legends and Literature (PDF)
Legends and Literature (docx)

Here is an embedded preview.  You will notice I tried hard to make it look pretty.  I really like making pretty things, though I haven't done much of it recently.   I used a newsletter template from Microsoft Word 2010, similar to the lesson plans I made once back a couple of years ago.   Definitely time consuming, but fun too.


Since we basically stopped doing any formal academics around Christmas time, I wanted to transition gently back into the next school year.  This unit gets us started using English Literature for Boys and Girls which I am intending as a core text for next year..

Front illustration for English Literature for Boys and Girls

I am planning to focus on Celtic history since it is part of our heritage and fortunately the English Literature book lends itself to that since the earliest literary efforts on the British Isles came firstly from Ireland and secondarily from Scotland.    How convenient!  I am looking forward to doing this at a relaxed pace with my kids this summer.

English Literature for Boys and Girls is an interesting book.  I found it through Ambleside Online where it is recommended for Year 7.    My kids are Year 4 and Year 11.  Nevertheless, I think this is a good time to work through it.    Though Kieron and Paddy are 7 years apart in age they are both very willing participants in discussion of a text.  Kieron's perspective helps Paddy stretch beyond his grade level and the interactive format encourages Kieron to look more deeply into his school reading than otherwise.  He is smart but not particularly inclined to spend any longer on formal academics than he has to, but a good philosophical discussion can always pull him in and he has a real gift for connecting our present reading with other things he has read or seen going back all the way to his preschool years.

So for our Morning Time, I look for readings that bridge the gap between them, and History of English Literature is perfect.  The style is targeted towards kids closer to Paddy's age (in my opinion) but the content is about things I didn't learn until high school or college.   There's a nice mix of actual storytelling, and some real information about literary forms and styles.

You notice I haven't mentioned Aidan in all this.  He actually is Year 7 but his interests and abilities are still firmly set in the primary stage of learning.   I really don't know how much he follows our read-alouds.  He is usually around and sometimes he makes some comment or repeats some phrase.  Sometimes he tries to distract Kieron.  But all in all, I think he gets something from having us consistently sit around and read and talk together.    And maybe the literary language sinks into his brain on some level -- he's amazingly auditory for someone with only one functioning ear.

Back to planning now,

Willa