| Author | |
TradCathMom
Forum Rookie
Joined: Feb 20 2005
Location: Wisconsin
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 94
|
| Posted: Feb 27 2005 at 6:55pm | IP Logged
|
 |
|
I'm completely and utterly clueless and have no idea where to begin. My oldest is 8 and in the 3rd grade. We've been just text booking it and it has been going pretty well but what I firmly believe that what we are doing (in most areas) isn't "REAL" learning. I love hands on and well.... REAL learning but I don't know where to begin.
I just ordered Elizabeth's book so I can't wait for that. Are there any websites that give a real concrete outline of how things "work" in this form of study? I do know about 4reallearning so I'll look more into that.
Does anyone have any overall lesson plans they could share?
I'm so interested in this form of study but feel completely clueless.
Julie
__________________
Julie
 Wife to Tom
Mother of 11
Julie's stuff
Trinity Acres
JMJ * AMDG
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Bridget
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Michigan
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2198
|
| Posted: Feb 27 2005 at 7:39pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Julie,
I can share what we do. For math, grammar and map skills we use text books. I load the pages for the week in their binders so they know exactly what to do to get started in the morning. each binder has a list of extras to do taped inside the cover. Piano practice, morning chores etc.
While they are doing their binder work I read to the younger children and do a phonics lesson with the five year old. I try to get out a puzzle or simple math game to play with the 3 and 5 year olds.
By then the younger crew is ready to play. i do a writing lesson with the olders. We are going through the spelling rules with each phonogram right now. We think of words to illustrate that rule, look up some in the dictionary to find their origin and pronunciation. We write some of that info next to the word. Then we write a few sentences using as many words as we can that we just looked at.
I have fluent readers and they like to write but their spelling, punctuation and cursive are lousy. So we do this lesson to improve a little at a time. They really like this, it has clicked for them.
If we get too pressed for time, I give them a copywork sentence from Proverbs or something, instead.
When the baby naps we read aloud. We start with the Baltimore Catechism and read through, discuss, do a few q and a. They retain much more by doing it with me than when I just assigned it to them.
Then we read a book, usually related to our history study, but not always. When we finish the book, we add info to our timeline on the school room wall. I try to remember to have us look on the map for the setting of our story.
We play classical music and sometimes discuss the composer but I'm not very consistant with that.
For science they mostly just read on their own. they love science books. We do enjoy nature journals and have had good experience with those. I'm bad about doing a structured science study. Mostly because the knowledge they have from doing it on their own is so vast.
Well that was longer than I intended and probably more than you wanted to know.
__________________
God Bless,
Bridget, happily married to Kevin, mom to 8 on earth and a small army in heaven
Our Magnum Opus
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
cathhomeschool
Board Moderator
Texas Bluebonnets
Joined: Jan 26 2005
Location: Texas
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 7303
|
| Posted: Feb 28 2005 at 8:03am | IP Logged
|
|
|
TradCathMom wrote:
I just ordered Elizabeth's book so I can't wait for that. Are there any websites that give a real concrete outline of how things "work" in this form of study?
Does anyone have any overall lesson plans they could share? |
|
|
Julie, I think that Elizabeth's book and website will help you tremendously. At her site you can find sample unit studies for Tomie dePaola and Beatrix Potter (check down left hand column on homepage). Macbeth's website is also a great help. About half-way down her homepage is a link to Macbeth's Opinion, which sends you to her very large collection of book and activity recommendations (organized by subject area). Macbeth's site is a wonderful resource for science and nature study and great living books.
Several of us use Five in a Row as a base for unit studies. We supplement with ideas from this board, from Five in a Row's board, from Elizabeth's book and Macbeth's site...
You can find lesson plans created in the spirit of FIAR in the Rabbit Trails forum. Once you go through a couple of these and read Elizabeth's book, I think you'll feel much better. If there's a particular theme that you'd like to study and we don't already have a lesson plan for it, just ask in Rabbit Trails forum. Chances are someone's covered it and can give you specific recommendations.
Hope this helps!
__________________
Janette (4 boys - 22, 21, 15, 14)
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Karen E.
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 27 2005
Location: N/A
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1161
|
| Posted: Feb 28 2005 at 9:10am | IP Logged
|
|
|
TradCathMom wrote:
| We've been just text booking it and it has been going pretty well but what I firmly believe that what we are doing (in most areas) isn't "REAL" learning. I love hands on and well.... REAL learning but I don't know where to begin. |
|
|
Hi, Julie,
As Bridget did, I can describe a little bit of what we do that might be helpful. My girls are 11, 8 and 2.
I'm using Saxon Math for my 11 yo this year, just to check in on where we are with her skills. I hadn't used a formal program before but felt I needed to be sure she's getting the range of skills she needs to move on to some higher math. My 8 yo can keep up with the Saxon book we're doing, so I'm not worried a bit about her. 
The girls learned to read through reading books, with me pointing out rules, sounds, etc., along the way. They each did it at their own pace (oldest learned at age 4, middle child at age 7-8). I'm using a couple of phonics and grammar workbooks this year with them to (as with math) check in on "where we are" ... I noticed some weaknesses in my older one, and wanted to strengthen things in this area. Her speech is grammatically correct, as is her writing, but she didn't always know the formal name/rule, etc. Also, my middle child likes a little of bit of "workbook-y" stuff ... she enjoys filling in blanks, coloring things in, etc.
To reinforce phonics with my 8 yo, we play a game we made up: each child takes a Jan Brett phonogram flash card (see this link: http://www.janbrett.com/phonograms/phonogram_fc_main.htm) and we stress the sound we're working on (write it on the board, talk about each answer rhyming, etc.) then the child acts out each word on the card while the rest of us guess the word. You can also make more flashcards to expand this game to other sounds, blends, etc.
We do *lots* of read-alouds, and my girls love this. We read chapter books, history books, picture books -- whatever we feel like reading, or whatever I've planned to supplement another area of study. We come home from the library with stacks of books at a time.
Writing (composition) happens in the context of other things: units that we're working on, Bible notebooks, letters, narrations (formal and informal), stories that the girls write, etc. As far as mechanics, my girls have terrible handwriting, so I'm reinforcing some handwriting work this year.
For religion, I've used Faith and Life (supplemented by hands-on projects) but not the teacher's book, which I find to be weak, Mother-Daughter Bible stories/studies, daily saint readings, saint videos, and also bringing the subject of our faith into many, many discussions of literature.
For history, we've mostly used literature as a jumping-off point. Lots of living books, a wall timeline that keeps growing, hands-on projects, Books of Centuries, library books.
Because literature, history and theology are my areas of strength, I find that I don't stress a lot about the kids "picking things up" in these areas, for the most part. We approach them with interest and enthusiasm, and I've been pleased to see a "Real Learning" lifestyle working well for us.
I do tend to stress more about math and science, because they don't come as naturally to me (thus, our Saxon "check-up" this year.) For science, we've done a lot of nature study, and little units that I make up as we go (I decide on a topic, or the girls express an interest in something, and we load up on library books, and make up a few hands-on projects that we can carry out.)
This year, I've been blessed by a new homeschooling friend who LOVES science. She has done two extended "classes" with my kids, hers, and a few others: a volcano/rock unit, and an owl pellet dissection unit. It's been great.
I also have the kids taking an art class every Friday morning at our local arts center, and they love that, too. It's lifted the stress from my shoulders, as I was worried that I wasn't doing quite enough in the way of art techniques/projects.
I know I haven't covered everything we do, but maybe that gives you a glimpse of things? Hope so. I think I'm out of time!
__________________
God bless,
Karen E.
mom to three on earth, and several souls in God's care
Visit my blog, with its shockingly clever title, "Karen Edmisten."
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
TradCathMom
Forum Rookie
Joined: Feb 20 2005
Location: Wisconsin
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 94
|
| Posted: Feb 28 2005 at 11:07am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Thank you so much for all the suggestions! I guess I'm not *quite* as clueless as I thought I was. We do alot of these things. I had come to a point where we had so many phonics workbooks and what I would call "busy work" that it just seemed like it was mindless things that really weren't helping them a whole lot. And with homeschooling we don't need busy work, there is so much to do to keep us busy.
For Math I have used Saxon from Kindergarten and they love it and I see that they are grasping concepts rather easily. We all love the manipulatives. I have heard of Math U See but have never tried it. I'm tempted but can't justify an extra purchase when what we have seems to be working well.
Science comes easily around here. Last spring (2004) we had a wonderful swarm of bees land in a bush here. We had a real bee man come and set up a bee house and we just got our first batch of honey. It's been a wonderful experience. I am trying to figure out how to do a binder type thing for all these projects. My son collected caterpillars last fall and they made cocoons and then hatched recently. It was amazing! We are in Maple Syrup season now... I wish I had the ability to put everything into fascinating words like MacBeth has (I LOVED the mouse story!!! I'm waiting anxiously for the next story/project/wealth of information!)
I can't wait until we move to put together our timeline on a wall. I'd also like them each to have their own history timeline binder/notebook.
I think it is really the literature sources that stump me! How to put everything together for a well-rounded education.
We will use some textbooks but are going to learn to take more advantage of the wealth of good literature that is out there! (Why do people always have to give us silly stories?!)
I am looking forward to putting together our course of study.
Julie
__________________
Julie
Wife to Tom
Mother of 11
Julie's stuff
Trinity Acres
JMJ * AMDG
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
|
|
4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: Where do I begin?
