Our Eclectic Plans for 2014-2015 (Fifth and First Grades)

Image courtesy of kibsri at freedigitalphotos.net

I found it so helpful to write up my plans last year that I'm doing it again this year.  It is really interesting to look back and see what I thought would work and what actually did work.  I found that I held to my plans last year much better than in years past, which I think means that I'm doing a better job of making realistic plans.  For both children, I am very open to changing plans if our plan isn't working or if new opportunities become available. 

Bee, 5th Grade:

• Reading: He will read books of his own choosing on a daily basis.  Books on subjects related to what he is studying in other areas will be available. 
• Spelling:  We will continue All About Spelling, Level 4.  After that is complete, we will begin Level 5 and possibly complete it by the end of the year. 
• Writing:  We will continue using a tutor at Writeguide.com. 
• Grammar:  I would like to get some sort of workbook, but I haven't decided on one.  If I can't find anything better, I may just pick up something in Barnes and Noble in the second half of the year and work through that.  And hopefully we'll do some Mad Libs! 
• Math:  We will finish up the Life of Fred elementary series and do Fraction and Decimals.  When that is completed, he will work on Math Minutes, 6th Grade.  We will also probably need to do some additional multiplication and division practice (long division and multi-digit multiplication).  Throughout the year, we will be listening to Schoolhouse Rock Multiplication in the car.  I still feel like Bee has to think too long on some of his basic multiplication facts, although I'm very pleased with his conceptual understanding in all areas of math. I will also be getting a math dictionary for his age. 
• History:  We'll continue with Crash Course History of the World and probably begin Crash Course American History.  I have some field trips planned to historical sites.  I also plan for us to read selections from two biased historical texts for children and have Bee compare them.  
• Science:  He'll be participating in a First Lego League team until we move.  After that, we'll do ASK science kits, visiting science museums, watching documentaries (including Cosmos), and he learns a lot through discussions with his mathematician dad.  
• Spanish:  Bee will be taking private lessons on Skype twice a week through Homeschool Spanish Academy.  We'll be supplementing that with the program Risas y Sonrisas, Salsa Spanish, additional Spanish music, books, and TV, and some Reader's Theater Spanish plays that we'll be reading out loud together. 
• Music:  He will continue his piano lessons until we move.  After that, I may take over as piano teacher for a while.  We'll also be listening to music in the car, changing the theme with each month (such as a different composer).  We did this for part of the year last year, and I'd like to pick it up again.  
• Art:  Undecided at this time, but I'd like to find a class of some sort in the city that we are moving to.  
• PE: Lots of outdoor play.  I am going to insist that they choose some kind of structured activity to do at least twice a week this winter. 

Bug, First Grade:

• Reading: He will read books of his own choosing on a daily basis.  Books on subjects related to what he is studying in other areas will be available. 
• Spelling:  We will continue All About Spelling, Level 2, which we started over the summer.  Bug is pretty excited about it.  I've noticed that this program makes both of my boys feel very good about their learning. 
• Writing: Undecided.  Probably a mixture of some age-appropriate prompts and just "draw a picture and write a sentence." 
• Grammar:  Mad Libs.  He will be doing some sentence dictation as a part of his spelling program and will practice some capitalization and punctuation there. 
• Math:  I have two workbooks for Bug to work in.  One is called Math for the Gifted Child, Grade 2 and the other is Math Minutes, Grade 2.  Both were inexpensive books available at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.  They serve our purposes in giving some practice.  Throughout the year, we will be listening to Schoolhouse Rock Multiplication in the car.  I will also be getting a math dictionary for his age.  Bug asks a lot of math questions and learns a lot about math through conversation and daily life. 
• History: We'll be doing field trips, reading some history books, and Bug can color history coloring book pages while his brother watches Crash Course History. 
• Science:  He'll be participating in a Junior First Lego League team until we move.  After that, we'll do Magic School Bus science kits, visiting science museums, watching documentaries (including Cosmos), and he learns a lot through discussions with his mathematician dad.  
• Spanish:  We'll be using the program Risas y Sonrisas, Salsa Spanish, additional Spanish music, books, and TV, and some Reader's Theater Spanish plays that we'll be reading out loud together.  
• Music:  We'll be listening to lots of music in the car, changing the theme with each month(such as a different composer).  We did this for part of the year last year, and I'd like to pick it up again.  
• Spanish:
• Art:  Undecided at this time, but I'd like to find a class of some sort in the city that we are moving to.  
• PE: Lots of outdoor play.  I am going to insist that they choose some kind of structured activity to do at least twice a week this winter. 

Looking back on the 2013-2014 School Year (4th grade and Kindergarten)

I am not a reliable blogger.  I have several blogs on various topics.  I don't keep any of them updated. Part of the problem is that I know that "proper" blogs are updated once a week or more.  I only feel like blogging in a particular blog once every now and then, and when I do, I feel like making a whole bunch of posts at once.  This is how my ADHD brain works.

So why fight it?  I'm not going to wake up tomorrow and not have ADHD.  I will blog when I am inspired to blog, and I will not feel guilty about not blogging when I am not inspired to blog.

This past school year went really well, I thought.  I tried many things with the children, and some of them worked.  They learned many things from life, and in many cases they learned in spite of my efforts.

Overall, I have learned that we do best with structured but child-centered programs that are very interactive and don't involve a lot of busywork on the part of the teacher or child.  

I will make a short list of what worked for us, what kind of worked, and what didn't really work.  I will do more extensive reviews of programs that were our favorites:

WHAT WORKED:

• Homeschool Spanish Academy:  Bee took lessons via Skype once a week from a native speaker in Guatemala.  I will write more about this school later, but I really can't say enough good things about it.  
• All About Spelling:  I am still in love with this program.  This will be my third year to use it.  
  It works well for my logical thinkers.  I think that Bee is a more auditory learner, and it has helped him vastly, and Bug has learned a lot from it too, and he is a more visual learner and a very natural speller.  I am so impressed how well the program works for both of them. 
• WriteGuide: I hired an online tutor through this company to help Bee with this writing, since I was tired of struggling to plan something only to have him sit at the computer for 2 hours and then find out that he had written nothing.  He really responded much better to the tutor than he does to me, even though she tells him a lot of the same things that I have been telling him.  I just think it's a lot more exciting for him to write to someone who is not Old Mom.  
• Life of Fred Elementary Series:  Bee LOVES Life of Fred.  He will take several to bed with him and read them on his own.  
• Field trips for history and science.  Obvious, but yup.  We found that we enjoy field trips more as a family.  When we go with a bunch of our friends, the kids are much more distracted and just want to play. 
• Documentaries for history and science:  I'm amazed at how much my kids learn from these.
• Swim team at the YMCA:  Great PE activity for noncompetitive homeschooled children.  Had a great coach who is also a homeschooling mom. 
• Private piano lessons:  Great for any kid, homeschooled or not.  We were lucky to find a great teacher who is also a homeschooling mom. 
• LONG park days and beach days and afternoons at the bounce house place. 
• Magic School Bus science kits.  Bug is loving these!  He also loves the videos.  
• Math Minute workbooks.  I had the 5th grade one for Bee, and it was a nice supplement to use with Life of Fred to make sure he is familiar with the math that kids in traditional schools are learning.
• Real Science for Kids Chemistry:  I had the sense that I had failed at that, but I looked back on my blog and saw that we actually did 10/12 chapters.  After that, however, my enthusiasm waned.  I found the experiments took a little more time for me to prepare than I would have liked. Still, I do think it's a good series and may consider using it again.  
• Crash Course History:  We started the world history.  Bee loved it.  There are a few off-color jokes, but I'm pretty sure they went over his little head.  
• Setting the boys free on their reading:  They read books that they chose and lots of them.  Bee has become a voracious reader; he especially loved the Warriors series this year.  I can't believe that Bug was only doing BOB books a year ago!  Now he giggles himself to sleep with Captain Underpants.  They are both allowed to read after they go to bed, and they often get an hour or two of reading in.  
• Lesson Tracker (app for OS devices).  Best record keeping app I have ever tried.  No, I didn't keep it up all year, but I kept it up more than I have anything else.  I plan to use it again.  I will write a more thorough review later.  
• Learning from Life:  Letting Bug (kindergarten) learn almost exclusively through living books, conversation, play, and life in general.  I am sure that Bee learned more this way as well than from anything I did with him.  The most important lessons will always come from life experience; they cannot be taught. 

WHAT SORT OF WORKED:  

• ASK Science Kit:  I started this with Bee, but he hasn't been too enthusiastic about it. I hope to pick it back up. 
• BigBrainz Multiplication:  Bee got bored of it.  Still, he is getting better at his multiplication. Bug learned some multiplication from it and will probably master his facts with it one day.  
• Handwriting:  This is torture for both boys.  Bee's print is getting better.  Bug (who was only in K last year) was very resistant about it.  Honestly, there are so many more important things for them to work on that I don't push handwriting as hard as I might. 
• Speekee Spanish:  I started it with Bug, but we didn't finish it. 

WHAT DIDN'T WORK:

• Michael Clay Thompson language arts:  I thought I should try this because my kids are gifted (so I believe anyway), and Hoagie's Gifted website said that gifted kids NEED Michael Clay Thompson.  Bee calls him Boring Clay Thompson.  And I can't blame him. 
• A Little History of the World:  Neither Bee nor Bug liked it much. 
• History Pockets:  Felt like it was too much work for me.  I may try it next year but only with Bug because he is more interested in crafts.  I hate going to so much trouble for Bee on something like that, only to have him plod through it painfully, so that he can get back to reading a book or playing Minecraft. 
• Feltboard.  I failed at using the feltboard. 

Writing this all out has made me feel a lot better because I see that so much of what we did was useful and good.  I am excited about next year! 

End of Year Homeschool Party Crafts

It's been a busy year, and blogging has not been high on my priority list.  As the year winds down, I hope to make a few posts about what worked and what didn't this year.  Today, I wanted to share the crafts for our End-of-Year Homeschool Party that we had yesterday!  

I had so much fun putting these activities together.  We had a big group of homeschoolers at a beautiful park in the woods.  We have our parties at a playground with several pavillions around it.  I never reserve the pavillions, since they are available on a first-come first-served basis when not reserved and are almost never reserved on a weekday during the school year. 

This year, I decided to set up the food for our potluck at the pavillion second-closest to the playground.  We put the crafts at the one closest to the playground, to make it easier for the kids to move back and forth. 

After lunch, the kids were free to play or do crafts/activities of their choosing.  I wasn't sure if too many of the kids would be participating in the crafts, so I was pleased when the craft pavillion was mobbed by busy kids.  Our group ranges in age from toddler to upper elementary.  (We welcome older kids but don't have many at this time, as we haven't had any families with kids of that age join who were willing to organize activities). 

We had 7 craft stations, mostly based on a spring/summer theme: 

• Seed planting:  I will do a separate post on this and link to it here.  It's pretty basic, but I didn't get the instructions anywhere, so I will write up what I did.  The best thing about this activity is its appeal to all ages, from toddler to adult. 
• Bubble station:  I brought a dishpan, bubble solution, and one of those packs of bubble wands.  (I removed the pipes and blowers so that the kids didn't all swap spit.)  I sat the dishpan on the ground (to decrease the likelihood of it getting spilled) and poured a bunch of bubble solution in it.  I placed the wands on the low brick rail going around the pavillion.  It was all set up for the kids to play with!  Easy and perfect for the preschool crowd!  The only thing I want to do differently next time is make my own bubble solution to save money.    
• Bird feeders:  These are easily made with pipe cleaners and plain Cheerios (I used Market Pantry brand).  Basically, you just string some Cheerios onto a pipe cleaner, making a stopper at each end by bending the pipe cleaner.  They can be bent into shapes and then stuck on the tree.  We don't currently have any nut allergic kids in our group that I know of, but I really liked it that this kind of bird feeder did not use peanut butter, since that can exclude kids with nut allergies and cause safety issues.  
• Beading:  Another mom brought pony beads and craft lace.  We also set out pipe cleaners, and just let the kids make whatever necklaces and bracelets they wanted.  (I had the idea to also make bubble wands with the pipe cleaners and beads but didn't get a chance to make an example.  I will save that idea for another time.) 
• Paper boat making.  I used these instructions.  They have a great printable PDF.  I printed 2, put them in plastic sheet protectors and set them out, along with some scrapbooking paper, which I had in a folder.  I did not buy the paper; I have a ton of extra at home and just picked some that I didn't think I would use in my scrapbooking.  I cut it into standard-sized paper I made 2 boats and taped them to the tablecloth.  I have to say that we had the least amount of interest in this activity. 
•  Minecraft Blocks:  These were very popular, especially amongst the boys!  I got the idea because my older son has made some Minecraft papercraft figures in the past.  I thought blocks would be a better idea for the party because they are the simplest to make.  I brought scissors, tape, and glue, but most of the kids used tape.  I printed out many different kinds of blocks from Pixel Paper Craft.  I made examples beforehand and taped them to the tablecloth.  
• Sewing with plastic Canvas:  I will be making a separate post about this as well, and will link to it.  This was much more popular than I had expected and kept me busy for about 3 hours! 

Learning from Last Year

The big thing we did last year was a Spanish language immersion trip to Central America in the spring.  I will write more about that at a later date, but it was overall a really awesome experience.  So, all other academics took a backseat to our trip and its preparation.  

Our homeschool had to change drastically with Bug being out of preschool.  I had devised many ways to “keep him busy” while I worked with his brother.  However, he did not want to be “kept busy” while his brother received an education!  He wanted to interact constantly with us.  For this year, he should be able to participate in virtually everything that I do with his brother, and I have more things to work on just with him.  I hope he will enjoy listening to the history, language arts, and math texts that I will be reading to his brother and not feel left out.  

Bug also had to learn that he does have to wait sometimes.  I’ve had to physically remove him from the room that I do All About Spelling in because he would act up and try to get attention during his brother’s spelling lesson and not respond to redirection.  He’s matured and learned and can now play quietly during his brother’s brief spelling lesson.  It helped that I started him with AAS too, so that he doesn’t feel neglected.  (I would have preferred to wait on it a little longer, but he’s doing very well.)  

I’m learning to prioritize a little better.  For instance, it’s been nagging at me that we haven’t done much in the way of formal science.  Both boys know quite a bit of science for their age in spite of this.  Bug has watched hours of Nova and other science documentaries over the years.  They’ve visited many a science museum.  They’ve gotten the most science education, I think, from conversations with their mathematician father.  

This year, I decided that science has going to be a priority.  I chose something finishable, Real Science 4 Kids Chemistry.  It only has 10 chapters and 10 activities, all basic concepts that children can build upon.  We’ve had so much fun with it so far!  And we’re all learning a lot, me included.

In addition, I am not starting history, language arts, or art until we have finished that science curriculum, and I will stagger these in gradually, making each a priority in turn.  You would think that as a trained Montessori teacher and a nontraditional sort of learner/person, I would not struggle so much to break free of the school mentality of doing every subject 36 weeks out of the year, but I do struggle with it a lot.  Some things (math, Spanish, spelling) need to be done more consistently, but other subjects are best learned in chunks.  

I think that Bee learns best through stories, so the vast majority of his subjects with be based in narratives, including math.  We will be spending much more time snuggled on the couch, reading.  I just don’t see how that can go wrong.  

I am really going to limit our outside activities and driving time on weekday mornings.  We are going to save the mornings for school, unless it’s a really special sort of field trip.  In the afternoons, I will schedule our activities and time with friends.

Saving Time with Amazon Subscribe and Save

I have recently begun using Amazon Subscribe and Save to deliver some of the products that we consistently need. You can choose the frequency of shipping, between one and six months.  If you get 5 or more things in a month, you get 15% of the entire order for that month.  If you’re an Amazon Mom member, which I now am because it was quick and painless, you get 20% off.  I’m also a prime member.  I’m not sure how it all works, but I get free shipping and 20% off my S&S now.  The best thing about it is that it keeps me out of Target.  I need to stay out of Target because It is time consuming to go there, and it’s very tempting to buy other things I had not intended to buy once I am there.  It’s also keeping me out of the pet store.  I hate running out of pet food and having to go to the pet store before it closes at 9 PM.  

As a homeschooling mom, I have limited time to go shopping.  I prefer not to take my children to stores, and I prefer not to spend my limited free time shopping for household goods.  I’d rather hang out at a bookstore or coffee shop and relax, if I do get a chance to go out.  It is very convenient to have the products I would normally shop for all brought right to my door.  No lifting them in and out of the car.  No more going to the store and wondering if we’re low on something. If I notice we’re getting low, I just need to go to my computer and make sure they are coming in my next month’s shipment.  

My current subscriptions:  

cat food

cat litter

dog food

menstrual pads and pantiliners

deodorant (for me and my husband)

plastic food storage bags (in 2 sizes)

paper towels

toilet paper

nighttime pull ups

disinfecting wipes

swiffer refills

dishwasher detergent

batteries (AA and AAA)

kids’ toothpaste

trash bags

Things I would like to get but are not available in my desired brand/size/price:

toddler wipes

laundry detergent

toilet bowl cleaner

body wash

hand soap refill

dish soap

shampoo and conditioner

coffee

printer ink cartridges

I hope Amazon continues to expand and improve their Subscribe and Save program.  What do you buy through Subscribe and Save? 

Homeschool Plans for the 2013-2014 Year

My plans rarely work out as intended.  But this it it, at any rate, and I'm so excited about our upcoming school year!  I officially started it in June, but we will get into a more regular schedule after Labor Day, when the public schools in our area start and our pool closes.

The great thing about putting my plan here, is that if I forget what I had planned, I can easily find it on my blog!  My plans are subject to change, depending on how well they are working.  Too many times I have clung to something I really wanted to work, or that had worked in the past, and I am vowing to let go more easily if something isn't working.  Of course, so much of learning isn't planned, can't be planned--it just happens on its own!  I hope to revisit this list at the end of the year and explore what worked, what didn't, and what took place instead. 

For Bee, age 9-10, 4th grade:

English Language:

• Reading books of his own choosing for pleasure (chapter books, graphic novels, and picture books)
• Bedtime chapter books with mom or dad
• All About Spelling, levels 3 and 4
• Michael Clay Thompson Language Arts:  Grammar Island, Sentence Island, Music of the Hemispheres, and Building Language (all read with me)
• Weekly journal/free writing
• Formal writing assignments (11 polished written papers for a writing portfolio, with different types of writing, including a research paper.  He will also be making videos out of several of these).  
• Handwriting Practice and Keyboarding

Mathematics:

• Life of Fred, Elementary Series (read with me)
• Math Minutes, 5th grade
• Big Brainz Multiplication (to ensure mastery of times tables)
• Supplement as needed

History:

• A Little History of the World by E.M. Gombrich (read with me)
• Books from the Time Traveller series (read on own)
• Graphic Histories (read on own)
• History Pockets Ancient Civilizations, Grades 1-3
• Wonders of the World Coloring book
• Field Trips (many in our area relate to US History and colonial America).  I especially want to visit the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in D.C.

Science:

• Real Science for Kids, Chemistry.  Middle school textbook, but a mixture of the middle school labs and elementary labs, since I am doing it with him and his brother together. 
• 2 summer science camps
• Graphic Science Series relating to chemistry
• Participation in family garden
• Nature walks and camping
• Additional science to be determined, but we are considering Fizz, Bubble, & Flash and/or Janice Van Cleave's Chemistry.  

Spanish Language:

• Private lessons with Homeschool Spanish Academy
• Felt Board activities (I read a story in Spanish; boys act it out with feltboard)
• Vocabulary flashcards on computer (using Anki)
• Spanish TV (El Chavo, Garfield dubbed in Spanish, other TV and movies dubbed in Spanish or originally recorded in Spanish)
• Spanish conversation with mom (I AM going to start talking Spanish to them part of each day, perhaps in the morning during our walks!) 

Physical Education:

• Family walk with dog (hope to make this part of our morning routine)
• Biking and scootering
• Homeschool park days!
• Summer swimming
• Possible gymnastics or tennis lessons, depending on his interest 

Music and Art: 

• Artistic Pursuits Early Elementary
• music listening in car 
• private piano lessons (hoping I can find a teacher who is a good fit)

Social Activities

• Park days, field trips, parties with our homeschool group
• 2 Activities each month with our Navigator Scout group
• Playdates

For Bug, age 5-6, Kingergarten 

English Language:

• Bedtime books with mom or dad
• All About Spelling, level 1 and possibly 2
• continue BOB books
• reading and writing games, such as labelling objects in the house 
• additional reading will be based on his interest/readiness 
• Handwriting practice

Mathematics:

• TOPS Lentil Math
• Big Brainz Addition and Subtraction
• Montessori golden bead material and stamp game
• math games, picture books, and conversations

History:

• A Little History of the World (read with me)
• History Pockets Ancient Civilizations, Grades 1-3
• Wonders of the World Coloring book
• Field Trips (many in our area relate to US History and colonial America).  I especially want to visit the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in D.C.

Science:

• Real Science for Kids, Chemistry.  Elementary school textbook, but a mixture of the middle school labs and elementary labs, since I am doing it with him and his brother together. 
• 2 summer science camps
• Participation in family garden
• Nature walks and camping
• Additional science to be determined, but we are considering Fizz, Bubble, & Flash and/or Janice Van Cleave's Chemistry.  Bug LOVES science experiments.  He gets very upset when they are over.  I had intended to be finished with science experiments after RS4K, but he enjoys them so much that we will have to continue them.  

Spanish Language:

• Private lessons with Homeschool Spanish Academy (we will just try a few and see how it works out--he may be too young)
• Felt Board activities (I read a story in Spanish; boys act it out with feltboard)
• Vocabulary flashcards on computer (using Anki)
• Spanish TV (El Chavo, Garfield dubbed in Spanish, other TV and movies dubbed in Spanish or originally recorded in Spanish)
• Spanish conversation with mom (I AM going to start talking Spanish to them part of each day, perhaps in the morning during our walks!) 
• Speekee Spanish

Physical Education:

• Family walk with dog (hope to make this part of our morning routine)
• Biking and scootering
• Homeschool park days!
• Summer swimming
• Possible gymnastics, soccer clinic, or martial arts, depending on his interest

Music and Art: 

• Artistic Pursuits Early Elementary
• music listening in car

 Social Activities

• Park days, field trips, parties with our homeschool group
• 2 Activities each month with our Navigator Scout group
• Playdates

XtraMath: Review

My Initial Review of IXL Math:

I have been using XtraMath with Bug partly to help him learn his addition facts, but mostly because it's just something to occupy him for a few minutes.  He is so needy, and so different from his older brother, and I do find it really hard to find things for him to do all day, if his brother is busy reading.  Bug is welcome to play with his toys at any time, but he really does not like to play by himself.  At 5 years old, he is a beginning reader and has no interest in reading to himself.  He has a desire? need? to interact with someone for 99% of his waking hours. 

Anyway, the greatest thing about XtraMath is that it is free.  It is a "nonprofit organization dedicated to math acheivement for all."  Basically, it is a program that helps children memorize their math facts.  Right now, the computer has Bug working on his addition facts, adding 0, 1, and 2 to numbers 0 through 9.  He does well with the program, not getting upset if he doesn't get the answer in the allotted time.  His older brother hated these types of times programs, but I think they can be very valuable in the chore that is memorizing arithmetic facts.  I just hope Bug continues to enjoy the program. 

I do recommend this program, but it is not for every child.  Some children get anxious when they are put up against a timer, and in this case, I don't think the benefits outweigh the risk of forcing the child to hate math. 

I also believe that no one should ever use a math fact memorization program, unless their child has demonstrated conceptual understanding.  Before a child memorizes addition facts, he or she must fully understand that addition means putting together.  Bug is comfortable with the concepts of addition and subtraction.  I'm not sure he fully gets multiplication and division, but I will be sure that he does before it is time to memorize those tables. 

I'll update again after we've used the program for a while.  

My Final Review of IXL Math:

Bug got really bored of this.  I'm still looking for something to help him with his math facts.  I'd like something that will track his learning but be more games-based.