We have put much time, thought, prayer and conversation into deciding what would be best for the children and for our family this upcoming school year. Trying to take into consideration each child's abilities and needs and yet wanting to keep focused on the
values our family holds dear.
One
blog post significantly impacted our decisions and helped to shape how we wanted to include each subject into living life. Our
homeschool journey is about academics, yes...but also much more about life :: relationships, growing together as a family, and the like. Our family includes Dad, Mom, Jackie (college freshman living at home & helping out), Janelle (5
th),
Jordyn (K), Josiah (
pre-preschooler, age 2.5)
So, in the spirit of the post mentioned, with titles borrowed by permission from the
gifted writer Ann, our school year will include:
Listening ~ a way of the Spiritdaily :: reading aloud to all children-the New Testament using the
Narrated Bible, continue with
catechism for boys and girls, scripture memorization, praise, worship, prayer...
listening to His SpiritBlessings Every Day :: Josiah's favorite! One of the best devotionals for young children we've used.
often :: excerpts from
Trial & Triumph for understanding of our Christian heritage,
Kay Arthur Bible studies for kids--book of John (Janelle, 5
th grade)
Love ~ a way of sacrificingthe foundation of everyday family life,
learning to love one another :: extending grace, mercy, forgiveness. encouragement will be towards finding ways to demonstrate that love to siblings, parents, spouse to spouse, parents to children
Labor ~ a way of servingthe
ability to work is a gift and we do not shirk away from household chores. the children each have a list of responsibilities; summer time & early in the school year is usually a time for training on new chores. this year the older children will train the younger as each is taking on a bit more & moving 'up' in their ability to work. we do manual work in small chunks & responsibilities are separated into morning and then evening chores.
as a family we will also seek to serve others :: making meals, volunteering, etc. as needs arise in our community circles
Loveliness ~ a way of seeing (poetry, nature, music, art) ~ training eyes and ears to take in the beauty of the created & to be in awe of the Creator and Giver
Poetry Patterns for the 5
th grader; much reading aloud of quality poetry for all children
Nature backpacks! Mama is working at a
bag for each child to include items for our walks: small sketchbook, colored pencils, binoculars, paper bags for collecting, tweezers, field guides, bug houses for the preschooler & kindergartner, magnifying lenses, small nets, flower press for the 5
th grader, cameras
Music education :: Mama will teach recorder and piano to
Jordyn (K) and violin to Janelle (5
th) who will also continue with piano lessons 2x a month each. Though this could happen at home, it's been helpful for Janelle to experience lessons from others. All children will continue to be exposed to a wide variety of music, study the lives of composers and attend concerts when available
New art idea this year. We currently have on loan
'Picturing France' from the
National Gallery of Art--it's free! Slides, large full-color prints, curriculum for art appreciation, which we will touch on here & there through the year. Also the
Come Look With Me series and
Discovering Great Artists will be used periodically as we check them out of the library. Some of our art appreciation will be incorporated into
tea time. There will also be some focus on handcrafts (primarily knitting and embroidery) and other arts/crafts projects for all children as they fit or arise in our days.
Literature ~ a way of seeking, discovery through great books, resourcesAmerican history for the 5
th grader will include reading significantly! We'll
peruse through early American history by way of many books. We'll use
A History of US as a skeleton of sorts to keep us on track with topics, though the text won't be used as much. Also,
A Blessed Heritage is i
ncorporated as wanted to add African-American perspective. Blessed Heritage is very
literature-based, so again, many good books will be read! Continue a
bit of ancient studies with
A Mystery of History Vol. IFor
Jordyn & Josiah (age 5 and 2) we'll continue to read aloud to them for 2 hrs a day. This can be accomplished in our family because everyone else can also assist Mom in this goal!
Language ~ a way of speaking & writingnarrations &
copywork to be done weekly for both K and 5
th {
both links have many ideas on each topic, keep scrolling!}
our 5
th grader is taking a
Latin course 2 mornings a week, includes vocabulary, grammar and critical thinking studies
Foundations & Frameworks (F & F) reading comprehension program for K and 5
th :: this is a curriculum written by a wonderful friend of ours for the school setting. Last summer he trained us on how to incorporate it into our
homeschool & we did for 4
th; not much info online, the link has basics and materials are only available to those trained--but, we plan to post more about it throughout the school yr. To say it's
excellent is an understatement.
F & F will also be used for phonics, grade K, supplemented with readers
French level I for everyone! Mama speaks the language, so this helps.
Logic ~ a way of scaffolding ideasSaxon 76 Math for the 5
th grader
ACSI Math for
Jordyn (K)
Science will be taught some by Dad this year for Janelle, who is thrilled! Using our state standards, he'll put together curriculum with an emphasis on many hands-on experiments {
he taught 5th grade many years ago and has been waiting for this opportunity!}. Mom will continue to oversee
Health (including physical education)/NutritionA Child's GeographyFor
Jordyn & Josiah,
Exploring God's World of Wonder.
Ahhh....it does feel good to have it all written down, even for our own sakes. Our approach will be to tackle the more weighty subjects such as math in the morning hours and after lunch will be available for nature study, art, music, etc. But we remain flexible and open to the need to occasionally change it all up.
Our 2008-2009 School Year
Hi everyone! Jordyn reporting here... 
And that fullness often takes a toll. A good friend once shared with me a very wise tip :: there is good stress {such as planning graduation celebrations for my daughter} and bad stress {we all understand this kind}, but it's all stress to our minds and bodies. Simple and true. So while I enjoy my life and the intricate design of how it all fits and works together :: and while I've thoroughly been blessed by the activities of the last several months, our homeschooling year, and our opportunity to serve in the church...I realize the wisdom of my protector when he commands me to rest.
