Sweetness and Light

End of Term Exams :: Charlotte Mason Style

Having just completed our first term of 12 weeks, I decided to give end of term examinations this year vis-a-vis Charlotte Mason's methods. I have always wanted to do this, but just never seemed to manage it in practice. The theoretical is always much easier than the application, but alas we managed it and it was a delightful way to finish up our first term. The kids loved it and did very well, after all, the idea behind end of term examinations is not to find out what a child doesn't know, but exactly what they do know, it's a WIN WIN all around :)

"We will now pass to a week before the end of term. One morning an envelope marked "House of Education, Ambleside," arrives. It contains the examination questions. As soon as the day you have fixed on comes round you open the envelope and the examinations begin. They last for one week, and the subjects are not all done in one lump three hours arithmetic, two, history, or whatever it is, but in the usual time set for that subject on the time-table. Thus you might have forty-five minutes history on Wednesday and forty on Friday. 

You are given one question at a time and when that is finished you are given the next. This method avoids the fatigue caused particularly in the case of younger children when the whole of the time allowed for one subject is taken at once. The examinations are not to be a burden to the children, but a pleasure. If one subject is finished before its allotted time is up then the remainder of the time may be used for another subject which the children have not had time to finish, but any questions for which there has not been time during the week may be omitted. Examinations conducted on this method cause no strain to the children. In the case of little children who cannot write, they dictate their answers, which are written down for them.

 

Songs and repetitions are heard, and exercise books, paintings, handwork and drill are inspected by the father or outside friend, sewing by the mother, and a report of these with marks given by the parent is then sent up to Ambleside with the written examination papers." PNEU

 

Here is a sampling of some of our exam questions ~

 

Highschool 11th grade

 

Art History :: Share your favorite art history work from your Khan Academy lectures. Please explain in detail what you especially enjoyed about this art and why giving the time period and other pertinent information.

                

Literature & Poetry :: Please narrate your favorite Eqyptian novel you read this term giving as much detail as possible. Did the story give you an accurate description of Egyptian life and culture. What was the main thing you took away from this book.   

Discuss your favorite poem from this term and share your analysis.

Great Books :: Finish the Iliad & Discuss General ?'s 1) When was the Iliad written/transcribed 2) What was going on elsewhere in the world at this time? 3) Who were some key people or rulers? 4) What was the geography like? (reference Iliad discussion site for each book based on Fagles translation)

Highschool 9th grade

 

History Exam :: Tell me all you know about the Early colonization of America. Include prominent people and any dates that come to mind. What was the Catholic role in colonization?                                         

Pretend you are a young Catholic priest, just landing on American soil, what would be your first mission and why? Please write a few paragraphs up to one page explaining your mission.

   

Oral & Written Religion Exam :: Do Religion Exam & Discuss.

Write about the life of a Saint that inspires you (a page or less).

Year 5 - 5th grade

 

Latin Exam :: Vocabulary & Latina Christiana Test 1

Recite the Confeitior and the Table Blessing

 

Astronomy Exam :: Share your Astronomy Notebook and give a detailed narration of one of the planets you have studied thus far.

Oral Natural History Exam :: Tell me what you know of Coral Reefs, where are some located, and name as many animals and types of coral you can remember. 

What do you know about Blue Whales, share some facts.

Turn in your Coral Reef art work.

 

Year 2 - 2nd grade

 

Oral Geography & Natural History :: Tell me the names of the Continents & the 2 largest oceans.

Color & label your Continents map

Tell me something about Coral & Tropical Seas, where is one reef that we studied?

What are some birds we see everyday in our yard?

Can you tell of some of their habits?

 

Fine Arts ::

Tell me about your favorite Vermeer Painting and why you like it. Can you paint your own version of this painting?

What was your favorite Haydn piece and why?

Turn in one of your pieces of artwork from this term.

 

Language Arts :: 

Recite The Turtle and turn in your copied poem, illustrate it. 

Read aloud one of your Little Stories for Little Folks Pink books 

Turn in one of your copywork pages, your best work from this term          Spell some of your green list words with the moveable alphabet.

Math exams were conducted about four of the five days and were a representation of the terms work thus far. For the highschoolers it was a Unit exam of completed chapters for Math-U-See Algebra II. The 5th grader did a fractions, decimals and a geometry exam from his cumulative work in Mammoth Math. The 2nd grader did various activities each day showing his ability to count to 100 by 1's, 10's and to 20 by 2's; showed me the decimal system and how to make numbers into the thousands using the "stamp game"; Addition using fact families, Subtraction with an abacus; and how to make tens playing the Snake game. 

We really enjoyed this process together and are now relishing in an extra long week's break for the Thanksgiving holiday. If you have any questions on how I administered the exams or need more information on how I go about creating the questions, please don't hesitate to email me :) We are looking forward to a nice week of relaxation and LOTS of reading and playing.

*Site note: there is some wierd formatting going on here with this post that I can't seem to fix, so sorry if it seems choppy and messy. Typepad may be upgrading or something, or I just seem to have some computer issues going on, anyhoo, hope it's readable for you all!!

Our First Day

Was Great!! Back in a few days to share booklists and some fun new things we're doing this year!!

Hope your first days/weeks have gone well. A blessed end of summer to you all :)

Learning Room Notes ~ Autumn

Quick post making a few school room notes on all the learning going on around here. Have to jot them down before I forget, LOL!

We all survived the 13 yo birthday madness! We had quite a whirlwind weekend of celebrating and feasting our beloved Matthias and his crossing into the teen years. Whew, what a great guy!

In the learning room ~

Matthias reading :: Augustine Came to Kent, The Yearling and one of the Mysterious Benedict Society books (again) not sure which one, I think it's the 3rd. Nope, I just asked him, it's the 2nd.

Violet reading :: Louis de Wohl's Lay Siege to Heaven, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and a princess retelling Princess of Glass.

Seamus reading :: Working his way through several of the Encyclopedia Brown series, they are quick reads and fun for him. He also just finished Pedro's Journal and we are reading Genevieve Foster's The World of Colombus and Sons together.

Sean-Paul's books :: Lots of Jim Arnosky books, Garfield comics (seriously), Calvin and Hobbes, Max & Ruby's, and random picks off the shelf at the library, mostly for him to "read".

Also, the younger boys and I just finished our lunchtime read aloud The Penderwicks. I enjoy this every time I read it. Now on to WHAT next???

In other news ~ Violet is at ballet six days a week (urgh). I have picked up my knitting again from summer and have almost finished Matthias's birthday Fisherman, stay tuned :)

It's raining, ALOT. This is not my favorite thing at all, sigh...But, this gives us lots more time for reading all those great books :) Looking forward to cranking up my gas fireplace pretty soon!

Matthias is loving, and I mean LOVING his Engineering Design and C++ Computer Programming online classes this fall, they are a big hit. (Email me if you're interested in hearing more about them, they are FREE for us). Geometry is also going well and even FUN (yes indeed) for both Matthias and Violet, how about that!! Seamus continues to be 2-3 grades above level for math which is cool. He is also really enjoying Grammar, my sweet boy. He LOVES Intermediate Language Lessons (thank you Emma Serl, teehee). Sean-Paul is trying very hard to learn to read, he's just not THAT interested yet. He's made it through some of the Little Stories for Little Folks, but it's going to be a bit before he really takes off with it, and that's okay :) I can wait!

We have been enjoying occaisional teatimes for the many feast days that grace our liturgical calendar each week and our family has just begun another 54-day Rosary Novena  for a very special intention. Please keep us in your prayers!

Hope your October, Month of the Most Holy Rosary is going great so far, off to make Carmel Apples as it's that time of year!! Yum :)

 

Fieldwork ~ Salmon Watching

 
Monday we embarked on our first Salmon Watching expedition with my dad (aka Grandpa). He has been an avid fisherman and nature lover since the beginning of time ;-) thus he proves to be an excellent guide and partner in our newest endeavors with Biology for this year.

 
We have three sites to check periodically throughout the week, for fifteen minutes each site. Our goal of course is to spot different species of salmon that are coming into the creeks to spawn and thus end their life cycle, or move back out into the lake and on out to the sound. (Last year at this site there was a "redd" located just underneath that orange marker in the picture above, a good sign). Note: a "redd" is a cleared area in the stream where the female salmon lays here eggs to be fertilized.

 
At each location we basically watch and wait....

We were happy this first watch day that the weather was sunny and warm and not too much of a glare. Although, we are all given these fancy polarized salmon watching glasses to help cut the glare and see any little movements under the surface.

 
Violet took charge of "recording" our findings and sightings (although there was only a few little fish) which we are to list as "juveniles" as there is really no way to tell what type of salmon (or trout) they are as of yet.

 
I call this one "ninja measurer". Matthias here wielding the pvc measuring pipe for locations that do not have a water level meter on site. Grandpa was the only one that did this job, however, as it involved a very steep bank not good for tennis shoes with no tread, lol! Water levels are still pretty low in all our sites as we've (thankfully) had only a little bit of rain this past weekend, but the water was mostly clear which made it easy to see anything swimming. (Lots of water skeeters and dragonflies!)

 
I couldn't help snapping some shots of the local fauna, here some lovely little orangish wildflowers (or weeds). I'm still looking for an I.D. on these, anyone's guess???? (Violet was guessing Toadflax...)

 
These beautiful pink ones were everywhere, quite abundant, and no I.D. on these either. Note to self - purchase a Washington flower book.

A few more beauties and marvels ~

 
Elderberries???

 
Grandpa (Dad) was guessing wild parsley?

And this cute little guy slithered past us twice...

 

 It was a delightful hour or so perusing nature just a little ways from our home. We hope to see some bigger fish next time :) A few parting shots...

 
Giant rosehips!!

 
Cool and shady, but no fish :)

Have a great rest of the week friends!

Gettin' Our Groove

 
(2011 Parish Picnic Egg Race)

Well, our new year has indeed begun. Despite our efforts to stave off and relish the last days of summer (which in our neck of the woods has just recently arrived). The Pacific NW is so fussy sometimes. I can't help being thankful however, that we have not experienced the severe and scary weather hitting other parts of the country lately. The weather was delightful this past weekend when our parish held it's annual picnic. Good fun was had by ALL, what a joy to be part of such an amazing community, we are so blessed!

At any rate, back to school. We are up and running with a new year and new perspectives. As mentioned in my planning post, we are taking things in a more relaxed manner and that seems to be helpful to everyone, especially moi!

Good Things :: Weeks 1 & 2 ~

• Signed up for Project Feeder Watch, we should be receiving our kits anyday now :)
• Everyone very happy with their maths so far this year, yippee!! Found a few great Math DVD's at the library that both Seamus and Sean-Paul have enjoyed. One is called CashFlow for Kids at Home   (this is a link to the board game, ours is a CD-ROM version), and the other is called School Zone 1st Grade (here is a link to their website).
• Matthias is going gung-ho on his computer classes. He loves them!! We will be using Giant Campus of Washington  for the remainder of his high-school years, it's really great and FREE :)
• Violet is making a nice transition into her Sophmore year classes. She is delightedly self-motivated and our discussions have been very pleasant relating to her history reading, religion and biology. And of course every other book she happens to be reading :)
• Sean-Paul is prooving to be quite the little student, just like his siblings. He loves math and we've been reading up a storm. We have decided that he will receive his First Holy Communion with our Latin parish next spring, so I will be slowly getting him ready on our end  before he begins his classes next year. I hope to have him create his own notebook, although it will look quite different than Matthias's as he is receiving two years earlier than Matthias.
• My menu planning is coming along nicely...post to follow soon :)

Tweaks :: Helps for Mom ~

• Need to try and get up a little earlier for my morning workout. Since the beginning of the summer Matthew and I have been working out in the mornings together to much success and delight. It's great to have a workout partner for motivation and inspiration :) Here's what has worked for us both: Ultrafit by Cindy Whitmarsh
• I would like to beef-up and make more clear our daily chores. As usual with summer schedules and lazy days, we are in need of a little polishing up in the chore area. I'm thinking a daily checklist at the whiteboard for everyone to see and do :)
• As we ease into our new schedule, I can see the need for encouraging self-study and strewing more. This isn't too difficult however, as we are making regular trips to the library and allowing ourselves lots of time to just explore and think, all good things!! 

 
How's your year starting out?? Many blessings in your day, thanks for popping in :)

Weeks in Review ~ 3, 4 & 5

How did three more weeks get away from us?? Well, they actually didn't get away, we've been buzzing along quite nicely in our first term and I just haven't had time to put it all down. (Swirly clouds courtesy of the Matthias & Seamus Cloud Research Center, we have an abundance of these out our window regularly for identification and study ;-)

I'll try and share some of our highlights of the past three weeks and hope I don't put anyone to sleep in the mean time ;-)

We had lovely celebrations of both the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Our Lady of Sorrows in these few week's time, not to mention the Feast of St. Matthew (on the 21st) and the Feast of the North American Martyrs (Sept 26th at our parish). *It has come to my attention as well, that my dear boys have been requesting more regular afternoon teatimes as they really enjoy a little snack and something warm now, in between all their lego building and music practicing, especially on days where the weather is less than cooperative for the pool or baseball ;-) Violet and I have no complaints!

I always like to catch up on what everyone is reading since this comprises a large bulk of our schooling. This time I'll start with Sean-Paul as his variety of read alouds has increased significantly and he is really enjoying many different kinds of stories. 

• Several short stories and poems from The Children's Kindergarten Hour
• Treasure Boxes 1-20 (various readings)
• Currently reading aloud Socks by Beverly Cleary
• "Moses the Kitten" and "The Christmas Day Kitten" from the James Herriot Treasury
• Blueberries for Sal and One Morning in Maine by Robert McClosky
• The Color Kittens (a Golden book) *Coincided nicely with our Color Mixing Activity which is always requested! EVERYONE has to do this when it is brought out, LOL!!

 
(See what I mean ;-)

• Scuppers the Sailor Dog (another Golden book)
• The Angelina Ballerina Books by Katharine Holabird (what can I say, his sister's a dancer)
• Many, many other picture books chosen at random when I happen to plop on the couch for a moments peace (always better with a snuggler and a picture book).

Besides the books, Sean-Paul has been learning up a storm. He loves anything math and science related (not surprising) and has been obsessed with watching our Science Experiments DVD and then carrying out the experiments mostly on his own (I LOVE this)! What could be more fun for a Kindergartner?

Here he is performing his Parachute:

 

And this is his Weather Vane (he told me all the things we needed for him to build it and he went around the house collecting it all):

 
(We're secretly hoping for a nice little breeze to test this baby out ;-)

And the piece de resistance, the Boat Test with a sail, to see how wind works (not sure if you can see in the photo, but there is a knight riding the waves):

 
 
(please click on the pictures to get the full action)

Scads of other good stuff ~ Landforms got lots of action one day:

 

He went through all eight of them and then we created some booklets:

 
(This was his Isthmus/Strait)

We played a LOT of games of Uno (ours is the Cars version). Sean-Paul beats me most of the time 'cause I forget to say "uno" when I'm down to my last card. He is adding up to three numbers to 18 using the Colored Bead Bars and doing marvelously with subtraction. I plan to do a Subtraction Board post soon, it's a fun way to learn.

Allright, I better move on or this post will end up being all about Sean-Paul, cute as he is ;-) 

Seamus ~

• Finished The Adventures of Danny Meadow Mouse and began The Adventures of Reddy the Fox (both by Thomas Burgess) *These little gems have nice short chapters, so perfect for narrating.
• Aesop's Fables (we have an Illustrated Junior Library edition) He's really enjoying these and always tells me the "Application" at the end of each reading.
• Finished Weather and Climate by Barbara Taylor, this one is so perfect for a 3rd grader.
• Started How Weather Works by Robin Birch, also good, nice diagrams and text
• Read many chapters in Story of the World Volume 1: Ancient Times covering: the Greek Alphabet, Odysseus and the Cyclops, the First Olympic Games, Medes and the Persians, Cyrus the Great, Life in Sparta and Athens, The Golden Apple. *He created many a Notebook page for his readings as well as narrating them to me.
• Continued RA's w/me ~ Francis and Clare (Vision Book) and Black Beauty (w/Sean-Paul)
• Continued readings in Child's Bible History, narrating after each and adding a picture to his Bible Timeline.
• RA w/Matthias ~ Mystery of the Periodic Table (coming a bit slowly)

Seamus is working on The Land of Storybooks by Robert Louis Stevenson. Cranking out math problems in his Mammoth Math Fractions 1 and Decimals 1, plus reciting his Multiplication tables, one each day. I am alternating using Primary Language Lessons (selected exercises) and Voyages in English 3 with him orally and it's such a lovely way to approach grammar with a 3rd grader. Sometimes he will do some copywork from these selections, but mostly our copywork is coming from Religion and literature for him. In addition, we've covered Measuring the Classroom and Playground, Giving Directions, How to Tell Disctance and Plains, in Home Geography (a gem of a book). Seamus also is enjoying the St. Joseph's Catechism No. 1 that we are working through together. Latin is one of his favorite subjects (overheard a conversation between classmates just this morning, and it was declared 2nd to Math :) Flashcards are cool, methinks! Oh and lest I forget, Seamus clocked about 25 hours of Cello practice and lessons in the last three weeks preparing for a recital this past weekend, it was so worth it, he sounded amazing!! Played The Swan, an Arutunyan Impromptu and the Tarantella by David Popper, unblievably beautiful.

 
(Weather station building crew)

Matthias ~

• Finished The Bronze Bow (hailed as an awesome book)
• Read several Saint's Lives including: St. Jerome, St. Ignatius of Antioch and St. John Chrysostom after which he delivered a presentation of each and created a Notebook Timeline page (scroll to the bottom of this link for the free timeline templates, he is using the landscape style). *Matthias claims he is really enjoying this way of reading and learning about the Saints (quiet little "woohoo" from moi).
• Began reading The Histories by Herodotus (Battle at Marathon, Thermopylae), written narrations followed for each
• Read in Famous Men of Greece ~ Pisitratus, Lycurgus, Pericles, and Lionidas, added to his timeline (BOC)
• Started Rascal by Sterling North (going a bit slow)
• We read Act 1, Scene 1 of Julius Caesar together, hysterical!
• Began The Encyclopedia of Weather and Climate Change, excellent recource, it's on my wishlist now :)
• RA The Mystery of the Periodic Table to Seamus.

In addition, learning some lines from The Tempest in Harp & Laurel Wreath, working through grammar, dictation and writing selections in Lingua Mater orally, enjoying Vocabulary from Classical Roots lessons also w/me orally (wish I'd found this one sooner), cooking along in Forester's Algebra 1 nicely, finished 2/3's of  Ch 3, worked on some fun chemistry experiments on Diffusion w/Seamus.

 
(click on the images to view)

Oh, and Matthias was excited to be the family member to teach Sean-Paul how to play Poker ~ all in good fun of course :)

 
(Seamus' poker face is pretty good don't you think, lol!) *Lest you think Sean-Paul doesn't have any other shirts is his drawer, he will invariably go and find his batman shirt from Old Navy even if it's in the laundry. He says it's cause its so soft mommy, well, got me there :)

 Violet ~ (many books were devoured, but here are the highlights)

• Bird Life (Golden Guide) for zoology research
• Wildflowers of Mount Rainier, also for research for occaisional botany reports
• Finished Columbus to Cortez by John Eidsmore
• Read "St. Bernard on a Second Crusade" in World's Great Speeches, compared to the Calvin and Luther speeches
• RA in Pride and Prejudice with me in the afternoons, several chapters
• Shadows on the Rock by Willa Cather
• Cartier Sails the St. Lawrence by Ester Averill
• Started Longitude by David Sobel (reading for Earth Science, very interesting with a forward by Neil Armstrong)
• Catholic Morality by Fr. Laux, reading small sections at a time and discussing together
• Story of the Church is coming along very well! Now into the section where the Catholics begin to reform, Council of Trent, etc. This delightful little tome has led to so many awesome discussions, I wish I'd found this one sooner too :)
• Lots of reading for Earth Science, mostly Earth chemistry, Mapping the Earth, finished up sections on Ecology.
• Catholic Girls Guide by Fr. Lasance, continuing in the Carnation section
• Other reading for fun ~ Hatchet by Gary Paulson, Moonstone Castle Mystery by Carolyn Keene, The Daring Game by Kit Pearson, Horse Crazy by Bonnie Bryant

Violet has worked very hard these past three weeks and is diving in to her high school studies with abandon. She is the last to leave the table in the afternoon and feels poorly if she doesn't get a chance to finish everything on her daily plans. (I have to keep reminding her, it's a framework, not a straight jacket). She has produced some lively writing and discussions throughout and it's a joy to enter into conversation about subjects she finds so interesting :) She's also worked incredibly hard at her Algebra 1 (doing Forester's w/Matthias), and she is actually liking it :)

All in all, an amazing amount of learning going on here, I am so blessed to be surrounded by children who truly love to learn, thanks be to God! Have a beautiful beginning of Autumn and see you back here soon!

*Please, if you might, say a prayer for Violet as she is having a procedure done on Wednesday, Feast of St. Michael the Archangel, to verify whether or not she has a stress fracture in her right shin. Thank you so much for your prayers, they mean so much.

A Day in The Life ~ Snapshot School

 
(Bacon, Egg & Cheese Bake by Violet)

You asked, so I'm here to deliver :)

"A Day in the Life" of Sweetness and Light ~ back to school version. One of the things that has totally been working for us this new school term has been to create and maintain an uber-planned meal schedule that includes breakfast, lunch and dinner and mid-morning snacks for a whole month. I'm leaving weekends open for flexibility, but here's an example of a week's plan: Download Late Summer Menu Rotations Week 3 - 2010. It's been really nice having it all laid out, down to the snacks and remarkably, no one has been whining at me before lunch or dinner about when they get to eat next or what's for breakfastlunchdinner???? You know the drill ;-) So that's been working.

Other stuff:

• I've been getting up by 6:30/6:45am which has enabled me to do any morning baking or snack/lunch/dinner prep before the kiddos come up/down for breakfast. Also, I've been setting the breakfast table the night before (I know it's a no-brainer and I'm sure everyone in the world has already figured this out but me) however,  it's working and it's like a little special surprise every morning as I can do a centerpiece theme for feast days or just for fun stuff. Yeah Me!!
• Chore routines are well-established in our new digs and we're just incorporating them in to our regular day's schedule during clean-up and tidy time.
• The outdoor morning snack/break has been hugely successful. Not that we didn't do this before, but it's more fluid now and it's so nice to take a morning outside breather :)
• Everyone has their own shelf for books and notebooks, etc. and a separate display shelf for collectables and artwork.
• We are starting earlier than we have in the past and everyone really likes that.
• Everyone narrates directly after they have finished a reading, unless I've asked them to write a paper and this has been excellent!

Okay on to some real life:

6:30-7:30am ~ Mom up, sometimes showered and doing morning routine including breakfast prep, dishwasher unloading, and prayer time. Usually includes a quick email and reader check as well. 

7:30-8:00am ~ Breakfast with children (sometimes Sean-Paul stays in bed until later, but always the older three and I, hubby makes lattes as I'm sure you will remember ;-)

8:00am ~ Begin lessons for older three children - Violet, Matthias and Seamus.

• Violet is starting her day with some Natural History (either a bird or flower research or biomes work).
• Matthias and Seamus are enjoying Weather & Climate related studies and keeping weather journals.

*Note: Because we use the Short Lesson concept, they all work through their subjects at intervals alloted on their weekly schedules. Violet's subjects are in the 30-45 minute range, Matthias 20-30 minutes and Seamus 15-30 minutes. This staggers things a bit and allows me to be able to work individually with each of them rotating throughout the morning. When Sean-Paul joins us (usually around 8:30 or 9:00 he just goes with the flow after he eats his breakfast) For brevity, Violet's time is indicated in parentheses.

8:30-9:00am (8:30-9:15) ~ Begin Religion work

9:00-9:30am (9:15-10:00) ~ Begin History

9:30-10:00am ~

• Seamus Math
• Sean-Paul Free Work time
• Violet & Matthias finish up History
  

10:00-10:15am ~ All outside for quick walk/recess and snack time (even moi!)

10:15-11:00am ~

• Violet and Matthias do their Algebra,
• Seamus gets in two subjects Reading/Literature/or Poetry and Language Arts which he usually does orally with me unless it's Copywork.
• Sean-Paul does a combination of Alphabet copywork and using some of our Language Materials that have been previously presented, like the Moveable Alphabet, a Pink Sound Bin or looking at books. (Invariable he will return to his Math work several times throughout the morning :)

11:00am-12:00pm ~ During this last hour before lunch:

• Seamus practices Cello and does some free reading,
• Matthias does his Latin lesson (some of it orally with me) and then practices piano for about 1/2 an hour.
• Violet is working on Grammar (mostly Compositions, Dictation and an Editing lesson) then she does her Latin and on one day (usually Fridays) she does French with me.
• Sean-Paul is listening to stories, or poetry and helping me do miscellaneous lunch prep or a laundry load switch or we go out on the deck to do some sketching.

12:00-12:45pm ~ Lunch, more outside time, clean-up from morning.

*At this point the younger boys are pretty much finished for the day with the exception of Seamus and Matthias doing some Chemistry together. 

12:45-1:30pm ~

• Matthias Chemistry,
• Violet Earth Science.

1:30-2:00pm ~

• Matthias & Violet Reading, Literature & Poetry work (currently we're reading Pride & Predjudice together).
• Matthias is reading Twelfth Night.

2:00-2:30pm ~ Fine Arts -

• Violet is working through the Sister Wendy DVD's for Art History
• Matthias is viewing the Ancient works.
• Seamus and Sean-Paul usually have a Picture Talk time once a week at the lunch table, this is a really nice gentle way to introduce Art and capture their attention.

For Music Appreciation we have all been listening to Haydn Concertos & Sonatas.

*From 2:30pm on until dinner time, we are playing outside, catching up on chores, prepping for dinner if it isn't already started in the Crockpot. Seamus has cello one day during the week and one day during the weekend, so that changes his flow a bit, but it's in the afternoon, so he's mostly done by the time he needs to leave. Matthias' piano is now on the weekend also. Violet has resumed her ballet classes and they take up a large chunk of evening time with her personal chauffer ;-)

*Dinner happens between 5:00-7:00pm on any given night, and Violet just eats before or after her classes depending on her arrival time back home. We do miss her at the dinner table...

*Evening time is dedicated to kitchen clean-up, time outdoors playing with the dog, swimming or reading on the deck. If I need to do any lesson prep for the next day, this is when I try and get it done. I also check email or blog in the evening if hubby is working late (often). Many times we will have a special show to watch together with popcorn of course. Family Rosary happens just before everyone goes off to get ready for bed, brush teeth and begin reading or being read to :)

*Bedtime is 9:00ish with lights out for the olders at 9:30pm. I use this time between 9:30-10:00pm to set the breakfast table, breakfast prep (like making my pancake/waffle/or crepe batter or preparing an overnight breakfast bread or casserole). Then I head up to read before I pass out, I mean blissfully fall asleep.

Well, there you have it, let me know if you have any questions or want any specifics, I'm more than happy to answer questions here in the combox or in a private email! Many blessings and thank you so much for stopping by :)

Two Down, Five to Go!

 
(Pirateering on the High Seas)

Our first week flew by so fast we found ourselves immersed in our second week in a blink!

Here's a snapshot of accomplishments by the crew ~

Violet has been reading and narrating up a storm for her first few weeks. Books read so far:

•  I, Juan de Pareja (a book which I pre-read and thoroughly enjoyed). We tied in a bit of Art History and Appreciation to this book and she viewed the paintings of Burillo, Valasquez and compared some Carravaggio. Our selected resources were the Sister Wendy Complete Collection and The Story of Painting (why didn't I find these incredible gems sooner???)
• Columbus and Cortez: Conquerors for Christ by John Eidsmoe. This is like a complete history in itself, very in depth and not watered down at all, it's a very refreshing read for her.
• Christ and the Americas - read up through chapter 7, exploration up to the French explorers
• The Story of the Church - She's reading from Part III The Birth of Protestantism from about 1400AD onwards. This past week she read about Martin Luther and wrote an excellent opinion paper on how he affected the Church and created his own religion. (Violet is really enjoying this book, it is excellent).
• Catholic Girls Guide - just finished The Rose section on "Love of Neighbor" and said she wanted to try putting some of it to the test with her little brother ;-)
• Pride and Predjudice - she and I began reading aloud together, as I have never read this myself (I know, some of you just fainted).
• Also squeaked in a few Nancy Drews, a Trixie Belden and some AG books for fun!

Other work for Violet included all of Ch 1 and the Ch 1 Review & Test in her Forester's Algebra 1 book. Excellent review of material from last Spring and she LOVES the Home Study Companion DVD lessons. They are very well done and the instructor is so thorough, a big thumbs up in my book :) We went with this option after my review of Algebra programs at Mammoth Math, such a helpful comparison of materials, I am so grateful! 

For Earth Science she did quite a bit of reading and a few introductory quick labs - a clay model of the earth and it's layers and some temperature comparisons. Next week she'll be looking at ecosystems and environmental changes in the earth. Violet also did some lovely nature study on wildflowers in the Handbook of Nature Study and a local wildflower book.

 
(A vision in pink, always a book in hand ;-)

Next up Matthias ~ Books read:

• The Bronze Bow - this is his main book for religion and historical fiction and will probably finish it next week sometime. Violet keeps asking him which part he is on as she has read it twice (it's SO good mommy), so we're getting daily narratives from him and it's coming along nicely.
• Famous Men of Greece: Draco and Solon - Our first foray with this book. Matthias enjoyed reading this and was sorry to find out that Draco was so loved by his constituents they smothered him to death with their cloaks. He included them in his timeline with nice captions. 
• The Greeks - for mapwork and information gathering in classic Usborne style
• A Little History of the World - narrated the chapter on Homer 
• The Story of the Church - he read the introductory pages and first part of Part I about the Church at the time of the Roman Empire about 1AD.
• The Tempest - (Lamb version) read and narrated, now on to Twelfth Night
• Also a book called Sea Legs, a Hardy Boys, and finished the 50 Things Every Young Gentleman Should Know    (this one is super cute, I'm thinking bday present for his 12th)

Matthias also completed Ch 1 and the Ch 1 Review & Test in the Forester's Algebra 1 book with Violet. They are both loving it and he said he wants to do both Algebra 1 & 2 this year :))))) Go Matthias!

Chemistry was fun for him and Seamus, they read a few chapters together from The Mystery of the Periodic Table (this is a good one) and did a few experiments. We are really enjoying the Easy Genius Chemistry as well, it's a really good fit for the upper elementary levels and Seamus is just following along. They are also doing some weather related science every morning. Matthias has read and narrated the first several pages in Handbook of Nature Study on Climate and Weather (pgs 780-807). He's also collecting materials to create his own weather station. Hope to have pictures up sometime next week :) *I should also note that Matthias created several History Scribe and Notebooking Pages for his History, Book of Centuries, Science and Religion work these past two weeks. They are such a nice resource to have on hand :)

Grammar, Latin and Vocabulary are all going well. He's really putting forth such a great effort with his subjects this year, it's been a joy!

 (Matthias in disguise, approaching the pirate vessel)

Semaus is next ~ Books read:

• Wild Weather Days - he read about Hail, Thunder and Lightning and created some notebook pages on each and narrated his readings
• The Best Book of Weather - a perfect Kingfisher book, read about Hurricanes (naturally) He and Matthias also tracked Earl and looked at some pictures of hurricane activity on Google earth!
• RA - Handbook of Nature Study - I read aloud to him about wind direction . He really enjoyed the part about the Athens Tower. Also Home Geography - read aloud to him about wind direction and measuring distances. (I LOVE this book for this age)
• Child's Bible History - he read his first two stories (Creation and Fall of Man) and created his timeline cards with colored pencils
• Story of the World Volume 1 - beginning with Ancient Greeks, reading a few pages and then narrating to me. He was disappointed to read that the Myceneans were defeated and chased off of Crete by the barbarians. Seamus is also enjoying the History Scribe pages to illustrate his work
•  RA - A Little History of the World - the section on Homer
• Danny Meadow Mouse (Burgess) - this was his first assigned literature for this year, he's reading a chapter or two each reading and then narrating (such a delightful tale).
• The Book of Dragons - 2nd literature selection (Hague version) reading and narrating and drawing some pictures of each story.
• RA -  Sts. Francis and Clare (Vision book) -we read from this every Friday and have completed Ch 1 (one of our favorite Saints books)

His independent reading for pleasure lately has been gobbling up all of the Bevery Cleary's, just finished Ramona Forever and is now reading The Reluctant Dragon for a change. (There was a snippet of this in his Michael Hague Dragons book also and he was thrilled to make the correlation :)

Seamus has been doing Mammoth Math Fractions 1 (downloaded for $3.60 at Currclick at their Back to School Savings Sale) and Mammoth Math Decimals 1 also downloaded from Currclick. I love Mammoth Math! It's such a nice refreshing change from Saxon and the material is just presented in such a logical and straight forward manner, perfect for my math boy!

We've picked right back up with Prima Latina from last Spring and Seamus is whipping through his vocabulary flash cards like an ace. He copied the Sanctus beautifully into his notebook and is on to learning the Doxology now. For Geography, other than learning about Ancient Greek maps with Matthias, he is working through our Advanced Land and Water Forms Cards and Definitions downloaded from Montessori for Everyone. These are really fun and gives his some good hands-on work which he loves. Also Home Geography mentioned above :)

(First pirate to arrive and claim ship)
 Sean-Paul ~ Various and sundry activities and books listed in no particular order:

• Golden Children's Bible - read aloud the Creation Story which he illustrated with a big orange and yellow sun. I over heard him chanting "Let there be light" many time throughout the week, so I'm pretty sure it sunk in ;-)
• Math Materials and Workbook - Gabriel, like his brothers is very good at math already and is eager to learn how to *do* math. We worked with the Red/Blue Rods and Numerals, The Mystery Number Game (pictured below) Cards & Counters, Addition/Subtraction work (up to 10) in his Disney math workbook (thank you 1/2 Price Books) using two bowls one filled with ten wooden acorns. For addition he puts the first number of the equation into one bowl, then adds the remaining number to it and counts them all, then writes his answer. For subtraction he places the starting number in his bowl, then takes away the second number. *Incidentally, he insisted I teach him how to subtract even though I didn't think he was ready for it, but he caught on the first time and is now a subtraction whiz with numbers from 10 and under!
• Sensorial Work - He loved working with the Triangle Box and the Small Hexagon box along with our pattern blocks. He made some fun patterns after his lesson and remarked at how his other shapes could make a hexagon too.
• Poetry - We read from A Child's Garden of Verses and the Kindergarten Children's Hour. His favorite was "My Shadow" and told me that whilst listening to Henry and the Paper Route Ramona's mom also read her this poem and Ramona said she was trying to get rid of her shadow because it was bothering her :) (Silently thanking Beverly Cleary and her clever books).
• Picture Talk - (did this at the lunch table with Seamus) - looked at the first picture titled "The Family of Jan Baptista Anthoine" by Gonzales Coques 1664, we discussed color and light and mentioned the playful dog and what the family might be doing. He said the dog's name was Benson cause he looks just like his own stuffed doogie :)
• Language Materials - Sean-Paul worked alot on writing his name as well as spelling it with our Moveable Alphabet. I don't have an Upper Case set, so just cut his first letter out of felt which worked just fine. Also reviewing the Pink Sound and beginning Pink Reading Materials which he accomplished well.

(Mystery Number Game)
 

I know there's so much more that happened the past two weeks, but these are mainly the learning notes I jot down throughout the day. Planning to put a "day in the life" schooling post up soon :)

Hope you are not laboring too hard today on this national holiday and spending it with the ones you love most!! Many blessings and thanks for stopping in!