We're home

Back from vacation, finishing up school for the year, planning for September. I'll check in next week with some planning notes and other things we're working on.

There's a lot going on right now, and we need a bit more time to deal with and process it all- the good, the bad, and the very, very ugly.

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

~ Reinhold Niebuhr

If wishes were horses, we'd all be eating cheese

Baby:

Mommy? ::sigh:: I've always wanted a robotic cheese factory.

Our new summer menu

over at the Castle Kitchens.

I know what it meant, too.

Mouse ate his gingerbread quietly and looked around the kitchen. All was cosy and bright and warm. Wombat's hat was hanging up to dry near the stove. Tedda looked happy to be going to live with the black dog. Tabby was bright-eyed and all ready to tell his friends about his frightful adventure with the waterfall.

"Oh, I am a lucky Mouse!" sighed Mouse.

Wombat knew what it meant.

"It's so comfortabubble to be us, isn't it, Mouse, eh?" he said.

~ from The Muddle-headed Wombat at School by Ruth Park

Rough outline for 2008/ 09 school year

History: finishing up a two-year study of early civilizations, Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome

Canadian studies: native peoples, Canadian literature, art, tales and folk songs

Geography: Canadian

Natural history: continue with animal studies (farm/ domestic animals in fall, hibernating and migratory animals in winter, begin a year-long study of birds in spring)

Science: Earth and Sky (astronomy, earth science, geology, dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures, archaeology) this will probably take more than a year

Literature: a short list of classics, and a long list of tales of all kinds (Canadian and native folktales, traditional fairy tales, Aesop's Fables, Shakespeare, etc.)

I'll flesh out these ideas and share our book lists in later posts- right now I'm still 'thinking out loud' ;-)

Head- Heart- Hands

I had an email asking what exactly I meant by that part of this post.

We need academics to stretch us and challenge us (Head), the time to follow interests and interact with those around us (Heart), and we need to create and learn valuable skills (Hands).

Every. Day.

The Waldorf philosophy relies heavily on the 'head, heart, hands' idea, as does Charlotte Mason's:

"Be sure that your children each day have something to love, something to do and something to think about."
~ Charlotte Mason

Since our homeschool is a pretty equal blend of both Waldorf (sans Steiner's creepy and offensive anthroposophy) and Charlotte Mason (sans the huge number of subjects each day), keeping in mind 'Head- Heart- Hands' keeps us balanced, joyful and peaceful.

Our focus this year...

"The best things you can give your children, next to good habits, are good memories."
~ Sydney J. Harris

Habits- for the kids, and me. I've made huge progress in the last few years, but still have a long way to go to be the wife and mother I want (need) to be, and have the home atmosphere we all want (need). The kids will pick up my new good habits just like they always have (little sponges!) and we'll work on their problem areas, too.

Memories- we have lots of little traditions and rituals, and I plan to add (lots) more. We have no more babies {sob!} so we have both time and energy to put into giving our big kids broader experiences and shared memories (well, maybe not during hockey season... but that's part of the memories too, right?).

Things I'm keeping in mind while planning for the fall

Head- Heart- Hands

strewing and activity trays/ baskets (rotate often)

"multum non multa"- not many, but much

Gracie needs a set routine and specific lesson plans/ expectations

The Boy needs a set routine with not a lot of empty time

Baby needs a good balance of academics/ creativity

all need outdoor time daily and lots of physical activity

the home comes first- homeschooling is a huge interruption to the natural rhythm of home life, so the home takes precedence; the schooling is interwoven throughout our day

we need a tidy and peaceful atmosphere in order to learn and create without distractions

Ducks

This was the first of our spring animal studies that Baby and The Boy have been working on as their main science and natural history work. We spent a few weeks studying ponds as a habitat, and have now chosen some pond animals to study more in-depth.

read:

Ducks! by Gail Gibbons

Wood Duck Baby by Berniece Freschet (illustrated by Jim Arnosky!)

Days of the Ducklings by Bruce McMillan

A New Duck by Pamela Hickman and Heather Collins

record:

cover page with illustration of animal in it's natural habitat

four-section page with illustrations (labelled if appropriate) of habitat/ location, food, young, and protection/ adaptations

three or four-section page with list of books read, copywork from one of the books, and choice of one or two illustrations

pictures coming later this evening

fun:

We read The Ugly Duckling, Gracie, The Public Gardens Duck, The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks, The Story About Ping, and Make Way For Ducklings (of course!).

We also took daily walks to the pond at the end of our street to watch for signs of the mallards nesting (they did!) and hopefully to spot some babies (we did!).

Carnival of Homeschooling #130: Homesick Campers' Edition

is up at Dewey's Treehouse!

Ponds

Before moving on to our spring animal studies, we decided to spend a few weeks studying ponds as a habitat. We have a local marshy area that we visit almost daily, and while watching things come to life over the weeks of April and May, we did quite a bit of reading as well (though no notebook work- this was during Baby's recovery time after her surgery).

What's in the Pond? Anne Hunter

Butternut Hollow Pond

Pond, Gordon Morrison (A favourite author and illustrator!)

In the Small, Small Pond, Denise Fleming

One Small Square: Pond, Donald M. Silver (we love this whole series!)

Wolves

This was the last of our winter animal studies that Baby and The Boy worked on. These studies have been our main science and natural history work this year, and we've enjoyed them so much, that we've continued this spring and we'll be continuing into the summer (more about that later).

read:

Wolves, Gail Gibbons

Look to the North: a wolf pup diary, Jean Craighead George

The Best Book of Wolves and Wild Dogs

Wolves, Seymour Simon (for the pictures)

Brother Wolf, Sister Sparrow: Stories about Saints and Animals, Eric Kimmel(the story of Saint Francis)

Gracie read The Call of the Wild, Jack London

record:

cover page with illustration of animal in it's natural habitat

four-section page with illustrations (labelled if appropriate) of habitat/ location, food, young, and protection/ adaptations

three or four-section page with list of books read, copywork from one of the books, and choice of one or two illustrations

pictures coming later this evening

fun:

We read (and listened to)Peter and the Wolf, read Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, and The Boy Who Cried Wolf. (Should I admit that we read The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig- and loved it??).

Watched Hoodwinked (while eating cookies, of course ;-)

I guess I'm just living in the wrong century...

86 As a 1930s wife, I am Very Superior Take the test!

Tomorrow, all of the fun ends

The Boy: "Gracie, let's go finish our Lego game! Hurry!"

Gracie: "Why do we have to hurry? And why does it have to finish? We won't be done the set-up for days."

The Boy (sadly): "Because you'll be thirteen tomorrow, and then you won't be fun anymore."