A Change in Math Curriculum

I have made some changes in our curriculum over the last few months. I am just going to tell you about math today. Henry was maybe 3rd grade when we began using Singapore Math and I loved it. I liked the way it taught me as well as Henry to think outside the box and increased our use of logic. However, when we reached the Primary 6 books we began to struggle. There were many problems I did not understand and to which I could not find answers. There is a great website for help with Singapore, but at the time it was difficult for me to use it and we just went on with what we could understand which was the majority. Then we got past the primary books and into their New Elementary Mathmatics. We struggled with that for several months not understanding the majority. I had been tempted in the past to change math curriculum for Louis and I began doing some research. There is a book store in the Portland area called Exodus Books and they are an excellent resource, not only for books and homeschool curriculum, but for information and reviews as well, here is their review of Saxon: http://www.exodusbooks.com/category.aspx?id=2428. I had always steered away from Saxon because I had heard there was an excessive amount of review and they didn't teach... I don't remember, but the concept in my mind was that it would not teach what I wanted my children to know. I'm sorry I felt that way. I still will use Singapore for the early years, but I will be switching the younger children to Saxon at about 4th grade. Saxon also has the DIVE CD-ROMs available which teach the children their lessons. I bought the DIVE CDs for Louis and Henry, but for Otto I found a used copy of Saxon 5/4 and the lessons are still simple for him. Louis is in Saxon 7/6 and Henry in Algebra. They are both using the CDs and I'm very happy with them. They need every bit of review that Saxon offers. The lessons are longer, Henry has always struggled with focus when doing math, but math is a good basis for other subjects like science and logic-- and discipline, diligence, perserverence...

Be sure you check our the rest of the Exodus Books site. I often look at thier recommendations before going to the library.

Challenges and Blessings

There are challenges to home schooling. There are challenges to living in a small space. There are challenges to having more children than 'the norm.' All of these 'challenges' flood us daily with blessings beyond number. We learn to enjoy each other or we drive each other crazy, but we are together and I think we all prefer it that way. We all need some alone time, but because we all need it, we allow each other to have it. Otto and Solomon both have their desks in Olivia's room. There are many times that Solomon has to come out and sit at the dining table because he is making it difficult for Otto to do his work. I'm confident it won't be long before he learns to focus and work with more diligence. At least, I'll do my best to help him achieve that goal. Olivia is not able to play in her room while they are working (actually when only Otto is working she does sometimes play there quietly). The children are always free to work in another area provided they are not disturbing anyone and they are doing their work. The more discipline they show, the more freedom they are allowed.

Olivia Knits

A couple of months ago, Olivia came to me wanting to learn to knit. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea to try to teach her when her hands and fingers are still so small. I also wondered about the balance of her coordiation and patience; would there be enough of both? I decided to give it a try with a lot of warning that it might still be too difficult. It was touch and go for a while, but in the end I was glad I made the attempt. She has put it down for quite a while now probably because I have not been knitting much. When I begin another project, I'm confident she will continue her skills as well.

Pattern Blocks

Solomon is always supplying me the pictures to post on this blog. Most of them are never posted, but here are a few. He has a talent for putting things together in pleasing ways. I will have to update soon on our school work. Most of the things I post are extras the children do on their own; school is more than just book work. I will post soon about our studies with all of the children. Until then...

I love these pictures Solomon and Olivia drew on the white board. I thought I would share them with you. Solomon used his shadow falling on the white board to make the outline of his people (sorry about the glare).

Weekly School Goals

A couple of weeks ago I began a new idea that is helping me so much I wanted to share it with you. It may be that I am unique in my lack of planning, but I doubt it. I’m sure there are many out there who are great planners and keepers of their plans, but not me. Not only do I not plan, but when I do have schedules it is too easy for me to rebel against my laid out wisdom. I thought I would try to just list out one week’s worth of goals in each subject. (The word goals makes me feel less rebellious than the word plans.) For each day of the week I listed what I wanted done in each subject. I did not include the kids’ math because they are able to do that without interference and if they get to something that challenges them I may stretch out the time in which they have to get it done. Each day I had only to look at my list and see my goal. I had no decisions to make about how much we would do in history or Latin; I did not wonder how far Henry was getting in his science work or decide what I wanted them to do for writing. The most amazing thing is that it took maybe 30 minutes to make the list. I got out all the books we work on and wrote down page numbers, etc. for each day, then put everything back on the shelf. I love it. One more thing, by only doing one week I can easily adjust for the unexpected. This last week I scheduled a full day every day, but we ended up going to my dad’s on Thursday and running some other errands which kept us out of the house all day. Friday we did Thursday’s work and Friday’s work will get put on Monday of next week. I have also planned too heavily in something or another and slowed our pace during the week in some subject, on Monday I’m right on track. I don’t have to worry about changing long term plans or finding a way to catch up. It has made my school days more calm and manageable. The best part is that I want to meet the goals and have been motivated to progress. I have always liked doing school work with the kids more than cleaning the house. If only I could find a similar solution for housework, but it requires something different that I have not yet discovered. I am always forcing myself and with a cheerless, ungrateful attitude. I will work on that, let me tell you. It is a terrible example to set and I do mean to change it. Sometimes we just have to pretend to have a good attitude and God helps the real thing to follow.

Almost a year later!

It has been almost a year since I have posted anything to this site. There are several reasons. Mostly it is the feeling that I am not doing enough with the kids and don't want to share my failure with anyone. The fact is that I set my goals too high and expect nothing less than perfection (for myself, not my kids, I hope). Another big reason is that this has been an unusual year and filled with more adventure and less "school work" than any other. Because they are not so obviously "schooly" I don't want to put them here. And one more, I have more blogs than I can keep up with. Nevertheless, I will quickly update a little.

If you follow our other blogs (Our Trail especially) then you know about our journey. I thought that we would keep up with more school work than we did on that trail, but I will decide that the things we saw and experienced were just as valuable as book work. I am glad to be following a more typical schedule (typical for me). In fact, I am doing better with consistency and planning that I have ever done. Being as Henry is now in EIGHTH grade (I can't believe it!), it is a good thing. As any parent, I want my children to have every advantage and to be able to pursue any career goal they desire.

We are working on a new history program, The Mystery of History has been a new find and we are enjoying it greatly. It is a good pace for us. I am also doing a lot more writing with Henry and, to a lesser extent, Louis and Otto. Soon I will be expecting more from them as well. There is a curriculum I am waiting to get for Henry called Starting Point by Cornerstone Curriculum. The notebooks that we were starting were not as successful as I had hoped, but we are still adding to them. I've noticed that they do enjoy looking as them and that will keep them going. They are such a great record keeping system.

(Pictures are kids trying cuneiform writing and Olivia doing dishes with me.)

We are going to the library weekly as it is in walking/biking distance. That has been a new experience. We have never been so close to a library, we always preferred to buy our books as we didn't want to return them, but I've been pleasantly surprised. We have been exposed to so many books that I wouldn't necessarily want to own, but am glad to see, read and explore. The picture books for Solomon and Olivia have been an especially sweet treat as I read to them more, and books that are new to me as well as them. Henry and Louis will be required to update their blogs on a regular basis. It is still to be determined how often regular will be. Stay tuned and find out. I still love homeschooling. I hope it never ends.