Keeping It Simple

I am super excited to be using Trail Guide to World Geography and Galloping the Globe . I am using both guides to stretch the curriculum across the ages of my three boys (13, almost 11, 8). Draw * Write * Now is going to be a great supplement to our geography studies. I have "Animals of the World, Part 1" and plan to purchase Part 2 as well. Our big investment of the year is this series , A Kid's Guide to Drawing the Presidents of the USA . My husband agreed, after viewing the single volume available at the library, that this would be a wise investment if my sister as well as a dear friend would agree to make use of them too! Done. Click on the link to learn more- Timberdoodle has plenty to say about it. I will surely give an update on our experience with these books. A call out for Timberdoodle : The mail service misdirected my package (it was an error on the part of the post office) and as soon as it became apparent that my packag...

One of the first "made for homeschoolers" curriculum that I came across was Beautiful Feet Books . Back in the day (1993 or so), I purchased their CA history study guide. In my second year of homeschooling, just having had a baby, and still not completely sure what in the world we were doing, this study guide helped make our homeschool successful. A few years later, I purchased a geography study guide from Beautiful Feet Books to use with my now 24 year old daughter. She was a very "hands-on" kid, so I thought creating a map with our study would be perfect for her. And it was! Fast forward to today. I have wanted to use this study guide again for a long time. I also wanted to try it in a group setting. This year I took the plunge and asked two families to join us- making for 9 children between the ages of 7 and 13 years old. About the study guide: Using 4 Holling Clancy Holling books- Paddle-to-the-Sea , Minn of the Mississippi , Tree in the Trail , and Seab...

Wahoo!! We finished level 1! I have figured out that it took us about 27 weeks to finish level 1. I would knock 4 weeks off of that--- we stalled a few times during the summer and during my father-in-law's illness. We always reviewed what we had learned to date, but we did not always progress with the "steps" (the lessons or chapters are called steps in the manual). That is very close to about 1 step per week . (there are 24 steps) I know some weeks we completed more than one step and some steps took more than a week. Just to review one more time, I will give you my top ten list on this program: 1. It is teacher friendly. The teacher is walked through each step. A scripted format is even offered when teaching new concepts. 2. It progresses is a systematic, logical way. All "rules" are taught and applied. Exceptions are taught (going to be) after the rule is mastered. 3. Repetition is the key. The format of the book dictates repetition of key concep...

We were moving a long at a steady pace, but I have found that lesson #12 brought some adjustments. We were completing one or two lessons a week. Lesson #12 took us over week and Lesson #13 will certainly take us longer than that. (James using the letter tiles) This is not at all discouraging to me. I am learning so much about my boys and how they learn!! A lot of what is presented in this program are things that we have tried before in a more haphazard way. As each step is clearly spelled out for me, I am able to be consistent in how I work with my boys. Because of this, I am able to see progress each day as we work together. I have not found anything this successful in teaching spelling (and reading) to my three boys. That's it so far!! :) All About Spelling post #1 All About Spelling Update #1

I planned to do a full update when we complete level 1, but I thought this comment by Mark (9yo) was a good indicator of how things are going. "Mom, you know I think we are reading lots of things better since we've been doing that new spelling thing." I have to admit that I don't quite get the connection. We are just in the beginning baby stages of the program. The concepts are basic K-1st level, but Mark's comment is true. My boys have not been very interested in reading for reading's sake (like my daughter who would read the toothpaste tube if nothing else was available ;)), but they are reading everything . Street signs, cereal boxes, the calendar ("hey, mom, we have park day today!"),... That is how it is going so far. I am happy with our purchase, the boys don't hate doing it (a plus), and I believe there is a marked improvement in the boys' spelling and reading. We are on "Step 11" out of 24. I'll let you know what we...

My sister asked me if there was anything on my blog about the new spelling curriculum that we have been using. I had to tell her that I had not posted or linked anything yet. So (for you Jen ;)) I will, hesitantly, mention it. I am not ready to say that All About Spelling is the best thing that we have ever used or give it an unabashed thumbs up. We are still in the first few "steps" of level one, so it too soon to know how it will pan out in a long run. But... if I am reading the situation correctly, I think it is going to be a permanent add to our homeschool day. So, what I know so far: *It is not too expensive. It cost about $60 for level 1 (starter kit + level 1 material). I can use this with all three of my boys. It is not consumable, so it can be used with the whole family. I did purchase separate student packets, but found them unnecessary. *The plans are written to hold the teacher's hand through the whole lesson. Step by step instructions are given that ...