This week was so discombobulated because of Ron's surgery. We were back and forth to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs for the procedure and follow ups. Ron is healing nicely, praise God!
So, this left little time for school, unfortunately. :( I went through the Spectrum test book for First Grade as a precaution to ensure that we covered all our bases. I believe we did, but there were a few things to review. For example, deciphering calendars, graphs, etc.
We started My Father's World ECC this week. C filled out his "passport" yesterday. We talked about maps and globes and the benefits/disadvantages to each. Today we'll be writing our first definition. I have to say that I love the visual activities. For example, flattening out the orange peel to see how difficult it is to make a flat map. Very cool. Very useful for my visual son.
We finished the first week of LLATL. It's a learning process like everything else. When I first became a hs'er I was repeatedly told "Don't work for your curriculum, let it work for you." So, we do. Some of the activities for LLATL we do and some we don't.
We went to the Butterfly Pavilion here in Westminster as a means of exploring invertebrates for Noeo. What a great resource to have! I'll post pictures. We were able to point out the three parts of an insect, the different life stages of insects, see oceanic invertebrates, and of course enjoy the BEAUTIFUL butterflies. B kept saying "Blue Morpho butterfly!" :)
I'd like to give props to Bible Study Guide for all Ages. We started this week and we love it. The pictoral narrations and life applications are GREAT. C was encouraged to interact and stay focused through activities on the page. Then, a life application associated with the Bible Story was provided. At least twice this week I referred to one of the applications when behavioral issues arrived. I really like it. I have not needed the Teacher's Guide as I thought I did, but if you're into song (C isn't) and timelines, then this would probably be the route for you.
Finally, I have had the chance to see blogs from fellow MFW ECC participants. The blogroll is on the left if you are a MFW user & would like to meet others in cyberworld. What a blessing it is to "meet" other MFW users and see how they implement ECC.
Showing posts with label My Father's World. Show all posts
Showing posts with label My Father's World. Show all posts
Friday, July 18, 2008
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
The anti-curriculum
Okay, maybe not really, but it's getting pretty close to that. We have moved on from My Father's World. It's been sold and it's quite liberating, actually. After getting only about 1/8 through Exploring American History, I felt a bit ill. It seemed far too ethnocentric for my taste. So, after much thought and discussion with others, I've given up on using one set curriculum for our homeschooling. We are still using Math U See and Story of the World. But for the most part we are reading A LOT of books. They like it, I like it, we're learning, it's all good.
One of our favorites as of late is God's Paintbrush. It's very inclusive of all Christian and Jewish faiths and asks really enlightening questions about how do we think God feels about certain situations. Of course no one can answer those questions completely, but it's good to spark conversation with children about God.
Another of our favorite books thus far are the Anansi books. We've recently read Anansi and the Moss Covered Rock. The children LOVE it. It's such a pleasure to have them ask you to read a book over and over.
We are loosely following a list of classical literature books. Cristian has always enjoyed Beatrix Potter, to name just one. Also, he is reading the Frog and Toad series by Arnold Lobel, and he gets a kick out of them.
For science we are just doing our own thing. Wow, that's fun! Cristian is deeply interested in science, so we just kind of let him lead us. Right now, it's rocks and minerals.
So, that's a summary of our path thus far this year. I'm sure I'll be blogging more as to our progress and changes/challenges.
One of our favorites as of late is God's Paintbrush. It's very inclusive of all Christian and Jewish faiths and asks really enlightening questions about how do we think God feels about certain situations. Of course no one can answer those questions completely, but it's good to spark conversation with children about God.
Another of our favorite books thus far are the Anansi books. We've recently read Anansi and the Moss Covered Rock. The children LOVE it. It's such a pleasure to have them ask you to read a book over and over.
We are loosely following a list of classical literature books. Cristian has always enjoyed Beatrix Potter, to name just one. Also, he is reading the Frog and Toad series by Arnold Lobel, and he gets a kick out of them.
For science we are just doing our own thing. Wow, that's fun! Cristian is deeply interested in science, so we just kind of let him lead us. Right now, it's rocks and minerals.
So, that's a summary of our path thus far this year. I'm sure I'll be blogging more as to our progress and changes/challenges.
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Oh, yeah, homeschooling... :)
It might seem that this is not at the forefront of my life because of all the non hs'ing pictures, but it is, indeed, one of my passions. I wholeheartedly believe this is God's Will for us. Our son, Cristian, is a remarkable, unique, high energy young child, who's curiosity for God's world has often found him trouble in a conventional school system. With much prayer and what we feel is direct mandate from God, we launched into our homeschooling journey.
Last year we used Sonlight Curriculum. We have an affinity for Classical Learning, particularly Charlotte Mason style. A child is exposed to very classical literature, some Caldecott Honors, and is invited to explore nature heavily in order to enjoy it and understand it. More info on Charlotte Mason's style can be found at amblesideonline.org While I can truly appreciate Ambleside Online and Well Trained Mind, I didn't feel like it was structured enough for us. Soon, we found that much of Sonlight was not going to work for us. We stuck to some of the History and Science, but Cristian learned to read rather proficiently in a very short time. Truly, at the beginning of the year he was learning letter sounds, by May he was reading books well. It was amazing! We also used Math U See, which we love.
This year we tried to order My Father's World First Grade Curriculum ( www.mfwbooks.com ), but found that much of it was not conducive to where we were at with Cristian. We are now using the 2nd and 3rd Grade materials studying the history of the United States. We have used it the past week and it's great! Cristian is a bit disgruntled with the copywork, but we're working through it.
Socialization? We have an amazing group of Classical HS'ers as well as general HS'ers we frequently with whom we spend a lot of time. While I had always thought that Cristian was a bit eccentric, I find that many of his HS'ing friends share the same qualities and it makes for a great time. We have done hikes, art projects, free play, park days, explored local ponds, and learned about local creatures, all here in beautiful Colorado!
So, this will definitely be a mix of the struggles I enjoy with my garden, the adventures we take as a family, and the wonders of homeschooling. We welcome another year of learning!
Last year we used Sonlight Curriculum. We have an affinity for Classical Learning, particularly Charlotte Mason style. A child is exposed to very classical literature, some Caldecott Honors, and is invited to explore nature heavily in order to enjoy it and understand it. More info on Charlotte Mason's style can be found at amblesideonline.org While I can truly appreciate Ambleside Online and Well Trained Mind, I didn't feel like it was structured enough for us. Soon, we found that much of Sonlight was not going to work for us. We stuck to some of the History and Science, but Cristian learned to read rather proficiently in a very short time. Truly, at the beginning of the year he was learning letter sounds, by May he was reading books well. It was amazing! We also used Math U See, which we love.
This year we tried to order My Father's World First Grade Curriculum ( www.mfwbooks.com ), but found that much of it was not conducive to where we were at with Cristian. We are now using the 2nd and 3rd Grade materials studying the history of the United States. We have used it the past week and it's great! Cristian is a bit disgruntled with the copywork, but we're working through it.
Socialization? We have an amazing group of Classical HS'ers as well as general HS'ers we frequently with whom we spend a lot of time. While I had always thought that Cristian was a bit eccentric, I find that many of his HS'ing friends share the same qualities and it makes for a great time. We have done hikes, art projects, free play, park days, explored local ponds, and learned about local creatures, all here in beautiful Colorado!
So, this will definitely be a mix of the struggles I enjoy with my garden, the adventures we take as a family, and the wonders of homeschooling. We welcome another year of learning!