Showing posts with label home schooling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home schooling. Show all posts

Thursday, July 11, 2019

Step 4. Writing Procedure Binders

After completing seven years of formal homeschooling and having six children, I knew more than nothing (still far less than everything), but I still took Pam Barnhill's course "Put Your Homeschool on Auto-Pilot" for $69. This course was worth every penny and my time watching the self-paced videos. Unless you feel like a superstar homeschooling mama who knows what she is doing (does she exist?) I highly, highly recommend it.

I am beginning my annual blog series on planning one's homeschool year! This year, I am publishing 4-6 weeks early because we are going to be moving homes, so my homeschool year has to be done being planned this very week. (Then it's on to two weeks of packing up boxes, Moving Day, three weeks of unpacking the house, and school begins with my Orientation Week!)

How Do I Write a Procedure Binder?

Step 4 is to write a Procedure Binder for each child.

This teaching comes straight from Pam Barnhill's course and it was a game-changer for me in 2018-19. Even though I'm showing you the basics, I still recommend anyone interested to take her course because you would get so much more out of her detailed teaching than mine.

I need to minimize how often the children come to me asking what to do next, how to do that thing, and what is expected of them. I want to reduce my feeling that I'm in a space ship hurtling through an asteroid field--each asteroid of which is yet another question from my children that might be the final question that kills me straight dead--to feeling like I've really set them up for success and modeled for them planning. During our first year using Procedure Binders, I saw children coming to rely heavily on them, just as I'd hoped.

Each child has his or her own binder.


At the front of the binder is the child's Daily Schedule. How else will he know what he is supposed to be doing in each half hour slot?

Each binder has a tab for every single subject, no matter how minor.


Behind the tab will be a Procedure page. It will give instructions for that subject.

Examples:

"Practice piano for 45 minutes on the grand piano. Set a timer. Warm up with scales and technique. Review repertoir. Work on new learning."

It might list all the Grammar lessons for the year with check boxes next to each one.

It might give instructions for exactly how to log in to one's math software and to do one lesson per day.


For some subjects, I include the materials needed as well. For example, I will include loose leaf paper on which to write spelling dictation sentences. I will cut off the binding from the penmanship workbook and three-hole punch the pages to keep in the binder.

During Orientation Week (our first week of school), I spend a lot of time, maybe a full hour or more, sitting with each child one-on-one going through every page of his binder. I also sit with each child one-on-one and teach them how to log in to anything they need on the computer, how to navigate each text book's index, and so forth. Lastly (firstly?), we also work on routines and behavior (obedience) during Orientation Week: getting up on time, eating promptly and finishing, cleaning up after oneself, and knowing what one's chores are.

Let's give ourselves forgiveness, fellow homeschooling parents! We will have many stumbles and many moments and days that do not seem to go as planned: don't be a melancholic like me who condemns herself as a failure, but try, try again with God's grace fueling you!
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Wednesday, July 10, 2019

Step 3. Designing a Daily Schedule

After completing seven years of formal homeschooling and having six children, I knew more than nothing (still far less than everything), but I still took Pam Barnhill's course "Put Your Homeschool on Auto-Pilot" for $69. This course was worth every penny and my time watching the self-paced videos. Unless you feel like a superstar homeschooling mama who knows what she is doing (does she exist?) I highly, highly recommend it.

I am beginning my annual blog series on planning one's homeschool year! This year, I am publishing 4-6 weeks early because we are going to be moving homes, so my homeschool year has to be done being planned this very week. (Then it's on to two weeks of packing up boxes, Moving Day, three weeks of unpacking the house, and school begins with my Orientation Week!)

How Do I Design a Daily Schedule for my Homeschool?

Step 3 is to design the Daily Schedule for all five days of the week. Click here to read a thorough explanation of my process that I wrote last year. Sometimes during Step 3, I realize I have planned more than can possibly fit in the schedule, so that is my reality check to return to Step 2 and cut some subjects or change curriculum to something that can fit.

My post from last year explains extensively the why and how of a Daily Schedule. Below is an example of our planned schedule for 2019-20.

Joseph (First Grade)

For a child this young, I want as much routine as possible: the more he can know exactly what to expect next, the more the routine reduces need for discipline. My first grader's schedule will look virtually identical on all five days.
  • Anytime after 6:00 Joseph may wake up and get himself cold cereal.
  • 7:00-9:00 Play time in view of Mama while I exercise and get ready for my day.
  • 9:00 Hot breakfast cooked by Mama
  • 9:30  Fifteen minutes of piano practice with his big sister tutoring him
  • 10:00 Penmanship and spelling with Mama and siblings
  • 10:30-11:30 One-on-one teaching with Mama: Phonics, math, religion, science (what I call my "Golden Hour," and what I try to make sure occurs for my Kindergarteners and First Graders, even if everything else falls apart)
  • 11:30 Free time before lunch
  • 12:00 Lunch (and recess--outdoors, if possible)
  • 1:00-2:30 Quiet time for 1.5 hours (Listen to educational CD--Bible, literature, history--play Legos, draw)

Margaret (3rd grade)

My third grader also has a lot of routine, with few changes. She grew much in independence last school year and I hope to encourage more of that this year.
  • Anytime after 6:00 Margaret may wake up and get herself cold cereal. This is also a good time to wake with morning prayers and holy reading.
  • 7:00 Violin practice for 30 minutes
  • 8:00 Math online
  • 8:30 Piano practice for 30 minutes
  • 9:00 Hot breakfast cooked by Mama
  • Half an hour of independent school work
  • 10:00 Penmanship and spelling with Mama and siblings
  • 10:30-11:30 Babysit 2- and 4-year-old brothers while Mama teaches
  • 11:30 Grammar with Mama or independent History reading
  • 12:00 Lunch (and recess--outdoors, if possible)
  • Afternoon subjects rotate among history, music lessons, geography, and art. She should be done by 1:30 or 2:00 each day.

Mary (5th grade)

Has some variance because of enrollment in one live online class and sharing resources with siblings for online software and DVD courses.

General goal schedule:
  • Anytime after 6:00 Mary may wake up and get herself cold cereal. This is also a good time to wake with morning prayers and holy reading.
  • 7:30 Practice violin for 45 minutes
  • 8:15 Practice piano for 45 minutes
  • 9:00 Hot breakfast cooked by Mama
  • 9:30 Tutor little brother in piano for 15 minutes
  • 10:00 Penmanship and spelling with Mama and siblings
  • 10:30 Math
  • 11:00 Latin
  • 11:30 Grammar
  • 12:00 Lunch (and recess--outdoors, if possible)
  • Afternoon subjects rotate among Socratic Discussion, history, music lessons, composition, geography, and art. She should be done by 3:00 each day.

John (7th grade)

General goal schedule:
  • Anytime after 6:00 John may wake up and get himself cold cereal. He really likes to exercise in the mornings. This is also a good time to wake with morning prayers and holy reading.
  • 7:00 Practice piano for 45 minutes
  • 8:00 Math
  • 9:00 Hot breakfast cooked by Mama
  • 9:30 Grammar
  • 10:00 History on most days
  • 11:00 Lunch (and recess--outdoors, if possible)
  • 12:00 Latin (live class 2 days/week, study 3 days/week)
  • Afternoon subjects rotate among Socratic Discussion, history, music lessons, composition, geography, and art. He should be done by 3:00 each day.


Obviously, life will throw me curve balls! 

We will get sick for two weeks straight, or experience a crisis, or the toddler will clog the toilet with toys, or someone will fall out of a tree and be rushed to the ER . . . but I, personally, find that when I need to step out of the routine, I feel much calmer when I know how to simply step back into the routine whenever I am able to resume.

It works for me.


The last installment will be about writing procedure binders.
Posted by at 2 comments:
Labels: ,

Tuesday, July 9, 2019

Step 2. Choosing Curriculum for 2019-20

After completing seven years of formal homeschooling and having six children, I knew more than nothing (still far less than everything), but I still took Pam Barnhill's course "Put Your Homeschool on Auto-Pilot" for $69. This course was worth every penny and my time watching the self-paced videos. Unless you feel like a superstar homeschooling mama who knows what she is doing (does she exist?) I highly, highly recommend it.

I am beginning my annual blog series on planning one's homeschool year! This year, I am publishing 4-6 weeks early because we are going to be moving homes, so my homeschool year has to be done being planned this very week. (Then it's on to two weeks of packing up boxes, Moving Day, three weeks of unpacking the house, and school begins with my Orientation Week!)

How Do I Choose Curriculum for my Homeschool?

Step 2 is to plan my curriculum.

I'm starting my eighth year of homeschooling full-time (ninth year if you count that I did formal, daily preschool for one year) and I know a smidgen more with each year that goes by, so maybe there will be some readers who will learn something from what I can offer . . . for whatever it's worth!

As I like to say, I don't know nothin' anymore.

Take what works and leave the rest behind.

I'm not an unschooler, or even very relaxed. I'm a DIY homeschooler who likes to create my own curriculum based on our family's needs. I am Catholic and prefer choosing religious materials that teach the traditional Latin Mass. I appreciate the rigor of Classical education and the "living" books and literature encouraged by Charlotte Mason. I like books that are old (anything newer than around 1950 has to earn its way past my suspicions) and free of twaddle. And, of course, all of these ideals are being balanced by the fact that I have six children and cannot manage teacher-intensive curriculum or even reading aloud anymore, and am instead moving them all toward educational independence.

I will be homeschooling first, third, fifth, and seventh grades in 2019-20. Our Mater Dei Catholic School "mascots" will be two- and four-year-old boys!

(One can read all of my past years' curriculum choices by clicking on my Homeschooling Page.)

First Grade

The first grade plan for my fourth child, when I have olders with a heavy workload, plus two wee ones in the mix, looks different than what I planned for my firstborn. Whatever I pick, my first grader will get about one solid hour per day from me. He will also learn alongside older siblings and have siblings read aloud to him.
  • RELIGION
  • LANGUAGE ARTS
  • MATH
    • Right Start Math (I tried Horizon Math last year and disliked it, so mid-way through the year switched back to the Right Start I have used for years.)
    • Supplement with CTC Math online subscription
    • Skip counting and drilling math facts with various resources
  • HISTORY and GEOGRAPHY: American History Cycle
    • Listen along to TAN Story of Civilization with his big sister.
    • Work on memorizing the U.S. states and capitals using puzzles and songs.
  • SCIENCE
    • Various simple science resources existing on my bookshelf on no schedule
    • Children's videos on safety subjects on YouTube
  • MUSIC
    • Piano, folk music (banjo, guitar), and music theory classes
  • MISCELLANEOUS
    • Draw Write Now
    • Typesy (after a few years of Keyboarding Without Tears, our family has been using Typesy for three months now)
  • PHYSICAL EDUCATION (various over the course of the whole year)
    • Ice skating lessons
    • Tennis lessons
    • Swimming
    • Once monthly boys' homeschool sports program (basketball and football)

Grade 3

  • RELIGION
    • Scripture
      • Still choosing which Bible to use among our many versions. I might have the third grader read aloud the entirety of The Golden Children's Bible to the first grader, which kills two birds with one stone.
    • Catechism
    • Saints
  • LANGUAGE ARTS
  • MATH
  • HISTORY and GEOGRAPHY: American History Cycle
  • SCIENCE
    • Apologia: Zoology paired with the MP3 files online (read and listen simultaneously)
  • LATIN
    • Prima Latina (DVD)--The various curriculum providers recommend starting Latin at widely varying ages so as to make a parent's head spin. They say to start anywhere from second grade to middle school or even high-school! We are going to try our third grader on Prima Latina but only because her seventh grade brother is going to tutor and grade it, as I do not have time at this stage.
  • MUSIC
    • Violin, piano, folk music, and music theory classes
  • MISCELLANEOUS
    • Draw Write Now
    • Typesy (after a few years of Keyboarding Without Tears, our family has been using Typesy for three months now)
  • PHYSICAL EDUCATION (various over the course of the whole year)
    • Tennis lessons
    • Swimming
    • Scottish Country Dance weekly


Grade 5



Grade 7


The next installments will be about planning one's daily schedule and writing procedure binders.


Posted by at 5 comments:
Labels:

Monday, July 8, 2019

Step 1. Creating a Mission Statement for One's Homeschool

After completing seven years of formal homeschooling and having six children, I knew more than nothing (still far less than everything), but I still took Pam Barnhill's course "Put Your Homeschool on Auto-Pilot" for $69. This course was worth every penny and my time watching the self-paced videos. Unless you feel like a superstar homeschooling mama who knows what she is doing (does she exist?) I highly, highly recommend it.

I am beginning my annual blog series on planning one's homeschool year! This year, I am publishing 4-6 weeks early because we are going to be moving homes, so my homeschool year has to be done being planned this very week. (Then it's on to two weeks of packing up boxes, Moving Day, three weeks of unpacking the house, and school begins with my Orientation Week!)

How Do I Create My Homeschool Mission Statement?


Step 1 is to develop a Mission Statement for my homeschool. Click here for my blog post about this step from last year.

For 2019-20, I don't feel a need to change our Mission Statement except that we are making adjustments toward achieving our goal of life balance.

For example, we have made curriculum changes that are not as rigorous or time-consuming and to allow us follow more of (but certainly not completely) our own schedule than an outside schedule. Reading the history textbook plus reading 24 living history books plus writing a book report for each one of them plus writing various essays and worksheets throughout the year made for an excellent sixth grade history course. It would have made for an excellent high-school history course! But the tradeoff was eating away at much of our life. So, we've made some changes and will see how they go!

Personally, I think our family's homeschool curriculum will still be pretty rigorous for 2019-20, but it also allows for:
  • sports, including our seventh grader trying to be on a hockey team
  • music, lots of music!
  • entrepreneurship--our seventh grader's lawn-mowing business, our fifth grader's piano teaching
  • going to Mass a couple of times during the week as well as Confession on a third day
  • children doing their regular chores, including taking on cooking responsibilities (something we lost much of last year)
  • perhaps, just maybe, being done with school by around three o'clock each day so the children can actually play before dinner (something we lost last year)
  • not having to do weekend school unless we are working ahead in order to travel

Each homeschooling family has to ask itself: What are our priorities?  Do we run a farm? Participate in travel athletics? Travel often as a family? Run a business together? Stay home but husband works tremendously long hours or travels weekly for work? Have special medical needs for Mom, Dad, or one of the children? What are the needs unique to us?

The next installments will be about choosing curriculum, planning one's daily schedule, and writing procedure binders.
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:

Friday, May 31, 2019

{SQT} Last Week of School 2018-19


1. Relic of St. John Vianney

On Saturday, we hosted for dinner friends who are moving away and then we all headed to the cathedral to venerate the incorrupt heart of St. John Vianney.






Padre Pio's relics are coming next!


Sweet David (21 months) kept saying, "Mary!" urgently when he saw this statue. He raced barefoot down the path, climbed up the steps, and then insisted through noises that I lift him up so he could kiss her face. Then he said, "hand!" and he held the statue's hand for some long seconds.

This whole procedure he repeated twice more. Melt my heart!

Look at his skinny legs!


2. Music Appreciation Lunch


On Sunday, Mary was privileged to attend a music appreciation lunch with her girls' choir.



3. Memorial Day



On Memorial Day, Chris took five of the children to the cemetery, as is our tradition. There was patriotic music and food, and my family always goes around the cemetery, kneeling in prayer, saying the Catholic prayers for the dead. Meanwhile, I had stayed home because the baby wasn't feeling well.


It turns out that the cemetery owner and some families who were watching presumed that Chris was a widower with his five children--probably a widower of a female soldier--and the family was here praying for their dearly departed ME!


At the end, Chris and the cemetery owner fell to talking and the misunderstanding was revealed. They were so relieved that Chris was not a widower! We've certainly never had such a funny Memorial Day story before!

NOT a widower


4. The Jars Are Breeding in There

Cleaning out my refrigerator this week revealed that family members are not searching hard enough for already-open jars before obtaining new jars from the pantry. Then the problem compounds--fast!

Open containers I found were . . .

3 large jars of applesauce,
2 jars of marinara sauce, 
3 jars of Alfredo sauce, 
2 bottles of soy sauce, 
3 bottles of barbeque sauce, 
2 bottles of Worcestershire sauce
2 jars of grated Parmesan cheese,
2 32-ounce bags of shredded mozzarella,
3 packages of American cheese, 
. . . among others I'm sure I've forgotten already.

No wonder the refrigerator was a wreck!

5. Stick and Puck




6. Scottish Dance End-of-Year Recital




The children did not get to play as usual after dance because most of the class was rushing off to the Ascension Thursday Mass that night.

7. End-of-Year Party

On Thursday, we held our end-of-year retrospective, presentation of certificates, and the Eating of Cake: click here to read about our annual tradition.

Then on Friday we hosted an end-of-year party in beautiful weather at our home with lots of outdoor play, sports equipment, kickball, loads of food--and a lot of happy kids.


For more 7 Quick Takes Friday, check out This Ain't the Lyceum.

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: ,

Thursday, May 30, 2019

School Retrospective 2018-19


We started our eighth year of homeschooling on August 27, 2018, and we finished on May 30, 2019!

When possible--not sick with pregnancy, or caring for a newborn, or everyone in the house sick--I like to create a ceremony in which we present a retrospective and graduation certificates, and we did so today.


Certificates for each child

 These formalities and traditions become very meaningful to children over the years. I took a trip down memory lane and found our first end-of-year ceremony done in 2012.
"I thought that it would be fun to do something to mark the occasion. I decided that I would make a report detailing all the skills each child has acquired to act as a benchmark for me in the future looking back. (How cool would it be if I did such a thing each year? Ha ha, we shall see.) Further, we created a little performance program to which we invited Daddy, also known as the Principal of our little home school."

 I cried my eyes out to see my wee babies who were that small seemingly yesterday and will be gone from our home way before we are ready. Click here and grab your Kleenex.

Homeschooling is more than School at Home . . . I love that it's impossible to untangle where school ends and family life begins, so I list below the fun-and-educational activities our family did this last year.



Fun Events
  • SUMMER
  • Hosted a Poetry Tea
  • Knights baseball game
  • July: John participated in the Latta Plantation Civil War day camp while Mary participated in the Latta Plantation young ladies’ day camp for a week.
  • John enjoyed a fishing tournament with his buddies.
  • FALL
  • Got through Hurricane Florence in September with no harm done . . . made memories by having a family slumber party in the den in case any trees crushed the house (which they did not)
  • Eucharistic Congress 2018
  • Attended the Carolina Renaissance Festival for the first time
  • Over the course of the year, we attended two children’s plays: “One Hundred Dresses” and “The Jungle Book.”
  • MivaVia fundraising banquet (oldest 3 kids)
  • Parish carnival
  • Pumpkin patch
  • Reel Scottish Weekend (dancing event)
  • Hosted an Anne of Green Gables birthday party for Mary’s double-digits (10!)
  • Chris and John attended a Trump rally.
  • All Saints Day costume party with homeschoolers
  • WINTER
  • Chris took the girls and one of their friends to visit the Biltmore while it was decorated for Christmas.
  • Kannapolis Christmas event
  • Annual mother-daughter Christmas tea at The Ballantyne Hotel
  • Mama took the three oldest kids to see the Vienna Boys Choir in concert at the Halton Theater (a gift from Grandpa R.!)
  • Annual Christmas ice skating party with friends
  • Visited the gingerbread house competition at The Ballantyne Hotel
  • We joined the Fraternus and Fidelis youth groups to go Christmas caroling.
  • SPRING
  • Great Back Yard Bird Count
  • Bird Camp at the UNC Botanical Gardens
  • May Crowning
  • Scottish social dance
  • Field trip and docent-led tour at Wing Haven Gardens
  • Field trip on a living history day to Historic Brattonsville
  • End-of-school-year party

Travel
  • June: Mom and baby attended the National IHM homeschooling conference in Virginia
  • June: Four days in Pennsylvania visiting a convent, Knoebels amusement park, and Mount Vernon in Virginia
  • July: A week in Nebraska visiting family, two car museums, a natural history museum--a gift from Grandpa B.!
  • September: Chris took the girls over Labor Day weekend to Buffalo, NY
  • November: We traveled to Atlanta as a whole family to celebrate Chris’ parents’ anniversary
  • December: We traveled to Atlanta as a whole family to celebrate Christmas early and attend the Atlanta Master Chorale concert--a gift from the grandparents!
  • December: Our family visited Dollywood after Christmas and stayed at the DreamMore Resort--a gift from Grandpa B.!
  • January: Chris and the oldest two children traveled via church bus to the March for Life in Washington D.C.
  • April: Our family visited Dollywood after Christmas and stayed at a cabin.
  • May: Chris took John on a father-son retreat up in the foothills.

Music . . . is a significant part of our homeschool

The oldest four children took piano (John, Mary, Joseph), violin (Mary and Margaret), and theory (all four children) lessons all year. In the spring, they began taking once monthly folk music lessons (guitar, fiddle, banjo). Both John and Mary joined parish choirs.

They participated in several recitals hosted by our music studio and in five competitions: Federation, NCMTA, Forum, Guild, Steinway.



DAVID


. . . is almost turning two!

Watching a baby go from 12 months to 24 months--David turns two in a couple of months--never fails to astonish. David started the year as a lap baby, staying cozily with Mama, to now racing around with the pack, seeking out favorite toys in the Bonus Room upstairs by himself, and playing on the playground weekly at Scottish Dance. He climbs all the playground equipment, swings on the big kid swing without letting go, and goes down the slides alone. David insists, “Help Joseph!” every morning and assists his big brother in emptying the dishwasher. Our sixth baby is our smallest in size so far: his siblings were each two to five pounds bigger than he is on the cusp of two. His petite self is so cute! David’s language is blossoming such that I’ve lost count of his words acquired and he has spoken a few two-word sentences (“Daddy home!” “Help me!”). Davis is also completely ready and eager to potty train and the only thing that might (will) slow him down is his overly busy Mama.

David is such a source of joy in our family and the children all still fight over who gets to take care of him, make silly faces at him, and sit next to him in the van.



THOMAS


. . . is almost turning four!

Thomas grew so much in independence this year of being three (and will turn four in about a month!) but retained as much bursting joy as when he was younger. He loves sitting alongside Mama, “doing school” with his Kindergartener brother Joseph. He is satisfied with simple activities, such as Mama giving him letters to copy, a coloring book to color (and he stays in the lines!), or math manipulatives or a puzzle. Thomas now climbs trees and rides a two-wheeler bicycle quite competently. He dresses himself (including all his buttons), pours himself cereal in the mornings, and clears his own plate. Thomas’ delayed language has caught up so much this year--including some of his pronouns!--that now we simply enjoy the darling phrases that we will miss when they disappear. Thomas is not in piano lessons yet, but he has begun plinking out songs that he figures out by ear, such as “Joy to the World.”






JOSEPH


. . . completed Kindergarten and turned 6 this year!

Academics
Phonics: A few lessons shy of completing All About Reading Level 1
Math: A few lessons shy of completing Right Start Math Level A
History:  Studied 10 units of Connecting with History covering the years 306-1700. Also, Mama read him the entirety of both “Fifty Famous People” (1912) and “Famous Americans for Little Americans” (1895) over the course of the year.
Literature: Mama read aloud to him such novels as “Trumpet of the Swan,” “Rabbit Hill,” “Dr. Dolittle,” and “My Father’s Dragon.” Joseph listened on CD to the entire “Little House on the Prairie” series of books.
Science and the Natural World: Joseph listened to all the stories in “Kindergarten Talks” by Wiltse (1890) and “Animal World” by Serl (1918), often read to him by his sister Margaret.
Religion: In religion, Joseph joined us in family prayers, started working through “Chats with God’s Little Ones” with Mama, and listened to stories from “The Bible Story” (1931).
Others: Took one semester of private art lessons, studied geography, and practiced penmanship. 


For sports and physical activity, Joseph participated at various times in soccer at the YMCA (best goalie on the team!), ice skating at a local ice skating rink, and a weekly playground visit while his siblings were at Scottish dance.

Joseph’s piano and music theory studies “clicked” this year and he grew musically by leaps and bounds. He participated in his first Steinway recital. Mary was his daily piano tutor to supplement his weekly piano teacher.





MARGARET



.  . . Completed second grade and turned 8 this year!

Academics
Math: Completed one level of Teaching Textbooks
Spelling: Completed one-and-a-half levels of All About Spelling
Grammar: Completed IEW Fix-It “Tom Sawyer”
History:  Studied 10 units of Connecting with History covering the years 306-1700 and read independently numerous history books
Science: Read Apologia Zoology 1: Flying Creatures
Religion: Completed Seton 2, studied the Baltimore Catechism all year, and read at least a half dozen biographies of saints 
Others: Took weekly sewing lessons last summer. Took one semester of private art lessons. Studied geography and practiced penmanship and typing. 

For sports and exercise, Margaret played soccer with her brother Joseph at the YMCA, took eight weeks of ice skating lessons, took tennis lessons in the fall and spring, and nine months of weekly Scottish Dance lessons.

This marked Margaret’s first year of violin study and she completed Suzuki Book 1, while continuing her piano studies.





MARY


. . . Completed fourth grade and turned 10 this year!

Academics
Math: Completed one level of Teaching Textbooks
Spelling: Completed one level of All About Spelling
Grammar: Completed IEW Fix-It “Tom Sawyer”
Literature: Completed the monthly Center for Lit literature class, reading 9 novels
Composition: Completed the weekly Center for Lit composition class, which involved weekly writing assignments
Latin: Nearly completed Latina Christiana
History:  Studied 10 units of Connecting with History covering the years 306-1700 and read independently 14 living history novels
Science: Read Apologia Botany
Religion: Completed Seton 4, studied the Baltimore Catechism all year, read “Yourself and Your House Wonderful” (1913), and read at least a half dozen biographies of saints
Others: Took weekly sewing lessons last summer. Took one semester of private art lessons. Studied geography and practiced penmanship. 

For sports and exercise, Mary took eight weeks of ice skating lessons, tennis lessons in the spring and fall, and nine months of weekly Scottish Dance lessons.

Mary continued to take piano, violin, and theory lessons. She joined Sinfonia Strings, an ensemble of the Youth Orchestras of Charlotte this year, and performed in two concerts at the CPCC Halton Theater. Mary joined the Cantato Domine Latin Choir, practiced her voice daily, and sang at several Masses. She also took on her first piano student this year and has taught him weekly for seven months so far.

New pets joined John’s fish in our home in the form of Mary’s finches! She has been entirely responsible for her birds, which have been enjoyed by all.



JOHN

. . . Completed sixth grade and turned 12 this year!

Academics
Math: Completed one level of Teaching Textbooks Level
Spelling: Completed one level of All About Spelling
Composition (CCE): Completed Writing and Rhetoric Books 5 and 6, writing an essay nearly weekly
Grammar (CCE): Completed two-thirds of Analytical Grammar (normally a three-year course)
Latin (CCE): Completed the first third of Henle 1; scored Merit for outstanding achievement on the first year National Latin Exam
History (CCE): Studied the Medieval history cycle, read 26 living history novels, and wrote Literature Review Sheets (essentially, book reports) for each
Science: Read Apologia: Human Anatomy and Physiology
Religion: Completed Seton 6, studied the Baltimore Catechism all year, and read various biographies of saints
Sacred Art (CCE): Studied sacred art appreciation as well as submitted four art sketches weekly and learned practical arts, completing such projects as weaving, making a papier-mâché bust, and writing a gilded icon
Others: Practiced penmanship

For sports and exercise, John participated in fall soccer at the YMCA, and in tennis lessons in the fall. He took 3 months of ice skating lessons so far, with summer lessons planned, in hopes of joining the recreational hockey league in the coming fall. John took nine months of weekly Scottish Dance lessons--and was given his kilt this year!

John continued to take piano and theory lessons. John participated in an invitation-only master class for his concerto with David Brooks of Wingate University. He joined the parish Boys’ Choir, practiced his voice daily, and sang at several Masses.

John attended his second week-long Catholic boys' camp (Montfort) in New Hampshire in July 2018, with his dad there as a chaperone-volunteer. He participated in hiking, fishing, boating, marksmanship, exercise, tug-of-war, relay races, talent show, daily Mass and prayers. In May 2019, he and his dad went on a father-son retreat, participating in a pig slaughter, sawing, chopping wood, shooting, throwing knives, and swimming. Over the course of the year, John attended Fraternus weekly (men's mentorship, virtue development, singing Compline, and sports) and joined his dad and other men at Liturgy and Fraternity dinners once monthly.

John served as a postulant altar server at church, attending bi-monthly server trainings all year, and serving Mass every single Sunday. He is anticipated to rank up in June.

In February and April, John prepared and practice for the Catholic Quiz Bowl in South Carolina, and was so excited to participate but then he advanced to state championships in a piano competition and had to miss the day of the Quiz Bowl.

John maintained his neighborhood lawn mowing business.

After our family luncheon and presentation of certificates, we enjoyed cake that this mama certainly did not bake, but did manage to purchase at the grocery store.

The days are long, but the years are short. Onward and upward, fellow homeschooling families!
Posted by at No comments:
Labels:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)