This homeschooling thing...

…ain't so bad!

Field Trip Continued: The Mayflower II

After visiting the 17th century village and the Wapanoag Homesite, we drove through the town of Plymouth to see the famous Plymouth Rock.  We had just read Jean Fritz's Who's That Stepping on Plymouth Rock?, so we were all very interested in seeing the legendary boulder upon which the pilgrims first stepped.



It really was quite underwhelming.

But we were prepared for that because Fritz' book had explained how the rock have been moved and broken multiple times, and that pieces has been chipped off by other visitors throughout the years.

Thank you, Papa, for carrying Ellie.  I had forgotten the stroller.

We listened to a guide tell us about the how the Pilgrims planned to pay off their debt to their London merchants who had invested in their colony -- with beaver pelts and other animal furs.  Here, Olivia is holding one.  Nicholas found it most interesting that the shipload of beaver furs sent back to London was stolen by pirates!  So, it took a try long time for the Pilgrims to pay off their debt (perhaps this is a lesson in history and money management??)

Then we got to board the Mayflower II.  This boat was constructed in the 1950's to be an exact replica of the original Mayflower. It even sailed the same route as the Pilgrims did in 1620.

As in the 17th century Village, we met actors playing the part of people from that time period.  Here are some sailors.

Papa interrogated this sailor about "rum rations."  Very important, indeed.

All in all, we really enjoyed Plimoth Plantation.  It was great to have some reference for when we begin reading about the pilgrims and their voyages.  To see with our own eyes, for example, how small the Mayflower was:  that was priceless.

Field Trip: Plymouth

We had our first official field trip, and the school year hasn't even begun yet.  Since we were so close, we decided to stop by Plymouth.  You know, the place the pilgrims first settled after sailing across the Atlantic on the Mayflower?  Because we are studying early American history this year, this was a perfect outing.

Plimoth Plantation  is a living history museum, where you get to "walk back in time" into the 17th century.  This is great for my more literal kids, who have a harder time imagining some of the descriptions in the history books and novels we read.

The first part of the museum is an English settlement.  It was surrounded by a wall to keep out the 'natives' and to define their turf.

Nicholas was so excited to visit the meeting house, because the top level of this structure was a lookout.  With canons! ("Do they work, Mom?"  "Are they real or just made like an art-project?")

The view from the look-out.

Then we got to visit many of the English settlers' homes.

And sit on their furniture.  Talk about making history real.

We listened to actors talk about their time on the Mayflower (oh, what an awful 2 months -- lots of seasickness!) and how they live in the New Land now.  I must say, these actors were superb.  Freaked me out a little, they seemed so real.  

The second part of our visit was the Native American settlement, called the Wapanoag Homesite.  It was cool to learn that this tribe had lived in what is now Massachusettes for 10,000 years!  The people we met here were not actors, but people of Native descent who were also very knowledgeable about their history.

Ellie stands outside the wigwam (these Native Americans did not live in teepees like those of the Great Plains) which is a great dome covered in tree bark.

We were able to see and to touch many animal pelts.  Peter is "petting" a fox pelt now, saying "poor Foxy."

Olivia outside of another wigwam.

We really had a great day, including lunch with Mema and Papa, and a visit to the Mayflower II.  More  on this tomorrow...

Rainy Day Crafts

Today is the first rainy day we have had all vacation.  Luckily, I had packed our Kiwi Crates and we were prepared for some indoor fun.  I read about Kiwi Crates when they were reviewed on the homeschooling section of The Pioneer Woman's blog (one of my favorites).  They are crates that come once a month, filled with all of the craft supplies you need for one project.

This month's craft was robots.

The kids had so much fun building robots that moved through mazes using magnets for power (hey, does that count as a science project?).

Even though I could probably replicate what Kiwi Crate does for less money, the point is:  I wouldn't.  I am a bit on the lazy side when it comes to crafting.

We will be using Kiwi Crates even month to ensure that at least ONE art project gets done each month!

 I have also purchased ARTisitic Endeavors, which I have heard is a fantastic program, for the kids' art program.  Of course, I haven't even opened it yet…but I've heard its good, LOL!

I also hope to incorporate some art history/ art appreciation stuff into our American history core, but for right now,  I'm just glad I had a plan for a rainy day.

Cape Cod 2012

We are having a blast in Cape Cod!  We have been coming here for 3 years straight, and hopefully it will remain a family summer tradition.  The weather is gorgeous this time of year:  warm but not too hot, with the light starting to change from the glaring sunlight of summer to the golden glow of fall.







I am loving the extra time to read and to plan.  Even with 4 kids to take care of, there is more time for me to think when we are here.  I suppose it is the lack of household duties, the lack of phone calls, and playdates, and trips to the store.  Whatever it is, I have had lots of greatly appreciated time to plan for the school year ahead, to think about the world and our creator, and to just tune in with myself.

We are even starting to homeschool while we are up here…after all, we are studying American history this term, and this is the state in which the pilgrims landed, and where various Native American tribes lived for thousands of years. 

 But for now, we are just chillin' at the beach,

 spending extra time with each other,

 eating some good food,

  loving each other,

biking,

swimming,

playing,

dancing,

 and pondering life.

Our Curriculum

I can't believe we are about to start homeschooling for-real.  We have dabbled with it for a while now -- during the last 2 summers -- but starting next week, when all of our friends' kids go back to school, ours will stay home.  Although I don't believe that all learning has to be done more 'officially' during the months of September through June, it somehow makes it feel more daunting to know that this is the time of year that the majority of America dedicates to educating their youth.  And, since this is our first year, I feel like I have a lot to prove, especially to myself.

Many of my friends have asked what curriculum we are using.  Some are surprised to find out that, at least within our state, a homeschooler can basically teach her children whatever she likes.  There is no official set of guidelines (although I believe you can follow the public school online at home through www.K12.com).  Just for fun, I had looked at a lot of curriculums throughout the years, and Sonlight just stood out.  It is a literature-based unit study program, that can be used for multi-age teaching. It includes a lot of reading aloud to the kids, which I love and believe is so powerful (two of my favorite books on the subject are The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease and Reading Magic by Mem Fox). I have chosen their American history curriculum and will teach history and geography to all of the kids together (of course, different kids will get different things out of the same lesson, at their age and interest level.)  I have also chosen one of Sonlight's science program (Biology, Botany, and Physics) that we can all do together.

Now here comes the tricky part:  I have 2 kids learning to read (but at different levels), 1 advanced reader, and 1 not even close to reading.  How am I going to handle reading and writing?  Well, I have different programs for each child, and I will spend individual time with each child, each day, working on these subjects.  The same with math.  This has been the hardest part of my practice-homeschooling so far:  what to do with the other kids while working one-on-one in English and math?  I have tried centers --  workspaces with assigned topics such as art, writing, or computer for each child to rotate through until their turn with mom -- but the kids have been easily sidetracked and have become impatient for me.  I need to develop more accountability in order for this system to work more smoothly.  Or -- I could have all kids work quietly around me while I do individual lessons (I am just worried about the distractibility factor).  Obviously, this is a work in progress and I will have to come up with a definitive plan…uh, by next week!

We also do art projects together, and the kids practice Spanish, math drills, and reading games on the computer.


Curriculum 2012 - 2013

Ellie (Preschool)

• Preschool: Before Five in a Row, and listening in on Sonlight Core D with us
• Art: Kiwi Crates
• Speech: Ms. Suzy is coming to our house for therapy twice a week (yay!)
• P.E.: Swimming Lessons and Dance/Tumble
• Other: Anything fun we’re doing that she wants to be a part of!

Peter (Kindergarten)

• Art: Artistic Pursuits Book 1 and Kiwi Crates
• Reading: Sonlight K Readers
• Phonics: Get Ready for the Code
• Math: Math U See Primer
• Handwriting: Handwriting Without Tears
• History: Sonlight Core D, American History, Part 1
• Foreign Language: Rosetta Stone Spanish, Level 1
• Science: Sonlight Science A
• P.E.: Soccer, Swimming lessons

 Nicholas (First Grade)

• Art: Artistic Pursuits Book 1 and Kiwi Crates
• Reading: Sonlight Grade 1 Readers
• Phonics: Explode the Code
• Math: Math U See Alpha
• Handwriting: Handwriting Without Tears
• History: Sonlight Core D, American History, Part 1
• Foreign Language: Rosetta Stone Spanish, Level 1
• Science: Sonlight Science A
• P.E.: Water Polo, Soccer, and whatever else he gets into in a day

Olivia (3rd grade) 

• • Art: Artistic Pursuits Book 1 and Kiwi Crates
  • Spelling: Sequential Spelling 1
  • English/Grammar/Reading: Worldly Wise B, and Modern Curriculum Press Phonics
  • Math: Math U See Gamma 
  • History: Sonlight Core D, American History, Part 1
  • Literature: Sonlight Advanced Readers D
  • Music: Guitar Lessons, Voice Lessons, Homeschool Choir
  • Science: Sonlight Science A
  • P.E.: Soccer, and Dance
  • Handwriting: Handwriting Without Tears, Cursive
  • Foreign Language:  Rosetta Stone Spanish, Level 2

And so it goes

Nicholas on our first ' field trip' to our town's war memorial.

Homeschooling during Week 1 continues to bring peace to my heart. It just feels right. I am spending time with my kids, seeing that interests them, watching them interact, getting glimpses into their hearts. I am spending time at home, which I love, rather than using time (our most precious commodity) and energy driving, driving, driving. To my surprise, the house is actually cleaner and more organized than on a usual week. I was warned that homeschooling would produce a messier house because all the kids are home; and while this might be true, we are also home to clean it up, so it ends up working out.

What is also nice is that we are using our time together to work on character traits on which we need to concentrate. Right now, we are concentrating on self-control (that includes me too!) and being respectful of our siblings. I am also working on keeping my temper under control while I sometimes get frustrated with the kids' interrupting, and with my frustration at my own shortcomings, which I tend to take out on others.

In general, things are just taken down a notch in terms of anxiety. We are all calmer. There is less rushing and less pressure. There are a lot of things we need to work on, but at least we are calm enough to steadily make our way.