August 24, 2009

(due to the fact this is our first year really following any kind of schedule..the first few posts will seem a little ..well..choppy! Once we get going, they will smooth out, I promise :)


Lol..I don't know 'what' we are anymore;) So I guess this is not "A Day in the Life of a Classical Unschooler' anymore;) or are we...?? I guess that will be up to the reader!!

Anyways, the day was off to a good start. We started late..which is usual. I work nights, so 'whenever' is a common term for us..

We started off with Bible Study/history. I am adapting a history curriculum from this site:
http://www.classical-homeschooling.org/curriculum/history-1.html

which starts out in 'the beginning', and using it as a morning Bible study! The books that are not available at the library, I supplement with similar books. So as we read the Bible (from a Chronological Bible, which, as of now, had to be sent back to library ;) haven't recieved it back yet!) we also read books along with it.
:) The kids enjoy this!!

We read page16 from, "Children's Everyday Bible', by Deborah Chancellor. Then we read, "Noah's Ark' by Jerry Pinkney. The pictures were beautiful!! Nice book. When we get the chronological Bible back, I will read to them aloud while they are coloring or something, as I don't think there are many more stories for a while.

From the MFW manual, I rolled up a piece of paper, and we discussed what a scroll was, and how it was used in ancient times. We discussed how they had no copy machines back then, so every time the scrolls would get worn out, they'd have to carefully recopy them. Can you imagine recopying the entire Bible!! Talk about copy work!!!

After this, we went onto the MFW (grade 1) reccommendation, and did the first 3 letters of the alphabet (okay, we forgot and just did 1, but tomorrow we'll do the other two;) Rachel and Gracie both enjoy practicing their printing/cursive on a wipe-off board, so we're not going to bother with that...(which MFW would reccommend), but I found a way to adapt it for my 2 and 8yo. This way they can all be involved!

Today we did the letter ,'A'. I pointed it out to Colette (2yo) and she repeated (very proud that she was involved, lol ;) Gracie (6yo, already knows her letters), picked a word that starts with this letter, 'apple', while Rachel (8yo), used it in a sentence: "I eat apples." We call this our 'Letter Game'.

When we were done with this, Rachel wrote a letter to Shelby, while Gracie worked on her printing with the wipee board. She also enjoys working on her cursive, as well. I let her do whichever one she chooses. They have 20 min. (or so) for this.

Then it was time for spelling words from spelling city!:)
http://www.spellingcity.com/avkofoundation/

This link has a free list of spelling words to use!! Rachel took the first list, then went onto the second and missed one word (lol...) , 'all'. Brain fart!! She laughed herself when she realized it;)-she can spell that easy. She went on and did the spelling games for the words, though. Tomorrow, she'll do the next level. I just asked her a few minutes ago how to spell the word, 'all'. Of course, she got it right.

And then what happened? LOL
THE TEACHER FELL ASLEEP!!

Curled up on the couch as Rachel was on her spelling site, Gracie decided she wanted to work on her math book, as I laid down to wait- I was out for THREE HOURS!!
;) woke up in time to make them lunch.

When I woke up, they had found a, 'My Little Pony' movie on youtube, and were watching that. :) My Rachel is so computer literate!!

Rachel's math book isn't in yet, so we're going to overlook this class till it comes in. We plan to use Singapore Math.

For reading, Rachel has asked to work on fairytales. I haven't gotten all the books I have wanted from the library for this book, so we're 'taking it slow' till they come in;) Today she read the first page of, "The Emperor's New Clothes', by Hans Christian Andersen. We plan to discuss the history of clothes...when the books arrive.

She's been reading, 'Barbie: Skipper's Babysitting Blues,' on her own. She finished it the other day. She is reading, 'Barbie: A Sea of Friends', now.

While I was typing this out, Rachel was reading to Gracie, "Incredible Little Monsters," by Christopher Maynard. It is a book on reptiles. They are both sitting down trying to draw reptiles now! Got to love unschooling!!

What happend next? We called it quits! :)

We usually do our read-alouds before I go to work (which is before bed), to try and 'wind-down' the day. Currently, we are working on: 'The Best Christmas Pagaent Ever', by-Barbara Robinson.

Hapy Unschooling-or..whatever;)

We're back!!

So much going on! Made a few changes as well to our plans.. Once I remember to purchase batteries for my camera, I will be able to post more pic's. We've got an exciting year planned. As for now, it is pretty hot outside, and I don't do well with the heat, so in the next month or so, we'll start back up!!

I've started looking at My Father's World
www.mfwbooks.com

I bought grade 1 for Gracie, and am supplementing for Rachel. The next year, they will be in the same class together, 'Adventure's', grades 2-8. They have different ideas for each level, and I will be sure to list off all the exciting things they do as well!!:)

Rachel has been reading the 'Barbie' chapter books, and has already finished one, going on the other. She loves to write and make lists. She has also been catching up on her penpals, as well. We have a deal that she gets to pick the books she wants to read. One book she has free reign on, the next book she has to choose from a book on my book lists. One example I have is Veritas Press:
www.veritaspress.com

it lists off classics by grade level (well, there's..;) I let her choose grade 2 and up, as the books are very difficult, and the library even grades them at that! But she picks and chooses the ones she wants, then she'll get to read another Barbie book and so on;)

Gracie has also been working on her reading, and (on her own) is already considered a grade 1 reader!! :) She has an excellent memory, which helps. Only thing, however...I never taught her phonics..she pretty much taught herself to read (which is good), but I need to teach her to sound out words. Something we'll be working on this year..

Well, school starts on Monday. We'll see how it goes..
Happy Unschooling!!

A Day in the Life of a Classical Unschooler

We are making a few adjustments to our plan for next year, will post soon:)

Above is a pic of our little 'greenhouse', our first attempt at a garden! It has corn/pumpkins and pretty flowers. There is also a pic of the kids at the waterpark, they like to go there after PE sometimes.

Below, on the left, are both of their classes getting set up and such. On the right, is Gracie's class doing 'jumping jacks'. Gracie is in the 'yellow sweater'. She 'loves' to do jumping jacks! Usually there are more kids, but they have already done their 'end of the year' olympics/award ceremony for attendance, so attendance has kind of dropped..

Happy Unschooling!

:)

Classical Christian Unschooling

Okay, we all learn from mistakes..the recipes in the recipe link were great!! We devoured the cake, and it was 'Feingold Safe'. Was it 'my kid safe'??
No. We were outside forever getting that energy out, needless to say, i found my head (mind, whatever;) bouncing with them!!
I work nights..can't get to sleep!!

How was it? It was DELICIOUS!! ;)

So, safe to say, chocolate will be off the list too..but I did explain to them that leaves more room for fun fruit-flavored icing:)

Currently, everything is up in the air as far as curriculum goes. I'm sure many are asking, what is going on..;) we're getting there!! My kids have been using a lot of computer programs they enjoy, and learning from them as well!! Give me a week or so and I will introduce the rest. I am making a spelling list for my oldest, which will be linked with quite a few learning games..

So hold tight!!
Happy Unschooling!
:)

A Day in the Life of a Classical Unschooler

I have been reading a lot about the 'Feingold Diet'. It is an interesting diet that eliminates food coloring, many preservatives and for many who join: corn syrup! There are also certain fruits/veggies that can be a factor in allergies as well.

Although it is an interesting diet, and eliminating all would be great, we have chosen to begin with food coloring/preservatives (bad ones) and corn syrup. I am also 'choosing' foods that have a no-gluten 'sign' on them...but am 'not' making my own bread!! LOL..;) I figure a few steps at a time..not to get overwhelmed..and see if we can make it that far!

Did you know that corn syrup, when consumes, goes straight to fat??? I guess corn is a starch, and it's a sugar from corn..go figure;) But Canada uses sugar in their Cokes/Pepsi's.. (and all their foods)..whereas Europe uses sugar and beet sugar. Why is our country not making that change? Sugar is converted to energy when consumed, giving us a 'chance' to work it off. It's no wonder Americans are overweight, unlike other countries that use sugar. Corn is also a food that has more allergies. Sure, 100 years ago people had a few ears of corn now and then for dinner. No big deal!! But now corn is in 'everything', from your food, chocolate milk and even your cereal and snacks-for a person that is sensitive, that is an overload!! No wonder ADD has hit a high (in America;).

The results have been little, but it will take about 6 weeks to get it out of their system. It didn't help that the icecream man came around yesterday and I (without thinking) said, 'Sure, you can have one!!' :) I realized what I was doing when I was buying it, but I had already said yes :(
Think mommy, think!!!!

Today we are making a chocolate cake, from scratch, free of preservatives, artificial vanilla and food coloring :) I have added a new link: My favorite Recipes, so we can store them and keep track of the ones we like. The kids love to cook, so they're all for this!! Especially when I explained how the food works. 6 weeks..and then we'll slowly add it to their diet, and see what works..and what doesn't;)

Happy Unschooling!!
:)

A Day in the Life of a Classical Unschooler

Today the kids went to PE at the park, 9:30am. There must have been over 100 kids in varying age groups there today!! They have them divided up by grades, they really enjoy this! It's a great way to start the day, they meet every Tuesday. Gracie's class played 'kick ball' and 'duck duck goose'. Rachel is in the 2-3 class (they go by what grade they are 'supposed' to be in) and they played t-ball. After this, we went to the park. They had a great time! We didn't get back till around 12:00!
Rachel reads one story from her computer program a week, and since we had a long day i just said she could start the story tomorrow. She still has to finish it or do it on Saturday. Gracie has decided she wants to read the 'Biscuit' books for the summer. I explained to her that would be fine, but she would have to do some flashcards before each book, as she is not familiar with many of those words. She agreed, so we'll start that soon. They did a math sheet and went out to play with their friend.

We are also studying in history how people moved westward so I've already gotten the 'Little House in the Big Woods' Read-a-loud version and we're going to read that together before we go to sleep tonight. They watched the show, and really enjoy that so I am considering buying it.

We are also in the process of planting a garden! Rachel has been studying seeds/flowers in her scholastic science class, (it's a fun course, all video-she 'loves' it!! plus, at the end, there is a quiz and she nearly always gets them all right :) ) and since spring is around the corner we're considering buying one of those cheap plastic containers with the lid, start them out inside and then set them outside. That should be fun!! We also have a planter that is see-through (we get to see the roots as they grow!! :) that will be fun!!

We have been meaning to study french, but have just been too side-tracked with various activities and such. The program they have on one of her Elementary Success seems like fun, and after you learn the vocabulary you can play games to 'test your knowledge'. That sounds like fun, as I'm not sure I want them getting into the 'grammar' of all this. I simply want them to learn some conversational skills, maybe read a little of the language, so when they're older and they start into a 'Real' course, they'll be that much further ahead!:)

This is the wrap for us!! I know, I used to show the curriculum and such..there was a time I felt like I had to 'prove myself'..but now since a lot of what we do is on the computer anyways, what is there to show?? I still save this site, though. This is where I post my videos, and this site has links to my photo album. So, with this in mind, here is a video of Colette going down the slide at 'Common Ground Park', a 'huge' park in our area!! The next video is all 3 on a see-saw.


Happy Unschooling!
stacey:)

A Day in the Life of a Classical Unschooler

I guess the biggest question to ask is: what is unschooling? There are so many different ways of explaining this concept. Some would say-we do not use 'any' form of schooling, and let the kids guide themselves. Others would just say they go against the norm, and avoid using 'textbooks' for teaching tools, but still guide their kids into 'learning through life'.
What are we?
I would say I am in the middle on this one. Why am I not posting as often? Well, for the most park it could be because I have nothing to post! We do not use workbooks/pre-made sheets...somedays we use the computer...how to record that info???
I apologize I've been off this long. It doesn't mean we haven't been learning, just in different ways!
Here to begin:
I read a GREAT book the other day!
The Myth of Ability, by John Mighton. The book inspired the curriculum they now use for math in Canada! I love his concept (he was a tutor) and am looking forward to using that for Rachel in math next year. Gracie will start traditional math around grade 3 or 4 also. I am hoping to use the same program.
The interesting part is how he taught the math. He taught math to kids that were supposed to be in grade 7, but were in grade 3...and got them up to grade level in like..a year!!! When he grew with his reputation, a third grade teacher asked him to help teach his class the same thing he'd been teaching these grade 7 kids, he did-and it worked! He gave them the grade 7 test in fractions, and they passed!! Every one!!!
This isn't an advanced curriculum, but instead of moving quickly ahead, as most curriculums do (as I was told this by the writers) they review one or two grades behind so the kids won't forget the concepts.

Here are some pictures of what has been going on!!

They built a new park in Lakleand

Common Ground Park

Colette 'loves' the swing

Colette, Gracie going down the slide

Colette

Rachel got her hair cut

This is Gracie and Colette playing, "Hungry Hippos."

We have a thick curtain..so not much light comes in the house...:( it's a little dark. I bought this at a garage sale for $1, Colette 'loves' it!!

Here we are at our new park, "Common Ground Park" in Lakeland

Our Park:) Isn't it great!! anyways, more photos on my facebook:)