I forgot to mention that yesterday we had an informal story meeting --- Brendan, Liam and I. We talked about progress in our stories and about different authors, while the boys drank hot cocoa. We didn't read anything aloud because it didn't seem to be that kind of evening with Aidan and Kevin away. Hopefully we'll have a real story meeting next week.

Life Learning and Study Trails

No formal academics this week.

We are still on our Harry Potter learning trail.

Lots of spectacular friendship-with-nature for Aidan, me, Liam and Clare up at Grandma's cabin by the lake. (I just realized that what TS Eliot said rather darkly about popular literature seems to me to apply a bit to nature, too, in a good way -- I think children acquire something from casual "quantity time" life in the outdoors that they can't acquire so easily by studious "quality time", though both are beneficial).

We are learning from life by our chickenpox pestilence. The older children have been cooking.

Music: Clare on guitar, keyboard, violin, voice. Liam on classical guitar. Aidan listening to The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, and Loreena McKennit. ... in the car as we shuttle from place to play.

I am thinking that we might study the pre-Raphaelites this year, in a friendship-with-art type of way. Reasons for this? I was listening to Loreena McKennit sing "The Lady of Shalott".... then just yesterday, by one of those coincidences, went googling John Waterhouse because of the picture on Melanie's header. Why did I look up her header painting? Because I felt a bit like that lady, who turns out to be Miranda of the Tempest. So then I found out that John William Waterhouse, and some of the other pre-Raphaelites, were also fascinated with the Lady of Shalott. There you go.... a study in the making.

What I'm thinking is Giotto and Architecture in the first half of the year, and connect by way of Shakespeare from there to the pre-Raphaelites. Plus, it looks to my amateur art sensibilities like some of the 19th century illustrators may have been influenced by the pre-Raphaelites.... which is another connection. This is fun....

This Week in Homeschool

No formal academics.

Kieron has come down with the chickenpox, so I am up at the cabin with Aidan and Liam, while the other kids are down at home.

Liam is working on his story, and Aidan has been playing at the beach and in the sandbox and with grandma's toys.

We will probably start with the 3Rs around the second week of August.

Learning Notes Blog LIst

• • Adventure Academy
  • Age Quod Agis
  • Amiable Days
  • AROMO(3 Awesome Kids)
  • Bonny Glen Up Close
  • Bookworm's Diary
  • Cajun Cottage Learning Notes
  • Daily Life and Work
  • Household Diary
    
  • Faithful Over Little Things
  • Just Another Day in Paradise
  • KC's Rambles
  • Mama's Muse
  • Maria (msClavel)
  • Show Your Work
  • Soulful Learning
  • St Therese Academy

Another transplant from my EWH blog. I think it needs to be updated -- here is the running list over here.

Spring Checklist for Year 5 and 8

Sean's Books from Last Year (2006-7)

• • Drawing Textbook
  • Henle Latin
  • Hey Andrew...Greek #3
  • Landscape with Dragons
  • Latin Quia
  • Legends of Chivalry
  • Story of the Church
  • Thirty Lessons in Outlining
  • Ways of the Wood Folk
  • Whatever Happened to Penny Candy

This is also moving over from my EWH sidebar.

Kieron's Books from Last Year (2006-7)

• Archimedes and the Door to Science
• Bible History
• Credo I Believe
• Drawing Textbook
• Hey Andrew... Greek #1
• Latin Quia
• Latina Christiana 1
• Saint John Bosco and Saint Dominic Savio
• Seabird
• Simply Grammar
• Story of the Romans

(I'm moving this over from my Every Waking Hour sidebar)

Monday July 23

No formal academics today.

Aidan came with us to town. Kevin got back from his business trip with Brendan, last night, so today we were returning the rental car. Brendan got to check out the U of O campus -- as a possible future alma mater (his parents attended, met and got engaged there).

The middle kids are watching Harry Potter #3. They walked to the library to get it.

We just did our "weeklies" (twice a week housecleaning).

On my list of TO DOs -- PLAN.

Kieron thinks he found a chicken pox spot on his face. Time will tell. The timing is just about right, in fact.

August in the Liturgical Year

What's Going On

Little academic stuff getting done. The kids have been reading up a storm -- presently rereading all the Harry Potter books and discussing them together. Clare put some HP thoughts on her blog:

Of Dumbledore and Snape
Another Thought on the Half-Blood Prince

Clare has been working on writing a story which she visualizes as a sort of vintage thriller with fantastic elements, like a combination of Scarlet Pimpernel and The Man Who Was Thursday. It shows promise -- I am charged with the duty of making editorial comments.

Clare is also keeping up work with her music. Practicing regularly with guitar, violin, keyboard and voice. Finally getting her voice back from her cold. Disappointed that the chickenpox prevents us from going to homeschool camping where the kids were going to put together some sort of variety show to to have a platform for their music and other interests.

Liam is programming parts of his dad's new game. He is working on a story too.

Brendan has done some odd jobs for the neighbor and is now off on a business trip with his Dad. His plans for his future are coming together a bit, which is reassuring for his Mom. That would be me.

Sean is recovering from chickenpox -- still tired out.

They have been watching movies recently, among them the old (1934, I think) Jane Eyre with Orson Wells, and some old Alfred Hitchcocks. Clare watched Wizard of Oz with Paddy while I had to be in town yesterday and she was taking care of him.

Because of the chickenpox and Kevin's business changes and a car breakdown, just to mention a few curve balls recently, I have been a bit out of touch with their learning ("Yes, honey, oh really? that's interesting" kind of thing). And don't ask about planning for next year. I was just getting ready to sit down and pull it together when this all started happening. But it will come. I will no doubt see the fruits of all this freedom when I do start paying attention again. I'm not being sarcastic when I talk about fruits of freedom -- sure, a few weeds usually pop up too, but there's also always developmental leaps when I'm not watching for them.

We have had a few nice talks. All this scurrying around has the side benefits of occasionally being almost-alone with a child. Usually we don't end up having a lot of one-on-one time. But recently, I've had a chance to be almost-alone with Liam, Clare, and yesterday Kieron (almost-alone meaning that Aidan was there too).

And Brendan will get a chance to have time with his Dad now on this brief business trip, and Sean had a similar chance last month when Kevin took him to football camp.

Learning Log -- Tuesday

Sorry if this keeps appearing in bloglines or readers. I keep thinking of things to add. In future I'll keep them as a draft till the end of the day, and then publish.

Music:

• Clare practiced Pirates of the Caribbean on the violin.
• Liam practiced classical guitar (doing it now)
• Clare practicing classical guitar, and singing.
• Aidan playing on keyboard (I've asked Clare to try to teach him a bit of piano this year -- we'll see)
  

Reading:

• Paddy -- Rapunzel, There's No Such THing as a Dragon, Miss Suzy, The Amazing Bone.
• Extension -- he wanted to "do school" so we picked out words on the title page of the last book.
• Aidan -- played with V Tech phonics.

Outdoors:

• Lake
• Sean -- football camp (he's there now)

Home Arts:

• We baked peanut butter cookies
• Paddy helped me cut open sauce packets for spring rolls (then wanted to cut construction paper for a while, which turned into.....)
  

Crafts:

• Teaching Kieron how to make paper boats.
• I made boats and airplanes for Paddy.

Conversations:

• Liam and I talked about stories we are reading/writing.
• Brendan talked about Chronicle of 20th century book he was browsing through.
• Paddy talked about God and asked Him to give him a baby brother or sister (then said expectantly, "Now where IS it?")
• Kieron talked to me about his plans for meeting his friends at homeschool Stations this Friday -- we haven't gotten to go since before we went to Ireland -- about a month -- so he is looking forward to it.
  

A New Favorite Nature Spot

Oh, thank you, Blogger! You removed me from your list of possible spam blogs so I don't have to painfully discern and type in not one, but two verification codes. Since there appears to be a bug in your verification code so that it always marks the first attempt as as an error.

Today we went to the lake and Clare, Kieron, Aidan and Patrick swam around for a couple of hours. It was beautifully cloudy today and at the very end of our lake visit, it started to rain and we got to experience a sandstorm.

MacBeth Derham writes on her page about nature study:

Mount Holyoke College has a lovely tradition: On a crisp October morning at 7am, the morning bells continue to ring past 7, signaling that classes are cancelled. Because many students choose to climb the local mountains on their day off, the day is called “Mountain Day.” I have carried this tradition home, though we try to have our “Mountain Day” once a month, as a special addition to our usual time spent out of doors. Our “mountain” is a local preserve with several different environments—fields, forests, pond, seashore, and even old ruins. Best of all, it is free!

Mountain day is not a substitute for getting out daily! The mountain day location is a special place, away from home, where we can observe the seasonal changes, wild life, plants, and weather. Mountain day is a treat, wildly anticipated by the whole family. Nevertheless, we still go out as much as possible, on a daily basis.

Here's another site celebrating seasonal nature study.

We love returning to the same natural spot many times through the year to watch the seasonal changes as they come.

We have several "mountains" in our lives -- favorite places we return to again and again to see -- more than see, experience and live in -- the changes. The lake is becoming our new favorite. Its temperamental activity today really endeared it to the kids.

Snapshot of Paddy's Reading

These ones are longtime favorites -- they are so small and pretty. Clare's great-aunt sent her the Beatrix Potters and they have become standbys. I got the cute Winnie the Poohs on a Goodwill foray in Oregon.

These are some of the ones he has been listening to quite a bit since we got back from Ireland.
These are some of the ones he was listening to a lot before we went to Ireland.
These seems like such an easy way to keep track of literature through time that I may start doing the same thing with the older kids. I guess that's why it's called a snapshot of a moment in time.

Paddy's Reading

This picture shows the books I rotated out for Paddy because I was getting tired of rereading the "old" ones again and again. This is easier than listing them all out. .... I can always do that later.



I put them at our bedside table and Paddy was thrilled to find them. We've already gone through all except Blaze; it will be interesting to see which ones he chooses to read again and again.

Summertime Reading

Clare's Reading

The Man Who Was Thursday
Manalive
Father Brown
(she found a stock of GKC books in her father's study)

The Robe

Brendan's Reading

History of the American People
A History of America's Sport
several other football books
Father Brown


Sean

reread all the Father Finn books he could find
reread OUtlaws of Ravenhurst

What's Going On in the Homeschool

We don't have any formal academics going on right now -- the boys finished their spring checklists just before we went to Ireland, which was June 12th.

Some of us are going on a camping trip later on in the month so I guess the bottom line is that we are on holiday. When we get back I will start pulling things together and getting the kids started with some basic 3Rs.

So this log will be rather quiet until August. I'm going to try to keep track of the kids' reading and anything else that seems to have recordkeeping value. A lot of times, these "off" seasons provide a wealth of experiences to build on.

Here are some articles on documenting "life learning"
I liked this one Is Football Educational? particularly since football is so big in this house and some of our relatives have made careers out of sports -- not as players but working in the field.
Here is an "Unschooling Curriculum" page at Sandra Dodd's website.

Weekend Log

Spent 2 hours at the lake today. Kieron and Aidan rode the little wake-waves and Paddy first said "Zero minutes to go home" -- meaning he wanted to leave -- then spent the rest of the time happily absorbed in a pretend game, sitting in the sand lining up granite rocks with the water lapping around him.

I read a lot of the Dark Elf Trilogy.

The kids are now watching "Into the Woods." -- the first part (they don't like the second part).

Clare is reading a Harry Potter in honor of the upcoming movie release.
Sean has been reading Hardy Boys after a run of Father Finn's books.
Kieron is reading Hardy Boys too.
Paddy has been listening to a Beatrix Potter Treasury for bedtime reading.

Considerations

Consider the Child

• How old is he? What grade is he in?
• Where is he right now in his life (character, temperament, talents, challenges)?
• What are his interests? What does he do with his spare time?
• What is he serious about?
• What does he dislike or fear? Why?
• What is his learning style, judging by what seems to work for him? What did he do last year?

Consider Standards

• Now, look at his grade level and development stage.
• Turn to whatever standards you prefer to use. I like to browse through my favorite curriculums -- Kolbe, Mother of Divine Grace, Mater Amabilis, Ambleside. There are also learning standards published by each state. To me it seems to be an advantage to look at more than one, because you can see the variety.
• If the child is younger, sometimes developmental milestone lists are helpful.
• Where is the child on track or ahead? Are there areas where he could use some extra attention?
• Make a list -- brainstorming here -- nothing set in stone, but it's useful to have it thought out and/or written down to refer to later. The list can keep expanding during the year and goals can be noted as they are reached by date. Or you could make another list for goals met.

Consider the Whole Situation

• Take the notes from #1 and look at what the child did last year.
• Take the notes from #2 and look at what is suitable for him developmentally and temperamentally.
• Look at his future -- preparation/formation/options for his later years. It is wise not to decide too early what vocational field he is going into, but consider his formation as a unique human being and the balance between developing particular talents and keeping the options open.
• Pray; ask what God wants for the child.
• Consider your family's philosophy on education. Everyone has one.
• Now, more specifically -- consider methods, activities and opportunities that are available.
• --Keep a running list during the year.
• -- Look for things that seem to light a spark.
• --Also, for things that provide a balance in the child's life.

Start a Broad Outline

• Go subject by subject and list resources
• Try to think of several possible options for each subject area.
• Highlight or note preferences based on availability, method, and so on.
• Start listing books and activities for each area.
• This can also be a running list.
• Look at booklists.
• If you get overwhelmed with the choices, trying listing a few that you already know about or have around the house.

Consider Connections and Strategies

• This does not have to be done all at once. After you've considered each child, look at the intra-family and even inter-community connections.
• Are there some areas that could be combined or overlapped between children? Are there some subjects that could be integrated or otherwise connected? Can you "kill two birds with one stone?"
• Look at your list of activities and ideas.
• At this point you could start breaking down spine texts and booklists into specific goals. I often do this but rarely actually follow my lists. What it does for me is give me a framework, an approximation of how much to cover.
• Start thinking about a daily and weekly schedule that will cover what you want to cover. I usually sit down with calendars here. I choose a few basic subjects to be covered daily -- math, Latin and catechism -- and some that come once, twice or three times a week. There are a few that can be plugged in occasionally. Look at your running list of activities and ideas. There are days and weeks where you will want to "do something completely different".

Addenda

• How much to pre-plan?

I think that varies according to life circumstance and natural operating style. I like to have a simple sequence through a book for 3 or 4 "skill" subjects -- usually Math, Latin, and some Language subject. Others can be more open-ended.

When it looks overwhelming, it helps me to remember that if you just have a progression through the 3Rs -- in short daily lessons -- and live a rich life, you are already there. As for the rich life, these Priorities give me a head start.

For me, it's always more effective to remember what is unique about my own family: What is important to my husband and me? What is thrilling and absorbing? What areas are we growing in or learning about? How does our network or community look? These considerations keep me from stressing about what I can't do and concentrating on what I can or should be doing.

Friday

Too hot to go down to homeschool group today. It was 111 degrees down in the valley and our car lacks air conditioning at present.

So instead I took the three youngest to the beach -- which has become an almost-daily habit in the past week or so. It is always cooler there and the water is endlessly enjoyable for them.

Sean had football camp this week and will have it again next week -- T/through Th, with a break for July 4th this week. The coaches are quite impressed with his throwing arm and talked about Trent Dilford and advised him to enroll. He told them he wanted to go the Independent Study route and one of them said they would look into that. It is still an open question whether he will be able to start as quarterback, because the coach's son is coming up and has played quarterback in the junior levels. But at least, Sean is happy he is not simply being type-cast as a wide receiver.

More on Sean's football over here.

Clare got Pirates of the Caribbean sheet music for the violin, including a CD which provides the orchestral background while the player plays the main part. I notice how good she is getting -- a few hours and she is playing most of the pieces quite well.

She has been in a music immersion ever since we came back from Ireland.... hours a day singing, playing the keyboard and the violin.

Brendan and I had a good talk yesterday. We even talked about prospective universities, pros and cons, including Univ of Oregon and Fresno State.

The heat (it's over 90 here and no air conditioning) has drained my energy.

Kieron is trying to make a Chao out of paper from a model he got online.

Re-arranging my blogs -- again

I've been thinking about this change for a while. This will make a total of no less than four public blogs, and that's a bit weird. But the daily learning notes I was doing last winter and spring on Every Waking Hour didn't really fit that blog. It made me feel like a split personality, going from detailed page number accounts to glimmers of insight on unschooling.

Having four blogs for different purposes also seems to indicate a split personality, but it's a bit different. The different blogs help me to focus on different things. This blog can be a repository for the lists and notes for recordkeeping and planning. Every Waking Hour can be more about those memorable moments or days or phases in a life of learning. In a Spacious Place has developed into more than simply a homeschooling blog. It's about the big picture. And Heart of Home is my online housekeeping and personal accountability zone.

There. Simple. Right?

Sunday --

Kieron worked on his checklist last night so he could go to the market today. He did computer math and Latin, then we worked on grammar and Latin together, then he worked for quite a long time on Math Dojo -- math quests. Paddy did it too on the easier level, and is actually learning to count and sequence pretty well. He also knows the difference between less and more. Kieron had to write number sentences, which annoyed him -- he can solve a math story problem but doesn't know HOW he solved it/how to write it out.

For grammar we went over singulars and plurals -- first the concept (which he knew, so we skipped).... then exceptions to the normal "add s" rule.

Then we turned to Latin and I showed him the nominative singular and plural for the 1st dec and 2nd declension masculine -- we tried making various words into plurals. This is how we've been approaching it and it works so much better than just memorizing and following the worksheets. It is "pre-Henle" -- once he starts Henle it will seem easy to him at first.

Sean was reading and throwing the football all yesterday. It looks like he is reading Paul Mather. Kieron is rereading Seven Sleepers.

All four of the younger children played outside with Mr Tiki-Soaki for a very long time; all enjoyed themselves and all came in tiki-soakied. It worked out well since I needed them to change to wash their clothes for Ireland anyway.