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Showing posts from 2014

Classical, or Classical?

I'm a self-professed classical homeschooling mom.  At least I try to be.  At the beginning of last year when Luke was beginning third grade, I started to think ahead a little, for the first time.  K-1-2 had just been about figuring things out for today.  How are we going to teach Luke to read? To count and add? What is the most important thing to do in second grade?  It was all I could do to figure out what needed to be done a semester at a time. Starting third grade made me realize, I need to be looking down the road a little. I need an end goal, and a plan to get there.  So I started reading and researching.  It all started with trying to figure out how and when to teach writing and composition, but this took me down a road of diving deeper into the ideas of classical education. Before we started homeschooling, I was recommended to read The Well-Trained Mind, by the Bauers.  I loved that book, and decided quickly it was how I wanted to homeschool my kids.  History chronologi

An Upside-down World?

You know, we left life in the United States behind in 2007.  Back then, a whole seven years ago, iPhones either didn't exist, or were so elitist, I didn't know anyone who had one.  I also didn't know anyone who had a Kindle, or iPad.  Most people had one computer for the family.  Most people didm't text, because you paid per text, if I remember correctly. Can I tell you something? Technology has invaded our lives, addicted us, and changed our culture.  It has changed the way we relate (don't relate) to each other.  I don't have to go into detail to describe this to you.  We all know what it looks like.  People with faces in their phones, texting at the speed of light, Bible studies with no Bibles, but phones, blue lit up faces with eyes down. But it didn't creep up on us.  We weren't like the frog in a pot of water that slowly came to a boil.  Now that we have moved back to the US, we are the frogs thrown in the already hot boiling water. : )  Can I

Tapestry of Grace Year 4: Week 6: Winning the War and Losing the Peace

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This week we concluded our study of World War I, learning about how the war ended on Armistice Day, and Woodrow Wilson's involvement in bringing about the peace terms, as well as the League of Nations.  It was all fascinating for me, because the treaty was signed in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles.  I have visited Versailles and walked through the Hall of Mirrors, and I had no idea at the time of the significance of the room.  I'm thankful that my children will hopefully learn about history and be able to much more deeply appreciate their experiences in the world, should they be blessed to travel as we have been.  We spent one whole morning looking through my scrapbook album of my travels around Europe, including a whole page of the Palace at Versailles.  Fun memories! We enjoyed another Co-op meeting this week, and we found out about a homeschool event at the Kansas Aviation Museum.  We attended and learned about the science behind gliders, hot air balloon

Tapestry of Grace Year 4: Week 5: America Mobilizes and Russia Revolts

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We're hitting our stride this year.  It always takes a few weeks to get back into the routine of school, but it's happening!  We did a lot of fun things with nature this week.   Kiryn is doing well with Harmony Fine Arts.  She drew this beautiful Snowy Owl this week! Luke drew this blue and orange bird. We had a great day at our Derby Homeschool Connections Co-Op in our first PreK class! We also are really enjoying studying our rose bush.  It's blooming beautifully! In Tapestry this week, we learned about how and why America entered World War   We also learned how propaganda was used to influence the common people.  We made copies of some of our favorite propaganda posters. I am learning a ton of stuff about World War I. I'm ashamed to say I didn't know much about the causes of World War I.  I've been enjoying this year a lot so far!  

Our School Room

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We have moved so many times the past ten years.  I've only had a homeschool room one time, and that was in the very last house we had.  I LOVED having a school room, and was really excited about setting up a wonderful space for learning and life in our new home.  When we were looking at houses, the homeschool room having a window or better yet, access to the backyard was a deal breaker for me.  We spent the majority of our time as a family in the school room, so it's almost as important as the kitchen. : )  Maybe more important. So you can imagine how THRILLED I was with this room.  I pretty quickly knew how I wanted to set it up and use the space.  This week, I was able to make my trip to IKEA and get everything I needed to get organized, get our books and toys out of boxes, and really begin to use the room well. : ) I do still have some more things to hang on the wall, but for the most part, this is the finished product! I brought the large glass door cabinet from I

Tapestry of Grace: Year 4 Week 4

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We continued our study of World War I this week.  We really hit our stride this week.  What was taking us 3-4 hours, is now taking us 1-1.5 hours to get done.  That makes this mama happy!  Here's a look at our student's schedule each week: (this is really just a guide, and something to shoot for, it rarely happens like this!) We reviewed our states geography.  Here, we are using Legos to build different types of molecules.  Chemistry is totally fun! It takes a lot of energy to keep the little ones busy and quiet.  More energy than I have most days! But this game was a success!!! :) Luke is growing up and is really taking to the independence required by his Tapestry studies this year.  He likes to be in control of his work and gets it done quickly, though not always well.  We're working on it. : )  Kiryn does not like having her picture taken. She was also not happy about drawing a soldier.  We were so excited to go to our first Derb

Not Praising What is Not Praiseworthy

I found this digging through some old files on my computer. I think I wrote it maybe five years ago, long before I was blogging, as a note to myself.  It was an excellent reminder to me this week. I got an email from a friend and it mentioned not praising what is not praiseworthy. This friend was talking about reading People magazine and how it’s truly hypocritical.   I think what she means is she enjoys reading it, but is disgusted with what she’s reading, which is why she enjoys it. J   It struck a chord with me and caused me to consider, what do I do with my actions or words that teach my kids to praise what is not praiseworthy?   If the kids see me spending more time on my appearance each morning than I do with the Lord, it teaches my girls that beauty is more valuable than Christ, and my boys that a beautiful woman is more valuable than a spiritually deep one. If the kids observe that Paul and I would prefer to watch television or read a book *every* evening, and never

Tapestry of Grace: Year 4 Week 3

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This week we began a four week study of World War I.  I admit, I didn't really understand what this war was about, or really know very many facts about it.  I have learned a lot in my planning and preparation for this unit!  I'm so thankful that my kids will hopefully grow up with a better understanding of the events and chronology of history, how things fit together, and God's plan in it all, thanks to Tapestry! :)  We did a big fun project this week: we build a model of a trench and played trench warfare!   Our trench was not dug in the ground, but we pretended it was.  :) The kids spent several hours drawing and coloring on the inside walls. HUGE imaginations at work! Finished product: Luke's medical aid hut. Kiryn drew pictures and postcards from home on th ewall. Paul bought Luke this belt in Leh, India on a trip once, and it looks very similar to the WWI soldier belts.  Helmet and gun, not so authentic. :)  I lo