The First Cities of India

Spine:

• Story of the World, Volume I (The Ancients)
  
  • The River-Road
    
  • The Mystery of Mohenjo-Daro

Mapwork:
Cameron's

Notice the neatness with which the water is colored. It's actually only colored at all because someone decided to make the river run all the way along the coastline. I said that that wasn't accurate and that the ocean would have to be colored to correct it. I was very pleased to see how neatly that was done. You will notice that Cassia's mapwork is not shown here. That is because her picture was entirely red. Eeek.

Coloring Pages: "An Indus King"

Cameron's:


Cassia's:

Notice her typically amazing use of color.

Favorite Library Books:

1. Once a Mouse... A Fable Cut in Wood by Marcia Brown
   
2. One Grain of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale by Demi
   

Cassia's Alphabet

Cassia's first copywork. She was writing random letters so I thought I would try her out with the whole alphabet. I was really impressed with her capitals. Obviously, she's not quite ready for lower case yet.

Hammurabi and the Babylonians

Spine:

• Story of the World, Volume I (The Ancients), Chapter 7
  
  • Hammurabi's Code

Map Work:


Coloring Pages:
Cameron's

Cassia's


Crafts/Activities:
LEGO ziggurat

The Jewish People

Spine:

• Story of the World, Volume I (The Ancients), Chapter 6
  
  • God Speaks to Abraham
    
  • Joseph Goes to Egypt
  
  

Map Work:

The route from Ur to Haran to Canaan and finally to Egypt is shown.

Coloring Pages:
Cameron's:

Cassia's:

Akkadia

Spine:

• Story of the World, Volume I (the Ancients), Chapter 5
  
  • Sargon and the Akkadians
  
  

Coloring Pages:
Cameron's:

You can't tell from the scan, but the hat was very carefully colored a light peach or "flesh" color. Speaking of flesh color, before he began coloring, Cameron asked me if the people of Sumer had dark skin. I said that I wasn't sure, but I thought they did. He said, "Oh, ok. I have a brown crayon here for dark skin, but I don't think I'll use it now." He ended up not coloring the skin at all. I wonder if that is a political statement of sorts? It was, certainly, the first time he has ever mentioned skin color.

Cassia's:
(Scanner conked out! It was very red though, lol.)

Map Work:
Not interesting enough to post. ;) Just a red circle around Akkadia.

Other Activities:
*Word search on Sumerian Inventions for Cameron
*Illustrations of the list words for Cassia (click to enlarge)

Favorite Library Books:

1. Arabian Nights: Three Tales retold and illustrated by Deborah Nourse Lattimore
   
2. The Three Princes: A Tale from the Middle East retold by Eric A. Kimmel and illustrated by Leonard Everett Fisher
   
3. You Wouldn't Want to Be a Sumerian Slave! by Jacquline Morley
   

Memory Work, Fall 2007

from First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind Level 1 + 2, Lesson 35

Days of the Week
a Mother Goose rhyme adapted by Sara Buffington

Monday's child is fair of face,
Tuesday's child is full of grace;
Wednesday's child is ever so sweet,
Thursday's child is tidy and neat;
Friday's child is prone to a giggle,
Saturday's child is easy to tickle;
But the child that is born on restful Sunday
Is happy and cheerful, and loves to play.

Introduced: 11/01/07
Memorized:

----------

from First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind Level 1 + 2, Lesson 27

Hearts Are Like Doors by Anonymous

Hearts, like doors, will open with ease,
To very, very little keys,
And don't forget that two of these
Are "Thank you, sir" and "If you please!"

Introduced: 10/30/07
Memorized:

----------

from First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind Level 1 + 2, Lesson 15

Work by Anonymous

Work while you work,
Play while you play;
This is the way
To be happy each day.
All that you do,
Do with your might;
Things done by halves
Are never done right.

Introduced: 10/17/07
Memorized: 10/23/07

----------

from First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind Level 1 + 2, Lesson 2

The Caterpillar by Christina G. Rossetti

Brown and furry
Caterpillar in a hurry;
Take your walk
To the shady leaf, or stalk.

May no toad spy you,
May the little birds pass by you;
Spin and die,
To live again a butterfly.

Introduced: 10/2/07
Memorized: 10/4/07

The Old Kingdom of Egypt

Spine:

• Story of the World, Volume I (The Ancients), Chapter 4
  
  • *Making Mummies
    
  • *Egyptian Pyramids
  
  

Narrations:

Egypt's Pyramids - 10/1/07

Egypt has pyramids. The pyramids are used to hold people who are packed in sarcophoguses, called mummies. The mummies are wrapped in cloth. They thought the mummies would let them live forever.

Egypt is along the Nile river. They made mummies four thousand years ago.

Favorite Library Books

• Mummies Made in Egypt by Aliki
  
• Cat Mummies by Kelly Trumble
  

Field Trips:

• Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum and Planetarium
  
  • *Tour the museum online here.
    
  • *Read about our field trip on September 19, 2007 here.
  
  

The First Writing

Spine:

• Story of the World, Volume I (The Ancients), Chapter 3
  
  • *Hieroglyphs and Cuneiform
  
  

Favorite Library Books:

• Seeker of Knowledge: The Man who Deciphered Egyptian Hieroglyphs by James Rumford
  

Map Work:
Cameron's

Cassia's


Coloring Pages:
Cameron's

The black was an artistic thing. I'm not sure what it "means" but he actually left the room to find a black crayon. He really, really wanted that man to be black as night. He wanted to do his map work in black too but I wouldn't let him because I said that you wouldn't be able to see the map if he did!

Cassia's

Crafts:

• Cameron's name in hieroglyphic letters
  
  
• Cassia's name in cuneiform on clay (plus some happy faces)
  
  
• "Mom" in hieroglyph letters on clay (forgive the faulty autofocus)
  
  
• "Mom" in cuneiform on clay (again, forgive the faulty autofocus)
  
  

Daily Schedule - Fall 2007

As always, NOT set in stone. This is just a general guideline of what I would like to accomplish each day/week. Fall Quarter 2007 is September 21, 2007 to December 20, 2007.

MONDAY

• Spelling: Introduce week's spelling words. Do a page or two of SWO A.
  
• Math: one or more workbook exercises
  
• Phonics: one (or less, if long) lesson
  
• History: read SOTW, do accompanying map work and coloring pages
  
• Lunch
  
• PE: gymnastics
  
• Read Alouds: read more history or other books
  

TUESDAY

• Phonics: one lesson or easy reader book
  
• Math: one or more workbook exercises
  
• Grammar: one lesson from FLL
  
• Science: read science text or books or do experiments
  
• Lunch
  
• 4-H: meetings or projects two Tuesdays a month
  
• PE: ballet for Cassia
  
• Read Alouds: read more science or other books
  

WEDNESDAY

• Spelling: finish week's lesson
  
• Math: one or more workbook exercises
  
• Phonics: one (or less, if long) lesson
  
• History: read encyclopedias and library books, maybe do project
  
• Lunch
  
• Library: stop by library, pick up holds
  
• PE: park day
  
• Movie Night: watch movies - hopefully educational ;)
  

THURSDAY

• Phonics: one lesson
  
• Math: one or more workbook exercises
  
• Grammar: one lesson from FLL
  
• Lunch
  
• 4-H: projects once a month
  
• Science: read books and/or do experiment
  
• History: read library books, do project (moved from Friday)
  
• Art History: do coordinated art history project from Artistic Pursuits, when appropriate (moved from Friday)
  
• Read Alouds: catch up on what we've missed through the week
  

FRIDAY

• Spelling: test
  
• Math: one or more workbook exercises
  
• Phonics: one (or less, if long) lesson
  
• PE: park day, alternate every weeks
  
• Lunch at park
  
• History: read library books, do project
  
• Art History: do coordinated art history project from Artistic Pursuits, alternate weeks
  

Notes: I am still planning on starting First Language Lessons when we get to (at least) lesson 140 in OPGTR (which should be less than a month into the Fall Quarter) but I'm also thinking of just waiting until after Christmas to start that. I think spelling will be a big enough strain and I don't want to completely put him off of language. Also, soccer is another PE thing but that is variable, about twice a week and, of course, screws up whatever else was planned for that day. ;)

Cassia: Cassia has been rocking with schoolwork but I still can't seem to schedule it. Sometimes she does great doing her math at the same time that Cameron does his, but sometimes they both just need too much attention. Phonics she definitely needs one-on-one attention for and I do still have a hard time getting her attention for that when there are games to be played with big brother. I think it is still working best to just give her some time on the weekends when DH is home and he and Cameron are off doing "boy things." It makes it more special and really a one-on-one thing.

Notes 9/21/07: Our very favorite park day has been changed from every other week to every week so I've had to cut down on our Friday schedule. We are usually at this park day from 12 or 1 until 4 or 5 so nothing much else gets done. Yes, I know I could start earlier but how often does that really happen? ;) Also, I've decided to go ahead and start grammar. If it gets to be too much, I'll drop it or I'll drop Spelling. Twice a week of a mostly oral program shouldn't be too much.

Egyptian Gods and Temples

Spine:

• Story of the World, Volume 1 (The Ancients), Chapter 2
  
  • *Gods of Ancient Egypt
  
  

Favorite Library Books:

• Gods and Goddesses in the Daily Life of the Ancient Egyptians by Henrietta McCall
  
• Cry of the Benu Bird: An Egyptian Creation Story by C. Shana Greger
  

Crafts:

Egyptian god dolls

Osiris and Isis


Amun and Horus


Thoth and Khnum


Anubus and Seth

Egyptians Lived on the Nile

Spine:

• Story of the World, Volume 1 (The Ancients), Chapter 2
  
  • *Two Kingdoms Become One
  
  

Map Work:
Cameron's

Cassia's



Coloring Pages:
Cameron's

Cassia's

Nomads & Early Farmers

Spine:

• Story of the World, Volume I (The Ancients), Chapter 1
  
  • *The First Nomads
    
  • *The First Nomads Become Farmers
  
  

Map Work:
Cameron's

Cassia's


Coloring Pages:
Cameron's

Cassia's


Illustration (8/30/07):

"A house in Catal Huyuk."

Art: Cave Drawings 8/10/07

You Make Cave Art! from Artistic Pursuits, lesson 18 (Art in Caves: European Cave Drawings). Earth-tone pastels on crumbled construction paper.

Cameron:
Buffalo and Deer


Cassia:
Abstract Wall Design


"Teacher" example:
Man and Giraffe

Daily Schedule - Summer 2007

NOT set in stone! This is just a general outline of what I'd like to accomplish each day and in what order.

MONDAY:

• Spelling - introduce words for the week; do half of a lesson (2ish pages)
  
• Math - one lesson
  
• Phonics - one lesson
  
• lunch
  
• History - read SOTW, do map work, read encyclopedias
  
• Gymnastics - catch up time with one while the other is in class
  

TUESDAY:

• Library - get books for general and for history reading (we've generally been going to the library on Wednesdays)
  
• Phonics - do one lesson or read one reader (continuation from ballet?)
  
• Math - one lesson
  
• lunch
  
• Science - textbook, workbook, activity book, experiment, or library book
  
• Ballet - read with Cameron while Cassia is in class (HA! More like, chase Greyson while reassuring Cameron that we will be able to leave soon!)
  

WEDNESDAY:

• Spelling - do second half of lesson
  
• Phonics - one lesson
  
• Math - one lesson
  
• History - outline read Usborne Encyclopedia, read a library book
  
• lunch
  
• History - do activity
  
• Park Day - socialize ;)
  

THURSDAY:

• Phonics - do one lesson or read one reader
  
• Math - one lesson
  
• lunch
  
• Science - textbook, workbook, activity book, experiment, or library book
  
• Music/Art Appreciation - read books, look at prints, listen to music
  

FRIDAY:

• Spelling - test
  
• History - books and/or activity
  
• catch up on anything that may have been neglected during the week
  
• lunch at park, alternate weeks
  
• Art Technique - Drawing with Children or Artistic Pursuits project, weeks we're not at the park
  

*Notes: I included Spelling in this daily schedule even though I promised Cameron that we would take a spelling break over the summer. I won't start it right away, but am hoping to start it again mid-August when the public schools start up again. Grammar is going to wait until Fall (Autumnal Equinox) and I don't want to start in with both Spelling and Grammar at the same time.

One thing I did leave out of the schedule, that I know we are committed to, is soccer. That will be starting in August and will likely be one or two practices a week plus a game on Saturday. But of course, they won't tell us when or where until, oh, the day before we need to be there. I think that runs through November and then basketball starts up. We'll see how crazy soccer is, but Cam's t-ball coach swore that the Boys & Girls Club basketball is great fun and doesn't take too much time. DH, his brother, and all their cousins are big basketball players so I don't want Cameron to miss out on learning that - I'm certainly not going to teach him!

4-H is another thing that I can't schedule in just yet. The business meetings are one Tuesday a month and the project times vary - people try to keep them on one Tuesday a month though for consistency. But that may not start until September anyway, making it part of the Fall Schedule.

Field trips for next year are going to be more sporadic than this year. Our homeschool group's field trip coordinator is not planning organized bi-monthly trips again. I guess she got tired of she and I being the only ones to show up. She announced that she will notify the group of cool places she is going when they come up, but that is about it. Too bad. I will miss them. But I guess now I will be able to concentrate more on cool field trips that will correspond to our history study.

As a final note, I have to mention that I really wanted to start Cassia on OPGTR this year, but I'm not sure when I can work it in since there isn't really anything that Cameron can do independently yet. Maybe while he's in gymnastics or at soccer practice? Hopefully I'll be able to find some time each day to sit and work with her. I think she'll pick it up quickly if we just sit down and do it.

**End of Summer Notes: Funny how much I "planned" to do but never got worked into my schedule. It's not really that I never got around to these things, it's just that they never seemed "right." I love that I have been able to remain flexible enough to not stress when things don't go according to plan. I've seen way too many posts about homeschoolers just losing their marbles when their plans go awry, lol. I'm happy to keep things in motion and adaptive to our family flow. So Spelling is now slated for Fall Quarter and Grammer, maybe, Winter? I'd still like to get more Classical Music into our lives. I need to get back onto Classical Archives and download some stuff. Or maybe I just need to play the stuff we have, lol.

Art: Abstract Design Warm-Ups

from Drawing with Children

Abstract Design Warm Up, Level 1

Cameron:

Cassia:

Abstract Design Warm-Up, Level 2

Cameron:

Cassia:
"Teacher" Example, Level 2

Jenny:

To-Do List

Inspired by Trivium Academy, I have decided to blog my to-do list for the next school year. I have so many things "in progress" that I'm already forgetting where I am and what I wanted to get done. So hopefully, this will help.

Language Arts

• look through Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading and determine if we are still on track to start grammar in the summer or fall ...done
  
• look through Ordinary Parents to determine if we can/should skip anything or if we should just take a break from phonics for a while ...done
  
• take a closer look at First Language Lessons and get an idea of how fast we want to move through it ...in progress
  
• try to determine if anything else (besides reading historical fictions) will be necessary, like handwriting, additional poems to memorize, readers to explore, etc...done, and I think we're good for now. I'm just going to play it by ear.
  

Math

• order Primary Math 2A/B and Earlybird Kindergarten Math 2A/B from Singapore ...done
  
• check out Living Math to make sure we keep things fun and active
  

History

• make Master Schedule, coordinating Story of the World, Volume I, the projects I want to do in the Activity Guide, and the accompanying books that our library actually carries ...done through Babylon
  
• add websites for additional history reading and projects to Master Schedule ...in progress
  
• coordinate projects from Lentil Science into Master Schedule
  
• coordinate experiments from Mudpies to Magnets into Master Schedule ...done
  
• coordinate recipes of the times into Master Schedule
  
• coordinate sources (websites, books on hand) for examples of art into the Master Schedule ...in progress
  
• search Library Thing for books we already own that may coordinate ...in progress
  
• find lists for memorization and coordinate them into Master Schedule ...in progress
  

Art & Music

• look through Themes to Remember and decide on a game plan ...done
  
• make playlists and/or cds combining Beethoven's Wig songs, Themes to Remember themes, and complete works ...in progress
  
• look through Artistic Pursuits and decide on a game plan ...done
  
• coordinate works of art and projects from Part III of Artistic Pursuits into Master Schedule ...done
  
• buy lots of art supplies
  

Other

• buy notebooks ...done
  
• make list of project supplies needed
  
• gather project supplies
  
• input personal library into Library Thing ...done
  
• reorganize books so that ones we will be using next year are together ...done
  
• make Attendance Record ...done
  
• look through California Education Code requirements to make sure I'm not forgetting anything legally required ...done
  
• make List of Courses Offered and Faculty Qualifications for school file ...done
  
• look through State Standards for 1st grade (to laugh) ;) ...done, and we're already making a decent dent into them
  

Plans - Fall 2007

First Grade

• phonics: Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading; M, T, W, Th
  
• spelling: Spelling Workout B; M, W, F (test)
  
• grammar: First Language Lessons; T, Th
  
• math: Singapore's Primary Math 2A/B; M, T, W, Th
  
• history: Story of the World, Volume 1: The Ancients and library books; M, W, F
  
• science: Singapore's MPH Science and library books; T, Th
  
• art technique: Drawing with Children; summer
  
• art appreciation: Artistic Pursuits; F
  
• music appreciation: Themes to Remember: Volume 1 and Volume 2, library books and cds to loosely follow the Classical Magic 6-yr Schedule; F
  
• music technique: tba, possibly violin lessons; once a week
  
• PE: gymnastics, Mondays; park days, non-raining Wednesdays and alternating Fridays; soccer, basketball, TBA
  
• social studies: 4-H, varies; life ;)
  

in other words...
MONDAY: phonics, spelling, math, history, gymnastics
TUESDAY: phonics, grammar, math, science, ballet (Cassia)
WEDNESDAY: phonics, spelling, math, history, park
THURSDAY: phonics, grammar, math, science
FRIDAY: spelling test, history, music, art, make-up phonics or math, park

field trips, as needed

Preschool (K4)

• phonics: Go For the Code and Starfall, both as desired
  
• math: Singapore's Earlybird Math 2A/B, as desired
  
• handwriting: Letters and Numbers for Me with slate board, as desired
  
• listening in on: history, science, art, music, and social studies from above
  
• PE: gymnastics, Mondays; pre-ballet, Tuesdays; park days, non-raining Wednesdays and alternate Fridays
  

Daily Schedule - Winter/Spring 2007

Not that we really keep a schedule, but here is what we aim for:

Kindergarten

• phonics: Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading; 3-5 times a week, days vary
  
• spelling: Spelling Workout A; 3 times a week; workbook Mondays & Wednesdays, test Fridays taking a spelling break for a while
  
• math: Singapore's Primary Math 1B; 3 - 5 times a week, days vary
  
• science: Singapore's MPH Science 3B; 2 times a week, days vary
  
• music: Poco a poco- Notes and Rhythms; twice a month
  
• music appreciation: The Story of the Orchestra and Themes to Remember; as desired
  
• geography: Globalmania; twice a month
  
• PE: gymnastics, Thursdays; park days, non-raining Wednesdays and alternating Fridays; T-Ball, twice weekly - days vary
  
• social studies: field trip group; two Wednesdays a month
  

Preschool

• phonics: Get Set for the Code and Starfall, both as desired
  
• math: Singapore's Earlybird Math 1B, as desired
  
• handwriting: Letters and Numbers for Me with slate board, as desired
  
• music: Poco a poco- Notes and Rhythms; twice a month
  
• music appreciation: The Story of the Orchestra; as desired