Back to School
We are winding down our school break and I decided to write a short post about how we schedule our school year. This month we decided to only take the first 3 weeks off of January instead of the whole month. We school all year and that looks to us like 3 months on and one month off. This year as we struggled to school through the holidays we realized that we need to make a small change, and that will allow us to take the last 2 weeks off in December. It's really a GOOD thing to make changes often when homeschooling because dynamics change, and needs, and we all can practice being flexible.
That's not all that is changing. I have thus far followed along with the Ambleside Online curriculum pretty well to the "T". Beginning this term with 3 different grades I printed all the lesson plans for the term, 12 weeks, and began to pick and choose. What can I do with all 3 kids together... I paired down till I was no longer striving to fit it all in. I'm excited because I have a 6 year old beginning in year one, and that always gives all of us a boost of joy. We all loved the books and lessons in year one and for the most part they will be repeated. My year 4 and year 2 kids are in term 2 of their years and so I just narrowed down our History, Literature and a few others to a minimum and put up a huge History time line down the hall for us all to keep track of the people and events we read about. My year 1 kiddo has joined in on a bit of their previous years lessons, and so, I can eliminate some of her first term work add some of second term and eventually catch her right up with them. We chose not to start her in year 1 when the others started their years last term because she was not yet 6 and I felt she need a bit more time in a few areas of habit training first. (much more about habit training later!)
We will continue to do our morning time together. We rotate these five subjects and do one a day. Geography, Nature Study, Artist Study, Composer Study, Handicrafts. They are welcome to enjoy these topics all week as the particular weekly picture will be on display, as well as the particular piece of music from the composer will be played at snack times and in the car. We will have our maps out to view and nature items out to view and review as they please. Handicrafts are often picked up again and again during readings. Bible reading and discussion is done during this time daily. These next two terms we will use year 1 Bible reading schedule because it hits the main Old Testament Bible stories they are familiar with. We will have a new Hymn and also a new Folk song every 4 weeks. We review both each morning.
Picture study helps us to get to know a particular artist. We will view a new piece every two weeks and the opposite weeks they will draw from the previous week's piece. They learn the history behind the Artist and the piece, and they also get to share what they remember after studying the piece for a short time. They are able to express the way the piece makes them feel as well as what they think the artist is feeling. Some time with in that term we also listen or watch a video of an art curator or museum tour guide's description of a piece by the artist.
Well, I could just go on and on. If you'd like to hear more details about how we do other lessons, or what in particular I took out from this term's lesson plans, to make it work for us, feel free to ask in the comments below.
Have a very blessed week! We will be trusting the Lord for the very same!
That's not all that is changing. I have thus far followed along with the Ambleside Online curriculum pretty well to the "T". Beginning this term with 3 different grades I printed all the lesson plans for the term, 12 weeks, and began to pick and choose. What can I do with all 3 kids together... I paired down till I was no longer striving to fit it all in. I'm excited because I have a 6 year old beginning in year one, and that always gives all of us a boost of joy. We all loved the books and lessons in year one and for the most part they will be repeated. My year 4 and year 2 kids are in term 2 of their years and so I just narrowed down our History, Literature and a few others to a minimum and put up a huge History time line down the hall for us all to keep track of the people and events we read about. My year 1 kiddo has joined in on a bit of their previous years lessons, and so, I can eliminate some of her first term work add some of second term and eventually catch her right up with them. We chose not to start her in year 1 when the others started their years last term because she was not yet 6 and I felt she need a bit more time in a few areas of habit training first. (much more about habit training later!)
We will continue to do our morning time together. We rotate these five subjects and do one a day. Geography, Nature Study, Artist Study, Composer Study, Handicrafts. They are welcome to enjoy these topics all week as the particular weekly picture will be on display, as well as the particular piece of music from the composer will be played at snack times and in the car. We will have our maps out to view and nature items out to view and review as they please. Handicrafts are often picked up again and again during readings. Bible reading and discussion is done during this time daily. These next two terms we will use year 1 Bible reading schedule because it hits the main Old Testament Bible stories they are familiar with. We will have a new Hymn and also a new Folk song every 4 weeks. We review both each morning.
Picture study helps us to get to know a particular artist. We will view a new piece every two weeks and the opposite weeks they will draw from the previous week's piece. They learn the history behind the Artist and the piece, and they also get to share what they remember after studying the piece for a short time. They are able to express the way the piece makes them feel as well as what they think the artist is feeling. Some time with in that term we also listen or watch a video of an art curator or museum tour guide's description of a piece by the artist.
Well, I could just go on and on. If you'd like to hear more details about how we do other lessons, or what in particular I took out from this term's lesson plans, to make it work for us, feel free to ask in the comments below.
Have a very blessed week! We will be trusting the Lord for the very same!
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