Homeschool Me!

Archive for the ‘Our Curriculum’ Category


Posted on December 14, 2009 - by Kay

Year 1: Week 14

(December 14 – 18, 2009)
Our school week will see the heavier loads on Tuesdays and Thursdays, as those are the days that ds is at Mother’s Day Out so that dd and I have less interruptions. Each activity is designed to take only 10-15 minutes at the most as this is one of the defining characteristics of a Charlotte Mason approach to education.

*Please feel free to leave your comments or questions below. I always love learning from other people!*

Planning Day

  • Poetry – Free Reading:

    Amazing Peace, by Maya Angelou.

    Gorgeous book. Gorgeous illustrations. Gorgeous poetry – like I expected anything less from Ms. Angelou. This Christmas poem was written for the 2005 White House Tree Lighting ceremony and celebrates the promise of peace in the holiday season.

    As a side note, the book we checked out also included a CD of Ms. Angelou reading her own poem. I’m generally a fan of listening to authors read their own work; however, this particular rendition didn’t do it for me. I’m not sure she had the book in front of her while she was reading, because there are several pages of the book that you have to flip through quite quickly in order to keep up with her pace. Because of that, I feel like we missed out on some of the beauty of the poem and the illustrations of the book. We’ll read it again, more slowly to enjoy the message of the poem and stare a little longer at the detailed illustrations.

School Day

  • To Start: Pledge/Calendar/Weather
  • Reading Log: Record non-school books Kate’s read for the reading program called Book It!.
  • Memory Work: “God became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.” John 1:14 (My mix of The Message and NLT)
  • Spirituality: “He’s Here” (Birth of Jesus), The Jesus Storybook Bible, pgs 176-183.
  • Language Arts: Learn some of the parts of speech (noun, verb, adjective). Do an online madlib together.
  • History:
  • Literature: “A Raven and a Swan”, from Aesop’s Fables (Milo Winter Edition).
  • Geography:
    • Chapter 11 of Paddle to the Sea, by Holling C. Holling.
    • Fill in another square of our Paddle to the Sea Story Board with a picture depicting this chapter and a one sentence summary on the back.
  • Math:
    • Read Money Madness, by David Adler.
    • Discuss the ideas of bartering and how money came into being.
  • Poetry: Selected Poems from A Child’s Garden of Verses, by Robert Louis Stevenson. (during Tea Time.)

Library Day

  • Literature – Free Reading:
    The Princess Who had Almost Everything, by Mireille Levert.

    A book about a princess who is constantly bored. Finally her parents offer her hand in marriage to the prince who can keep her attention and amuse her. The prince who wins her hand was most clever, indeed. But, I won’t spoil the ending by telling you how he does it. :)
    Needless to say, this would be a fun book to read if your little one has been complaining of boredom recently. Who knows, it might even give them an idea or two to try for themselves…

School Day

Field Trips/Nature Study

  • Literature – Free Reading:

    Gaston, the Green-Nosed Alligator, by James Rice.

    A fun, Cajun rendition of the Rudolph story only with an alligator. This book has been in my family since I was a little girl since both my parents are from Louisiana. So fun to find eccentric Christmas stories instead of the same ones over and over. :)


Posted on December 11, 2009 - by Kay

Year 1: Week 13

(December 7 – 11, 2009)
Our school week will see the heavier loads on Tuesdays and Thursdays, as those are the days that ds is at Mother’s Day Out so that dd and I have less interruptions. Each activity is designed to take only 10-15 minutes at the most as this is one of the defining characteristics of a Charlotte Mason approach to education.

*Please feel free to leave your comments or questions below. I always love learning from other people!*

Planning Day

  • Literature – Free Reading:

    Ginger and Petunia, by Patricia Polacco.

    Cute book about a pig who takes on the persona of her owner who is away on vacation for a few days. A bit wordy for my 3 and 4 year old, my 6 year old was entranced by the descriptions of all the funny things that Petunia the Pig did in her owner’s stead.

School Day

    Library Day

    • Science – Free Reading:
      The Bizarre Body, by Katharine Kenah.

      A great beginning reader about the body. Interesting facts about the eyes, heart, finger nails, etc. The kids have loved digging into this book and then looking at eachother’s fingernails and eyes to see what the book is talking about.

    School Day

    Field Trips/Nature Study

    • Handicrafts:

      Project of the Month Club, a unique website that delivers craft, woodworking, and science projects to your door, sent me a couple of products to try out and blog about on this site and my other site The Mommy Journal. We have a stepstool and a tissue box cover to choose from for our craft today. If you’re interested in joining the club, be sure to enter the promo code “homeschoolme” for a 10% discount. Check back on this site for my blog article after we attempt this craft, too. Should be fun!


    Posted on November 13, 2009 - by Kay

    Year 1: Week 11

    (November 9 – 13, 2009)
    Our school week will see the heavier loads on Tuesdays and Thursdays, as those are the days that ds is at Mother’s Day Out so that dd and I have less interruptions. Each activity is designed to take only 10-15 minutes at the most as this is one of the defining characteristics of a Charlotte Mason approach to education.

    *Please feel free to leave your comments or questions below. I always love learning from other people!*

    Planning Day

    • Science – Free Reading:

      Voyage Ocean, by John Woodward.

      Another non-fiction book we picked up at our local library. The kids loved looking at all the incredible pictures of ocean life, the sea floor, underwater volcanoes, and so much more. To add to the fun, this book is actually a circular book that is contained in it’s own circular box and each circle page is devoted to a different animal or topic. The verbaige was over their heads for sure, but the pictures were excellent.

    School Day

    Library Day

    • Handicrafts – Free Reading:
      Ed Emberleys Fingerprint Drawing Book, by Ed Emberley.

      Another of Kate’s picks. She so enjoys any kind of artwork, that this was totally up her alley. Of course, we already love Ed Emberley’s stuff because it is so simple to follow his step-by-step drawing instructions. Perfect for a beginner, or a non-artist who can only draw circles and lines like myself. :)

    School Day

    Field Trips/Nature Study

    • Literature – Free Reading:

      Nuts to You, by Lois Ehlert.

      Another of our favorite authors, Lois Ehlert doesn’t disappoint. The art is amazing as usual and the adorable story about a squirrel and his nut definitely makes the kiddos smile.


    Posted on November 6, 2009 - by Kay

    Year 1: Week 10

    (November 2 – 6, 2009)
    Our school week will see the heavier loads on Tuesdays and Thursdays, as those are the days that ds is at Mother’s Day Out so that dd and I have less interruptions. Each activity is designed to take only 10-15 minutes at the most as this is one of the defining characteristics of a Charlotte Mason approach to education.

    *Please feel free to leave your comments or questions below. I always love learning from other people!*

    Planning Day

    • Science – Free Reading:

      The Digestive System, by Christine Taylor-Butler.

      Every time we go to the library, I encourage my kids to check out at least one or two non-fiction books to encourage their natural curiosity about things other than story books. This past week, both Ethan (my 4yo ds), and Kate picked out a book about the digestive system. This series of books also includes the other body systems (circulatory, skeletal, etc). The information is laid out in easy 1-2 page ‘chapters’ on different topics. The ‘chapter’ we read was about burping. Of course, my ds was completely enthralled! That’s one of his favorite things to talk about! :)

    School Day

    Library Day

    School Day

    • To Start: Pledge/Calendar/Weather
    • Reading Log: We’ve started a reading program called Book It!, where Kate sets a monthly goal of how much she wants to read (either pages, time, or number of books). At the end of the month, if she’s reached her goal, she gets a coupon to Pizza Hut for a free personal sized pizza. She’s set a goal for November of 20 non-school books.
    • Memory Work: “Be thankful in all circumstances,for this is the way God wants you to live.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18.(My mash up of NLT and The Message.)
    • Spirituality: Kate wanted to read about another ‘amazing person’ today and chose “Black Elk”, from Ten Amazing People: And How They Changed the World, by Maura D. Shaw.
    • Geography:
      • Chapter 9 of Paddle to the Sea, by Holling C. Holling.
      • Fill in another square of our Paddle to the Sea Story Board with a picture depicting this chapter and a one sentence summary on the back.
    • History:
    • Literature: “How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin”, from Just So Stories, by Rudyard Kipling.
    • Math: Read The Coin Counting Book, by Rozanne Lanczak Williams.

      Great introduction to the concept of money/coins. Covers ALL the denominations including half dollars and dollar coins, too. Love the photography, too, as it’s not all of just one side of the coin. It shows both sides of the coin, and almost never is it shown straight up and down. Great way to help kids recognize coins from any different angle.

    Field Trips/Nature Study

    • Literature – Free Reading:

      Ignis, by Gina Wilson.
      A story of a little dragon who can’t find his flame, Ignis goes on a quest to find out who he really is, since he can’t be a real dragon without fire! As he discovers who he’s not, he’s reminded that his flame can be found inside. A happy ending allows for a great discussion with kiddos about finding their true passion or true self inside.

    Posted on October 30, 2009 - by Kay

    Year 1: Week 9

    (October 26 – October 30, 2009)
    Our school week will see the heavier loads on Tuesdays and Thursdays, as those are the days that ds is at Mother’s Day Out so that dd and I have less interruptions. Each activity is designed to take only 10-15 minutes at the most as this is one of the defining characteristics of a Charlotte Mason approach to education.

    *Please feel free to leave your comments or questions below. I always love learning from other people!*

    Planning Day

    • Literature – Free Reading:
      Swimmy, by Leo Leonni.
      We love Leonni books, and this is no exception. Kate was really intrigued by the illustration style – he used sponges cut in different shapes to paint with. Would be great to do a craft with sponge painting along with this book!

    School Day

    • Here’s where I tell you one of the things that I love about homeschooling…

      FLEXIBILITY.

      It turns out that we had company coming over this week and we REALLY needed a solid day of cleaning to make the house presentable again. So, instead of stressing about school today and trying to figure out how to fit in the ‘normal’ schoolwork with a full day of cleaning, I decided to put off until Thursday all of our ‘formal’ schoolwork and just allow today to be a day of learning about how to clean a house. Kate was a real trooper and really did help most of the day, doing dishes, picking up toys, and putting away laundry. The way I see it, she will be living on her own someday and need to have her own cleaning skills honed by then. :) So, today, was one of those days…
    • Literature – Free Reading: Nobody Laughs at a Lion, by Paul Bright and Matt Buckingham. (Really cute book about a lion trying to find what he’s best at. Great way to teach that we all have unique strengths and differences and that just because someone might be better than us in one area, doesn’t mean we don’t have our own unique thing, too.)
    • Science: Watch Sid the Science Kid: The Bug Club DVD during nap time.

    Library Day

    • Literature – Free Reading:
      Mars Needs Moms, by Berkeley Breathed.
      Do any little children truly appreciate their mothers? This book reminds us all what moms are really good at and why we should appreciate what we have. Because on Mars, they don’t have Moms, they grow like potatoes from the ground… So sweet.

    School Day

    • To Start: Pledge/Calendar/Weather
    • Reading Log: We’ve started a reading program called Book It!, where Kate sets a monthly goal of how much she wants to read (either pages, time, or number of books). At the end of the month, if she’s reached her goal, she gets a coupon to Pizza Hut for a free personal sized pizza. She’s set a goal for November of 20 non-school books.
    • Memory Work: “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”Phillipians 4:8 (NLT)
    • Bible: Adam and Eve’s First Sunset, by Sandy Eisenberg Sasso.
    • Literature: “The Farmer and the Stork”, from Aesop’s Fables (Milo Winter Edition).
    • Geography:
      • Chapter 8 of Paddle to the Sea, by Holling C. Holling.
      • Fill in another square of our Paddle to the Sea Story Board with a picture depicting this chapter and a one sentence summary on the back.
    • Natural History: A Tree is Nice, by Janice May Udry.
      • Complete “How We Use Trees” mini-book.
      • Discuss and diagram the Oxygen–>Carbon Dioxide Cycle between plants and animals.
    • Literature: “How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin” from Just So Stories, by Rudyard Kipling.
    • Foreign Language: Watch Signing Time!: My Favorite Things DVD during nap time.

    Field Trips/Nature Study

    • Literature – Free Reading:
      Tortoise and the Hare Race Again, by Dan Bernstein.
      “Ever since the lazy hare lost The Great Race, he has had trouble getting any kind of respect… Meanwhile, the champion tortoise is sorry he ever beat the hare. He can’t stand all the attention, and wants to go back to his quiet life at the shell station… This hilarious send-up of Aesop’s fable is filled with high jinks and pun fun.”

    Posted on October 23, 2009 - by Kay

    Year 1: Week 8

    (October 19 – October 23, 2009)
    Our school week will see the heavier loads on Tuesdays and Thursdays, as those are the days that ds is at Mother’s Day Out so that dd and I have less interruptions. Each activity is designed to take only 10-15 minutes at the most as this is one of the defining characteristics of a Charlotte Mason approach to education.

    *Please feel free to leave your comments or questions below. I always love learning from other people!*

    Planning Day

    • Literature – Free Reading: Old Macdonald Had An Apartment House, by Judi Barrett. (Cute story about Old MacDonald as the Super of an apartment building. As his tenants move out, he uses their old apartments to plant vegetables. Great use of imagination as the carrots grow down through the ceiling of the apartment below, etc…)

    School Day

    • To Start: Pledge/Calendar/Weather
    • Natural History: Record our observations of the Monarch caterpillars we’re rearing.
    • Memory Work: “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” Phillipians 4:8 (NLT)
    • Nature Study: We are starting a tree lapbook and will work on it a little bit at a time over the next 2-4 weeks. If you’d like to know more, check out my post about lapbooking.
    • Go to a local park with lots of different kinds of trees.
  • Copywork: I found this beautiful poem about trees and thought it fitting for our lapbook on trees.
    • Breath by: J. Daniel Beaudry
      Tree, gather up my thoughts
      like the clouds in your branches.
      Draw up my soul
      like the waters in your root.

      In the arteries of your trunk
      bring me together.
      Through your leaves
      breathe out the sky.

    • Library Day

    • Phonics – Additional Reading: NASCAR ABCs, by Paul Dubois Jacobs and Jennifer Swender. (Most ABC books aren’t all that great, but this one was perfect for my 4yo ds who loves race cars! It didn’t try to dumb all the words down, but used real terms (with a glossary at the back for those of us who didn’t know them all). Fun book!)

    School Day

    Field Trips/Nature Study

    • Literature – Free Reading: Elmer and the Lost Teddy, by David McKee. While we love Elmer stories – Elmer is a special multi-colored elephant that stands out amongst all his other elephant friends – this one wasn’t really our favorite.

    Posted on October 15, 2009 - by Kay

    Year 1: Week 7

    (October 12 – October 16, 2009)
    Our school week will see the heavier loads on Tuesdays and Thursdays, as those are the days that ds is at Mother’s Day Out so that dd and I have less interruptions. Each activity is designed to take only 10-15 minutes at the most as this is one of the defining characteristics of a Charlotte Mason approach to education.

    *Please feel free to leave your comments or questions below. I always love learning from other people!*

    Planning Day

    • Music Appreciation – Free Reading: Zin! Zin! Zin! a Violin, by Lloyd Moss. (Another Caldecott Winner – we seem to be on a kick with those lately. This one is about the different instruments of the orchestra – beautifully descriptive phrases about each highlighted instrument makes you almost hear the instrument. Great introduction to the different sections of the orchestra.)

    School Day

    • To Start: Pledge/Calendar/Weather
    • Natural History: Record our observations of the Monarch caterpillars we’re rearing.
    • Memory Work: “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” Phillipians 4:8 (NLT)
    • Bible: “The Young Hero and the Horrible Giant” (David and Goliath), from The Jesus Storybook Bible, by Sally Lloyd-Jones, pgs 122-129.
    • Phonics: Review Short Vowel Sounds, idea from Better Phonics and Beyond in 5 Minutes a Day, by Lisa Deters, pg 9.
      • Fill in the vowel sound for each of the following words: “a” words: b_t, t_p, p_n; “e” words: h_n, n_t, b_lt; “i” words: w_n, p_g, sw_m; “o” words: d_g, kn_ck, p_t; “u” words: c_b, r_n, t_b
      • Read the words aloud being to sure to correctly pronounce the short vowel.
      • Place each complete word in a chart under the correct category of “things you can do”, “kinds of animals”, and “things you can use”. Can any words be used in more than one column?
    • World History:
    • Literature: “The Lion and the Mouse”, Aesop’s Fables (Milo Winter Edition).(Also found online here.)
    • Math: Place Value – watch this video, then do pg 184 in Brain Quest Grade 1 Workbook, by Lisa Trumbauer.

    • Geography:
      • Chapter 6 of Paddle to the Sea, by Holling C. Holling.
      • Fill in another square of our Paddle to the Sea Story Board with a picture depicting this chapter and a one sentence summary on the back.
    • Poetry: “Looking Forward” and “A Good Play”, from A Child’s Garden of Verses, by Robert Louis Stevenson. (during Tea Time)

    Library Day

    • History – Additional Reading: Pocahontas, by Ingri and Edgar Parin d’Aulaire. (One of the “Additional Readings” suggested by AmblesideOnline.org for Year 1.)

    School Day

    • To Start: Pledge/Calendar/Weather
    • Natural History: Record our observations of the Monarch caterpillars we’re rearing.
    • Memory Work: “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”Phillipians 4:8 (NLT)
    • Literature: “Shepherd Boy and the Wolf”, from Aesop’s Fables (Milo Winter Edition).
    • Literature:
      • Read “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, from Tales from Shakespeare, by Charles and Mary Lamb.
      • Use barbie dolls, puppets, and stuffed animals to ‘act out’ the story as we read along. There are too many characters with unfamiliar names in this story to be able to read it off the page alone. Following along with the puppets and barbies, Kate was actually able to understand the story and then retell the major points after we were finished reading.
    • Math: Place Value, from Brain Quest Workbook: Grade 1, by Lisa Trumbauer, pgs 185-188.
    • Phonics: Digraph ‘ch’, from Brain Quest Workbook: Grade 1, by Lisa Trumbauer, pgs 23.
    • History:
    • Natural History: Dot & Jabber and the Great Acorn Mystery, by Ellen Stoll Walsh. (during Tea Time)
    • Composer Study – Free Reading: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Mozart Finds a Melody, by Stephen Costanza. (during nap time.)

    Field Trips/Nature Study

    • Nature Study: Nature walk at the park across the street from Mercer Arboretum.
    • Math – Free Reading: Bean Thirteen, by Matthew McElligott. This cute little book about 2 bugs and their quandry over what to do with the ‘unlucky’ bean thirteen is quite cute and has some great math concepts incorporated, too.

    Posted on October 6, 2009 - by Kay

    Shape Shooters

    Kate the "Shape Shooter"I got this idea from 100 Best Ideas for Primary Math, by Holly Sar Dye, M.A., to take Kate for a walk around the neighborhood. During our walk I encouraged her to look for different shapes and to take pictures of those objects for us to look at later. We would be “Shape Shooters” – shooting pictures of shapes on our walk. (Clever, I know…) I asked her to look for at least one circle, rectangle, square, triangle, diamond, oval, and octagon.

    I was pleasantly surprised at how much fun this activity was and how easy it was to find all sorts of shapes just on our cul-de-sac. I even brought along my husband’s fancy camera so I could shoot a few with her and really enjoyed shooting completely different subjects than I normally do.

    We took quite a few of the shots during our 15 minute walk. It would have been a MUCH longer walk if we hadn’t needed to get back quickly to eat lunch! Kate didn’t want to come back!
    (Continue reading this article…)


    Posted on October 6, 2009 - by Kay

    Year 1: Week 6

    (October 5 – October 9, 2009)
    Our school week will see the heavier loads on Tuesdays and Thursdays, as those are the days that ds is at Mother’s Day Out so that dd and I have less interruptions. Each activity is designed to take only 10-15 minutes at the most as this is one of the defining characteristics of a Charlotte Mason approach to education.

    *Please feel free to leave your comments or questions below. I always love learning from other people!*

    Planning Day

    • Literature – Free Reading: The Twelve Dancing Princesses, by Marianna Mayer. (Beautifully illustrated version of this old story. Different from the ‘Barbie’ telling, this one has a little more depth of the characters and plot differences. Beautiful language used also. Definitely for kids with a little longer attention span.)

    School Day

    • To Start: Pledge/Calendar/Weather
    • Natural History: Record our observations of the Monarch caterpillars we’re rearing.
    • Memory Work: “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” Phillipians 4:8 (NLT)
    • Copywork: “There is no woman in Rome so much like a queen as our own dear mother.” (from Cornelia’s Jewels in the History lesson below.)
    • Bible:
    • History:
    • Literature: “The Boy and the Filberts”, Aesop’s Fables (Milo Winter Edition).(Also found online here.)
    • Math: Shapes – Go for a ’shape walk’ around the neighborhood. Take a camera on the walk and have Kate take pictures of the different shapes that she finds on our walk. Look for at least one circle, rectangle, square, triangle, diamond, oval, and octagon. (Read my post about being “Shape Shooters” for more details.) **This idea is from 100 Best Ideas for Primary Math, by Holly Sar Dye, M.A.
    • Phonics: Ending consonant sounds (l or ll and s or ss), from Brain Quest Grade 1 Workbook, by Lisa Trumbauer, pg 21.
    • Science: Can air help things float?, from How Does a Ship Float, by Jim Pipe.
    • Poetry: “The Average Hippopotamus”, from Be Glad Your Nose is on Your Face, by Jack Prelutsky. (during Tea Time)

    Library Day

    • Natural History – Free Reading: A Mama for Owen, by Marion Dane Bauer. (Another book about Owen and Mzee and their incredible friendship. Beautiful drawings lend a soft tone to this book and the telling of the story is very sweet.)

    School Day

    Field Trips/Nature Study

    • Literature – Free Reading: There, by Mary-Louise Fitzpatrick.

    Posted on September 28, 2009 - by Kay

    Year 1: Week 5

    (September 28 – October 2, 2009)
    Our school week will see the heavier loads on Tuesdays and Thursdays, as those are the days that ds is at Mother’s Day Out so that dd and I have less interruptions. Each activity is designed to take only 10-15 minutes at the most as this is one of the defining characteristics of a Charlotte Mason approach to education.

    *Please feel free to leave your comments or questions below. I always love learning from other people!*

    Planning Day

    • Literature – Free Reading: The Three Little Pigs, by David Wiesner. (Caldecott Winner that starts off with the traditional story. Then, as each little pig gets “huffed and puffed” right off the page of the story, the explore other stories. In the end they return to their own story, with a few new friends, and a different happy ending. Great book for teaching kids that they can change their own “story” in life by having a different perspective.)

    School Day

    Library Day

    • Poetry – Free Reading: Please Bury Me in the Library, by J. Patrick Lewis. (Book of poems about language, books, and libraries. Fun way to introduce all sorts of different types of poetry. Very cleverly written and illustrated,too.)

    School Day

    Field Trips/Nature Study

    • Nature Study: Go for a nature walk through our neighborhood. Collect pine cones, acorns, etc…
    • Handiwork: Make a pinecone votive.