Posts Tagged ‘Year 1’
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:
- “The Black Douglas”, from Fifty Famous Stories Retold, by James Baldwin.
- Add this story to the timeline in our Book of Centuries.
- 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
- 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)
- Language Arts: Learn some of the parts of speech (noun, verb, adjective). Do another online madlib together.
- World History:
- “The Story of the Coming of Hengist and Horsa”, from Our Island Story
- Add this story to the timeline in our Book of Centuries.
- Literature: “The Two Goats”, from Aesop’s Fables (Milo Winter Edition).
- Artist Study: Enjoy Sargent’s protrait of The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit and story included.
- Literature: “The Elephant’s Child”, from Just So Stories, by Rudyard Kipling.
- Math: Print out “A Penny for Your Thoughts” worksheet. Have Kate write (or dictate) a story that includes money in whatever way she’d like.
- Poetry: Selected Poems from A Child’s Garden of Verses, by Robert Louis Stevenson. (during Tea Time.)
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
- 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: “Albert Schweitzer” Ten Amazing People: And How They Changed the World, by Maura D. Shaw.
- History:
- “Bruce and the Spider”, from Fifty Famous Stories Retold, by James Baldwin.
- Add this story to the timeline in our Book of Centuries.
- Add this story to the timeline in our Book of Centuries.
- Literature: “The Ants and the Grasshopper”, from Aesop’s Fables (Milo Winter Edition).
- Math: Time: Half Past, from Hello Kitty Learning Workbook: Time and Money, pgs 4-5.
- Natural History: An Old Friend in a New Home, from The Burgess Bird Book, by Thornton Burgess.
- Phonics: Long Vowel E (ea, ee), from Phonics: Grade 1, by The Clever Factory, pgs 13.
- Literature: “Beauty and the Beast”, from The Blue Fairy Book, edited by Andrew Lang
- Poetry: Selected Poems from A Child’s Garden of Verses, by Robert Louis Stevenson. (during Tea Time.)
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
- 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)
- Phonics: Long Vowel E (ea, ee), from Barbie Phonics, by Bendon Publishing, pgs 12-13.
- World History:
- “Vortigern and King Constans”, from Our Island Story
- Add this story to the timeline in our Book of Centuries.
- Literature: “The Ass Carrying the Image”, from Aesop’s Fables (Milo Winter Edition).
- Math: When It’s Six O’Clock in San Fransisco, by Cynthia Jaynes Omololu.
- Geography:
- Chapter 10 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.
- Artist Study: Introduce the new artist for Term 2: John Singer Sargent.
- Read bits of his biography here.
- Enjoy Sargent’s protrait of Robert Louis Stevenson before reading some of Stevenson’s poetry.
- Poetry: Selected Poems from A Child’s Garden of Verses, by Robert Louis Stevenson. (during Tea Time.)
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
- To Start: Pledge/Calendar/Weather
- Reading Log: Record non-school books Kate’s read for the reading program called Book It!.
- 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: “Dorothy Day” Ten Amazing People: And How They Changed the World, by Maura D. Shaw.
- World History:
- “The Story of William Tell”, from Our Island Story
- Add this story to the timeline in our Book of Centuries.
- Nature Study: Read more from Tell Me, Tree, by Gail Gibbons.
- Complete How Trees Make and Store Food mini-book for our lapbook on trees.
- Literature: “The Boy and the Frogs”, from Aesop’s Fables (Milo Winter Edition).
- Math: Pennies, Nickels, Dimes and Quarters, from Brain Quest Workbook: Grade 1, by Lisa Trumbauer, pgs 252-255.
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
- 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.)
- World History:
- “The Last of the Romans”, from Our Island Story
- Add this story to the timeline in our Book of Centuries.
- Literature: “The Crow and the Pitcher”, from Aesop’s Fables (Milo Winter Edition).
- Math: Value of Coins and Counting Money, from Hello Kitty Learning Workbook: Time and Money, pgs 20-22.
- American History:
- Start reading Benjamin Franklin, by Ingri and Edgar D’Aulaire.
- Add Benjamin Franklin to the timeline in our Book of Centuries.
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
- **NOTE** We are making up for lost time last week (see Tuesday’s post about FLEXIBILITY), so today’s work load is pretty tough. This is normally WAY too much for one day, but we wound up making it actually work.
- To Start: Pledge/Calendar/Weather
- Reading Log: Record non-school books Kate’s read for the reading program called Book It!.
- 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: “Mother Teresa” Ten Amazing People: And How They Changed the World, by Maura D. Shaw.
- World History:
- “The Story of a Warrior Queen”, from Our Island Story
- Add this story to the timeline in our Book of Centuries.
- Phonics: Nouns (person, place or thing fill-in-the-blank), from Brain Quest Workbook: Grade 1, by Lisa Trumbauer, pgs 96-97.
- History:
- “Androclus and the Lion”, from Fifty Famous Stories Retold, by James Baldwin.
- Add this story to the timeline in our Book of Centuries.
- Nature Study: Read more from Tell Me, Tree, by Gail Gibbons.
- Complete Seeds, Parts of a Trunk, and Roots mini-books for our lapbook on trees.
- Literature: “The Farmer and the Stork”, from Aesop’s Fables (Milo Winter Edition).
- Literature (during nap time):
- Read “The Tempest”, 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 Shakespeare’s stories 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.
Library Day
- Nature Study – Free Reading:
The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds: A Book About How Living Things Grow, by Joanna Cole.
Kate actually picked out this book to go along with our lapbook learning about trees. She LOVES Magic School Bus Books and actually chose to read this out loud to her brother and sister during Tea Time today.
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:
- “King Alfred and the Beggar”, from Fifty Famous Stories Retold, by James Baldwin.
- Add this story to the timeline in our Book of Centuries.
- 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
Copywork: I found this beautiful poem about trees and thought it fitting for our lapbook on trees.
- 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.
- Pick out 3 trees to observe more closely.
- Using one of these blank mini-books, make a bark rubbing.
- Then collect 1-2 leaves from that same tree to paste onto another flap of the same book. Or make a leaf rubbing (same technique as a bark rubbing above).
- Draw a picture of the tree on a third flap of the same book.
- Optional: Collect or draw a seed from the same tree. You can use this “Tree I.D.” book which has a flap for seeds included.
- Using those clues collected above, try to identify that tree.
- Repeat the same steps above for the other 2 trees you’ve chosen to observe.
- Read The Oak Inside the Acorn, by Max Lucado. This book is a beautiful story that incorporates the story of a little girl growing up into the life cycle of an oak tree.
- Fill in the “Life Cycle of an Oak Tree” mini-book.
- Collect acorns for our Fall Centerpiece for the dining table.
- Learn about Conifers and Broad-Leaved (deciduous) trees. We are using Tell Me, Tree: All About Trees for Kids, by Gail Gibbons.
- Add definitions to “Vocabulary” accordion book.
- Complete “Types of Trees” flap book.
- Add information we’ve learned so far about the differences and similarities of coniferous and deciduous trees to the “Comparing Trees” venn diagram.
- Pick out 3 trees to observe more closely.
- 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
- 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 Good Shepherd” (Psalm 23), from The Jesus Storybook Bible, by Sally Lloyd-Jones, pgs 130-135.
- Literature: “The Gnat and the Bull”, from Aesop’s Fables (Milo Winter Edition).
- Literature: “The Plane Tree”, from Aesop’s Fables (Milo Winter Edition).
- History:
- “Cincinnatus”, from Fifty Famous Stories Retold, by James Baldwin.
- Add this story to the timeline in our Book of Centuries.
- Math: Place Value Abacus Chips Lesson from 100 Best Ideas for Primary Math, by Holly Sar Dye, M.A.
- 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.
- Natural History: “Reddy Fox’s Sudden Engagement”, from Animal Tales, by Thornton Burgess. (during Tea Time)
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:
- “How Caligula Conquered Britain”, from Our Island Story
- Add this story to the timeline in our Book of Centuries.
- 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:
- “Horatius at the Bridge”, from Fifty Famous Stories Retold, by James Baldwin.
- Add this story to the timeline in our Book of Centuries.
- 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
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:
- “The Teeny, Weenie True King” (Samuel annoints David), from The Jesus Storybook Bible, by Sally Lloyd-Jones, pgs 116-121.
- Add King David to the timeline (1000-960 BC) in our Book of Centuries.
- History:
- “Cornelia’s Jewels”, from Fifty Famous Stories Retold, by James Baldwin.
- Add this story to the timeline in our Book of Centuries.
- 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
- 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)
- Geography: Chapter 5 of Paddle to the Sea, by Holling C. Holling.
- Artist Study: Raphael Sanzio: Peruse different paintings and accompanying explorations in Raphael (Art for Children), by Ernest Raboff.
- Natural History: Chippy, Sweetvoice, and Dotty, from The Burgess Bird Book, by Thornton Burgess.
- Math: Practice making shapes using rubber bands on a geoboard.
- Literature: “Hercules and the Wagoner”, Aesop’s Fables (Milo Winter Edition).
- Phonics: Compound words, in Grade 1 Phonics educational workbook, pgs 22-23.
- Literature: “Felicia and the Pot of Pinks”, from The Blue Fairy Book, edited by Andrew Lang.
- Poetry: “Please Bury Me in the Library”, from Please Bury Me in the Library, by J. Patrick Lewis. (during Tea Time)
- Foreign Language: Watch Signing Time!: My Neighborhood DVD during nap time.
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
- 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: “In unity is strength.”
- Bible: “God to the Rescue” (Moses and Pharoah), The Jesus Storybook Bible, by Sally Lloyd-Jones, pgs 84-91.
- History:
- “The Story of Regulus”, from Fifty Famous Stories Retold.
- Add this story to the timeline in our Book of Centuries.
- Phonics: Ending consonants sounds, from Brain Quest Grade 1 Workbook, by Lisa Trumbauer, pgs 18-19.
- Literature: “How the Camel Got His Hump” from Just So Stories, by Rudyard Kipling.
- Math: Skip counting by 5s and 10s, from Brain Quest Grade 1 Workbook, by Lisa Trumbauer, pgs 181-183.
- Literature: “The Fox and the Grapes”, Aesop’s Fables (Milo Winter Edition).(Also found online here.)
- Natural History: Only One Woof, from James Herriott’s Treasure for Children: Warm and Joyful Tales.
- Poetry: “I Put Out the Clock”, Be Glad Your Nose is on Your Face, by Jack Prelutsky. (during Tea Time)
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
- 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)
- World History:
- “The Romans Come Again”, from Our Island Story
- Add this story to the timeline in our Book of Centuries.
- Artist Study: Raphael Sanzio: Peruse different paintings and accompanying explorations in Raphael (Art for Children), by Ernest Raboff.
- Math: Practice skip counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s using beans or m&ms.
- Nature Study: Owen & Mzee : the language of friendship, by Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff and Dr. Paula Kahumbu.
- Literature: “The Bundle of Sticks”, Aesop’s Fables (Milo Winter Edition).
- Phonics: Using the picture cards in Phonemic Awareness Activities for Early Reading Success (pgs 28-29), by Wiley Blevins, associate words that end with the same consonants.
- Literature: “The Law of Authority and Obedience”, from Parables from Nature, by Mrs. Alfred Gatty.
- Poetry: “Be Glad Your Nose is on Your Face”, from Be Glad Your Nose is on Your Face, by Jack Prelutsky. (during Tea Time)
Field Trips/Nature Study
- Nature Study: Go for a nature walk through our neighborhood. Collect pine cones, acorns, etc…
- Handiwork: Make a pinecone votive.
Posted on September 21, 2009 - by Kay
Year 1: Week 4
(September 21-25, 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: Dear Mr. Rosenwald, by Carole Boston Weatherford.
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: Start on the first sentence of our Memory Work passage.
- Bible: “The Forgiving Prince” (Joseph), The Jesus Storybook Bible, by Sally Lloyd-Jones, pgs 76-83.
- History:
- “Alexander and Bucephelas”, from Fifty Famous Stories Retold.
- Add this story to the timeline in our Book of Centuries.
- Phonics: Hard or Soft “G” and “C”, from Brain Quest Grade 1 Workbook, by Lisa Trumbauer, pgs 16-17.
- Math: From Brain Quest Grade 1 Workbook, by Lisa Trumbauer:
- Counting to 100, pg 178.
- Skip counting by 2s, pgs 179-180.
- Literature: “The Kid and the Wolf”, Aesop’s Fables (Milo Winter Edition).(Also found online here.)
- Natural History: The Old Orchard Bully – The English or House Sparrow, from The Burgess Bird Book, by Thornton Burgess.
- Poetry: “Travel”, A Child’s Garden of Verses (during Tea Time)
Library Day
- Nature Study – Free Reading: Actual Size, by Steve Jenkins (Fun book that illustrates lots of different animals in real size. One page is nothing but a giant eyeball – the eye of a giant squid! Great for learning bigger/smaller than me/Daddy/refrigerator.)
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)
- Math: Count Me a Rhyme, by Jane Yolen
- Artist Study: Raphael Sanzio
- “St. George and the Dragon”
- St. George and the Dragon, by Margaret Hodges
- History:
- “Diogenes the Wise Man”, from Fifty Famous Stories Retold.
- Add this story to the timeline in our Book of Centuries.
- Nature Study: Explore Owen and Mzee’s website. (We read their extraordinary story last week and Kate was enthralled. We’ll probably even wind up reading the second book about them next week!)
- Natural History: Moses the Kitten, from James Herriott’s Treasure for Children: Warm and Joyful Tales.
- Phonics: “ABC Lineups” Introducing the concept of alphabetical order, from A+ Activities for First Grade, by Naomi E, Singer and Matthew J. Miller, pg 8.
- Start by looking at a phonebook or dictionary and pointing out that words on a page all begin with the same letter. Move from one letter the next, asking your child to predict what will come next.
- Next, print one uppercase letter on a piece of paper. Write 4 words beneath the letter, 3 that start with the letter and 1 that doesn’t. Have your child cross out the word that doesn’t belong.
- Then write 3 words in a list, for example, ‘hop’, ‘dog’, and ‘tree’. Ask child to circle which comes first, then number in order.
- Finally challenge your child with lists of 3 words that begin with the same letter and ask them to put them in order by the second letter.
- Literature: “Town Mouse and Country Mouse”, Aesop’s Fables (Milo Winter Edition).
- Poetry: “Singing”, A Child’s Garden of Verses (during Tea Time)
Field Trips/Nature Study
- Science – Free Reading: One Giant Leap, by Robert Burleigh. (Beautiful book that tells the story of the Apollo astronauts first landing on the moon.)
Posted on September 14, 2009 - by Kay
Year 1: Week 3
(September 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
Literature – Free Reading: Kate and the Giant Beanstalk by Mary Pope Osborne (A cute retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk where the heroine outwits the giant.)- Science – Free Reading: A Drop of Water, by Walter Wick (A beautiful book with close-up photography and explanantions of the different phenomena of how water works. We mainly looked at the pictures and then I would paraphrase the science behind what we were looking at. Probably best suited for mid to upper elementary students.)
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)
- Science: Do experiment “Evaporating Water”, from Science Projects About Rain, by Robert Gardner. Observe a saucer of plain water and a saucer of salt water over the next few hours and days to see what happens to the water and what’s left behind.
- Literature: “The Donkey (Ass) and His Driver”, Aesop’s Fables (Milo Winter Edition), (also here online)
- Bible: “The Girl No One Wanted” (Leah and Rachel), The Jesus Storybook Bible, pgs 70-75.
- History:
- “The Brave Three Hundred”, from Fifty Famous Stories Retold.
- Add this story to the timeline in our Book of Centuries.
- Look at “Growing Up in Greece” in Through the Ages: Home, Family, & Everyday Life, by Dr. John Haywood for pictures and historical context for this story.
- Phonics:
- Hard or Soft “G” and “C”, from Barbie Phonics Workbook, pg 28
- “Soft or Hard, Let’s Find Them All” activity, from Better Phonics and Beyond in 5 Minutes a Day, by Lisa Deters. (Finding and cutting out words in a newspaper with g’s and c’s and placing them on a chart that shows soft vs hard.)
- Nature Study: Start Owen & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship, by Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff, and Dr. Paula Kahumbu. (A true story about the friendship that developed between a baby hippo named Owen and a 130-year-old giant tortoise named Mzee.)
- Copywork: Finish writing out the second sentence of our Memory Work passage.
- Math: ABC Math Riddles, by Janelle Martin
- Poetry: “Foreign Lands”, A Child’s Garden of Verses (during Tea Time)
- Geography: Chapter 1, Paddle to the Sea, Chapter 2 (listen to audio during nap time)
Library Day
- History – Free Reading: Helen Keller: The World in Her Heart , by Lesa Cline-ransome. (A biography of the incredible deaf and blind woman, Helen Keller, and her impressive teacher, Annie Sullivan, as they learned how to communicate through a system of sign language done in Helen’s hands.)
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: Start on the first sentence of our Memory Work passage.
- Nature Study: Finish Owen & Mzee: The True Story of a Remarkable Friendship, by Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff, and Dr. Paula Kahumbu. (A true story about the friendship that developed between a baby hippo named Owen and a 130-year-old giant tortoise named Mzee.)
- Literature: “The Oxen and the Wheels”, Aesop’s Fables (Milo Winter Edition), (also here online)
- Math: Vertical addition – introduction to ones and tens positions, Disney Addition and Subtraction Workbook, pg 11.
- World History:
- “The Coming of the Romans”, from Our Island Story
- Add this story to the timeline in our Book of Centuries.
- Artist Study: Raphael Sanzio’s “St. George and the Dragon”
- Literature: “Cinderella; or, the Little Glass Slipper”, from The Blue Fairy Book, edited by Andrew Lang
- Science: Do experiment “A Model of the Water Cycle”, from Science Projects About Rain, by Robert Gardner. Using a glass pot, heat water over the stove, placing a dish of ice over the top. As the water in the pot heats up and evaporates it will travel to the bottom of the plate, cool, condense, and fall back into the pot again like rain.
- Poetry: “Windy Nights”, A Child’s Garden of Verses (during Tea Time)
- Foreign Language: Watch Signing Time!: ABC Signs DVD during nap time.
Field Trips/Nature Study
- Literature – Free Reading: Calico, the Wonder Horse: or the Saga of Stewy Stinker, by Virginia Lee Burton. (Another great book by Ms. Burton with incredible black and white line drawings.)
Posted on September 8, 2009 - by Kay
Year 1: Week 2
(September 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
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: “Belling the Cat”, Aesop’s Fables (Dover Edition), (also here online)
- Phonics:
- Rhyming Words Activity, from Phonemic Awareness Activities for Early Reading Success, by Wiley Blevins
- Discuss how some rhyming poetry has a pattern – use “Whole Duty of Children”, A Child’s Garden of Verses. (also Poetry)
- Rhyming words in sentences, Phonics Grade 1 Workbook, pgs 20-21
- Natural History:“Jenny Wren Arrives”, The Burgess Bird Book for Children, by Thornton Burgess
- Math: Greater Than, Less Than, Equal To activity using playing cards, from 100 Best Ideas for Primary Math, by Holly Sar Dye, MA
- Bible: “Son of Laughter” (Birth of Isaac), The Jesus Storybook Bible, pgs 56-61
- Poetry: “Rain”, “A Pirate Story”, A Child’s Garden of Verses (read during Tea Time after picking up ds from Mother’s Day Out. Click here to read the post where I got this fun idea.)
- Literature – Free Reading: Casey Jones’s Fireman: The Story of Sim Webb, by Nancy Farmer
- Geography: Chapter 1, Paddle to the Sea, Chapter 2 (listen to audio during nap time)
Library Day
- Math – Free Reading: Museum 123 by The (NY) Metropolitan Museum of Art (A book of artwork from the museum that asks students to find the number of objects in each picture. Some pictures are more difficult to figure out which object to count, which makes it great for reading to a group that’s mixed in age.)
- History – Free Reading: Mermaid Queen: The Spectacular True Story Of Annette Kellerman, Who Swam Her Way To Fame, Fortune & Swimsuit History! by Shana Corey (A really inspiring story of the lady who invented water ballet and the modern swimsuit. My dd really loved the great illustrations and the encouraging story of this book.)
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: Write out the second sentence of our Memory Work passage.
- History:
- “Damon & Pythias”, Fifty Famous Stories Retold
- Add this story to the timeline in our Book of Centuries.
- Natural History: “Safety First” pgs 14-15, from Follow the Trail, by Jessica Loy
- Phonics: Rhyme Collage Activity, from Phonemic Awareness Activities for Early Reading Success, by Wiley Blevins. Have student cut out magazine pictures of objects whose names rhyme and then make a rhyme collage with the pictures.
- Literature: “The Eagle and the Jackdaw”, Aesop’s Fables (Milo Winter Edition)
- Math: Card Game – War. Use “greater than”, “less than”, or “equal to” skills to play the card game War. (Click here for how to play)
- History:
- “A Laconic Answer”, Fifty Famous Stories Retold
- Add this story to the timeline in our Book of Centuries.
- Artist Study:Raphael Sanzio’s “The Knight’s Dream”
- Poetry: “Foreign Lands”, A Child’s Garden of Verses (during Tea Time)
- Foreign Language: Watch Signing Time!: ABC Signs DVD during nap time.
Field Trips/Nature Study
- Poetry – Free Reading: Scranimals by Jack Prelutsky (A cute collection of poems about imaginary animal mash ups like the HippopotaMushrooms, RadiShark, RhinoceRose, etc. Great book for inspiring imaginative playing with words.)
- History – Free Reading: What Charlie Heard by Mordicai Gerstein (A biography of Charles Ives – the Modern American composer who wrote music made to sound like every sounds of life. Great artwork to accompany the storyline helps the reader to better understand the way that Charles wrote and ‘heard’ the music in his head.
Posted on September 3, 2009 - by Kay
Year 1: Week 1
(August 31 – September 4, 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
School Day
- To Start: Pledge/Calendar/Weather
- Bible: “A New Beginning” (Noah’s Ark), The Jesus Storybook Bible, pgs 38-47
- 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)
- Phonics: Review Long and Short Vowels, Phonics Grade 1 Workbook, pgs 17-19
- History:
- “The Sword of Damocles”, Fifty Famous Stories Retold
- Introduce Book of Centuries and add this story to the timeline.
- Copywork: Start writing all ABCs, upper and lower case, in journal to get a baseline of handwriting for this school year.
- Poetry: “Bed in Summer”, A Child’s Garden of Verses
- Math: Addition using a number line, Disney Addition and Subtraction Workbook, pg 9
- Literature: “The Wolf and the Kid”, Aesop’s Fables (Dover Edition), pg 22-23 (also here online)
- Poetry: “A Thought”, “At the Seaside”, A Child’s Garden of Verses (read during Tea Time after picking up ds from Mother’s Day Out. Click here to read the post where I got this fun idea.)
- Literature – Free Reading: Today is the Birthday of the World, by Linda Heller and Alison Jay
- Geography: Chapter 1, Paddle to the Sea (listen to audio during nap time, then draw a picture narration)
Library Day
School Day
- To Start: Pledge/Calendar/Weather
- Natural History: Record our observations of the Monarch caterpillars we’re rearing. We released our second Monarch butterfly today! So exciting!
- 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: Finish writing all ABCs, upper and lower case, and numbers in journal to get a baseline of handwriting for this school year.
- Literature: “A Lesson of Faith”, Parables from Nature, by Mrs. Alfred Gatty
- Math: Single Digit Addition – drawing marks (x’s) to count, Disney Addition and Subtraction Workbook, pg 10
- Literature: “The Tortoise and the Ducks”, Aesop’s Fables (Milo Winter Edition), pg 8 (also here online)
- Phonics: Matching game – match beginning, middle, and ending sounds on matching cards with drawings of words, from Phonemic Awareness Activities for Early Reading Success, by Wiley Blevins
- World History:
- “The Stories of Albion and Brutus”, Chapter 1 of Our Island Story
- Find “Albion” (Britain) on the globe.
- Artist Study: Term 1 for this year we will be studying Raphael Sanzio (1483 – 1520) of the Italian Renaissance period.
- Add Raphael Sanzio to our Book of Centuries.
- Read portions of his biography online here.
- Poetry: “Young Night-Thought”, A Child’s Garden of Verses (during Tea Time)
Field Trips/Nature Study
Posted on August 31, 2009 - by Kay
First Grade Here We Come!
We’re starting a new school year tomorrow and I can hardly believe that my big girl is going to be starting 1st grade! I still feel like she’s a kindergartner in some ways, but then I realize that she is sooo smart and mature and geesh where has the time gone?
I’m looking forward to settling into a little different rhythm this year compared to last. I feel like this year is a little more planned out for me, which makes me so much more comfortable. We are going to be following AmblesideOnline’s curriculum for Year 1. For those who aren’t familiar with it, AmblesideOnline (AO) is a curriculum based on the educational approach developed by Charlotte Mason, an amazing educator from England in the late 1800s. (You can read more about her and her educational philosophy here.) Most of the books used in this curriculum are highly literary and are available for free online.
As we go through this next year, I’ll be posting our weekly lesson plans here on the site under the “Curriculum” category. Feel free to use whatever works for your student(s), drop the things that don’t, and add the things you feel are missing. And by all means, please leave me a comment that lets me know what your thoughts are – I’m still very much a novice here and look forward to hearing other educators’ input!
Ready or not, here we go!!!
