Second term into the year

A three week break and we're back to another term of scheduled activities and learning. Our Autumn break was marked with significant gatherings, and lots of time together as a family to enjoy conversations and outings. We now look ahead to some quieter days as a general rule, but we're also leading up to that time of the year where emphasis is on dance competitions (for Maestro only, this year).

We had started using Winterpromise's 'Animal and their Worlds' for Mariposa at the beginning of the year. The books are certainly lovely, but much of the content was very much like what she'd already covered in Sonlight's Science 3. I don't want to 'put off' anyone wanting to try Winterpromise. It was just unfortunate that it wasn't a good fit for her this time. We are continuing to finish off using the readers, and have held on to the "One Small Square" books, as these are just excellent.

So, Mariposa will now move into learning more Australian geography and history. I've been collecting some books for her and will share them as we go. We started off looking at Aboriginal life, and a trip to the Melbourne Museum to see artifacts was a wonderful experience. We also saw a puppet play, showing one of the Dreamtime stories enacted, which was very interesting.

On other subject matters for Mariposa, she's continuing with her Singapore Maths (level 3), All About Spelling, LLATL (yellow), along with various books from Winterpromise and Sonlight. She is also working through Sonlight's Science 2 schedule very quickly. As predicted, it's a little easier than work done previously, but we're compensating by letting her do most of the work independently, and at a rate of a week's scheduled work in two days.


Maestro has settled very well into Sonlight's Core G (previously known as Core 6). There's a marked difference from Core F. Core F was a very full core; it could also be that he's used to the routine. Considering we only had 3 full days to dedicate to bookwork last term, he's keeping up the pace extremely well.

Maths is about to be stepped up a level. Once Maestro completes a couple more sections of Singapore Maths Primary 6B, he'll be starting the high school books. We couldn't get this completed last term because of time doing the bow and arrow workshops, but it'll be done in the next two weeks.

Language Arts is a collection of various books. We've got Worldly Wise 6 on the go, along with LLATL (tan). Add to the mix a new curriculum we started in the last couple of weeks ... and it's working so well for him! (I'll be writing up a review for this soon.) Maestro started using the Michael Clay Thomas Language Arts program, and he's taken to it very well. It looks as though we'll be passing up the LLATL for him at the rate he's going, as this new curriculum is moving at a pace that's much better suited to his learning style.

Apologia General Science has also been a huge success. He works through a module over a two week period, so we're well on target for getting through this level by the end of the year. We've also now acquired a dvd of the BBC program "The Story of Science", which has drawn the whole family in.

So, I'll work on getting some more reviews and other information up on this blog soon, especially with regard to the new things we're doing. I'll have a little more time to write now that we're more home-based again.

Stock up on $1 ebooks

I enjoy finding fun supplements to our learning, and a friend has just shared a link to some fabulous bargains.

Check out Scholastic Teacher Express's Dollar Deals HERE. 500+ ebooks are currently priced at $1 each, ranging from Pre-K to 12. I've already got a few ready to order, including some Middle Ages plays to liven up Maestro's Core 6, and various books on math activities.This one on Habitat Dioramas will be perfect to accompany Mariposa's Winter Promise animal studies.

This special finishes on January 31st.

Mariposa's Books for 2011

I know! I should be enjoying the peace and quiet, the relaxed days that have a minimal routine, no rushing about ... but I can't help myself! I think I'm addicted to my children's books. I keep getting them out for a look, to stack them neatly in piles and play with the planning pages. So, when I again found myself leafing through a folder, I decided to direct my enthusiasm to a blog post instead. Lucky you, lol!!

I'll start with what Mariposa is doing. She's now 9yrs old, so grade 4 in our state/country. We had a great time doing Sonlight's Core 1+2 in 2010. I bought a whole lot of the readers, from intermediate to advanced in that Core. We still haven't finished them all, but they're there for use now that her reading skills are picking up.  Along with those readers, we have the following:

Spelling:

We started using All About Spelling in October. We needed something to help boost Mariposa's confidence, and manipulatives are ideal for her learning style. What she already knew, she's skimmed through very quickly. This has been great, because we can tailor this perfectly to her needs.

Having the letters on tiles has helped her immensely. As she often wrote many letters in reverse, or whole words in mirror, having these already on the tiles has helped her quickly get the word 'done' and spelt correctly the first time. When we then do dictation with pen to paper, she has found that it's helped give her a better visual of what the letters and word look like. I've noticed an improvement and she's enjoying it, so we'll continue with this product for her.

Actually, we're not too far off finishing the first book, but along the way she has already had to practice some of the tricky spelling words that were tripping her up. We'll review some of the latest lessons before proceeding further along. Even Maestro picked up some rules he didn't know before, just from listening in.







Language Arts:

We're changing over to LLATL (Learning Language Arts Through Literature). This change came about from a few steps. Firstly a friend showed me how she was using them, then another friend offered me use of her Teacher's Manual. All I had to do was to purchase the Student's books, which is available at Christianbook.

Mariposa is starting with the Yellow Book, which is probably a little easy for her, but will again build up her confidence in reading/writing.  We can plough through what the book specifies as a week's worth of work in a couple of days, then slow down to the recommended pace as she the work gets harder.

Maths:

Singapore Maths again. This program worked so well in 2010, so we're sticking with it. She'll start working on Level 3 this year.

Winter Promise:

Yes, we're having a slight diversion from Sonlight for a little bit. Whilst she still has some readers to keep her busy from Sonlight's Core 1+2, we're going to use Winter Promise "Animals and Their Worlds" for the main. It's set out in the same style as Sonlight, only with different themes.

This is probably something we could have done when she was a couple of years younger, but there is a HUGE attraction to animals in her life, so why not exploit it? This is the folder I've been pulling out often, as I can see that some things in the Instructor Guide will be quite easy for her. I may need to tweek this a bit, omitting the 'too easy' and adding a few other ideas/resources from our library.

Science:

Well, I know that Winter Promise has books that would cover Science, but we're still going to have a go at another lot of science from Sonlight. I've decided to let her have a go at Science 2. It may be a bit of a step back from Science 3, but my reasoning is that she could probably do a lot of this on her own, helping again to develop some independent learning. The experiments should be fun, too.  See ... I'm trying to cater to her 'hands on' style, and if it all gets too busy, we'll stretch it over 2 years.

Art:

We're staying with Artistic Pursuits. Mariposa is naturally into the art supplies anyway, so this book will give guidance.

I have also invested in a great calendar that I heard about on Jimmie's Collage. Jimmie uses a calender from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which can be used for incidental learning of art each day, or sketching.


Dance is still going to feature in our regular routine, but Mariposa has cut back on a few classes to fit in time for gymnastics in 2011.  The gymnastics lessons will be held with a local homeschooling group.


Well, that's it for now.  I know we usually add and take away things as the year progresses.  Nothing is ever set in concrete.  At least sharing this with you all has helped stop me from playing with folders and things for a bit (smiles!).