Wildnoodles...Woking to school: The Old Schoolhouse...

Hello friends...well, we are officially on Fall Break this week so I thought I would post some pictures from over the last couple of weeks. We have been busy learning, reading, tweaking, understanding and learning to follow our rhythms as a homeschooling family. It is amazing to become a student of your children. Every day something implies a new responsibility on my part and it blows me away that God would allow me this honor!!

I have seen Aly on the verge of a crazy fixation with I*MUST*DO*IT*ALL*NOW and I watched my Lili on the brink of a nervous breakdown because her "A" didn't have the perfect point at the top...never mind that she had never written and "A" before and she is only 3!!! Nothing would convince her that it didn'g have to be perfect the first time and nothing would stop her from staying the course until it WAS perfect!!!

I learned very very quickly that if this continued, we would ALL IMPLODE in a matter of weeks!! So...I started backing off of everything and taking it MUCH slower. I know that it is MY responsibility to see that she doesn't burn out and learns to pace herself. I also need Lili to see that model as she is doing her preschool work and getting ready to follow in Aly's footsteps! Cause...um...we will all be in the nut house if Lili doesn't get a grip before 1st grade...talk about high strung!!!! I also have found that Aly loves to teach Lili what we have been learning...which helps her to see the other side of the situation. She is really good at helping to calm Lili down when her head starts to spin around...which in turn, helps Aly. Does that make any sense??? It is also hilarious when Lili corrects Aly on something we are doing!!! "No Aly...bicycle has three syllables not two!"

I scrapped all the Language, math and science plans...and found some curriculum that was MUCH lighter. I bought "First Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind" she loves loves loves it (so do I...I highly recommend it!!) The lessons are very short, very to the point and very well done! They build on each other and the book covers 1st and 2nd grade as thoroughly as anything else I have seen! It was written by Jessie Wise who is the mother of Susan Wise Bauer ("The Story of the World" series)

Then I scrapped the plans for Math. Aly is blessed with a brain that is able to grasp concepts far beyond her years...it is really insane. She has been doing a lot of math for several years now so it was hard to know where to jump in with her and not burn her out. So, now we are keeping a Math Journal and she does a series of word problems each day where she has to work the problem by drawing her answer and showing her work. The questions cover a multitude of concepts and keeps her in the "mindset" of math. It also is helping her to "see" math all around her and not just working a long list of problems on a page. I was amazed with all the books available about Math. I don't mean textbooks or curriculum, but just fun books that teach so much!!! One of her favorites is "Math Curse" by Jon Scieszka. I read it over and over and over!! Another one she loves is "The Librarian Who Measured the Earth" by Kathryn Lasky. Each week at the library I bring home tons of "Math books" and she is totally enthralled with them. Currently she has figured out how to do Multiplication so she is very excited. I'm not even going there yet, but she understands the concept so when we get to that...she should do very well. One of her favorite Math problems is to figure out all the ways she can get to a certain number...through addition, subtraction, or multiplication (10 = 5+5, 6+4,
11-1, 12-2, 2x5, etc...) In January we are planning to start "Math on the Level" (also here ) and I think it is going to be a great fit!!! I can also start Lili on it as well.

Now Science was a mess!!! I had decided to not use a formal curriculum yet as she is only 5 and so I planned to just begin to teach her the basics to get her ready to start a good science curriculum next year. Well...I found myself having to comment and filter everything through our Christian beliefs when I presented it to her. I knew that something had to give when she started filtering it before I could even say anything. "I know Mom...the earth isn't REALLY billions of years old!!!" "I know Mom...people aren't animals" etc...
Come on...there has to be a better way to teach my 5 year old science through the eyes of our Creator and not through some humanistic colored glasses!!! So I went to Answers in Genesis and found the answer to my problem ..."God's Design for Science" There are 4 modules that span from 1st - 8th grade. We are starting with "God's Design for Life" It has the Biblical Worldview that we want and it is exciting for Aly. and I love that I can show her the miracles of God's workmanship while teaching her science!!

The most important change we made was the time spent outdoors! David takes them outside, to the park, around the neighborhood, where ever!! At least three days a week. We do not live in an area that allows the girls to go outside and play in the yard. We don't have a fenced in area and there is a good bit of traffic and it just isn't conducive to letting them out to play. But, they are loving the time with David, I get a much needed break, and they are sleeping much better at night!!!

I think I told you before that we go to the library every Friday and usually bring home no less that 50 books. I have a rolling cart that we fill to the brim with books that they pick out and books that I order online through our inter-library loan system. (I love that I can sit on my computer at midnight and pour through lists of books that I want to read to the girls and with the click of a mouse I request them and a few days later I get an email telling me that my book requests are waiting on me to pick them up!!) We love love love reading time and I love that Aly also loves to read to her sister...which is great when I need to fold a load of laundry!!

Books!!

Books!!!

...and more books!

Oh...I forgot the books!!! "Girls? Are you ready to read before lunch ?" Aly appears with a tall glass of water for me and Lili runs around the house tracking down my reading glasses...I guess that means "YES!!"