Olivia's Spring Term

So, we decided to make a bit of a change in our curriculum this Spring. We have used My Father's World for 3 1/2 years and still really love the curriculum. We were getting into the Middle Ages time period as 2014 began. When last we posted, she had reached as far as the vikings and William the Conqueror. We were speeding through history using several resources to tell the stories. We were letting her listen to Mystery of History and/or Story of the World. We were using Usborne books and many library books for further study and great pictures. However, we felt like Olivia wasn't retaining as much of the information as she should be.

We have been moving our homeschool style more and more towards Charlotte Mason's methods over the last couple of years. Rebecca and I attended a Simply Charlotte Mason conference in January and it gave us tons to think about. It was wonderful. On the second day of the conference, she actually took us through a day of school, as if we were students and Sonya was the teacher. We had already moved much of our language arts curriculum to CM style with copywork, SCM's Spelling Wisdom, and narrations for the kids. We also had family subjects including reading poetry, Bible memory work, and artist and composer studies. One of the things that we came away with was the CM way of teaching history slower and doing it using the lives of historical figures. Ultimately, we decided to transition to the SCM history, geography, and Bible curriculum right where we were in our history time period rather than waiting until the end of the year.

The SCM history curriculum uses a book called Famous Men of the Middle Ages, which has 3-to-4-page biographies of major historical figures like Rollo the Viking, William the Conqueror and Justinian the Great. The stories are easy to read and we often have the boys sit in with us. I will read the story aloud to them while writing key names, dates or places on a whiteboard and using a map to show where we are talking about. Once the story is done, Olivia has to take a few moments and then narrate back to us what she heard in her own words. Most of the time, she's nearly perfect, though sometimes the names and places get confusing. We do that 4 days a week and at the end of the week we ask her to choose a figure from that week and write a notebook page about him/her.

In addition to Famous Men, she has other books that go more in-depth on a topic. She read the books The Vikings by Elizabeth Janeway, which was an in-depth story about Leif Ericsson and his eventual discovery of "Vineland" or North America, and Adam of the Road, which was more of an adventure story that gave a lot of insight into life in the Middle Ages She would read the story on her own and then come to us to narrate it to us. While this was fairly easy for us to give over to her, we had to make sure we had read the chapter before she narrated it so that we could verify her accuracy. Most of the time she was pretty good in her recall, though she sometimes left important details out or got things in the wrong order and had to back up.

Gabe and Ezra didn't get out of doing their share, either. They read stories about Leif Ericsson (Leif the Lucky), William Tell (The Apple and the Arrow), The Sword in the Tree, Viking Adventure and Minstrel in the Tower. We would read to them and then Gabe would narrate it back to us. While not perfect, he did very well in remembering the gist if the story. Occasionally, Ezra would pipe in with something Gabe forgot, so we know he was paying attention, too.

After finishing the Body, we began our study of Astronomy. We are using Apologia's curriculum just as MFW suggested but we slowed it down and are still currently working our way through it. We got the Junior notebook to go with the text and Olivia is doing a fantastic job. She Olivia loves to share with us the things that she is learning. She is a fountain of knowledge some days. :) So excited. The other day she said to me, " Didn't you learn about astronomy in school? Then how do you not know some of these things? I don't think I will ever forget. It is so interesting!" 

Our Solar System. She refuses to acknowledge that Pluto is no longer a planet and insists that we include it in the model, so it's there, just tiny. :)

Learning how craters are made.

How penetrating radar mapped the surface of Venus.

Once a week, we have a structured Bible Study. We studied the books of Galatians and James. When we read them, we are to be listening for the GOAL, which stands for:

• Grasp this promise
• Obey this command
• Avoid this sin
• Live this principle

When we finished a chapter, the kids had to tell me if they heard any of those things somewhere in the passage. I would say about 85% of the time, one or more of the kids comes up with something to talk about. On the same day, we also learn about an explorer like Columbus, Bartholomew Diaz or Henry the Navigator. She also does map drills where she studies a labelled map of Europe that has the countries, bodies of water and mountains for about 15 minutes. Then she has to fill in a blank map as completely as she can. By the last week, she was really quite impressive.

Olivia is continuing to teach herself cursive. She enjoys using it when she is writing cards or making lists. Here is a sample of her work...

We did decide to continue using the English Root Words curriculum included in MFW. Twice a week, she learns a new Latin root word and then 2 or 3 modern words that use that root. We did the Greek root words last year. Learning root words help us to understand the meanings of new words and increase vocabulary. 

Our composer this term was Beethoven. We listened to the story of his life and then many of his compositions. The kids easily identified most of the pieces we listened to as being on The Little Einsteins at one time or another.

I think we made the right choice in changing the style of learning the kids do. We recently reached the end of the term and did oral exams on the Vikings, Marco Polo, Bartholomew Diaz, The Cape of Good Hope and the Barbarian hordes that sacked Rome. Olivia did really well, even recalling details from the beginning of the term. For now, we will continue on with this plan for our homeschool

In addition to these studies, we attended our homeschool co-op group for 7 weeks this spring. Nature Study was animals common to NC, including the Eastern box turtle, Gray Squirrel, White-tailed Deer, opossum, Wood Duck, frog, and Cottontail Rabbit . The poet was Carl Sandburg. We both learned a bit about him and listened to his poetry. Then each week the kids recited a poem they had memorized. Olivia chose some really challenging long poems to memorize. She pretty much was in charge of choosing and learning them all on her own. I was impressed with her independence and follow through. Gabe joined in and learned a poem for just about every week. Ezra memorized a couple and would recite them at home but then became shy each time we were in the group. The character focus was generosity. We sang the songs Battle Hymn of the Republic and When They Ring the Golden Bells. Our artist Jacob Lawerence. He was a storyteller and was known for his portrayal of African-American life. We really enjoyed his work for picture study. We listened to composer Scott Joplin. Olivia enjoyed his ragtime music so much that she requested to learn The Entertainer on the piano. Of course she is learning a simplified version and she may be learning it for a while, but she is really trying and doing quite well. She is realizing how different the rhythm is from the classical pieces she has been playing up to this point and that is a challenge. We ended each co-op time with Swedish Drill and PE.

Here is a look at the kid's journals during nature study:

Spring 2013 Charlotte Mason Co-op

Our Charlotte Mason Homeschool Co-op met once a week for the last 6 weeks. We gathered outside of one of our local library branches in the field. Thankfully, we had good weather all but one week. Our group is made of 7 families with kids ranging from infants up to 10 years old. Our schedule went as follows: Hymn, Nature Study, Composer, Artist/Picture Study, Folk Song, Habit, Poetry Recitation, and Swedish Drill/PE. Each parent was responsible for teaching one area the whole term. For hymn we learned For the Beauty of the Earth, adding motions to our singing as the weeks went on. The kids were exposed to a little information about the man who penned the words and then the music composer, which we have found is often two different people in the case of hymns. Our nature study was on trees. Each week the kids learned about a different part of the tree as well as a specific tree (Loblolly Pine, Southern Magnolia, Red Maple, Red Oak, Sweet Gum, and Shagbark Hickory). For composer, we listened to works by Stravinsky and, again, each week the kids were given a bit of information about him. Our artist this time was Carl Larsson (painter and interior designer). The kids looked at a different picture each week for a period of time. They were asked to try to see the picture in their heads. Then with pictures turned over they would go around and share what they had observed. His works provided many familiar things for the kids to talk about as he primarily used his family as his subjects. For folk song, we learned Michael, Row your Boat Ashore. Our habit was Cooperation. The kids heard or discussed what cooperation meant each week and then they played a game or two that involved cooperation. Such a fun way to teach good habits and get them excited about it. Then they heard a poem recited and learned about things like pronunciation, enunciation, projection, standing still, and nervousness. Then each kid had a chance to stand in front of the group and recite a poem. Olivia did excellently and recited a poem each week from Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child Garden of Verses. Gabe also did well reciting a poem or rhyme each week. Ezra would practice at home with Gabe but always got shy once we got to the group. We finished up with Swedish Drill and PE. This was the part that Jeremy and I taught together. Swedish Drill involves giving the kids several steps of instructions followed by a "go" command (i.e. feet apart, feet together, turn right. Go.) This allows the kids to hear the instructions and practice keeping it in their minds until the "go" command is given, working on many good habits. The kids got pretty good at it and were able to move as a whole group, even many of the little guys. For PE, we did lots of various activities, exercises, games and stretches. We tried to incorporate the concept of cooperation or team work into PE too.

Listening to Mrs. Erin teach about leaves and specifically the Shagbark Hickory. It has compound leaves which sets it apart from the other deciduous trees we learned about this term.

Drawing in her Nature Journal: Olivia writes the proper name of what we are studying and the Latin name. Then she draws. At home after co-op she would write a few sentences in her journal about what she learned that day. Gabe and Ezra both color and we help them do leaf rubbings or whatever else they are willing to try. Occasionally Gabe will try to draw on his own with some direction. 

Picture Study

Habit Games

The littlest ones, like our Emma and our neice Rooney, just hung out with us, rode on our backs, or took naps. Considering how many varying ages we have in the group that we are trying to teach or keep occupied, it went really well. I actually believe that our kids benefit from learning together this way rather than being separated into their age groups. We get to see the older kids helping the younger kids. It is fun to watch them and work with them. In the ideals of Charlotte Mason, we encourage all the kids to participate but we do not force them too, especially the younger ones.

Corn

Our Cottage Co-op is doing fall crops this term for our nature study. Unfortunately, Olivia had a cold and so we could not attend the first meeting. The fall crop was corn. We read a book (Corn is Maize), a poem, and then went in search of a corn field to do some observation. Olivia added an entry to her nature journal and Gabe drew a picture with my help as he told me what colors to use and what he wanted to draw.  

The corn we saw was primarily dried so it was likely that some would be used as animal feed and some for seed for next year's crop.

Ezra even tried a little coloring but wasn't really interested in connecting his picture with the corn.

Olivia is walking through the rows and using her senses to make some observations to add to her nature journal back home. 

We looked at some ears of sweet corn back at home and then cooked them to eat with our lunch.

The second meeting featured apples. Olivia's biggest take-aways were that, when cut, you could see a star inside the apple with its five seeds. The other one was that it takes about 50 leaves to give one apple nutrition to grow. Gabe's take-away was that apples come in many different colors.

In addition to our nature study topic, here are our other subjects:

 Hymn: Take My Life and Let It Be
 Composer: Claude Debussy

 Artist/Picture Study: Pierre-Auguste Renoir

 Folk Song: If I Had A Hammer
Habit: Truthfulness
Poetry: each week one parent will share a poem and then the kids each share/recite a poem of choice

 Swedish Drill and PE 

An Ornithologist in the Making

Olivia and I spent all of July studying birds in the book Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day and the corresponding Junior Notebook from Apologia. She learned TONS about what makes a bird a bird, what makes them fly, all the different markings on them and how they mate and nest. She had to do experiments, observations, and projects that challenged her quite a bit, but she really enjoyed it; enough so that she has now said she wants to be an ornithologist!

A Tufted Titmouse on one of Olivia's homemade feeders

One of the nests we found in a tree in our yard. We had cut the tree down and it was clearly abandoned.

One experiment had Olivia build two identical bird feeders, fill them with different single-type seeds (in this case, sunflower and safflower) and then observe at the same time each day for a set period to see which one the birds preferred. Oh, and that's a black-capped chickadee.

Olivia doing her observations



As a reward for working so hard, Rebecca got her a birdhouse that she could paint.

 All-in-all, it was a great experience using the Apologia curriculum. The books are written in a conversational style and with interjected questions and comments that make her feel part of the reading. There is quite a bit of vocabulary which is good but can also be overwhelming at her age. I don't require that she give all the vocabulary back to us. I do require her to narrate (or tell back) what she has learned after most of the sections of reading. We are going to move on in the book to do butterflies and moths, then bats and finally all the other flying insects.

(This part written by Rebecca)To go along with this, John James Audubon was our artist for picture study. He was an ornithologist, naturalist, and painter. The library has some great child level books on his life and works. His works are both art and scientific sketches, real and detailed. Want to know more about picture study (and really anything else Charlotte Mason)? Here and here are resources. I use those two ladies' sites for help all the time. So a big thank you to them.

All Summer, we have been reading a book from Rod and Staff called Birds at My Window. We read it at the table usually during lunch. It is a great little book about a boy who gets excited to watch and learn about birds after his dad sets up a feeding station near one of their windows. Gabe and Ezra have also enjoyed this book and have taken to enjoying some birdwatching of their own. Previously, we read The Burgess Bird Book (just with Olivia) which is told from the perspective of a rabbit as he learns all about a variety of birds.

Olivia has previously done some bird studies. Here is a lapbook and fieldtrip we did the fall of 2010. And here is a post about our homeschool group with birds as our nature study topic.

Wrapping Up Our Journey Around the World

We finished out our journey of exploring people and animals around the world with a wrap-up and celebration night. Olivia reviewed her notebooks and we remembered the various projects completed this year. 

This is an animal height chart that we used this year. First, we placed her and our dog Sarah on the it. Then as we talked about each animal we added it. This was one of the resources from the Winter Promise company that I added to our MFW-ECC curriculum.

Then we put on our Wee Sing album and had a flag parade and dance.

Marshes and Swamps

Olivia and I have been studying marshes and swamps over the past 4-6 weeks and have had a fun time doing it. This is the final ecosystem that she has learned about this year following others like deserts, forests, mountains, rain forests, lakes, ponds, rivers and streams. For each one there have been tons of activities that we did in the "Burrows, Beehives & Beds Journal" from WinterPromise. We took several trips to local wetlands like the Bog Garden to observe the animals and insects that live there.

We saw dragonflies "playing tag"

a Great Blue Heron hunting for food, (if you look closely, he has a turtle in his beak.)

Painted Turtles,

more turtles sunning themselves

lots of fish and tadpoles

ducks, both big

and small,

along with other birds, like this nuthatch, taking advantage of the abundant food in the swamp. We watched him beat the tar out of that caterpillar for a good 5 minutes. He was determined...

We learned a lot about the benefits of swamp ecosystems, which help with flood control by giving rivers and streams somewhere to overflow, cleaning up water pollution by filtering it through soil, and providing refuge and nutrition to hundreds of animal species.

Olivia learned the proper water-to-dirt ratio for making good mud.

"not too much and not too little."

We attempted to open a "bug dessert bar" but the rain washed it away before we could get any customers.

We mashed together some brown sugar and overripe banana and smeared it on a tree.

mmmm...

One of Olivia's favorite books that we read was "Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle". We studied the differences between frogs and toads and made a couple of attempts to find and catch a toad, but we were unsuccessful. However, one ill-fated trip actually let us see a swamp in action. There had been a major storm earlier in the day and when we got into the Bog Garden, it was almost completely flooded. The boardwalk was just barely above the water level, when it's usually mostly over dry ground. there was evidence that earlier in the day, it had been underwater - a difference of 3 to 4 feet from normal levels!