So I wanna share my favorite change to this year's education for the kids! A couple of years ago I quit lesson planning and started just recording what we accomplished for the day. I have a rough idea of what we need to accomplish for the semester/year but I don't get detailed at all. For instance, for literature we are reading the Narnia series this semester hopefully done in time to read A Christmas Carol by Dickens before Christmas. We are working on a curriculum in History that is more in depth than it has been before so I am giving us a couple of years to finish that. Its all about the long game! Anyway, so in 2014 I started just recording what we had accomplished. I did this in a spiral notebook. Then when Tender started getting older and doing more independent things I created different sections for each of the three older kids but then I was rewriting the stuff we did together three times! So silly. So this year I made a template specifically for us and printed it off and put it in a three ring binder. This has been so great! It really helps me keep track of what we have done but also I think I will cherish these records in a few years! They will also help me remember what to do as the younger three are getting older. The top part of each day is all the stuff we learn together and the bottom sections are the stuff they either do differently with my help or do independent of me and I check later. The boys do everything with me for the most part because they are still mastering reading but the girls do most of their individual sections by themselves. The only subjects we do everyday is literature, bible, math, Language Arts (LA, and only Tender), copy work (CW), and reading (only the boys).
We just started studying a new set of composer, artist, and poet; Stravinsky, Cezanne, and Tennyson. So today we went to the library and got books on them. I'm so thankful for technology because its so simple to just look up a piece by our composer on youtube! And we even sometimes listen to a poem by our current poet on youtube while driving down the road. Sometimes, if I can't find a good book with prints by the artist we are studying then I will pull one up on the computer and we check it out that way! But typically these are just done sitting around books from the library and me reading a biography aloud. (By the way, if anyone has a Tennyson biography I can borrow, we can't find a single one at any of the libraries!) We go to a Charlotte Mason co-op this year on Wednesdays. Each kiddo's teacher sends out an email detailing what they learned and did and I just print those emails right off and file them for recording Wednesdays. On a more personal note, Tender is turning 14 at the end of this month and we are trying to start a new tradition with the kids. We want to try and get Tender and I one night at a nearby larger city having a total of about 36 hours of fun just the two of us and an overnight stay in a hotel! We hope to do this for everyone's 14th birthdays (myself with each girl and Robert with each boy). We are assuming this will look different for each child depending on their personalities. For Tender it will involve shopping and eating some nice food together! As parents our goal in these ventures is to spend some uninterrupted time for talking and giving the kiddo a chance to talk about things its hard to do with all the littles around. We are also praying about going through a bible study during that time. So for any of you family members looking for ideas for Tender's birthday gift this year she would love cash to aid shopping! It is a HUGE deal to get to shop for FUN with just mom, so she is beyond excited! She's always asking to do fun shopping (like Goodwill for no other reason than browsing) and it is just not possible because of our family size, kids' ages, and lack of time. So this will be designated Tender time! : ) And if you live locally and can think of an odd job she might be able to do for you to earn money, let us know!
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LindseyI'm the mama and wife. Updating you on our life! Archives
January 2022
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