How We Make Our Own Notebooks...

I often get questions about my kid's notebooks. Many people want to know how and where I have them bound. Today, I did an Instagram live on our notebooks and the tools I use to create them. Since those videos are only available for 24 hours, I thought I'd make a more permanent record here.

First off, a little history. We've been notebooking almost since the beginning of our homeschool. I found this approach early on after reading several blogs, but the one that I tried to emulate with Riley in 1st grade was Charlotte Mason Help by LindaFay. I think The Well Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise may have also tipped me off on this method.

Very early on, I was hooked! I loved the creative outlet it afforded my kids. And, I loved the record that was left at the end of the year. I found notebooking to be a much better approach to workbooks, especially in subjects like history and science, because it encouraged long term retention unlike workbooks. They were able to keep their narrations, illustrations, diagrams, and mapwork all in one place.

We've tried many methods of notebooking over the years, including hole punching pages for a 3-ring binder, but sometimes the pages would rip out with excessive handling. We've used lined sewn composition books. We've also used blank drawing journals. One problem with a pre-made notebook is page count. I never know how many pages my kids will need each year for their notebooks and I have a guilt complex about not using up all the pages...OCD, I know! We have also tried picking up the notebook where we left off the previous year to finish out the pages, but my kids and I both prefer to keep each year separate so we can see the progression. One other problem is sometimes the kids want lines and sometimes they prefer a blank page. Pre-made notebooks offer one or the other, rarely both. This is where my current method comes in.

I keep a file folder full of misc. notebooking pages on my desk. Some of them I've printed from notebookingpages.com. Others, I've found randomly online. When I can't find exactly what I'm looking for, I create my own. I have a few templates saved in Word that I print when needed. After the kids finish their assigned reading, they pick a notebook page from the file and work through it. The kids know how to use the printer to make copies. They are required to refill the file with a half dozen more copies if they take the last page of that sort.

Throughout the year, they collect their completed pages in a folder. At the end of the year, I bind them. I used to take them to an office supply store for binding, but that added up financially. After doing some research, I found it was cheaper to invest in a binding machine and do it myself.

I purchased a ProClick Binder P-50 from Amazon. It's been a very good investment! I use it to bind the kid's notebooking pages, as well as lesson planners, book lists, PDF downloads, notes from seminars, and whatever else ails me. I also purchase poly covers for the pages I'm binding and of course, the spines. I use the 45 page and 85 page Easy Edit Spines. There were a few times I could have used the 110 page capacity, but I can only find them in a 100-count pack and didn't want to make that kind of investment. I like the Easy Edit Spines because they open easily so you can add or subtract pages if needed. You can buy comb-binding machines, but I would advise against them. From my experience, comb-bindings become brittle and break. I have never had any problems of this sort with the Pro-Click Binder spines.

One last note I'd like to make about our notebooks is in addition to the poly covers, I usually add a title page. On the kid's notebooks that I bind at the end of the year for record keeping, I use regular paper, often photocopying the cover of the resources they used/read throughout the year to create their pages. However, if it's a workbook or some other resource that will have frequent handling throughout the year, I use heavier cardstock for the cover page. This makes it more durable through continued wear and tear.

Overall, I have been very satisfied with my ProClick Binder and am glad I made the purchase. It's been a handy homeschool tool! If you are interested in purchasing, please consider clicking on my affiliate links below. Thanks!

 

2017-2018 Curriculum Preview - Morning Time...

We started school this week. I'm still working out the bugs, but after a one year hiatus from Morning Time, I knew I had to bring it back. I really missed our time together, reading and discussing various books and topics.

Given the fact that Riley and Ruben are only one grade apart, I'd always done the bulk of their school together in K-6th grade. However, last year, Riley asked to be separated as she wanted to gain more independence in her studies. Although, I definitely saw growth with both she and Ruben, all year, I felt like something was missing. When planning this year, I wanted to find a way to give them space for continued individual growth and yet bring them back for some joint discussion.  Eventually, I figured out if I included Morning Time once again with a few common books, yet maintained their individual schedules for most subjects, I could gain the compromise I was looking for.

It was a bit of a trick figuring out which books to include. However, spending the summer studying Ambleside Online's Year 7, I came to some conclusions. I decided to keep Riley and Ruben in the same time period in history with different books. They have individual math and language arts. Riley is doing AO Year 7 Science as written, whereas Ruben is using a mix of science resources. They also have separate bible reading plans. Over and above this handful of core subjects, I put most of the rest of the books in our Morning Time. The first term looks something like this:

Day One
How to Be Your Own Selfish Pig by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay
The Mystery of the Periodic Table by Wiker and Bendick, alternated with The Elements by Theodore Gray as scheduled in AO Year 6
Idylls of the King by Tennyson

Day Two
Ourselves by Charlotte Mason
How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler
The Story of Painting by H. W. Janson
Idylls of the King by Tennyson

Day Three
The Brendan Voyage by Tim Severin
Whatever Happened to Penny Candy by Richard Maybury
Idylls of the King by Tennyson

We tried the above schedule this week. Some of the books were a hit and some not so much. I can already see a few adjustments that need to be made. I'm considering moving a couple of books back to Riley's individual schedule as I am not sure if Ruben is quite ready for them. In addition, my niece is schooling with us this year and most of the books were a real stretch for her. She's in 6th grade, but hasn't been raised on living books and classic lit. I may even omit a couple and use them at a later time. I would also like to add some sort of health book, possibly drawing lessons, and memorization/recitation, as well as Shakepeare. I'm still thinking this all through.

Overall, I'm glad I brought Morning Time back to our homeschool. Levi participated two out of the three days. The kids colored while I read aloud. He did fairly well. Have you kicked off your school year? Do you incorporate Morning Time? If so, I'd love to hear about it, particularly if you're using Morning Time with middle and high schoolers. Feel free to share in the comments below.

Year 7 and 8 Planning....

I've been working on planning our 2017-2018 academic year. In planning, I always start with the big picture, moving next to the year, term, week, and finally day. This year, I will have kids in grades 8, 7, and kindergarten. This post will primarily address 7th and 8th grade and not kindergarten since that is still an informal year in our homeschool.

In 2017-2018, I know I want to cover Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Reformation for history, as well as a variety of science topics, including chemistry, physics, and astronomy. It is for these reasons, I'm looking closely at combining AO Year 7 & Year 8 for my two older kids.

In looking at my goals and the AO suggestions, I created an at-a-glance table of Ambleside Online's Year 7 & 8. This is not my original book list and is in no way meant to be copied or used as an exclusive AO book list or lesson plan. I'm simply sharing how I plan my school year based on a variety of resources. You must go directly to the AO website for full use and understanding of their wonderful FREE program. I'm greatly indebted to the ladies who make this all possible. To learn more, I am linking to their website regularly throughout this post. 

AO Year 7 & 8 Planning Table by greenebalts on Scribd

The first table lists the subjects covered in each AO Year, along with books broken down by term. You will notice a few books are color coded when they are also used in curricula, such as Beautiful Feet, Sonlight, and Veritas Press, which are book lists I also consult regularly in planning. In addition, you may notice The Fallacy Detectives crossed out because Riley has already read that book. At that end of the first chart is suggested AO Free Reads for each year.

The second table, on page four, shows books used in AO Year 7/8 combined. It is the first year in a two year plan to cover Years 7, 8, and 9 for families looking to use AO at the upper levels and who yearn to complete six years in five. I've chosen this as a base for our family simply based on the history and science coverage.

Next, I created a chart showing the subjects I wish to cover along with some books and resources I'm contemplating.

Riley & Ruben Year 7 & 8 Book List 2017-2018 by greenebalts on Scribd

From there, I've been working on narrowing books and plugging the final selections into a 12-week term chart. Finally, the readings will be broke down by day. You can see last year's term and daily charts here. They are purposefully not dated as I don't want to be a slave to the plan when life happens. You know, kid wakes up puking, family drama takes over, or a dear friend calls and says, "Hey, let's play!" I want to be able to pick up and go without the guilt associated with a date specific plan.

To some, my planning may sound like an overwhelming process. However, it happens to be something I enjoy. Also, I've found if I'm thorough in my planning, then I don't second guess as much throughout the year. That's not to say there's no flexibility. Last year, when the plan became drudgery and there was no Science of Relations, I ended up scrapping much of Ruben's plan part way through the year and winging the end, which turned out to be a great decision for both of us.

Over the past ten years, I haven't found any one plan that fits the needs of my family. In home educating, there is no one size fits all. What works for one family will most likely not work for another. Even in my own home, what works for one child does not necessarily work for another. It is for this reason every year I create an individualized education plan for each of my kids. Because I'm meeting the needs of each individual child, I tend to be very eclectic or individual in my approach. With that said, here are links to some resources I'm pulling from this year:

Ambleside Online Year 7

Ambleside Online Year 8

Ambleside Online Year 7/8 combined

Beautiful Feet Intermediate Medieval History

IEW Medieval Writing 

Simply Charlotte Mason

Sonlight Level G

Sonlight Level H

Veritas Press Omnibus 

Whether you're a chart maker or an on the fly kind of gal, the most important thing to remember is that each and every one of our Children are born persons. We are not dumping books and facts into them. A chart or plan simply gives you the ability to do what comes next on those low energy or hard days when life is kicking your butt. Ultimately, because we're not educating machines, some days may not be well oiled or run smoothly. Having a plan is helpful to me when life takes over.

Prepping for GHC Through Simplification...

Riley and I are off to the Great Homeschool Convention. For the past couple of weeks, I've been making my lists and checking them twice. I now have ten years of home educating under my belt. Over those years, I have come to know what I like and what I don't. More recently, the art of simplification has been on my heart.

Due to my new less is more thinking, I aim to be intentional upon our arrival. I have mapped my course. After all, the vendor hall is my favorite place to be. I'm like a kid in a candy store. However, it can quickly turn into a bellyache if one is unprepared and overindulges.

After making my lists, I checked our book shelves. I actually found two books on my list that I forgot I had. I'm on a very limited budget and therefore, can't afford unnecessary purchases.  I then priced my list on a variety of sites including Rainbow Resource, Christian Book, Amazon, as well as other various curriculum vendors. I know there will be conference discounts, free shipping, and other incentives, by knowing my prices ahead of time, I'm able to take these factors into consideration and get the most bang for my buck.

I have also printed a list of speakers and the workshop schedule. Since we have about a nine hour drive, I will have time to choose my sessions while enroute. In addition, I plan to buy the conference audio. That way, I don't have to feel stressed about choosing just the right workshops ahead of time because it's inevitable that more than one person on my list will be speaking at the same time. I also like owning the conference audio so I can find added encouragement throughout the year.

Back when I was only five years in, I wrote Prepping for a Homeschool Convention. Much is the same today.  I will be wearing comfortable clothing and shoes, as well as bringing plenty of water along to stay hydrated. I look forward to one on one time with Riley as well as what the Great Homeschool Convention has to offer!

Hey, if you see me at the conference, please say hello. I love to meet fellow home educating Charlotte Mason, Classical Education thinkers :)

The Habit of Orderliness, Helping Students Stay Organized....

In an effort to help my kiddos stay organized, for the past few years, I've created student planners.  You may remember from Planning Your Homeschool Year that I am primarily a paper/pencil planner. I've tried digital planning unsuccessfully...mostly because our computer crashed that year.  I've since created my master plans in Word, but print hard copies to work off of throughout the year.  

RileyAnn has always been fascinated by my lesson plans. Back in 4th grade, she wanted a system to keep track of her own assignments.  She's very motivated and has been striving for independence in her academics for some time.  You may also remember the paper/pencil Term Checklists I posted back then.  Riley is my lover of box checking so she loves the checklist system.  

The habit of regularity is as attractive to older children as to the infant.  The days when the usual programme falls through are, we know, the days when the children are apt to be naughty.  Charlotte Mason, Vol. 1 p. 132

This year, I thought about doing away with the checklists because I wanted to try a new system as I felt Riley was ready for the entire lesson plan.  However, Riley begged for them and we compromised.  I gave her the desired check boxes as well as the lesson plans.  It was a win, win all the way around.  

Below you will see Riley's Term 1 Daily Checklists.  This year, I've scheduled all subjects in a four day week, leaving the fifth day open.  In the past, I've scheduled a lighter fifth day, but never left it completely open.  I wasn't sure it would work and was open to the idea of carry over if four days got to be too much.  However so far, it's been wonderful!  

This week we do start choir, which requires travel time and usually errands when we head to the city.  It's also typically a day to have lunch, shop, or play at the park with friends.  The kids now have the option to complete their school work on that day after arriving home or saving it for the fifth open day.  My goal was to create more time for leisure and contemplation.  Over the past couple of weeks on their fifth free day, the kids have done such things as helping me work our thrift sale, an art tour, baking, building, free reading, spending time out of doors, etc.  So far, it certainly hasn't been a wasted day.  Each of them now has built in time to cultivate other interests and hobbies.  

Following the Term Checklist is Riley's At-A-Glance Term Lesson Plan Chart.  I've modeled this after the Ambleside Online Printable Charts.  When it says Jungle Pilot on Day 1 of her Checklist, Riley can go to the Term Lesson Plan and see that she's supposed to read Ch 1-2 that day.  When it says Natural History on Day 4, she can cross reference to see that she is to read Ch 1 of Keeping a Nature Journal.  These two types of charts have not changed over the past couple of years.  Riley liked this system so we will continue.  I've decided if it's not broke, don't fix it!

The change I did make to Riley's student planner this year was due to her request for more independence.  I actually handed over the entire lesson plan to her.  For example, I made a copy of the AO Year 6 Old Testament Bible reading plan, the Beautiful Feet Ancient History pages with the lessons on them, a plan for mapping her geography, science lesson plan, and a sample of what her rhetoric assignment should look like in her notebook.  I then used my ProClick Binder to bind it all in one as you can see below.  You may want to check out Riley's 2016-2017, Homeschool Plan for 7th Grade for a better understanding of her schedule and assignments.  

Next there's Ruben, who hated the checklist system and was confused by all the boxes.  As an alternative, last year I created a table with a list of daily expectations.  I then printed it and placed it in a sheet protector which he added to his 3-ring binder.  Rather than ask me what he needed to do each day, he simply took out his list and was able to see for himself.  It looked like this....

Ruben Daily Schedule Year 5 2015-2016

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Bible	Bible	Bible	Bible	Nature Study
Math	Math	Math	Math	Logic/Games
Church History	Geography	Church History	Daniel Boone	Free Reading
BF History	BF Science	BF History	BF Science	BF History
Poetry	Oliver Twist	Poetry	Poetry	Scrub Floor
STOW 4	ULW	Incredible Journey	ULW
			Art
Cursive	Cursive	Cursive	Cursive
Read to Levi	Read to Levi	Read to Levi	Read to Levi

Ruben liked this daily expectation chart, but because it was simply a printed table, it wasn't fluid to changing assignments.  It didn't allow me a written way to assign page numbers or chapters to be read.  This year I really wanted something with more detail to promote independence for him. Yet, it needed to be simple, straight forward, one page, with little on the page.  Last year, I also tried giving Ruben a Term Lesson Plan like Riley's shown above, but it was confusing for him.  I knew the checklists didn't work and I knew he would be overwhelmed by the entire lesson plan.  

Then I remembered reading How I'm Using Spiral Notebooks to Simplify Homeschooling by Sarah Mackenzie and wondered if a spiral notebook system would work for Ruben.  About the second day of school, I decided to try it.  I picked a plain old 19-cent spiral bound notebook...in his favorite color, of course. 

Because we chose Heart of Dakota Creation to Christ this year for Ruben, there was not a lot of lesson planning involved on my part.  Each day has a two-page spread in the teacher's manual showing that day's lessons. 

However, because I subbed out some books and chose our own language arts and math, the plan doesn't list those items.  This is where Ruben's student notebook comes in.  Every evening, I look over the next day's HOD plan.  From there, I make a total list of assignments in Ruben's spiral notebook.  Again, looking at Ruben's 2016-2017 Homeschool Plan for 6th Grade will give you a better understanding of his assignment schedule. 

In the morning, Ruben can work through the list and know what's expected of him. As Charlotte Mason said, children desire regularity. They thrive when adhering to a schedule or routine.  Ruben loves knowing what he has to do before starting his day and now that we're in our third week of school, I like that he can check his list each morning, pick out some independent assignments and begin working.  

There are a few books that he still prefers me to read aloud to him, but I do see him slowly gaining confidence, which is creating more independence in his studies.  For example, this morning I left the "school room" to put a beef roast in the crock pot for supper.  Upon my return, Ruben was lying on the couch reading his science text.  It was a beautiful sight! 

Overall, our new student planners are working great!  Riley and Ruben are both happy, as am I.  The new system is helping each of them to stay organized. We have found a routine and are building the habit of orderliness. 

Let all things be done decently and in order. - 1 Corinthians 14:40

Do you use student planners?  I'd love to hear about what works for your family.  Feel free to leave a comment below.

My Homeschool Audit...

I just finished Mystie Winckler's Homeschool Audit guide!  I meant to do it sooner since we finished our 2015-2016 academic year over six weeks ago, but time got away.  After completion, I feel this is one of those things that's better late than never.  More importantly is to complete it before you start planning the upcoming year.

To get started, you should download the guide, then watch Myste's one hour workshop.  If you watch the workshop, you'll want to download the chat log as well.  If you don't have time for the workshop, the guide is quintessential.  You can also read about Mystie's audit results here.

Auditing My Situation

My points seem a bit high at 42, which was interesting and relieving at the same time.  As many other homeschooling moms, I have feelings of underachieving, like I'm failing my kids, and not doing enough.  However, when I sat down and looked back at what we accomplished this year, I was amazed, scoring 16 points for each thing I taught separately....no wonder I'm exhausted!  I will be looking at ways to combine subjects, foster greater independence, and possibly co-op some of these subjects for the upcoming year.

I also added 10 points for our struggle with dyslexia, which affects many areas of our homeschool.  I scored 5 points for out-of-the-house activities including field trips, plays, Socratic Book Club, choir, art, and dyslexia tutoring.  Ruben has since graduated from the Children's Dyslexia Center so this eliminates 2 days per week of running, which will be really helpful in the upcoming year.

Auditing My Year

Overall it was a solid year.  I'm extremely pleased with Ruben's progression in reading and Riley's level of maturity in assuming greater responsibility within her studies.  Both kids love history and literature so we will definitely continue to study most subjects using a living book approach.  

One thing I need to work on is helping Ruben develop his interests, skills, and hobbies.  In his free time, he's currently most interested in watching TV and spending time on the computer much to my chagrin.  I will be looking for ways to redirect him, most likely by limiting screen time, so hopefully he can find a more constructive hobby of interest.  A second area of struggle continues to be math.

Auditing My Schedule

Planning and scheduling are strengths for me.  Because it's something I enjoy, I spend a great deal of time creating and organizing my plan.  Unfortunately, I am not always the best implementer of my plan.  However, having a printed plan, schooling four days per week, and giving Riley more independent studies worked out very well this year.  We developed a habit of routine and the kids knew early on what was expected of them.

The problem is that I like to fit everything in a nice little efficient compact box.  Sadly, due to the messiness of life, my best laid plans often run over the sides of that box.  I love what Mystie said in the workshop about budgeting time.  If you have three hours scheduled, then plan for five.  This really resonated with me.  In a perfect world, we could easily complete our scheduled plan in a short amount of time, but because of life's everyday interruptions...(two 3-year olds, being self-employed, etc.), I often felt pressured to hurry up and finish 'school' so life could take over.  I will be sitting down to look at the specific time slots in our day in hopes of becoming more efficient and capitalizing on the best use of our time.

Auditing My Stuff

Most of our school stuff has a home so this wasn't a problem.  We are fortunate to have a designated 'school room' on the back of our garage so I don't have to deal with school stuff throughout the house.  However, being the bibliophile that I am, we have outgrown our space due to books.  Now, you will never hear me say that one can have too many books, but I will say I don't have enough shelves/walls for all my books :)  I need to find a way to either box some up and rotate or build more shelves.  Truth be told, the clutter in our home is books and it actually felt stressful to me for the first time ever this year.  Is there such a thing as book lover's anonymous?

    

Auditing My Flow

Because we educate using Charlotte Mason's method, which includes short lessons, time spent per subject is not an issue.  Also, because we complete the bulk of our schooling in the morning in one chunk, there aren't a lot of transition issues.  Although, I did find two big problems in this area.  One being, getting Ruben started.  He is not a morning person and really lacks motivation when it comes to academics because it's difficult for him...and no one likes to do hard things!  This is a big part of why Riley asked for more independent studies.  She likes to get up in the morning and get started on her work so she can have free time to pursue her other interests.  As noted above, I need to work with Ruben on how to pursue a hobby.

The second struggle I found in this area is my need to follow-up to be sure that Riley has her independent work done before she goes off to 'play'.  There were several times I found her doing crafts, designing American Girl outfits, reading a pleasure book, only to learn that she hadn't finished her math lesson or was saving an assigned reading for "later".  As our kids become more independent, it's easy for us to back off and go tackle our list of 150 other things to do.  However, I learned that I need to be more diligent in checking up to be sure that the independent work is getting done in a timely fashion.

Auditing My Relationships

The last part of the audit was the most difficult for me.  I left several questions unanswered due to the fact that I felt these were questions that needed some pondering.  Heart issues cannot be solved overnight.   For the most part, I feel I have an excellent and healthy relationship with my kids.  However, as a fallible human being, I want to be sure that my view isn't skewed.  Also, because we're on the cusp of having teenagers, I want to seriously consider and be ready for come what may.  Are conflicts avoidable when hormones are raging?...ahem.   Ask me ten years from now.

Working through this audit has not only helped me pin point areas I need to improve on, but it was a healthy shot of reassurance to see our strengths and all that we accomplished over the past year.  I believe my findings will be very helpful as I plunge into planning for the upcoming academic year.

Have you completed a homeschool audit?  If so, I'd love to hear about your experience.  Feel free to share in the comments...

New Books!...

Oh, I love it when new books arrive in the mail!  It's almost better than Christmas :)  I'm in planning mode and will start posting more about it in July, but I thought I'd give you a sneak peak at some things that were dropped at our door this week....

We will be heading back to Ancient history this fall.  RileyAnn will use the Beautiful Feet Ancient History study guide in conjunction with a few Ambleside Online books, as well as some others I need to weed through.  I haven't started her plan on paper yet, since I'm currently working on Ruben's.

Shakespeare and Nature Study are two areas I aim to improve on this year.  I've heard nothing but wonderful things about Ken Ludwig's How to Teach your Children Shakespeare so I thought we'd give it a try.

I first saw The Tree Book for Kids and Their Grown-Ups by Gina Ingoglia in Ohio at the Great Homeschool Convention.  It's a Memoria Press recommendation that I instantly fell in love with.  The simple text is just right in providing knowledge for the novice, yet not dumbed down.  And, the illustrations are fabulous!  They look perfect for imitation in our nature journals.

Lastly, a friend recently showed me The Curious Nature Guide by Clare Walker Leslie and it was also love at first sight.  The pictures are a mix of photographs and nature illustrations.  From the inside cover flap...

Every page of this book is an invitation, a stunning offering of illustrations, watercolors, photographs, intriguing facts, and thoughtful moments. 

This is exactly how I feel when I look though it.  Also, every few pages has a "Try This", which are little tips for getting out in nature. Walker's suggestions are very doable even for the overwhelmed mom.  I love paging through this book and actually feel excited about nature study.

First Week of 2015-2016 School Year in Review....

This was our official first week of school here on Drywood Creek.  You may remember the Curriculum Choices I posted on Monday.  Now upon reflecting back, Mon-Thurs went well considering I didn’t feel as prepared to begin this year. Friday, I had appointments so our school day was non-existent, but it was OK since I intentionally schedule a light day Friday for these occasions.  We don’t have real Labor Day plans other than haying, canning, and housework, so we’ll probably do a bit of history reading over the weekend to keep “on track”.  I typically do a bedtime read aloud and we’re in between books so I can easily plug it in there.


Something that worked this week…

Math!! This has always been a huge source of tension in our home. We have bounced and jumped programs too many times. Unfortunately, I have instilled math anxiety.  Anyway, I’m taking a different approach this year to try to build back their love of learning.  RileyAnn, 6th grade, is working through Life of Fred and Simply Charlotte Mason’s Business Math. She voluntarily did an hour of math one day because it was fun.
 
Ruben, 5th grade, also began LOF as well as continuing with ST Math.  He is dyslexic and hates ALL things “school”….except me reading aloud to him. Well, the second day, he picked up Fred and read it himself, continuing the 3rd and 4th day! It was so awesome to see him put forth effort and enjoy it.

Something that didn’t quite work this week….

As you know, I’m a huge Beautiful Feet fan!  This year we’re using the BF Modern American and World History study three days per week. Monday, we started reading Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt. BF has scheduled 2 chapters per lesson. Well, if you’ve read this book….which is wonderful, by the way….you know that the chapters are extremely long! Two chapters is averaging 35-50 pages, which takes over an hour, definitely not in line with Charlotte Mason’s short lessons. We will continue, but I need to figure out a way to break these lessons up.

One snag that I ran into while planning that I’m still working out….

Last year RileyAnn completed Michael Clay Thompson’s Town Level in 5th grade and I thought it was wonderful! This year I planned to continue with the Voyage Level for 6th grade. I borrowed as many books as possible and purchased the rest. Unfortunately, I didn’t really look at the content until last Saturday night, when I realized there was a huge step in the composition piece!  It looks more in line with high school.

After sleeping on it, I decided to hold off on the next level of MCT, but now I have no grammar/English plan for her. I’ve started Using Language Well with Ruben and could plug her into that or I have Simply Grammar that I’m considering. Both appear to be review from MCT, but maybe this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I would also like her to work more on written narrations so maybe I’ll just focus on this. Decisions, decisions....

Have you started the 2015-2016 school year?  If so, how's it going?  Feel free to leave a comment below. 

2015-2016 Circle Time Planning

Now that I have books chosen for our 2015-2016 homeschool year, I'm trying to create the schedule.  Last night I worked out our "Circle Time" subjects, or subjects we want to do together as a family, Cindy Rollins coined this "Morning Time".  I took little squares of paper and wrote each subject/book title that I intended to use as well as creating Mon, Tues, Wed, etc., headers.  This I learned from Sonya Shafer while watching the Simply Charlotte Mason Learning and Living DVD series. 

Once all the little papers were written, I could easily manipulate them and place them under a day of the week accordingly.  For example, I knew I wanted to spend three days per week on Beautiful Feet's Modern American and World History study and two days per week on Beautfiul Feet's History of Science study.  These were easily plugged in across the top, altering days.

Next, I plan to study the book of Genesis using the TruthQuest Beginnings guide, along with church history and some missionary stories.  I've chosen the Nancy Ganz commentary, Herein is Love, as the spine of the Genesis study and plan to spend four days per week on it.  The church history and missionary study will rotate with Beautiful Feet's Geography, which we're finishing up from last year.  I will be combining readings from Trial & Triumph by Hannula and the History Lives series by Mindy and Brandon Withrow.  I know the Geography study will only take one day per week, as well as the missionary biography.  A dear friend told me about the YWAM missionary stories on audio.  Since we'll be traveling to choir on Thursday mornings, I thought this the perfect time to pop in a YWAM missionary audio, hence the reason I plugged it into Thursday.  I know the BF Geography study is a little heavier than reading a chapter of church history and given the fact that Ruben has tutoring at the Children's Dyslexia Center on Mon/Wed, I plugged it into Tuesday, one of our days we get to stay home all day!

Lastly, I looked at what I call the, Charlotte Mason Enrichment, that I wanted to incorporate into our Circle Time this year.  I'm outsourcing choir and art, but I still want to do composer and picture study at home.  In addition, I plan to carry on our Plutarch Study from last year, as well as adding Wild Animals I Have Known by Seton, a recommendation from Ambleside Online Year 5 for Natural History.  I simply placed these four items on a different day each week.  Then added Health and Nature Study to our light day, Friday.  This will be a time for outdoor recreation and exploring nature.

Put into table form, our Circle Time week will look something like this....

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
History	Science	History	Science	History
Bible	Bible	Bible	Bible	Health
Church History	Geography	Church History	Missionary	Nature Study
Composer Study	Plutarch	Natural History	Picture Study
Tutoring		Tutoring	Choir

Stay tuned for our full list of 2015-2016 curriculum as we begin our first day of school next week....