Learning a Thing or Two

The time has come for my annual year-end recap. This has become my tradition mostly because at about this time each year, I suddenly begin to wonder if we actually did anything all year. It is almost funny how it happened like clockwork. I spent the whole year feeling like I was actually staying on top of things. I went in with a better plan than ever before, and I stuck with my plan more consistently than in the past. And yet, when May rolled around, I suddenly panicked, thinking that we must have wasted the whole year. "The math book isn't done! The science book isn't done! Lucian's phonics book isn't done! I don't know if Audrey and Edith learned anything all year!"

So now I will take a step back, take a deep breath, and take a look at the photographs I took throughout the year. We did some amazing learning this year, and all of the kids made leaps forward! I am so proud of all of them, no matter how many pages are left in our math book.

This year was the first year I let myself buy a math curriculum and a science program. I realized that with the chaos of five kids, three of whom are preschool or younger, I was dropping the ball on lesson planning week after week after week. I noticed Max was feeling frustrated with math, and I finally decided I didn't have the time or tools to teach him what he needed. So we invested in Math-U-See, a hands-on math curriculum that speaks Max's language. Lucian too has been enjoying it, especially since there's enough of a workbook component to keep him interested. On top of that, we are still reading Life of Fred, a series of fun math stories that make math relevant to real life.

We completed the second volume of our beloved history book, Story of the World, which took us two whole years to get through! What an accomplishment that was. This was easily everyone's favorite subject this year, so I began a search for a science program that would have a similar feel, and I came across Sassafras Science. We have only had it for a couple of months, but I think it has filled in the science-shaped hole in our curriculum in just the right way. Our schooling works best when it revolves around stories, and Sassafras Science (while not the highest quality literature...) is an engaging story about a brother and sister who go on a science adventure. It comes along with experiment ideas, workbook pages and lots of extras to expand on the chapter if we choose.

I think the most helpful addition to our school schedule this year was the simple act of putting a list of goals on our chalkboard. There are so many things I want to do each day that I often suffer from decision paralysis. When I forced myself to choose the top five items that should get done and write them in a conspicuous place, it became much easier to motivate myself when I had an actual box to check in a place where everyone could see it!

Our daily goals are as follows. If we do three of these items, I feel as if our day was a success. If we do all five, I feel like we hit it out of the park!
1. Morning Prayer/School: When I start playing our School Song, the kids know it's time to gather. We begin with prayer and then I tell them the subject of the day. Usually this time is devoted to either math, science, or history, but on occasion we will bring something else in, like an art project or some poetry.
2. DEAR Time: Drop Everything And Read! It is exactly what it sounds like, and it is exactly as amazing as it sounds. As long as Blaise and Edith are napping...
3. 10 minute speed clean: I pick the room, we take a 'before' picture, we have a cleaning frenzy for 10 minutes, then we take an 'after' picture. If the pictures are different enough, they're done!
4. Read Aloud: If I could choose one list item to do, it would be this. We read aloud all the time. I realized just how much I read to the kids when I lost my voice for a week and had to figure out how to parent without being able to pick up a book. It was tough!
5. Assignment List: I write up a list of independent assignments for the boys each day, including subjects like handwriting, math worksheets, assigned reading, and active items like jumping on the trampoline or going outside to bike.

D.E.A.R. outside in the sun

On a good week, we get in probably 3 days of actual school. I have a hard time motivating myself to start in the morning, and I still have a baby and a toddler... so it seems like more often than not we just don't do any of the things we're supposed to do! And some days I find myself hiding behind the couch because four out of five kids are trying to yell at me about something.

But writing down our ideal helps me remember that we actually do a lot. I am proud of what we have accomplished this year! I hope you enjoy the photo recap of our most photogenic school moments of the year.

Halloween candy science experiments

Max drawing the Sistine Chapel ceiling

Natural Science

Stuffed Animal election

Pattern Practice (She did learn something this year!) 

Learning about illuminated manuscripts

Solar System Science

Lucian teaching Audrey to count

Moon Phase Oreos: always a favorite

Cave Painting

Cooking

One of our favorite read-alouds of the year! 

We spent weeks conversing in Morse Code

Claymation craze!

Everyone loves playing the piano

Floating egg science

Many hours have been spent studying the world map in the dining room

Chemistry made a comeback around here

 

  Library cards! Having his own card turned Lucian into a voracious reader overnight!

And of course: reading.

 

And reading. 

 

Everywhere and anywhere to anyone

 

It melts my heart to see them enjoying this time together! 

If I had nothing else to show for it, the bonds the kids are building with each other around reading together is worth every moment of stress and struggle that comes with homeschooling. I wouldn't change a thing.

Read to me

A couple of years ago, my mother-in-law gave me a bookmark that contained the following poem:

Reading Mother, by Strickland Gillilan

I had a mother who read to me
Sagas of pirates who scoured the sea,
Cutlasses clenched in their yellow teeth,
"Blackbirds" stowed in the hold beneath.
I had a Mother who read me lays
Of ancient and gallant and golden days;
Stories of Marmion and Ivanhoe,
Which every boy has a right to know.
I had a Mother who read me tales
Of Gelert the hound of the hills of Wales,
True to his trust till his tragic death,
Faithfulness blent with his final breath.
I had a Mother who read me the things
That wholesome life to the boy heart brings--
Stories that stir with an upward touch,
Oh, that each mother of boys were such!
You may have tangible wealth untold;
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I you can never be--
I had a Mother who read to me.

One thing that I most want my children to inherit from me is a love of reading. This poem applies to my life growing up- I remember my dad reading Les Miserables to me as a bedtime story when I was a kid, and my family can all attest to the fact that I was rarely without a book in hand. I love the way this poem captures the excitement and adventure that can be found in the pages of a good book, and I love that the author gives credit to his mother for forming his love of reading.

Our home is a place where books are always accessible. And don't tell my kids this (because they might abuse the information) but I will rarely say no if they approach me with a book in hand. "Please read this to me!" is a common refrain throughout the day. We generally have at least 25 library books scattered around the house, but there are also the favorites that we own and continually revisit, namely Winnie the Pooh, anything by Dr. Seuss or Mo Willems, and a whole pile of others.

Max was born a die-hard book lover. The instant he hears a book being read aloud- whether by his mom at home or a complete stranger at the library- he will drop whatever he is doing and worm his way close to the reader to listen in. He recently listened to his dad read three full pages of The Nicomachean Ethics, a super dense philosophical text, before Paul finally convinced him that he might rather hear something else. This kid would listen to the telephone book being read aloud, I swear.

Lucian is coming around to books, in part because we have started to make a concerted effort to read stories that are at his comprehension level. It took me awhile to discover that if it is not interesting, he will not stay to listen. The Hobbit, Max's latest bedtime story, holds Louie's interest for about a paragraph. But he will bring me a whole stack of his own favorites and soak up every word.

When I recently caught the boys in the guest room reading on their own, it made my heart leap a little. Books were such an integral part in forming me as a child, and they continue to form me today. I am so glad that I see the beginnings of two young book lovers in my house.

We try to introduce our kids to good literature, and we have discovered a few lists that we keep returning to for new ideas. Our favorites are the Thomas Jefferson Education family reading list and their classics for young readers, and I also like to browse Charlotte Mason's Bookfinder, where you can search by title, author, or keyword to find great picture books for all ages. The Caldecott Medal Winners are always good to check too. 

Hope on the Web

My friend John approached me recently to see if I would like to write for his new blog, Man Fully Alive. The title is taken from a quote by St. Irenaeus of Lyons, "The glory of God is man fully alive." In a time when we are surrounded by division, despair and pessimism, the mission of this site is "to seek out signs of hope in human life and share them with the world". Too much of what we find on the internet drags us down, so John's goal is to have a place that people can go for a breath of fresh air. We write about things that give us hope- both in the Church and in the culture at large. Because, believe it or not, there is a lot to be hopeful about!

So if, in all of your plentiful spare time, you'd like to read more of what I have to say, check out the Man Fully Alive website. I write every Wednesday, and John posts several times each week. He actually knows what's going on in the world, while I mainly ramble about what's going on in my head, but I'd say there's something there for everyone. So check it out! Follow us! Be hopeful!

Good St. Irenaeus