Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Sometimes God is in the little things...

In March or April, I sat down to do some planning for 2009-10. One of the things I left with a question mark was Bible. I jotted some notes as to what I wanted in a Bible program, which I'm prettying up here a bit:

  1. something I can do with everyone
  2. something that doesn't involve a ton of preparation time from me
  3. something that doesn't involve a lot of reading and writing for anyone but Connor
  4. something that would let Connor dig into his Bible and really start to explore things like the meanings of words, or how things tie together, using Bible study resource materials like concordances, atlases, and word study books
  5. something that is comprehensive in its coverage
  6. something that is not "cute" nor is it working at being "relevant" to today's youth culture
  7. but yet is something that they can enjoy
  8. preferably something that either is later old testament (we have done Genesis, well... a lot) or New Testament
  9. and something we can afford

So yesterday, I got an email from Grapevine Studies, as I get the chance to review one of their products for the TOS Review Crew. I'll be reviewing the Old Testament Overview (link is to the level 4 student book, which is what Connor will be using). I hadn't even remembered that I had listed out what I wanted, but after talking with a friend, I was reminded. And I had to report on how this lines up:

  1. I can include everyone, even Trina (not officially, the recommendation was a notebook and crayons... but I know she'll be listening, and memorizing too)
  2. It doesn't appear to need a lot of prep time, once I get through the initial "how to use this course" stuff.
  3. The author of the program had students with reading struggles, so the program is very adaptable in that regard.
  4. Level 4 is teaching them to use a Bible dictionary, a concordance, and a topical Bible. That is explicitly built into the course (honestly, I am likely to learn as much as Connor in this part!)
  5. Certainly comprehensive
  6. Cute could be argued. Definitely not trying to be hip or cool...
  7. My guess is that they will love this.
  8. Okay, well, we're starting back over with Genesis. Again. But that won't be all year, and really, most of the stuff we've done is in weeks 2-5 of this overview, so I think that will work.
  9. And, hmmm, my price is printing it out, and writing up a review.

Friday, June 26, 2009

What combining kids looks like in our homeschool

I've had people asking me questions about doing school with five different kids at five different levels, and how I do it... so I thought maybe I'd try to blog about it.

The single biggest piece of advice I have about managing it all is that there are many, many ways to meet the needs of all of your kids, and what works for me right now may not work for you... and it may not work for me next year. There is no one right way.

Some people end up using a lot of programs that do the teaching for you... whether that be math via DVD, or online courses, or just materials that are designed to be self-teaching.

Some people end up doing multi-grade unit study type things where everyone can participate together.

Some people do some other sort of combining: putting kids together for some things, finding co-op options for others, doing individual stuff for still other subjects. I tend to fall into this no-single-approach category.


Up until now, we have been using one Sonlight Core for everyone in the family. This past year, I did add some of Core P3/4, but that is not really, truly a "Core" so I don't exactly count it. This year, we have been using Core 5: Eastern Hemisphere, which Sonlight recommends for ages 10-13. At the time we began this core, I had two children in the recommended age range... Connor was 11.5, and William had just turned 10. Also doing the core with us were Thomas, age 8, Richard, age 4.75 and Trina, about 33 months.

So how do I take a program meant for 5th-8th graders and use it with everyone?

Well, first off, I don't expect my 2nd grader to get the "full value" of the core. I expect him to get a good 2nd grade education.

But as to the nitty gritty, our life looks something like this:

All together, we do history. I adjust the assignment difficulty a bit. In the case of Core 5, I don't have my 2nd grader doing any of the research part of it (Eastern Hemisphere Explorer), and I adapt some of the assignments for the 4th grader too.

All together we do read-alouds, and readers. I read the readers aloud too. Yes, it is a lot of reading... but certainly not as much as if I had my crew in 2-4 different cores. I do not require any child 1st grade and under to participate in any of the above, but if they choose to stay in the room, they are expected to be quiet and non-distracting. My kids generally choose to stay.

All together, we do the Bible readings and memorization. The littles are required to participate in that, though they don't necessarily have to actually memorize the entire passage. See this post, though, for a demonstration of what my youngest son has managed to do though.

My oldest is the only one doing the Core 5 Bible book, Remembering God's Awesome Acts. I am doing Building on the Rock with my next two together. And my preschoolers do a variety of children's Bibles and devotionals.

My oldest takes a Latin class online. He does math that he can usually self-teach (VideoText Algebra, ALEKS, Calculus Without Tears -- these are the current favorites). He is doing Apologia Physical Science. He has been using Wordsmith Apprentice for writing, which is written directly to him. He is using LLATL pretty much on his own too -- I have to read the dictation passages and occasionally have some discussions with him. But mostly, he is transitioning to doing a lot of his independent work, well, independently.

My next three are all using A-Ha Math this year, as they can do that without a lot of input from me. That has online "math classes" that they can watch, and then work out the problems. I spend time with all three one-on-one on reading instruction mostly, but also some time on grammar and writing, also all one-on-one. We've been slacking in science, but when we do it, I am doing things with all but my oldest.

My two little ones (Richard is in both the above paragraph and here) are getting a little bit of more typical preschool read-alouds too. We are not using a schedule at all, but trying to work through the P3/4 books as it seems to work on any given day.

My goal is to do at least two hours a day of family read-aloud time. That has included history reading, actual read-alouds and readers, art history reading, music history reading, science reading, and whatever else strikes my/our fancy. I love this time. I love that we can discuss stuff as a family and have these various literature experiences in common. While trying to pack for a cub scout camping trip earlier, we were looking "everywhere a campstove could be, and everywhere a campstove couldn't be" which is an adaptation of a line from The Wheel on the School... a book we read together, oh, five years ago. (The campstove was found. Under a pile of books. Yet another reminder that I desperately need to clear out books so that everything will fit ON A BOOKSHELF! Or two, or fifteen... most people would think we have more than enough bookshelf space...)

Combining is going to look different next year though. Connor is going to be going on to Core 6 without his brothers. I will still plan to do a chunk of family read-aloud time, though, and a chunk of read-aloud time for everyone but him. That is going to take some serious adjustments for me! Since he will be doing this, I'm hoping to get everyone together for Bible study (I'm really hoping that the Grapevine review I'm supposed to be getting soon will be *the ticket*)

I'm also hoping to get them all doing some electives together this year. Be a bit more intentional about PE, for instance. And when William crosses over to Boy Scouts in February, we are seriously looking at doing a couple of the more academic merit badges as school for both of them, letting the younger guys participate some too.

I think it is going to be interesting to see how things work in the coming schoolyear.

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Sunday, June 21, 2009

First Class Scout!

As I posted earlier, I went to pick Connor up from his week at Camp Alexander. The big thing he was supposed to be doing there this year was to work on passing the BSA Swimmer test.

Swimming has been a struggle for this child. Over the last year, since really becoming aware of the requirements to get to First Class, I have wondered if he would ever make First Class, just because I didn't think it looked possible for him to get to the point of swimming with a strong stroke.

So he took double swim lessons the two weeks before camp, and he signed up for the Instructional Swim at camp, instead of doing a fourth merit badge session.

Well, it paid off. He failed the BSA Swimmer test on Sunday, but he did pass it after doing the swimming during the week.

And not only that... but he made it over to the First Class Center to finish off the one requirement he hadn't completed, and to redo one that he hadn't gotten signed off... and he met with the assistant scoutmaster who was on the trip for his scoutmaster conference... and the camp staff does Boards of Review... so he did that too.

My scout came home with a new rank!

The other really exciting thing is that now all of the kids he started with (well, except one who quit scouts after about 3 months) have made First Class -- one did a couple weeks ago, and three others did Boards of Review at camp too. Sixteen months in scouts, and five of them are on track with some of the goals they set as a group back when they joined. They wanted to make First Class in 1.5 to 2 years. I'm so excited for all of these boys!



Okay, so he didn't earn any merit badges... we knew he wouldn't complete camping, as he needs another couple of nights of camping, and there are a couple other things he needs to do that really can't be done at camp. He should complete it in July when the troop goes camping.

Fishing -- he needs to catch and release a fish that isn't a bass... apparently the fishing wasn't all that great this year, and Connor chose to skip one of the fishing sessions to finish up the First Class stuff (good choice, I thought!)

Orienteering -- he has to teach other scouts something in order to complete this one.

So, one week, one huge sunburn, a new rank, and really close to three merit badges. Not bad.
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2009 Schoolhouse Planner

My first review for the TOS Homeschool Crew! This is for The 2009 Schoolhouse Planner. This is an eBook, available at The Old Schoolhouse Store, for $39. If you order before July 12, you also will receive the 2008 Planner Excerpts for free. The calendar starts with July 2009, and goes through June 2010.

So the first and most obvious thing I noticed when I downloaded the planner is its size: 375 pages! Yikes!

What I would have liked to have known is how that is broken down, so that is the first thing I'm going to talk about.

The first 1/3 of this eBook are the actual planner pages. Each month includes two pages of a calendar, with wonderful big blocks for writing (or typing!) Following that are at least three pages of information for the theme for that month (an article, a "must-know" list, and loads of links to additional resources at the TOS store), and two recipes.

The following sections, briefly:
  • Misc. Educational forms - 20 some pages, with things like the Periodic Table, a list of countries and their capitals, or a chart for converting measurements.
  • Homeschool forms - about 120 pages, including all kinds of long- and short-term planning and goal forms, report cards, grade reports, progress reports, daily and weekly schedules, records for memory work, crafts or field trips, journal pages, lab sheets, forms for co-op planning, and much, much more.
  • Household forms - about 75 pages, including information sheets (medical, appliance inventory, personal financial information), grocery lists, menu planning sheets, housekeeping lists, chore charts, prayer journals, garden planning, car maintenance forms, and lots more.

So, it is taking me awhile to get my brain around whether or not I can make use of this in our schooling. Or how, maybe, might be the better question. I know I can use parts of it. I know I never would have purchased this myself though. Part of that is probably just that I have been at this homeschooling thing for quite awhile now (this is my 8th year, if you don't count when I only had preschoolers... my first homeschool conference was over ten years ago).

Here is what I am thinking. First, I love the idea of being able to type up some basics into the calendar, and print it out for my own little mini-planner. So, I am definitely going to be doing that. And my oldest is starting to want to do things to plan out his trail to Eagle Scout, and I'm quite sure that helping him learn how to schedule things out is going to be a lot easier with the calendar pages, and some of the planning forms below.

Second, I am very impressed with the little mini-unit studies. The monthly articles are really good, and I will be putting a note in my calendar to pull the file up and read those each month. I like the idea of having a monthly pep-talk of sorts. I really only skimmed them at this point, because I want to have them available throughout the year. That being said, what I'm really looking forward to is the one for October, on emergency preparedness. That one falls completely in line with things my scouts need to be doing. I also really, really want to truly do the one for January, on letter writing to connect the generations. And March, which is on dead languages. Anyone who knows me, knows I'm a sucker for anything relating to Latin and Greek (no, honey, I did *not* buy a new Latin program... I promise....)

Let me tell you about the January unit. There is an article, covering a bit over a page, talking about all the benefits of letter writing between grandparents and the grandchildren. Then there is a page talking about the format and conventions in a friendly letter, and a page about business letters. It includes terminology I always forget to use (inside address, complimentary close) and it is just straight-forward and easy. And seeing that this coming year is a testing year (we have to test in odd grades, and my oldest three are now 7th, 5th and 3rd graders) and seeing as letter writing "stuff" is always such a big part of the grammar sections... well, we need to practice. And maybe this will do it.

Then I look at the planning forms. And I can see where, even with all the scheduling and such that I do with Homeschool Tracker, having something like this could come in handy. Check out the pages I did up for an overview of this week, and for Connor's 7th grade year:


I really like how I can see where I have holes... you know, like Art and Music. On the other hand, I wish I could customize the sections a bit. I'd like Art & Music to be one block, and I could have another called something boring like, "other." You know, where I can put the Logic program, or the cooking class, or the Morse code DVDs.

The last section is the household forms, and I have to say I love one of the grocery list forms. I fully intend to make use of it. The weekly meal planner is going to be perfect for Connor with his Cooking Merit Badge -- being able to type it in is a bonus! I can see making use of this one in my regular life too.


What I like: I love that I only have to print out the forms that I need. I love that I can type data into the forms, instead of only printing and writing things in by hand. I truly love that some of the planning forms are done up so you can do planning for one, two, three, four, or even five children on a single page.

What I don't like: This eBook is HUGE, and I think many of the forms would be much more usable if they weren't part of a nearly 400 page document. Like a book report form -- I immediately thought that I could have Connor use this as part of his Reading Merit Badge, but I either have to print it for him to write on it, or give him a copy of the entire file. If I could save an itty-bitty one-page pdf for the book report, I know it would get used. Same for some of the other forms. I know I am more likely to do things like weekly menu planning on a computer form, as opposed to writing it out (and keeping track of the piece of paper). I might make use of it this way, but even having it in a file of just the household forms would make it easier. The big thing is that if I want to have things like that annual planning form for each of my 5 kids, I need to save 5 separate copies of the 375 page document. I don't like that idea at all.

I also wish that it included things like Canadian Provinces and their capitals, or information on other countries. I have lists of US States everywhere, it seems, and I already know them. I'd love to see lists for places I ought to know (and my kids ought to know) but I don't (I can name the provinces, at least almost all of them... but I do not know the capitals!) I would imagine if I were a non-US homeschooler, I'd be even more disappointed with this.


One thing I have heard about planners in general is that you can google pretty much any of this, and find plenty of free forms online. That is true, and honestly, it would keep me from buying this planner.

There are some reasons to purchase it though. For one, it doesn't require the time to search... the table of contents is pretty straightforward! And the other thing that it does for me is to make me think about whether or not a particular form would benefit my family. I would not have gone looking for a shopping list form, for instance, but it is going to be very useful to me.


I do think I will get some use out of this planner. Just looking through the forms reminds me that there are things that would run far more smoothly if I'd take some time to actually write out my goals and plans and make some choices. And I really do like the idea of reading about Clouds in September, or Getting into College in May.

There are more page views at The Old Schoolhouse, and of course, you can purchase it there too. There is also a subscription deal, where you get the planner and all 12 of the 2009-10 Planner Modules for $99.99. You can read about that here.

And you can check out what my fellow crewmates have to say about the 2009 Schoolhouse Planner at:




Any questions? I'd love to know what you would want to know in deciding whether or not this is something you want to purchase.
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Saturday, June 20, 2009

Scout School

Maybe it is mostly because I have a child packing up from Boy Scout Camp right at this moment, but I've been thinking a lot about ways to incorporate scouts into our school life.

I think this was in a past post, but my older boys are all scouts. Connor is so close to making First Class in Boy Scouts, and hopefully I'll find out in a couple hours that he passed his BSA Swimmer test (if so, he'll make First Class in another couple weeks).

William is a Webelos II, and counting the months (I'm sure it will be weeks soon!) until he crosses over to Boy Scouts.

Thomas is a Bear, which is an incredibly wonderful year of scouting -- I think it is my favorite Cub Scout rank!

Richard doesn't get to start scouts for another eleven months. Too bad there isn't a Lion program in our council, he'd be thrilled beyond belief.

Anyway, in planning out the school year, sort of anyway, one thing I'm looking at is that Connor should finish up Physical Science midyear. He's has mapped out his road to Eagle scout it Excel (or Numbers, I forget which) as he is learning from his mother that a spreadsheet is the answer to virtually every problem.

One of the merit badges he has to earn for Eagle is Environmental Science. Now, we keep hearing that this is a tough one, and a lot of kids do it at camp. He wasn't old enough to do that this year (Camp A says you have to be 13)... and it is a double-session, and a lot of writing and all. He's planning to do it at camp next summer, assuming that the camp they go to offers it.

But... well, what if *we* do Environmental Science ourselves? He can easily find a merit badge counselor, and between the merit badge book and other resources, we could make at least a semester course out of it. Which saves me from purchasing a "real" science program until 8th grade. Anyway, The Jason Project has a free online curriculum called Operation: Resilient Planet that sure seems to dovetail nicely with the merit badge book.

And if we start in February, William could join in too, so both boys could earn Environmental Science.


So, that train of thought has been niggling at me for a few weeks, actually. But this week, I started expanding that. Especially looking at the things Thomas has in his Bear book. Since I don't have a set history (or science) program in mind for William and Thomas this year, what if I outline their school year based on Bear requirements? I'm sure I'll be getting some fun things to do with the TOS Review Crew, and maybe something that would make me dump the Scout School idea. But for planning purposes now, why not plan my year around the fantastic and broad BSA suggestions for what a 3rd grader ought to know? It could look something like this:

September:
  • Tall Tales: a whole bunch of folklore stuff, including mapping where the stories are set, could add the tall tales unit from LLATL Orange (I think it's Orange)
  • The Past is Exciting and Important: some things with the history of your community, your family history, etc.
  • Ride Right: bicycle safety and riding

October:
  • What Makes America Special: learn about your state, about some famous Americans, write about what makes America special to you, etc.
  • Be Ready: mostly first aid, which William will probably be doing in Webelos this month
  • Information Please: has to do with all kinds of sources of information -- newspapers, tv, online -- we'd visit the newspaper, and field trips are always good :)

November: (we don't "do school" in November, so this would be more *fun*)
  • Sharing Your World with Wildlife: visit a zoo, learn about some animals
  • Build a Model: pretty self-explanatory!
  • Tying it All Up: ropes and knots
December: we'd probably skip entirely

January:
  • Law Enforcement is a Big Job: obviously, a bunch of stuff dealing with the role of the police, crime prevention, etc.
  • Saving Well, Spending Well: finances, money management -- New Year's resolution time seems perfect for this!
  • Jot it Down: another good New Year's thing -- making to do lists, keeping a journal, writing a thank-you note

February:
  • Building Muscles: fitness activities, and Connor & William are planning to start Personal Fitness in February, so this would be the perfect time for Thomas too.

And then start fitting in electives... including, of course, Water and Soil Conservation while his brothers work on Environmental Science. The electives are great... Space, Radio, Nature Crafts, Swimming, Repairs, American Indian Life... to name a few. Maybe I ought to be including some of those earlier in the year.

I don't know... I keep thinking this would be a great "spine" and I can let my review stuff fill out the year.

But now, I better get dressed and moving and go pick up my son...

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

I'm so horrible about posting!

I keep wanting to sit down and write something, and there are just so many distractions! So, here is a general catch-up type post, and maybe once this is out, I can focus on some of the other things I need to be doing.

One thing I am working on is my first review for the TOS Review Crew. I downloaded the new TOS Planner, and am struggling to review it. I'm hoping, actually, to get to bed really really early on Friday, and then on Saturday morning, hopefully, I can get up early, grab my laptop and purse, and head to town. I have a free breakfast at Panera Bread coming (thanks to the library's adult reading program), and I want to sit in a corner and play with the planner, before I go pick up Connor from Scout camp.

Which is number two... Connor is off at Boy Scout camp this week, and it is a little weird. Last year, Dale was with him for most of the week, so even if I didn't know what was going on, I wasn't worried about whether or not he was eating enough, brushing his teeth, changing his underwear, or getting to where he needed to be when he needed to be.

I'm not terribly worried about all that this year either, but I just want to touch base and know how things are going. Like how is the instructional swim working out? Is there any chance he will pass his BSA Swimmer test tomorrow? That is virtually all he needs to do to finish off First Class, and he is hoping so much...

Other things happening for him at camp -- he is working on his camping merit badge (which is Eagle required) and he should end up pretty close to finishing that. He needs a couple more nights of camping with the scouts (only one week of summer camp counts, so he is only at 18 nights and he needs 20). He is working on his fishing merit badge, which I'm sure he is loving. And he is working on Orienteering too. I'm sure he is having a lot of fun, learning a bunch... and I can't wait to see him on Saturday!

Then there is a summer Bible study happening. Only it isn't actually Bible study. The group is reading through Purpose Driven Life. I did put the book on hold at the library, so I'll get it today. I just don't know though. I've read so many things about this book, and I'll miss a couple sessions with travel. I'm not sure.

William is really stepping up to the plate as biggest brother this week. And we started doing our "summer school" for reading instruction. He's making progress in Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe. I thought that this was too ambitious of a project for him, but he is motivated. I'm hoping it will be a good thing.

Good news on the Thomas front... he had his audiologist appointment Monday, and his hearing hasn't changed in the last 2.5 years. The dr. cleaned him out, and he can actually hear me again. (Poor kid!)

And I'm feeling sorry for myself. The CHEC conference starts tomorrow, and I am desperately in need of a shot in the arm as far as this homeschooling thing goes. A daily prayer, I think, needs to be that a new group of homeschoolers will rise up in Colorado, so that those of us who believe there is more than one Christian way to homeschool and who believe in teaching our daughters and not just our sons, that we will have somewhere to find support and encouragement.

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Thursday, June 11, 2009

Summer is starting out CRAZY!

Okay, this is just a life in general post.  I needed one of those, I guess.

We are busy, allegedly homeschooling, finishing up Core 5.  Allegedly.  In reality, we are so stinking busy that not much "official" school is happening.  Connor heads to Boy Scout camp on Sunday (at 10:30 a.m.!!!  WHY so early on a Sunday???) and I will finish India before he leaves.  If it kills us all, it will be done.  (Okay, not really...)

So what have we been doing while NOT doing school?  Well, swim lessons have eaten up a ton of time.  Connor desperately needs to learn to swim, as the BSA Swimmer test is about the only thing he has left to do to make First Class, and he really wants to get the done.  

So, I found swim lessons that fit *before camp* into our insane schedule.  It's only two days a week, but somehow they just eat up the whole week.  This week, for instance, we took off Monday at 7:45, and had to hang out in town all day, as I didn't want to drive back and forth.  Connor had scouts that night, and being the last meeting before camp, it was a wee bit important to be there.  Plus, they did a mini-Court of Honor... and he received THREE Eagle-required merit badges.  Yeah, proud mom here!  We didn't get home Monday night until somewhere around 10, kids headed to bed, slept in Tuesday, and somehow that meant we lost most of Tuesday to school also.

Then we left yesterday morning for swim lessons (at 7:40).  The great news is that all three of them passed their level!  YAY!!  We ran to Walmart to grab a couple things Connor needs for camp, and headed for the bookmobile, where Connor is volunteering with the summer reading program.  It's way too much driving to go back and forth there too, so I walked to the post office with the rest of the crew, walked another 1/4 mile or so, and read a bunch of fairy tales.  We got home about 3:30, did a bit of school, but not nearly enough.  Not if I want to finish India this week.

And today?  It is 10:30, and only my two littlest are even awake.  The big boys are exhausted, and I just don't want to wake them.  So, today isn't going to be terribly productive either.  (I guess I was wrong... I just headed to the kitchen to get another cup of coffee -- I'm exhausted too -- and I heard the boys talking.  So after I post this, I'll be hollering at them to get out here and get the day started!)

The good news is we really don't have that much to do to complete India.  About half of the book  India: The People, and about 2/3 of a book on Mother Teresa.  Plus some articles on religions (but we are reading those at night, with Dad).  We have about 4 cities to read about in Gateway Cities.  And they have a bunch of Eastern Hemisphere Explorer to complete.  That's going to be the tough part.  Doable though, just went over what is left with Connor, and I guess it wasn't as bad as I thought.


Tuesday, June 9, 2009

William's Summer Reading List

The Old Schoolhouse is doing a book giveaway as part of their summer reading program for posting your planned reading list (for kids and adults!)  So here goes...

(Items in bold have been completed)

William - age 10 -- and his list for this summer.  

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis

and actually, that is the only thing he really wants to commit to at the moment.  This will take him quite awhile, as it is a stretch for his reading ability, but we have started it and he is doing better than I would have expected.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Thomas' Summer Reading List

The Old Schoolhouse is doing a book giveaway as part of their summer reading program for posting your planned reading list (for kids and adults!)  So here goes...

(Items in bold have been completed)

Thomas - age 8 -- and his list for this summer.  

Henry and Mudge: The First Book by Cynthia Rylant
(and he has books 2-4 on hold at the library)
Prince Caspian: This is Narnia
Prince Caspian: Lucy's Journey
The True Story of Pocahontas by Lucille Penner
Abe Lincoln's Hat by Martha Brenner
Emperor Penguins by Roberta Edwards
Stuart Little: Stuart Hides Out


Finally Done!

Oh, what a pain!  But I'm pretty sure I got everything transferred from my old blog to this one.  I debated deleting stuff that was out of date, but I went ahead and left it all in.  I suspect I still have a couple spots where there will be broken links.  If you find one, write a comment!!

And I added the little graphic to show it, but I'm on the Homeschool Review Crew for 2009-10!!  I'm really excited about the chance to look over a bunch of great homeschool 'stuff' and write about it.  I love to give my opinions, LOL!  It's made decision-making rather tough right now, though.  I'm hoping that at some point fairly soon we will get an idea as to what goodies we could be seeing, so I can make decisions about where to spend my limited homeschool budget.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Connor's Summer Reading List

The Old Schoolhouse is doing a book giveaway as part of their summer reading program for posting your planned reading list (for kids and adults!) So here goes...

Connor (rising 7th grader) and his planned reading list for the summer (June anyway):

(Items in bold have been completed)

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
The River by Gary Paulsen
Brian's Winter by Gary Paulsen
Brian's Return by Gary Paulsen
Brian's Hunt by Gary Paulsen (are you seeing a pattern here?)
Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan
Hittite Warrior by Joanne Williamson
a few different merit badge pamphlets (Camping, Fishing, Woodworking, Gardening, Radio)
pretty much any other book that crosses his path (this was added by Mom)

and more to come... right now, he is pretty focused on a) finishing the Hatchet series, and b) earning his Reading Merit Badge.