Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Homeschool Open House 2007...



Tiany is hosting a Homeschool Open House
and I thought it would fun to participate.
Plus, she has some wonderful possible prizes. ;o)
If you'd like to participate, be sure to visit
her post.


Welcome to our Haven at Home!





Who We Are:
For those that do not know us,
we are a Christian, homeschooling,
active duty military family.
We have been blessed with four precious children,
ages 3(dd), 4(dd), 9(ds), and 14(dd).

We are about to enter our 9th year of home education.
We LOVE having our children home with us
and would never want it any other way. ;o)




Our Approach ...
We enjoy a relaxed, mostly living books approach
in our home education endeavors.
We have a 'skeleton' of a routine
but take full advantage of impromtu learning moments
and adapt to anything else that arises.

I like to begin our day together
with Bible and breakfast,
a little house blessing (picking up),
and then proceed to our learning moments.
My goal is to keep our 'official' learning moments
during the morning hours
with having nature study
and 'enrichment' times in the afternoon.
However, I am quite flexible
and we adjust where needed. ;o)
I often reevaluate our 'skeleton of a routine'
and rearrange when necessary.


Where We Learn...
Our learning is never limited to one room,
nor limited to indoors. ;o)
We tend to be in different rooms at different times.
There is no pattern in where we choose to learn.
We simply learn where we feel like learning at that time.

Many times, we use our dining room table...




Or we'll spend time in the room
that we fondly call our Reading Room...





Or in a bedroom...





Or outside...



Even in the van...



I would have to say, though, that our favorite place
would be the living room couch...







Those are really precious times!




What We Use...

I'll begin with what we do not use...
We do not use a set curriculum.
We piece together our own, personal 'curriculum'.
Each year is different.
We evaluate what we accomplished the year before,
what our interests are, what our goals are,
what we have available, etc...
Sometimes we change gears during the year
and decide to do something different

than originally planned.
This may not work for all but it works for us. ;o)

This year, we will be using much of the same plan
that we drew up for last year

with a few adjustments.
I am still in the planning stages
but below is a bit of a rough draft of our
upcoming intended 'curriculum'...


Science:
(with all)
Handbook of Nature Study

"The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady", Edith Holden
"Birds and Blooms" magazine
Nature Study/Journals

(for 9 year old/4th grade)
Burgess' Nature Books for Children,

by Thorton W. Burgess
The Holling C. Holling Series


(for 14 year old/11th grade)
Apologia's Advanced Chemistry in Creation




Math:
(9 yrs/4th grade)
Math Facts for Copywork
Ray's Primary Arithmetic
Multiplication to Classical Music
Misc. Math Games

Online drills

(14yrs/11th grade)
likely, Teaching Textbook's Pre-Calculus




History:
(all)
Learning Through History magazines

(9yo/4th grade)
Finish current Beautiful Feet Books
American History living books list (still compiling)
Ancient history- History Pockets and living books
Modern Rhymes for Ancient Times series
Galloping the Globe
Book of Centuries/timeline
History/Geography Games

(14yo/11th grade)
Finish Starting Points, David Quine
(will give American History credit)
Worldview course (mid-year)
finish Mystery Of History 2
Living Books


Language Arts:
(all)
possibly Teaching Writing: Structure and Style, I.E.W.
Bible study/memorization
Poetry study/memorization

(9yo/4th grade)
copywork/narration
Language Lessons for the Elementary Child
possibly Phonetic Zoo

(14yo/11th grade)
continuing in Starting Points
focusing on Literature


Music Study:
(all)
"Battle Hyme of the Republic" (Color the Classics)
John Newton (Color the Classics)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Ludwig van Beethoven
possible composers to be decided
Learn a hymn a week
Hymn history

(9yo/4th grade)
Beginner piano lessons at home

(14yo/11th grade)
Daily piano playing and progression
Violin lessons via video and daily practice
Guitar lessons via cd continued
Singing lessons/practice with Mom and via video


Artist Study:
(all)
Mary Cassatt
Leonardo DiVinci
more to be decided
personal painting/drawing


Bible/Character Study:
(all)
Proverbs Time
Family Bible Reading


(9yo/4th grade)
Daily personal Bible reading/prayer time
The Squire and the Scroll
Life Lessons from the Squire and the Scroll
"Anecdotes for Boys"

(14yo/11th grade)
Daily personal Bible reading/prayer time
"A Practical Directory", Harvey Newcomb
"Anecdotes for Girls", Harvey Newcomb
"How to Be a Lady", Harvey Newcomb
Miscellaneous, chosen by child/parents



Personal Reading/Addition Literature:
(Read alouds for all)
"The Little Preacher", Elizabeth Prentiss
"The White Knights", W.E. Cule (Lamplighter)
"A Girl of Limberlost", Gene Stratton-Porter
"Twelve Youthful Martyrs", Esther E. Enock
"Her Mother's Bible", Isabella Alden
"Hedge Fence", Isabella Alden
"Autumn with the Moody's", Sara Maxwell

Individual reading list to be decided



We, also, plan to begin a few informal
learning times with the lil' girls.
We are still, somewhat, in our planning stage
but this has been a rough draft of our plans.
We will sometimes make changes in the year
to better suit our needs and such
or if I find a resource on our bookshelf.


Tips and Tidbits:

*Approach and continue in fervent prayer.
We desperately need God's guidance and help.

* Keep our focus on why we have our children at home
and keep an eternal perspective,
not allowing academic pressures to distract our main goal
of raising our children for Christ.

* Begin/continue to read books on home education.
(I have a few recommendations in my sidebar)
There are many books available that can be a great help
in encouarging us, motivating us, teaching us, etc...
It is worth the time to sit, read, and be refreshed.

*Learn with them.
Home education is a way of life.
What a joy it can be to learn right along with
our precious ones as they are learning.
They, after all, learn by example.
And we are never too old to learn a thing or two. ;o)

*Enjoy the moments with our precious ones! ;o)
Though it may not seem like it somedays,
our time with our precious blessings is quite brief.
May we enjoy them as the Lord intended.


Thank you for visiting our Haven at Home with us!

I look forward to visiting and meeting
other families that home educate!







30 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like your homeschool is very similar to ours :) We also have no set place where we do our "work"... although we do have an official schoolroom/sewing room! We also love to learn from as many living books as we can.
I'm so glad I was able to drop in on your home :)

Love,

Joy

Tracy said...

Christina,
I loved reading your list of what you are studying. I like your informal approach.

Melissa Markham said...

Our homeschool day is similar to yours. Thanks for sharing:)

Paula said...

I always enjoy reading about your days and how a more relaxed approach to homeschooling works for your family.
Blessings,
Mrs. C

Kristi said...

Thanks for allowing us to visit! You have a beautiful family!!

Hugs!
Kristi

~Bren~ said...

Christina, Thank you so much for that post. I really learned alot! It was like school for me! lol This year is going to be very different as I am going with a more relaxed appraoch. I want my children to enjoy learning, Your methods and plans seem like they are working well. Thanks again for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing with us. You have inspired me! =)
Blessings,
Theresa
#14 on the list

Anonymous said...

Thanks. This was great.

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful post!
Cindy

www.homeschoolblogger.com/westward

Gerkin Pickle said...

Your homeschool sound wonderful. I would like to know more about the multiplication with classical music. I did a search on it but didn't find much. That sounds like something our family would love. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Your homeschool is beautiful. It is such a blessing that God gives us all different talents and approaches!

Be blessed!

Anonymous said...

I loved your post!! Your days sound alot like ours... Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing your homeschooling approach with us. You have a lot of great tips and a beautiful blog.

KatieBug said...

Thank you for sharing! You have wonderful ideas. I also love the music on your blog. I left it on your site for over an hour as I did a project with the kids and made dinner. :)

Anonymous said...

Oh! I have so enjoyed your family! I wish I could come and visit with you all during a typical homeschool day. Thank you for the wonderful words of wisdom! Blessings! ~Holly

Disney for Boys said...

Thank you for participating in the Open House! It has been such fun putting it together and this is the icing on the cake for me, visiting you all! Wonderful post! I loved your pictures and your cozy reading room!

When you get a chance please email me so I can get some gifts to you! :-)

Hugs & Blessings,
Tiany
Tiany@cox.net

Renee said...

Thank you so much for sharing your homeschooling journey with us! You have a beautiful family. Have a blessed school year!

Renee'
http://rmboys2.wordpress.com/wp-admin/

Anonymous said...

I have really enjoyed myself reading your learning plans and a peek into your school days. I LOVE the reading room !

God Bless
In Him<><
-Mary

Anonymous said...

I really enjoyed visiting your open house. I always enjoy seeing what other people do in their homeschool. Thanks for sharing.

Have a great year!
JoAnn

Martha said...

Thanks so much for sharing! It was a joy to read and see a family learning together.

Also wanted to comment too on the sacrifice you and your family make in your military commitments. Thanks. My husband's brother is in Iraq currently serving. It is a hardship on the family and I greatly admire those of you who bless us with your sacrifice!

Hope you have a wonderful year homeschooling. May God bless you!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing your homeschool with us. It was very nice to stop by and see how your day and year goes. We appreciate your commitment to the military and protecting us.
Ruth

Anonymous said...

What a lovely open house - I especially enjoyed all the pictures! Thank you for sharing your homeschool life with us - it's so wonderful to read as we're just starting out on the journey!
Blessings,
Melissa

Anonymous said...

Your blog is beautiful! Thanks for sharing your homeschool with us. I'm #60 on the list. :)

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed visiting your homeschool very much! Thank you for sharing.

Blessings,
Laurie

bubbebobbie said...

Oh how well I remember when my teen aged daughter retreated to her room for school. It would be years before she re-emerged! lol!

It looks like you have a wonderful year of learning ahead of you.

I also want to thank you and your family for what you are doing for our country. There is no harder job than a Military wife (unless it is being a military Child). When their life is subject to change at the whim of the Gov't , Homeschooling is the one consistant thing you can actually give your children.

Because of Jesus, Bobbie

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/bubbebobbie/368212/

Stephanie said...

You have such a beautiful family. I enjoyed reading about your homeschool. I also enjoy meeting other military homeschool families. You can check out my blog if you would like.

www.homeschoolblogger.com/passionatepatriot

God Bless,

Stephanie aka passionate patriot

Amber said...

I loved the pictures!!! Your reading list and 4th grade curriculum was very helpful, I'll look into some of what you listed for my son next year.

God Bless,
Amber

Anonymous said...

Handbook of a Nature study is such a great book!

Thanks for sharing your homeschool with us. I really love your built in bookshelves!

http://theshadesofpink.blogspot.com/2007/08/homeschool-open-house.html

Sonya said...

Thank you for sharing your homeschool with me! I really enjoyed reading how you do things. I agree that we have to focus on why we are homeschooling and lay the academic pressures aside. I love all of the different resources you use and that's much like us. We try and use what sounds interesting and I love learning new things along with my girls!

Christine said...

Your homeschool looks so cozy and fun; I love the Charlotte Mason and classical approaches, also. I love the idea of learning always with your littles. Thanks for your great tips.Blessings!

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