Adding to the Curriculum -- and long term lesson plans

We started second semester at Totus Tuus last week. Although we had a month for break, did I sit down once and lesson plan for 2nd semester? Of course not! So two days before we began, I did a week of lesson plans. A little short sighted. The problems:
1. DG reads too fast -- no books in the house for him to read (unless you count rereads)
2. 1st semester DG was prepping for 1st Confession and then working on his religious medal award for scouts along with reading through The Secret of Mary explained to Children, but he finished all of this during 1st semester.
3. He know all his states and capitals (doesn't sound like a problem does it?), but it was suppose to take him all year.
4. A mouse ate his bean plants that we were suppose to be charting the growth of and running other experiments on.
5. I tweaked the music curriculum for the year but knew I needed to look more in depth at it over break. I didn't.
6. RA memorized a year's worth of poems in a semester.
7. PG wants to start "school".

So conclusions and solutions:
I decided tonight was the night to solve the problems.
1. Go through book lists and reserve books at the library. Done!
2. DG is making his 1st Communion in April. Last year he studied the 1st Communion catechism. So we will re-start St. Patrick's Summer (we have never gotten past chapter 3 and the content is so meaty there is enough in two pages sometimes to last us all class). Do vocab provided my the parish. And use the section on the Eucharist from www.familycatechism.com to prepare for the sacrament.
3. At the end of the 1st semester, we made a list of the 50 states in order of their becoming a state and posted them. We also made a list of the state's in order of their "birthdays" by month. The idea being each month we would learn a little about each state. When we had moved, a dear friend (thanks Debbie) gave us the Colorado and Indiana books of state alphabets. We love them. Our library carries each state. I decided to check them out. Then I went to the publisher's website and found a teacher's guide for each book that is fabulous!!!! http://www.gale.cengage.com/DiscoverAmerica/guides/
I showed DG. We are really excited.
4. I still need to buy more potting soil to replant and we need to catch the mouse!
5. I reviewed the music curriculum and we should be fine!
6. I went through the two anthologies I have at the house and found some appropriate poems.
7. I pulled out the old faithfuls -- Slow and Steady and Before Five In a Row. Poor 3rd child, they get so neglected. DG did all the Slow and Steady activities and RA was read all the Before Five in a row books. But I am back on track and planning to move a third desk into the school room in the morning (why not tonight -- the light bulbs are burned out in the schoolroom and I don't have replacements!)
I feel somewhat accomplished. I'll let you know later how it all works out!

Time to blog again

I have not felt very wordy as of late. School got off too a good start and then week three and we are all sick. Ok, RA didn't get sick, but the rest of us did. Blake is doing well but on steroids and fighting hard, at home. That is the best! I guess this time of year is rough. He was sick last year around this time too.
Updates:
DG - Still reading up a storm - later post on his birthday. He did receive some books as presents and polished them off promptly. He is starting cub scouts and seems excited. I think dad may be more excited than him. He has had a rough week with no schedule. Those of you who know DG aren't surprised. I am surprised that it surprised me. I am looking forward to a school week this week to get us back in order.
RA - She starts American Heritage Girls tomorrow and is SOOOOOOOOOO excited. The week before we got sick, we went on a field trip for her Five In A Row book - The Glorious Flight (another blog). She also had a feast day (another blog). (Boy I have more to write than I thought!) She is really enjoying co-op and Little Flowers, which makes me happy since I am teaching it.
PG - Is quite the talker. Wonder where he learned that?! He has enjoyed all of our various day trips and other adventures around Colorado Springs. We see my parents most mornings at daily Mass and he is always excited to see "Blue Truck". My mom got him a block puzzle with a picture on each side of the cubes. He has really been enjoying that.

On another note, my dad's dad (my Papa) had a heart attack last week. He is improving but they have to put in a pacemaker and clean out blocks in his stints. My dad went out to see him this weekend and he and his brother (who is an anesthesiologist and my dad and orthopedist) think their mom may be having some heart issues as well. They need lots of prayers.
That is the news here.

So what about Kindergarden?

(The picture is just for fun!)

Ok, so a couple a days ago I posted the detailed outline of 2nd grade. Lest anyone thought I forgot what about RA and Kindergarten? I didn't forget; she won't let me. She is counting down the days. T-2 and counting!





So Monday is Poetry, Phonics, Handwriting, Religion, Art, Literature, Math and Music.


Tuesday is Poetry, Phonics, Handwriting, Religion, Math, Literature, and Music.


Wednesday is Poetry, Phonics, Handwriting, Religion, Math, Literature, Art and Music.


Thursday is Poetry, Phonics, Handwriting, Religion, Math, Literature, and Music.





Poetry: She will (just like DG) listen to, repeat, memorize, and recite her poems. Then she will dictate them to me to put in a book. Then she will illustrate them. The poems she is to learn this year include: Rain, Bed in Summer, The Cow, The Moon, At the Seaside, My Shadow which are all by Robert Louis Stevenson and The Turtle by Vachel Lindsey.





Phonics: We have decided to use the same phonics program we are using with DG. She will use the Little Angel Readers for reading time but this way we can do phonics together at least to begin with. If this doesn't work, we will return to using the Little Angel readers with the teacher's guides. Handwriting is covered in the Phonics program. She loves to write and is so meticulous this is fun for her.





Religion in Kindergarten in great. One day I will read her part of a children's Bible. The next day, she retells the story (dictates it) and then illustrates it. At the end of the year, she will have written "her own" Bible. She will also join DG in continuing to learn the Bible timeline and listening to St. Patrick's Summer.





This year, like her brother RA is doing first grade math. No DG is not doing 1st grade math. They are both skipping a year. Why you ask? Quite simply because she has already met the objectives for Kindergarten math. They are Motor Control, Number recognition and writing, number value, counting, number sequencing, and simple addition. So on to first grade math.





Art for RA is really interesting. She will be using pairs of paintings by Van Gogh, Renoir, Monet, Fra Angelico, Degas and O'Keefe. These pairs are the same painting for matching skills. The she will have pairs of different paintings with the same artists to match style. The artists she will use are Van Gogh landscapes, Michealangelo busts, Picasso children, Renoir dancing couples, Monet gardens, and Cezanne still life. The last set are 4 different artists with 4 similar subjects to again match artists. The artists here are Giotto, Bougereau (she has one of his paintings in her room), Degas (all girls love ballerinas), and Di Vinci. She will also be using the art book DG is using to make her own art with styles of famous artists and art types.





Music: RA will attempt music appreciation this year that never worked for DG. But she loves to sing and learn songs so I think she will like this. The book is called 36 Traditional Catholic Hymns. It comes with a CD and the book is sheet music. So she listens to the song, learns the words and then sings with the music. They are wonderful hymns that are often forgotten.





Literature is read aloud time every day. But for this we are going to use the Five In A Row program. This is where you read the same (usually award winning) picture book 5 days in a row and do projects that go with it. This year, we will also incorporate saint books and other books that match the liturgical year or books/stories of virtue.





It should be a fantastic Kindergarten year!

It is time... Curriculum

The uniforms and the books are here. The kids are counting down the days and well I have had several people ask me recently what Curriculum I am using. The short answer: Mother of Divine Grace with some adjustments. Well really Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum with MoDG's Syllabi. But what does that mean what does that look like. Tonight I think I will answer that question for DG.
This year, every Mon, he will have Math, Poetry, Phonics, Handwriting, Religion, Music, History and Geography and 30 minutes of reading a day. Tuesday, he will have Math, Poetry, Phonics, Handwriting, Religion, History and Geography, 30 minutes of reading and Art. Wednesday is Math, Poetry, Phonics, Handwriting, Religion, Science, Music, History and Geography, and 30 minutes of reading. Thursday consists of Math, Poetry, Phonics, Handwriting, Religion, History and Geography, Music, and 30 minutes of reading. Friday is just Math and Reading.
What are we doing in these subjects.
Well, we have decided for Math, there is just no need to do such an extended review as 2nd grade math seems to be so he will be doing 3rd grade math. That includes addition and subtraction of multi-column numbers, multiplication tables, division short and long and many other concepts.
Poetry: He learns (memorizes) poems line by line. When he is finished he writes them in a book and illustrates them. The poems this year include: The Owl and The Pussycat, Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening, Psalm 100, The Duel, The Land of Storybooks, and The Song of Mr. Toad.
Phonics: Although DG is a fantastic reader, he just finished the Hobbit, he has not learned all of his phonograms. So this year we are going to learn phonograms and spend a good deal of time working on spelling. He can't spell to save his life. Wonder where he gets that.
Handwriting: Will be included in his phonics lessons and depending on how his printing improves, we may start cursive this year.
Religion: We use the Baltimore Catechism, where he will learn questions and answers about his faith. We also will continue learning the Bible Timeline. We also will continue reading St. Patrick's Summer. In the BC, it suggests each section a prayer to learn and most are parts of the Mass. So on off weeks, we will be making a mass book with the prayers he is learning and he will decorate it.
Art: This year, DG will be studying VanGogh landscapes, Angels by 6 different artists, and 4 portraits by 6 different artists. We will study the method, the type of tools used, the color contrast, the subject, etc. Then for art projects, both DG and RA will learn a specific trait of a specific artist, a little bio about the artist and then attempt to make their own art using the trait they learned about.
Music: DG will start by learning some basic music theory and then begin to learn the recorder and hopefully by 2nd semester the piano.
History and Geography: In geography, we will continue states and capitals. I am hoping to use the H is for Hoosier series to reinforce that concept. In History, he will learn about maps and then begin a family tree, where he will interview his family member and keep a journal. He will also be reading bios of famous Americans.
Science is learning about the seasons and what happen to plants, animals, and weather during each season. He will also be doing experiments about plants.
His 30 minutes of reading will include his history bios, lives of saints, stories of virtue, and good literature.
Kindergarten is next!

Newly found resources

So with the school year wrapping up (the move put us behind), I found some awesome resources and ideas I just have to share.
At Christmas my mom got DG a book called Logic links for 1st and 2nd graders. It is published my MindWare. I love MindWare. Anyway, it comes with colored chips. Then it gives the colors you use and clues and the kids have to figure out the solution. For example, "Use 2 White chips, 2 green chips, and 1 blue. Clue 1: Both green chips touch the blue chip. Clue 2: The white chips don't touch." There are 100 puzzles like this. Anyway, RG just finished the book (that's right the pre-schooler). She loved it and begged me to "do logic" every day.
DG is really good at memorizing so it was time for states and capitals. There are some really good online quizzes and he loves to use the computer. We also, finally, subscribed to Enchanted Learning.com. So I printed all the state flags and the kids are painting them. We hope to use them to decorate the school room and play room. I also found in my old books, a book titled USA fact book. It has all the states, their capitals, birds, trees... and interesting facts. So DG is using that for reading time.
We just ordered the Great Adventure Bible Study for kids to do over the summer. We are so excited.
So that is what is new at Totus Tuus. Praise God for all the blessings He is bestowing on us.

Fun Music Class today

I was a substitute teacher today for about 10 5-8 year-olds at our homeschool co-op. I taught music. Before you laugh, I didn't sing much. We had a lot of fun. We found out some interesting facts about Johann Sebastian Bach. I never realized how funny the name Bach is until I told several 5 and 6 year-olds his name and had chicken noises for the rest of the class period. But anyway, we read a picture book (fantastic series) called Bach's Goldberg Variations by Anna Hardwell Celenza that comes with a CD. We then used the CD to play musical chairs which sounds mundane but was fun because, if you don't know about Bach's Goldberg Variations, it has 30 variations (thus the name) on it's first aria. There are dances, and difficult pieces, and gigs, and cannons and even a musical riddle. So for each round of musical chairs we listened to a different type of music. The kids were very excited and even shared their favorite variation. I love it when ideas come together.
If you want to parts of the piece check out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldberg_Variations#Variatio_1._a_1_Clav.

A School post...

that is why I started this blog. DG started a journal this week and I just love it. It is so he can work on handwriting in a more concrete way and so he can start to get ideas down on paper. Check out the ideas on http://www.letteroftheweek.com/primary_journal_ideas.html

We started with January 1st so he has only written names at this point, but we are all pretty excited.

Ping and the Ducks

For RA's school work this week we read The Story of Ping by Marjorie Flack. It is a great book about a duck on theYangsze River in China. So for one of our lessons, we went to feed the ducks. The great debate was where to go. The last time we attempted to feed ducks at a nearby park, they wanted nothing to do with us. So this time we took four peices of bread, thinking surely that would be enough.
Well, I think all the ducks and geese in Carmel were in the pond we picked. It felt a bit like the multiplication of loaves and fish because RA had one peice of bread for ever. This one goose kept getting closer and closer and I kept thinking, "when is she going to get rid of that bread?"
DG and I thought it was great that there were so many ducks because Ping lived with his mom, dad, 7 aunts, 11 uncles and 42 cousins. Although some were geese, I think they were all at the pond we went to.
PG has a great throw and was able to feed lot of ducks as well.

Art Class

Today DG had to match pictures by the same artist. When asked why he grouped these four together, he said, "Because they were all 'cracky'". I wish my kids came up with the English language. It would be so much more fun!!!!!

First Day of School

These smiling faces jumped out of bed to go to Mass yesterday on the Feast of St. Helen and the first day of Totus Tuus School. DG began 1st Grade using Mother of Divine Grace Cirriculum. RA is using Five in A Row and Slow and Steady - Get Me Ready. Their first day consisted of: DG - Math, 30 minutes of reading (not all at once), Handwriting, Religion, Poetry, Literature and Music RA - Being Read the First day of Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel and discussing how still drawings can depict movement, making an Aa puppet, color by number, and dot-to-dot.