Little Cabin Homeschool

A new school year....

We school year around so do not really take break during the summer.  but we do have new curriculum's and plans each year to make things a bit more interesting.

We are still using our workboxes but putting some different things in them.  Math this year is from Christian Light Publications as well as Language Arts for both girls and Bible for Sage.  Piper is also using this curriculum  Learning to Read and Social Studies.  Willow enthusiastically joining us with her preschool aka what I can find for copy work, numbers, letters, reading, cutting, coloring, making artful master pieces etc... We have plenty here!

We are using history from our RC curriculum as well as An Old Fashioned Home Education which I love!  Ambleside Online is another resources we use.  We use resources for other subjects as well.

We also do copywork, dictation and narration, Bible, scripture memorization and music.

Science is something we usually lack in so I have made a science section to delve into once a week.

For geography we are going through the US states first and many friends are sending us postcards from their state.  I will be sharing those here as they come in. 

Our first ones were from California!  After we read the postcards and notes from the sender we placed a  pin in Calif. on our large wall map.  We then learned about the state brd, tree, motto etc.... read a bit about the gold rush and colored Calif. on our small US maps. We also read about some famous people from the state.  Another neat thing we are learning when we discuss each state/country is odd laws:   

Did you know it is illegal to peel an orange in a hotel in California?

Women may not drive in a house coat.

It is a misdemeanor to shoot at any kind of game  from  a moving vehicle, unless the target is a whale.

Yep, be careful in Calif....

The girls couldn't believe this huge Sequoia tree!

Piper holding a postcard of the Bridal Veil falls.

Have a fun day learning together!

Bacteria

We school all year around but in the summer take on a different schedule.  This summer we are doing mostly math, science and geography with field trips and of course lots of reading.

Hands on is one of the best ways to teach a child to relate to science.  If he can see it, touch it, smell it, and experience it, he will more than likely remember it.  We have done sense experiments where the child is blind folded and then gets to taste different items to see if he can identify them without looking or smelling.  It is amazing how much one sense depends on another.  Since Sage has been interested in disease and  bacteria we decoded to do an experiment to learn about different types of bacteria and where it can come from..... which means everywhere.

After swabbing several chosen areas around the house we were shocked to see what area was used the most and was covered with the most bacteria.

Some Bacteria Facts:

Bacteria were first observed by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek  in 1676.

There are helpful and harmful bacteria.  99 % of them are helpful.

Bacteria are living organisms.

There are seven main groups of bacteria, distinguished by their shape and the type of cell wall they possess.

There are six types of very common toxic bacteria which we should try to avoid. This is were washing you hands and the food you eat come in.  Staphylococcus aureus  and  Escherichia coli (E. coli) are two of these types of bacteria.

We ordered our bacteria experiment kits from Steve Spangler Science.

Each of the girls got to choose three places to collect specimens from.  Dish 4 was the bathroom door handle while Dish 5 was divided into two parts. One with an under the nail sample and one from the telephone ~ pretty yucky.

Dish 1 was a sample taken from the garbage. Again, this was disgusting and smelled horrible after 3 days.

Dish 6 was also divided into 2 parts.  One side was a small toy which wasn't too bad but the other side was a sample from the kitchen faucet.  Wow.  This was one of the worse.  it actually grew over to the other side and started taking over the petri dish. 

So,  the area with the most bacteria was the trash and the kitchen faucet.  The least was the bathroom door handle!

I encourage you to go to Steve Spangles site and view the video.  the kit comes with everything you will need for this experiment and your children will love seeing what is the grossest object in your house.  We would like to do this again but go out to a store and collect some specimens. ;)

Have a fun science filled summer!!

Children's Library & The 3 Little Kittens

If you are not close to a library as we are not there are so many resources now available online.  One I recently found is Children's Library.   Oh such treasures are to be found there and in all sorts of languages. 

The younger ones have recently done a lapbook on the 3 Little Kittens. I found the  book here and didn't realize I have never read the complete story.   Click on the book to read it, then make the lap book which I found here.  the Lap book includes a mitten match, mitten hunt, little booklet and more.  My littles really enjoyed it.

 

Three Little Kittens Lapbook

this lapbook includes hide and go seek mittens game, mitten match, three kittens booklet, K is for Kitten, #3 accordion book, clothes line mittens and a picture of the girls with their pie.  You can even make little cat ears and draw whiskers on your little kittens.

They can take it down and read it often, coloring it when they wish.

And you shall have some pie!

 

Felt Strawberries

Play food can be found all around our little cabin.  The littles have made many delicious dishes that they have served on a tray for mama.  Company can also be assured of a fine meal when visiting . We buy wood play food when we can but sometimes we just make our own, like these strawberries.  They are quick , easy and very inexpensive.  For about 12 cents a piece you can enjoy them too.

Step 1 ~ Make circles with red felt ( we used different mason jar tops for a variety of sizes).  Cut in half.

Step 2 ~ With green felt, free hand cut some  leaf tops.

Step 3 ~  Take red felt half circle and fold in half.  Sewing tightly on open flat side.

Step 4 ~ Turn inside out

Step 5 ~ Baste top edge

Step 6 ~ Stuff, gather top tightly and sew together.

Step 7 ~ Sew  leaf to top of strawberry

Step 8 ~ With yellow embroidery thread sew some seeds on your strawberry.

my little seed sewer sower. ;)

And wa la!  You have a cute little strawberry for your children to enjoy...

Gather them in a bowl to enjoy. ;0)

Matthias Claudius

Who is Matthias Claudius ?

Matthias Claudius was a writer, editor and poet with a simplistic style that appealed to the German people.  Caludias, better known as Asmus was born on August 14, 1740 in Reinfield Germany and raised in Hamburg.  He was the son of a Lutheran minister, from a genealogy of 17 ministers, who taught him Latin and Greek and Hebrew for his future theological studies.  Though he was sent off to the University of Jena to study theology he did not continue his studies as he found himself more suited for law.  He soon however, developed a disregard for law and acquired an absorbing interest in literature returning home without finishing his studies.  He later married and became a faithfully devout Christian dying in 1815.

Claudius is probably best known for his piece "Death of A Maiden" and in Christian circles "Wir pflügen und wir streuen" or "We Plough the Fields" also known as "All Good Gifts"  a simple peasant song of praise sung during harvest time in Germany.  I personal adore this song (especially the version sung by Merrell Jackson) as it shows the perfect, simplistic love many Christians enjoy for the Lord.   This song can also still be found in the Mennonite church hymnal. 

Click to learn more about Matthias Claudius  

To  hear the Mennonite version of the song in a soothing chant "We Plough the Fields"  

To hear the Godspell version "Al Good Gifts" (a bit hippyish ;0) but the song is lovely!)

Have an adventure and learn about someone new from ages past. 

 

Dissection & Diseases

There is nothing like gross anatomy to spurn on learning.  Ever since she was a little thing my eldest daughter has loved anything to do with medicine.   From watching surgery in a vets office, to dissections and reading books on medicine she is a fascinated with this subject. 

The deceased ~ a leopard frog.

The intern - aka Sage

 The biology teacher, Amy, (who is a homeschooling mom of three and friend of ours) was ruthless as she told the students to pick up their frogs and pull their tongue out. 

Amy loves science and it is contagious watching her get caught up with the dissection.   I am  doing a write up on Amy and her family.  They were city folk who "walked" and became homesteaders who live out in the woods with no electricity.  I never thought she could do it but they have and have thrived.... another story.

it was brutal....and disgusting

Showing the intestines

   Discovering the liver

Just a little snip.  Sage's frog had a large stone in his stomach. 

Yeah... my girl needs no mask.

Check with your local co ops or home school support groups for classes in your area.  With the boys we order the organs (including cow eyeball, sheep heart and brain, lungs, etc.)  and dissected them on our own.  You can order them from several places such as Carolina Biological.  

Also for the faint of heart you can do a virtual dissection online for free!  I did this with Sage before the class so she would be informed and in the know. ;)  Just go to  Virtual Frog Dissection.  This is an immensely informative site and dissection!!

Have fun!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Diseases ~ Extraordinary Stories Behind History's Deadliest Killers

This large fully illustrated book sports a gruesome cover, but the information inside is stunningly interesting for a child interested in bacterial, viral, parasitic and lifestyle diseases throughout history.  We also use it as a reference for studying a certain time period.  You can pull up the year and find out what illnesses and diseases where rampant during that era.  It even includes a time line.  Of course you must be careful as it can be quite graphic.  but if you are reading you can only give the information necessary according to the age and interest of the child.  I have used this practice for decades. 

Learning Vitamins

 A few have asked about the Learning Vitamins we use so I would love to share them with you!  Learning  Vitamins are a wonderful incremental way to get your child's brain juices flowing first thing in the morning.  We have the Master pack  which includes Calculadder Drills and Ready Writer .  Five  min. each morning  the girls are given their sheets and an 2 min egg timer.  They then mark their time and results on a provided progress sheet.  This is very helpful to homeschoolers as we seem to not time things as often as we should.  I encourage you go to the Learning Vitamins site and request a free sample which she will email you.  They also have Bible drills, Alphabetizing, , and Penmanship. 

Bible ABC's

Supplies needed: ( always use what you have!!)  Sticky ABC's or just write ABC's , poster board or any paper, bible.  Let children place ABC stickers on board then give them a Bible.  Have them look in the index for words with the beginning letter A-Z and write them next to the letter.  You could also use photos and pictures.  We just did this as a quick morning activity.  Willow had easier words  like H~hand where as Sage found more challenging words like X~ Xerxes. Have fun!

Remember to put the Lord first in your daily schooling.  Rest when you need to, take a break when you are frazzled and prayer when you need encouragement.  You will be blessed. 

I will be sharing Frog dissection next!  fun stuff!

Productivity

Have you ever had a day where you get so much done you even amaze yourself?  Expectations are high today  as we had one of those productive days.  Oh! ~ I think to myself~  If I could get this amount done everyday my girls would be geniuses!  But alas.... reality is we just don't have as many productive days as I'd like.   Or do we?   Cooking, cleaning, talking, reading, discussing. hmmmm.

Some of the curriculum we are using this year is a bit more aggressive.    My oldest daughter needed more of a challenge in some areas while we are just starting kindergarten work with Piper.  Actually, I can't really say we do grades per say but she is working at the kindergarten level while my youngest , who just turned 3, is working right along with her. This is what is so good about homeschooling.... the customization you can provide your children.

Another large piece of our school is the Robinson Curriculum.  This is a complete curriculum up to 12 th grade on CD Rom's,   Old books.... full or rich language as well as vocabulary and examinations and teaching suggestions.  It is pricey but I found it used on ebay.  We have printed off many of the books but some I try to find used.  I always look for the oldest copies I can find as the language is full and rich.  One of the series we have discovered is the Bobbsey Twins.  We are really enjoying these stories as they are entertaining and educational for all of us.  I found copies form the 1940's for only a few dollars at www.shopgoodwill.com .  I just love the feel of the pages of real books so look for them when I can.  Another treasure I found  at shopgoodwill was an old, old set of the World Book of Knowledge which I paid a whopping 5.00 for~  shipping was 20.00. ;)  These books are full of pertinent information for a hungry mind.  Questions and answers make it interesting and short sections on subjects give it simplicity while encouraging  a child to dig deeper. 

 

Bobbsey Twins
 

 

 

Spelling workout ~ this is a challenging program with lots of variety... not just a spelling list each week.

We have a whole collection of these books from the Core Knowledge series and use them almost daily.  These books have prime information   in every subject area according to what can be expected for a given grade level.  They  are also a nice spring board or scope.

 

Shurley Grammar and composition ~  Sage needed a little more structure.  You can see samples of this program @ http://g.christianbook.com/netstorage/pdf/contents/610402.pdf   It is a bit pricey in my opinion but well worth what your child will learn and use.
 

We made bowls.   Such fun we had doing this!  Messy, dripping, messy, gooey fun. ;)

There are so many ways to make this goo.  You can cook it but we just put it in a pot and mike it with our hands  ~ so much funner that way. ;)  Take paper  and tear into strips ~ newspaper, tissue paper, any kind will do.  Take a bowl you like the shape of.  Turn it upside down and cover it with foil.   Mix 4 cups flour  and 4 cups water.  Put in 2 TBSP. salt. 

Mix well.  I added a small container of Elmer's glue for extra sticking power.

Use a brush or like us your hands to dip the strips of paper into  the paper mache mixture.

Keep placing strips of paper dipped in the mixture over your bowl.

We did this outside  ~ notice the intensity of the child as she slathers her bowl getting goo everywhere.

Smooth out and pat down as you go. 

Any method will work

When your done  let it dry.  Ours were pretty thick so it took a couple of days to dry completely.  You can then remove the paper bowl from the real bowl and carefully pull of the foil inside.  Trim if you want or leave it like it is.  Paint it or decoupage it with photos or leaves.  Then let it grace your home!  This is such a fun and artistic activity for everyone.

Have fun with your children.   Enjoy being with them.  If you get burned out take a break, regroup and get back on track.  Put the Lord first in all you do and He will direct your paths. 

Patricia

 

 

 

Living Education

According to Webster's dictionary:  Living is:  Active, lively, of states of mind, a living faith, a living principle, running, flowing (opposed to stagnant), burning, glowing.   Education:  the act or process of educating, the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life.  

Living is learning and learning is living.  We learn through living life!  Successes, mistakes, joys and sorrows are all part of life.  Homeschooling is not difficult but  takes time.  You must be wiling to sacrifice self for your children in order that they learn to live and become productive, contributing adults in society.  We hope ours sons will be willing providers and protectors of their families.  We pray our daughters will be loving keepers of the home with many life skills, to encourage, grow and be profitable.  We want all our children to be filled with godly wisdom.  So weather we are playing soldiers in the back yard with the boys or baking a cake with the girls we are learning.  ;)  And it is fun!

Our daily routine?  I have had many emails asking about this!  I guess we are of the gypsy sort because with the exception of reading from the Word, we do not have a strict day to day schedule.  First each morning we read and discuss the Bible. This is something we do with regularity as it starts of the day but putting the Lord first.    We then move on to breakfast  ~ usually something quick unless it is pancakes like this morning. ;)  It is then time to head outdoors to feed and play with the our hens, rabbits (and baby bunnies which the girls have decided to raise to sell to pet shops) plus any other animals we have around.   Math is then tackled beginning with daily vitamins (see below) and Saxon lessons.  I, personally, am not crazy about math and try my hardest not to relay this to the girls ~ ahem...she says ever so sheepishly. :-}   Moving on to writing the girls do copywork and write in their journals.  They can write about anything they want to as I feel it encourages them to write.  Piper dictates to me and I write it for her to read later.  I let her draw a picture of write some letters on her own.  Music is practiced after which we then take a break to play and do chores.  All the girls help and enjoy it ( well, most of the time).  We desire them to have a merry little heart in all they are asked.  We then read again usually real history books.  Right now we are  learning about America by reading historical fiction and non-fiction books like the ones from the "Dear America" , "My America and "My Name is America" series skipping over any parts I feel are inappropriate for the younger ones.  They also have a website complete with a checklist for you to use as well  as arts and activities, games, videos, paper dolls, writers workshop and more for the books.    These are diaries from children who lived in this era and they are delightfully and sometimes fearfully inspiring!  "Standing in the Light ~ The Captive Diary of Catharine Carey Logan"  Pennsylvania, 1763  is our book this week. 

~~6th of the First Month 1764  Perhaps at this moment, an Indian in the forest spies upon me and sees me write by candle.  Perhaps he sees me mouth a prayer:  "Examine me, O lord, and prove me.  Try my reins and my heart."  Sadly, I am more frightened than ever.  I must blow out my light.  

~~ 7th of First Month, 1764  Dear God, save us.  We are captured.

You can visit you local library as they usually have books from this series.  One can learn so much from  the richness of books!  We are learning history, art, writing, literature, spelling, geography and more when we read.   I'll be posting more of our curriculum this year in the days to come ~ and telling about the Robinson Curriculum we use.

Teach me Thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path... Psalm 27:11

 

Coming Soon!

Homeschooling 101, Curriculum, Books, writing, geography, books, chickens, books, nature,Bible, books....  We have been homeschooling for over ummm.... a decade and a half with three down and three to go.   I am not an expert, just a seasoned experienced professional... lol, and will be sharing some of what we have done and are doing in the education area as we do things a bit different than many.  I love new learning seasons and am excited about what we are and will be doing and looking forward to sharing it with you!