Sneak Preview~What's new for the fall term at Serendipity

If you are interested in following along with our studies this year, take a look at Serendipity today. First up, there is the first installment of the History Trail we're going to follow. There are reading, crafts, copywork, dictation, and narration suggestions for all children from first grade through high school. Keeping this in mind, remember no one should be attempting to do it all:-). And there will be an original story with each installment, just as there is on the Alphabet Path. The plans are divided into the blocks that I'm using with my family. For me, it is important that the whole family can be "on the same page" as much as possible. When I can plan for that, two things happen. The first is that our days don't feel segmented and I don't feel torn in a million directions. The second benefit is one that is a huge blessing of home eduction. Our studies become part of our family culture. They are a shared experience.

In the history block are living books suggestions along with reading assignments. For the older children, there are textbook spine suggestions. My family will also take advantage of The Teaching Company's American history high school DVDs. They are entertaining and engaging enough to capture the attention of  even young children.Two craft books are suggested as well.

In the Geography block are suggestions for living books and research projects to thoroughly delve into US Geography.

Language Arts includes specific grammar lessons which use lively, engaging picture books, as well as copywork, dictation and writing assignments that are keyed to the history reading.

There are two options for music, art and poetry. Within the history trail are simple suggestions for all of these topics. Or, if you prefer to dedicate more time to the arts, there are detailed music, art and poetry lessons which can stand alone each week. Those lessons are also tiered so that moms can choose how much or how little to introduce to each child.

All taken together, these represent a wide and generous education that also delves deeply into the subjects at hand--and the emphasis here is on living books and plenty of them, read by families learning together. My little ones will revisit the Alphabet Path. And remember, the grand plan allows for a half day of nature study outdoors every week and then a focused science afternoon as well. Faith is integrated into each and every day. The younger the child, the more time they will have for play, preferably out-of-doors.By necessity, older children will have to spend more time at their studies. The beauty of multi-level plans is that there's always enough for the eager student, but the assignments can be whittled as necessary for younger or slower students. Move up or down within the plans.Don't attempt to do them as written. In addition to the shared family experience, the unique blessing of home education is the opportunity to tailor the curriculum to the family and to the individual child. It is my sincere hope that our plans and our enthusiasm will bless you, but it is you who will make them truly come alive in your home and in the hearts and minds of your children.

[Much more on Serendipity here:-).]

A Voice of Wisdom

Stephanie is a voice of reason and wisdom that echoes in my fondest memories of the best times at the old Catholic Charlotte Mason yahoolist. She's always been a step or two ahead of me, and now she is even more recollected and writing from the perspective of a woman who has raised her children well. Read what she has to say about planning. Go!

Why plan? Or, is planning a good thing?

In several  places, women are questioning whether it is appropriate to plan at all or whether they are over-planning and wasting time, energy, and more importantly, focus on the children. When we plan, does our purpose become fulfilling the plan instead of meeting the needs of the children? Is it unrealistic to plan?

I was thinking about this a great deal last weekend. Am I wasting my time making detailed plans? Am I over-planning? Am I making it about my plans and not about the kids? And I came up with a couple of thoughts.

If I had someone else's syllabi (like MODG) for each of my children and a KONOS volume to supplement for hands-on, and if I let myself run through the Real Learning blogroll regularly looking to implement some of  the good ideas that pop up there, would people (and I) question the complexity of my plans? Maybe. But probably not.It is seemingly reasonable to have some sort of lesson plans, though we often hear advice not to let those plans be a slave master. And that, too, is very reasonable advice. If I "just" had seven sets of MODG syllabi (one for every child in my house expecting to be educated this year), would that seem excessive? I don't think so. It's reasonable to have a  plan for everyone unless you are absolutely philosophically opposed to plans at all. Those plans could be Sonlight or KONOS or MODG or STAA or Kolbe or Oak Meadow or four different levels of Five in a Row, depending on my educational philosophy, but no matter what it was, I'd need to consider every child.

I have a degree in curriculum planning and development. It's what I've loved to do since before I had children. My idea of a good time in college was to sit in the children's section of the library in Charlottesville and write unit studies with my best college buddy, alternately planning my wedding. First to the Eric Carle section, then to the bridal books. Now to Beatrix Potter, then to Bride magazine. It was a glorious year!

Now, I have a multi-level brood of my own. I know what works in my house and I know that we dissolve into chaos if we get up in the morning and don't have a sense of where we're going. I also know that I can't manage seven different syllabi, no matter how great the program. I'm going to have to tweak and tailor and spend a great deal of time making someone else's plan fit my family. And I'm going to have to do it while nursing a baby,  on very little sleep.I know that it's not good enough for me to have a booklist and send everyone off to learn on their own. I need to keep my children close to me--both the ones who want to be with me every waking moment and those who would like to wander off and do nothing while holding an open book.  So, for me, it makes good sense to spend a chunk of time thinking things out in advance and writing my own plan to fit my own family. It's easier to tweak something that is organically mine, written for my own children from the beginning, than it is to make someone else's work fit my family. But that's just me.

I like multi-level plans across the subject areas so that we can all benefit from each other's experience. I like having a few too many things up my sleeve so that I never have a child look at me, wanting to do something more, only to be met with my blank stare and then my frantic scurrying to find the right resource. In my opinion, that doesn't make the plans or the home education atmosphere all about me, it makes it very much about each individual in the context of our family.This is a big family. There are a lot of different needs and abilities here. I can't "wing it." I'm just not good at winging. My household functions best and my children thrive when we have the structure and the suggestion of a plan. My husband likes to see it, all written out on the blog. He can touch base at any hour, from any where in the world.

Does that mean I think that everyone should spend their summers writing their own lesson plans? No. It absolutely does not. This is what I do. I love to do it. Other people scrapbook, write novels, grow gigantic gardens, design websites, run swim teams, teach Vacation Bible School. I'm a curriculum geek. Someone else might buy plans (or use my plans, which are shared for free) and they are very comfortable making them work for their families and very grateful that someone who loves to plan shared her gifts. My friend the accountant uses my plans. She would no more endeavor to write plans from scratch than I would endeavor to do the taxes for my husband's business. We all have different gifts.

For the sixth time, I'm expecting a baby early in the school year. Even my very first baby, born in September, impacted the school year. I was employed and in charge of curriculum for 25 first graders. I spent that summer writing airtight plans to cover my maternity leave. Believe me, the sub was very grateful that I was not of the philosophy that somehow plans preculde the child. I won't have maternity leave this time. I will be the "sub"--there to ensure that my children welcome this baby with joy, all the while knowing that I've planned for their needs.

So, do you need a "daily detail" or should you fuss with your curriculum after the plan is purchased?

I have no idea.

I don't live in your home. I'm not married to your husband. I don't know your children the way that you do. And I don't know your teaching style. I don't know how God has equipped you to educate your children. I don't know what resources He wants you to use. I don't know how He sees your days.

But I do know that He will give us each the grace sufficient to figure it all out.

Life's a Bowl of Cherries

Our cherry picking day is long gone; I love these photos and couldn't share them because I was having trouble uploading, so I just waited on the whole post. It was a beautiful Virginia summer day, not at all typical weather-wise. There was almost no humidity and it wasn't terribly hot. I think the folks at the orchard easily could have opened the groves for picking about five days eariler. We arrived to find far too many cherries molding on the trees. We were careful to instruct our little pickers (and the pbig ones too) about which cherries to pick and which to leave alone.  The toddlers were indiscriminate and Marisa and I found ourselves devoting most of our time to pitting cherries for increasingly stained one-year-old girls.It was interesting to see how the children's personalities emerged in the cherry trees. Gracie stood timidly in front of a tree and was helpless to do much of anything unless Katie did it first and then pushed Gracie along. Katie scrambled up trees fearlessly (a little too fearlessly) and was much more interested in the challenge of the climb than filling her bag. Ever the fashionista, she was pleased with her cherry-printed shirt and more than happy to pose for picture after picture. She did her fair share of eating ,too.
Nicholas was all seriousness and filled his bag with methodical precision. Knowing him, he probably counted cherries as he went.  Stephen and Sam made it a friendly competition. They climbed tree after tree and filled bags until they literally burst. The big girls wandered off to find a single tree of their own, climbed up with ease, and happily spent the entire time picking and chatting. Chatting and picking. Ever so happy to be outside on a glorious day, happy the cherries were ripe and sweet, happiest of all to have time in a tree with a kindred spirit. And the teenaged boys--they were all business. They helped Gracie in and out of trees and picked her cherries for her. And they managed to fill some bags of their own. I picked a fair number of cherries, but my favorite time of all was sitting beneath a tree, chatting with my own kindred spirit friend and snuggling a sweet, sticky wee girl who couldn't get enough of the whole experience.

Simple Woman's Daybook~July 5

~ Do stop by Peggy's for all the links entered in this week's Simple Woman's Daybook ~

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Outside My Window ...I see the first green tomatoes on my tomato plants.

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I am thinking ...how complex teenaged boys are and how challenging the "summer of three young men" has been.

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I am thankful for ...Michael, who painted the basement this summer.

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From the kitchen ... lots of leftovers from yesterday's party.
Tortilla rollup  pinwheels from the Susan Branch Summer Book
Fresh Tomato Mozzarella and Basil Salad
Hamburgers and Hot dogs for the kids
Cajun-rubbed steak for the adults
Roasted Corn from the Summer Book
Spiced Pineapple Rice from Vegetable Heaven
Gene's Baked Beans
Mixed Green Salad with Roasted Beets and Goat Cheese
Fruit Salad of Watermelon, Canteloupe, and Blueberries
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

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I am wearing ... Khaki capris, a crisp white blouse, crocs and a ponytail.

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I am creating ...more lesson plans (sneak preview at Serendipity in a couple days).

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I am going ...to finish up my curriculum shopping and hang out with friends at the Northern Virginia conference this weekend. Great speakers lineup only five minutes from home--I'm looking very forward to soaking in some wisdom.

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I am reading ... Praying in the Presence of Our Lord with Fulton J. Sheen .

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I am hoping ...for a second VBAC and I'm a little nervous about a very stretched out uterus and a kind of low placenta(would you say a quick prayer please?).
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I am hearing ... lots of birds who are happy we filled the feeders yesterday.

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Around the house ... we need to rearrange some furniture and adapt to our changing family.

One of my favorite things ...a day that begins bright and sunny after a good night's sleep. This elusive night has become my almost incessant prayer.

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A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: a day with just my girls today (shh...I'm taking them for "real" haircuts!); a visit with my friend Martha; a new, improved exercise routine.

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Here is a picture thought I am sharing~

 
Karoline tells her "baby" about the birds at the feeder