The habit of Reading...

"Reading is not an escape from life; it's an exercise in living."
-Gladys Hunt

I love reading! I find such joy in opening up a good book and taking up residence in the story. We do lots of reading here in our home and often the books become part of our everyday discussions. I also love talking!

Big surprise there. :-)

I also love having friends over to visit. So I recently invited a few ladies to join me in a Book Club.

For our first book, we read the Magic of Ordinary Days by Ann Howard Creel. A wonderful story that takes place during WWII. It is about a young woman who dreams of becoming an archaeologist but instead finds herself banished to rural Colorado by her father and the magic of the days that follow.

For our meeting, I wanted to set the mood and transport us back in time. I turned up  Glenn Miller and his band, set out some food, and planned for some great conversation. We played a game, chatted and settled in. My father always said to hang around people that you can learn from.

He was right!

I was blessed to be in the company of such wise women.

Livvy and her new friends love chasing butterflies and add them to their sketchbook.
 I couldn't resist when I saw these note cards in the store. They would be perfect!

Since the story took place during the WWII period, I pulled out my grandmother's glasses to serve fresh lemonade. She would have loved it.

Sometimes in the afternoon, Rose & Lorelei would visit Livvy. The girls would share a Coca Cola.

There are a lot of great examples of Love in the story, so what better reminder than from 1 Corinthians about what love truly is. Thanks pinterest for the idea!

 So what's on your nightstand right now? Are you like me? I have several books I am reading. Some for pleasure and some for school and others to learn.

Do you have any good suggestions for our Book Club?

Teaching Reading and Spelling...

A while back, I wrote about spelling. I shared which curriculum I favor and some reasons why I like it. But how does that apply to a more Charlotte Mason approach of schooling?

Mason's belief of living ideas can still be implemented even when using a curriculum. It just requires an understanding of the curriculum and the freedom to begin stretching yourself. Let me first inform you that I am just a mom. I do not have a special teaching degree. I am just a mom who believes that this is where God has placed me and therefore I must be a good steward of this role. I also believe in self-education and living by example which means I take this very seriously. With all that said, I needed a curriculum that would teach me how to teach spelling. I did not want a workbook to do the job for me but I would need some help along the way.

Enter Spell to Write & Read

My first few years of using this curriculum taught me just as much as my children. We trudged through relying on grace as I wrapped my brain around this new concept of phonics. Eventually I began to understand and felt more liberty with the curriculum. I was learning the how's and why's of spelling and this knowledge would help me in the next phase of teaching.

At the same time I was reading Charlotte Mason's view on teaching spelling. She spoke of a child's first reading lesson and using a letterbox. My youngest at the time was in kindergarden and expressing interest in reading and spelling. (side note: I think one reason for our success is that I waited on him. I did not push him) I used magnet letters and basic flashcards to introduce the letters. During this time I taught him the sounds of the letters and we played short games throughout the day and before bed. It was an ejoyable experience for him. As time progressed I began to introduce multi-letter phonograms.

Teaching Spelling
"But the fact is, the gift of spelling depends upon the power the eye possesses to 'take' (in a photographic sense) a detailed picture of a word; and this is a power and habit which must be cultivated in children from the first." CM

I wish I had read this quote prior to trying to teach my then 6th grader. She could pass a spelling test but after that she could not remember how to spell the words. In frustation one afternoon I asked, "Can't you see the words?" She replied back, "NO!" That was an eye opener for me.

Not everyone learns how to spell the same way but there are some core principles that can be applied. I finally reached the decision that teaching phonics was the key and found that SWR met my goals of learning how to be a teacher as well as teaching phonics in a multi-sensory way. The first year, we just filled in the gaps and strengthened the foundation for my daughter. We were still struggling with "seeing the words" but I was patient. The following year we began to implement Charlotte Mason's dictation method. Over the summer, I attended a class on teaching spelling the CM way. Putting myself in the student's position helped me to see that this was not an easy task. It would require discipline and study. This would be the next layer in our journey. I will try to share specifics in a different post but for now, we used dictation to intentionally build her mind's eye. We progressed from "Mom, how do you spell...?" to "Mom, do you spell it...?" She was beginning to see it!

Illiterate spelling is usually a sign of sparse reading; but, sometimes, of hasty reading without the habit of seeing the words that are skimmed over." CM emphasis mine

 
Teaching Reading
One evening while his sister was at basketball practice he told me he wanted to learn to read. I had heard this before but procrastinated starting anything official. Quite truthfully because I felt like my plate was rather full at the time and I had a great fear of teaching this particular subject. That night he persisted and so I wrote down on a scrap piece of paper some simple words that used the phonograms he knew. I touched each letter as I made the sounds. I spoke slowly and then repeated it quickly. After understanding what I was doing, he took on the next few words alone. By the end of the night we had made a collection of words and I informed him that he was reading! :-) He was so proud and so I knew that it was time to introduce the next phase.

We began our first official SWR spelling lists and also began using our Pathway readers. The first book was a primer entitled First Steps. As learned in SWR, we "marked" the words that he did not know. Then we began reading about this little family and their adventures. He enjoyed the stories so much that he never thought of this as work. After a while I no longer needed to mark the words. He would get a pencil and do it himself. We progressed through the series and now he is reading chapter books and his Bible.

Education is a Life...Mornings

As I continue to meditate on Organized Simplicity, I find myself seeking more intentional schooling. I can look back over the conferences I have attended, webinars I have participated in, and books I have read I see that this is what God has been preparing in me for a while...intentional schooling! With that said, I thought I would share the evolution of our typical school day.

This is mainly what the later half of our week looks like. On Monday we host a co-op here in our home and I try to stick to the idea of the schedule but am realistic enough to know that things happen and that my schedule is meant to be my guide not my dictator. On Tuesdays we are out of the home for a different co-op and after school activities.

Mornings:

We begin our morning with dictation.
I use the Well-Planned Day for our choices.
I do love that planner!
After dictating the selection, we read over it again and punctuate the sentence.
This is where we briefly discuss grammar. We will get more grammar during writing.

This is my youngest's handwriting book.
He copies an English proverb in cursive and then practices saying & writing phonograms.

In order to give our hands a break, we switch gears and read aloud a lesson.

After our Thinking Toolbox lesson, we pull out our respective math lessons and work quietly.

Sometimes I will turn on a Pandora playlist depending on our mood!

Then on to my favorite subjects.
Honestly I could spend hours here and try really hard not to be overwhelming.
I let Tapestry of Grace "drive" the subject.

We read a variety of books and work in our Century Charts or History notebooks.
In this picture, my youngest is reading Story of the World while listening to the CD

Once again, Tapestry of Grace is my resource for Literature study.
I find that the pace is a little ambitious for our family so we do slow things down a bit.
Planning helps in this area.
I have also been having great success with the Go!Chart and like pulling this out on occasion.


Afternoons:
One area of weakness I have is science.
Knowing this about me, we have chosen to seek co ops that offer the sciences.
During the week, each one works on the reading and labs and/or activities are done in co op.
This has been a great help

This is the core of our year. We have languages, music study, art study, etc. but these are not daily activities and so they are interspersed throughout the week.
We also have books we read and our Bible study time before school or in the evenings.

Each year our typical day looks a little different as our needs and schedules change. Only recently have I been able to turn over the responsibility of driving the older ones to their work and activities. This has certainly helped to keep the atmosphere of our day in order. I try very hard to guard our calendar and truly pray over our long-term commitments. Each year has different priorities and goals. I am enjoying our mornings quite a bit more but a huge part of that is being prepared myself. It is not enough to say you want to live simplistically. I think the other part of that must be organization. When things become crazy I still have a plan. I still have a system that I can rely on with minimal effort. I am truly enjoying seeing all the threads of my life weaving together and am finding great peace in knowing the God has been the one behind it all. I am finding great joy in my mornings!

The Go! Chart...

This one has been in the back of my mind for quite some time. We have played around with it while doing Movies as Lit and was encouraged with its potential but I put it on the back burner for continued research. Then a happy accident occurred. (I love when that happens)

While reading The Wind in the Willows, my 8 year old (without knowing) began sharing orally several elements from the Go! Chart. So I pulled out my copy and we started working through it as we continued our reading. I am still in the infancy stages of using it but already some wonderful observations have come to me.

The chart is broken down in to six sub-categories:

• Predictions
• Vocabulary
• Understandings
• Interpretations
• Connections
• Re-Telling

Since our book is a chapter book we work on it at the end of each chapter reading. We also began this a bit on the fly because so one thing I will take more time in is to engage in conversation about the author and the title of the book prior to reading.




The Go! Chart

 

Because my 8 year old is a pretty strong reader, I wanted him to start gaining more independence so one of his activities is to look for words he may not know the meaning to. We write them down in the vocabulary section and then we spend time looking them up in the dictionary. He enjoys "hunting" for them both in the book and the dictionary.

Another portion of the chart is Re-Telling. This is a basic narration exercise but because this chart is smaller I am working on him focusing on the "big ideas" of the chapter. Typically his narrations are extremely detailed (yes, he's a talker) so this has been good practice for him.

One of my personal favorite sections is Connections. I love making connections between things I am reading, learning, watching, etc. and then having the great conversation. This also happens to be the section that my 8 year old came to me about and started sharing. He read chapter one and wanted to share a connection he made with a personal experience of his and one of the characters.

We are still working through our story and the Go!Chart but so far we are enjoying digging a little deeper than just the basic reading and narration.

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A family favorite

And tonight we are watching part 2 of a family favorite...

Pride & Prejudice

A few years back, my then 13 year old fell in love with Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet while staying at my mother's. My mother has never been much of a TV watcher instead she offers adventures outside and a modest library from my dad. She finally settled in with a good book. Little did she know that day she would fall in love. At first it was a bit of a struggle to read through but she persevered because she was fascinated with this couple. Over the years we have used this classic in our school.



Last year in British Literature one of her exam questions was "How does the author (Jane Austen) catch and hold the reader's attention (pertaining to Pride & Prejudice)?" Prior to the exam we discussed this question and mapped out possibilities. For my daughter, she decided that is was Austen's ability to bring these characters to life and the varied qualities they posessed. She chose three to discuss in detail on the exam.
We also used Pride & Prejudice for our dictation exercises. I asked her to pick a favorite book, although I was pretty sure I knew which one she would chose! ;-) From there I asked her to pick a selection for our studied dictation. This was her first time doing dictation and so she looked at me and said, "You're going to read it to me flat, right? You're not going to read it in funny voices." I asked her why that mattered and she replied, "I just don't want you to ruin it for me." I knew from that conversation that we had made a wise choice.

This week we are sharing it with friends for movie night!

The 20th Century...

Yesterday, I spoke of Miss Beale's century chart and how we are going to use this to help us study the 20th century. Today was part one of the venture.

For my high schooler, we decided to use an 11x14 drawing pad. We came to know Charlotte Mason later in her homeschool education so this was the better choice for where we are at.

I began by showing her my feeble attempt at one as we discussed the definition of a century. Did I mention that I am artistically-challenged? I started with my own personal life in the 20th century. I felt like this would be the best place to start history...with their own personal story.

Since she is older, I decided she could make the grid and that by doing so this would help her understand the chart. So with pencils and ruler in hand she (and others in her co op) began designing the first grid.

This week's assignment is to begin filling in their life on the century chart. I am excited to see just how unique each one of them will be. We have four girls participating in this mini-co op. Can't wait to share them with you.

So Now What?

I can remember being a little girl and going to my dad's office. He had a large desk cluttered with papers and behind him was a vast bookshelf filled with books. One summer, I am sure in an effort to keep me busy, he assigned me the job of stamping his books on the inside cover. From the library of Ben F. Ward, Jr. He even had the pockets for me to put on the inside back cover just like the public libraries. His collection was filled with classics and non-fiction. My mother shared years later that he read every book in his library. Today I have some of his collection in my own library now. It is truly special to pull out one of his books for a school reading assignment or just for pleasure. I always share with the kids that this was their grandfather's book and they should take extra special care of it. I can not think of a better legacy to leave your children than a love for books.

Just a snapshot of my summer reading ambitions.

• Redeeming Love as recommended by my 16 yr old
• Seven Men Who Ruled from the Grave
• Towards a Philosophy of Education in Modern English Volume 6 of Charlotte Mason
• First Start French - Previewing for school next year

Year 3 Unit 3 List

TOG Year 3

Just thought I would share some of the choices we are using for this unit. Prior to starting a unit I try to explore the subject matter, look through books we already own, and search my local library. After that (and checking the budget) I go online to order books I think will enhance our study.

Grammar Level:

• Florence Nightengale
• The Story of David Livingstone
• Dover Cards Edgar Degas
• Abraham Lincoln
• Tom Sawyer audiobook
• Emily
• Classic Tales of Brer Rabbit
• Seabird

Dialect Level:

• Story of the World Vol. 4
• This Country of Ours
• Florence Nightengale
• Poetry for Young People: Emily Dickinson
• Alice and Wonderland

Rhetoric Level:

• Les Miserables
• Great Expectations
• The Adventures of Huckelberry Finn
• Gone with the Wind
• The Day Lincoln was Shot * (personal favorite)
• A History of the American People

My desire is to have lots of discussion within our home. Sometimes my older children are "eavesdropping" as I read aloud to the youngest while other times the youngest overhears conversations. I am constantly amazed at the desire and capability of children when there is furtile soil to grow and be nourished in.

How Firm a Foundation

This year my youngest will be in second grade. It seems like yesterday that he was playing cards on the floor while we had our read-aloud time. I am not a firm believer in pushing our young ones but rather allowing them the opportunity to explore. As a result his education is the most pure. I am very blessed...from preschool to Sunday School he has been shown a living education.

The Foundation of Reading
From the very beginning he was exposed to true phonics. He simply sat on the sidelines, played games, and on occasion expressed a true interest. Still waiting for him to provide the pace, I read aloud great literature. Usually his literature was a living book that went along with TOG. We used magnetic letter, sandpaper letters, etc. to reinforce phonics. Then one day he came to me and said he wanted to learn to read. That night I discovered that he knew how to use his phonics to sound out words and shortly after that we began the Pathways Primer reader called First Steps. Along with reading, I continued to teach phonics by using Spell to Write & Read.

Exploring
Last year we made timeline cards to go along with our history readings. Again, I chose living books to accompany our TOG reading list and worked at a comfortable pace. I used the Avery postcard sheets to create the timeline cards. On the front side we found an image of the story and on the back I wrote a few sentences to help us (mostly myself) remember what the story was about. This year we are making a history book. Sometimes we cut and paste a picture and I write down his narration or he may chose to do a picture study of an image and then recreate it in his book.

Each year I am reminded that my desire is to install a strong foundation and a love for learning. We can stray from this basic truth but we wind up right back at the heart of the matter.

Step by Step You'll Lead Me...

Recently I have been contemplating "the quiet home" and what that means. I have this image of obedient children, soft-spoken words, dinner at six, bedtime stories, and constant laughter. Ideally we strive for such peaceful, loving homes and in my case still come up short.

This month, our book club, is reading Stepping Heavenward. What a lovely portrait of a young girl who strives continuously toward Christ. It is filled with mundane activity, sorrow, joy, suffering, friendships, and great blessings. Of course, for Katy, this journey is filled with the realization that alone she can not accomplish this. This has given me great pause in my own life. Am I stopping to find the joy in an afternoon of imagination instead of chores? Am I embracing struggles as times to show God's goodness?

These thoughts have lingered as I read. Then on Monday, I listened to a homeschool webinar (FREE...love that!) on "Tips for Teaching a Houseful" and there was that same idea...the quiet house...facing me once again. This has caused me to start examining our activities and discerning which will allow my children to grow and which will ultimately invade upon the peaceful atmosphere I am striving for. This has caused me to consider my teaching style and examine where I can improve. Prayfully, I am seeking what the rhythm of my new school year will be like. Last year was more like a jazz piece filled with excitement, activity, and transition. This year I am longing for something more simple and inviting. I will not always achieve perfection. In fact most days I am sure I will come up short. But I am beginning to understand that it is as much about the steps taken as it is about the final destination. Each serve a purpose. Each have the opportunity for growth. I pray my steps are heavenward as my destination is there with Christ.

What's on your bookshelf?

"And there are my children! My darling, precious children! For their sakes I am continually constrained to seek after an amended, a sanctified life; what I want them to become I must become myself.

So I enter on a new year, not knowing what it will bring forth, but surely with a thousand reasons for thanksgiving, for joy, and for hope."

Stepping Heavenward by E. Prentiss

Summer Book Club

I would like to start a summer book club and would love to hear some suggestions. We will probably only have 3 meetings - one for each month. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed at the idea of picking only 3 but thought I'd put it out there and see what kind of suggestions I get...and if anyone would be interested.

Philosophy

One's philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is express in the choices one makes..." Eleanore Roosevelt

I believe strongly that children need to be great readers and communicators, both written and oral. In math, it is important to master all the basics skills. This foundation will take them on to higher math. Also, it is important for children to become independent learners.

This foundation for education came from my own family. As a little girl, I remember my father always reading. He sat in this green velvet chair either reading his Bible, the newspaper, or some book. He also had this vast library. I remember sitting in his office one day and he was teaching me how to stamp his books with this rubber stamp that read, "from the library of Ben F. Ward." He told me that day that he made it a point to read every book he added to his library. After he passed away, my mother went through the books and asked each of us to pick out the ones we wanted. His books are my most treasured possessions of his. I am inspired as we read them because I know that he read them as well.

I hope to pass on a similar love of learning for my children. Like my father, I hope to teach my children not by words but by my actions.

Mr. Popper's Penguins

This week, Ben and I have been listening to the audio cd of Mr. Popper's Penguins. What a delightful little story of this man's adventures with Captain Cook and Greta. For me, the greatest delight has been in his "narration" as the story goes along. With each chapter, Ben joyfully shares the events that have unfolded and makes predictions of what may occur. As we reached the middle of the story, Mr. Popper's penguin, Captain Cook, became sick. We learn that Mr. Popper adds another arctic member to his family and her name is Greta.

This excited Ben and in his best announcer man voice, he predicted the next chapter..."Chapter 11 Greta Lays Her Eggs" He was convinced that he knew the ending of the story. Once our little adventure was over he sat with me and discussed how he would have written the story.

The Reluctant Reader

I have not always a veracious reader but being a homeschool mom really reawakened my appetite.

As a little girl I have so many memories of my father sitting in his green chair with a book or his Bible in his hand. Rarely did he plop down on the sofa and watch television. Now that's not to say that he didn't enjoy television but it was not the focus of his life. He spent years building up his own personal library and made it a goal to read each and every book he added to his library. He encouraged us to read but never forced us to read. I remember him telling me that we are to always consider how we spend our time and to chose wisely if we decide to replace something with another activity. That was tough advice to swallow as a teenager...because I knew everything!! :-)

As my journey continues I am more and more convinced that reading is key to everything we do. So how do we encourage our children and how do we plant the right seeds? Here is my 2 cents on the topic anyhow.

• I believe strongly that children will read and desire to read when the subject is inticing to them. As parents, we must remember that what we love may not always be our children's cup of tea. Experiment with your children. The more you expose them to different genres the easier the journey will be.
• Children need a stong foundation in phonics to be able to be strong readers. This is a subject that many schools have abandoned and our children are suffering because of it. It is important not just to teach the cutesy preschool phonics but to go beyond that.
• Reading aloud to your children builds reading comprehension skills and is just plain enjoyable. I have heard it said that you should read to your children from the womb to the tomb.

Narration Cube



Narration in a Jar cubes

Last night I read to my 6 year old from Winnie the Pooh. He chose the story "Eyeore loses his Tail." After we finished we got my narration cubes out. First he rolled characters so I had him name all the characters in the story we read. Then he rolled connections. I asked him what were some things he was reminded of while we were reading. Since Owl had taken Eyeore's tail and used it as a bell pull, mistakenly of course, Ben and I were reminded of the bell pull from The Wizard of Oz. Then he rolled on N which meant we could be creative. So I had him take his stuffed animals and create his own version of the story. He called it "Rabbit loses his Tail."
We had such a fun night! I love nights like that!


I wrote this after another amazing Living books moment. Enjoy!

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