Last Day of School: 2019-2020 Edition

The kids worked really hard this winter and spring to finish up our schoolwork a few weeks early, so we could take some fun trips in May. We finished the schoolwork but the trips are postponed for now. So we're moving on to our morning basket/summer school plans and saving the trips for later. I'm really proud of the skills and knowledge they gained this year. They're doing great in math, Sophie has become an amazing reader, Nora knows all her letter sounds and is starting real reading lessons, and Annie and Jacob have made big improvements in spelling. We read lots of books, did lots of science experiments, started learning Latin, and continued to love history. It is always amazing to me how doing our lessons day in and day out leads to so much cumulative learning by the end of the school year! Congratulations on finishing up your 3rd grade, 1st grade, and 4K years!

Thomas: 15 months

Thomas is 15 months old! He is 31 3/4 inches tall and weighs 20 lbs, 15,4 oz. He stands on his own, cruises furniture, and walks with the doll stroller, but hasn't taken a step on his own yet. He sure is a fast crawler! He definitely gets where he wants to go. This month he has become very interested in the snacks in the kitchen cabinets. ;) He loves to sit and look at books and be read to. He is snuggly sometimes. He says Mama, Dada, yeah, uh-oh, and yay. He mimics us when we say things and he has long conversations with lots of inflection. Thomas loves to be outside, take baths, and go for walks. He's adorable, for sure!

Easter 2020

We got dressed up and worshiped from home with our church family. (Thanks, technology!)

Early Modern Literature: a reading list

Here's what we read aloud for our literature studies this year. So many good stories!

1. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, Margaret Hodges
2. Perrault's Complete Fairy Tales (selected), translated by A.E. Johnson
3. Little Mouse and Elephant, Jane Yolen
4. The Boy of the Three Year Nap, Dianne Snyder
5. Liang and the Magic Paintbrush, Demi
6. A Time of Golden Dragons, Song Nan Zhang
7. The Pied Piper of Hamelin, Robert Browning
8. Selected Poems, Elizabeth Barrett Browning
9. Dangerous Journey, Oliver Hunkin
10. Little Red Cap, Brothers Grimm
11. Seven at One Blow, Brothers Grimm, Eric Kimmel
12. Rapunzel, Brothers Grimm, Paul O. Zelinsky
13. The Hero of Bremen, Margaret Hodges
14. Songs of Innocence, William Blake
15. Robinson Crusoe, Classic Starts Daniel Defoe
16. The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship, Arthur Ransome
17. The Tale of the Firebird, Gennady Spirin
18. The Tale of Tsar Saltan, Alexander Pushkin
19. Gulliver's Travels, Classic Starts Jonathan Swift
20. Rama and Sita, David Weitzman
21. William's House, Ginger Howard
22. Poetry for Young People, William Wordsorth
23. The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Classic Starts Victor Hugo
24. Les Miserables, Stepping Stones Victor Hugo
25. The Three Musketeers, Stepping Stones Alexandre Dumas
26. Selected Poems, Alfred Lord Tennyson
27. Great Expectations, Stepping Stones Charles Dickens
28. Oliver Twist, Stepping Stones Charles Dickens
29. Sing Song, Christina Rossetti
30. The Last of the Mohicans, Stepping Stones James Fenimore Cooper
31. Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
32. Alice Through the Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll
33. The Pinata Maker, George Ancona
34. The Gold Coin, Alma Flor Ada
35. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Classic Starts Mark Twain
36. The Adventures of Huck Finn, Classic Starts Mark Twain
37. Poetry for Young People, Edward Lear
38. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Classic Starts Jules Verne
39. Around the World in 80 Days, Classic Starts Jules Verne
40. Journey to the Center of the Earth, Classic Starts Jules Verne
41. Moby Dick, Classic Starts Herman Melville

Early Modern History: reading list for the grammar stage

Here's our reading list for history this year. We used Vol. 3 of Story of the World as our spine, and supplemented with these titles. Some we read aloud and some the children read on their own. So many good books here!

Terror on the Amazon, Phil Gates
The Colony of Virginia, Brooke Coleman
If You Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620, Ann McGovern
Sarah Morton's Day, Kate Waters
Samuel Eaton's Day, Kate Waters
Tapenum's Day, Kate Waters
Who’s That Stepping on Plymouth Rock? Jean Fritz
The Pilgrims at Plymouth, Lucille Recht Penner
Samurai Castle, Fiona MacDonald
Taj Mahal, Christine Moorcroft
India, Eyewitness
The New Americans, Betsy and Giulio Maestro
Kids in Colonial Times, Lisa Wroble
If You Lived in Colonial Times, Ann McGovern
Mary Geddy's Day, Kate Waters
A Day in the Life of a Colonial Dressmaker, Amy French Merrill (and others in the series)
You Wouldn't Want to Be an American Colonist, Jacqueline Marley
The King's Day, Aliki
Struggle for a Continent, Betsy and Giulio Maestro
Russia, Eyewitness
The First Tulips in Holland, Phyllis Krasilovsky
The Farewell Symphony, Anna Harwell Celenza
If You Grew Up with George Washington, Ruth Belov Gross
If You Lived at the Time of the American Revolution, Kay Moore
Can't You Make Them Behave, King George? Jean Fritz
Will You Sign Here, John Hancock? Jean Fritz
And Then What Happened, Paul Revere? Jean Fritz
Liberty or Death: the American Revolution, Betsy and Giulio Maestro
What’s the Big Idea, Ben Franklin? Jean Fritz
Where Was Patrick Henry on the 29th of May, Jean Fritz
A More Perfect Union, Betsy and Giulio Maestro
Shhh! We’re Writing the Constitution, Jean Fritz
If You Were There When They Signed the Constitution, Elizabeth Levy
The Bill of Rights, Patricia Ryon Quiri
Pirates, Barnaby Harward
From Plant to Blue Jeans, Arthur John L'Hommedieu
The Story of an English Village, John Goodall
Kids During the Industrial Revolution, Lisa Wroble
The National Anthem, Patricia Ryon Quiri
A New Nation, Betsy and Giulio Maestro
Kids in Pioneer Times, Lisa Wroble
If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon, Ellen Levine
If You Were a Pioneer on the Prairie, Anne Kamma
If You Lived with the Cherokee, Peter and Connie Roop
If You Lived with the Iroquois, Ellen Levine
If You Lived with the Souix, Ann McGovern
They're Off! The Story of the Pony Express, Cheryl Harness
California Gold Rush, Peter and Connie Roop
Gold Fever, Catherine McMorrow

Biography
Rembrandt, Venezia
The True Story of Pocahontas, Lucille Recht Penner
Galileo, Jacqueline Mitton
Samuel de Champlain, Claude Hurwicz
Squanto, Clyde Robert Bulla
Hokusai, Deborah Kogan Ray
Thinkers, Michael Pollard (selections)
Bach, Venezia
Handel, Venezia
Mozart, Venezia
Beethoven, Venezia
Peter the Great, Diane Stanley
Ordinary, Extraordinary Jane Austen, Deborah Hopkinson
Meet George Washington, John Heilbroner
A Picture Book of George Washington, David Adler
Martha Washington, Jean Brown Wagoner
Crispus Attucks, Dharathula Millender
John Adams Speaks for Freedom, Deborah Hopkinson
Betsy Ross and the Silver Thimble, Stephanie Greene
A Picture Book of Patrick Henry, David Adler
Meet Thomas Jefferson, Marvin Barrett
Thomas Jefferson: A Picture Book Biography James Cross Giblin
Sacagawea, Joyce Milton
Andrew Jackson, Venezia
Charles Dickens, Diane Stanley
Lewis and Clark, Steven Kroll
James Monroe, Venezia
A Picture Book of Simon Bolivar, David Adler
Tecumseh, Rachel Koestler-Grack
Davy Crockett, Aileen Wells Parks
Daniel Boone, Augusta Stevenson
Buffalo Bill, Augusta Stevenson
Jean Lafitte, Aileen Weintraub
Shaka, Diane Stanley
Only Passing Through: The Story of Sojourner Truth, Anne Rockwell
Sitting Bull, Augusta Stevenson
Sequoyah, Dorothea Snow
Jim Bowie, Marianne Johnston

Sanity for Supermoms

I'm finding there's plenty of help and ideas for kids...I think the Supermoms deserve some suggestions for keeping their sanity, too!

I know you've heard this before, but you need a routine/schedule. You don't have to be locked in to serving breakfast at 7:33am, brushing teeth at 7:58, etc. Just follow the same pattern each day. It will help. We are creatures of habit--make sure you're developing good ones. Also, if at all possible (if your kids get up at sunrise, I'm sorry, and I realize this isn't possible--take advantage of quiet afternoon time instead), get up before your kids do. Exercise, spend time in God's Word and prayer, and get dressed before your kids are up. Your whole day will go more smoothly.

Light a candle. Arrange some flowers if anything's blooming in your yard. Go for a walk. Spend time with your spouse.

Take time each day to sit down and rest for a few minutes. Put your feet up and if you're like me, reheat the coffee that's been sitting on your counter since mid-morning. ;) Give yourself some grace to have some down time. I've been reading a lot--some weighty books, and a lot of just-for-fun fiction. I finally read all the Harry Potter books. I'm playing with some hand-lettering and wishing I was a crafter. Maybe next time we're homebound for weeks I'll learn to knit or something...

I did find a new-to-me podcast I'm really enjoying. It's called Wire Talk with Karen Stubbs. Great advice for moms. Every morning while I workout, I listen to The World and Everything In It, a daily news podcast. I also enjoy the Read Aloud Revival and Raising Boys and Girls. Sometimes I listen to At Home with Sally, Listening In, The Olasky Interview, and Don't Mom Alone. I listen to podcasts while I cook, drive (remember those days?), exercise, pay bills, fold laundry, etc.

Oh, definitely reach out to family and friends and neighbors daily! Chat with your neighbors from six feet away as you walk your street, Facetime with family, make phone calls and send emails and write texts.

Finally, music. Here's the best Easter soundtrack: Andrew Peterson's Resurrection Letters. Listen to the Prologue album today and tomorrow. Sunday, play Vol. 1. And then look ahead to the final resurrection with Vol. 2. These songs have so much truth and beauty. Every time I listen I learn something new.

When all else fails, try hot tea. Or wine. A bath, a good night's sleep, and ice cream are also helpful pick-me-ups.

Crisis Schooling Thoughts and Resources

A friend sent me this article and I found it so helpful. For those of you now "homeschooling" because of Covid19, I want you to know this is not what we usually do every day. What we all--homeschoolers included--find ourselves in now is "crisis schooling." My children miss their friends and ballet classes and baseball games just as much as yours do. Now, I'm an introvert, and those of my children who are extroverts have enough siblings to provide built-in playmates. But still, being at home all the time is challenging. Thankfully, we've had mostly-nice weather and we have been able to be outside a lot. That helps. We've had piano lessons via Facetime and dance class via Zoom. But let's all admit that this is hard and that's okay.

All that said, you likely find yourself now home with your kids ALL DAY. Maybe you're trying to juggle working from home, too. My hat's off to you. Your kids probably have instructional packets or computer-based learning from their school. But that likely won't take all day, and you may find some gaps you want to fill in.

If you are looking for some things to add to your school day, I'd start with the beauty that we rarely have time to include if we aren't purposeful.
After breakfast, have a morning devotional time with your children. Read from the Bible or a children's story Bible, pray together, work on a memory verse or passage, learn a hymn, memorize a catechism question, etc.

Then sit down with your morning basket and soak up some beauty together. If you have a toddler or preschooler, check out The Homegrown Preschooler for tons of learning ideas and activities.
Suggestions for your morning basket (check out Pam Barnhill's blog for lots more)
Read from a poetry book
Do a Mad Lib and laugh together
Maybe memorize a poem over a couple of weeks
Play a game
Study an artist or composer
Read a great book out loud together

Unit Studies
Pick a topic (or let your child choose) your children are interested in and explore it together over a week or two! Google your topic (Mars, Laura Ingalls Wilder, salamanders, pyramids, etc) + unit study and you'll get tons of ideas.

Read, read, read!
Read out loud to your kids, even your kids who can read by themselves.
Teach your pre-readers letter sounds, help your early readers with their independent reading, make sure your readers have time to read to themselves each day.
If you need ideas for what to read, check out the book Honey for a Child's Heart or the website or podcast Read Aloud Revival.

Grammar, Handwriting, Spelling
If your kids need more in this area than they are getting from their assigned schoolwork, use a combination of copywork, dictation, and narration. In your best penmanship, right out your Scripture memory verse or a passage from Charlotte's Web or another great children's book and have your child copy it. For first grade and up, dictate sentences for your children to write. Help them when necessary. At first, they will need a lot of help! After you've read something to your child, have them narrate it back to you. Write it down for them. Older children can copy what you've written for them into their own handwriting. While we're home, teach your kids the art of letter-writing! Everyone loves to get mail. :)

Math
Play games, read some Life of Fred, try Khan Academy online.

History
We love the Story of the World series by Susan Wise Bauer. The audio books are also excellent. Great overview of history, told in an interesting way. This is a great resource to add to what your kids are already doing with their assigned schoolwork.

Science
Do some science experiments and talk about them. Older kids can type up a short report.

The two vital things:
Do not underestimate the value and importance of two things: quiet time and play time!

As my kids outgrew nap time, it was replaced with quiet time. Since my kiddos are home with me all day, I need a break from them. I love them dearly. But they are loud. And they always need me. Every afternoon from 2-4pm, my kids go to their room or the playroom and play quietly, read, or listen to audio books. They are not allowed to bother Mama unless they are bleeding. If they come looking for me, I tell them Mama is off-duty.

Play a lot, inside and outside! Children need free play! They need to use their imaginations and exercise their bodies. Check out these resources on the importance of play. Yes, they will fight and get bored. Try to stay out of it as much as possible. Once they get over the fussing and boredom, they will get creative.

Your kids are probably getting plenty of screen time. Limit it as much as you can. Screen-based learning does not engage the brain in the same way as other learning mediums. That said, sometimes screens are helpful...or at least a necessary evil in our society. Here are a few screen-based resources we use:
Khan Academy
Check out your library's online resources--our library offers Duolingo for foreign language learning
There are also free coding and typing courses online, try Hour of Code or Scratch
Try some YouTube art lessons, like Art for Kids or Wild, Free, and Crafty

Have fun together, but don't feel like it is your job to entertain your kids all day. Watch classic movies from your childhood (my kids just watched The Princess Bride and now they are quoting it), look through your scrapbooks, show your kiddos old home videos. Teach some life skills, like laundry, cleaning, and sewing. Set out random art supplies and see what your kids come up with. Let them choose recipes to make and try some cooking and baking together.

You can do this!

Friday Perspective

You should take Covid19 seriously. But do keep it in perspective.

Deaths Worldwide: January 1, 2020 - April 1, 2020
Covid19 46,438
Seasonal flu 121,993
Malaria 246,121
Suicide 269,076
Traffic fatalities 338,715
HIV/AIDS 421,808
Alcohol 627,571
Smoking 1,254,352
Cancer 2,060,730
Hunger 2,806,314
Abortion 10,665,130

Source