Ten on Tuesday (homeschool edition).
Tuesday, January 25, 2011 at 12:08PM 1. The record. I don't really know why, but I've been going through old homeschool stuff and making a rough record of our journey so far...not a scrapbook or anything fancy, just a list. It's been good. Not only do I feel better for having it all in one place, but I feel affirmed...I can see that I've actually been doing stuff with these boys. ;) My point, if, in fact, I have one, is just that making a list really can make you feel better.
2. Yoda dialogue. Yup. I actually did this with the boys. Here, for those who were wondering, are the Yoda lines I started with:
- Lost a planet Master Obi-Wan has.
- Around the survivors a perimeter create.
- Fear is the path to the Dark Side.
- Named must your fear be before banish it you can.
Nothing fancy. Just had the boys figure out how the line would be written "properly" and then had them diagram that sentence. I don't think the boys even realized they were doing grammar. Perfect. ;)
3. CitizenKid books. I just came across this line of books and wanted to share. They're awesome. I've checked out a number from our local library (and via their library exchange program) but went ahead and bought this one. I'm envisioning a unit this spring where each boy actually creates his own country and goes through the process of finding a spot (and talking about what would make a good spot), organizing a government (and talking about the various options), and creating the symbols (and comparing those to others around the world). Fun!
4. Latin for me. So. Remember how I decided I'm going to take the plunge and teach the boys Latin? Well, I'm still all for that. But. I had an "ah-ha" moment last week. After seeing this review online, I really want to take these video lessons. I'm not sure they'd work for the boys as of yet but figure that this would definitely increase the odds of me sticking with it...if I feel more confident going in, kwim? So. I'm going to get this curriculum for ME to start. I figure I can get through at least the first ten lessons pretty quickly on my own and then possibly keep going even after starting the other curriculums I have with the boys. But at least then I'll feel better for knowing something...and I think it's good for the boys to know that adults take classes and learn new things, too. :)
5. 7ate9. We got the boys this game for Christmas. We finally played it recently. Noah loves it (mostly because he's better at it than his brothers, lol). Asher's frustrated by it (mostly because it's really hard to play a card game that depends on speed when you can't hold the cards in both hands). And Micah just thinks games are fun. From a mom's perspective, I think it's dandy...easy to pack and play when you're out and about and great for quick math skills (you have to add or subtract to the number on the card and then play a card out of your own hand that fits...trying to get rid of all your cards first).
6. Bed. I just thought this was cool and wanted to share. My guys have all, on occasion, had difficulty remembering which direction "b" and "d" face. I've tried various tricks to help them remember, mostly to no avail. The other day, I came across this blog post. I showed Micah. He hasn't slipped up once since then. Cool. (I've also actually caught him using this for the "9" and "p" directions.)
7. Index card geography. I love this idea (and this blog!) and I'm definitely going to incorporate that into our geography studies! I went and bought a new outline map last week and will start this afternoon. Yay!
8. Maps. Came across these...wish they had a written explanation to accompany them, but still pretty cool. Btw, I've actually only looked at the first three maps, so don't ask me about those other ones. ;)
9. More maps. And, while you're at it, a friend just pointed out this awesome scratch & dent sale where you can pick up Blacklines Maps of World History for cheap! I've had this on my wishlist for awhile now but hadn't gotten around to convincing myself to pay that much for it. So happy this morning! (Hurry, though, they're going fast!)
10. One more geography thing. (Hmmm. Apparently I've been thinking about our geography studies a bit lately, lol.) I don't know about you, but my younger two still have considerable trouble distinguishing between cities and countries and states and all that. We're working on it and I'm not really worried or anything. But. To help things along, hopefully, I made this little chart (click for larger):
;)
I'm going to post it in the "school" area for reference when we're studying geography. If you'd like a copy, please feel free. (Right click on the image above for a JPG file...click here for a PDF.)
And that's that for today. ;)
Reader Comments (2)
I just came across your blog today. It's very informative! :)
I like number 10. My kids are always having a hard time figuring out the difference between cities, counties, states and countries. I'll have to write this out for them. Thanks!
I like the Geography index cards too! My kids love to compete against each other. lol This would be a great way to remember geography. We are currently doing an Around the World Project (We picked 17 countries) and visit each country with our passports. Problems is we are having too much fun and spending a lot of time on each country. Australia took us 4 weeks to finish. lol
I bought a Latin book for the kiddos (two years ago) and we've done 1 lesson. Oops! I would really like to restart that again. :)
Hi Amanda! I just noticed your post and saw that you read the review of Visual Latin on the Five J's. I'm so glad you enjoyed our program. Would you be interested in doing a review of Visual Latin? I'd love to offer you the first 10 lessons for free. Feel free to email me and let me know if you're interested! Thanks!