2010-11 School Year Plans

As much as I love My Father's World, I have been considering switching over to Heart of Dakota for next year.   I got a catalog in the mail last week and was browsing through it...I HAVE FALLEN IN LOVE WITH IT!!!  It is sooo similar to My Father's World...and yet it seems to be stronger in some areas in which I feel are My Father's World weak points.  

MFW K is wonderful in the Bible lessons and connecting it to the science projects, but James was more advanced in every other area of study it offered.  (Don't get me wrong.  I do love the program, and will more than likely do it with Bella for Preschool.  I just think it is more of a PreK program than K...in my humble opinion)  So we decided to start James with MFW 1st grade.   So, why am I moving to a different curriculum for next year???

• MFW 1st grade does not teach each of the subjects everyday, there is not a flow and consistency from day to day in the teacher's manual.  Somedays are very short with a review of the memory verse in Proverbs, math and reading.  One day every week there is an science exploration day and no other subjects are covered and you are encouraged to spend the day outdoors.  Because of this, we don't follow the teacher's manual day by day.  I look ahead in the days/weeks ahead, and cover the whole week in 2 or 3 of our schooldays most of the time.  We are well ahead of schedule, and should finish up the first grade material by the end the summer IF we don't take a typical summer break.  (I am considering this option so that we can begin a new curriculum at the same time as the typical new school season starts out.  We would still have 4 weeks to take off with this plan) 
• Instead of listing the Math instructions for the day in the manual, you have to flip to a special section divided for math and find the assignment for that day/week.  And they suggest living books as well, but that is also in another section in the back of the manual.  True, this is not horrible, but it is a pain!  I would rather it all be listed under what day/week it is to be done in the manual.
• The science living books are listed the same way, in the back of the manual, instead of with the day/week it is applicable to.  Plus, the science isn't really connected to the Bible lesson as it was in the Kindergarten level, and that is why I liked the program...everything the child studied was interwoven together.
• Looking ahead in the manual...starting at Day 126 the student has completed the phonics lessons, and most of the math lessons, and the specified Bible lessons are not continued.  The remaining SHORT lesson plans are not as structured and they encourage you to spend time outdoors and reading library books, etc.   I am all for outdoor activity and reading, but in addition to regular learning.  So I am very bummed about that aspect of the curriculum.
•  I was talking with another homeschool mom at Coop and she uses MFW for her older children (2nd/3rd grade).  She also loves MFW, with the exception of the Language Arts.  She felt it was lacking in instruction compared to schools in her same grade level, and she felt the need to supplement.   The whole reason I got MFW was to have a complete program, so I wouldn't HAVE to supplement (even though I still do from time to time as I find fun things)  Now, on the flip side...I have been extremely impressed with 1st grade phonics that it presents!  James is doing amazing in reading and it is because of the curriculum.  
• And one last minor complaint before I move on to why I am considering Heart of Dakota.  MFW relies heavily on library books.  I love the library (It's free and I hate the idea of buying tons of books only to be used once) so I thought that this would not be an issue for our family, in fact it was a plus.  However, it is really difficult to go to the library every week or two and look for 10 or 20 books with a toddler!  Most of the time, I find that our library doesn't cover many of the suggested books, and it takes even longer to find other substitutes.  So this has been a hassle.

Here's a peek at the teacher's manual for Heart of Dakota.... Simple daily plans are divided into 9 boxes, which can be spaced throughout the day as time allows. Quick and easy activities require little or no preparation and use only materials you're likely to have on hand.  Each day of plans is divided into the following 2 parts: "Learning Through History" and "Learning the Basics".  It is laid out on two pages, so each day is very easy to see what you will be doing.  No flipping back and forth!!!  And these areas are covered every day.  That is music to my ears.

Christ-Centered The "Learning Through History" part of the program gives a chronological overview of early American history from 1565 - 1860's. It emphasizes God's plan throughout history. A weekly Bible story wraps up each unit by focusing on an example of Godly character that corresponds with the history stories. The areas listed below are linked with the daily stories: Bible Memory Work Devotional Topics Science Discovery Art Projects Geography Exploration Timeline and History Activities Poetry and Rhymes Gross Motor Skills Music

Complete The "Learning The Basics" part of the program focuses on language arts and math. It includes the areas listed below: Copywork Spelling Practice Basic Grammar Skills Introduction to Capitalization and     Punctuation Reading Choices Narration Storytime Genre Studies Guided Literature Discussions Story Element Lessons Godly Character Lessons Math Exploration

And, did I mention it's cheaper?  No?  Well, it is!  YAY!  And that includes the cost of all those extra books, so I don't have to visit the library every week!

After reading tons of homeschooling forums and reviews, I noticed that a lot of other Moms closely consider these two programs too.  Here's a link to my favorite forum post comparing the similarities and differences of HOD and MFW.  The comparison is clearly written and seasoned with grace and respect for both programs.  It helped tremendously in my decision in discerning which of these two wonderful programs would best fit our goals, family, and teaching style.

Click here to read the review.

For me, it confirmed all of the reasons why we are going to choose HOD next year, but it may do the complete opposite for others.  Isn't it wonderful to have many Christ centered programs to choose from?  There are so many more out there too!

My Father's World Bible Reader

James has been excited about reading!!! YAY!!!
Up until recently, he has showed NO interest whatsoever.


After this video, he kept on reading until page 32!  


He is learning new phonics rules daily, and as he learns a new rule/words, he is to read a new story in the reader.
So far, he was only up to the first page...so his progress is awesome...picking up words he doesn't know the rules to yet.


Can you tell I am a proud mama?!?!?!

My Father's World 1st grade

This past week has been hard.  James has ADHD...sometimes it's hardly an issue...and other times he is very difficult to manage, and this past week was one of those difficult times.  His hyperactivity, impulsiveness, lack of focus, and behavioral issues have been at an all time high.  This happens sometimes. Just a really really really bad week for him out of the blue, and then he goes back to "normal".   I really wish I could discover the pattern of why some days are fine and dandy, and others not. so. much.

Today, however...today has been good.  We woke up early (for us) and met some friends to go walking in the park while our kids tagged along on bikes, scooters, and strollers.   That was really nice, and hopefully the start of a new pattern of daily exercising.  I stayed after our walk and let the kids play on the playground before we headed back home to start school.

With James' My Father's World 1st grade curriculum,  he is learning Bible verses from Proverbs.  We have been memorizing a proverb a week.  This week is Proverbs 12:22.

Although MFW provides copywork sheets,  we also have been using a cool resource from Mama Jenn (who also does MFW) found here.  We have created a bible notebook that we keep all our memory pages in, so that we can look back and review.  

We are also beginning a study of the Old Testament.  He has drawn a bible times map with a cute little story to help him remember.  We have looked at the Greek alphabet and Genesis 1:1 in Hebrew and discussed how the Bible was written in a different language than we speak today.  This led into a wonderful discussion about Bible translators and how we have an awesome privilege to have the Bible in our own language.  

Yesterday, he started reading Bible stories in a special beginning level Bible Reader that comes with the curriculum.  He was so excited, as was I!   Today, we started a timeline that we will continue to add on to as the year goes on in our studies.  

As I was browsing the internet for a math supplement, I discovered this great idea from Confessions of a Homeschooler.  James needed a refresher on color mixing, so this is what we did before (and after) nap time.  It is really a mix of science and math together.  

We started out by coloring 3 jars of water in the primary colors of Red, Yellow, and Blue.

Then we took the color mixing cards and followed the directions to make a new color.

For instance, on the purple color mixing card it shows 3 scoops of blue, and 1 scoop of red.

(just ignore the missing burners on the stove...we were cleaning up!)

After we mixed the color, we wrote the equation on the card.  For purple we wrote 

3 (blue scoops)+1(red scoops)= 4 (purple scoops)

With Bella, I just gave her a jar of orange we had already mixed, and an empty bowl with various size measuring scoops and let her scoop and play.  She had a blast.

School Days

Hmm...I was planning on blogging our first day of school, but, WOH!...has it been a more than month already? I can't believe how fast it has all gone by. Well, to say the very least, we have been keeping busy!

I really do love using My Father's World with the workbox system. My Father's World is very simple and the curriculum only takes maybe 1 or 1.5 hours each day, but if you go on the website forum, there are tons of ideas to supplement from other parents who are doing MFW too. So with my index card box of ideas, MFW forum and curriculum, and my various blogs I like to visit...there's is always enough to fill up the workboxes with themed activities! It's just an awesome system-and I really recommend it to anyone. James loves it...he asks to do it...that never happened last year! And it has really helped me be consistent about all areas/subjects of schooling... it is more work for me in the planning stages, however it is worth the extra work once you see the fruit of your labor~ a happy student, a happy momma and a much easier flow for your day!

So, here is a look into our First Week of School!

Our first week's theme was "Ss Sun- Jesus is the Light of the World"

Of course, my memory is fading fast...so here is a look into what I have pictures of...not so much of a comprehensive list of all we actually learned and accomplished!

ART:
We got out our paint, made handprints onto sturdy paper plates, cut out & glued a clothespin on the back of handprint. Add a magnet to the clothespin...once all is dry, WAH-LAH! You have a custom made magnet for hanging up your child's artwork. (Of course, I don't have a shot of the finished product, but maybe I will get my act together and post it at a future time!)

Bella wanted to do EVERYTHING James did, so she got to do her own version! (note: yes, I know that she is not wearing clothes in most of these pics...but that's cause any time we have paint involved...off go the clothes.)

Of course, we needed art to hang so....

Day One- I wrote out James' name in marker and he 'traced' over it with Bingo Dot Dauber Markers. Fingerpainting the Sun
Bella too! Of course!One of our studies was about Solar Weather...last year we took a trip to the planetarium and they gave out some neat freebies from NASA...one of these was a CDrom filled with cool stuff about the sun...and solar weather. Anyway, after we review this info...He created a solar storm painting. I love it! The big blob in the middle is the storm heading towards earth...the earth has a circle (magnetic field) around it to protect it from the coming radiation. You probably can't see...but he added yellow splatters for a finishing touch, to represent all the matter/particles coming out from the sun towards earth. I love his creativity!

As part of the weekly Reading Plan- one of the days is a TACTILE day... so for our first week we made our own playdough. If you have never made playdough before...IT IS SIMPLE and so much fun! Try it! Here is a recipe. We made green, cause it's James' favorite color.
I got out a place mat we got from Walmart a few years ago. He practiced rolling out letters and placing it over the printed letters on our placemat. We saved the playdough for later play of course. But it also came in handy when we made our sundial for Science:
We read a book about how time and how the sun was used in the old days to tell time. After that we cut out a cardboard circle, put a blob of our homemade playdough in the middle, and put a pencil in the center of the blob.
We went outside and marked the shadow each hour on the hour. After a while, it started to look like a clock. Then we had to move it...Daddy was coming home soon, and we didn't want him to run it over! hehe

Math:
Fun with M&M's! This is a really cool book.
and Bear Counters with M&M's to add (and subtract...boy those M&M's disappeared fast!)
And a Donald Crew book...10 Black Dots.
We used Black Magnet Dots, but you could use anything really!

Our Book of the Week was Bear Shadow.
We did many fun reading comprehension activities with this.
Here he is drawing two different ways Bear tried to get rid of his shadow. His drawing skills amaze me. He is so creative and talented for a five year old. (says his mom!)
After we read the book we went outside and had some fun with sidewalk chalk and shadows.
We played with shadows, traced the shadows in chalk...and filled in with faces, clothes, etc.
We compared them at different times throughout the day we would trace his shadow...standing in the same spot. It was neat to see where the shadow was each time...and how big it had grown, or rapidly it was shrinking!
We played shadow tag, and then acted out Bear Shadow...trying to escape our shadows. Pretending to pound nails, hide behind trees, digging holes...
Sometimes the sun would go behind a cloud and we would not have anymore to play with...

And there was a great spiritual tie in here....God is always with us and will never leave us. Even if we can see Him. He is always there!

And last but not least...we took a field trip to the GSU Raptor Center. Not really anything to do with light or Sun...but Grandma Susan was moving the next week, and we were trying to fit in as much fun quality time with her and the grandkids as possible.



Bella loved this huge toad! All throughout the presentation, she kept on wanting to go see that toad she knew was at the end of the table!

My Favorite/Unforgetable memory of this field trip? James raised his hand when they were asking for brave volunteers to come up front to the raptor/reptile show. He got picked along with his cousin, Brianna. They went up front, and were asked to close their eyes and hold out their hands. Oh boy!!! Out came two giant Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches. (SHUDDER!) well, needless to say, as much as James loves bugs and stuff...he doesn't love them in his hand...He screamed, shook it off, and ran back to his seat next to me. Poor guy cried for about 2 minutes before he calmed down. Good news is though, that he was able to enjoy the rest of the show.