These pictures were taken early in November.
This might give you a better idea of what school is like (or maybe what it is not like) in the Vertner School.
I am often asked "What do you do with the younger kids while you are schooling Noah?"
Well, some days, we....
and other days we.....
and then some days they get the better of me.
On to the lessons...
Our Bible Study was a review of the word "Fool" in the Strong's Concordance. This idea was taken from a "No Greater Joy" newsletter. It has been fuel for several great discussions about gaining wisdom, making wise choices and foolish behavior. There were about 100 entries for "fool" and we covered 3-5 a day, discussed the scripture and meaning and then prayed together.
Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons
We are currently in the 60s. I very much appreciate the process and simplicity. Our oldest child is progressing through the lessons very well. He loves stories and is always asking for audio books. Yet, he is not yet showing signs of eagerness to read beyond the requirements of this book. I know it will come when he is ready, and when it does, I doubt we'll have enough books to keep him busy.
He shows an apptitude for math and reasoning. Unfortunately I have not found a math program that I am overly thrill with yet. We are currently using Abbeca, but don't feel that it is anything special, and pretty institutional. I have an interest in "Math You Can", but am open to other suggestions.Finally - everyone's favorite! Themes!
ANCIENT EGYPT
Noah really enjoyes the Mary Pope Osborne book series "The Magic Tree House". We selected the "Mummies in the Morning" book to get us started. We were able to find a Mary Pope Osborne research companion to the Magic Tree House on Ancient Egypt at the library, as well as several other age-appropriate text. We set the DVR to record anything about pyramids, mummies or sarcophaguses (Noah's favorite vocabulary word). The capstone to the theme will be a Mom-Noah date to see the MUMMIES Omnimax movie at the Science and Industry Museum tomorrow afternoon.We are also working on memorizing the 50 states.
This coming week will see a new theme as we dive into the US government and Presidential history. We will have plenty of foder for lessons as we plan on soaking in the inaguration of Barak Obama on Tuesday.
5 comments:
I have a math recommendation, if it's not too late.
Math-U-See.
We absolutely LOVE it!
Here's the website: www.mathusee.com
There is a local (Milwaukie) rep who sells it brand new. I searched for over a month to buy it on ebay last spring - 6 weeks. And I missed 2 auctions in that time that were good. The rest of the 100s of auctions the curricula sold for the same or MORE than I could buy it new!!!! REALLY!!! (And I was being pretty vigilant.)
If you don't get enough info from the website and want to see it in person, I have 4 levels here, plus the two sets of blocks (starter & completer sets.) My three oldest are using it, and my #4 is begging to start. It's very fun and very easy.
(Oh, and it's developed by a Christian and there is a personal finance level that is very Biblical, from what I understand.)
That’s so funny. I have been looking into Math U See and have a hand me down from a neighbor’s daughter sitting right next to me for Alpha. I’m not happy with Abeka math at all. I need to do a little bit of add/sub tables drilling with Noah for a week and I think he might pass the competency exam and we could jump right into Beta – I really don’t want him to get bored because he really likes math. Thanks for the suggestion – just the confirmation I needed!
(I just realized that I wrote "Math You Can" but I meant MathUSee Oops!)
Are you familiar with Shurley English at all?
Nope - I've heard of Shurley English, but now I can't remember WHAT I've heard about it. I basically review things or read reviews of things and discard in my brain whatever doesn't fit for us. So, I really can't comment one way or another about it. I've never seen it in person. I'm not really much of an authority on curriculum (have you noticed?) But when I find something that fits for us and that we love, I will tell anybody & everybody.
My boys were ready for Beta or beyond when we started MUS, but I required them to go back and do Alpha just to be certain that we covered all the bases. Prior to that, we had only done workbooks from Costco & Sonlight (Horizons.) I'm glad we did, as it gave them a greater understanding of the foundation of the manipulatives (blocks) used in MUS.
It sounds like Noah is ready for Beta, but I'd encourage you to make sure you use the blocks. The beginning of the teacher guide & dvd will give you the foundation you need to be familiar with how they use them.
Also, another major difference is that they count from 0-9 instead of 1-10. That is a pretty big deal, but it is covered a few times in each level.
Do you already have the contact info for the local rep, Paula?
so did your boys seem bored going back through alpha?
Off & on.
It's all in the attitude.
They knew it was required of them, and so they resolved to it. My eldest usually plowed thru 1-2 lessons a day, anxious to get thru it. Some days he was especially thankful it was so easy. My other boy has a more difficult time staying focused when he's bored, so we often incorporate PE into it or in between pages. My eldest is very goal-oriented, my 2nd - not so much.
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