Sneak Preview~What's new for the fall term at Serendipity

If you are interested in following along with our studies this year, take a look at Serendipity today. First up, there is the first installment of the History Trail we're going to follow. There are reading, crafts, copywork, dictation, and narration suggestions for all children from first grade through high school. Keeping this in mind, remember no one should be attempting to do it all:-). And there will be an original story with each installment, just as there is on the Alphabet Path. The plans are divided into the blocks that I'm using with my family. For me, it is important that the whole family can be "on the same page" as much as possible. When I can plan for that, two things happen. The first is that our days don't feel segmented and I don't feel torn in a million directions. The second benefit is one that is a huge blessing of home eduction. Our studies become part of our family culture. They are a shared experience.

In the history block are living books suggestions along with reading assignments. For the older children, there are textbook spine suggestions. My family will also take advantage of The Teaching Company's American history high school DVDs. They are entertaining and engaging enough to capture the attention of  even young children.Two craft books are suggested as well.

In the Geography block are suggestions for living books and research projects to thoroughly delve into US Geography.

Language Arts includes specific grammar lessons which use lively, engaging picture books, as well as copywork, dictation and writing assignments that are keyed to the history reading.

There are two options for music, art and poetry. Within the history trail are simple suggestions for all of these topics. Or, if you prefer to dedicate more time to the arts, there are detailed music, art and poetry lessons which can stand alone each week. Those lessons are also tiered so that moms can choose how much or how little to introduce to each child.

All taken together, these represent a wide and generous education that also delves deeply into the subjects at hand--and the emphasis here is on living books and plenty of them, read by families learning together. My little ones will revisit the Alphabet Path. And remember, the grand plan allows for a half day of nature study outdoors every week and then a focused science afternoon as well. Faith is integrated into each and every day. The younger the child, the more time they will have for play, preferably out-of-doors.By necessity, older children will have to spend more time at their studies. The beauty of multi-level plans is that there's always enough for the eager student, but the assignments can be whittled as necessary for younger or slower students. Move up or down within the plans.Don't attempt to do them as written. In addition to the shared family experience, the unique blessing of home education is the opportunity to tailor the curriculum to the family and to the individual child. It is my sincere hope that our plans and our enthusiasm will bless you, but it is you who will make them truly come alive in your home and in the hearts and minds of your children.

[Much more on Serendipity here:-).]

What's the Plan?

Still very limited internet. And no telephone at all. The Verizon guy is supposed to arrive any time now. Bummer; I was enjoying the quiet;-). I've been busy, both outside and inside. It's that planning time of year again. For those of us who relish the idea of creating our own curricula, this is a glorious time of year, characterized by all night binges with the library website open and hours at the playground with catalogs on our laps. I'm thrilled with the shape that the coming year is taking. Colleen, Marisa, and I have been fairly bubbling over with ideas and we've made them as practical as possible. I'd like to offer you a rough idea should you care to wander with us at Serendipity.
We're going to focus on American History this year. Literature-based plans for three different age levels (Primary, Elementary and Junior High) will share reading suggestions and craft ideas. The older children will use IEW's US History-Based Writing lessons Volume 1. Everybody will share in quality literature and will narrate and make Books of Centuries. The reading list for the first couple of months will be on the lefthand sidebar in the next few days.

Weekly installments will take us over several time periods.
September and October: Colonial America and the American Revolution
November: The Louisiana Purchase and the Explorations of Lewis and Clark
December will be devoted to welcoming the Babe in the manger (and a new baby in our house)
January and February: Pioneers
March: Native Americans
April: Spring term--Devoted to intensive nature study (also known as "Easter and Bluebell Break) and a Shakespeare block
May, June, and July: The Civil War
August is a scheduled break.

But that's just the beginning...

Lively Language Lessons will pick up where we left off and continue through all of Ruth Heller's grammar books.We're going to add these color-coded diagramming lessons that use the Ruth Heller books.

G is for Geography will begin again, this time studying the states in the order they entered the union, focusing more on map work, and tying the States' quarters into our studies.

A fine arts block will use M is for Melody as a spine and introduce some Montessori three part cards and the Music Masters CDs, along with Mike Venezia's biographies. In addition to Music Study, we'll use picture books, the Venezia biographies and M is for Masterpiece to study great art and artists and art terminology.

Poetry will have pride of place this year. Using R is for Rhyme as a spine, we'll learn terms and try our hand at writing poetry, while studying the great works of the masters. We'll use the Poetry for Young People series as we go.

Foreign language will be a family affair. The big boys are using Latin Alive! And the younger children are using Latin for Children.

We're going to focus on Charlotte Mason-style Nature Study in one big block a week, along with intensive seasonal study. The Handbook of Nature Study will be our spine along with Keeping a Nature Journal, Nature Drawing and Animals Alive!.
Our older children will use the syllabus for Laura Berquist's Natural History course.
Once a week, a focused science block will use literature to teach through a variety of topics. We'll have those books in virtual baskets on the lefthand sidebar at Serendipity over the next few days. These studies will be lowkey, with some reading and notebook pages and maybe a hands-on activity or two.

Truly, I plan to adapt all these plans for most children from K-12. I need to keep us all on pretty much the same page.

Gnomes and Gnumbers will continue, with some new organization. We're going to break lessons down into smaller segments and integrate manipulatives, drawing, original stories and living math books.

The Alphabet Path is nearing its end. Truly, if it weren't for computer difficulties, we'd be there already. All three of us are planning to meander down the trail again next year with our little ones picking and choosing from the plethora of good books.

~~~~We interrupt this post to go greet the Verizon repairman.Whew! She says she can fix it all today. Christian doubts it. We'll see...~~~

I've done some fiddling on iCalendar (Katherine offered me a late night tutorial since it's a Mac thing and I can't ever be on the Mac when Michael is around to help me figure out how it works.). Here's how the week will look:
Download weekly_rhythm.pdf

~~~The computer was hit by lightning. No internet on that machine until we see if it can be repaired. Oh bother. How often does this have to happen? I asked her how to protect my computer. She suggested moving. Apparently, this neighborhood gets hit with alarming frequency and when it strikes, it strikes with ferocity. No pictures on Serendipity for awhile.~~~

Now Playing at Serendipity...

The "P" post is up. Actually, it's been up awhile and I'd planned a full-blown nature study post on our pansy adventures here, but I'm having a bout of blog ambivalence lately. So, pardon me please and go instead to see how pretty "p" can be.

"O" Boy!

The "O" post is up at Serendipity! At long last, Michael continues his journey-- encountering fairies, discovering flowers, meeting saints, and learning letters. Thank you for your patience as we've struggled to get back on the Alphabet Path. You'll be relieved to know that we've several more stories all queued up and we're just putting finishing touches on booklists and rabbit trail ideas. Look for the rest of the letters to follow in quick succession.

I'm not so keen on blogging lessons in real time. This is the first year I've written plans as I went and it's really not my style. So, I'm going to double-time through the summer. We've got lots of great ideas for history and science blocks for next year and plans to have the lessons written well before the fall:-). Here's my hint to what's in store. The first history block will draw heavily upon the books in the Fourth of July basket on the sidebar. And those lessons? All laid out and kid-tested. We're just going to put a polish on them and bring in some fresh ideas!

New Life as we Know It

Many, many thanks for all your prayers and good wishes for our new baby. You asked about a due date (though some of you caught the ticker in the sidebar;-). Remember that novena my children prayed before the Feast of the Immaculate Conception? The baby is due December 8. Of course, I have had only one baby on my due date. The rest are mostly late. But that one baby was my December baby. And there are oh so very many wonderful December feasts that I'm pretty much assured of festive little bundle.

Hyperemesis Gravidarum has set in with a vengeance. What's that mean? It's Greek and Latin for "Mommy is throwing up all the time. Please be quiet and good." It also means that I obsess about the the perfect food that I'm sure will make me feel perfectly well within minutes. And then I eat it and then--well, I never want to eat it again for the rest of my life. It means I can't eat any sugar or any fruit. If I eat a carb, I need twice as much protein to go with it. It means, in the words of someone who knows, "steak is my friend."  Hyperemesis is getting up at four o'clock every morning because my blood sugar bottoms out and I need to eat. The rest of the day hinges upon whether or not I can go back to sleep. It means that when my husband calls to ask if he can bring me anything on the way home from work, I wish for a fleeting moment that I had Sarah's husband and I ask if he could bring me an IV. I don't even know Sarah's husband; I just know he actually can bring her an IV. Ah...to get hydrated without having to swallow.

Hyperemesis means that my inbox is stuffed to full but it's really hard to put two words together on a consistent basis. I'm much better at reading than writing. So, if you've sent me an email in the last six weeks and I didn't answer, please don't take it personally. I read it, but then I had to leave the computer to throw up;-). And now you know why I didn't get to go see the Pope. I was too afraid of being sick on the Metro or in the crowds.

And what about all those housekeeping resolutions? Well, in all honesty, the major cleaning out was spurred along at break neck speed because I thought we might be looking at major house changes as of  June 1st. We're not. Another long story. For now, let's just say that St. Joseph and I are tight and all heaven had mercy on me. But I'm so glad I put so much effort into cleaning and creating calm. It's stood me in good stead. The house isn't quite what it was a couple of months ago, but it could be if I had, say, a second trimester reprieve. Oh, and the ironing? I haven't touched it in three weeks. The smell of ironing spray makes me gag. But my mom is coming in a couple of weeks and she likes to iron. There's hope.

Patrick has taken over all the cooking. He's a beast in the kitchen. At least that is what he tells me and he tells me that's a good thing. One of his soccer buddies has a chef for a dad. Paddy's taking notes. The kids assure me they're eating well. I'll take their word for it. The kitchen is to be avoided at all costs, save for desperate 4AM runs when I pray all the way down the stairs that the children cleaned up well after dinner and there will be no surprises in the sink.

And what about "school?" We're limping along. Marisa and Colleen are helping to write Serendipity and we are moving oh-so-slowly. Fortunately, it's beautiful outside and we usually spend lots of time outside this time of year anyway.Rebecca continues to keep us supplied with botany lessons. I've planned for it. We will buckle down again in the second trimester when it's 100 degrees outside with 95% humidity.

All in all, I'm grateful for nausea. It's a constant reminder that I'm still pregnant. And really, the view from the couch isn't all that bad.