Math: Number Review

This week we have been doing some review. As we have just recently jumped into Singapore 2A, which begins to climb toward the number 1000, there is good reason to continue solidifying addition and subtraction within 100. 

I decided to bring out some previous math games we have enjoyed together...

Using counters to figure out number sentences in the Dinosaur Subtraction Game from teachers pay teachers.

The little one also wanted to have fun with our counting stones...

Another day we played the Gold Mine Game. It's good practice with subtraction within the number 20. Here is a video explaining the basics:

Artist Study: Renoir

Artist study is easy. And wonderfully educational. How can so much culture be soaked up with so little time dedicated to it? 10-15 minutes a week. Now that is amazing.

And Cutlet loves art. Art is his favorite subject. I want to encourage that excitement, so when he asks to copy a work of art, I indulge him. 

Here he is working on The Clown, a portrait of Renoir's son Claude.

Fall Nature Study

As I have been out of the practice of writing for quite some time, this will be a very short-winded post.

Of late, I find myself with all sorts of thoughts running through my head, but am unable to express them adequately; however, I do wish to try (again) at recording a few thoughts and happenings of our homeschool life on these pages.

For now I hope posting a few pictures will sufficiently express where my words fail me.

And where better to start than Nature Study?

some lichen with tiny inhabitants at the base of an elm tree

moth in our porch

a slug! can you see it? we thought it was a snail looking for a shell until I read that snails are born with shells and slugs are not. The Handbook of Nature Study is a wealth of information.

some amazingly beautiful mushrooms in our yard. and huge! how do we miss these things growing?!?

sketching the mushrooms

A Simple Re-Telling

As this is our first year of schooling and using the Charlotte Mason method and Ambleside's AO1, we have gotten accustomed to the narration aspect of things we read and do. So far it has been fairly easy and without much complaint. We generally just to oral re-telling; however, my 6yo son sometimes fancies a dramatic rendition. I love that he takes to this of his own volition! Here he is re-telling Little Red Riding-Hood. 

Granted, this is not a reading that was scheduled for the week, save for the fact that it fit in well with our Spanish lesson. However, it is a good example of the spark that the Charlotte Mason approach ignites in the mind of a child.

Grandmother, wolf & Little Red Riding-Hood

This is Grandmother's House

Spanish Lessons: What I'm Doing

So after a few weeks of plugging away at guiding my little ones in their foreign language journey, I realize that I am finally starting to find my groove. Finally. I am adhering, for the most part, to Charlotte Mason's recommendation of short lessons...10 to 15 minutes. I love that I don't have to come up with a 45 minute "show" every day like I did back when I taught in the public school. It is freeing only to be responsible for a quick lesson in the target language. And the kids are actively involved and engaged. 


My general outline:

Day 1 - review previous vocabulary and introduce new words. Play around with the words actively, using puppets or physical activity or just good ol' simple conversation/Q&A in the target language.

Day 2 - 

watch a Salsa episode online (the previous day's introduction to vocabulary is a help). By the way, this is a free online Spanish video program, a PBS production out of Georgia. It is really captivating to young learners! Each episode is about 15 minutes and uses only Spanish.

Day 3 - 

review new words again. Listen to/learn a song or finger rhyme. I am using Jose Luis Orozco's compilations taken from either Diez Deditos or De Colores and Other Latin American Folk Songs for Children. I also bought the CD that goes alongside this book. After watching the Salsa episode, I can usually find a Finger Rhyme or song that reinforces something in the video. If not, I will look up children's songs on YouTube for ideas or teach a Christian praise song or children's song.

Day 4 - review words and song/rhyme. Play a game, which may include Bingo or Find It or Charades, among several other options.

Day 5 - review and read a book that relates to the "theme" of the week. I was fortunate enough to be gifted quite a substantial starter library of Spanish children's books. Granted, many of them are still too advanced regarding the amount of unknown words; however, I feel that my kids can get something out of it by following along with the pictures, the inflections in my voice and the new words we covered during the week. I also believe it is a good opportunity to just hear more of the language in use. This, along with the videos, will help keep their ears attuned to the sounds of the Spanish language.


If interested, here is a sample week's plan I have used recently:

Due to the context of the Salsa episode being about Little Red Riding-Hood (episode 107), I chose to acquaint my children with the original version of this fairy tale. Thus:

Day 1 - The Blue Fairy Book (by Andrew Lang): Little Red Riding-Hood (spoiler alert: the ending is a sad one!) 

Depiction by Gustave Doré

My 6yo son was surprised, but he still enjoyed it... so much so that for his Copywork, I had him write a letter to his daddy about it and use the last bit of the story for a separate Copywork assignment.

Day 2 - Salsa, episode 107

Day 3 - Diez Deditos finger rhyme: Mi familia. Then we proceeded to look at pictures of our family and extended family to identify them in Spanish (such as abuelo, abuela, tío, tía, etc.)

Day 4 - Review rhyme and family members, questioning more. ¿Quién es ella? ¿Quién es él? (helping them to answer in complete sentences: Es mi abuela. Es mi tío.) A fun activity after this is to have small, printed face shots of each family member for them to glue onto a family tree worksheet, then talk about them in Spanish...perhaps to Daddy or another relative or friend?

Day 5 - Read Caperucita Roja. Of course this version is different than the original, but the kids at least knew the basic plot of the tale and thoroughly enjoyed it!

Giotto: A Lesson in Making Paint

Well the kids & I have been studying the life and art of Giotto di Bondone, an innovative Italian painter who lived from 1266 - 1337. He was innovative in that he was the first known artist in the Middle Ages to give his works a 3-D effect. In addition, he painted things in a way that looked more realistic by using nature, such as rocks, trees, and hillsides.

We are using Ambleside Online's curriculum as a general rule; however, in the Artist Study department we have veered from their guide since I was so excited to find that Simply Charlotte Mason has some wonderful Picture Study Portfolios with the artist's history in narrative form along with 8 large, full-color copies of some of their key works of art. Giotto is the first one we have done. After getting a late start to our school year, we are just now in Week 10 of the First Term (12 weeks per term). We selected a painting a week to study for the first 6 weeks. Afterwards, we have been doing a few extra, more in-depth studies to reinforce our appreciation of Giotto's works.

Now I get to my point!

On the fly this morning I found a cool recipe for making tempera paint not unlike that which Giotto used. At Bright Ring Publishing's website, I happened upon an easy concoction and was thrilled I had all the ingredients on-hand!

colored chalk

egg yolk

water

I had the kids select three colors of chalk they wanted to turn into paint. They chose red, yellow and blue:

Then we crushed the chalk into a powder the best we could with a round rock. This part was hard... and time-consuming. By the way, we read that Giotto would use clay, minerals, berries or ground insects to make his colored pigments. If crushing the chalk was difficult, I can only imagine having the tedious job of grinding those other elements:

After separating the egg, we whipped the yolk by hand until a little foamy, then added 2 teaspoons of water:

Using an old egg carton as our paint tray, we poured the colored chalk into one of the egg containers, then slowly added the yolk mixture until we got our desired paint consistency, using a paint brush to mix:

After that, it was time to create!

Cool! 

The paint dried quickly, so we could imagine how it must have been for Giotto and his large pieces of art on plaster and wood, getting to paint only a little at a time before his works were set in stone... er, wood.

Socialization - what is enough?

I have been mulling over the issue of socialization the past few days, namely: Am I doing enough? 

As a natural introvert and home-body, I have to consider this more purposefully. Cutlet also seems to take after me in this way, so I don't want to raise a child who is nervous or fearful around other people. I know it will always be more difficult for him to break down the communication barrier; therefore I must ponder such things.

How much time should be devoted to this "subject" each week?

What is the ideal way to allow my kids social interaction?

Is a group dynamic more effective or important than spending time with just one or two?

How do I help them when there are difficulties in making friends?

But, really, should such a high priority be placed on this issue?!?

If I had a choice, would I rather err on the side of socialization (a lack thereof) or of education? Granted, an education actually encompasses all aspects of life, including the social aspect. And doesn't Charlotte Mason encourage us to employ a liberal education? This, to me, speaks of having small bites of everything, a smorgasbord if you will. So, if this is the case, should there be such an overbearing emphasis on the subject matter of socialization? Should having a social life take up more time than learning to read or studying great works of art or calculating numbers or studying the Bible?

Only by the help and guidance of the Lord can I rest assured that my children will get exactly what they need.

Train up a child in the way he should go,

and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Proverbs 22:6