WEEKLY REVIEW 6/20 - 6/24

BOTH GIRLS

Bible: Revelation

Composer: Schubert - Listened to cd and/or works online daily and read about him

Artist Study: None currently

Geography: Reading How People Live

Weekly vocabulary words

Daily poetry reading

History: TOG Week 9 - Reading Abraham Lincoln’s World, American Cultural History website, Adoniram Judson bio, Streams of Civilization, This Country of Ours, President books

BIG GIRL

Consumer Math

Literature: Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs

BJU Cultural Geography

The Story of Art by Gombrich

Bible/Religion: Bible, Pagan Christianity (with discernment and discussion)

Writing: She writes her own stories all the time

Guitar practice

LITTLE GIRL

Math: Teaching Textbooks Pre-algebra

CLE Language Arts: 4 lessons

Vocabulary Vine: duc, duct - lead, bring, draw

Spelling: Apples Spelling Drills 1

Writing: Killgallon Sentence Composing workbook

Science: Nature Friend Magazine

Geography: South America

Independent Reading: Bible, Baker’s Bible Atlas, The Island Stallion by Walter Farley, BJU Literature book, Bobbsey Twins mysteries, Charlotte’s Web, Black Beauty, Poppy, by Avi, Sherlock Holmes stories

Keyboard practice

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Our Mountains by Big Girl

The mountains of my home are beautiful, rising up in great lumps and rolls. Unlike their cousins of the west, they do not reach for the sky in proud majesty. They remain close to the earth, humble in their way. Friendly, they protect those who live around them.

Their covering is a heavy coat of trees which they change to suit the season. In summer it is green and practical, but after awhile they seem to grow tired of this. Fall comes and they put on marvelous colors of orange, red, and yellow. Then, as if repenting of this extravagance, they wear the dullest brown they can find for winter. Even then they can not resist dressing up in beautiful white now and then. By the time spring comes around their oath to remain plain has weakened considerably, but not so much that they are willing to put on their fall finery. Instead, they begin to wear green and thus start the cycle all over again.

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Book Report: The Rogue Crew

The Rogue Crew

By Brian Jacques

All Redwall books including this one are set in a fantasy universe, and most of them involve a lot of travel, so there really is no set location for the book. As for the time frame I’m going to guess this book is set after all the others, as there was no mention of an alliance between the Rogue crew and the Salamandastron hares in the previous books.

My favorite character would probably be Swifto a young otter, son of Skor Axehound. I liked his youthfulness and playful attitude. Despite his father being the leader of a group of warriors he had a peaceful nature. Sadly, he was killed by vermin.

My second favorite character is Captain Rake Nightfur, a black hare. Unlike most hares he had a Scottish, not a British accent, and he wielded two claymores. Plus as I’ve already mentioned he had a black fur, and anything with black fur or hair is raised up a notch in my book.

My favorite villain would be Shekra the vixen. She was a fox, which is my favorite type of Redwall villain, and she manipulated things for her own purposes. I like sneaky villains.

I’m not sure about the a least favorite character. They all seemed to be very well built and each had some trait I liked about them, so I guess I don’t have a least favorite character.

The Redwall series is very black and white. All the vermin are evil and all the mice, hedgehogs, otters, badgers, hares, etc are good. The main lesson always seems to be good triumphing over evil.

I did like this book though I felt it wasn’t as satisfying as the others in the Redwall series. Probably because the epilogue, unlike most of the other books, didn’t skip forward in time. I liked seeing what the younger characters grew up to be.

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Book Report: Oliver Twist

I have started having Big Girl do some book reports that I will post here. This was her first one.

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

The time period of the novel was set during the industrial revolution, where factories and work houses were common. Its main message is how badly the poor were treated in England. As for minor messages and worldviews, there wasn’t too much, though like most people of his time period and earlier, he portrayed Jews in a bad light. Fagin, one of the main villains, was a Jew, and he was portrayed as withered, miserly, and whiny.

My favorite character of the book would certainly not be Oliver. His personality was very blah and boring, and he did pretty much nothing in the book. Everything that happened in the book happened to him, he did hardly anything on his own. If it weren’t for his friends and enemies there would be no plot.

The lot fell on him to ask for more food. If it hadn’t he wouldn’t have done it on his own, and the story would not have started. He would have stayed in the workhouse the rest of his life. It was Mr. Bumble’s decision to sell Oliver as an apprentice to the coffin maker. Oliver would have remained there if an older apprentice hadn’t teased him about his mother. At this point Oliver does show actual personality and gets angry and attacks the older boy, but there isn’t anything special or unique about it. It’s a natural reaction.

Things continue to happen to Oliver instead of him doing actions himself. This wouldn’t necessarily be bad if Oliver had a personality. His character is plain. There isn’t anything unique about it, but at the same time he has no faults to make us relate to him.

Therefore my favorite character is not the main character, Oliver, but Nancy. Nancy was raised in filth and poverty and was far from being pure like Oliver was, but she did the right thing. She warned the people that Oliver was now happily living with that Fagin, Sikes and Monks were planning on kidnapping Oliver. Yet, when they offered her a chance to leave her life of poverty and crime, she refused because of her love for Sikes. Her diverse character makes her the most interesting to me, and sadly, like my most of my favorite characters, she ended up dying at the hand of Sikes who had thought she had betrayed him.

Overall it was an okay book, but not something I would choose to read. Seeing as the version I read was adapted, it took away the best part of a Dickens novel, his writing. Plus I already knew the storyline, which really takes away from a book, if the story or the writing aren’t highly enjoyable.

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Tips for New Homeschoolers

I have been keeping an ongoing list of tips and things I have learned in our homeschool journey, many that I wish I had known sooner. Thought I'd put them here on the blog as well. These apply mostly to the younger years.

1. Make them write once they are able to so they will not hate it or try to get out of it later. (Well, they may still hate it, but it won’t be negotiable, and they will accept it as something that must be done.) Make them hold the pencil correctly and form the letters correctly (i.e. not bottom to top on letters that should be started at the top). Bad habits are hard, if not impossible, to break. Ask me how I know.

2. Once they are able, copy, copy, copy. Copy words, pictures, sentences, paragraphs (later). It is great for teaching them to pay attention to detail, as well as helping to learn spelling, punctuation, etc.

3. Memorize things. Scripture verses, songs, poems. Again, it isn’t just for the sake of the academics or the content. It develops skills they will use all their lives. It is good “brain exercise.” And just as with copying things, it sharpens their attention to details.

4. When they are young, teach them skills. Do not worry about creativity. They can be creative when they play. If they like coloring books, teach them to color in the lines and use appropriate colors (no green people, purple dogs, etc.) There is more than just coloring going on. There is neatness, following rules, carefulness, etc. (Humanists would say let them do as they wish and don’t stifle their “creativity.” We are Christians though, and recognize that even these small things can be a type of rebelling against what is accepted.)

5. Do not expect them to write creatively unless they want to. Copying is best early on. Also, avoid allowing them to spell things just any which way. Always correct spelling (except perhaps on cards they make for you). Once you get a wrong spelling in your head, it is stuck there and nearly impossible to get it out. Thus the reason copying is a much better option for young ones.

6. Remember that not all school work is for the sake of academics. You are building character, endurance, perseverance, etc. You want them to be diligent and hard working. Not lazy and careless.

7. Read, read, read. Of first importance is Scripture, of course. Don’t worry about whether they understand it when they are little. Just read it every day. It will become a part of them. For understanding, read a good Bible story book, like the one by Vos. Also read beautiful picture books with them. Not grocery store twaddle, or cartoon or movie based books, but really good ones that have stood the test of time. Familiarize yourself with some great book lists. And don’t neglect to read books that are above their reading level: chapter books, like the Little House series, Charlotte’s Web, Treasure Island, etc. They will be absorbing the vocabulary and flow of the words. Don’t worry about stopping constantly to explain. Just read. Allow them to play with blocks, color, or some other quiet activity while you read. Many people (adults included) listen better if they are doing something mindless with their hands. After reading, ask them to tell back some of what you read. What did they like best? What do they think is going to happen next? Discuss character issues if appropriate.

8. Keep lessons and reading times short when they are young (unless they request more). It is far better to do many different things with complete attention (short lessons) than to stick with one thing until they are bored and you have lost their attention. Many little ones, especially boys it seems, do well with breaks for lots of physical activity throughout the day in between lessons. Let them get up and run around for 10 minutes every so often. Set a timer so they become used to and accepting of the time limit. Take advantage of the break by throwing in a load of laundry or some other chore you can do in that time period.

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WEEKLY REVIEW 6/13 - 6/17

BOTH GIRLS

Composer: Schubert - Listened to cd and/or works online daily and read about him

Artist Study: None currently

Geography: Reading How People Live

Daily poetry reading

History: TOG Weeks 7&8 - Reading Abraham Lincoln’s World, SOTW 3, Struggle for Sea Power, American Cultural History website, Adoniram Judson bio, Streams of Civilization

BIG GIRL

Consumer Math

Literature: The Rogue Crew by Brian Jacques

BJU Cultural Geography

Independent Reading: Bible, Pagan Christianity (with discernment and discussion)

Writing: She writes her own stories all the time

Guitar practice

LITTLE GIRL

Math: Teaching Textbooks Pre-algebra

CLE Language Arts: 4 lessons

Vocabulary Vine: pro - forward, before, in front of

Spelling: Apples Spelling Drills 1

Writing: Killgallon Sentence Composing workbook

Science: Nature Friend Magazine

Geography: South America

Independent Reading: Bible, Baker’s Bible Atlas, The Island Stallion by Walter Farley, BJU Literature book, Bobbsey Twins mysteries, Charlotte’s Web, The Cricket in Times Square, Black Beauty, Poppy, by Avi, Sherlock Holmes stories

Keyboard practice

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WEEKLY REVIEW 6/06 - 6/10

BOTH GIRLS

Composer: Schubert - Listened to cd and/or works online daily and read about him

Artist Study: John Constable - Read about him and looked at works online

Geography: Reading Hungry Planet

Daily poetry reading

History: TOG Week 7 Reading Abraham Lincoln’s World, SOTW 3, Struggle for Sea Power, Eyewitness History website, American Cultural History website, Adoniram Judson bio, Streams of Civilization

BIG GIRL

Consumer Math

Literature: Dickens - Oliver Twist

BJU Cultural Geography

Independent Reading: Bible, The Beginning of the Republic by Carson, Pagan Christianity (with discernment and discussion)

Writing: She writes her own stories all the time

Guitar practice

LITTLE GIRL

Math: Teaching Textbooks Pre-algebra

CLE Language Arts: 4 lessons

Vocabulary Vine: pro - forward, before, in front of

Spelling: Apples Spelling Drills 1

Writing: Killgallon Sentence Composing workbook

Science: Nature Friend Magazine

Geography: South America

Independent Reading: Bible, Baker’s Bible Atlas, Son of the Black Stallion by Walter Farley, BJU Literature book, Bobbsey Twins mysteries, Charlotte’s Web, The Cricket in Times Square, Black Beauty, Sherlock Holmes stories

Keyboard practice

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WEEKLY REVIEW 5/30 - 6/3

BOTH GIRLS

Composer: Rossini - Listened to cd and/or works online daily and read about him

Artist Study: John Constable - Read about him and looked at works online

Geography: Reading Hungry Planet

Daily poetry reading

History: TOG Week 6 Reading Abraham Lincoln’s World, President overview books, SOTW 3, A Deaf Child Listened, This Country of Ours, Struggle for Sea Power, Story of the Great Republic, Eyewitness History website, American Cultural History website

BIG GIRL

Consumer Math

Literature: Dickens - Oliver Twist

BJU Cultural Geography

Independent Reading: Bible, The Beginning of the Republic by Carson, Pagan Christianity (with discernment and discussion), Red Pawns

Writing: She writes her own stories all the time

Guitar practice

LITTLE GIRL

Math: Teaching Textbooks Pre-algebra

CLE Language Arts: 4 lessons

Vocabulary Vine: onym - name, word

Spelling: Apples Spelling Drills 1

Writing: Killgallon Sentence Composing workbook

Science: Nature Friend Magazine

Geography: Middle East

Independent Reading: Bible, Baker’s Bible Atlas, Son of the Black Stallion by Walter Farley, BJU Literature book, Bobbsey Twins mysteries, Charlotte’s Web, The Cricket in Times Square, Black Beauty, Sherlock Holmes stories, The Story of Old Ironsides

Keyboard practice

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