Curriculum Hits & Misses

We're almost there! It's nearing the end of May- are you limping along to the finish line like me? :)

I thought I'd take a few minutes and share what worked and what didn't this year, curriculum-wise. The longer I'm at this homeschooling thing, the less I'm willing to toss plans or change curricula. I've become more careful about selecting materials, and more mindful before I reject one that we had chosen in favor of another.

It does seem a bit inevitable, though- the need to rethink a resource or two. Plans change, students grow, one size doesn't fit all. We have to be flexible and pay attention to what our kids need and what we are realistically able to offer them.

I'm going to tell you what I thought were "hits" and "misses" on our curriculum shelf this year. Do keep in mind that just because I label something a "miss," it certainly doesn't mean that I think the curriculum itself is bad. Probably any curriculum could work for anyone- I'm pretty convinced that successful homeschooling is more about a happy and peaceful mother running a happy and peaceful home than about specific materials and resources. In fact, I know several families who have been very successful using the exact same materials that didn't meet our own needs this year. I'm not telling you what to use/not use, or how to homeschool. Only you can decide that! I'm just a touch point, sharing a bit of our experience in case it's helpful to anyone else.

All that said, here's what stands out to me this year:

--Hits--

• Primary Arts of Language 

I used both the reading and the writing set with Snapdragon this year.  The reading portion was a huge hit. Very game-based and strong on phonics with some sight words in there too (I prefer programs that use both methods, not just one or the other). I never heard one complaint about this program from my boy. It did the trick, too- his reading skills took off once we started this program. My biggest caveat is that this resource is quite mom-intensive. All beginning reading programs require mom, of course, but this one seemed to take more mom-time than others we have used. I felt it was time well spent, but this is not a program I would use if I was in a survival year or had lots of littles underfoot.

The writing portion was just okay. It did a great job of teaching how to properly form letters, and the stories that went along with were quite helpful. I'm not a huge fan of teaching young children stylistic techniques, so I should have just skipped those parts; I didn't, and we kind of petered out halfway through the program. The copywork did seem to be a good fit for my son, and I loved how this program dovetails so perfectly with All About Spelling.

 

• All About Spelling

I still haven't seen a spelling curriculum that comes close to this one. It's just brilliant, plain and simple. Emphasis is on spelling rules, not word lists. Memorizing the rules and putting them into practice is where success in this program comes from. I thought we were going to ditch this program next year, just because I'm going to be so short on mom-time, but I'm not sure I can.  I'm coming up with ways of making it less time-intensive, instead (by ditching the tiles, for one, and just working on a small white board).

• Apologia Science as a Read-Aloud

I bought the lab kit to go with, but we never even opened it. Honestly, I grumbled against (and put off using) this program most of the year, until I read Low-Key Science without Lesson Plans. Then, a light bulb turned on. Using the book as a read-aloud only has been fantastic, and I'm surprised at how much the kids are learning and retaining this way. Because I believe elementary science should be mostly poetic knowledge (reading about, observing, collecting, classifying, and delighting in nature), I'm able to scrap the experiments entirely and just let this book delight us with its language. My kids are all still young enough that experiments are not where the best learning is happening, anyway.

• Linguistic Development Through Poetry Memorization

I really like this poetry program from IEW. I love the mastery focus, and I love that my kids can now recite several poems perfectly, without forgetting any they learned before. I never once used the CD, so I really just recommend getting the book. You can save a boatload of money that way.

• All About Reading Readers

For extra reading practice, Snap enjoyed a reader from the All About Reading series. These are the best phonics-based early readers I've seen yet. The illustrations are nice, the stories are not mind-numbing (I mean, one can only handle so many Bob Books before her brain begins to melt, right?), and the incremental steps up from one skill to another are well done. All around, a win. I'll keep working with Snap on these until he is fluent.

• Dreambox Learning

This is conceptual math (think RightStart without the financial outlay or the mom-directed teaching) that the kids can do independently on the computer. Next year it will serve as a math supplement for all three. I have been so impressed with how this program has improved my kids' math understanding.  It's not a complete math curriculum, but as far as supplements go- it's top notch.

• King of the Golden City

I'm not sure if I should include this, because it's not so much a curriculum resource as it is just a really really great read-aloud. But I can't say enough good things about it, so it's making the list anyway. This will be one we'll re-read every single year from here on out. The depth of this book! The imagery! It's really just a beautiful way to talk to kids about the sacraments and our life in Christ.

• Flashmaster

I don't often recommend this puppy because it's so spendy. For math drill that can happen every day and get the job done, though, it works. My kids neither love nor hate it. It just is. Which is pretty much how math facts are anyway, right?

Having a toddler to chase? A definite hit. No miss there! ;)

--Misses--

• Teaching Textbooks Math

Oof. We had to learn this one the hard way. We've used this program for the last three years, but just recently discovered that it just wasn't giving us the results we wanted. I know many kids succeed using it, but for my students it was not a good fit. They were able to score 100% on the tests without actually mastering the concepts, and that is a recipe for disaster when it comes to math. I really, really wanted this program to work for us, because the layout is so mom-friendly, especially when things are busy (or say,  you're having twins...). Alas. This one definitely won't make the cut here again.

• Student Writing Intensive

What?!?! Did I really just say an IEW writing program was a "miss" at our house??? I did. You can all pick your jaws up off the floor. ;) Look, I adore Andrew Pudewa and I'm a huge, huge, huge IEW fan. But. This year I have a one-year-old and am pregnant with twins. There is only so much mom-teaching I can do. I bought this for Prim (5th grade), and she liked it. Mr. Pudewa is a fantastic teacher, and the DVDs are both helpful and hilarious. The assignments are great. The program itself rocks; I just couldn't pull it off with any regularity, so it kept getting shuffled to the bottom of the priority list. Writing is a bit too important to get shuffled off the daily schedule. I've decided that for this season in life, we need a program that requires a bit less of my hand-holding and can get done every single day, no matter what.

I absolutely still recommend this program for folks looking for a great elementary writing program. Just maybe not if you happen to be pregnant with twins and chasing a toddler at the same time. Unless you're supermom or something, which I am most certainly not. ;)

• Phonetic Zoo

I am not sold on this spelling program, so I'm adding it here to the "miss" list. I do that hesitantly, though, because my student who used it (Prim) is an excellent  speller. I think that has more to do with her voracious reading habits and natural abilities, though, than it does with the program. I found the jingles in this program awkward and forced. Prim didn't memorize any of them, and she memorizes things fairly quickly and easily.

On the flip side, this program only took about 10 minutes a day, and she did it completely independently. I'm just not sure if it was busywork or if it was actually helpful. I don't plan to use it again- my rising 4th and 3rd graders will continue to use All About Spelling instead (see above), and Prim will drop spelling as a formal class. We'll just work on spelling words as they come up in her writing. Like I said, she's something of a natural speller, anyway.

• State-by-State Notebooking Pages

We just got bored, that's all there is to it. Or at least, I did. I wasn't sure the kids were learning much anyway, although that's my general impression of lapbooking/notebooking activities- that they look impressive but don't do a whole lot for mastery learning. Instead, we channeled our geography energy toward memorizing the U.S. states & capitals, as well as their locations on a map.

Unrelated photo of Primrose, posy, and a Popsicle. Just because.

I'm working on a post about what we'll use next year. It's that time of year where we all like to compare notes. I'm hoping to get that up soon. In the meantime, we limp to the finish lines, my friends! Keep on keepin' on!

Manual Mode Monday 25/52

F 2.2, 1/200, ISO 100

I'm working on my photography skills by taking a picture in Manual mode every week for a year. Join me, if you like- I love to see what you've done!

Read-Aloud Revival :: Pre-Reading

Do you read ahead of your kids?

It's a hard thing to do when you've got a voracious reader in the house; if you have more than one, the challenge is even bigger!

I used to casually flip through my oldest daughter's reading selections and hope for the best. I tried to steer her toward authors I was familiar with, but every so often I would just skim a book and think it looked fine. Then, at about age 9, she brought me a book and asked what "strip poker" was. That's when the casual book-skimming stopped. That particular book looked as innocuous as could be- it was a chapter book at about the fourth or fifth grade reading level.

The hard truth is, a great amount of modern fiction written for kids is just garbage. There are a whole slew of books I read as a child that I wouldn't give to my kids (several titles by Judy Blume come to mind).

Even if we are reading the books aloud (as opposed to handing the book to our child for her independent reading time), we can start stumbling over our words when a book gets inappropriate. Last year, for example, my husband read Hatchet aloud to the kids. In a few spots, he had to ad-lib and skip around on the fly. We had both forgotten that there were parts of that book that we'd rather leave out. Right now he's getting ready to read Banner in the Sky, so this time he read the book ahead of time, just to be sure there weren't any spots he had forgotten from reading it all those years ago, in his youth.

But we are busy mothers! If we have to pre-read every single title our children pick up, how will we ever keep up?

Using our Resources

This is where reputable booklists and the internet are our friends, I'm certain of it. Before I let my kids watch a movie, I always check Plugged In; it is such a reliable resource for possibly sketchy content. As parents, we are charged with safeguarding our children's hearts and minds until they are ready to protect their own. Resources like Plugged In help me do that.

I don't, however, have a go-to internet resource for children's books. I usually end up googling something like "[book title] christian book review," but even then I don't always find what I'm looking for. I want to know if a book has questionable content, introduces secular or worldly themes before I want my child to learn about them, or flies in the face of our faith. When my child brings a book up to me at the library, I need a place online where I can go that will help me decide whether it's good reading material for my child or not.

My oldest daughter is a very reliable little resource, and I feel blessed to have had her first! When she stumbles across something questionable (like the rabid anti-Catholicism in the Elsie Dinsmore series), she brings it to my attention. I'm able to weed out titles for my subsequent children based on her recommendations, which I very much appreciate.

As far as booklists go, I like Gladys Hunt's Honey for a Child's Heart, and would trust any of her recommendations. (I notice she also has Honey for a Teen's Heart. I don't have any teens yet, so I'd love to hear if you have experience with that book and would recommend it or not.)

So tell me, do you have a go-to internet source for book reviews?  

Where do you look when you don't have time to pre-read a title for your child? Let's see if we can compile a list of good reliable places online.

The comments are open and threaded. I've heard from a few readers that my combox is not playing nicely, especially if you are trying to leave a comment from a mobile device. :( Argh. I'm not sure what to do about that. Please email me if you are having a hard time commenting from a computer desktop. I'll try to mess with some settings again, if need be. I want to hear your suggestions! I can always put up your comment for you, if you email it to me.

***

 

Don't forget, you can find links to all of our past Revivals at the main page.

Go here to get the Read-Aloud Revival form if you'd like to track your time. There are no requirements to participate, of course. We're all just glad you're here. :)

The Moral Imagination, part 2

The first part of this discussion is here: Toward Understanding the Moral Imagination.

I started Vigen Guroian's Tending the Heart of Virtue: How Classic Stories Awaken the Child's Moral Imagination, and wanted to pull together a post after reading the introduction and first chapter. I'm struggling to find the time to write it all out like I'd like to, so I'm simplifying and going for bullet points. At least then we can start talking! :) I'll share what's stuck out to me, and then I'd love to hear your thoughts, as well.

Let's jump right in.

• Mere instruction in morality is not sufficient to nurture the virtues. It might even backfire, especially when the presentation is heavily exhortative and the pupil's will is coerced. Instead, a compelling version of the goodness of goodness itself needs to be presented in a way that is attractive and stirs the imagination. (p. 20)

Here is where we clarify what we mean by developing the moral imagination, as opposed to character training. We don't set out with a didactic goal to teach a child a specific moral or virtue. There is a time and place for that, perhaps, but the strength of the fairy tale resides in its ability to reach us at a depth that we can not otherwise teach to.

Guroian describes a person who knows what is right, intellectually, but whose moral imagination has not been sufficiently developed. That person may know that something is wrong to do, but he feels it is not so bad because he has been formed by the secular culture, which normalizes sin. His feelings will likely win out, because intellectual knowledge is easy to question.

He knows it is wrong to steal, for example, or to treat his girlfriend as his plaything instead of as a treasure, but he decides- with his intellect as his guide- that it can't be as bad as he always thought. He reasons that his aversion to these behaviors are part of the lessons drilled into him during childhood. But now he is a man! He needs to think for himself! He doesn't need childish rules and drills to guide his decisions- he must find his own way and be true to himself!

Compare this to a person who may or may not know, on an intellectual level, what is right, but who has been formed by great stories to understand the difference between right and wrong. He knows it because it is in his bones, not because he sat through a Sunday School lecture on the importance, say, of not stealing, or of living chastely. The fairy tales and classic stories his soul was nourished on tell him that it is not virtuous or honorable to take that which doesn't belong to him. He is less likely to fall into those sins, then, even though he may never have been taught the "virtues" or "morals" like an ordinary Christian child who has heard countless lessons on moral living.

Why?

Because poetic knowledge trumps scientific knowledge. We can reason away anything we want, but the gut-level, deep-down, I-know-this-to-be-true-because-God's-law-is-written-on-my-heart kind of knowing (that is, poetic knowledge), is much harder to shake or dismiss.

• The great fairy tales and fantasy stories capture the meaning of morality through vivid depictions of the struggle between good and evil, where characters must make difficult choices between right and wrong or heroes and villains must contest the very fate of imaginary worlds. (p. 18)

When these great stories have been inscribed on a child's heart, they stay with him and guide him at a core level. They help him to recognize evil and wickedness and drive him to always seek Truth and goodness. He will recognize that Truth because God created all of us in His image, in order to love and serve him and to be happy with Him in Heaven. We are wired to be God-seekers. The stories we tell our children either nurture or hinder that natural longing.

• The [fairy tales] make us face the unvarnished truth about ourselves and compel us to consider what kind of people we want to be. (p. 20)

It is one thing to read a morality tale and ask the child which character he thinks he should try to emulate. Such a lesson will likely dull the child's senses and be forgotten immediately, never to make a real impact on his life or his decisions. But to read a riveting account of St. George and the Dragon? To be swept away in the story- to thrill at the terror of the beast and the noble courage of the knight, who has promised to do what is right, regardless of the physical dangers to himself- that will stay with a young boy. That will nurture his soul toward virtue and honor and feed his God-given instinct to do what is right at all costs.

Fairy tales and classic stories are the most direct way to our hearts.

• Thus, while fairy tales are not a substitute for life experience, they have the great capacity to shape our moral constitution without the shortcomings of either rigidly dogmatic schooling or values-clarification education... Fairy tales say plainly that virtue and vice are opposites and not just a matter of degree. (p. 36)

So yeah. That. :)

• Values refers to 'one's standards, one's judgement of what is valuable or important in life'... as a society, we are learning to regard morality and values as matters of taste and personal satisfaction. (p. 29)

It's important for us to clarify what we mean by "values" and "virtues," as they are not the same thing. Values are relative to circumstances; virtues, on the other hand, are universal. For example, tolerance is a value, and it is one that reigns supreme in secular character education today. But while it is good to be tolerant in some cases, it is not wise to be tolerant in all (abusive situations, for example, among many others). Tolerance itself is not a good thing; it is only good when exercised in the proper situation. So a value cannot be universally applied, because it is relative to circumstance.

Virtues, however, are universal. It is always and everywhere good to be full of courage and fortitude, and it is never virtuous to be cowardly. Regardless of the circumstances, the virtue remains True. Courage is good. Fortitude is good. Always. Every time.

One way to rapidly confuse young people is to interchange values and virtues, and unfortunately we do that all the time. When we confuse values and virtues as a matter of course, we end up with a whole lot of people who think that Truth itself is relative and who reject absolutes.

When we reject absolute Truth, we reject God Himself.

***

If you've read the first bit of Guroian's book, I'd love to hear your thoughts. The combox is open and threaded. I'll take down the word verification and see if we can sidestep the spammers this time around. If it gets really bad, I'll put word verification back up.

My plan is to read the rest of the book and then host one final discussion so we can dig out the good stuff and help each other apply it in our homes. That post won't go up for another few weeks, at least. I hope you'll join us!

Manual Mode Monday 24/52

F 2.8, 1/1250, ISO 100

I'm working on my photography skills by taking a picture in Manual mode every week for a year. Join me, if you like- I love to see what you've done!

28 Weeks

I'm getting a wee bit nervous. You all know that nothing makes me happier than a big big tummy full of baby.

But I have every reason to be nervous about just how big I'm going to get this time around. Compare these images of me- on the left I'm full term with Posy. On the right? That's me today, at just 28 weeks, with the twins.

I mean... right? (And yeah, I know my shirt needs to be ironed, but... ain't nobody got time for dat. ;) And I really was too lazy to pop it in the dryer for 20 more minutes, so that should tell you a few things about my current energy level. Or lack thereof.)

Yesterday I was walking in to my OB's office and two ladies asked if I was heading in to have my baby. I told them I had almost three more months to go, just to watch their expressions.  And anyway, I was smiling, which wouldn't have been the case if I was really in labor. I don't smile while I'm in labor. Not until the whole ordeal is over and I've got a snuggleicious little bundle all safe in my arms. This time I'll get TWO snuggleicious bundles, so how lucky am I?

So. What else? I have all these posts sitting in draft form, but not a one is ready to go up. The moral imagination. Curriculum hits & misses. Plans for next year. Contemplating success vs. faithfulness. Teaching and mothering from a state of rest. So many good things to talk about, but I'm kind of being sabotaged by my constant need to nap.

It's been gorgeous outside as well, so we've been drinking up a bit of early summer. And I finished Rapunzel Let Down by Regina Doman, which was just absolutely wonderful. This is the cultivation of the moral imagination for adults! 

Are you familiar with Regina Doman's Fairy Tale series? These are fairy tales, masterfully retold for teenagers and adults-- although this newest title, Rapunzel, is definitely for the over-18 crowd. (Doman explains why here. Pay attention to this. Rapunzel tackles the biggest moral and societal issues we face today- brilliantly, I might add- and this is absolutely adult fare only. She actually makes age recommendations for all of her books at her website, and I would check those thoroughly before handing any of her titles to a teen or young adult).

I've got some other yummy titles in my reading stack: The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis (I'm almost done), The Hidden Art of Homemaking by Edith Schaeffer, Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child by Anthony Esolen, The Everyday Catholic's Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours by Daria Sockey, and The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection by Alexandar McCall Smith (I really like that series!). I love big stacks of books, beckoning me.

So anyway, hopefully I'll be back with some meaty posts soon, but if I'm not- you know where I am. Napping. Reading. Or running around like a chicken with my head cut off, freaking out about all the things we still need to do before these twins arrive.

Happy Weekend!

Right Now

A little glimpse, right now, at who they are. Oh, but I don't want to forget a thing.

SHE:

• Has several projects going all at once: she is organizing a small fundraising project to buy teddy bears for children with cancer, and she's also planning a neighborhood VBS for this summer.
• Is extremely self-driven. I just get out of the way, for the most part. ;)
• Would like to be a missionary when she gets older.
• Has a hard time standing still. She's usually stepdancing around the house (or while standing at the kitchen counter, baking). 
• Thinks we should name the twins Leo and Theo.
• Says that she is going to have all girls when she grows up. Andy and I are pretty sure that means she will have 8 sons. ;)

SHE:

• Is enamored with the Liturgical Year. She's always looking ahead to see which feast day is coming up next.
• Is her brother's partner-in-crime when it comes to all things anime. This baffles me a bit, but they've got quite a "thing" going on between them.
• Leaves hilarious notes all about the house. Sometimes she signs her name but other times she signs them "George Washington" or the like. :)
• Is always, always creating. The art center downstairs is her home base.
• Stays in bed for a while after she wakes in the morning, just to sneak in a little extra reading.
• Thinks having twin brothers will be "double trouble" in a big bad way. She's probably right. ;)

HE:

• Earned his Senior White Belt in Taekwondo almost immediately after joining the class. He takes his martial arts very seriously.
• Loves coming up with (or memorizing others') jokes. Repeats them ad infinitum.
• Sleeps with about 15 stuffed animals, which he fondly calls his "pets."
• Loves rubbing my big pregnant belly.
• Begs me to read from his Action Bible every single night. He eats the stories right up.
• Wants to be a motorcycle cop when he gets older.

SHE:

• Walks! She pretty much refused to walk until she was 14 months old, but woke up on that day exactly and just cruised all over the house. It was like somebody flipped a switch.
• Is a pretty picky eater, already. Her favorites are fruits and cheese (especially blueberries and string cheese). Try getting that girl to eat meat, though, and God be with you. She takes after her mama. She also loves butternut squash and frozen peas & carrots.
• Folds her hands whenever we begin to say the table blessing- especially if it's in Latin. Then at the end, she gives a loud "Amen!" but it sounds more like "All done!" and I'm pretty sure it means "Start the food!" :)
• Loves her tiny baby doll. She also loves brushing her (or anybody else's) hair, and playing with balls. If the balls belong to "Bubba" (that's brother), all the better.
• Poops in the tub. Every. Single. Day.
• Says: "Dada" (constantly), "Mama" (usually when whining), "Bubba" (because he's her sunshine), "All Done", "Uh-huh!" and "Uh-uh" with much enthusiasm. The big kids like to ask her questions and see if she''ll answer with "uh-huh" or "uh-uh." It's a rather amusing past-time, really.
• Adores my pregnant belly. She loves it more than her special blankie, even. She rubs her face all over it, and when she's got an owie or needs some comfort, she finds the belly first and foremost. It's the fastest way to calm her down. This can be mildly embarrassing in public, as she requires a bare belly for her comfort. Ahem.