Cambridgeshire Academy™️: January 2011

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

1st Grade Independent Assigned Reading List

This list consists of K's 30 minutes of independent assigned reading time during school-time. This is the main thing I love about Classical Education - you read quality books! The books where I don't note the author, we simply find a child's version of that topic. These are 4th grade reading level books so they take her longer than her evening fun books.

She started this list in February 2011.

Children's Bible - this is more of devotional time, not a book to check off the list and never read again
Trojan Horse - DK
The Gods and Goddesses of Olympus - Aliki
Pandora - Burleigh
Atalanta's Race: A Greek Myth - Climo
King Midas: The Golden Touch - Demi
Pegasus - Mayer
The Children's Aesop - Calmenson
Egyptian Gods and Goddesses - Barker
Savitri: A Tale of Ancient India - Shepherd
The Five Chinese Brothers - Bishop
Ancient Rome and Pompeii - Osborne
D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths
Pompeii - Buried Alive - Kunhardt

This concludes K's 1st grade assigned reading list.

1st Grade History Read-Aloud Reading List

We have read so many books that I'm not sure if I got them all noted but here is a list of the books that my husband and I have already read to K. This list does NOT include books we read for science or fun books. We have also looked through a lot of picture books (not listed) but I didn't count those as read-alouds.

I will update this post from time to time with the future books we read-aloud.

It's Disgusting and We Ate It! - Solheim
The First Dog - Brett
Little Grunt and the Big Egg - dePaola
Egyptian Gods and Goddesses - Barker
Eyewitness: Ancient Egypt - DK
Bill and Pete Go Down the Nile - dePaola
Seeker of Knowledge: The Man Who Deciphered Egyptian Hieroglyphics - Rumford
Mummies Made in Egypt - Aliki
Look Inside: An Egyptian Tomb - Moses
Easy to Read Mummy Riddles - Hill
The Story About Ping - Flack
Anansi the Spider: A Tale from the Ahsanti - McDermott
Zomo the Rabbit: A Trickster from West Africa - McDermott
Anansi and the Magic Stick - Kimmel
Ancient Egypt (Ms. Frizzle's Adventures) - Cole
Mummies, Pyramids and Pharaohs - Gibbons
Temple Cat - Clements
Hatshepsut - Andronik
Tutankhamen's Gift - Sabuda
The Odyssey - McCaughrean
The Librarian Who Measured the Earth - Lasky
Mr. Semolina-Semolinus : A Greek Folktale - Manna
The Persian Cinderella - Climo
The Legend of the Persian Carpet - DePaola
Jabuti the Tortoise - McDermott
Is My Friend at Home; Pueblo Fireside Tales - Bierhorst (only read a few stories)
Aristotle

SOTW 1 - Chapter 15; The Phoenicians

For some reason, this didn't get published back in October.

The Phoenicians invented glass blowing. I found it fascinating how they blew into a pipe to make the glass shapes and found this video that gives you a tour of a glass blowing workshop:

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Updated 1st Grade Daily Schedule

We are doing homeschool Monday - Thursday and Friday is Bible, Reading, and projects day for the next 3 weeks. I'm scheduling for 3 hours of school time M-Th for a total of 12 hours of school, not counting evening reading and Friday.

Monday - Thursday

In Bed
Prayer
Bible - 10m

1st Hour
Reading - 30m
Grammar - 10m
Memorization - 5m
Writing - 15m

2nd Hour
Math - 30m
Spelling - 30m

3rd Hour
History or Science - full hour

Friday
Prayer
Bible - 10m
Reading - 30m

Leftover History and/or Science work
Projects

Weekends
Art, Music and Home Economics

Evening Work
30m evening reading Mon-Fri

Nate (husband)
Reads classics to K
Family prayer & Bible teaching
Teaching K piano

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Then after these 3 weeks and a week off, we will return on February 15th to a 3-day homeschool week with Friday still for Bible, Reading, projects, etc. I'm scheduling for 2 hours and 40 minutes M-W for a total of 8 hours of school, not counting evening reading and Fridays. So we actually get to SHORTEN our school week by 4 hours after the above 3-week working hard schedule. Gotta love homeschool

Here is what our schedule will look like then with several new curriculum's too that you can read about here.

Mon-Wed

In Bed
Prayer
Bible - 10m

1st Hour
Reading - 30m
Grammar - 15m
Memorization - 5m
Writing - 10m

40m
Math - 20m
Spelling - 20m

2nd Hour
History or Science - full hour

Thursday
OFF

Friday
Prayer
Bible - 10m
Reading -30m
Leftover History and/or Science work
Projects
Art, Music and Home Economics

Evening Work
30m evening reading Mon-Fri

Weekends
OFF

Nate (husband)
Reads classics to K
Family prayer & Bible teaching
Teaching K piano

Updated 1st Grade Weekly Schedule

We only have 4 full homeschool days a week now with Friday for Bible, Reading and projects. When we re-start on Feb. 15, we will probably only be doing 3 full homeschool days (Mon-Wed) until the finish in June and I'm SO looking forward to that time of ease!

Here is what our schedule looks like for the next 3 weeks:

Monday - Bible, Reading, Grammar, Writing, Math, Spelling, History
Tuesday - Bible, Reading, Grammar, Writing, Math, Spelling, Science
Wednesday - Bible, Reading, Grammar, Writing, Math, Spelling, History
Thursday - Bible, Reading, Grammar, Writing, Math, Spelling, Science
Friday - Bible, Reading, Projects

We are using our weekends and possibly Fridays for Art, Home Economics and Music.

Here is what our schedule looks like from Feb. 15-June 3rd:

Monday - Bible, Reading, Grammar, Writing, Math, Spelling, History
Tuesday - Bible, Reading, Grammar, Writing, Math, Spelling, Science
Wednesday - Bible, Reading, Grammar, Writing, Math, Spelling, History
Thursday - OFF
Friday - Bible, Reading, Projects and/or possibly Science

I also have updated our yearly school calendar to reflect the time we took off, freezer cooking week and spring break:
http://www.cambridgeshireacademy.com/2010/09/cambridgeshire-academy-school-year.html

Updated 1st Grade Completion Planning

We got a LOT done this past week in homeschool, and I decided to work in a week off for my 3-month freezer cooking rotation in February - so I needed to redo my planning. We have 3 weeks until our week off and then after that we have 14 weeks until the last day of school, which for us is June 3rd. We are doing an intense next 3-weeks to allow for our week break in February and spring break in April and completion by June. After these 3 weeks and our week off, we will have 14 easy weeks and you will see what I mean below:

Bible
We plan on completing the Old Testament by summer and then doing the New Testament over summer to finish the entire Bible before 2nd grade. We read one story every weekday morning - we do Bible in bed upon K waking and she loves it! It also puts our minds on God and starts our day off right.

Reading
We will finish "The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Reading" by February 4th and that is just doing 1-2 lessons a day. K has really advanced this past week and grasping it quickly. She has also chosen to read during times she could have played and I'm shouting hallelujah about that!

Grammar
We only have 8 lessons left so we are just going to do 1 lesson a day till we are done and will finish "First Language Lessons" by January 27.

Writing
We are going to do 2 lessons a day until our week off, so for the next 3 weeks. From then on, we will be back on schedule doing one week a week and finishing by June 3rd.

Spelling
We will finish "All About Spelling Level 1" AND "Spelling Workout A" before our break by February 4.

Math
We will finish Saxon Math 1 in 3 weeks too by February 4.

History
We will be doing 2 chapters per week for the next 3 weeks and then after our break we will back on schedule doing just ONE chapter a week to finish by June 3rd.

Science
We have 4 more weeks of the human body and then we will go into animals until the end of the school year and we decided to do plants in the summer with lots of hands-on fun! That way we can have 13 weeks studying animals.

As you can see, by February 4th, we will have finished OPGTR, FLL 1, AAS Level 1, SWO A and Saxon Math 1. Then we have that following week OFF of homeschool and will pick back up on February 15th with the following NEW curriculums:

Reading - K will be reading challenging books relating to ancient history for her 30-minute reading slot during homeschool time. Then she will continue with her 30-minute evening reading of books at or below her reading level. Outside of that 1 hour required reading a day, she can read whatever she wants. I'm working on her book list and will post that when I'm done.
Grammar - we will be reviewing 3 times a week using "Rod & Staff English 2". It covers most of what K learned in FLL 1 and is great review and also includes a lot of writing to strengthen her hand for the upcoming 2nd grade work in the fall.
Spelling - starting "All About Spelling Level 2" and "Spelling Workout B" and plan completion possibly by summer.
Math - starting Saxon Math 2 and taking our time until June.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Week 4 - Circulatory and Respiratory Systems

Read
Kingfisher First Human Body Encyclopedia - pgs. 56-69

RSO Labs
Units 5 & 6 - Circulatory & Respiratory Systems

Miscellaneous

Videos

Bill Nye Circulation System (Parts 1, 2, 3)
Bill Nye Heart (Parts 1, 2)
Bill Nye Respiratory System (Parts 1, 2, 3)
Circulatory System
Respiratory System
Schoolhouse Rocks Circulation Song
Magic School Bus Circulatory System

Games

Books
"Hear Your Heart" by Paul Showers
"A Drop of Blood" by Paul Showers

Week 3 - Nervous System, Brain and Senses

Read
Kingfisher First Human Body Encyclopedia - pgs. 32-53

RSO Labs
Unit 8 - Nervous System

Miscellaneous

Videos
*NOTE - I haven't screened all of the videos yet, so I may delete some choices later if they have questionable content

Games

Books
"Young Genius: Brains" by Kate Lennard
"My Five Senses" by Aliki
"Magic School Bus Explores the Senses" by Joanna Cole

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Over 2 Million Homeschooled Children in US

There are now over 2 million children in the US that are homeschooled. Below is a link to the news article and here is an awesome quote to encourage moms out there who think their kids are getting a sub-par education:

A 2010 study published in the Journal of College admission found that “homeschool students possess higher ACT scores, grade point averages (GPAs) and graduation rates when compared to traditionally-educated students.”

Go here to read the full article: http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/over-two-million-children-homeschooled-in-us

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Opinion: Homeschool Tax Break

You may have heard or read the push to get homeschoolers a tax break. The idea is that homeschoolers should receive some sort of compensation for what they do and purchase and they want to do it in the form of tax breaks. Now, I'm all for tax breaks, especially since I pay for other's education and none of that comes to me. Here is my opinion and you can read the ongoing debate at the NY Times here:
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/01/04/do-home-schoolers-deserve-a-tax-break

Benefits of the Homeschool Tax Break

We get what we are paying for - homeschoolers, whether we like it or not, are paying for public education that we don't use. With a homeschool tax break, we would get a return on what we pay to use for our child's education
It would encourage others to homeschool - having the advantage of a tax break, it may spur others on the fence to homeschool their children

Dangers of the Homeschool Tax Break

Government - I don't want the government telling me what to do, that is why I homeschool. With this tax break it could possibly bring more rigorous government oversight into my home and regulations.
Freedom - not only will the government give us homeschoolers more rules, but it most likely infringe upon our freedoms of what and how we educate our children.

I can foresee the rigid rules and regulations coming ahead if they pass a homeschool tax break. To give us money back, they will want to "check up" on us and I just don't like that. The whole reason I educate my child is because she is MY child, not the government's.

Having said all that, I will have no choice but to be regulated if they pass this tax break. The way I look at it is this - I'm already paying for other children's education, it would be nice to know that money we pay for something we don't use, will come back to us to use for our child. So in summary, we can get reimbursed for paying for public education we don't use BUT at a cost of having government intrusion on our freedom. I don't know about you other homeschoolers, but I am tired of paying for a godless public education system! Bring on the $500 tax break (of money I already pay) so I can purchase God-filled education for my child!

Quotes

"If you take your children to Caesar for their education, you need to stop being surprised when they come home as Romans" - Voddie Bauchman

"Too many parents who would never send their children to a church on Sunday that taught doctrines they believed to be wrong, have had no problem placing them in state schools five days a week where they are taught conflicting doctrines and ideas." - Cal Thomas

“I believe it would be much better for everyone if children were given their start in education at home. No one understands a child as well as his mother, and children are so different that they need individual training and study. A teacher with a room full of pupils cannot do this. At home, too, they are in their mother’s care. She can keep them from learning immoral things from other children.” ~Laura Ingalls Wilder

“Schools have not necessarily much to do with education... they are mainly institutions of control, where basic habits must be inculcated in the young. Education is quite different and has little place in school.” ~Winston Churchill

"Let it be remembered, that I do not speak to the wild, giddy, thoughtless world, but to those that fear God. I ask, then, for what end do you send you children to school? “Why, that they may be fit to live in the world.” In which world do you mean, — this or the next? Perhaps you thought of this world only; and had forgot that there is a world to come; yea, and one that will last for ever! Pray take this into your account, and send them to such masters as will keep it always before their eyes. Otherwise, to send them to school (permit me to speak plainly) is little better than sending them to the devil. At all events, then, send your boys, if you have any concern for their souls, not to any of the large public schools, (for they are nurseries of all manner of wickedness,) but private school, kept by some pious man, who endeavors to instruct a small number of children in religion and learning together." - John Wesley

"I am commanded to bring my children up in the nurture and instruction of the Lord (Eph. 6:4), and to do so by teaching them God’s statutes when I sit in my house, when I lie down, when I rise up, and when I walk along the way (Deut. 6:7). I am also admonished not to place myself, or by extension my children, under false teaching (Col. 2:8), or to expose them to teaching that undermines God’s Law (Matt. 5:17-20)." - Voddie Bauchman

"God has designed your family—not the youth group, not the children’s ministry, not the Christian school, but your family—as the principle discipling agent in your children’s lives." - Voddie Bauchman

“I am sure as I am of the fact of Christ’s reign that a comprehensive and centralized system of national education, separated from religion, as is now commonly proposed, will prove the most appalling engine for the propagation of anti-Christian and atheistic unbelief, and anti-social nihilistic ethics, individual, social and political, which this sin-rent world has ever seen”. – Dr. Archibald Alexander Hodge (1823-1886), Chair of Systematic Theology, Old Princeton Seminary

“Education ought everywhere to be religious education… parents arte bound to employ no instructors who will not instruct their children religiously. To commit our children to the care of irreligious people is to commit lambs to the superintendent of wolves”. ~Timothy Dwight; President of Yale University from 1795-1817

SECULARISM is a philosophy that claims that there is no God-or that if there is a God, He is irrelevant. HUMANISM essentially says that in the absence of God, humans can and should act as gods by judging, choosing, and defining what is right for themselves. The philosophy pervading the public education system combines these two philosophies into one.-Ken Ham

Remember, you are not managing an inconvenience; You are raising a human being. -Kittie Franz