Week 1 Report

Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. When you read you begin with A B C, when you sing you begin with Do Re Mi....

I have a song in my heart over this week's events. On one hand it has been a wonderful week homeschooling and on the other hand, I have learned a few things that have changed my mind about previous ideas I've had.

First, our daily routine. By Wednesday, I realized the daily routine was too rigid and unrealistic. So on Thursday (yesterday) I changed it and it worked beautifully! Here's our new Daily Routine.

Secondly, I realized my mistake in thinking that doing preschool at home would keep Danny busy for a longer period than what it did. He is just not interested in sitting alongside Camille and doing his own school. I've had my FIL's offer of paying for preschool hanging over my head for awhile now and I believe this would be best for both Camille and Danny this year. As a family we toured a Montessori preschool this morning and Danny will start Monday. It is everything I cannot provide for him at home at this time and I cannot say how much this saddens me in one way but on the other hand I'm grateful to be able to provide Danny an environment where he can blossom.



My dh joked last night at Danny's soccer game that we're turned into suburb parents, Danny's in soccer and will start Montessori preschool and Camille takes piano.

Now to recap each subject for the week.

Explorer's Bible Study, Discovery level- Genesis
Camille has graduated from Bible stories to Bible study and I'm very satisfied with Explorer's approach and content. This week was an introductory week to the chapter of Genesis as a whole, here is one day's work from this week.

Horizons Math 3
So far the lessons have been a review for Camille. Page pictured, I lifted the scanner lid while it was scanning, oops.

Prima Latina
We love Mrs. Leigh as our video teacher and so far we've done Lessons 1 and 2 with only the student book and DVD. I cannot believe how much fun we're having with this!

Primary Language Lessons
This week Camille has done her first dictation exercises and learned about commas. We read the comma book from our Grammar Tales set. This has gone very well.

Explode the Code, Book 7
Camille started this week on Book 7 and is doing very well. I have the Teacher's Guide and we go through the instructions before she starts her work.

Poetry Memorization
Camille is working on Bird Talk by Aileen Fisher. I have yet to discuss metaphor with her but will next week.

Tapestry of Grace, Year 3 Redesigned - Unit 1, Week 1
So much fun! This week has been wonderful in history, we started off by reviewing geography terms and Camille labeled the continents and oceans on a world map, then located the thirteen colonies on an United States Map. She read Geography A to Z to me aloud to review geography terms and we reviewed what latitude and longitude means as well as what the Prime Meridian is.

This week Camille read on her own for history- William Carey: Bearer of Good News and My Napoleon by C. Brighton.

We read Napoleon, Little Corporal, Of Courage Undaunted Part I and did two president cards- one for George Washington and one for John Adams. Camille loved using the Yo! Millard Fillmore book for the biography information but we did have to use Our Country's Presidents get the rest of the information we needed.

Since our literature read this week was Rapunzel, I used it for our afternoon tea party. The kids loved it! The next day, Camille and discussed what the characteristics of a fairy tale are. Here's a link that was very helpful with this and we printed out the chart at this link.


For history our project this week was to make and use a quill pen, here are pictures of the kids...


Building Critical Thinking Skills aka Informal Logic
Camille loves this and I wish I had gotten this for her in 2nd grade! I've given her 30 minutes on Monday to be able to focus on this but she has asked to do 2 more times this week- she has done a few pages on her own time. *Smile*

Life Science - Head to Toe by Jim Wiese, our own lessons
Another HIT! We've had so much fun this week, it doesn't even feel like 'school'. We made outlines of the kids' bodies and learned about the brain (images are from My Body by Teacher Created Resources). Camille read The Brain What It Is, What It Does independently and we did the experiments in Head to Toe. Here are pictures of the kids' outlines with their brains plus Camille's Brain Hat. Camille's outline is on the left, Danny's on the right.


and now Camille's Brain Hat (from Easy Make & Learn Projects, Human Body by Donald Silver and Patricia Wynne)

And this is where our day would fall apart, I kept forgetting to put the composer cd on while we ate lunch. Camille did her piano practice every day without fail and she's doing very well with her new piano teacher. What a blessing! I felt that Camille did so much independent reading in her subjects that we didn't need an independent reading time designated this week, and we haven't started our needlepoint (crafts), art or exercise time yet. We only had afternoon tea once this week.

I think all in all, it was a FABULOUS first week back but I really contribute that to the fact we've been doing light lessons for a while so we were ready for a full day again. Next week, Danny will be starting at the Montessori preschool so we will have an adjustment - it's never been quiet in our home, unless the kids are sleeping, lol!

Last but not least, a friend's daughter drew a picture of Danny and I just wanted to say Thank you Dylan, this is a WONDERFUL picture of Danny and he looks just like it! It looks like he's playing soccer!

Human Body Lessons

These are 10 weeks long using Head to Toe Science by Jim Wiese as the main spine and Christian Liberty Nature Reader Book 5 as a secondary spine. Instead we're using Human Body by Donald Silver and Patricia Wynne (Easy Make and Learn Projects).

We studied human anatomy in first grade but after revamping our science scope and sequence, I decided it should be done again but with a bit more depth. These lessons are intended for a 3rd-4th grade student, at least in my opinion.




If you're using Head to Toe Science by Jim Wiese, please feel free to use this in any way that may help your lessons. Any books can be substituted, these are books we own. I know that I neglected to include specific books on touch and smell during the five senses study but they are covered in the other books. I allotted two weeks to the senses and nervous system due to the reading load, it could be shortened.

To see the rest of our 3rd grade science studies, click here.

This is the President I Voted For

I know President George Bush has been ridiculed, belittled and put under tremendous pressure but this article reminded me again of why I have unfailingly supported him since voting for him in 2000 and 2004. I just wish this was the man that the media would show the world at large. http://www.eielson.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123111092

Thank you Lisa for sharing this with me. :)

Wordless Wednesday

A decision

I have been so torn as to what is best for the kids, the idea of sending Danny to preschool leaves me sad but I'm starting to believe it is what is best for him right now. He just wants to be his age and upon finding out that preschool with him at home only takes 20-30 minutes - I know he needs more.

He needs more than I can provide without sacrificing what Camille needs at this time. Camille is doing so well with her lessons, we've barely had any hiccups today and yesterday and they only difficult parts have been when Danny has been disruptive. I just cannot keep up with him and her at the same time. He loses interest in anything unless I'm involved and he wants me involved in everything he does. I don't want to sit him in front of the tv when the alternative is that he could be playing with other kids his age.

A friend told me not to feel too guilty because she knows mothers who stay at home without homeschooling and send their children to preschool, just to get something done around the house. Tomorrow, we'll be checking out a nearby church preschool and get more information. I think this is going to be best for all of us for this year, so I pretty sure I've decided to expel Danny from Trivium Academy for one year. Lol. I say that but he'll still get what I'm providing for him now plus what he gets at preschool so he's not really losing anything. We will probably continue with Horizons Preschool at home, depending on how things go.

This decision has been very hard. I've been praying about this for months and just because I'm making the decision- it doesn't mean it's in stone. I can change my mind later and pull him out, at any time. He will not go to kindergarten, if he goes to preschool this year, he will be home next year. That's non-negotiable.

Our First Day!

"...Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you..." 1 Chronicles 28:20

I was up at 6:15 am, showered and dressed by 6:30 am and then I had my cup of sweet nectar...coffee. Danny awoke at that time while Camille slept. I allowed Camille to sleep for a little while to give Danny some individual time. At 7:00 am, I awoke Camille and filled my nectar cup and checked my email. At 7:15 am, I told the kids the bus would arrive at 7:55 am to take them to school and they needed to eat breakfast, brush their teeth, get dressed and make their beds.

At 7:55 am, the bus driver (me) called out "All aboard the bus for school!!!" and the kids quickly got on board (lined up behind me) and the bus was off. The bus stopped for a pretend train (with noises) and then proceeded to school (our learning room).

Once in the learning room, then the headache from not having enough sleep started, Danny wanted his Batman, and Jack (our dog) wanted to play, on the other hand, Camille just wanted to start her lessons. Sigh. So at 8:10 am, Camille and I did her Explorer's Bible Study lesson and that went VERY well, unless you count the fact that Camille can not just put short answers, I've ingrained in her the need to answer in complete sentences so much that even though I told her she could just put the short answers, she still tried to write complete sentences. I'm not complaining...no siree - it just took her 20 minutes to finish something we could have done orally in 5-10 minutes.

To think about:
Will it be better to answer orally the questions in Bible?
Will answering orally take away from her absorbing the concept?

At this time, I decided to ignore the time schedule (8:00 Bible, 8:15 Math, etc.) in order to preserve some sanity! Danny and I did preschool in 20 minutes- letter A, letter A worksheet, reading How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World, coloring the world, talking about God, the world and daddies. I didn't expect that to go so fast!

Camille finished her math well while I read aloud to Danny in another room.

All of us sat and watched Mrs. Lee (Prima Latina DVD) through the introduction and first lesson. Tomorrow we'll do the exercises. After Latin, I put on Letter Factory by LeapFrog for Danny.

To think about:
Will it be possible to do Latin 2x a week with daily review and French 2x a week?
If we do this, will it be effective?
The time may change for Latin from 15 minutes to 30 minutes, possibly 2x a week with daily review of vocabulary.

While Danny was going over his alphabet sounds with Letter Factory, Camille did her Primary Language Lessons work. The phone rang and I spoke to another homeschool mom we're meeting next week for a social visit. I gave Camille a break after she completed her PLL lesson and then she worked on her first poem for the quarter, Bird Talk by Aileen Fisher. She read it aloud 3x and illustrated the poem for her poetry notebook. This was at 11:00 am.

French went well, we reviewed Unit 1 today and I had Camille write some French vocabulary, a spur of the moment type thing. Then we reviewed the American Revolution before reading Napoleon, The Little Corporal. Camille colored a picture, did some geography work and history was done for the day.

Building Critical Thinking Skills Book 1- Camille did 3 pages before telling me she was done and I told her she can do the book any time she wants but on Mondays, she has 1/2 hour to do as much as she wants/can.

We did not have lunch with a composer today, Camille did her piano practice, we're not doing craft time but the kids do want to do yoga today. I'm done, cooked with a fork. Now I have to do my chores. Danny has been running amok since 9:30 am when we finished his preschool stuff. I don't want to think about that....lol. It was a struggle but Camille is glad to have her lessons again, I'm glad too but I see room for improvement, mostly on my part.

Lessons from Fairy Tales

I received this in Circe's e-newsletter, which can be subscribed to at http://www.circeinstitute.org/

Lessons from a Fairy Tale

by Erin Linton (Guest Writer)

Fairy tales are an invaluable resource for our children - even beyond the enjoyment, heritage, cultural literacy and examples of superb writing and story telling they provide. Without posing the difficulties of analyzing Tolstoy or Augustine, fairy tales like those written by the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson and Margery Williams deal with literary technique and questions of life in a simple and instructive way. Margery Williams’ The Velveteen Rabbit is such a fairy tale.

Fairy tales are able to create categories that enable children to make moral judgments about people and situations, and then to assess where they themselves fit into the story. Margery Williams divides those who can become real and those who cannot. The arrogant, modern, plastic toys in The Velveteen Rabbit cannot become real even though they try their hardest to imitate reality with their gears, cranks, and beeps. The soft, forgiving toys, however, such as the rabbit and the Skin horse, can become real. The child is presented with the question, “Who are you more like?”

These fairy stories also raise and answer some of our deepest existential and theological questions. What does it mean to be real? The velveteen rabbit desperately wants to be real, but he does not know exactly what "real" is or how to “become real.” Williams resolves this by saying that it is a long and physically wearing process through the continuing love of and service to the master. The rabbit is loved by the little boy and is eventually called “real” after playing in the garden. He then later serves the boy amidst scarlet fever, bringing about a second “reality.” All of a sudden, the doctrines of justification and sanctification are not so difficult for a ten year old to understand.

While learning to judge the world around them, children also learn how to correctly judge and understand good literature by reading fairy tales. Literary techniques like symbolism, metaphor, allusion, the pathetic fallacy, etc., are vital to fairy tales. A reader of fairy tales must broaden his mind beyond the merely literal to grasp the depths of these stories, which prepares him to read every type of literature. The symbolism of names, for example, is evident in The Velveteen Rabbit; the only two creatures who understand reality are the rabbit, filled with “dust,” and the “Skin” horse, symbolizing that it is mankind who is meant to be real. There is also important symbolism wrapped in times and seasons. In this story, new life comes at Christmas, in the Spring, or in the morning; sickness and death come in autumn or at night.

Even more striking are the literary symbols of water, garden, and darkness. Water is almost always a literary metaphor for cleansing or baptism. It is no surprise then that the velveteen rabbit is left outside to be drenched with dew right before he is “christened” by the boy with the name “real.” It is also fitting that this baptism scene takes place in the garden, a common picture of the church, the new Eden . After the rabbit has received this first reality in his baptism, he lives by faith that he is real, but knows that he is not complete. There are bunnies still more real than he is. After faithfully serving his master, the rabbit symbolically dies. On an autumn night, the unclean rabbit is placed outside the camp/house among the rubbish. There the rabbit dies and is eventually raised and given his second reality by the magic of the nursery fairy. An understanding of these symbols is vital to the understanding of the deeper meaning in Margery Williams’ story, just as it is in all literature.

A last noted benefit of fairy tales is that, unlike “realistic” stories that strip all unnecessary fantasy from the mundane aspects of life, fairy tales strip away the mundane to show us the fantastical, which is usually the most simple and realistic view of the world. From man’s perspective, what else is history but the fantastical transformation of the harlot of Israel into a virgin church bride? What, other than magic, could raise the dead? It’s the same sort of magic that turns a puppet into a real boy, and turns a stuffed bunny with no hind legs into a real bunny that can jump with joy. Our children need to know this magic, need to look for it and realize that this life is not as mundane as the culture would have them believe. This world was created gloriously by the Master and it makes a good deal more sense when viewed through the lenses of fairy tales.

Erin Linton is a graduate of New St. Andrews College and teaches at New Covenant Schools in Lynchburg, VA.

3rd Grade Science

This is what we've chosen to study this year, in chronological order.

I. Human Body, my lesson plans
- Head to Toe Science by Jim Wiese
-My Body by Teacher Created Resources
-Easy Make & Learn Projects Human Body by Donald M. Silver
-Christian Liberty Nature Reader Book 5

1. The Brain- What It Is, What It Does by Dr. Ruth Dowling Bruun
2. The Magic School Bus- Inside the Human Body by Joanna Cole
3. Why I Sneeze, Shiver, Hiccup and Yawn by Melvin Berger
4. Look at Your Eyes by Paul Showers
5. Body Detectives: A Book About the Five Senses by Rita Golden Gelman
6. Inside Your Outside! All About The Human Body by Tish Rabe (for Danny)
7. Enjoy Your Cells by Dr. Fran Balkwill and Mic Rolph
8. Cells and Systems by Holly Wallace
9. Cells of Plants and Animals (microscope slides)

II. Germs

1. The Magic School Bus kit: The World of Germs
2. What are Germs? by Dr. Alvin Silverstein, Virginian Silverstein and Laura Silverstein Nunn
3. Magic School Bus- Inside Ralphie: A Book about Germs
4. Cell Wars by Dr. Fran Balkwill
5. The Giant Germ (Magic School Bus Chapter Book) by Anne Capeci

III. Medicine

1. The History of Medicine by John Tiner
2. Spotlight on Science Famous Experiments

IV. Botany (cells, classification, scientists biographies included)

1. God's Design for Life-The World of Plants by Debbie and Richard Lawrence
   
2. Cells and Systems by Holly Wallace
3. Cells of Plants and Animals (microscope slides)

We will learn about the human body down to DNA and cells then learn about germs and scientists who made a difference in the world of medicine before moving on to botany which will start with comparing animal and plant cells. I will update this resource list as it changes.

Living books will be added to our botany studies, nature studies will continue and I think it's going to be a fabulous year!

Studying Botany - Finding Resources

Before re-inventing the wheel, I always search high and low for curriculum. For botany, this is what I have found so far (I may forget to list something):

Complete Curriculum Options
1. Apologia Elementary Science- Exploring Creation with Botany
2. God's Design for Life- The World of Plants
3. Lyrical Life Science Volume 1- Bacteria to Birds
4. Great Science Adventures- The World of Plants
5. Botany Adventure! Unit Study by Kym Wright

Activity Workbooks
1. Scienceworks Plants
2. Investigating Science - Plants Grades 1-3
3. Investigating Science Plants Grades 4-6
4. Teacher Created Resources- Plants

Experiment Based Books
1. Janice VanCleave Plants
2. Green Thumbs*
...and many others

*I already have 501 Science Experiments and Giant Science K-6 which provide many worksheet activities.
* Also notates books that we already own.

Nonfiction Spines
1. Eyewitness Plant*
2. Eyewitness Tree*
3. DK e-guide Plants by David Burnie
4. Life of Plants Series
5. Childcraft The Green Kingdom*
6. Usborne The World of Plants

I wish that Ellen Doris had already published her Botany book for the Real Kids/Real Science series, this would end my search for a nonfiction spine to use.

Living Books
1. Read and Find Out about Science titles that pertain to botany
2. Trees and Shrubs by Arabella Buckley and Plant Life in Field and Garden by Arabella Buckley
3. The Plant Hunters (unsure about reading level & content on this, waiting for library copy)
4. Books from botanical artist Anne Dowden- Look at a Flower; From Flower to Fruit (coming from library for preview)
5. Shanleya's Quest & Game (I love the looks of the game, I'm unsure about the book and it's not available through the library)
6. Seed-Babies by Margaret Morley* (printed out already from Google Books)
7. Collecting and Preserving Plants by MacFarlane

Stand-Alone Experiments & Kits
1. Little Labs-Plants
2. Leaf Identification Kit (this one is a little pricey but I want something similar) Cheaper version with less leaves.
3. or the Leaf and Seed Identification Games kit (which is the same price as the Leaf kit above)
4. Botanical Discoveries Kit
5. Tree Ring Kit

Games
1. The Garden Game
2. The Wild Seed Game
3. see Leaf and Seed Identification Games link under Kits above

My ideal course of study involves a nonfiction spine for informational purposes, living books for internalization, experiments to illustrate concepts or teach new skills, worksheets to reinforce concepts learned, biographies of scientists in the field we're studying and the overall experience to be educational, fun and worth our time.

Monday's Nature Walk

We went to Skidaway Island State Park yesterday and there are two story lines to this tale. One, we were going to meet another homeschooler and her child and two, I wanted to check out Skidaway because of the Sensory Hikes they have on Fridays from 8-9pm and because I haven't been there.

The hsler we were to meet got lost on the way there so after waiting 45 minutes, we started the trail. Of course, I didn't have her cell number with me and I neglected to give her mine and yada, yada, yada. I'm finding out that I'm pretty horrible at making new friends! Anyways, we walked the trail and as we were ending our walk, we met up with her and her adorable 5yo girl and decided to go to the playground to let the kids play. That is the short version of the day, here's the more detailed version with pictures...

I just want to say that all these pictures that I've been posting may make walking trails look easy and fun. It's not all the time but it is worth trekking through heat and sweating a good clean sweat to see your kids being observant and curious. When I suspect a trail is long, I carry a backpack with insulated water bottles, first-aid kit, binoculars, magnifying glass, bug spray, sunscreen and our nature journals with pencils. Carrying a backpack is no fun but with younger kids, I don't wish to take any unnecessary risks.

On the Skidaway State Park Sandpiper Nature Trail there were signs that provided a key to identifying animal tracks, on the sign was opossum, squirrel, bobcat, deer, and raccoon examples. Camille took to this immediately and all through the trail was looking for tracks. I need to make sure we carry our book, Animal Tracks of Florida, Georgia and Alabama with us when we venture out.

Camille is pointing at white-tailed deer tracks.

When we study Botany later this year, I plan to use Botany in a Day for myself because I enjoy learning about different plants I see while we're out walking. My nursery specialist mother would be pleased. I suspect this is from the Aster family. I can't decide if I just need to learn more about identification or if I need a better field guide for flora and fauna.

A feather we saw on the trail, we just looked at it. I'm always a bit worried about picking up stuff.

These tracks could be opossum tracks but I suspect they are armadillo tracks based on our book.

This is why a Saw Palmetto is called a 'saw' palmetto, at the base of the palm leaves they have a saw toothed edge.

Hi, Mr. Skink, I see you!

Camille has a vivid interest in holey trees. I'm keeping this in mind for our botany studies later and I'm glad we'll be studying botany from April to August of 2009, plenty of time to explore different concepts.

I can't help but take pictures of the scenery.

This track confused us, and still does. Either it is a double print of a white-tailed deer or it is a track of a feral pig. It could be a double register (I'm learning!) We're still unsure but we're looking it up in our books.

Another deer track.

Ending our day at the playground with another homeschooler & her daughter (not pictured).

3rd Grade Goals

I will use this as my barometer throughout the year to monitor Camille's and my progress because it is not just up to her but up to me as well to teach.

Language Arts

Reading Objectives:

1. Know common third grade-level sight words.
Source: http://gemini.es.brevard.k12.fl.us/sheppard/reading/dolch.html
2. Decode phonetically regular multisyllabic words.
3. Identify antoymns, synonyms, homophones and homographs.
4. Use index, glossary, and table of contents to locate information in books.
5. Read grade-appropriate fiction and nonfiction material fluently, both silently and aloud.
6. Show comprehension by answering questions (or narrating) about a finished text.

7. Experience a wide range of literature selections, including fiction and nonfiction books, multicultural folktales, myths and legends, and poetry.
a. Be able to describe and define simile, metaphor, alliteration, and onomatopoeia.
8. Differentiate between fiction and nonfiction, biography and autobiography.
9. Follow multi-step written instructions.

Writing Objectives:

1. Switch to cursive in all written work, with practice to perfect letter shape, size, slant, and spacing.
2. Write frequently, exploring a range of genres, including stories, personal narratives, poems, essays, and reports.
3. Organize writing in coherent paragraphs.
4. Know and use the correct format for a friendly letter—including heading, saluation, body, and closing—and the correct way to address an envelope.
5. Distinguish between complete and incomplete sentences.
6. Use capital letters correctly.
7. Use periods, question marks, exclamation points, and quotation marks correctly. Use commas between the day and year when writing a date, between city and state when writing an address, and in series within sentences.
8. Use apostrophes in contractions and in singular and plural possessive nouns.
9. Indentify common prefixes and suffixes.
10. Know common abbreviations.
11. Indentify nouns, proper nouns, pronouns, verbs, and adjectives; and past, present, and future tenses of verbs.
12. Use conventional spelling for the bulk of written work.

Listening and Speaking Skill Objectives:

1. Make short oral reports.
2. Tell stories to a group; present short dramatizations.
3. Memorize and recite short poems.

Study Skills

1. Be able to use the dictionary, encyclopedia, and thesaurus.
2. Be able to use the telephone directory.
3. Alphabetize material to the third or fourth letter.
4. Be familiar with the use of the library.

Mathematics Objectives:

1. Number Theory
a. Counting by 1’s through 10’s
b. Even and odd numbers
c. Word numbers 0-999,999,999
d. Roman numerals

2. Place Value
a. Ones’, tens’, hundreds’ and thousands’ place
b. Ten thousands’ place
c. Hundred thousands’ place
d. Millions, ten millions’, and hundred millions’ place

3. Number Order
a. Ordinal numbers to 100
b. Estimation
c. Greater than and less than
d. Equal and not equal
e. Associative, commutative, and distributive principles
f. The number that comes before and after a given number

4. Addition
a. Addition terms
b. Regrouping
c. Word problems
d. Word sentences
e. Equations

5. Time
a. Hour, half hour, quarter hour, five minute and one minute
b. A.M. and P.M.
c. Word problems
d. Equivalents
6. Subtraction
a. Subtraction terms
b. Regrouping
c. Estimation
d. Word problems
e. Equations

7. Money
a. Counting coins and bills
b. Adding, subtracting and multiplying money
c. Word problems

8. Multiplication
a. Multiplication terms
b. Facts for 0-10
c. Word problems
d. Regrouping
e. Equations

9. Geometry
a. Shapes and solids
b. Symmetry
c. Congruent and similar shapes
d. Geometric terms

10. Fractions
a. Fractional part of whole and set
b. Fractional words
c. Comparison of fractions
d. Comparison of fractions and decimals
e. Equivalent fractions
f. Mixed numbers
g. Reducing fractions
h. Add and subtract like fractions and mixed numbers
i. Word problems

11. Decimals
a. Tenths of a whole
b. Comparison of decimals, fractions, and mixed numbers
c. Word numbers
d. Addition of decimals in tenths

12. Division
a. Division terms
b. Facts 0-10
c. Single-Digit divisor
d. Double-digit quotient with regrouping and remainder
e. Word problems

13. Measurement
a. Inches in halves, fourths, and eighths
b. Centimeters in tenths
c. English units of measure
d. Metric units of measure
e. Map reading
f. Temperature in Fahrenheit and Celsius

14. Graphs
a. Bar graphs, line graphs, pictographs and grids.

15. Area, Perimeter, and Volume
a. Perimeter of shapes
b. Area of rectangle and square
c. Volume of cube and rectangular prism
d. Word problems

16. Ratio
a. Comparison of two numbers
b. Word problems

History

1. Study the administrations of the Presidents as we approach them within our history studies.
2. Study the career of Napoleon and the French Revolution.
3. Survey key events that launched the Industrial Revolution in England and America.
4. John Marshall and the Supreme Court
5. The Louisiana Purchase
6. The War of 1812.
7. South America’s history and survey of South American culture, flora, fauna and Simón Bolivar.
...more to be added

Geography

1. Revise and reinforce basic geographical concepts covered in previous studies.
2. Define and describe the major kinds of climate and relate these to geographical locations.
3. Survey major rivers of the world.
4. Geography studies should be closely linked to history topics.
5. Memorize the states and their corresponding capitals, including state abbreviations of the United States by region.
6. Be able to identify and locate the continents.
7. Be able to indentify and locate major countries of each continent.

General & Life Science Objectives:

1. Study human anatomy and physiology
a. Five Senses
b. Major organs and systems
c. Study germs, bacteria and viruses
d. Learn the introductory components of animal and plant cells.
e. Introduction to DNA
2. Learn about the history of medicine, be able to identify a scientist to a single major contribution.
3 Study botany physiology, anatomy, classifciation and reproduction.
4. Learn the introductory components of agriculture
5. Learn to use scientific tools such as: pocket microscope, stethoscope, and continue to learn key classification and indentification processes.
6. Continue using the scientific method to assimilate science topics learned through experiments.
7. Continue to build observation skills during nature study and experiments.

Foreign Language Objectives:

1. Read foreign language texts appropriate to skill level.
2. Write sentences and short passages using correct grammar and vocabulary
3. Build vocabulary and oratory skills in chosen language through games, skits, recitations and conversations.

Art Objectives:

1. An introduction to representational drawing geared to the attention span and motor coordination.
2. Learn to recognize the elements of shape and are introduced to various choices of how to interpret the lesson, in their own creative rendering of the subject and background.

Music Appreciation

1. Learn about 4 composers during the year through biographies.
2. Be able to identify the 4 composers major compositions by the end of the year.

Books For Sale- Medieval

If All the Swords in England by Barbara Willard
ex-library book, good condition with dust jacket, ©1961
$7.00

I'd Be Your Princess, A royal tale of godly character! by Karthyrn O'Brien
ISBN 0-7847-1350-2 with dust jacket
$3.00

Going West - Journey on a Wagon Train to Settle a Frontier Town by Carol A. Johmann
ISBN 1-885593-38-4. Brand new, retail $12.95.
$7.00

The Way Home Princess Story by Max Lucado
ISBN 1-4003-0554-3. Brand new, retail $16.99.
$7.00

Growing Up with the Norman Conquest by Alfred Duggan
Ex-library book, excellent condition- a treasure of a book!
I'm struggling to sell this. © 1965. $9.00

The King's Book by Louise A. Vernon
ISBN 0-8361-1933-9. Brand new. $7.00

King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table by Roger L. Green
ISBN 0-14-036670-9. Retail $4.99, Great condition.
$2.00

Sightseers Viking World- A Guide to 11th Century Scandinavia with Fold - Out Map
ISBN 0-7534-5237-5. Brand new condition, retails for $8.95.
$5.00

Ten Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb (Dover)
ISBN 0-486-42843-5. Brand new condition. $1.00

...If You Lived in the Days of the Knights by Ann McGovern
ISBN 0-439-10565-X Brand new condition.
$3.00

Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose
ISBN 0-684-82697-6. Brand new condition.
$8.00

A Pilgrim Who Made Progress - The Life Story of John Bunyan by William Deal
ISBN 0-913367-39-7. Good condition, back cover torn a little but spine intact.
$2.00

Girlhood Journeys- Juliet, A Dream Takes Flight
England, 1339
Book One of Girlhood Journeys Collection by Anna Kirwan
ISBN 0-689-8000983-2
$3.00 Great Condition

A World Explorer Marco Polo by Charles Graves
Ex-library with dust jacket, another treasure I'm reluctantly letting go.
$8.00

Luther's Small Catechism
Hardcover book, © 1965. Excellent condition and perfect Q&A of catechism
$4.00

The Man Who Laid the Egg by Louise Vernon
ISBN 0-8361-1828-6. Brand New. $7.00

Elizabeth Tudor, Sovereign Lady by Marguerite Vance
Ex-library book with dust jacket, a little worn but excellent living book.
$8.00

Who in the World Was The Forgotten Explorer? The Story of Amerigo Vespucci by Lorene Lambert
ISBN 0-9728603-8-X. Brand New
$4.00

Pocahontas, Girl of Jamestown by Kate Jassem
Part of the fabulous Troll Associates books. ©1979
$3.00

The Time Traveller Book of Viking Raiders (Usborne)
ISBN 0-86020-085-X. Great condition
$3.00

Children and Games of the Middle Ages (Crabtree Publishing)
by Lynne Elliott. Brand new! ISBN 0-7787-1381-4
$6.00

The Arthurian Tradition by John Matthews
ISBN 1-85230-713-7 Like new condition, excellent book!
$5.00

The Beggars Blessing by Mark Hamby
Lamplighter Publishing, Brand new condition
$3.00

The Neptune Fountain- The Apprenticeship of a Renaissance Sculptor by Taylor Morrison
Excellent condition and book! ISBN 0-8234-1293-8.
$4.00

Traveling Man- The Journey of Ibn Battuta, 1325-1354 by James Rumford
Hard to find, beautiful book! Ex-library. See inside at Amazon
$6.00

The Illustrated Kings and Queens of Great Britain by Edward Horton
ISBN 1-85648-304-5. Like new condition.
$7.00


Paypal only to my email address (triviumacademy at hotmail dot com), all forms. Add $2.00 per book for shipping, all books will be shipped Media Mail to continental U.S. only. Will Ship on Mondays (Sept. 8th, Sept. 15th)

Prices are negotiable within reason. First to pay is the new owner of the book, no holds please. Books are removed from post when they are sold.
Thank you!

There are also Ancient Books for sale at this post...

Want to go for a walk?

The day started out with Camille sharing her snail anatomy picture that she did on her own based on a poster in our learning room. When I say started out, I mean this was around 7:30 am.

By about 8:30 am, I had the itch to GO somewhere and DO something so I asked Danny, "Do you want to take Jack for a walk?" We gathered our drinks, bug spray, camera and Jack and hopped into the car. We drove to a nearby trail where Danny, dh and I had explored before but Camille had not.

I promise there is a Horned Spider in this picture, but after taking 5 photos I could not get the camera to translate what I was seeing. So here's the background of where the horned spider has it's web. Lol.


The trail we walked surrounds a wetland area, here we stopped to see the fiddler crabs, we'll see them many times during our walk today. We watched them for about 15 minutes here.

This poor turtle trying to bask in the sun! If we got too close to the edge of the bank, he'd (or she) would dive into the water. Jack (our dog) was tugging at his leash and Danny was too excited to see the turtle to keep quiet so taaa daaa, a blurry picture of Mr(s). Turtle. Camille observed that it has a yellow bottom and black dots on its legs.


I saw this tree and I wonder what it is, whether or not the fruit is edible and safe for humans. My first thought was a crab apple tree but I'm not sure. We'll be looking this up (don't tell us).

When dh, Danny and I walked this trail a couple of weeks ago, this flower was magnificent. This is the only trace I could find of it on the trail, a withered specimen of its former glory. A friend has said it is part of the passion flower group.

This is what the flower looked like when we saw it before, a picture I found on the web. Isn't it gorgeous? It was so unusual that dh and I looked at it for a long time.


On the trail there are exercises to do which the kids loved. Two seconds after this picture was taken, Danny fell and cried a little because it scared him. This picture is such a reminder of, "whatever my sister can do, I can do!" Lol.

Here's Camille putting Jack's leash around Danny's waist. The leash is designed for this, Danny was excited to be able to have Jack's leash.

Hi, Mr. Fiddler Crab.

We watched for a while before moving on.

"Mom, look at this branch! Woodpeckers and other animals have been just eating away at it! What types of animals do you think would do this kind of damage? We can talk about it when we get home," Camille said in such a genuine way that although she was mimicking me, she truly meant that she wanted to find out more. Lol! Ah, eight years old...

This picture turned out too bright but I thought it was beautiful.

Hello Mr. Short-Horned Grasshopper!

We didn't see the hundreds of them on the trail that we had seen previously, we counted 4 alive and 2 dead that we saw. Dh said that I need better field guides because the Peterson First Guide to Insects did not give us a lot of information about the short-horned grasshopper. That was last time we walked this area, this time the kids just wanted to watch him.

A plant I want to identify, the clusters of seeds? berries? are interesting as well as the vibrant color.

More exercises on the trail...

More beautiful views of Georgia wetlands.

This is exactly the way I like to see a 2 hour walk end. I love those two so much!

September in Savannah

These are events happening around Savannah, GA that are either cheap or free but educational.

At Oatland Island
Medieval Festival

Sat. September 27th, 2008

10:00 am - 4:00 pm

$7.00 Adults ages 18-63

$5.00 Children ages 4-17, Seniors ages 65 and over and Military (must show ID)

FREE Children 3 and under

Travel back in time to the days of Lords and Ladies at the spectacular Medival Festival. See knights doing battle, try out a trebuchet and take part in the music and merriment. Special entertainment and food highlight this incredible event.

Skidaway Island State Park

Sensory Awareness Night Hike
Every week on Friday 8 PM - 9 PM

Learn about creatures that come out only at night along the Sandpiper Nature Trail, then awaken your senses with experiments on this hike. Meet at the Interpretive Center. Time varies so call ahead. $3 parking. 912-598-2300.

1st Ever Dragon Boat Race
September 20 - 20
Phone: 912-644-6414
Admission: 1000-Team
Location: Tom Triplett Community Park
Visit the Web Site

The dragon boat races are a team event with a variety of groups competing for the best time. Two authentic Chinese dragon boats will be used, which are exquisitely hand painted, and have a large dragon’s head with a wild mane and fierce open jaws.

Savannah Jazz Festival
When: 9/21/2008 to 9/28/2008
What Time:
Where: Forsyth Park

The 27th Savannah Jazz Festival, celebrating jazz as a living art built on a constantly evolving tradition will offer all types of jazz, from Dixieland, traditional swing, straight-ahead and bop to melodic standards, and funky down-home "gutbucket" blues. The Festival kick-off on Saturday night (Sept 20) will be a Jazz Concert-Wine Tasting event to raise money for the Backus Children's Hospital. The Ben Tucker Trio is headlining on this evening.

Bacon Park Forest Discovery Walks
September 21
Phone: 912-233-8733
Admission: Free
Location: Bacon Park Forest

Wear long sleeves, pants, and sturdy shoes; bug spray is a good idea. Walks meet in northern corner of Bacon Park Tennis Courts, located off Skidaway Road just south of Bonna Bella Road. Map & Directions here.

Ancient Period Books for Sale

I'm clearing out our books and I have a lot of fabulous titles, some are out-of-print treasures and others are highly desired titles that other curriculums use.

Ancient Greece. The Original Olympics by Stewart Ross
ISBN 0-87226-596-X. Retail $18.95
Very little shelf wear, great condition. $8.00

The Value of Honesty The Story of Confucius (Value Tales)
by Spencer Johnson ISBN 0-916392-36-8
Great condition, $6.00

Who in the World was The Acrobatic Empress? The Story of Theodora
by Robin Phillips ISBN 0-9728603-9-8. Retail $7.50
Brand New Condition $4.00

Who in the World was The Unready King? The Story of Ethelred
by Connie Clark. ISBN 0-9728603-7-1. Retail $9.50.
Brand new condition $4.00

The Empty Pot by Demi
ISBN 0-395-61780-4.
Like new condition $3.00

The Roman Fort by Peter Connolly
ISBN 0-19-917108-4
Like new condition $8.00


Medieval period books to be listed in another post.

Terms: Paypal only to my email address, all forms.
Shipping is $2.00 per book to the continental U.S. only. Will Ship September 8th, Monday.
Prices are negotiable within reason. Please no holds, the first to pay for a book is the new owner. Books are being removed from this post as they are sold.