Planning for the school year...

I got the UPS notification that a box of school books will be delivered at my house on Monday. I can't wait to get them and get my school year organized. I can't wait to see that big brown truck pull into the driveway.

Mrs. P

Summer Break

Our little Homeschool at the Farm is taking a summer break. We'll start back up in a couple of weeks as we are going year round this year. For now we will enjoy the outdoors, fishing, garden, swimming, and get lots of sun and fresh air.

Fingerplays for the littlest homeschoolers

My littlest homeschooler is Miss Jessalyn Claire. She turned 5 in January and is very eager to begin her schooling. In fact, when I print out the assignment sheets for the older two children, she often asks for her own assignment sheet. For her preschool experience I like to use age appropriate resources several times a week. She could just tag along with the older children but she really does get a lot of enjoyment out of her own lessons. She is having a fun time with Alphabet Color and Glue and Simple Scissor Practice (both e-books from curriclick). Today though, I found this lovely little book of fingerplays. Not only does it tell the words to the fingerplays, but it shows little drawings of hands so that you know exactly how to do each fingerplay. This is a Gutenberg Project book and it also includes music clips that go along with the words in the book. What fun she will have learning new fingerplays next week.

Medieval Fashions

This kids are enjoying coloring pictures of the Kings, knights and lady loves that they been reading about in school. Dover Coloring Books are always excellent. This one is giving us an additional bonus. It tells about the fashions on each page and which century and country the clothing would have been worn as well as what fabrics the garments would have been made from. Miss A is doing a 4-H record book on clothing and textiles and this coloring and reading about medevial fashions will count toward her clothing and textiles project. The coloring book is pretty cheap ($3.95) and is available online at the Dover Website.

Colonial Redwork Patterns

Here is a link to patterns for redwork that tell the story of Colonial America. If you have young ladies that like to sew, redwork is a great project. This quilt would look very nice in my bedroom. Maybe I can get some time to sew myself one.

Here is another link with a description of each quilt block.

The Crusades

The Talisman by Sir Walter Scott

The Talisman is a gripping tale set near the end of the Third Crusade. King Richard the Lionheart is grievously ill, and all around him the leaders from allied countries plot and scheme to gain personal power, putting the future of the crusade in jeopardy. Sir Kenneth of Scotland finds himself caught up in events, and finds both his honour and his life are now on the line. Can a cure be found for the King? Can Kenneth redeem his honour? – Written by Rowen.

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
This text is not quite finished on librivox.
If you click on the link you can be emailed
as to when it is finished and listen to what's been recorded.

Heroes of the Middle Ages by Eve March Tappan

“The object of this book is to bring together stories of the most important movements in the history of Europe during the Middle Ages, and to make familiar the names of the most important figures in those scenes. I have endeavoured to weave a tapestry in which, with due colour, may be traced the history of the rise and fall of the various nationalities and the circumstances and mode of life of each—in short, to give the young reader an approximation to the background for the study of his country’s history which a wide reading gives to a man.” (Summary from the Preface of Heroes of the Middle Ages by Eva March Tappan)

The above books are available on Librivox. As we get further into the Living Books Curriculum Middle Ages guide, I find that we really love the literature choices. We are reading books that
1) I didn't really know existed
2) are rich in vocabulary
3) are very well written and
4) are exciting and interesting.

I have not read any of the book above. Sad but true, somehow I missed Ivanhoe and Talisman. These are additional reading suggestions. Heroes of the Middle Ages is not listed in the guide, but I found it on librivox and it is a nice fit. We will only listen to selected chapters as it covers the entire middle ages. I like Eva March Tappan's books. She has a way of making them easy to read without watering it down into "twaddle." My daughter is enjoying them, as the chapters are short enough to not be frustrating. Other things coming up in next week's lessons are a medieval feast, a report about the Knights Templar, and some time working on her timeline. I believe all of the books I linked on librivox also have free online texts that you can read as well.


Note: Links have been updated and I have added summaries of the books from the librivox website.

A Short Study of Tornadoes

Since we live in Tornado Alley, I decided to take a short break from our regular science and have a unit study on tornadoes. I am using lessons from Middle School Science.com. They have a variety of themes and resources. However, the Tornado Theme Page has 6 organized lessons complete with fun little worksheets if you have a kid who likes puzzles and such. We also found video on National Geographic.