Bunk Room Dream

Well, here is a blog with the Bunk Room of my dreams... (Although we would need a girl version...)

- I'd love to order a 4 bunk girls version for Echo, Foxtrot, Golf (once out of the crib) and Yankee could use the 4th when she visits... And then a 2 bunk boy version for Delta, and Zulu could use the 2nd when he visits.

(Of course, this isn't something your order... you have to build it.)

[somehow the date got changed on this post...]

Golf's Birthday

It is hard to believe that Golf is 1 already!

She has been slow to eat solids, and wouldn't eat anything homemade at all. I resorted to store-bought baby food because she would eat that. So I wasn't sure how she would do with our traditional Birthday Cake.

The tradition is each child gets their own birthday cake to eat by themselves when they turn 1. It is their first taste of chocolate. (I do take the cake away before they eat enough to get sick.

So, as you will see - she did fine, although she was a bit unorthodox in eating style. And since, she is eating more finger foods. Yeay!

Looking at Rightstart

I have been looking at Rightstart Math over the last couple of weeks, and I do like what I see. Honestly, I had looked at it about 3 years ago, and really liked it then, but couldn't get over the price. So at that time I looked for other options and found MEP.

I do think that MEP is a wonderful program. I like how it gets kids thinking. I have liked how it approached things. I feel it does as good of a job as most math programs for teaching concepts - better than many, and the price was definitely right.

BUT.... over the last few months, Delta has gone from loving math to hating it. He has been struggling, and I have struggled with helping him using MEP. Although I can see what MEP is doing, he doesn't understand why they have him doing various things. And recently I've seen Echo starting to not enjoy math so much.

So, when a conversation about various math programs came up on the Discussion forum on Simply Charlotte Mason, I started looking at what might work better. And I'm sure it comes down to the way Rightstart does math.

Rightstart approaches most math differently than "traditional" math programs. And.... it does a lot of math the way I naturally do it. It uses manipulatives (mainly their special abacus) to learn how to visualize math. And they use games to practice. Sounds like fun to me!

So, to try things out a bit, I made 3 abaci (abacuses... there is debate of the proper plural...). I don't know how long the homemade ones will last, but they work for now... I took larger popsicle/craft sticks for the frame, pony beads for the beads, and bamboo skewers for the rods. I used binder clips to hold everything closed while the glue dried.

We have also tried a card game that is mentioned on the website (just using playing cards) and the kids enjoyed it, and got some practice using the abacus.

So now the only problem.... how to aquire the program?

Vacation

Just popped in to say that I'm sorry I haven't been posting much. The last couple of weeks have been vacation time for the family. I hope to have something new to post soon!

Foxtrot is 3

So Foxtrot turned 3 recently. Boy does time go by fast. I had to share her birthday cake with you. Of course as we all avoid twaddle (yeah right?) - I'll have to explain. Foxtrot likes "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" - and the cake is on one of the characters... Toodles. I think it turned out really well.

History Rotation 2

~500 - 1453

World History

A Child's History of the World (ch 42-60) - Hillyer Read 1 chapter a week (leaves extra weeks free)

OR

On the Shores of the Great Sea (? chapters) - Synge Read 1 or 2 chapters a week (avg ?)

Canadian History

The Story of Canada (ch 1-2)

OR

My First History of Canada (ch 1-2)

Biographies and Fictional History (WORLD)

Do not feel that you need to do ALL of these. You may also pick books from the younger years.

(This list will likely be added to)

This list is compiled from various sources, which I will be using to decide which books my children will read based on interest, abilities, availability, etc. The year placements are approximate.

Years 1-3

Lief the Lucky

Viking Adventure

Stories of the Vikings - Mary MacGregor

Our Little Saxon Cousin of Long Ago - Julia Cowles

Our Little Norman Cousin of Long Ago - Evaleen Stein

Our Little Viking Cousin of Long Ago - Charles Johnson

Our Little Crusader Cousin of Long Ago - Evaleen Stein

Famous Men of the Middle Ages - Haaren

The Door in the Wall

The Minstrel in the Tower

The Whipping Boy

St. George and the Dragon

Sword in the Tree

Brother Francis and the Friendly Beasts

The Apple and the Arrow

Medieval Feast

Castle Diary

Pippo the Fool

William Tell by Margaret Early

Joan of Arc - Stanley

Marguerite makes a Book

Years 4-6

The Vikings

Beorn the Proud

Galen and the Gateway to Medicine

The Shining Company

Adam of the Road

Castle

Cathedral

Robin Hood - Pyle

The Red Keep

Joan of Arc (Landmark)

The King's Shadow

King Arthur and His Knights

The Pied Piper of Hamelin

Adam of the Road

Otto of the Silver Hand - Pyle

Years 7-9

Beric the Briton

Rolf and the Viking Bow

For the Temple

The Bronze Bow

The Dragon and the Raven

In Freedom's Cause (Wallace and Bruce)

Scottish Chiefs (Wallace and Bruce)

The Once and Future King

Sir Gawaine and the Green Knight

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

The Pushcart War - Jean Merrill

The Knight's Fee - Rosemary Sutcliff

The Gambage Cup - Carol Kendall

Sir Nigel and the White Company - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Beowulf - Burton Raffel

The Black Arrow - Robert Louis Stevenson

Hereward, the Last of the English - Charles Kingsley

The White Stage

Story of King Arthur and His Knights

The Book of Arthur

The Shining Company

The Magna Charta

In Freedom's Cause: A Story of Wallace and Bruce

The Prince and the Pauper

Years 10-12

Men of Iron

Voices of the Renaissance and Reformation

The Second Mrs. Giaconda

The King's Fifth

Haven't Decided on Year Level Yet

How We Learned the Earth is Round by Patricial Lauber

Biographies and Fictional History (CANADIAN)

Do not feel that you need to do ALL of these. You may also pick books from the younger years.

(This list will likely be added to)

This list is compiled from various sources, which I will be using to decide which books my children will read based on interest, abilities, availability, etc. The year placements are approximate.

Years 1-3

Very Last First Time - Andrews

Dragonfly Kites - Highway

Years 4-6

The Dream Carvers - Clark (Viking boy captured by natives)

Lost in the Barrens - Mowatt

Years 7-9

Years 10-12

Haven't Decided on Year Level Yet

Solo Day

It was Solo Day at our violin group class... the last group class of the year.

Echo played Allegro....

And Delta played Etude....

I hope you enjoy!