Homeschool Resources: First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind

This year I started using First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind Level 1 by Jessie Wise with Mary.  We have been really happy with the Spell to Write and Read program for spelling.  Initially, I thought it would also serve as a resource for grammar also.  While it does provide different grammar exercises that you can use to reinforce the spelling words, I didn't like jumping from compound words to antonyms to superlatives, etc.  I wanted to find a more systematic approach to teaching grammar.  We're two-thirds of the way through First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind Level 1, which I have been really please with.

The 100 lessons in this book use four tools to teach grammar rules and usage:

1. Memory work
2. Copywork
3. Narration
4. Grammar

The memory work consists of short poems that are fun for children to recite.  The copywork can be tailored to suit the child's writing interest and ability.  Mary has especially enjoyed writing the full names of every member of our family:)  Narration is taught through both oral and visual means.  Sometimes the parent will read the child a story and ask the scripted questions to elicit responses.  Other times, the child will look at a piece of artwork reproduced in the book and be asked to answer questions about the artwork.  Grammar rules and definitions are taught and reinforced with enrichment activities.  There are also periodic oral usage exercises.  Topics covered in this text include nouns, pronouns, verbs, and types of sentences as well as the days of the week, months of the year, and the four seasons.

Each scripted lesson is designed for the parent to use interactively with the child.  This is not a text that the child can complete independently.  While I have read some negative criticism about this text being too repetitive or too easy, I find that the repetition and ease is actually a plus for us.  I definitely plan on continuing with Level 2 next year!

Our Mission Statement

One of my goals for 2012 was to craft a mission statement for our homeschool.  The inspiration for this goal came from Dave Ramsey, who is ever encouraging his readers to set goals and work hard to achieve them.  It was really difficult to craft a mission statement, but I found the process to be a useful exercise.  It helped me to organize my thoughts in terms of what we do and why we do it and also in terms of what we don't do but should.  In the end, it turned out to be more of a mission document than a statement.  We do view this document as fluid and subject to alteration over time, but, for the time being, this is what we Mobleys are all about.

 “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

-       Jesus Christ

       

Knowledge of God—We want to know God through the study of His Word and His world.

·      Word

o   Bible Study

o   Scripture Memory

o   Theology

·      World

o   God’s work throughout history

o   God’s natural laws

o   God’s created order

o   Beauty in art and music

o   Community and Government

o   Other cultures

Communication—We want to use our words for the glory of God.  Our goal in learning to read, write and speak is to communicate:

·      Clearly

·      Correctly

·      Concisely

·      With care

Obedience—We want to fully obey God and His delegated authorities.  Full obedience is immediate, exact, joyful, and without complaining or arguing.

Work Ethic—We want to do everything for the glory of God.  This means that our work should be characterized by:

·      Diligence

·      Perseverance

·      Excellence

·      Good Attitude

Stewardship—All that we have has been given to us by God for His glory.  Therefore, we want to honor God with our:

·      Time

·      Money

·      Talents

·      Possessions

·      Bodies

Giving/Serving—We want to keep our eyes open to the needs of those around us so that we can give/serve with our:

·      Time

·      Money

·      Talents

·      Possessions

Church Life—We believe God wants us to be active members of a local church.  Through this local body of believers, we:

·      Gather together to worship God and study His Word

·      Love and serve one another

·      Minister to the needs of our local community

·      Support outreach efforts in foreign countries

Evangelism—We want to be equipped as the Spirit leads us to share the gospel with others near and far with our words, our conduct and our finances.

Family Life—The family is the basic unit of Christian community and provides the foundation for much of our other activity.  We want to manage our household for the glory of God, including proper instruction in:

·      Chores

·      Shopping

·      Cooking

·      Organization

·      Marriage/Child Rearing

An important part of family life is participation in family devotions.

Critical Thinking and Biblical Reasoning—We want to love God with all of our mind, so being able to analyze thoughts and ideas in the light of Scripture is of great import.

Conflict Resolution—We want to honor God in our relationships.  Since we are sinners, we will inevitably have conflicts with one another.  We want to resolve such conflicts according to the biblical mandates.

·      If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you.

·      If you sin against your brother, go and be reconciled.

·      If you cannot resolve a conflict between the two of you, then seek help from Mom and Dad.

Christian Character—We believe the character traits we want to instill are best summarized by the fruit of the Spirit:

·      Love

·      Joy

·      Peace

·      Patience

·      Kindness

·      Goodness

·      Faithfulness

·      Gentleness

·      Self-Control

Picture Books We Love: Good Night, Little Bear

We acquired Good Night, Little Bear by Patsy Scarry from some friends whose children had outgrown it.  I had never heard of it before, but it is a really cute book.  It is time for Little Bear to go to bed.  He rides on Father Bear's shoulders into bed, but he doesn't climb down.  Father Bear pretends to wake up from a dream and begins to look for Little Bear everywhere.  Under the pillow.  Under the blanket.  Under the kitchen stove.  Outside.  In the woodbox.  On the china shelf.  Then, he steps in front of the mirror and "discovers" Little Bear on his shoulders!  No longer lost, Little Bear enjoys a piece of chocolate cake, my kind of Bear, before Father Bear tucks him into bed.  Little Bear asks, "Did I really fool you, Daddy?"  This is such a cute story.  We always get a chuckle out of it. 

I think much of this book's appeal to our children has to do with their own fascination with hiding from Daddy.  As soon as they hear him open the garage door to put his bike away, they shout, "Quick, quick, time to hide.  Mama, tell Daddy you don't know where we are."  Then, they go to their "usual" hiding places and wait for Daddy to find them.  It will be a sad day when Maggie realizes she can actually just hide quietly instead of shouting, "I'm here, Daddy!"

Breakfast Oatmeal

When we set out to reduce our grocery budget, one big change we made was to start having oatmeal for breakfast.  Not only is oatmeal less expensive than ready-to-eat cereals, but it's more filling and better for you, too.  Admittedly, it took a while to find a recipe that was palatable for my family.  Once I landed on this version, I haven't looked elsewhere!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 c water
2 c quick oats
2 T sugar (preferably brown)
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 c milk
honey

1. Bring water to a boil in a saucepan. 
2. Add oats.  Stir and reduce heat to low.
3. Add sugar and cinnamon.  Cook on low for one minute.
4. Add milk and simmer 2 minutes longer.
5. Serve with honey drizzled on top, preferably in the form of a smiley face or an M.

Of course, you can jazz up this recipe with dried fruits or nuts or whatever else you fancy.  We're kind of plain Janes and Joes, so we like it best just the way it is.  Okay, I confess, one time I did add chocolate chips!

Payday!

How do we teach our kids about money?  This is a question that we agonized over for a long time.  We prayed.  We discussed.  We talked to other parents.  We discussed some more.  David and I both had a conviction that we didn't want to just give the children a set amount of money every week.  We both thought that was kind of like paying them to exist.  We didn't want to pay them for doing chores around the house.  After all, we are a family.  We each contribute to making the mess, so we each contribute to cleaning up the mess.  We didn't want to just let the girls go crazy with the gift money that they receive from the incredibly generous grandparents either!  So, we were really clear about what we DIDN'T want to do, but we still needed to figure out what we DID want to do.

We tried to come up with some creative ways that the girls could earn cash.  I thought about getting a newspaper route and taking them every day to deliver newspapers.  Then, I was quickly brought back to reality and realized that now is not the time for that.  Hello, I have 10 month old twins.

I thought about collecting aluminum cans.  However, we now have curb-side recycling in our city, so pretty much everyone just puts their cans in their bins and puts them out on Recycling Day.  (For my California friends, there's no CRV here!)

I also thought about handing over the coupon clipping to them and for each coupon clipped and used, I could give them the amount saved.  I thought this was a pretty novel idea, but then I realized that shopping was going to get really complicated.  I could foresee a debate about every item and "why was I not buying the one with the coupon?"  So, I concluded this idea also was no good. 

And then I read about the Payday System in America's Cheapest Family Gets You Right on the Money by Steve and Annette Economides.  We talked it over and modified it to suit our needs and then gave it a trial run. 

The Payday System is a point system.  Every week, there is the possibility of earning 23 points.  We pay a whopping five cents per point.  The point categories that we use are Morning, Chore, School and Evening.  To earn a point, tasks must be completed in a timely manner, to the best of one's ability, without complaining or arguing and with a good attitude.  The current guidelines for points are as follows:

• Morning Point--Set and clear breakfast dishes; get dressed; put pajamas away; brush teeth; brush hair; wash hands and face.
• Chore Point--Load and unload dishwasher; take diapers out of the dryer and stack them; water plants; put clothes away neatly in drawers; fold towels and rags, etc.
• School Point--Do assigned work completely, promptly and with a good attitude.
• Evening Point--Set and clear dinner dishes; participate in Bible time with a good attitude and appropriate behavior; brush teeth; put pajamas on and clothes in laundry or neatly in drawer.

The girls each received these neat piggy banks for birthday presents.  Coins can be deposited in one of four sections:Spend, Save, Donate and Invest.  Right now, we do not use the Invest section.  On Sundays, David first reads a passage from the Bible that relates and we tally up the points earned for the week.  Then, we translate the points into moula.  Of the total amount earned, 10% goes to Donate, 20% to Save, and 70% to Spend. 

We found it helpful to keep a ledger on the computer to track how much is in the different sections of each girl's piggy bank.  Periodically, the girls empty the money out of Donate and take it to church to place in the offering.  This year, the girls were also able to use money from Spend to purchase Christmas gifts for one another (and Mama and Daddy, too). 

We think this is going to be helpful in teaching the children to be wise stewards of their money and also to be hard workers!

What I've Been Reading--January

My in-laws gave Good to Great by Jim Collins to my husband some time ago.  Again, my husband questioned my choice of reading material.  The truth is that I have seen this book referenced in other books I have read, so I was intrigued.  Jim Collins and his team researched and analyzed eleven companies that transitioned from good to great (measured by cumulative stock returns) while other comparison companies in the same industry did not.  The companies selected were Abbott, Circuit City, Fannie Mae, Gillette, Kimberley-Clark, Kroger, Nucor, Philip Morris, Pitney Bowes, Walgreens and Wells Fargo.  The team drew seven somewhat surprising conclusions from their extensive research.  One that I found particularly interesting was that the good to great companies first found the right people and then decided where they were headed.

In the final chapter of the book, the author then concludes that by applying the findings in this book to your life and seeking greatness in some area, you can have a meaningful life.  I simply don't agree.  I think, like the Teacher in Ecclesiastes, we will even find that seeking greatness is even meaningless.  He concludes: "Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man" (Ecclesiastes 12:13).  I believe that our true meaning is found in loving and serving our Creator.

Yes, we read another delightful book by Marguerite Henry!  You might guess from the title Stormy, Misty's Foal that the renowned movie star Misty of Chincoteague is pregnant!  Before she births the foal, though, the island is devastated by a hurricane.  When the Beebe family is forced to evacuate, they lead Misty into Grandma's kitchen.  Later, they exercise caution and transport her to an animal hospital in Pocomoke, where she births her mare colt Stormy.  Unfortunately, the wild ponies of Assateague were almost completely wiped out by the hurricane.  Paul and Maureen agree to a unique fundraising endeavor to replace the wild herds.  Misty and Stormy go on a special tour where Misty's movie is showing with all the proceeds from ticket sales going to replace the wild herds and clean up the island.  I found this story so touching and it brought me to tears many times, especially the letters and donations from children described in the Epilogue.  This is a wonderful book.
Since I love Crystal Paine's blog, MoneySavingMom, I was really excited to read her book Money Saving Mom's Budget!  Funny thing, I just couldn't sleep for some reason the night before its release, so I actually started reading it the moment it was delivered to my Kindle, at around 12:01 am on January 10!  I think this is an excellent book to read if you are looking for ways to cut back your budget, especially your grocery budget.  Since I read Crystal's blog daily, there was no information in this book that was new to me, but I still think this is a great resource because all of the information is collected in one place.  There is information in this book about how to set up a budget, many tips for reducing household budget items, how to find and use coupons, other ways to lower your grocery bill, and how to save on entertainment.  There are even tips on how to reduce clutter and have a successful yard sale.  My favorite chapter was the chapter on choosing to be content.  The information in this book is very much common sense, but, let's face it, we lack it often, especially in the area of finances.

I borrowed The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh from the library to read to Mary.   In this book, eight-year-old Sarah and her father set out in 1707 to build the first house in New Milford, Connecticut.  Before leaving her mother told her, "Keep up your courage, Sarah Noble!"  Sarah found this difficult to do.  There were strange noises and wild animals and Indians.  Truly, the most difficult part comes when her father leaves her with an Indian family in order to bring her mother and siblings to the newly completed house.  She finds her father's words to ring true, "To be afraid and to be brave is the best courage of all."  We enjoyed this book and it is a great one to teach children about befriending people who look and speak differently as well as to face difficult situations.

I have had Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer sitting on the bookshelf for a long time but only read it this month.  I had been having a very difficult time with my thought life and found this book to be really helpful.  I felt like Joyce really understood me and my thoughts.  I appreciated her biblical counsel in how to recognize and overcome ungodly and unproductive thought patterns.  I also liked that the chapters were very short, and I could read an entire chapter in one sitting without interruption (and interruptions are frequent as you probably can imagine with four children five and under!) 

The Wise Men Arrive!

Today, the three wise men arrived to visit King Jesus!  They have been on their journey from the East since Christmas Day.  Okay, most people celebrate Twelfth Night on January 6, but we just couldn't celebrate without Daddy.  He came back from Memphis late last night, so we decided to celebrate one day late.  I made a king cake for breakfast, too!  (In case you think I am crazy for serving "cake" for breakfast, my king cake was a basic cinnamon roll recipe but formed into a big circle instead of individual rolls.)