Curriculum Review: What Worked and Didn't Work

Thought I'd take a bit of time to reflect on the homeschooling materials we used this year, but for myself and for others who might be wondering what curriculum to use for their families.  This is a list of "what worked" and "what didn't work" for us. I  homeschool my nine year old daughter, who has some learning challenges.  She is working at about second grade level.

Morning Prayer

We start every day with prayer.  Most of the year, we used LTP's Children's Daily Prayer as our main resource.  My daughter really liked this book, especially since the psalms would repeat for several weeks (or more) and the Bible passages are generally written for a children's point of view.  As a result, she requested to read more and more of the morning prayer, which means our prayer time also gave her additional reading practice!  I like Morning Prayer, too, since its readings follow the church lectionary cycle. 

Our plans for next fall:
I think we may use this resource again next year but supplement it with readings from her children's bible, especially since she is eager to read lately.

Phonics
We followed Kolbe's second grade lesson plan for phonics and used Pearson Phonics Book B.  For half of the year, she really liked it and would whip through the pages, even begging me to do more when I wanted her to stop at two pages.  But by mid-year, the work became harder and she started rebelling and throwing major temper tantrums when I mentioned phonics. I enrolled her in a phonics course offered by a local tutoring company and that seemed to break up the monotony.  Since that time we've gone back to playing phonics games or using Time4Learning.


Time4Learning is a paid website that features games and contests which help a child learn phonics, language arts, math and other subjects. an online She really enjoys the games and activities on Time4Learning, so I recommend it to parents whose children are tired of the workbook/textbook routine.


 Our plans for next fall:
We recently joined a homeschooling co-op, so this fall she will be taking a reading/phonics class there once a week and given homework to do the other days of the week.  I will occasionally supplement with Time4Learning and may try again to sneak in some pages from Pearson Phonics.  (It's the perseverance part of my personality that doesn't like to leave things unfinished!)

Spelling
We used Kolbe's second grade lesson plan for spelling.  They recommend 12 new words a week.  It was too overwhelming for her.  So I broke each weekly list up into two parts and we covered six words each week, completing the full list over two weeks. That seemed to work better. 

About mid-year, she began vehemently rebelling against spelling, so I decided to step back from it for a couple of months.  I've noticed that she is again starting to show an interest in spelling, so I think we will pick up where we left off over the summer and hopefully finish up the second grade spelling plan by mid-year.  I tend to stress out over uncompleted lesson plans, so I need to keep my own attitude "in check" and constantly remind myself that God is guiding her and she will learn these things when she is ready. 

Reading

It's been a tough homeschooling year, but the bright spot has been Seton's second grade  Faith and Freedom readers.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these readers!!   And more importantly, so does my daughter.  Although she often rebelled at doing any schoolwork, I was usually able to convince her to read a story in These Are Our Neighbors. Perhaps these readers might seem a bit old fashioned to some people, but the illustrations and gentle moral messages really resonated with my daughter.  She progressed from hating to read (at the beginning of the year) to loving to read (right now).  I think her change of attitude had a lot to do with these books. The stories are interesting, and told from a child's point of view, which I think she really liked.  

Over the summer, we will finish up the third book recommended in the second grade lesson plan:  A Book of Sanctity.   I'm thrilled that she has begun independently taking that book and reading it to herself and her dolls!

Our plans for fall:
We will definitely be using Seton's third grade readers next year and are really looking forward to it. 

Math

We used Math U See, for part of the year, but she complained so much!  She liked the videos but didn't want to do the accompanying work in the workbook.  Unfortunately, by November, she refused to do any of the work.   So I pulled away from math.  I fretted that she was falling behind, but at at point she was starting to rebel about all school, so I decided that if she would only "do" school for an hour, we should focus on reading.  I hoped that once she overcame some of the hurdles she was experiencing with phonics and reading, she would have the confidence to tackle math.

For a month, she took math tutoring sessions at our local Mathnasium.  But there was just too much activity there, with kids coming in and going all the time.  I don't think she got much out of it.

We were doing some math on Time4Learning, but she complained it was too hard.  When I looked on the parent reports, it appeared that she was guessing or just jumping out of exercises without completing them.

About a month ago, I discovered Dreambox Learning on Homeschool Buyer's Co-op. Like Time4Learning, it is an online website with games that teach math concepts.  But unlike Time4Learning, the program actually continually evaluates a child's progress and difficulties (based on answers to games).  Using that information, it will adapt the problems to help the child get better in certain skills.  If a child is proficient in an area, it will skip ahead to give her more challenge.  Kids are motivated by earning "tokens" to use with online carnival games.  They also win a variety of virtual prizes and certificates which can be printed out and saved. 


I decided to try the free 14-day trial.  I'm thrilled that this method seems to be working for my daughter!  I can already tell that her understanding of basic math concepts is much better.  She loves using the online "manipulatives" like the abacus.  I also like that Dream Box sends an email note to parent each time their child has been online, telling what the child did and how she is progressing.  Their parent dashboard has a chart showing the concepts to be covered, percentage that the child has completed, etc.  It's been very helpful to me. 

Our plans for this summer and fall:
Our trial expires in a couple of days but I think I will switch to the paid version by subscribing through Homeschool Buyer's Co-op.  (Right now, they offer a great deal on the annual subscription!)  I plan to use it throughout the summer.
   
English

We used Seton's English 2, which covers using the dictionary, ABC order, writing different types of sentences (like commanding and asking sentences), punctuation and more.  Neither of us cared for it too much, unfortunately.  I think alot of the vocabulary in it was too hard for my daughter, which frustrated her.  (I would help her read it, but she would have a temper tantrum that she couldn't do it herself!) 

Our plans for fall: I printed out a couple of sample lessons of Emma Serl's Primary Language Lessons (PLL) and we tried them out.  We looked at the book published by Hillside Education and one published by homeschooling mom Cynthia Albright. 


I liked Cynthia's version because it has "fill in the blank" sections would not require my daughter to re-copy sentences (something she greatly dislikes right now).  However, she preferred the large, full color illustrations in the Hillside version and said she wouldn't mind re-copying sentences in her journal.  (We'll see--maybe I'll just have her do one or two sentences rather than the 8-10 in some of the lessons.)  

For those who aren't familiar with Primary Language Lessons:  it is a language arts  drill book written in the early 20th century which combines picture study, writing and composition exercises, memorization, poetry and more.  It is suggested in several homeschooling curricula including  Mother of Divine Grace, and Mater Amabilis Charlotte Mason.  You can read reviews about it here and here.

Handwriting
Because my daughter has nice printing penmanship (when she wants to!)  I skipped right to the cursive portion of Seton's Handwriting 2 course.  I have mixed feelings about this book.  I think it provides great practice, but my daughter quickly grew bored of it. We started to skip it when she began tantruming about school this winter. 

Our plans for the fall:
She is again expressing interest in learning to write cursive again, but I think I will combine this book with spelling, and emphasize learning to write words that she is interested in. (For instance, she is really interested in American Girl Dolls right now, so we're learning to write the dolls' names in cursive.)  I'm still looking for ways to motivate her so that she wants to learn cursive.

Map Skills and Geography

We used Continental Press' Map Skills C from Kolbe's second grade lesson plan.   The workbook includes lessons on understanding map keys, compass directions, distinguishing between different types of maps (e.g., political and physical maps) and more.  My daughter liked the workbook at the beginning of the year, but by February she was fighting me about using it.  We did manage to finish it, but barely!

Our plans for the fall:
I love teaching geography, but using a workbook like this also made it a bit boring for me!  I am pulling together a U.S. geography study for this summer, which we will continue through next year.  I plan to use Cantering the Country  and supplement it with living books.  Inspired by Jessica's "State by State Baking" study (see her Shower of Roses website), we'll also be doing some cooking for each state, using Eat Your Way Through the U.S.A. and The United States Cookbook:  Fabulous Foods and Fascinating Facts From All 50 States.

I'll encourage her to make notebook pages for each state.  I'm hoping to compile them into two or three 3-ring binders so she can add additional facts, photos, drawings, etc. whenever she finds out something interesting about each state.

Science 

I planned to use Apologia's Exploring Creation with Astronomy but for various reasons we did not progress far into the book.  I think I'll reintroduce it in a couple of years.   My daughter has become very interested in learning about birds, so this spring I switched to Apologia's Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day: Exploring Creation with Zoology 1.   She's really enjoyed the nature hikes, adding a couple of bird feeders to our yard, and determining which bird seed is most popular with the birds in our neighborhood.  

We have also been "bird watching" online regularly.  Our favorite spots are the Ustream live feeds from an eagle's nest in Decorah, Iowa   and Cornell University's live feeds of a Red-Tailed Hawk nest  and a Great Blue Heron nest.   It's been fascinating to watch the eggs hatch and see how birds nurture and care for their young! 


Our plans for the fall:  We will continue working through Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day throughout the summer and fall.  I'm hoping we get through the insect unit before the cool days of fall! 


History
We attempted Connecting with History, Volume I, but didn't get very far.  I think it is a good program but perhaps better done with older kids.  I really needed the lesson plans laid out, but it really just makes suggestions using a broad outline. I hope to bring it back off the shelf in a year. 


Our plans for the fall: In the fall, my daughter will be attending a homeschool co-op class based on Addy, the American Girl doll who lived during the time of the Civil war.  They will be reading the various Addy stories, making crafts and doing a variety of activities. I've decided to springboard off this and take the summer to learn more about the Civil War with both kids.  We will be reading living books and picture books and doing a variety of activities that will help them see what it was like to live during the time of the Civil War.  Since it's the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, there are quite a few learning opportunities at various museums and battlefields around the United States.  The Civil War Traveler website lists some of them.   I'm hoping that we can visit a Civil War re-enactment sometime this summer.

Faith and Religion
Besides twice weekly Mass and an hour in the adoration chapel, my daughter attended the catechism class I taught for our parish. The parish used the RCL Benziger's Blest Are We program.   However, I deviated quite a bit from the book, instead using my Catechesis of the Good Shepherd materials and presentations.  

Our plans for the fall: I purchased   The Great Adventure: Kids  from Ascension Press, and we will be using that to learn more about salvation history and better understand the books of the Bible.   I'll also be using my "Books of the Bible" CGS materials and perhaps memorize a song about the books of the Bible. 



Wow!  It looks like I'm being overly ambitious again!  I just love exploring the world with all the wonderful resources that are available to homeschoolers today.  Now I just need to pray that I keep it in perspective and let the learning evolve as my daughter is ready for it.  Slow and steady...! 

Our Good Shepherd Garden Party: The Heavens Tell God's Glory

I have been intrigued with the "Garden of the Good Shepherd" garden parties created by Jessica (of Shower of Roses) and Charlotte (of  Waltzing Matilda). For the past couple of  years, they have created special meals or a tea party inspired by the Garden of Good Shepherd Sticker Calendar.  The calendar counts down the 50 days between Easter and Pentecost with a variety of Bible readings, each built around a specific weekly theme.


Last week's theme was "The Heavens Tell God's Glory." They created food items to match the various stickers, which were:  the sun, clouds, rain, thunder, lightning, wind, hail and a rainbow.  When my daughter saw the photos of their colorful meal she asked, "Can we try to do a meal like that for Daddy and Jimmy?"

We  read through all of Jessica and Charlotte's posts, and also perused those on the Catholic Cuisine website for our menu.  Here it is:

Sun Pizza and Bread Sticks

Lightning Carrots (baby carrots shaped like lightning bolts)

Rain (Blue Lemonade Kool-Aid)

Wind (Windmill Cookies) and Clouds (white cookies purchased from local deli)

Hail (yogurt covered peanuts)

Rainbow (rainbow parfait of fruits:  blackberries, green grapes, pineapple, mango, strawberries)

It's been a long time since I've done a themed meal, so my daughter and I had a blast putting this together!  I'm hoping to try at least one more of these themed meals in the next four weeks.

You can see more Garden of the Good Shepherd party ideas here.

Divine Mercy Chaplet

I've been receiving quite a few requests lately for the Divine Mercy chaplet/novena printable that I created last year.  Here's a photo of it:

 

If you would like to download it, I've posted the document on Google docs.  I updated the authorizations and now anyone should be able to download it without sending a note to me first.  If you are still having problems, please email me through the Google docs link and I'll try to figure out the problem.  You can get it here

I would also like to recommend a sung version of the chaplet, recorded live at the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.  I guess this is played on EWTN (I don't have cable so I can't verify it.)  My Relevant Radio station used to play it sometimes and I fell in love with it.  It really brings tears to your eyes!  There are several versions but I especially like the one produced by Trish Short.

You can listen to part of it here:

For more information about it, click here.

Good Friday Stations of the Cross at home

How is your Lent going?  I can't believe it is already Holy Thursday.  The next few days will be so busy and I know that the devil will try to creep in and move my focus off Jesus.  I wish I could find a way to shut the door on the many diversions he always seems to throw at me.

I feel guilty because I have only made one Stations of the Cross meditation this Lent.  It seems like there has been something every Friday night--doctor's appointments, a quick out-of-town trip, a scout campout,  soccer games.  I find myself getting more and more irritated that I can't just sneak away and spend a half hour in church.  I especially miss singing the Stabat Mater.

It looks like tomorrow night will be no better.  However, I've decided I won't let that stop me!  We will pray the stations at home at night, after all the day's demands and activities are done.  Even if it's late, we can sleep in a bit on Saturday!  I plan on using my newest  "meditation" tools:

Stations of the Cross candles
For a couple of years, I've been thinking about how I could implement a tenebrae service at home (and perhaps even in my catechism class, if it works at home.)  I love the idea of 15 different candles slowly extinguished while praying special prayers.  Although we're not yet ready to tackle tenebrae, I thought that maybe we could do some sort of candle service while praying the Stations of the Cross, like Tami describes in her Smart Martha website.


I love the "Stations of the Cross" votive candles created by Ruth (Another Day in Paradise), Evann (Homeschool Goodies) and by Joann (10 Kids and A Dog) .  However, I wanted some pictures that would match those I used on my prayer gems and stations of the cross prayer ring.  So I decided to reduce those images and then use Mod Podge to attach them to battery operated tea lights.  One side of the tea light has a picture; the other side lists the station.  Here is a photo:

After I finished the candles, I knew I needed some type of holder.  I originally just used a piece of plywood painted black, until I stumbled across this 7-votive candlebra at Big Lots for $10.  (I had been pricing similar ones online and they all cost more than $30 with shipping.  Two candelabrum would be $60--too much out of my price range.  So I was so excited to find these!)

 A closer view:

 I chose not to use the glass votive holders, since we're using battery operated candles. My candles are a bit smaller than the candle dish but it works okay.  (Next year I may cut some cardboard or Styrofoam to put in the bottom of the candle dish so the votives stand up a bit higher.  But it will do for this year!) 

I'm so excited with this find--I know I will be using it for many occasions other than Lent!

Processional cross
I love the beautiful San Damiano processional cross we use with the kids in the atrium, but it's a bit out of my budget.  However, when I was at Hobby Lobby the other day, I noticed this 4 foot white cross made out of wood:

It was $9.99 minus a 40% discount.  It is designed as an outdoor decoration, but I'll adapt it to indoor use by asking my husband if he can create a stand for it.  My daughter already said "we need to drape it with a purple cloth, mom!" 

How I will use these two items for our Good Friday Stations:
If the weather is nice, we may take our meditation outside to the back yard after it is dark.  Otherwise, I may just darken our basement family room and set the candles around the room. We will start with all 14 candles illuminated.  After we meditate on each station using our prayer cards, one of the kids will put out the candle, and then the cross bearer will lead us in a procession to the next station.  This will continue until we have finished all 14 stations, at which time all candles will be extinguished. I'm hoping this will be a beautiful and memorable way to pray the stations together!


How will you make your Good Friday special?  Would love to hear about it!




 

A fun weekend away; Holy Week idea link up

I'm heading out of town for a fun weekend with my daughter and godchild (who is now a college freshman!)  We're going to a Rockford, Illinois, which is only an hour from home, but I've wanted to explore the city's many museums for years.

In a way, it will also be a mini pilgrimage because I hope to visit several beautiful Catholic sites while we are there.  I plan St. Mary's Grotto, a replica of the one where the  Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858 in Lourdes, France.  I also hope to take in a Latin Mass (my daughter and godchild's first Latin Mass) at the Saint Mary Oratory.  Finally, we're hoping to check out the St. Joseph's table and go to Mass at the beautiful St. Anthony of Padua Church.   I'll try to take some photos to share with my blog readers next week.

******

I'm participating in Equipping Catholic Families'  Holy Week Fiestas de Enlaces Linkup, sharing ideas on how to make Holy Week more meaningful for your family.   Check out all the great ideas here! 

Lent Plans and Activities

I've spent the last few weeks mulling over what my family would be doing for Lent this year.  I tend to over-plan these things, and try to do too much!  So hopefully I can keep it simple this year and keep the focus where it needs to be...

Lenten Spiral
Before Advent, I purchased the "Advent to Lent" spiral from Ann Voskamp's son Caleb. It is such a beautiful piece!  My daughter and son really enjoyed using it, so we will take it out again and replace the wooden Mary (on the donkey) with the Jesus (carrying the cross) figure and add the extra pieces to make it a 40-day path.   I am really looking forward to continuing this new tradition that we began last Advent!  I especially like the way that using the spiral ties in the two "preparation" seasons in the liturgical year.

Friday Soup and Stations/Taize Prayer

Creative Commons licensed image

When my son switched Catholic schools last fall, we also switched parishes.  It's been fun discovering the traditions and customs of our new parish!  I discovered that every Friday, our new parish has a "Soup and Prayer Event."  They serve a simple meatless soup and bread dinner beginning at 5:45 p.m., then invite the parishioners to stay for Stations of the Cross or Taize prayer.  (They alternate; one week they pray the stations, the next week they do a Taize prayer.)  I hope to participate in this every week.  I'm especially excited about the Taize prayer nights; I've wanted to try that for many years.

Spiritual Reading
During school time, my daughter and I will be reading Amon's Adventure: A Family Story for Easter by Arnold Ytreeide.  During past Advent seasons, we read and enjoyed two of Ytreeide's other books:  Bartholomew's Passage and Jotham's Journey. 

I love the way these books mix history, geography and the story of Jesus' life from the eyes of a adolescent living during that time.  It almost feels like you are there, sharing the experiences.

As a family, we will be reading A Family Journey with Jesus through Lent: Prayers and Activities for Each Day by Angela M. Burrin.  This book is somewhat similar as fictional children from Nazareth, Capernaum, Cana and Jerusalem describe their lives and tell what it was like to live during Jesus' time.  Each daily reading is about four pages long and includes a child's narrative story (based on an actual Bible passage), a scripture memory verse, a prayer, and a section where Jesus "speaks" to the reader about that day's reading. Each reading is built around a theme, which is indexed in the back of the book.  (The themes could be a wonderful way to add even more meaning to Lent!)

The back of the book also includes suggestions for possible Lent activities like having a "family Saturday service day" or being a "secret Simon of Cyrene" and offering a kind gesture to another family member. 

This looks like a great book that we will be re-using every year!

Stations of the Cross
For those Fridays when we aren't able to attend our parish's Soup/Stations event, I plan to use our "Stations of the Cross" prayer gems which I created last year. 

I also plan to occasionally use the "Stations of the Cross" app on my Kindle Fire, just to try something new!

Operation Rice Bowl
Catholic Relief Services offers a wonderful family project for Lent called "Operation Rice Bowl."  If you aren't familiar with it, it's a great way to mix a bit of geography with Catholic social teaching while following the three goals of Lent (prayer, fasting and almsgiving).

Every year they focus on six different countries they serve.  This year, the focus is on Madagascar, Vietnam, El Salvador, Zambia, India and the U.S. Diocese of Arlington.  Each week, your family can read a story about a family in one of the countries, then make a simple themed meatless meal from that country.  There are also a variety of activities that can be done at home like making Lenten Prayer Eggs or watching an online slide show about the designated country.  Families can also use CRS' Lenten calendar to inspire daily prayers or set Lenten goals for your family.

I know that one of the reasons my son loves studying geography is because we participated in Operation Rice Bowl when he was younger.  I'm glad our new parish is involved with the program and look forward to doing country projects and lenten activities designed around this year's featured countries. 


Making a Prayer Space
We had a designated "prayer corner" in our home when my son was younger, but it was a corner with a tiny shelf that we outgrew and eventually re-purposed for something else. I want to take some time this Lent to create an inviting new prayer space in our home.  I've been eyeing a corner in our carpeted basement family room that would be perfect because we don't have a TV or any electronic devices downstairs.  Now I just need to do some thrift store shopping for a comfy chair and a small table to hold our Bible, crucifix and an electronic candle.  I'm looking forward to having a quiet place to read because one of my own personal Lenten goals is to relax with an inspirational/religious book instead of the TV each night!

Music
During our morning prayer time, I hope to teach my daughter some of the Lenten songs I learned as a kid, like O Sacred Head Surrounded, Were You There?, All Glory Laud and Honor, and the Stabat Mater Dolorosa in English.  My personal goal will be to learn the Stabat Mater Dolorosa in Latin.  (Or more realistically, at least one verse of it in Latin!)

Hope your Lent is filled with prayer!

Would you like more ideas on how to observe Lent?  Check out these Link-ups, which are filled with inspiring ideas! 

Catholic Icing's Lenten Link-up

Explore and Express' Celebrating Lent Link-up

 Equipping Catholic Families  Festival of Lent Links

An activity to teach kindness and love based on 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

I'm not sure if it was brought on by the dreary, cloudy days we had in January, but patience and kindness seem to be in short supply around our house lately.   I was wondering how I could encourage my children to show more generosity toward each other when I stumbled upon the "love" passage in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8:

Love is patient, love is kind.

It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated,
it is not rude,
it does not seek its own interests,
it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. 
It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails.

  (from The USCCB website)

My first inclination was to require encourage my nine and twelve year old to to memorize this Bible passage, but they would probably balk and argue about it, which would defeat the purpose!

Instead, I wondered how I could make a "game" out of learning the passage and encouraging kindness in our everyday actions. At the same time, I thought it would be a perfect activity for the days surrounding St. Valentine's Day.

I ran across this free printable subway art from The Girl Creative and suddenly, I knew what to do!

I printed it out twice.  I framed one of the copies in a plain white frame that I had embellished with red and silver paint pens, red glitter and glitter hearts.   I cut apart the second copy into phrase pieces and then decoupaged them with Mod Podge onto a clear glass vase that wasn't being used.  Here are the results:

Then I picked up some acrylic hearts in pink, red and purple.  I originally found small packages at Michael's for $2.99, but later found larger boxes of them for $2 at Target's dollar spot:

I put a bunch of acrylic hearts in a bowl, then placed the frame, vase and bowl on a sideboard near my dining room table.

At supper, my family discussed 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 and what it means to be patient, kind, not envious and the other virtues in the Bible passage.  I told the kids I was going to give them a challenge.  Every time they performed one of the virtues, they could take an acrylic heart from the white bowl and put it in the vase.  If the vase is filled by February 14, I will buy all the ingredients to make banana splits and we will have a "Banana Split Sundae" on the Sunday before Lent begins.

We started on February 1.  The house has been a bit more peaceful, as the kids look for ways to be kind to each other and do little errands for my husband and I (without asking).  I realize the kids might go back to their old ways after the challenge is over, but I'm also praying that they begin to like the feeling they get when they do kind things for each other! 


Linking up to these blogs -- check them out for St. Valentine Day inspiration!

Skip to My Lou's Made By You Monday

Catholic Icing First Friday Link-Up

Catholic Bloggers Network: