Whirlwind

Today we went to the James Sewell ballet performance with a bunch of other homeschoolers. What a fantastic performance! The dances were choreographed to keep the interest of kids & grown-ups alike...from Vivaldi's Winter to Chopin's piano concertos we were delighted and mesmerized.

After such a delightful morning, we came back down to the hum-drum - beginning math chapter 17 and completing reading lesson 51. Mane rounded it all out by doing a 100 piece jigsaw puzzle of the world. She's getting to know geography rather well.

Last week we spent a lot of time at playgrounds enjoying the autumn weather while it lasts. Sunday this week we saw the first snow. Yikes! Here comes winter. We did our usual Wednesday morning Bible Study, and we spent several hours on Friday socializing with friends.

Mane surprised me while we were in the car the other day. We talked about Rachel Carson's Silent Spring when we were studying Owl Moon a few weeks ago. I wasn't sure she really got it or would remember, but I figured it was an introduction to the naturalists and stewardship of the environment. So, the other day we were in the car, and she said, "Mama, remember how we read about that lady who wrote the book when all the birds were dying? If she wrote it about winter, she could have called it Silent Winter." Which means, of course, that she actually remembered Rachel Carson, the name of the book Silent Spring, AND why it was important. YEAH!

Of butterflies and freedom

Last week we continued to discuss slavery and the Underground Railroad. Mane and I spent some time on the National Geographic Underground Railroad website. Mane seems surprised and fascinated by this piece of our nation's history. We're taking it slow, talking a lot about how people helped other people on their road to freedom. It's so difficult to know how much to tell to a 6 year old. She's smart, but young and innocent. Because of where we live, she knows more than most kids her age about some of the troubles in the world. She knows about drugs and gangs and guns. We try to keep it age-appropriate and talk a lot about helping people, loving people, keeping others safe.

Then we made butterflies and dropped them in the mail for the Symbolic Migration. We talked about how the butterflies cross all kinds of state and national boundaries. So, we all have to work together to take care of the butterflies. It is up to all of us to protect their habitat and their migration path.

We read Duck for President in preparation for talking about the election.

We also spent some time in a phonics "fun" workbook from Barnes & Noble and took a break from the regular reading lessons last. Today we went back to the regular book, reviewed lesson 50 and completed lesson 51.

Over the weekend Mane spent some time learning to crochet. She has been finger crocheting for over a year. On Saturday she learned to use a hook & add a second row. This should be good practice for fine motor skills and will aid her in handwriting, which we plan to begin working on formally sometime this school year.

Also over the weekend we visited an apple orchard...just for fun, but everything is a learning experience, you know. We looked at the trees, tried different types of apples, and picked our own pumpkins from the patch.

...still hoping to post some butterfly pictures soon. I've got them on the camera.

Follow The Drinking Gourd

Today we started rowing Follow The Drinking Gourd by Jeanette Winter, about an African American family escaping from slavery before the Civil War by following the Big Dipper/The Drinking Gourd in the sky to the north. This is one of the heaviest topics we've tackled so far with Five in a Row. Mane is not unfamiliar with the idea of war, as we've talked some about the Iraq war. Mango has a cousin who spent time in Iraq, and I have an uncle who spent time there. And slavery is something we have talked about in the context of the Hebrew/Israelite people in Egypt. African American slavery was new to Mane, and we spent quite a bit of time talking about how slaves came here and why it was so dangerous for them to escape. In the story, a white man went around to all the plantations teaching people a song about following the drinking gourd, and the song gave directions for how to escape. We'll be talking later this week about other songs that came out of slavery in the U.S. . I'm thinking of reading the first book in the American Girl series about Addy to Mane. We'll see, though. I need to preview it first.

Mane started chapter 15 of Math U See, which is about numbers that add up to ten. She had no problem with this as she's been playing a solitaire card game for the last year that is based on adding the numbers up to ten. I guess we'll be moving right along. I told her she can't take the test until tomorrow. Instead, I had her practice the math facts with the solitaire game.

We'll do the first lesson for the Symbolic Butterfly Migration today and make butterflies. They need to be postmarked tomorrow. Hopefully I'll post butterfly pictures this week!

Row, Row, Row Your Books

Our primary curriculum here at Peregrin House is Five in a Row. We're using pieces of volumes 1, 2 & 3 this year. The idea is to read the selected children's book for 5 days in a row, and to use that book as the core of the lessons for the week. For example, for the past several weeks (yes, more than 5 days)we've been "rowing" Owl Moon by Jane Yolen. This means that we've been learning about the obvious things like owls and the moon, and also a few famous naturalists, how time is measured and marked, and less obvious things like similes and metaphors.

Yesterday Mane wrote some of her own similes and metaphors. "I am like a fuzzy bunny," is one that I recall in particular. Then we found, together, some pictures of Henry David Thoreau and Rachel Carson to print and place in a her school notebook.

Last week Mane watched My Side of the Mountain, a film about a young boy who loved the work of Thoreau so much that he decided he'd do something like Thoreau and go live in the woods by himself for a while.

Also last week, we learned about the phases of the moon. Mane stood in the middle of the room holding a maraca while I shined a flashlight at her (this means that the flashlight was like the sun, Mane's head was the earth, and the round part of the maraca was the moon). She slowly rotated with the maraca in front of her & saw how the light & shadow changed on the maraca while she turned in the same way that the moon goes through phases each month. It was especially enlightening to see that the moon doesn't actually change, and that it doesn't make it's own light.

This week we learned about Apollo 11 and the first people to walk on the moon. Mane's school notebook is full of moon phase pictures, astronauts, owls, and naturalists. Now we're getting ready to say goodbye to Owl Moon and start something new next week.

Next week we'll be making paper butterflies for the Symbolic Butterfly Migration and using the lessons from Journey North to learn about the migration and also some international relations between Canada, U.S., and Mexico.

That's the big plan & some catching up in a nutshell.

Today Mane took test 14 in Math. We're using Math U See, and Mane is working through the Alpha book. Alpha is the equivalent of 1st grade math, and there are a total of 30 lessons. It looks like we may finish both 1st and 2nd grade math this year, depending on the how the rest of the year shapes up. I guess we know Mane's strong point!

Today we also did lesson 50 in The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading. Reading is tough for Mane, but we're working our way through it with resolve, and it seems to be coming together for her.

I have to say that a lot of the updates here will be relatively dry. I just need a place to keep track for myself of how things are going. It helps me get a handle on the big picture when I start drowning in the details.

And the Name of Our Home School is...

Peregrin House

Peregrin is a Latin word for "Pilgrim," and, of course, it is also the name of one of the hobbits in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy. It is close to the Spanish word for pilgrim, perigrino, and it captures how we think of school as a journey, a pursuit of truth and knowledge.

I like the "homey" sound of "house," as opposed to "school" or "academy," or even "homeschool." I've always like the way the Montessori school refer to the Kindergarten House. It gives the feel of something small, eclectic, & real life, which is exactly what we are.

So, there you have it. Thanks for reading.