September is Library Card Sign-Up Month

My children and I are proud possessors of our library cards and have been for years. In fact, Miss Priss was delighted when her first card expired after several years because her signature on it was wobbly and childish. New card, new signature!

If you and your children don't have library cards, get thee to a library (with kids in tow)!

And if you do have a library card, do you know all you can do with it? Check out the American Library Association's (ALA) slide show, "60 Way to Use Your Library Card" for inspiration. (Scroll down the page a bit. I tried to embed the code, but it does not work correctly.)

A library card puts the world within your reach!

A family movie night at the library. Photo courtesy of ALA.

Robert Frost: Fragmentary Blue

We began our term study of Robert Frost, one of my favorite poets. Much to my delight, the girls enjoy his work, too.

One of the most wondrous things about Ambleside Online is that it introduces us to literature we might otherwise have missed. For example, all three of us were happy to have "met" poet Paul Laurence Dunbar last year. But I am also pleased to acquaint my girls with old friends, such as Frost.

And my heart goes pitter-pat when I learn more than I thought I knew. I love to be surprised like that.

Images courtesy of Foter.

Here's a Frost poem that was new to me (perhaps not to you, though).


Fragmentary Blue

Why make so much of fragmentary blue
In here and there a bird, or butterfly,
Or flower, or wearing-stone, or open eye,
When heaven presents in sheets the solid hue?

Since earth is earth, perhaps, not heaven (as yet)--
Though some savants make earth include the sky;
And blue so far above us comes so high,
It only gives our wish for blue a whet.

Unveiling Our 2012-2013 School Year (Finally)

Since we got home from our extended trip to Maine (lots of related posts on that; check them out by clicking the Summer label on the list at the right!), I've been a busy girl. I spent a few days and nights making final plans and gathering all our materials for this, our sixth homeschooling year. Miss Priss is now in seventh grade, and Tiny Girl is in sixth. We are thoroughly entrenched in the middle school years. (Aside: When and how did that happen?? They keep growing, yet I'm still as youthful, dewy, and wittily charming as ever....)

Some background: we use Ambleside Online's fabulous and rigorous FREE curriculum as our foundation. Since I am a rebel, I amend AO's schedule, adding and subtracting to create a unique plan for my family, one that fits us best. This year, we are beginning AO Year 6. And we're trying our hand at notebooking in a few areas, which I think will be wonderful.

Spiritual Growth
The girls have begun a pre-inductive study of the Psalms called Young Hearts Longing for God, which I purchased during CurrClick's recent sale. This year, they prefer to work on this independently, which is a new thing, and one I'm not so sure about. But I'm willing to give it a try. If I notice any slap-dash work, I'll be back at the helm.

Math
After much curriculum-switching, we decided to enroll Miss Priss at our neighborhood Mathnasium center for her math studies this year. She goes to the center Monday through Thursday for 1.5 hours each day. So far we've all been pleased, and we have high hopes for this year. Tiny Girl opted for a change as well, and we went with MasterMath, a free online middle school math website with video lessons. (For more info, read my review at Curriculum Choice.)

Logic
Miss Priss has begun a new course, Critical Thinking, by Anita Harnadek. Both girls will continue with the MindBenders series, which they love, and the BalanceBenders series. All of these are from the Critical Thinking Company.

English Mechanics
For spelling, we're staying with Spelling Power. Three days a week, we spend a bit of time on grammar with Daily Grammar. You can read my reviews of both here. Copywork continues as well. However, we are taking a more formal approach to composition this year and using Susan Wise Bauer's Writing With Skill, book 5 in her writing series.

Literature
AO's poet for Year 6 fall term is Robert Frost. To my great joy, Miss Priss is already entranced. We will be incorporating memory work and recitation this year, which we've done in the past but let slide the last two years.

Both girls are reading The Hobbit independently this term. We are STILL reading Oliver Twist as a family read-aloud. Now that we are home and on a more regular and predictable schedule, I'm hoping to move a little more quickly through this one. Tiny Girl and I enjoy it; Miss Priss does not and strongly voices her opinion every time I crack open the Kindle. Also, AO's list of Year 6 free reads is packed with some wonderful selections.

Now that my girls are older, we are returning to Bulfinch's Age of Fable, beginning with chapter 27, the Trojan War and the Iliad. This fits in well with our geography study (see below). I love serendipity!

As for Shakespeare, we will attend a few theatre productions this year. Macbeth is first -- in October, of course. Later, I have in mind Much Ado About Nothing; Julius Caesar; and Romeo and Juliet. Tiny Girl was much put out that A Midsummer Night's Dream is not on the theatre's schedule this year.

Foreign Languages
I had a hard time deciding on a French study. We're beginning with Child's Illustrated First Book in French, by J. G. Keetels (in the public domain; I found it on Google Books). This will be somewhat of a review. Miss Priss wants to continue her German studies via PowerSpeak on our library's website, and I have no intention of dissuading her. Tiny Girl will begin -- and Miss Priss continue -- Latin and Greek roots later in the year.

Readings: History, Geography, Science, Natural History, and Biography
Story of the World, volume 4, by Susan Wise Bauer
Exploring the Holy Land, by Ann Voskamp and Tonia Peckover
Secrets of the Universe (selections), by Paul Fleisher
It Couldn't Just Happen, by Lawrence Richards
School of the Woods, by William J. Long
Ordinary Genius: The Story of Albert Einstein, by Stephanie Sammartino McPherson
"Dion," from Plutarch's Lives
Queen Victoria, by Noel Streatfeild (a Tanglewood selection)

Artist and Composer Studies (Fall Term)
Renoir and Debussy

Outside Activities
Theatre, both girls this year
Riding, Tiny Girl
Piano, both girls
Mid-week small group Bible study at church, both girls
Girl Scout Cadettes, all of us

So there you have it! Our 2012-2013 year. Some titles will change as we finish them, of course, and new ones will be added. But this is the basic framework.

Let the learning begin!

Service Learning: Hands-On Opportunities to Reach Out to Others

Service projects. Community outreach. Service learning.

We all know these are good things. We want to make a difference. We're called to make a difference. But where do we start? And how do we go beyond the canned food drive?

Help is here! Read my review of The Complete Guide to Service Learning at Curriculum Choice!