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Growing Up

Growing Up

Math and Art: The Beauty of Skip Counting

This entry is part 9 of 9 in the series Classsical Conversations

A couple of weeks ago I went to the mailbox to find a slim package for me(!). I love surprise mail! Tucked inside the package was Math Art + Drawing Games for Kids by Karyn Tripp. Inside the book were a LOT of projects that have my kids saying, “Cool! I want to do this one!”

Both my older girls immediately asked if we could make Pattern Block Cookies. And they have mentioned making them almost every day since. Although I am sure it is not hard, my currently slightly overwhelmed mama-nerves cannot handle a kitchen project at this moment.

Thus I gently directed the kids into something I knew would tie in to what we already are doing with school. Sometimes I love being in charge.

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Growing Up

Saxon Math Strategies to Stay on Track

This entry is part of 6 in the series Homeschool

Lately, I have become obsessed with streamlining our Saxon Math experience. From the prep and planning to the actual doing of Saxon Math. I am looking for ways to make it easier on us as a class.

Currently our classroom (one-room schoolhouse style) includes 2 students – one in Saxon Math 1 and the other in Saxon Math 3. I am trying to teach both of them their different lessons at the same table at the same time.

We start together on the morning math meetings. Then they rotate in to be taught their lessons while the other is working on some sort of math practice. It works for us.

But I am always looking for that extra something that makes it even easier to teach my students.

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Growing Up

Gathering: November 2019

simple morning time practice of gathering together with family to explore art, music, truth, goodness, and beauty
This entry is part 7 of 7 in the series Gathering

Fall has finally arrived here in the desert of Southern California! We thought it would never come. And then, suddenly it was cold in the house when we got up in the morning. Tomorrow morning we will have our first fire of the season in the fireplace – I LOVE FALL!

We love having our Gathering around the fire in the mornings. So we may have to move our Gathering for this season! This morning we had our first hot cocoa of the season during our Gathering. What a treat!

I am currently dreaming up ways of cozy-ing (cozy-fying?) our Gathering for the cooler weather. Blankets and coffee are a must for me. What do you do to make the season a bit cozier?

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Growing Up

Simple Shakespeare for Kids

This entry is part 5 of 6 in the series Homeschool

Intimidating. That is the one word that describes teaching Shakespeare to kids. At least for me. The language…the rhythm…the adult subject matter. “How in the world can we even approach this?” I asked myself this question a lot before I started teaching Shakespeare.

Encouraged by a podcast I listened to a few years ago, I knew it was a possibility. And I knew I would love to share Shakespeare with my kids. I shook off the intimidation and the insecurities and did as we have always done on this homeschooling journey: we simply jumped in.

The waters, it turned out, were just fine.

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Growing Up

Bringing Saxon Math together with CC

This past summer the Classical Conversations topic for Practicum was Math. Groaning on the inside a bit, I attended each of the three days, stretching my brain a bit further each day. I had epiphanies – seriously – about math – I didn’t think it possible! And I enjoyed the challenge more than I would have thought. It was surprising for my history-literature-language loving self.

Another surprise from the three-day Practicum was the frequent aspersions cast upon my math curriculum of choice: Saxon Math. Now, I didn’t feel personally attacked, but I began to wonder, “Should we have chosen a different curriculum? Are we going to have to change it up later on?” And I was a bit saddened by that.

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Growing Up

Simply Organizing All About Spelling

This entry is part 4 of 6 in the series Homeschool

Who knew teaching spelling to my girls would become one of my favorite parts of our day? And who knew that given the opportunity to have an uninterrupted conversation with my husband on a recent “date night,” the conversation would turn to a detailed discussion of various spelling rules? My life, it seems, has recently been organized around spelling and spelling rules. I have Marie Rippel’s All About Spelling curriculum to thank for that!

As I said, it has become a touchstone in our homeschool day. So much so that my 3 year old begs to be part of it. I oblige him at the end of our spelling time, and he is really becoming proficient in spelling simple words by sounding them out.

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