Day 11 - I'm thankful that Jeff is so supportive of homeschooling and appreciative of the time and energy I expend to educate our sons. We have always been unified in this decision, and I don't take that for granted. I'm also grateful for his input; when I need some help figuring out what would work best for our homeschool, he always has good advice and ideas that make a lot of sense and prove very helpful!
And speaking of homeschooling, I continue to thank God for the privilege of teaching this wonderful son of mine...
Since we're a few months into the homeschool year, I wanted to jot down several things that have emerged as first-grade favorites so far.1. Missionary Stories with the Millers - this is included in Sonlight's first-grade curriculum, and it has quickly enthralled Josiah...he always gets excited when he sees this book on our pile of books for the day...and I get excited by his enthusiasm for these stories of true heroes of the faith, men and women who were willing to endure great personal risk for the sake of the Gospel...I want his faith to be nourished by these stories, and it's icing on the cake that he loves it so much!
2. The Usborne Book of World History - I've always enjoyed the Usborne books with their wealth of information and colorful, detailed illustrations...each page is like a little feast...and now Josiah announces often that this book is one of his favorites, and "can we read just one more page, please?"...this book gives a fairly comprehensive overview of what was going on in different parts of the world at the same time...I guess this is really the first time we have studied history in this way, and since I find history so fascinating, I'm happy to see that Josiah feels the same way about it, too!
3. Tut's Mummy: Lost...and Found - we read this a week or so ago, and both learned a lot from it while having fun--and seeing an incredible example of perseverance in the life of the man who discovered Tut's tomb (he searched for years for it)...it ignited Josiah's imagination so effectively that he decided rather than exploring the underwater depths to find Atlantis, his new goal in life is to become the archaeologist who discovers Tut's father's tomb! :)
4. Schoolhouse Rock: Multiplication Rock - I randomly picked up this CD at the library the last time we were there and soon discovered, once I started playing the music, what a fortunate bit of randomness that was!...this is a great CD, and what a fun, simple way to learn multiplication...this is not included in the Sonlight first-grade curriculum, and actually I wouldn't think of teaching multiplication in first grade; but Josiah is such a talented math thinker that he was ready for this...when we "officially" learn multiplication, I'll be sure to get this CD again and use it in a more focused manner
5. Sacajawea: Her True Story - while in Gift & Thrift recently, I saw this book and didn't have any trouble deciding to pay the 75 cents price for it!...yesterday I read this to Josiah, and again, we both learned quite a bit from it...today, he read it himself--his most advanced reading yet...this book gave us a perfect opportunity to compare the life of Sacajawea to the life of Joseph: how neither of them wanted to be taken as captives, but how God used each of them to positively influence the lives of others which would never have been done in the same way if not for their captivity...once again, I was reminded of how much I treasure the opportunity to study all aspects of life from God's perspective
6. The Children's Bible - Josiah declares this is his favorite thing we do in homeschooling which makes me glad again that I switched from the suggested Bible reading in Sonlight's curriculum to this...it's old, copyright 1965; but it's the beloved children's Bible from my childhood so I find much pleasure in reading it again--and especially, seeing the pictures...the only part of it I wish I could change is that it uses the--ahem--old-fashioned word for donkey, a word which I don't want Josiah to hear often lest he begin to think it's OK to say that word, thus shocking his hearers who know the more modern connotation that it holds!...so as I read along, I do a quick substitution when I get to the word a--, and Josiah isn't watching the page closely enough to see the switch so I get away with it :)
Oh, there is more I could say because I'm having so much fun reconnecting with some old favorites of mine as well as finding new treasures that are sure to become favorites. Homeschooling is grand with books such as these!
And speaking of homeschooling, the youngest blogger I know, Emily, is a homeschooled 12 year-old who just made her blog public. If you have a bit of time, jump on over to A Roller Coaster Ride and say hello. I promise you won't get motion sickness from this roller coaster! :) Who knows: you might even find your blog in her blog roll!
7 comments:
It's nice to have a reason to stop and be thankful, rather than just plowing ahead, especially if you are having a bad day/week!
Carrie
Thanks for the extra space tip! Obviously I'm no expert either.
I love books and I love saving the books that were my children's favorites. It sounds like you have some great ones too!
This is a post that I"m going to have to come back to from time to time...some great resources!
...and just so you know you're not alone...I've had a few of those days recently as well. Those not so easy ones where you just sit and wonder "would noon be too early to put them to bed for the night?" ;)
love to you, Veney.
Hi Davene! Oh, the Children's Bible! My old copy is in Elizabeth's room. She and I read the Beginner's Bible every night, and after I leave she listens to The Message Bible Stories for Children. It's a CD with accompanying book and she loves it. Thanks for sharing your hits; I might return to this post for resources as E gets older. I love the new header, by the way. Fabulous colors. Amazing.
Margie, I haven't heard of The Message Bible Stories for Children; but it sounds like the kind of thing Josiah and David would really enjoy. I'll have to keep my eyes out for that; thanks for the suggestion! :)
Jeff took the header photo last November. Unfortunately, it's not our driveway! But it is the driveway of our-neighbor-on-the-next-hill-over. I love it and am glad you do, too!
I love this post! Hey you reminded me that I haven't read The Millers Missionary stories to my younger kids...I read them to Josh, Megan and Mollie...hmmm I have to pull those out again (round two with the Miller's) Have a great weekend and thanks for your kind words and prayers concerning the loss of my grandmother. I was blessed by your sentiment.
Hey! I just came over from Baker's Dozen, and checked out this homeschooling post.
I thought it was neat that we read Tut's Mummy just today! I forgot we had it, and when I saw it in the bookcase, I read it to the kids right then and there. It was fascinating to all of us. I sure didn't learn any of that in school!
Thanks for the "visit". Hope you have a great day!
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