Jul 19 2020

More Book Ideas

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We borrowed more books from our library, to continue our quest to finish the Great Words, Great Works book list put together by the National Spelling Bee. Anna Porter Public Library in Gatlinburg, TN may be small, but it is mighty. When they do not have a title, they will get it for us through ILL.

Selections from Great Words, Great Works

Selections from Great Words, Great Works

I have learned to send about five title requests, especially if we are talking chapter books. Picture books require 20 minutes to read. A chapter book written for a third grader can have 188 pages. They may be small pages with seven pages of illustrations total, for instance, but it will still take about three or four hours to read out loud. If you have to take these books back in 14 days with no renewal possible, then you have to really hurry up. Continue reading »

Jul 13 2020

Paddle-to-the-Sea

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Paddle-to-the-Sea by Holling Clancy Holling is a classic children’s book about the region of the Great Lakes between Canada and the USA. If you are looking to learn social studies through literature, this book should join your list.

Paddle-to-the-Sea

Paddle-to-the-Sea is a children’s classic about the Great Lakes.

Through this book, the kids and I have learned how to memorize the names and the shapes of the Great Lakes, for instance. We also learned new vocabulary (e.g. Davy Jones’ locker, the Soo) and more about the geography of the border between Canada and the USA. Continue reading »

Jul 6 2020

5th Grade Curriculum

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My youngest will be in fifth grade this coming school year, 2020-2021. Here is what I have set aside for her school work:

Bible – GraceLink.net – Primary

We also read Young Disciple Magazine for our family devotional.

 

Three stones

Stones by the river bank in the Greenbrier section of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Language Arts – Wordly Wise 3000, Book 4-5 (vocabulary);

Logic of English Essentials, Level A; this represents mostly spelling, but there are grammar and vocabulary concepts, as well as punctuation rules being taught here. We hope to move from level A to level B and finish all lessons. We will see what kind of speed we can adopt. Spelling is a growth area for this student and we just take it at her pace.

Spelling Bee (word list and participation in our “school” level bee at a local homeschool group);

Writing with Ease (Book 3);

Rod and Staff Grammar;

Mensa for Kids Reading List for grades 4th-6th (so not the entire list, continuing on it and pacing ourselves through it)

Continue reading »

Jun 28 2020

Seventh Grade Curriculum

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My oldest will be in seventh grade this coming school year, 2020-2021. Here is what I have set aside for his school work:

Family on a Hike

Our family on a recent hike. As you can see, my 7th grader is taller than I.

Bible – Junior PowerPoints

We also read Young Disciple Magazine for our family devotional.

 

Language Arts – Wordly Wise 3000, Book 7 (vocabulary); Logic of English Essentials, Level C; Spelling Bee (word list and participation in our “school” level bee at a local homeschool group); Writing with Skill (Book 1); Rod and Staff Grammar; Mensa for Kids Reading List for grades 7th-8th (so not the entire list, just starting on it and pacing ourselves through it)

Continue reading »

Jun 22 2020

Hiking in the Smokies

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We joined Wild + Free Great Smoky Mountains last August and it has been a great experience. These other homeschooling families may have different approaches and convictions, but we all respect each other and find common ground.

Mom and Daughter

Mom and Daughter at The Sinks

If nothing else, nature unites us. We can all find many things to discuss about the natural things we run into. Then, we talk about food. Some of them have older children, who have gone to college, so we talk about that. I always have lots of questions about scholarships, test prep, and the college atmosphere. Religion is another thing we can discuss, as long as we deal in generalities. We stay away from politics – it seems like this topic has gotten more volatile than ever in our country. Continue reading »

Jun 10 2020

Registering for the New School Year

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In Tennessee, one must register to homeschool either with an umbrella school or with the local public school system. Umbrella schools typically cost around $50-$110, while the Superintendent’s Office is free. Some umbrella schools will ask you to test with them once a year. The public school will only make you test in 5th, 7th, and 9th grades.

Painting Clocks

The kids painted seven wooden clocks for newly remodeled rooms at Zoder’s Inn and Suites.

Our umbrella school is Berean Christian School in Knoxville. We can register by mail because we have been with them for at least three years and do not have a rising Kindergarten student. Continue reading »

May 27 2020

Time Warp Trio Books

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When the National Spelling Bee recommends a book, I take it seriously. They know good vocabulary and plots. Therefore, I want to be right there with my children, learning, learning, learning. So when the Bee people said, “Read these three historical fiction titles,” I paid attention.

Time Warp Trio Books

Eight of the 13 books we read in this series

Amazingly, my local library actually owned one of the three titles, “See You Later, Gladiator.” We read it, laughed a lot, and realized this is a part of a book series called The Time Warp Trio. Three middle school students, all boys, travel through time and space, encountering different adventures. Continue reading »

May 18 2020

Summer Break Goals

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Our summer break has started. As I look at the stretch of two and a half months of break from homeschooling, I know from experience it can still be intense and busy. Due to COVID-19, I suspect a lot of the camps my children normally attend will be canceled. We have no confirmations yet, but I expect they would not happen. They will let us know by June 1 for sure.

Identifying butterflies

Identifying butterflies during our last hike

In a way, I like it. We will save money and energy by staying home and reading more books from the library. This brings me to my list of summer goals. In no particular order, here it is: Continue reading »

May 11 2020

Lessons from the 36th Week

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We have come to the end of another school year at home – our seventh. Two more years and poof, our eldest will be in high school. Time flies when you are having fun.

Thesaurus and Boy

Learning to work with a thesaurus

This week, we received news that they canceled the nationally standardized test our children take at our umbrella school. In a way, I felt relief. But in another way, I felt robbed of the opportunity to check where our children have managed to arrive in their studies. Continue reading »

Apr 29 2020

Great Words, Great Works

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Great Words, Great Works represent a list of books, compiled by the National Spelling Bee organizers. These books contain the 450 words which make up the School Level Word List. The organizers have picked these books for their literary value, engaging plots, and vocabulary.

Spelling Bee Titles

Three titles from the list put together by the National Spelling Bee

The book list, just like the word list, changes every year. This year, they released the list earlier, due to the quarantine. Proactive parents would do well to get these books for their kids as soon as possible.

One thing stays the same: the books are organized by grade and even the first grade books present challenging words. The point is, read them all. Even if you have children in 5th grade and 7th grade, like I will have next school year, you should read them all. Continue reading »