July 2014 Progress

We don't have a clean cut off from one school year to the next.  In my mind, I considered July to be the start of the new school year, but my pupils didn't notice a difference.  For better or worse, we just put one foot in front of the other every day (well, as near to every day as a busy schedule allows) and keep plodding along.

I haven't done an update on our school progress in a while.  I'd like to start up again for the 2014/2015 school year.  My son is in 4th grade and my daughter in second.

As for our first month of the new year, July, I did keep track of the books we read, but for the other stuff, I don't have a clear starting point.  For those subjects, I'll record in this post where we are now and next month I'll note the ground we covered.

Also, in this post, I'll elaborate a little on our book choices.

Classical Conversation

This will be our sixth year in Classical Conversations.  This will be my son's first year in Essentials and both kids' second time through Cycle 3.

Bible

My kids are studying the life of Jesus at church using the Shaping Hearts for God Bible curriculum.  It is designed for home use during the week.  We cover one event from Jesus's life each day.  There is also a memory verse that we learn over four weeks.

Math

Her:  My daughter finished lesson 57 in RightStart Mathematics Level C last week.  She is in the midst of reviewing subtraction strategies.  We also do a page or so out of Singapore Math's Challenging Word Problems Level 1 and have just finished page 145, which addresses division.

I'm loving this combination with her.  She also does an on-line math program called Dreambox once or twice a week.

Him: I have loved, loved, loved RightStart since the beginning but for my son who finished Level D in the spring, he's left with only two more levels in RightStart.  We would be forced to make a change sooner or later.  I had a hard time deciding whether or not this was the year we jumped ship to something with more continuity.  He spent the first part of the summer doing Singapore, but I didn't love all the switching between books.  It may be a bad reason to abandon Singapore, but I hated it from the start.  On a whim, I landed on Saxon for him.  He started Level 5/4 a few weeks ago.  It's scope is behind where he was in Right Start and Singapore, but I'm a fan of review and think we'll both do well with the format.

He, too, does Dreambox once or twice a week.

Writing

Her:  We're in week 24 of Writing With Ease 2.  We're moving quickly through this because she usually asks for more.  She LOVES copywork and does great with dictation.  The narrations are her weak point.

She's also starting cursive and is two weeks into Handwriting Without Tears Cursive Handwriting.

Him:  The hit of the summer has been Writing and Rhetoric Book 1:  Fable from Classic Academic Press ("CAP").  We started in early April and are two weeks away from finishing.  It has been a real pleasure going through this program... or should I say, progym.  I'm not good at generating the conversation.  This has been a good catalyst to get us started in having good discussions.  I also love the imitative approach to teaching writing.

We'll finish the Fable book in time to start the Institute for Excellence in Writing's  U.S. History -Based Writing Lessons through Classical Conversations Essentials program.  Part of me wants to continue on with the next CAP book, Narrative 1, but I think the outside accountability and the integration with history will benefit my son.

English Grammar

Her:  We're just going to rely on Classical Conversations English grammar memory work for her.

Him:  We'll be finished with First Language Lessons Level 3 by the time Essentials starts.  It's been a great review of Classical Conversation Cycle 2 memory work and introduction to diagramming. From then on, we'll rely on Essentials for all his grammar needs.

Spelling

Her:  She finished Step 11 in Level 3 of All About Spelling.

Him: He finished Step 20 in Level 4 of All About Spelling.

Both kids do great with this program.  It is a winner.

Poetry

Both kids memorized Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll and The 23rd Psalm this summer.  I'm not sure what's next, but it will be something out of IEW's Linguistic Development Through Poetry Memorization.  I think we'll hop around and pick out poems from various American poets to somewhat match up with our history.

Science

I'm sorely tempted to just rely on Classical Conversations memory work, experiments and activities for science.   We've done no science this summer.

History

We are just going to read various non-fiction, historical fiction books and folk stories related to American History, roughly following our Classical Conversations's history sentence sequence.  This summer, we started with the mound builders.  Here's what we've read so far:

Pre-Columbian Civilizations:

Before Columbus: The Americas of 1491 by Charles C. Mann (Read Aloud) - excerpt addressing mound-builders only
The Discovery of the Americas by Betsy and Giulio Maestro (RA)
Journey to Cahokia: A Boy's Visit to the Great Mound City by Albert Lorenz (His Independent Read)
Ice Mummy:  The Discovery of a 5,000 Year-Old Man by Mark Dubowski (Her IR)

The Vikings:

Leif the Lucky by Ingri and Edgar d'Aulaire (RA)
Voyage with the Vikings (The Imagination Station Series) by Paul McCusker (Her IR)

Columbus:

Columbus by Ingri and Edgar d'Aulaire (RA)
Pedro's Journal: A Voyage with Christopher Columbus by Pam Conrad (His IR)
Christopher Columbus (Step into Reading, Step 3) by Stephen Krensky (Her IR)

Native Americans:

North American Indians by Douglas Gorsline (RA)
How Coyote Stole the Summer: A Native American Folktale by Stephen Krensky (Her IR)
Indians of the Plains by Rae Baines (His IR)

Literature and Required and Free Reading

I am slowly reading the kids Tales from Shakespeare by Charles Lamb after lunch.  They are surprisingly attentive while I read this.  They are amused by the similarity between stories, particularly in the number of times a woman dresses up like a man.

I've let our evening read-alouds dwindle to nothing.  It seems there are more exciting things to do of a summer's evening than listening to me read.  Here's a list of additional non-history books they've read independently during July:

Her:

The Bears on Hemlock Mountain by Alice Dalgliesh (required reading)

Him:

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert O'Brien (required reading still in progress)
Warriors #4, Rising Storm by Erin Hunter
Warriors #5, A Dangerous Path
Warriors #6, The Darkest Hour
Warriors:  The New Prophecy #1: Midnight

Music

They are continuing their weekly violin lessons and daily pracice.  They learn songs using the Suzuki method and Irish fiddle tunes.  He is in Suzuki Book 4 and she is almost done with Suzuki Book 2.

Picking Up Where I Left Off

As mentioned, I went gluten free in the month of June.   I managed to lose my back pain but not much else.

On one hand I felt discouraged--I really thought that I'd benefit from more weight-loss and more energy gains.

But the loss of back pain was no small thing.  It had been present since I was pregnant with my first child.  Every time I bent over or stood up or lifted the pain was there.

One month without gluten and no more back pain helped me make that connection--the connection between food and health.

I mean, I know that food affects health, but like many an unpleasant truth, it was easy to ignore.  Yes, it's one thing to know it and another altogether to accept it--to be convicted of it.

And as for that weight thing...I would have liked to have lost more during my gluten free period.

My pictures from the Arkansas trip confirmed the truth.  I had extra LBs in the bottom and in the belly as evidenced by these photos.

EXHIBIT A -  Junk in the trunk:

Don't be so sad, I'm thin on the inside.

EXHIBIT B - Flabs not abs:

I should not have been seen in public in this shirt.

I knew further change was in order.  One day I was discouraged but enlightened.  The next day I was embarking on a new challenge:  The Whole 30.

Presidential Biography: Madison

I just finished James Madison and the Making of America by Kevin R.C. Gutzman.  As the title suggests, most of this book focuses on three of Madison's roles crucial to the establishment of this country:  co-author of the Constitution, co-author of The Federalist and participant in the Virginia ratification convention.  Of course, other areas of Madison's prolific life were discussed, such as his terms as Secretary of State and President.  Yet, these three roles were addressed in more pages than all others combined.

The book goes into considerable detail of the Constitutional Convention and the ratification process, including a nearly motion by motion recounting of events (or in the case of The Federalist, an essay by essay summary).  The detail serves the purpose of providing the reader an appreciation for the monumental difficulty of writing and subsequently ratifying the Constitution.  Considerable compromise was required.  It also informs one of the issues most significant to the leading minds of the day.  

I learned that while Madison is considered the Father of the Constitution and fought tenaciously for its ratification, he did not altogether agree with it.  In particular, he thought the legislature should have veto power over state laws, and he did not approve of the disproportionate power the Senate gave small states.

I did not gain much insight into the man himself other than that he was mental giant.  Quiet and unassuming in person, he was a powerful wielder of the pen who could grasp and assimilate complicated issues.  These qualities served him well in his role as Father of the Constitution.  It would seem they left him somewhat during his eight-year tenure as president.  However, this period of his life was not addressed in nearly the same detail as those mentioned previously.

Except a few references to some White House parties, the book was nearly devoid of any description of Madison's home life.  I suppose it is stereotypically female of me to wish Gutzman had explored his relationship with the  intrepid Dolley.  I recall one reference in the book to her as "his beloved Dolley", but I did not get an understanding of of their connection.  Such personal analysis was obviously outside the author's scope.

All in all, though, I finished the book better informed about and more appreciative of this great mind and his contribution to the making of America.

Garden Post - July 2014

I'm sitting here typing in the middle of July.  My schedule has unexpectedly cleared.  I've declared a sick day because of a child diagnosed with walking pneumonia.  Fortunately, swimming lessons have also been cancelled because...get this...it's too cold!

Has my calendar malfunctioned?

It is currently 61 degrees outside and starting to sprinkle.  Heavenly.

It seems like a good day to provide a garden update.

The first big event of the season was the harvesting of the cabbage.  This is my son's entry into the Bonnie 3rd Grade Cabbage Program.  His isn't as big as some of the monsters they feature on their site, but we went ahead and picked his because we thought it would start suffering in the Oklahoma heat.  Who knew how mild this summer would be?

Our other big harvest was the onions.  Onions continue to be our most successful crop.  We've already eaten a significant amount of these, so this picture reflects a depleted supply.

The tomatoes are starting to come on strong.  We eat several daily and I've canned four pints (which I know is paltry to big-time gardeners).

Our okra is also starting to produce.  Of all the vegetables in the world, okra is the only one my kids eat enthusiastically.  It's hard for our three little plants to keep up with the demand.

After we pulled the onions in late June, my husband planted purple hull pea seed in their place.  This was somewhat of an experiment because it past the typical planting season.  The plants seem to be doing fine so far.

The other vegetables growing in our garden are lettuce (also a little late for that, but it looks good), asparagus, jalapeno peppers and anaheim peppers.

Besides providing us with delicious, fresh food, this little suburban plot of ours brings us a lot of joy.

I also want to feature some of our flowers.

Last year, my mother-in-law gave us sunflower seeds.  I realized that the sunflower is the happiest flower of them all. I loved it in full bloom, and the birds enjoyed its seeds in the winter.  This year, I ordered a different variety that produces more than one blossom per plant.  The blooms are smaller, but I love the multiple blooms and variegated petals.

My mom gave me a sackful of gladiola bulbs this spring.  They are starting to bloom.  This gorgeous flower is on my short-list of favorites.

Finally, one of the kid's violin instructors gave me some milkweed seed.  Milkweed is the host plant for the Monarch butterfly.  I'm keeping a close eye on these to see if we are attracting any butterflies.  They are just starting to bloom.

Thanks for taking this tour of our gardens.

The Month I Went Gluten Free

I'm very thankful that I'm healthy, but I still can find reason to complain.  My three health 'problems':  constant lower back pain, constant fatigue, and a constant need to lose weight.

To see if I could alleviate any of these problems, I decided to jump on the bandwagon that has been circling for quite some time and go gluten free for a month.

On June 1, armed with a library copy of America's Test Kitchen How Can it Be Gluten Free Cookbook and a bag of Udi's bread, I took the plunge.

I thought it would be hard.  For the most part it was not.  Even though I generally eat plenty of bread and pizza and pastry deserts, I did not feel deprived because I could occasionally binge on other bad-girl favorites like chips and soda.

I did have two slip-ups.  One day I ate oatmeal that may have been cross-contaminated, and I had a complete gluten relapse during our two-night getaway to Arkansas.

Otherwise, I was oh so good.

I never finished the bag of Udi's (it was too dry), and I only made one recipe from the cookbook (there were too many expensive ingredients).  I mostly relied on eating unprocessed foods except for the aforementioned chips and soda.

I'm happy to report, the lower back pain, my constant companion, went away!

The fatigue and the extra weight did not.  There may have been a small up-tick in my energy level, but I cannot be sure.  And, sadly, I only lost one pound.  One pound:  not the result I was looking for.

But, I'll take that one benefit I received.

Everyone knows that food affects health.  There is a barrier, though, between knowledge and acceptance.  This little experiment may have helped me over that barrier.

I've not given up hope.  For July, I'm on to a new challenge.

Presidential Biography: Jefferson

While sitting under a canopy of trees in Arkansas, I finished Jon Meacham's biography of our third president entitled Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power.

After reading the biographies of Washington and Adams, I was left pondering: Who was the real Jefferson?  Was he Ellison's 'snake in the grass' or was he Ferling's benign politician.

Well, although Meacham never referred to Jefferson in such negative terms, he did explore Jefferson's duality.  He was probably both.

There were definitely two sides to the man.  One the idealist and the other the pragmatist.  He was the declarer of independence who enslaved others.  He was the great republican who willingly wielded executive power.  In that, he's like the rest of us who do not always act in accordance with our more noble impulses.

Whatever his faults, his talent and greatness stand with the talent and greatness of Washington and Adams.  Plus, he is infinitely more interesting.  I would love to have dined at Monticello on French food amongst the art and the books and the distinguished guests and experienced some of the Jefferson charm.

Meacham's book was my favorite presidential biography to date (including those I've read in previous years).  It was a fascinating book about a fascinating man.

The Natural State

Last week, we packed up the family sedan and headed east to Arkansas.  Our destination was Devil's Den State Park.

The park was built in the late thirties by the Civilian Conservation Corp (the CCC).  We felt their presence throughout our three-day stay.

We stayed in this quaint cabin perched on a hill.  It was one of two in the park built by the CCC.  It had been modernized with air-conditioning and satellite TV, but it retained its historical vibe.

I spent hour upon hour on the little deck, catching up on my reading amidst the hickories and the oaks.  It was so cool under the leaf canopy.  Maybe it was the bat population from the den, but I was never bothered with mosquitoes even in the twilight hours.

One way the park commemorates its CCC history is with a daily four o'clock softball game.  Reportedly, the guys played baseball everyday after building dams, cabins and the like, and the park rangers organize a family softball game to maintain the tradition.  Excuse me, they're not 'rangers' anymore, they're Park Interpreters.  What?  I'm sure there is a good reason for changing a perfectly good job title, but I'm not sure what it is.

The park was full of hiking trails that provided a wonderful mix of scenery including caves, waterfalls, creeks and timber.

Besides all the natural beauties, there were manmade amenities as well,

to which we gave an enthusiastic thumbs up.