Showing posts with label 2015 Virtual Curriculum Fair. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2015 Virtual Curriculum Fair. Show all posts

Monday, 26 January 2015

Fine Arts {Art Appreciation, Art, Composer Study Hymn Study} for 2015

This week's Virtual Curriculum Fair hosts are
  1. Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds
  2. Lisa @ Golden Grasses

Seeking Beauty: the Arts and Everything that Brings Beauty to Our World---includes any of the arts, handicrafts, but really ANYTHING at all that adds beauty to your homeschool.

This year I would like to continue exploring delight direct education and a Charlotte Mason approach.  My aim is to attempt to do something art inspired each week.  Our ideas and yours are shared each week in the Virtual Fridge Meme on Thursdays.  I would love for you to join us and share some ideas we can do with our children at home.

What is Fine Art
Definition of FINE ART

  1. art (as painting, sculpture, or music) concerned primarily with the creation of beautiful objects —usually used in plural b : objects of fine art 
  2. an activity requiring a fine skill
For 2015
  • We will continue using The World's Greatest Composers by Confessions of a Homeschooler.
  • The Classical Kids Collection Vol 1 & 2. These are produced by The Children's Group and cover the lives of eight famous composers.
  • Classical Composers Monthly as a supplement to whichever composer we are studying.
  • We will continue with The World's Greatest Artists Vol 1.  We have already studied Claude Monet {FREE Resource List} and will continue and learn about the other seven artists in the unit.
  • We did Shipwrecked earlier in the year and really enjoyed it so we will work our way through Bible Stories by See the Light
  • In an ideal world I would love to do some Hymn study too.  I have not settled on anything.  I think we might alternate Composer Study with Hymn Study.
  • We will be meeting up with a family each week where we will continue to learn to play the recorder as well as work our way through drawing lessons from the Drawing Textbook.
  • I am also in the process of reseaching the Charlotte Mason philosophy on the Fine Arts.
  • This year we also intend on attending a few MSO concerts and a ballet concert.
What others are saying
Please visit my fellow homeschool bloggers as they share how they explore their world with fine arts

On this Blog

Books we love
(Libraries are an excellent resource to teach for FREE)

It's your turn
Got a post that fits this week's theme? You can link it up here!
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Monday, 19 January 2015

History, Geography Science for 2015

This week's Virtual Curriculum Fair hosts are
  1. Susan @ Homeschooling Hearts & Minds
  2. Stacie @ Super Mommy to the Rescue
Our topic of the week is Exploring Our World: Social Studies and more Science---includes history, geography, world cultures, worldview, biology, botany, geology, etc., etc., etc.

In last weeks post I shared our Science plans for 2015 so this week I shall share about History and Geography.
History.
"In history, a great volume is unrolled for our instruction,
drawing the materials of future wisdom 
from the past errors and infirmities of mankind."
Edmund Burke
 
This year we will continue reading Story of The World Volume One and using the Activity Guide which goes alongside it.

I will  also be consulting Home's Cool and choosing books from the Sonlight curriculum to read out loud from this list Sonlight Books arranged by the well trained mind 4 year cycles

 "But living history books — even historical fiction — capture the imagination while informing the mind. The reader soaks in the the facts of history in a natural and enjoyable way that forms a much stronger base of understanding than rote memorization."- Jimmie Lanely
Geography
We will continue with incidental geography.  This will happen during our history lessons.  As we read about historical happenings I shall point to the areas on the map to encourage familiarity.

I haven't decided yet upon a resource to use.  Here are a few I'm contemplating using
 I think we may continue using Expedition Earth: A Journey through God's World.

I would like to also complete  Trail Guide to World Geography  This particular package is my all time favourite.

I saw a review on Wonder Maps and really like the look of this program.  Have any of you used it or seen it ?

This year I want to learn more about a Charlotte Mason approach and enjoyed reading Jimmey's post: Teaching Geography Without Buying a Curriculum

On this Blog




 What others are saying
Please visit my fellow homeschool bloggers as they share how they explore their world with social studies and science:

It's your turn

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Monday, 12 January 2015

Math, Science and Logic for 2015

Welcome to week two of the Virtual Curriculum Fair 2015.  This weeks topic is Discovering Patterns: Mathematics, Logic, and Science and our hosts for this week are

"Can I teach 
high school science?
 NO
As your student gets older, 
your role changes from 
teacher to fellow learner."

Math, Science and Logic tend to be the topics of dread in most home education circles.  I would however like to encourage you to approach them with interest and enthusiasm.  Your children will adopt your attitude as you introduce them to subjects.  These subjects have the ability to become your most inspiring and encouraging ones ever.  Remember you are laying the foundational attitudes towards these subject disciplines in the junior years.  What you sow now you shall reap in the highschool years ...
Our Year Ahead
Math


Scope and Sequence
A little word on  scope and sequence as this is important to consider when changing the math program you are using. Scope refers to the content.  In other words these are the topics covered(A to Z)
Sequence is the order in which the scope is taught (IE the order in which things are covered within the program)
It is important to know this about your math product or you might end up redoing math your child is already familiar with or you might end up skipping a whole lot of important content that your child needs in order to succeed at math.

Logic
Science
For science we will choose books from our very well stocked home library this year and will be working through Exploring Creation with Astronomy from Apologia.  We will be using the Astronomy Junior Notebooking Journal.  Once we have completed this we will begin Exploring Creation with Botany.

For hands on Science we shall continue with Science Activities, Vol. 1 

On this Blog
Click on any of the graphics to read more



Our Reviews
 Math
Science
Experiments on this blog
This year we are following a delight directed, Charlotte Mason inspired discovery of science.  Here are some of the things we have done so far.  

Here are some Science Resources to explore
On Pinterest


 For Fun
 Krissy from over at Venspired created this fun science graphic.   Take a look and tell me what sort of science you are doing at the moment ?



20 Homeschool Mom's are blogging about Discovering Patterns covering Science, Math and Logic.


Your Turn

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Monday, 5 January 2015

Language Arts for 2015

In preparation for the new year and this weeks Virtual Curriculum Fair topic of Language Arts in your homeschool, I have been looking over some of my older posts on the topic.  It's been good to refresh my thinking on the topic of Language Arts.  In 2015 my mini goal is to continue in a Charlotte Mason approach with some Delight Directed education and Sonlight.

Over the last year I have come to realize that Sir N is in need of some coaching in the area of Language Arts.  In the year ahead I would like to continue working on strengthening his writing skills through copy work and hand writing practice.   

Definition
What is the definition of Language Arts? It is the study of grammar, composition, spelling and (sometimes) public speaking.


In 2015
Composition
We will be continuing with WriteShop Primary this year.  This program is an excellent way to introduce composition to reluctant writers and primary school aged students. I like doing the projects with him because they are not simply busy seat work they specifically designed to be a creative way to help him remember the new things he is learning each time we do WriteShop. It's ultimate purpose is for Sir N to learn that Writing = Fun!


Spelling
Last year I began using Logic of English with Sir N and was really impressed with his progress.  This year we will continue our lessons with the goal of completing the program.


Vocabulary
This is not synonymous with spelling. We will continue to work though Spelling Workout starting with book B this year. I am also compiling a list of classical books we will be using as read alouds throughout the year ahead.

Grammar
I haven't yet settled on a grammar program.  I have two books I'm considering.  The first being English for The Thoughtful Child by Mary Hyde OR Karen Andreola's Simply Grammar: An Illustrated Primer.

Narration
This is something I want to focus more on this year with Sir N.  There are so many incredible benefits to the student in developing this skill.
  • Narration Adheres Vocabulary to the Mind - CMC Page 167
  • Narration strengthens and challenges all the powers of mind. Attending, remembering, visualizing, comprehending, synthesizing (seeing the whole from the parts), and articulating. - CMC Page 115
  • Helps the student to organize their thoughts with ease
  • Narration helps a child to train his/her mind to "sort, arrange, correlate, select, reject and classify" information CMC Page 114
  • Narration develops the power of self expression and forces the child to use his own mind and form his own judgement. CMC Page 115

On this blog
We enjoy great literature and are trying to follow a Charlotte Mason approach with reading twaddle free literature.  I share a new book each week on a Tuesday called Tuesday's Treasures.  Be sure to come back each Tuesday for a new book.


For more thoughts on language arts click on any of the graphics below



We have some wonderful homeschool bloggers sharing their thoughts and inspiration on Language Arts and your homeschool.  Be sure to grab a cup of coffee / tea and take some time over the week ahead to read over these posts

Your Turn
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Saturday, 3 January 2015

2015 Virtual Curriculum Fair

The fair starts this coming Monday and there are some amazing blogger friends who will be sharing their curriculum choices for 2015.

Co-Hosted by:

Every Bed of Roses

We are being joined by these lovely bloggers:
Brittney @ Mom's Heart
Becky @ Milo & Oats
Hillary @ Walking Fruitfully
Jacquelin @ A Stable Beginning
Denise @ Fullnest














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Wednesday, 17 December 2014

2015 Virtual Curriculum Fair begins soon


The goal of this fair is for bloggers to encourage and inspire homeschool families by giving them a look at what they are really doing with their children.  To share what really works for them and why it works.  It is a way to serve the homeschool community and help them find all that wonderful curriculum goodness that is out there today.

For some inspiration of what you will be seeing take a look at all the wonderfulness that was shared during the 2012 Virtual Curriculum Fair, the 2013 Fair, and the 2014 Fair!

This year’s dates and themes:
  1. January 5th---Playing with Words: the Language Arts---includes phonics, reading, writing, grammar, spelling, speech, literature, etc., etc., etc. Latin and foreign language studies could also go here.
  2. January 12th---Discovering Patterns: Mathematics, Logic, and Science---includes anything to do with mathematics, mathematical thinking, numbers, arithmetic, symbolic logic, critical thinking, and math-y sciences (physics, chemistry, etc.).
  3. January 19th---Exploring Our World: Social Studies and more Science---includes history, geography, world cultures, worldview, biology, botany, geology, etc., etc., etc.
  4. January 26th---Seeking Beauty: the Arts and Everything that Brings Beauty to Our World---includes any of the arts, handicrafts, but really ANYTHING at all that adds beauty to your homeschool.
Come read the VCF beginning Monday, January 5th!

Would you like to join us?
  • Susan from over at Homeschooling Hearts & Minds is currently accepting participants for the 2015 VCF.  If you homeschool and blog, she would love to have you join us.  She does not want to know about numbers or Facebook followers.
  • You can choose to participate every week or pick and choose which themes you will write about.  I promise that the guidelines are pretty simple and things like social media shares are optional. 
  • All participating bloggers will be a part of a closed Facebook group where you will be able to share your links for each week and I will keep you apprized of Fair happenings.  Buttons and banners will be provided.
  • If you’d like to be a part of the VCF, please go to the 2015 Virtual Curriculum Fair Facebook group and ask to join.
 Blessings
Chareen
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