Reading Challenge 2017

I recently posted about how my 2016 reading challenges went.  With what I learned in mind, here is what I will attempt in 2017!

The Back to Classics Challenge

(All books must have been written at least 50 years ago; therefore, books must have been written by 1967 to qualify for this challenge.  See all the rules at Books and Chocolate, and sign up!)

1.  A 19th Century Classic -  A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle 

2.  A 20th Century Classic -  Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison 

3.  A classic by a woman author.  Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell

4.  A classic in translation.  Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville

5.  A classic published before 1800.  Shakespeare OR She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith

6.  An romance classic.  Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott

7.  A Gothic or horror classic.   Dracula by Brom Stoker

8.  A classic with a number in the title. Three Men on the Bummel by Jerome K. Jerome 

9.  A classic about an animal.  Animal Farm by George Orwell 

10. A classic set in a place you'd like to visit.  Good-Bye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton (England)

11. An award-winning classic.  The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien 
Wikipedia: Nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald Tribune for best juvenile fiction of the year (1938). More recently, the book has been recognized as "Most Important 20th-Century Novel (for Older Readers)" in the Children's Books of the Century poll in Books for Keeps.

12. A Russian Classic.   The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

My Personal Picks


With Ambleside Online Book Discussions or other Pre-reading

Euclid's Elements
Finish The New World, then onto the third volume of History of the English-Speaking Peoples, by Churchill

Health and Education

Smart but Scattered by Dawson and Guare 
Food Chaining by Fracker et al
The Adrenal Reset Diet by Christianson

The Living Page by Bestvater

Christianity and Self-Help

Finish The Holy War by Bunyan
Discipline, The Glad Surrender by Elliot
Teach Me to Pray by Murray

My Reading Challenge Success (or not)

In January of 2016, I challenged myself this year to not only read 50 books (the GoodReads reading challenge) but to read a variety of categories and difficulties.  Scroll on to see my #bookstagram #shelfies for the year, and to see how the challenge turned out.

What to read first...never mind, I'm still reading Middlemarch on the Kindle! #snowday #readtheclassics #kindlepaperwhite

A photo posted by Windy Hill Homeschool (@laurke2) on Jan 23, 2016 at 7:46am PST

First, I chose classics to fit into the Back to Classics challenge.  It doesn't look like I accomplished much there.  Here are the ones I did complete:

• A classic in translation.  - *I, Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed) by Alessandro Manzoni (June-Aug) 
• A fantasy, science fiction, or dystopian classic. - *Utopia by Thomas More  (Feb-May)
• A classic detective novel. Agatha Christie (some googling led me to And Then There Were None, so I will try to start there) (May)
• A classic which includes the name of a place in the title. - Middlemarch by George Eliot (completed Jan/Feb)
• A classic which has been banned or censored. - *Paradise Lost by Milton (Jan-April)
• A volume of classic short stories. (min. of 8) -The Peterkin Papers by Lucretia Hale (December)

Then I chose books in other categories that are important to me, and there was some overlap between my personal reading challenge and the one above.

I have mixed feelings about these results.

Current reads #readtheclassics #tidyup #kondoisnotaclassic #whatsonyourshelf #ao8 #readwhatyouhave

A photo posted by Windy Hill Homeschool (@laurke2) on Jul 12, 2016 at 1:37pm PDT

On one hand, I'm disappointed not to meet the goals.  Maybe I should have put more time into reading, and less time into Facebook, the AO forum, and Instagram.  I do think those things can be a negative if not controlled...and I wonder if my attention span is getting shorter due to using social media.  Concentrating on dense books has gotten harder this year!

 On the other hand, I loved the books that I did read.  I didn't rush through any of them, but did a slow, thoughtful reading, often with an online book discussion to give it even more depth (and fun!).  My life was enriched by almost everything I read, and I felt like my brain was full nearly all the time.  Sometimes too full!

This was also the year of trying to sell our house (and its final "sale pending" now!), so it was busy with decluttering, cleaning and showing, looking for houses and all that jazz.  So, life happened.

Was it worth taking the time to determine what I wanted to read, even if I couldn't achieve my goals? YES!

I learned that I need to schedule fewer than I did and participate in fewer book discussions (but never stop completely!).  I learned that quantity of books isn't as important as the quality.  I explored new authors and new genres and enjoy the trip.

#shelfie #bookstagram What are you reading? #beareader #adhd #sensoryprocessingdisorder #amblesideonline

A photo posted by Windy Hill Homeschool (@laurke2) on Dec 5, 2016 at 7:03am PST

Did you do a reading challenge this year?  How did it go?  What did you learn from your success (or not)?

Uninvited by Lysa TerKeurst

Uninvited - Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely is the newest book by Lysa TerKeurst.  

Uninvited is about overcoming rejection with the power of God's love.  The author shares very personal stories from childhood and adulthood, showing that she has been there - rejected time and again.  She shares the lows and how God brought her through it, and includes specific verses and prayers to help you get through hard times, too.

I had previously read Terkeurst's Unglued, and admit that at this point in my life, Unglued had more personal meaning to me than Uninvited.  That said, there is much good about this  volume.  I would recommend it to any woman or man who is struggling with the hurt feelings of rejection, being set aside and not thought of.  Her thoughts on God are woven throughout, and I highlighted many truths she brought forward about God and life itself.  

Here a few of my favorites - there are many more, so I do recommend you give this book a try:

There is an abundant need in this world for your exact brand of beautiful. 

Self-rejection paves the landing strip for the rejection of others to arrive and pull on up to the gates of our hearts.   

When a man is physically present but emotionally absent, a girl's heart can feel quite hollow and helpless. 

The mind feasts on what it focuses on.  What consumes my thinking will be the making or the breaking of my identity. 

Jesus knew what being rejected felt like.  Jesus knew.  He knew the feelings.  He knew the struggles.  Ad in an earth-shattering moment, Jesus exposed the way of escape for us.  He matched every feeling - the emptiness, the deprivation, and the rejection - with truths straight from God's Word. 

We run at a breakneck pace to try and achieve what God simply wants us to slow down enough to receive. 

If we become enamored with something in this world we think offers better fullness than God, we will make room for it.  We leak out His fullness to make room for something else we want to chase. 

God's love isn't based on me.  It's simply placed on me.  And it's the place from which I should live...loved.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Then There Were None

Agatha Christie, the greatest mystery novelist of all time, some say.  I put off reading her, assuming the language would be difficult or outdated, or the ending predictable.  I was very wrong.

As part of the Back to Classics reading challenge, I chose Then There Were None, which was first published under the name of Ten Little Indians.  (I suppose that name was deemed inappropriate or something, but it actually fits very well with the story.)

This book was a real page-turner and I read it in one day!  I haven't done that in ages, but I literally could not put this book down.  I won't spoil it for you by saying too much - plenty of other people have done that already.  I'll just say its a murder mystery and the mystery begins on the very first page and doesn't get solved until after you think the book is over.  All along the way I got more confused, more involved with the characters in trying to figure out whodunnit.  In the end, I was impressed with not only the elaborate scheme that was pulled off, but also in the storytelling itself, that gave just enough away with enough misdirection to keep you from figuring it out for yourself.

I will definitely be reading another Christie novel in my future.

Utopia - Wednesday with Words

I am still working through Paradise Lost, but now its time to begin Utopia with my AO forum friends!  (This book is used in AO's year 8.)  There has been much chatter about it in the introduction threads, perhaps because the word "utopia" is commonly known but very few of us have read the book to understand *why* it became a common word.

It was written by Sir Thomas More, who was politically active and (perhaps) overly vocal.  He stood on his principles, had leaning towards priesthood before marriage came along, and eventually made an enemy of a king.  I think I'll add him to the mental list of people I want to meet in heaven. :)

Utopia (the book) was so potentially aggravating to the English that it wasn't printed in that country until after More's death; however, it was printed in several other countries and became quite popular.

I've only just begun Book 1 (of 2), and here are some catchy lines you might enjoy.

The fictitious Mr. More has just met Raphael and is impressed with his wise discourse on the governments in the lands he has seen.  (Emphasis mine.)

We asked him many questions concerning all these things, to which he answered very willingly; only we made no inquiries after monsters, than which nothing is more common; for everywhere one may hear of ravenous dogs and waves, and cruel men-eaters; but it is not so easy to find states that are well and wisely governed.

And just one page further on:

For most princes apply themselves more to affairs of war than to the useful arts of peace...they are generally more set on acquiring new kingdoms, right or wrong, than on governing well those they possess.

Hmmm.  It seems that humans and politicians don't really change over the ages, regardless of how far we think we have come as a species.

Reading Goals for 2016

In addition to the Back to Classics challenge, I want to be a little more intentional with my other reading for 2016.  I read a lot of great books and a few subpar ones in 2015 - you can see what I accomplished on Goodreads.  Many of them were read with official or unofficial discussions on the AO forum.  I find that reading with others is a great incentive to both keep going and to finish!  I'm going to go ahead and include the ones already listed in the Classics challenge to fit them into categories that make sense to me.

*Asterisks indicate I'm reading with others from the Ambleside Online forum.  
^ indicates I will be reading aloud to my 11 year old.  

More may be added as the year goes on - follow me on Goodreads to see what else we read and how I progress on the ones below!

Educational Philosophy/Homeschooling

• *I have been reading through all the Charlotte Mason volumes - 6 dense books - and will finish the last one (volume 4 - Ourselves) in February. [DONE]
• *When Children Love to Learn by Macauley
• Enjoying the Journey by Frank
• *Minds More Awake by Anne White  [DONE]
• Living Page by Laurie Bestavier

History

• *Birth of Britain by Churchill  [DONE]
• Democracy in America (Volume I and II) by Alexis De Tocqueville
• *Christopher Columbus: Mariner  [DONE]

Math

• *Euclid's Elements

Classic Novels

• Westward, Ho!
• Middlemarch by Eliot  [DONE]
• And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie  [DONE]
• ^Little Women by Alcott
• *The Betrothed (I, Promessi Sposi)  [DONE]
• Emma by Jane Austen
• *Utopia by Thomas More  [DONE]
• Dracula by Brams Stoker
• The Daisy Chain (Aspirations) by Charlotte Yonge

Modern Novels

• Hood by Stephen Lawhead
• War Horse
• ^The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford  [DONE]

Plays

• *A Man for All Seasons
• ^Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing  [DONE]
• ^Taming of the Shrew
• ^The Winter's Tale  [DONE]

Biography 

• Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
• Bonhoeffer Student Edition: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxes  [DONE]
• Story of Charlotte Mason by Essex Cholmondley

Poetry

• *Fierce Wars and Faithful Loves by Spenser
• *Paradise Lost by Milton  [DONE]
• AO's selections of Williams Wordsworth  [DONE]

Health/Cooking

• Adrenal Reset Diet by Alan Christianson
• Trim Healthy Mama - Serena and Pearl
• The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome by Atwood  [DONE]
• Natural Body Detox by Sue Woledge [DONE]
• Food Chaining by Fraker et al

Relationships

• Boundaries by Cloud and Townsend  [DONE]
• Beyond Boundaries
• Easy to Love; Difficult to Discipline by Becky Bailey [DONE]
• Hold On to Your Kids by Neufeld and Mate
• Two Empty Bedrooms (foster care/adoption) by Vandepas  [DONE]
• The Adoption Option by Hunt
• Children, Parents and Chores! by Cynthia Tyler

Short Stories

• ^The Peterkin Papers by  Lucretia Hale
• Stephen Archer and Other Tales by George MacDonald
• The Door in the Wall and Other Stories by H.G. Wells

Philosophy/Religion

• The Everlasting Man (got halfway this year) by Chesterton
• Teach Me to Pray by Andrew Murray
• Praying God's Word by Beth Moore
• Breaking Free by Beth Moore
• The Message (Bible)
• How We Got the Bible by Neil Lightfoot
• *The Holy War  [almost done]

Culture/Technology

• Endangered Minds by Jane Healy
• The Shallows by Nichola Carr

Children's Books (from AO Year 4's free reading list)

• ^Lassie, Come Home [DONE]
• ^Gentle Ben
• ^Gone Away Lake
• ^Return to Gone Away
• ^Calico Captive
• ^Tree of Freedom
• ^Justin Morgan Had a Horse
• ^The Cricket in Times Square

I'm not including the scheduled reads from year's 4 or 5 that we will be doing as part of homeschool in this lists, but you can see that over at AmblesideOnline.

If anything seems to be in the wrong category, please let me know!

Back to the Classics Challenge 2016

I did a Reading Challenge on GoodReads for 2015, and surpassed my 60 book goal, but only some of those were classics.  This year, I may lower that to 50 books or less, and increase the difficulty and/or length of the books.

As part of this challenge for myself, I'm joining up in the Back to the Classics challenge at Books and Chocolate.  You can read her rules here.

I learned about this challenge on the Ambleside Online forum, and am happily using some of their books for my own list.  Thanks, ladies! :)  

The books with asterisks are scheduled for the AO book discussions and are from year 8 of the curriculum, to help us educate ourselves and pre-read for our kids.

1.  A 19th Century Classic - *Westward, Ho! by  Charles Kingsley

2.  A 20th Century Classic (but before 1966) -  *A Man for All Seasons by Sir Thomas More

3.  A classic by a woman author. -Little Women by Louisa Alcott (will likely read aloud to my 11 year old)

4.  A classic in translation.  - *I, Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed) by Alessandro Manzoni (June-Aug) 

5.  A classic by a non-white author. - Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

6.  An adventure classic -  *Fierce Wars and Faithful Loves from The Faerie Queen

7.  A fantasy, science fiction, or dystopian classic. - *Utopia by Thomas More  (Feb-May)

8.  A classic detective novel. Agatha Christie (some googling led me to And Then There Were None, so I will try to start there) (May)

9.  A classic which includes the name of a place in the title. - Middlemarch by George Eliot (completed Jan/Feb)

10. A classic which has been banned or censored. - *Paradise Lost by Milton (Jan-April)

11. Re-read a classic you read in school (high school or college).  -Emma by Jane Austen

12. A volume of classic short stories. (min. of 8) -Martian Chronicles by Bradbury or The Peterkin Papers by Lucretia Hale, if my son is ready to hear those read aloud before the end of the year

Whew, that was harder than I expected!  I will do another post with my other reading goals for 2016.

Good Night, Little Love by Laura Neutzling

Good Night, Little Love is available through pre-order on Amazon, with a release date of Dec. 15, 2016.

This sweet little board book, Good Night, Little Love, was written by Laura Neutzling and illustrated by Anna Currey.  Mother bunny and baby bunny are getting ready for sleepy-time after the sun has gone down.  The illustrations are lovely and sweet as baby bunny puts on pajamas out in the field under a big tree, and mother bunny talks of the day to come and the adventures that will be had.

The back cover says, "Help your child wind down with this imaginative lullaby with whimsical illustrations, and then drift off to sleep reassured of your unconditional love and affection."

While I don't know that I would give that much credit to any book, there is a calming rhythm to the words and a rhyming pattern that children can latch on to.  I had my 10 year old son read it to me, and he only stumbled on "bouquet" and "pajamas" (he said pomegranates, LOL!).  He said he liked it, but that it was too long for a baby book.  I agree - its more toddler-sized. There are 15-20 words per 2-page spread, for 12 pages, so less than 240 words altogether.  The book itself is a standard height, about 8.25" square.  Beautiful cover and sturdy overall, I would recommend this to any family.  I could see it being loved as Goodnight, Moon was when my son was small.

Good Night, Little Love is available through pre-order on Amazon, with a release date of Dec. 15, 2016.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Wednesday with Words: How to Read a Book

You might think, as I did, that "How to Read a Book" is a silly name for a book.  I mean, you couldn't read it if you didn't know how to read a book, so how is that helpful??   Mr. Mortimer Adler and Charles Doren, authors, disagree, and now that I'm just over halfway through this dense work, I can honestly say that there is a bit more to reading a book than being able to discern the words and their meanings.

This is not a particularly fun book to read, but it is scheduled in the high school years over at Ambleside Online, and someone started a book discussion for it, so I joined.  (I think I've *tried* all but 2 that have started since the forum began, LOL!)  There are bits of humor here and there, but it reads a bit like a textbook on occasion, because it is so. very. orderly.

We have gotten to chapter 15 (Suggestions for Reading Stories, Plays and Poems), and I am posting the book discussion to the forum tonight, so thought I might share some of the quotes I found interesting here as well.  While the first half of this book focused on expository writings, we have finally gotten to the discussion on fiction - myths, novels, stories. Yay!

Imaginative writings can lead to action, but the do not have to. They belong in the realm of fine art.
   A work of fine art is "fine" not because it is "refined" or "finished," but because it is an end (finis, Latin, means end) in itself.  It does not move toward some result beyond itself. It is, as Emerson said of beauty, its own excuse for being.    p.217

So, how does one read a story? (p.218)

Read it quickly and with total immersion.
Try as hard as you can to live in his world, not in yours;
Unless you read it quickly you will fail to see the unity of the story. 

And a funny! :) (p.219)

This is true of any big novel-and if a novel is really good, we want it to be as big as possible. 

All of this comes down to the same point: you must finish a story in order to be able to say that you have read it well.   p.220

And finally, to sum up this section.... (p.221-222)

Thus in criticizing fiction we must be careful to distinguish those books that satisfy our own particular unconscious needs-the ones that make us say, "I like this book, although I don't really know why" -from those that satisfy the deep unconscious needs of almost everybody.  The latter are undoubtedly the great stories, the ones that live on and on for generations and centuries.  As long as man is man, they will go on satisfying him, giving him something that he needs to have - a belief in justice and understanding and the allaying of anxiety.  We do not know, we cannot be sure, that the real world is good.  But the world of a great story is somehow good.  We want to live there as often and as long as we can. 

Just beautiful.

What is a Living Book?

Here at Windy Hill Homeschool, we use living books for school and for fun reading.  Its a strange term for those not familiar with the Charlotte Mason method, but for those who love her, it is very familiar, and the heartbeat of education.  

Charlotte Mason fans LOVE books. But not just any book.  We do away with twaddle - those books that you cringe at having to read to your preschooler for the second time, much less the twentieth time - and replace it with books that LIVE.  

AO Year 4 books

How can a book live?  

When it is filled not just with words or pictures, but with ideas that point the mind of a child towards what is good, pure, and best in this world or the next.  It lives by passing a thought onto the next generation.  It may inspire towards kind actions and make you want to be a better person.  It may make you sigh with happiness or cry with compassion.  But it will not bore you to tears, nor will a living book be easily forgotten.  It is rarely, if ever, a textbook.  Living books are written by a single author with a true passion for their subject.

How do you use a living book?  

For school, it is only read once, then narrated a portion at a time.  Of course, it can be reread for pleasure numerous times, but for the purpose of holding the child's attention and encouraging good focus during lessons, it is not reread when his mind wanders.  He is made to feel the loss of the moment and encouraged to pay better attention the next time.  Its the teacher's job to notice when the mind begins to wander, though, and ask for a narration then take a break by switching subjects.  Don't read until your eyes cross and the kid is asleep :)  Not that I've EVER done that...

I didn't read my horse to sleep, though!

How does the student learn from a living book?

To properly learn, the child must do the digging, so to speak.  The teacher doesn't read it, water it down or paraphrase it, ask multiple choice questions, then grade him.  Instead, he reads a portion (or listens), narrates it (orally or written), and asks his own questions of the reading.  I am a facilitator, present to listen and guide, and help find answers to his questions if I don't know them myself.

How do you use books in your school?  Are they living?

Transitioning to AO Year 4

We are nearing the end of The Boy's second term of AmblesideOnline's year 3.5.  This is an extra year that doesn't follow the history rotation and has a little bit of a lighter load to help students transition from year 3 to 4, or to introduce older students who may be coming to AO and aren't sure where to start.  (Remember, AO years to necessarily correspond to grade levels.)  I debated for quite a while as to whether he was ready for year 4 this school year, and due to sensory issues, dysgraphia, and undiagnosed dyslexia, I thought a more gradual easing into the "hard stuff" would be best.

There is a jump in expectations in a Charlotte Mason education around age 10.  This is when grammar, Plutarch's Lives (citizenship), dictation (instead of just copywork), and full Shakespeare plays are added.  Its also the age where most students will be able to do at least a couple of the readings (history, literature, natural history, etc.) on their own.  He still isn't ready for that, but I decided that two terms of year 3.5 is enough, and we will soon begin year 4!  The books scheduled in 3.5 are good, but I am more than ready for more "meaty" readings, and I think he is too, as his narration skills have improved, and so has his self-control and attention span.

Here is how I have gradually introduced the more advanced subjects into our day.  We finished year 3 with about 3 readings a day, 4 days a week.  If we actually had 5 full days at home, then somedays would have 2 readings, but it is typical for Friday's to be kept fairly open for appointments and field trips, and homeschool get-togethers. Anyway, with year 3.5, I kept the load at 3 readings a day so he would be ready to transition to year 4 more easily.

We started grammar towards the end of year 3, and do less than half a lesson at a time, twice a week.  With year 4, I will back down to once a week and try to do a bit more than half a lesson in one sitting.  We did Publicola as his first Plutarch study, and spread it out over about 14 weeks (instead of 1 term of 12 weeks), reading a bit once a week.  We also did his first full-length Shakespeare - Hamlet - during term 1, and are on track to finish Midsummer Night's Dream this term.  We have not begun dictation, nor written narrations, and due to his dysgraphia, it will be the hardest for him.

As you can see, I have already added the more intimidating subjects while the readings for year 3.5 were easier. I see it as taking the stairs one at a time, instead of jumping up them with both feet!  I didn't do the year exactly as written - since I wasn't planning on all 3 terms, I rearranged some things, and dropped some since we had already read them.  Also, my starting year 4 in March, I'll have 4 terms if needed, and will still be able to start year 5 when he hits 6th grade.  I do have a copy of a 42-week schedule for year 4 and am working on tweaking it to work for him.  I would rather move forward into the best books of year 4 at a slower pace (42 instead of 36 weeks), at this point, then to continue at a faster pace with less worthy books.

Who else is combating the February blahs with some school-planning sessions?

(Now for those that have read this far, and want more details, please leave a comment with what exactly you want to know, and I will be glad to do a second post with more year 3.5 details.)

Keeping in Progress

For this month's Keeping Company link-up, some questions were proposed, and I decided to use them as the basis for this post.  I like easy. :)

My favorite part of keeping a commonplace is being intentional.  Knowing I want to keep a record of what is important to me, I begin to *seek* for what is important.

One of several pages since I began "keeping" last month

I do my common placing wherever I read the book.  Sometimes its in the bedroom - that's my reading home-base.  I keep all my colorful gel pens and my notebooks in the bedside table drawers, and the books I'm currently reading (or plan on reading this year) on top.  I also enjoy reading in my comfy living room chair, which is just outside the bedroom, so its easy to bring my notebook and pen out and write there instead.  The other place I write is next to my computer - usually only when I found the quote online and that's the easiest way to save it.  (I do also use Evernote, and have a Commonplace notebook there for saving quotes as well, which works when on the go.)

My reading and keeping "home base"

I get my inspiration from whatever books I'm reading each week.  I follow several book discussions at Ambleside Online (what a great forum!), plus I'm reading the Bible through in a year again.  I'm also reading a couple more books on my own!  I love having a different book to read each day of the week, plus a "fun" one to fill in any extra reading time I get.

Currently, in addition to the Bible, I'm reading Stepping Heavenward (love it!), Charlotte Mason's Volume 2: Parents and Children, Tennyson's Idylls of the King, Chesterton's Everlasting Man,  Adler's How to Read a Book, and I am about to begin Watership Down.  In spurts I also get back to Endangered Minds, Handbook of Nature Study, and books related to health challenges, such as Trim Healthy Mama.

Fourth Grade, First Term 2014-15

Fourth grade!  I still can't believe its here, and we are 11 weeks into the curriculum (using Ambleside Online's Year 3.5) and 15 weeks into our official school days, due to finishing up year 3 over the summer and into August.  I am enjoying the book selections, especially catching up on the free reads (no narration required; we do these at bedtime) we missed from years 2 and 3.  Below are many of the books we are using this year.  The ones you can't see are e-books and audiobooks.

Fourth Grade Terms 1-2 books/AO 3.5

We are using MEP for math, which we started around March of this year.  It is a free program for K-12, and you can download everything you need and just print out the practice book and lesson plans (or keep those on your tablet to save paper!)  If this interests you, there are several fantastic posts on getting started with MEP on Jeanne's blog, Peaceful Day.

For copywork, I am using a 3rd grade penmanship book (orange one in above pic) to reinforce his cursive letters and word formation.  He does print with his occupational therapist, and she works with him on speed.  I work with him on fewer carefully done letters and words.  He is now to the point in the workbook where he gets back to copywork, which is copying poems and such word by word.

artwork learned from Draw Write Now book 2

We have backed off of spelling since summer, and he is now realizing how useful spelling actually is, especially when you want to tell your Minecraft friends something and can't type it. (Hey, whatever provides motivation!)  My intention was to use Seeing Stars: Symbol Imagery for Phonological and Orthographic Processing in Reading and Spelling, which I borrowed from the library and took notes on, to implement myself.  I ended up pushing too hard early this term, so quit on it, and will add it back in this week.  Seeing Stars helps with visualizing the letters and words in your mind, phonics and more.  (Keep in mind that for most kids, doing copywork then dictation the CM way will work!  My son has some vision challenges, so needed extra help.)

For Spanish, I've backed off of Rosetta Stone (one day a week) and have added Duolingo once or twice a week.  I'm looking into ULAT now, going over the teaching videos and figuring out how it would work for us.  Its free online and looks very complete, from what I've seen so far.

For picture study, music (classical, folk and hymns), Shakespeare, and now Plutarch's Lives, we are following the rotations at Ambleside Online.  These 'riches' really bring life into our homeschool, along with handicrafts, nature study and poetry.  He has now added 'painter' to his list of possible occupations, along with builder and weatherman. :)

Lookout, future painter at work!

AO Year 4 adds a jump in difficulty due to additional subjects and longer readings.  We are using a couple terms of year 3.5 to transition to those extra subjects more gradually, while the main readings are easier (also allowing him to build confidence in his own reading).  We added grammar in January during year 3, going through Simply Grammar very slowly.  We added 'real' Shakespeare this term, and just last week started Publicola by Plutarch.  I'm still debating adding Latin in Term 2...

We are almost done with What Would Jesus Do? (buddy reading), which along with memory work, has been our Bible time.  I'll go back to the list of stories we used in year 1 and 2 and finish it off for next term's Bible.  I'm doing poetry selections from some nice picture books I found at Half-Price Book Outlet (love that place!).  For history, science, literature, etc., we are following the AO schedule exactly.

All in all, term 1 of fourth grade has been a success, despite various health issues, new kittens, frequent babysitting and other life things trying to throw us off.

AO Year 3, Week 8

I can't believe we are over halfway through this term already.  It has been full of changes and adjustments.  Our foster kids left, at different times for different reason, but they are gone, and we made the decision to close our home for now.  Its been easier, but routines have "gone to pot."  I know we'll get a new groove going soon, perhaps after our fall break next week - we are heading for the beach.  DS really loves the beach!

We are enjoying the books this term.  We will finish Leonardo da Vinci this week, and start Michelangelo after break (both by Diane Stanley).  We finished a children's version of Marco Polo, and will start a more challenging version (by George Towle) of that after break as well.  Other than that, we are following AO Year 3's booklist to a "T"!

Reading in "the fort" with Goosie the cat

Out of the books we are to read this week, he chose Shakespeare today.  I'm amazed by what he enjoys.  Reading aloud to him is his favorite part of each school day, other than breaks.  Typical, LOL!

He struggles with reading and writing on his own - he can do it, but not as much as I would like.  I'm having quite a time determining how much to expect from him day to day, as his mood changes.  His OT told me he likely has dysgraphia in addition to SPD, so I've been learning more about that, and trying to adjust my expectations.

We started a new math program to use in addition to what we did last year.  I'm taking our old math book more slowly, to break up the days we do the new, computer-based program (A+ Interactive).  Its going pretty well, although the emphasis on terminology and definitions took me by surprise.  I don't think he really comprehends wordy definitions right now, but the actual math he has no problems with. He's doing third grade math right now, and is in chapter 3 currently with A+ and Lesson 54 in Graded Work in Arithmetic (which we started last year).

In addition to freshening up math, we have started Creating a Masterpiece for art.  I haven't really done art instruction with him, and am certainly no creative-type myself, although I'm working on that with my new free time.  Due to my lack of confidence in this area, I was glad to find this great DVD program at the Teach Them Diligently conference back in May.  We have completed one project and are now working on a clay turtle.

I will try to be more diligent about updates here, as well as what I'm learning apart from school.  At the moment, I'm reading Waverly, by Sir Walter Scott, along with other ladies on the AO Forum.  I'm also trying to finish the latest Game of Thrones book before leaving for vacation, and its over 900 pages!  I think I can do it :)