Friday, October 29, 2010

Princess Party and new Homeschool curriculum!


Who would have thought we would be having a princess party after three boys? But it's true my dd is turning three tomorrow and it hardly seems possible!

We have been busy making preparations for the party in the midst of starting a new curriculum. We are trying the Winter Promise http://www.winterpromise.com/ high school edition of Quest for the Ancient World. We are also following Diana Waring's Ancient Civilizations cd's as well but found the book to be too hard to implement. It took us nearly two months to get through one unit because it lacked clear set daily goals for my kids. I like to see my lesson plans written out "Sonlight style", http://www.sonlight.com/ I call it and that's exactly what Winter Promise has done. It's so much like the user friendly Sonlight materials. I plan to use both throughout the coming years as the Lord provides the funding!
Yesterday I set up an archeological site survey in the back yard implenting the first activity in the Archeology for Kids         http://www.amazon.com/Archaeology-Kids-Uncovering-Mysteries-Activities/dp/1556523955/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1288352096&sr=8-1

It went really well. It took a lot of work to map out the site of a 10 x 10 square. The boys decided they definitely did not want to be archeologists but they came away with a better understanding and appreciation of what archeologists actually do and why! http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.answersingenesis.org%2Farticles%2Fnab%2Fdoes-archaeology-support-the-bible&h=d5e09 Here is a great article about how archeologists help people BELIEVE the Bible as historical TRUTH.
TRUTH. That's what I try to teach my kids. We discuss a lot of things thoughout the day and that's part of the reason we enjoy homeschool so much! My ds who is 12 is a constant talker. When he was in 2nd grade in the Christian school (before homeschooling) his teacher said he talked too much! No kidding?! Well, I let him talk all he wants because that's how he learns and processess the world is through discussion. It's not an easy day, but it's worth the effort when I see my kids getting along well with one another and ENJOYING life together!