The Premiere Wakefield Academy Homeschool Conference

I started off the morning with some coffee from my favorite mug. Got to love the bee.

I had a great notebook, some cool writing implements, and I was good to go.

I started Day 1 with some bible reading. My bible is highlighted and notated throughout and I spent some time reading through Psalms. I settled on Psalms 103:15
"As for man his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field, the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more."

I smiled. Wait, you say, smiled? That's not the most uplifting verse. It reminded me of my favorite lines from The Iliad. Book 6 starting at line 146
"As in the generation of leaves, so is that of humanity. The wind scatters the leaves on the ground, but the live timber burgeons with leaves again in the season of spring returning. So one generation of men will grow while another dies."

I blogged about this passage last year. As we currently live in the midst of a forest, it touched me. Many leaves have fallen in our time here, many flowers blown away in the wind, yet there is always new growth. I was reminded that whether we are flowers or leave we are all scattered by the wind. If we have done our job (I'm thinking teaching here) part of us lives on. More flowers bloom, the fallen leaves nourish the ground and makes way for the new generation.

It was a beautiful way to start what was a great conference.

Next I spent some time reading through The Latin-Centered Curriculum, first and second editions. We have followed LCC for the last two years of schooling. I spent so much time reading the second edition I've had to tape the cover. Reading through them both again kindled the enthusiasm I have for classical education. Some of the pointers I received from my re-reading the first edition include to give Latin its due, then judge for yourself what is necessary and know how to adapt classical education, not change it.

Multum non multa has been our goal and I was reminded that means:

• A limited number of subjects taught in depth
• subjects are taught in relation to one another
• The core readings in English & history (classical, christian, and modern) consist of a few masterpieces studied slowly and in depth

Day 1 stretched out longer than I had thought as I listened to Susan Wise Bauer's lectures. I added a nap time into the schedule to allow my mind to absorb the information. I'd read and heard all these talks before, but with focused attention to them I discerned much more wisdom than before.

This is me at the beginning of day 2. A tad tired and sporting my "Educational Anarchist" t-shirt. Day 2 continued to be exciting as I listened to SWB's Literary Analysis lecture. Again, I got more out of it the second time around.

I spent some time pondering our schooling and what it will look like for the future years. I became re-excited about exploring two-track history and truly applying the multum non multa philosophy. I spent some time clearing and categorizing a few things in my head. Like how to keep LCC at the forefront, while utilizing some of the methods from The Well-Trained Mind, adding my own desires for Z's education, and saving time to explore his passions.

I did a lot of pondering while sitting in this chair with the back massager. I think all conferences, homeschool or otherwise, should be held while you sit in comfy chairs receiving a massage. I was fortunate that my biggest distractions were the cat coming to visit and the dog who wanted to share my chair. There are many benefits to holding your own conference, I highly recommend it.

• not missing any of the lecture if you take a potty break
• you can stop to research something right there, no waiting until you back home or to your hotel room. This is why my timing was way off.
  
• if you're inspired to grab another book from the shelf, it's right there. That happened twice as I tried to reference other source.
  
• build in nap time. I highly recommend it. Studies have shown that 30 minutes of lying prone can stimulate creativity. On day 1 I napped for 1.5 hours, not sure if that tripled the creativity, but it felt good.
• you only have to hear the lectures you want to hear.
• there is something about going through all the information in a shorter time frame. It held more resonance.
  

My initial time estimate was 10 hours, 45 minutes. It actually took 15 hours, 10 minutes, and that doesn't include the nap time. A worthy investment and now I'm planning one for other areas of my life, writing and personal.

Excuse Me While I Talk to Myself

Inspired by Jennefer at Smooth Stones Academy, I have opted to hold my own homeschool conference. Seems fitting as our school start date keeps getting pushed back, I'm ready to start, and no one else in the house wants to talk about school. Fine! I'll talk to myself. More likely I'll be reading and listening and organizing and drinking lots of coffee.

I have two fun-filled days planned with my books, my computer, my mp3 player, my red comfy chair, and a bonus of the portable back massage machine and massaging foot bath.

The conference is scheduled for Thursday and Friday of this week. I've even put together a certificate of completion I will hand myself at the end of the day Friday.

Here's my current schedule. I'm stretching myself with an actual schedule as I prefer to fly spontaneously through my organization. I think with coffee and chocolate I'll be okay.

2010 Wakefield Academy Homeschool Conference

Benefits:

• organize and gather final materials for first semester
• provide motivation and encouragement for teacher
• reiterate goals for Wakefield Academy
• relax and regroup before start of school

Materials provided:

• notepad with pens
• all necessary books
• coffee and water
• chocolate
• snacks and lunch
• back massager to be used while listening to downloads
• foot bath at end of day
• certificate of completion at end of conference

Schedule:
Session One

• open with prayer and readings from Bible
• read intro in The Latin-Centered Curriculum (1st and 2nd edition), plus pertinent chapters
• read through portions of Marcus Aurelius' Meditations
• Listen to SWB's Joys of Classical Education
• Organize the following subjects (Memory work, Algebra, Megawords)
• Break 20 minutes

Session Two

• organize allowed music for classroom
• listen to SWB's A Plan for Writing - elementary years
• listen to SWB's A Plan for Writing - middle grades
• organize the following subjects (Asian Studies, English, Art)
• Lunch Break (30 minutes)

Session Three

• Listen to SWB's Literary Analysis
  
• Read through TTC Socratic List
• organize the following subjects (Literature, Reading)
• Review and take notes from The Excellent 11 (Ron Clark)
• Read through Spring 2010 edition of The Classical Teacher
• build personal/team mission statement (www.franklincovey.com/msb)
• Create school plan for upcoming possible move
• Break (20 minutes)

Session Four

• Spend 30 minutes reading from Critical Lessons (Noddings)
• Organize the following subjects (Latin, Japanese, Logic)
• Practice Tai Chi DVD
• Create notes for family meeting (student and school notes)
• Open (for anything else I've forgotten)
• End with massaging foot bath (may have this out beforehand)

This should be a fun endeavor. I plan to be up and dressed and ready to go by 8:30 a.m., which should be a feat in itself. I doubt I'll be as chipper as Doris Day appears in the above photo...and I won't be in heels either.

Educational Planning and a Caution about Boxes

People often try to put homeschooling in a box. It doesn't work. Homeschooling is a lot like parenting, each family has a different take. Even the same actions can look different from family to family. I imagine anyone that sat in our schooling for the day expecting to fully understand what homeschooling is about would be sorely disappointed. We don't fit into boxes very well.

However, a recent (and continuing) conversation with other homeschooling parents has shown me how precariously close I have come to placing my son's education into my own version of a box. We have followed a Latin-Centered Curriculum for the last two years. It has made classical doable for this non-classically educated teacher. Recently I've found myself thinking more about high school, college admissions standards, and how in the world I am going to put this unique child into a mold for the "perfect" student resume. Wait! Stop the presses!! Our intent with homeschooling has never been to mold my child to anything! It has been about developing his education, his person to fulfill his own potential, not have him fit into a mold.

I love what The Latin-Centered Curriculum has allowed me to do. I love the multum non multa approach and it is my hope (perhaps my requirement) that Latin be at the center of our curriculum for the few remaining years of homeschooling. I absolutely see the benefits in keeping Latin at our core, with writing and math not far behind. But as for the rest, there has been a haze around each subject because I am not a fortune teller. I do not know who my son will be as he grows. His interests and passions are circling, but there is not a clear picture yet and that is okay.

I feel blessed because I don't know many soon to be teens (I think teenager is Latin for hungry) that have the opportunity in a traditional school setting to study Latin, Japanese, and Asian History all in the same year. The last two were his request, the first my requirement. I don't know how his education will all turn out. In the end it might look a little bit like this year, some of his requests, some of my requirements.

Someone very wise compared our unique children to a cloud during the course of conversation. "These cloud children are like clouds - hard to pin down, hard to define, growing all over at the same time, or shrinking, but never staying the same." I let out a resounding yes and a sigh of relief when I read that. They are fluid, beautiful, sometimes clear, sometimes grey (as the storm clouds literally roll by outside at the present time), and always changing. That is the beauty I see in my child, that is the goodness in him that would never work well in a box.

As a planner by nature I have notebooks filled with ideas of what his future years of schooling might look like. In the past I created a binder and filled with ideas by grade levels. *snort* That is so not going to work anymore, that is where I have a tendency to want to create the box...we must X during grade Y, because that's what "they" said. So I have created a new way to organize my "educational planning" binder. I was thrilled because it also gave me a use for the A-Z set of dividers that have been sitting around unused for two years. They were a freebie and who passes up free school/office supplies? Not me.

This new system of organization will allow me to keep an eye on requirements for high school and college AND provide the fluidity to allow my child to be the cloud. We've pushed back our school start date (for several reasons) and this will give me time to stare at the sky, contemplate the clouds, and enjoy the changes as they take place.

Here's my new table of contents for my binder. The few blank spots are for those areas I may have forgotten:

A. Encouragement
B. On Education (general)
C. On Education (classical)
D. Open
E. Latin
F. Writing/Rhetoric
G. Logic/Philosophy
H. Grammar/Mechanics
I. Great Books
J. Literature (non Great Books)
K. History (non Great Books)
L. Mathematics
M. Science
N. Computer
O. Japanese language
P. Religion
Q. Fine Arts
S. Community opportunities
T. Misc electives
U. Study skills
V. Volunteer
W. Grade level notes
X. College Prep (testing etc)
Y. Transcripts/Graduation
Z. College

Paula vs. The Snake

The other morning I woke up early. My husband was still asleep, my son was still asleep. Sadly, there was no coffee made. I was just going to let the dog out and go back to bed, mostly because Tigger always makes the coffee and one can not just get up and be up without coffee.

However, my morning caffeine infusion became unnecessary when I peered into the dog's room... First, since you don't live in my house I have to explain the dog's room. It's a former sunroom. There are sliding glass doors between the living room and this room. This room has a regular back door that opens onto the backyard, hence the title "back door". We often leave the back door open and the dog on her cable so she can go in and out. The room does not have ductwork and has its own window AC unit.

But.....the back door has been closed all night. As I peered into the room in my hazy state of consciousness I saw something on the floor. It was thicker than her cable, not the right color for her leash. My first thought was How did that rope get in there? My second thought was Shit, that's not a rope, that's a snake!! My third and fourth thoughts smashed together something like this...I don't see a head on the snake...OMG, my dog bit off the snake's head. OMG, my dog is still walking around, she didn't get bit! OMG, let the dog out of the room while I pick up the dead snake.

Daytona was quite excited when I let her out in the house. I had a minor heart attack when the snake moved. So much for bliss in the early morning as I screamed There's a snake in the dog's room, thereby waking everyone else in the house. Even the cat came to the sliding glass door to see what was up.

(The orange is an extension cord, the taupe thing is not)

The varmit slithered under a shelving unit and I put the dog outside as we woke up. Tigger stated "leave the door open, he'll go outside". Sadly he did not right away. I went in to shoo him out when he was on the window sill (after an hour or more to calm my nerves with, yup, you guessed it, coffee) I would have gotten him out if I had help from more than the broom and if I hadn't been trying to take a picture of said creature. I hastily named the snake Spot, as it Out Damn Spot!

(Spot, posing for his closeup)

He then slithered back under the shelving unit and I stood there sweating as the dog barked to get back inside. Meanwhile the back door stayed opened. An hour later I donned tennis shoes (like I would kick at a snake), leather gloves (or pick it up), grabbed the broom and any other long handled apparatus I could find. I proudly proclaimed to Tigger that I would take care of this.

I'm not afraid of snakes. I had googled and somewhat confirmed this was not a poisonous creature. Now if this would have been a spider I would have watched from behind the glass as I made Tigger take care of it immediately. A snake doesn't bother me, except for when they are in the house.

(me preparing to take on the snake)

So in the room I went. Tigger came in and helped me tear apart the room. We found no snake. Fortunately there isn't a lot of furniture in the room, so it didn't take long. We safely assumed the creature had left, turned the AC on, let the dog back into her room, and most importantly shut the back door.

Two days later I'm still peering through the glass before opening the door. The dog has been banned from having visitors without permission. No sign of the snake. I'm hopeful that he slithered back into the wilderness that is our back yard, telling stories of his overnight stay in the house of the big black monster dog.

I'm giving away a book!!!

To help celebrate our American freedoms I am giving away an autographed copy of An American Walkabout. You can read more about the book, read a short interview I did with the author, and enter to win at my Accomplishate blog. A winner will be drawn at random on July 4th.

Where the Wild Things Are or Guess What's Living in our Yard!

At the end of our driveway is a drainage ditch. It always has some water in it and thankfully we have a long driveway. This week Tigger found this little guy living in the ditch. He's about two feet long and is actually quite adorable, for an alligator. Words I never thought I'd speak.

Before we moved here we lived in the mid-west, where alligators don't. When we started talking about moving here I had nightmares about alligators. I am surprised that the thought of this critter living in my yard doesn't entirely freak me out. Perhaps it has to do with shock of how many other creatures along the gulf are being destroyed because of oil, perhaps it's because we've seen every other form of nature in our yard. The alligator was bound to happen sooner or later.


The advice we've been given by those who know more about alligator behavior than us is to let him be. He's at least 1-2 years old and will wander away in search of food when his supply runs out. His mouth is about five inches big right now, so he's not a big threat. Yet.

I continue to be amazed at the diversity of nature in this state. The only thing we have yet to see is the wild boar that inhabit the area. Yes, wild boar. There are even warning signs on the hiking trails.

Summer vacation, embracing the late morning

Z and I are not morning people. With the elimination of a real bedtime Z has discovered the midnight hour. Staying up and watching goofy movies or Star Trek (which can occasionally be goofy) with Dad. It is presently almost ten a.m. and he's just now rousing. I've even been sleeping in, or getting up early and then going back to sleep.

There is something about the sixth day in a row of thunder rumbling through and the skies darkening that just summons you to take things easy. And at least for a few more weeks, that is what we're going to do. We've been reading, I've been working on school, and besides that we've just been hanging out. We need the mental rest, it's been a weird year.

Random Mascot Shots

We are the Wakefield Wildcats and our mascot is our cat, Speedy. Speedy is very attentive to the needs of our school.

Here he allows himself to be used in the pursuit of pre-algebra. My guess is that he has a soft spot for Life of Fred and really wants to attend KITTENS university.

Here you can see the wink in his eye as sides with the Z on the need for a longer break. There was a certain, "don't mess with the boy!" vibe that I picked up that day.

Here he is now, like five minutes ago, resting soundly in his basket after a long week of school work. You can see the smile on his face. Ah! A job well done.

The Final Countdown

It has begun. We have one to two more weeks of school, depending upon how much we get done next week. The sixth year of our adventure will be over. I've been busily working on next years schedule, and neglecting my blog, and next year schedule looks so serious.

We'll be stressing the development of good study habits over the next two years. My eyes are glancing down the path towards high school already. We're enjoying the journey set before us, so I know I must take my eyes off the forward path from time to time and look around to enjoy where I am at. Sixth grade is almost over and we will not journey this way again.

New Sidebar Photo: Nature Study Photo of the Week

Where we live nature comes to visit on a regular basis. Nature Study is done on an informal basis and seldom do we have to step outside of our yard for the experience. This time of the year it comes at such a fast pace I don't always blog about it. I added the picture on the sidebar so you can see what comes to call.

This week it was a skink. We have skinks all over the yard, but this was the largest and most colorful we have seen so far this year.

Friday Surprise

Earlier this week one of my uncles passed away. The funeral was in the northern part of our state and we were unable to attend. Aside from being unable to attend the funeral I was saddened because my mother would be there and I would not be able to see her. Imagine my surprise when these beautiful ladies showed up at my door today. Tigger had told me a surprise was coming and boy was he right. Below is aunt G. (on the left) and my mother (on the right).

I was so happy they were able to come down in visit. Z was also excited as his Mama is one of his favorite people in all the world. Did I mention they share a birthday? My mother claims part ownership of him and that's all right. We went to lunch and this was one of the many hugs Z initiated.


Posing where we had lunch. Tigger got off work and joined us. He knew about the surprise. What a great lunch.


More posing at our lunch. It was great to see them and show them around town a little, chat a lot, and spend some time together. We live several hundred miles away and this was the first time she or my aunt had been able to visit. I'm sorry my dad, who is at home, missed this. We would have loved to have seen him too.

Why Sleep is Important or Funny Things on a Thursday Afternoon

To be fair, we didn't get much sleep Wednesday night. I awoke around 3a.m. to the sound of banging. The boys had fallen asleep in the living room. I padded, okay dragged, myself through the darkness of the hallway to see what ill might have befallen them to be so d*#@ loud at that hour of the morning. Tigger, my fair knight, had killed a giant hairy spider. Tigger does not possess an ounce of arachnophobia (I have enough for everyone), yet even he was shaken. He made a large circle with his hands when I asked how big it was. He said he could hear it moving on the bookshelves *shudder*. We've had wolf spiders in the house before, but it's been a long time. Me thinks this was a lone scout and when he doesn't return the other spiders will stay far away. Do NOT tell me otherwise, because I'm not listening. Said spider was now deceased, hence the banging, and all three of us stayed awake for at least another hour.

So yesterday at school Z and I had a bit of fun with out new dragons and our Medieval Europe book. Direct quote from Z, "RAWR! Fear me, I am cheap plastic toy."

"Darn these castle walls."

"Hey look, they're learning Latin too!"

"Why are you all screaming, I was just watching the service."

We must have laughed for twenty minutes and never really did recover back to academics. My PSA for today, sleep is important, otherwise you may end up doing great silly things. Then again, maybe the lack of sleep had nothing to do with us being silly, that kind of happens anyway.

(I am now wearing shoes in the house, yuck, shudder, I hate spiders)

Tales from the Backyard

Our backyard holds a sense of magic,

wildflowers bloom,

a dog runs, a boy plays.

A hammock hangs beckoning anyone to come and let the breeze blow you to slumber.

Spring and all the colors of the season are in attendance.

Adventures in Wakefield

I noticed recently that it has been a month since I blogged here. Well we've had a productive month, including doing complete weeks of school. :greenstars: We've had more than our fair share of distractions this year, with illness, grumpies, growing, and what-not.

We've added some new one liners to our repertoire. We went to see Alice in Wonderland and the antics of the March Hare and Mad Hatter have added endless quips to our day, including the famous "You're late for tea!" Although it comes out more as, "You're late for school!". I do not throw the fine china however. I've also decided that I could really do the Mad Hatter as a costume. I have the hair, just a tad (okay a lot) more red, and then I could get the hat, which some book stores and Amazon sell. So I'm ordering the hat, yes I am. I going to wear it while I write, I'll be the mad writer. Go ahead, laugh, it may not be far from the truth.

We're entering the home stretch of our school year. We've finished our study of informal logic for the year and now we have filled its slot with an informal study of philosophy. We are using Philosophy for kids. Granted we've only done two lessons but both led to very interesting conversations which, as is SOP for our classroom, wandered down a rabbit hole or two.

Come to think of it, this year has been a lot of rabbit holes. That can be one of the joys and one of the pitfalls of homeschooling an only. No one objects when we stray off course (we: plural: meaning I love tangents as well) and no one but me will draw us back to center when necessary.
We laid aside some subjects and Z has picked up a few projects of his own, with great gusto. One could argue that rabbit holes allow us to explore ourselves and find out what is truly important. Just like Alice some days we feel sized correctly and it fits, some days we feel tiny and know we've taken on too much. There is no homeschool potion that will grow us or shrink us, but day-by-day we continue to find out who we are and where we belong.

A Review: The History of the Medieval World

As a regular poster on the Well-Trained Mind message boards I was excited when Susan Wise Bauer herself offered a preview online copy of her latest book, The History of the Medieval World, to posters in exchange for a review. Excitedly I rushed off my e-mail to Peace Hill Press with a please, thank you, yes, I'd love a copy.

It arrived and my first words were "Whoa!" or maybe "Wow!" All 741 pages of the proof copy. I discovered a few things in a short period of time.

1. I have a really hard time reading any book online. As a budding (would-be, going to be, hopeful) novelist I even print off my copy to read. As much as I love technology I will be one of the last people to order a Kindle.

2. This time period is fascinating! We are currently studying the Middle Ages and there are many things about this time period I a) never learned, b) have forgotten, or c) wasn't paying attention during that class period. My best guess would be "a".

I should preface my review by stating I received this proof copy free in exchange for a review, good or bad. I should also state that while we have homeschooled for 6 years now this is only our second year using a classical method. Our history programs prior to last year have not included world history. Unfortunately, I can't go back and change that.

I will also state I did not finish reading this book in its entirety. I focused on the areas where we were at in our school studies and then returned to the front of the book, but have not read as far as I would have liked.

If you could rate books on their density this would be a medicine ball not a basketball. The way this book is formatted is great. You can pick a chapter and read from that. I found it most helpful as we finished our study of Charlemagne. I would read about him and then turn to the logic stage materials we are using in class with a greater depth of understanding.

My only concern about this book is the short period of time it covers. According to the table of contents the chapters start at year 312 and the book ends at year 1129. In comparison Story of the World vol. 2 covers a much larger time period.

After delving into this material I can understand why. My only real memory of this time period from high school is people conquering, killing, and moving. This book covers not only the Western Civilization but the Eastern Hemisphere as well. It is a true world history book.

My concern for this comes from those that might be planning a four-year history rotation for the rhetoric level. Although this book is quite readable I can see where some students might struggle to read this book and then continue in another history text all in one year. I have not searched to see if there is an answer to this issue, but I'm sure there is a viable solution.

If you can only order one book on this period of time, I'd recommend this one. It would be a wonderful resource for self-education, rhetoric level studies, or even as reference book. I plan to order a print copy for myself.

The History of the Medieval World is available at Amazon or from the Peace Hill Press store. For a limited time if you order from PHP you can request an autographed copy.

School Expenses 2010-2011

I will keep this as a running total of what I've spent for school. Most of the purchases are for the 2010-2011 school year, a few are for finishing this year. I did not include the cost of items I already own.

for 2009/2010 school year:
LOF pre-algebra 29.00
Coat of Arms (dover book) 4.95
That Crumpled Paper was Due Last Week 11.00
Philosophy for Kids 20.00
Brain Quest workbook 5.00
Origami Calendar 2.40 (love clearance!)
Igniting Your Writing (currclick) 10.00
SWB's A Plan for teaching writing for middle school (MP3) 3.99
SWB's A Plan for teaching writing for elementary school (MP3) 3.99
" A Plan for Teaching writing for high school (MP3) 3.99
" Literary Analysis 3.99
Writing with Ease 19.77
Megawords Book 1 (teacher/student) 20.77
WWE book 3 - 23.07

Latin:
Latin Alive Teacher book - own
Latin Alive student book - 16.00
Latin Alive! book 1 DVDs & CDs - 94.26 (thank you, CAP! Amazing facebook discount saved 28.00)
Latin Fairy Tales - 10.17
Quot Animalia - 2.00

English:
Teach Terrific Grammar (6-8) - 14.96
Megawords 2 & 3 - 31.85


Earth Science:
Earth Science (Tarbuck 11th ed) - used 10.00
2nd copy of Earth Science book - paperbackswap. (PBS) 1 credit (changed mind on Textbook)
Switched to:
The Good Earth: Introduction to Earth Science - 1 PBS credit
" " second copy - Amazon - 6.52
Earthquakes, Volcanoes, & Tsunamis - 11.66
Weather Projects for Young Scientists - 11.66
You and the Environment - 4H project book, free download
Earth Encyclopedia - 9.99

Bible:
Dallas School New Testament study (x2) - 9.95

History:
Spielvogel's Human Odyssey (TE used) 13.00
Spielvogel's Human Odyssey (student) - already own
George Washington's World - 11.38
History and Technology 7 book series 35.00


Japanese language:
Irasshai Teacher Material - 18.99
Irasshai textbook - 29.99
Irasshai workbook x 2 - 18.99 x 2

Asian Studies:
Japanese designs (Dover coloring book) - 4.95
Great Wall of China book (PBS) - 1 credit
The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks - 1 credit
Korea - An Illustrated History - 6.48
Japan - An Illustrated History (used) - 5.74
The Importance of Living (used) - 7.95
Tales of Japan - 10.10
The Samurai's Tale - (free amazon 4/3)
Japan Culture Smart - 9.95
Urashima and the Kingdom Beneath the Sea - 9.95
Life of Pi
Chinese Brush Painting - both for 11.19 (B&N w/discount)
Asian World 600-1500 - (used) 6.86
Teacher's guide to Asian World - 19.95
The Story of Ancient China - 14.95
Ch'l-lin Purse - 6.95
Marco Polo for Kids - 11.53
Exploration into Japan - 4.34
Sign of the Chrysanthemum - 3.77
Ancient Japan - TCR download from CurrClick - 10.00
Art supplies - 12.40

Literature:
Alice's Adventure in Wonderland
Tom Sawyer - both books 7.82
Mark Twain short Stories - 2.50
Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (may not use until 8th) - 1.50
Figuratively Speaking - 12.23
Journey to the Centre of the Earth - 5.17

Misc:
Uncle Josh's Outline Map book - 16.86
Planbook software - 30.00
Paper Planner & book rings - 8.00
Far East Scrapbook paper - 17.88
Once Upon a Time scapbook paper - 13.07
Paper and report covers - 11.98
More report covers (I use these in binding) - 4.36
Photo boxes (for organizing supplies) - 6.68

My Self-Education:
Classical Rhetoric with Aristotle - 13.95 (used)
Sophie's World - 4.00
Animal Farm - 2.00

Items to use Later:
Renaissance & Reformation (Miller) - 10.00
Story of Mathematics - 4.10
Shakespeare biography - 2.49
Michelangelo book - 4.30
Antique classic books - 20.00







Total spent to date: 888.13 - 30.10 (book trade-in) = 858.03 + 3 PBS credits

2010-2011 School Year purchases

I've always tried to be frugal in our homeschooling. Next fall will start our seventh year of homeschooling. Some years we've had a tiny budget, some years I've been able to spend more. My spending tends to be done over a period of time in shorter amounts. Then at least twice during the months of March and April I do a few larger orders.

I started keeping track of expenses in November. This includes items for next year (2010-2011) and any items I need to finish out this remaining year.

The current total is listed in the sidebar, a detailed list is also available as a separate post. A few items for next year I already own as I have either been using them for my own self-education. I also invested in a membership in Amazon prime last year. That has been one of the best things for us as I can purchase less expensive items as needed and not worry about the shipping fees. For our family the 79.00 fee has been worth it.

Because our expenses are usually spread out over the year I don't have an exact dollar figure for what I spent last year. It was in the $700 - $1000 ball park. That's where I'd like to keep it, at least for middle school. Part of that budget includes materials for my own self-education, I consider myself a student in our school.

By listing these items I'm hoping to not only see how much I actually spend, but that you can see that homeschooling doesn't need to cost a fortune. Happy research and happy shopping.

Asian Studies? How LCC of You

I recently posted a rough draft of our schedule for next year. It includes Asian Studies for history, geography, and lit. If you also notice we follow the Latin-Centered Curriculum as our educational model. If you are confused because you never read the page about Asian Studies in LCC, don't be, it's not there.

Z is currently fascinated with the Japanese language, stemming from his interests in Pokemon, Yu-gi-oh, and Naruto. He has asked numerous times to learn the Japanese language. Not wanting to waste an educational opportunity I have worked Japanese into our schedule for next year. What about Greek? We started Greek last year and after our experience I had already opted to keep the Greek fun and perhaps work it in at the high school level. We'll discuss Latin in a moment.

Because we entered the classical model of education at the fifth grade level Z missed some of the richness that classical provides at early elementary level. One of those was world history. Our previous curriculum focused on US History and took a more social studies approach to history. We missed many of the rich history of the Asian culture. Last year we focused mainly on Greek and Roman history, this year we are studying the Middle Ages. Next year my goal was to hit the Renaissance/Reformation period and Moderns in 8th. So going back to Asian studies to hit what we missed in previous year seems very in medias res of me.

My current plan is to use a history text as a spine touching only on the chapter on Asian history. We will then take a deeper look at the East Asian countries of Japan, Korea, and China. We'll also finish our three year world geography tour on the Asian continent. We'll also add in art with Japanese calligraphy, origami, possibly silk painting, or wood block printing.

I've very excited and have already picked resources for many of these areas. Pssst - many of these items were already sitting on my bookshelves.

Latin will still be our main language. Latin, math, and composition will still be our core subjects. Following an LCC will actually give us the time needed to pursue Z's current passion. So perhaps it is very LCC of us to take the time to explore Asia.

My Percy Jackson Review

I give the movie a solid B. There were good parts and bad parts. The casting was good. Logan Lerman does a great job as Percy, Uma Thurman is awesome as Medusa.

Camp Half blood is different than I imagined. Some of the dialogue is bad and it seems like the script couldn't decide if it were designed for kids or teens. They introduced aspects of the series is some not so subtle ways like the dyslexia and ADHD angle. They missed some of the subtlety of the book and the genuine emotion of the story seemed forced.

The effects were decent and they changed the story line, but it held up all right, not excellent, but all right.

They sort of combined Ares and Hades, Ares is not in the movie at all, neither is Clarisse.

I've read all the books twice and some of the events have co-mingled in my mind and I've forgotten everything that only took place in "The Lightning Thief". I'll have to go back and re-read it now.

All in all I give it a B because of the solid casting and the setting of the foundation of what will hopefully be the remaining books becoming movies.

Also when you go do not leave when the credits start. There is a great scene part way through the credits.

Percy Jackson Movie Day

I think I am more excited than Z. Today we are taking a field trip to see Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief. I have my camp half-blood shirt all ready, money stashed in my wallet, and gas in my car. Yippee!!

I'll post a review afterward. I've read a few early reviews and I plan to view the movie as a separate entity from the books. Z and I read the series last year, I read them twice.

For now I must consume more coffee and get ready.