Over at Scholé Sisters, the talk of truth, beauty, and goodness is generating some mental fodder for this lady. Maybe its the third trimester awakenings at 3 am or the lack of overall space that is forcing me up to write this post. I prefer to think that it's inspiration from the ideas being talked about.Last year, we hit the doldrums hard in February and March; I attribute that to the large piles of snow that just kept coming and coming and coming (well, you get the idea) and also to the lack of beauty as my children saw it. I find a distinct comfort in the recitation of facts, of time lines, and maps surrounding me. I draw mental refreshment from a large stack of research about a random topic of interest. However, my chickadees at 5, 4, and a year don't. They love variety, color, and freshness. And honestly, in the dead of winter with constant sub zero temperatures doesn't everyone!
In the blog post, Beauty as Home, Brandy Vencel talks about how important and how simple beauty can be in everyday life. The flower arrangement given by a friend, the smell of a tea snack baking away, the touch of dog-eared books under fingertips are some of the beautiful that I want my children to grow to love. I want their memories to be filled with those and many more sensory perceptions when they leave my house.
Our schedule this year will hopefully allow us to do that. I want to give the chickadees time to absorb their surroundings but have time to work academically as well. Last year, we loosely used trimesters and a summer term to keep us organized. What I like about trimesters is that 13 weeks allow me to have enough planned, prepped, and organized that a rhythm can play out. Once a trimester is done, I can re-evaluate where we are and where we are going. I plan on ten to twelve weeks of school work at time and the rest of the time is to be used as sick days, field trips, etc. (you know that margin time!).
Inside of my trimesters, I have two loops (A and B) which play out in six week increments. Since I failed miserably at getting in all of my extras, I figured I would use the looping system Sarah mentions over at Amongst Lovely Things. I mention at the bottom of my last homeschooling post the subjects I wanted to focus on this year. Our Current Year
- Trimester One: July 28 to November 2
- Loop A:
- Meet the Masters Track A
- nature notebooking
- adapting Five in A Row with books The Story About Ping and Lentil
- Read Aloud Book of Bible Stories
- Loop B:
- Bach study unit
- Ancient Egyptian books/activities
- poetry
- PACE virtues of self-discipline and work
- Trimester Two: Nov. 3 to February 22
- Loop A:
- Biographies of the artists studied and museum field trips
- volcano kit
- adapting Five in A Row with books Madeline, Cranberry Thanksgiving (over the holiday week), and Clown of God (a favorite advent book basket book)
- "The Things I See in Church" faith folder from Holy Learning
- Loop B:
- Recorder (oh yes! That's what Leo wanted to play as instrument) practice
- Ancient Greek historical audio books and activities
- Mother Goose rhymes (Bella requested these)
- PACE virtues of perseverance and faith/trust
- Trimester Three: February 23 to May 31
- Loop A:
- Meet the Masters Track B
- nature notebooking
- adapting Five in A Row with books A Pair of Red Clogs and Mike Mulligan and His Steam shovel
- Lenten works (possibly The King of the Golden City as a read aloud)
- Loop B:
- Hayden study unit
- Roman history audio books and activities
- Shel Silverstein's Where the Sidewalk Ends
- PACE virtues of compassion and friendship