Donnie is going through the Italic handwriting course, which is going great! I have seen a great improvement in his writing. He is in the third grade, and I never really concentrated too much with him on writing his letters. We did a lot of his work oral up to this point because his writing was so shaky. His letters would come out squiggly. So I figured it was a fine-motor issue.

Well, this year as he was entering 3rd grade, I knew we would have to work and improve on his penmanship because more writing would be required. So, I bought the italic course because it seemed the simplest to do.

I started him out on the first book, the very basic book with just the alphabet. He did a page a day, sometimes two. We made sure he took his time. Sometimes I had him recopy the page on a primary writing pad we had bought some years ago.

He then moved to the second book. And now he is beginning the third book. Even in his everyday writing that he does outside of studies, I can see an improvement.

But as he did his other writing for other subjects on wide ruled paper, I noticed that his writing would be uneven. His lowercase letters would sometimes be as tall as an upper case letter. Sometimes he would not bring the stem of a ‘p’ or ‘g’ below the line.

So this is where the primary lined paper comes in. I made this up for him to use during his studies. It helps him bring what he is learning in his penmanship book, into his other subjects. We have been learning about margins, so I made it up with the red lines going down both sides. Without the lines, he tends to start at the edge of the paper.

So, as with most everything else, I thought I would share these simple pages with you all. Maybe, someone else can use them too.

MaryEllen has been writing since she was 4, learning to write her letters, but I have noticed that her writing is a little sloppy. So, I started her in the Italic course also beginning with book C (the third book). I am hoping this will help her with neatness. She wasn’t too thrilled, but I told her until her writing improved, she will have to do the book concentrating on neatness.

~Download~
Primary Lined Paper - Line Height - Small (32)
Primary Lined Paper - Line Height - Medium (30)

Blessings,

We are in the process of memorizing this WHOLE chapter. I am guessing it might take us (or me) about a month or so. I am going to shoot for 2-3 verses a week. More if the kids can handle it. Their reward for memorizing this chapter will be a Beanie Baby stuffed animal. They are so into Beanie Babies right now. They are collecting quite a few, most of them bought with their own money or as gifts for Christmas.

Okay, back to 1 Corinthians 13. As we go through each verse, we are also discussing what they mean, looking up words that might not be familiar and sharing how we can apply them to our lives. We just started 3 days ago, and already have the first one memorized.

I do want to find a commentary on this chapter so I can read it and glean from it so I can better answer any questions the kids might have.

I know I memorized most of this verse as a child when I was part of Missionettes. I remember having to replace my name in the place of ‘charity’. I think I will have the kids do this also. Maybe I will even have them write it out to hang above their bed or somewhere they will see it everyday. I think I will make up a mini poster just for this.

Okay, I took a break from typing and went and created a poster for the kids to hang on the wall. I think it would also be a neat idea to have them write it out and maybe use magazines or different fonts to emphasize each description of love.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Poster (24)

So for me it would read, “Cynthia suffereth long, and is kind; Cynthia envieth not; Cynthia vaunteth not herself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave herself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easity provoked, thinketh no evil;…”

1 Corinthians 13

1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.

10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

1 Corinthians 13 Copywork - Primary (35)
1 Corinthians 13 Copywork - Ruled (29)

I created these index cards to make it easier instead of feeling overwhelmed with a whole page of scripture. This way we can take them in bite-size pieces. Hey I know, I will call them “Scripture Bites.”

You can either cut them out into individual cards, or you can cut the paper across under the first and second cards, line them up in order, trim where necessary and staple on the left a few times to make a mini book. This way they are all together, but you can still focus on just the few verses you are working on at a time. This also works great for review of previous scripture because they will all be together. No fear of losing any cards.

1 Corinthians 13 Scripture Bites (21)

Blessings,

I wanted to share an update on how we are doing with the Robinson Curriculum which we began early summer 2009.

Pros:
Self educating
Cost effective
Minimal parent preparation for lessons
Three subjects
Self paced
Used with multiple students and multiple grades

Cons:
Takes time to print books
Takes getting use to, especially if you didn’t begin this way when the kids were young.

This all I can come up with. I think the pros out weight the cons. Most of the books can even be purchased if you prefer that route.

So far we have slowly evolved into a routine that is doable. The kids still have a hard time getting started every day, but we are still working on them being more independent in that area.

One challenge was completing a Saxon math lesson a day. For a few weeks we did half lessons. If their error rate was high, I also cut the lesson down to half. The kids are both in Saxon 54, and are doing very well. I did have to learn to keep away because I tend to want to help. The kids were use to asking me for help for every little thing. For a while I would help them, but when I re-read the introduction, it reminded me that the kids need to go back and find out how to do something if they get stuck. So I let the kids know that they needed to go back and look at the examples and read the lesson again if they don’t understand.

MaryEllen did hit a spot where it was getting difficult, but I realized it was because she didn’t know all her multiplication & division facts. So we have stopped Saxon for a few weeks and we are drilling on these until they can complete all of them in five minutes. I stopped Donnie too, because I figure he might hit the same spot. Mr. Robinson does recommend that the kids know all the facts (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) before they begin Saxon 54. I understand why now.

The other challenge was reading for 2 hours. We still aren’t there yet, but we have slowly worked up to an hour. We started at half an hour. I assign pages to make sure they are reading and not day dreaming or talking during this time. I now join them and read an hour too.

During reading, the kids read out of a science book, history book and a literature book, 20 minutes each. Right now we are using Christian Liberty Nature Readers for science, for history and literature, we are using what we had in our personal library. Once we deplete this, we will begin to read more of what is on the RC list.

Here is a post where I mention their booklists and how I substituted books on the RC list for ones we had at home. http://albright-news.com/blog/2009/11/back-from-vacation/

One area that was, and still is, hard for me, is putting aside other curriculum I had bought. I had purchased quite a few of the Beautiful Feet Packs and am planning on using all of her studies. After much thought, I decided to keep them and either do them together as a way to spend time together researching different eras, or assign the books and use the discussions questions as book tests and some of the assignments as writing projects for their writing time.

We do have read aloud and bible time after dinner most days. I usually read for about an hour to an hour and a half. The kids draw usually.

So basically, Robinson is the 3r’s, reading, ‘riting, ‘rithmetic. We add bible to that in the morning also. The kids practice their memory verses before beginning their studies. I also have them read out of a devotional in the morning too.

Anything else you want to add such as music or language, comes after the 3r’s are done. I eventually want to add music, sewing, maybe latin or Spanish.

I hope that was a little insightful. The RC YahooGroup is very knowledgeable too. You do not have to be using RC to join, but simply have to have an interest in learning more about it. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RobinsonUsers4Christ

Blessings,

I was sharing with my sister the other day on the phone about how my kids enjoy a simple recipe I found on Clara’s site called Pasta with Peas. It is so simple!! I knew the kids would eat it, because they are really good at trying new things that I make, but I didn’t know it would end up being one of their favorites.

When I tell them we are having Pasta with Peas, they get all excited and cannot wait for it to be done. Go figure!! My husband enjoys it too, so that makes it one of our regular, quick recipes.

We have also enjoyed her tradition of having sugar for Sunday breakfast. The kids like this. Clara had sugar cookies, and we have her sugar cookies now and then, but we have extended this to enjoying sticky buns or scones of different types. The kids and I then enjoy these with a cup of tea.

Here is the video of her cooking Pasta with Peas. You can see more on her YouTube Channel.

She even has a book out now!!

I think Clara’s Book and DVD will go great with any Great Depression Unit Study. I have listed a few links I found around the net that have Great Depression Lesson Plans. I have noticed that most of the lessons I found were geared more for the upper grades, middle and high school. But I did find a nice selection of books that can be read by or to the lower age kids.

After doing these searches, I am thinking of doing a mini-study myself with the kids. It would be great for them to get an idea how we might have to live if we ever get that bad again. It is also good just to learn how to be frugal and to live below our means. We are so blessed right now, that I would hate to be unprepared, both mentally and physically, if we were to have to cut down or do without.

Other Great Depression Resources

Here is her Depression Cooking Channel on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/user/DepressionCooking

Visions in the Dust
http://memory.loc.gov/learn/lessons/99/dust/intro.html

The Great Depression Unit – Based around Alabama, but still great for understanding the time.

Great Depression Lessons- Scroll Down to Unit Nine titled, "United States Between the Wars".

Great Depression Journals- A nice activity that will fit along fine with your Great Depression Study.

Dear Mrs. Roosevelt- Letter written to the first lady by children asking for her help during the Great Depression.

Surviving the Dust Bowl (PBS)- Teacher Resources and a video to watch online.

Great Depression Powerpoints

Books of Interest

More Books on The Great Depression

Blessings,

The kids and I have begun to use English from the Roots Up Vol. 1. Like everything else, I seem to over think things out. Should we copy them to index card? Or maybe just use a notepaper and have them draw a green/red square around the word. Should I just buy the ready-made index cards and have them use those instead of writing them out? Should we do a root a week and a word a day? Ack!!

Well, I decided to have them notebook the roots copying the words and definitions. We might…might add some words of our own. I remember reading in the book that you can look up some additional words in the dictionary. Later on, we might do this also.

I made up notebooking pages for the kids and I to use. One for Greek words, and one for Latin words. We will just color in the border with marker with its respective color. (You can also use crayon or color pencils.) We could have used regular notebook paper, but I didn’t like how it turned out. I thought of gluing on an index card too, but then decided to go with creating the page and printing them off. Silly probably…but….

If you are using English from the Roots Up, you are welcome to give these a try. They might even work if you are not using English From The Roots Up.

~Download Links~
Black and White
English From The Roots Up - Black & White - Greek (24)
English From The Roots Up - Black & White - Latin (17)

Color
English From The Roots Up - Color - Greek (20)
English From The Roots Up - Color - Latin (19)

Blessings,

My daughter, who is soon to be 10, has been drawing horses since I can remember. It is fun to see how far she has come. For Christmas, I decided to get her this art course by Barry Stebbing, The Wonderful Art of Drawing Horses, that way she can continue to improve and expand her learning into areas of shading, and more realistic techniques. She was excited to get this, and has already begun.

The Wonderful Art of Drawing Horses By Barry Stebbing / How Great Thou Art Do sketches of ponies keep showing up in the margins of your kids’ homework? Here’s your chance to develop that "doodling" into art! Designed for ages 8 and up, Stebbing’s curriculum offers 87 progressive lessons that emphasize the value of practice and provide drawing tips, black-and-white samples of student artwork, sketches by master artist Leonardo da Vinci, and horse trivia. 119 pages, softcover.

One thing I did tell her was this was NOT part of studies. This was for her to do whenever she wanted. It is her own, so make it something you will be proud to look at 5, 10 years down the road. She was hesitant to write in the book, but when I explained how it is something she can look back on years down the road, she felt more comfortable. There is also a nice section in the back with blank paper titled, ‘Sketchbook,’ which is a place for her to jot down her progress.

Here are a few drawings she has done. Although, I think she has improved much on her own by examining and copying pictures of various horses, I know she will benefit from this course. I like how there is a section on copying the masters.

These are her before pictures. I look forward to her after pictures.

Blessings,