Right now it should be spelling, but here we go! Seize the moment! Here you go, Marni. How much prep time do I take per class...approximately.
I prepare almost all the devotionals to go along with our monthly theme, which starting in March has to do with Civility, in the context of "What makes a good society/government?" (Hey, just watched "The Giver" as an example of false civility...hmmmmmm.)
I try to pick out books that are either classics themselves or as classic as they can get (first-hand sources, etc.) I try to pick something for the whole year to study out of gradually, sometimes finishing it before the end of the year or not finishing it at all. I try to consider what age group might want to join me on my personal journey of learning and accommodate the assignments accordingly.
As I prepare, I keep in my mind that this is about my education as well as theirs and I need to treat it as such. I cover this in my second video segment of "you, not them".
I generally don't do any curriculum that spells out assignments, Saxon math and Wile's biology books are the closest I get. I do a lot of reflection time and discussion, hand's on, treats and supplemental quick videos. The more ways of learning something, the better they learn it! I also sometimes cut things short or make them longer, depending upon the need.
***********
Monday: Leadership Academy
6 am "Aspire" Class: (from Kevin Hall's book) only my 13 year old has been coming, but it has been fantastic one-on-one time and good for both of us.
Prep: Read "Aspire" chapter (15-30 minutes) and try to think of video, story or small activity to reinforce it.
Donuts/breakfast food and hot chocolate/juice
Leadership Moment: most everyone 14 and under
-Sometimes I just do this as part of the devotional. This morning we finished up "Service-Oriented Leadership and watched an "Encouragement" video on Values.com and read the story about Maximillian Kolbe ("The Angel of Auschwitz"?) from the Book of Virtues. Powerful stuff.
-Sometimes we do a group word study (I try to do this at least once a month)
-Spelling encouragement, poem review, penmanship, leadership games...these are all ideas!
Thinking About Thinking: my 17 and 19 year old have been doing this with me
Prep: Read the article for the week out of "Thinking about Thinking" (a textbook of articles from BYU-Idaho)--30 min prep-- or on the fourth week be prepared to do the "Great Books Discussion"
We are working our way through the 10 year reading plan.
***********
Tuesday: Geo-conquest
I try to do a "Geo-Safari" or seterra.org map on these days...just one. The kids are out-doing me on this one.
State Spotlight: 13 and under (14 y.o. wanders in and out)
Prep: none, unless I am the one in charge of the state presentation for the week. Normally I just have one child who has volunteered to do a presentation or a prezi. I will roll out the map, help them sing the "Fifty Nifty" song while they try and follow along or we will put mini-marshmallows on each state and let them take turns picking and naming them to get them familiar with where they are at.
Time Machine: 13 and under
Prep: read the stuff for history and pick one or more chapters to do a quick activity on, something interactive, artistic and memorable. Sometimes, when we are on the road for some kind of trip, I will just pick a chapter to read, like the one on "Gettysburg." "History of US" by Joy Hakim. Powerful stuff.
World Summit: 13 and older
Prep: Everyone who comes has to have gathered at least one news article from the area of the world (or the topic--last week's was "presidential candidates" and we each took one or two). Normally we each have two and sit and present and discuss while looking at our world map laid out on the table.
History: 11-17, depending upon who comes prepared
Prep: Read the section and do either a graphic summary, come prepared to teach one or more of the chapters, or do a project. (My project is normally to get the "Time Machine" ready, find one or more videos to supplement the material and then help take turns teaching the chapters.)
This is the most reading prep I do for any other class except for the Great Books discussion.
***********
Wednesday: Eureka!
I am normally completely burned out by this point and the rest of the week is a walk in the park...or (if I plan ahead) I work on the reading for next week. Never happens until Saturday...maybe.
Anatomy: 13 and under
Prep: Glance through chapter to determine topic. (We are using Apologia's "Anatomy" book but also like Wile's "Science in the Beginning" book.) Make sure I have materials I need for experiments (or find out which ones I cannot do because I don't have the materials :), lol.) Pick out a couple "supplementary" videos online.
I read through it with the kids as we discuss it, supplementing with any awesome knowledge I have picked up over the years. Or just enthusiasm. I have them "stop and teach" each other frequently, encourage them to take notes in their books and use my white board to draw pictures.
***********
Thursday: Imaginative Arts
Authors in the Attic: Everyone except 17 year old.
Prep: write my own "thing," whether a blog post from earlier that week or a poem. (Check out "poemswoems" for our blog of awesomeness :).)
Art project? Sometimes I just get out paper and art supplies. Sometimes I actually sit and do it more with them. I have natural artists who don't need a lot of encouragement. Sometimes I even come up with a cool project before hand (4 times since the beginning of the school year).
***********
Friday: Catch up day!!
All those classes we didn't get to the rest of the week because of sickness, arguing, doctor's appointments, etc, we have this day. Generally, I will just shift days if we have major interruptions to keep our "flow."
Latin: we do this twice a week, but we use the "Getting Started With Latin" which involves absolutely no prep for me.
Mom's Reading: only prep for this is finding a winner! We have stopped reading books mid-read because they "feel wrong." Just finished "Heidi" and "Tuck Everlasting"...next one will be...hmmm. So many options. So little time. We do this pretty much every day but Saturday and everyone except my college student and husband listen in, although I think my oldest son (17) will be stopping soon.
Follow-up ideas on "You not Them" in answer to some questions I got from people:
(I was nursing my baby at the time and had just exercised, but I had to seize the day!...here are my answers. As people have ideas, I hope they will comment below!)
I prepare almost all the devotionals to go along with our monthly theme, which starting in March has to do with Civility, in the context of "What makes a good society/government?" (Hey, just watched "The Giver" as an example of false civility...hmmmmmm.)
I try to pick out books that are either classics themselves or as classic as they can get (first-hand sources, etc.) I try to pick something for the whole year to study out of gradually, sometimes finishing it before the end of the year or not finishing it at all. I try to consider what age group might want to join me on my personal journey of learning and accommodate the assignments accordingly.
As I prepare, I keep in my mind that this is about my education as well as theirs and I need to treat it as such. I cover this in my second video segment of "you, not them".
I generally don't do any curriculum that spells out assignments, Saxon math and Wile's biology books are the closest I get. I do a lot of reflection time and discussion, hand's on, treats and supplemental quick videos. The more ways of learning something, the better they learn it! I also sometimes cut things short or make them longer, depending upon the need.
***********
Monday: Leadership Academy
Prep: Read "Aspire" chapter (15-30 minutes) and try to think of video, story or small activity to reinforce it.
Donuts/breakfast food and hot chocolate/juice
Leadership Moment: most everyone 14 and under
-Sometimes I just do this as part of the devotional. This morning we finished up "Service-Oriented Leadership and watched an "Encouragement" video on Values.com and read the story about Maximillian Kolbe ("The Angel of Auschwitz"?) from the Book of Virtues. Powerful stuff.
-Sometimes we do a group word study (I try to do this at least once a month)
-Spelling encouragement, poem review, penmanship, leadership games...these are all ideas!
Thinking About Thinking: my 17 and 19 year old have been doing this with me
Prep: Read the article for the week out of "Thinking about Thinking" (a textbook of articles from BYU-Idaho)--30 min prep-- or on the fourth week be prepared to do the "Great Books Discussion"
We are working our way through the 10 year reading plan.
***********
Tuesday: Geo-conquest
I try to do a "Geo-Safari" or seterra.org map on these days...just one. The kids are out-doing me on this one.
State Spotlight: 13 and under (14 y.o. wanders in and out)
Prep: none, unless I am the one in charge of the state presentation for the week. Normally I just have one child who has volunteered to do a presentation or a prezi. I will roll out the map, help them sing the "Fifty Nifty" song while they try and follow along or we will put mini-marshmallows on each state and let them take turns picking and naming them to get them familiar with where they are at.
Time Machine: 13 and under
Prep: read the stuff for history and pick one or more chapters to do a quick activity on, something interactive, artistic and memorable. Sometimes, when we are on the road for some kind of trip, I will just pick a chapter to read, like the one on "Gettysburg." "History of US" by Joy Hakim. Powerful stuff.
World Summit: 13 and older
Prep: Everyone who comes has to have gathered at least one news article from the area of the world (or the topic--last week's was "presidential candidates" and we each took one or two). Normally we each have two and sit and present and discuss while looking at our world map laid out on the table.
History: 11-17, depending upon who comes prepared
Prep: Read the section and do either a graphic summary, come prepared to teach one or more of the chapters, or do a project. (My project is normally to get the "Time Machine" ready, find one or more videos to supplement the material and then help take turns teaching the chapters.)
This is the most reading prep I do for any other class except for the Great Books discussion.
***********
Wednesday: Eureka!
I am normally completely burned out by this point and the rest of the week is a walk in the park...or (if I plan ahead) I work on the reading for next week. Never happens until Saturday...maybe.
Anatomy: 13 and under
Prep: Glance through chapter to determine topic. (We are using Apologia's "Anatomy" book but also like Wile's "Science in the Beginning" book.) Make sure I have materials I need for experiments (or find out which ones I cannot do because I don't have the materials :), lol.) Pick out a couple "supplementary" videos online.I read through it with the kids as we discuss it, supplementing with any awesome knowledge I have picked up over the years. Or just enthusiasm. I have them "stop and teach" each other frequently, encourage them to take notes in their books and use my white board to draw pictures.
***********
Thursday: Imaginative Arts
Authors in the Attic: Everyone except 17 year old.
Prep: write my own "thing," whether a blog post from earlier that week or a poem. (Check out "poemswoems" for our blog of awesomeness :).)
Art project? Sometimes I just get out paper and art supplies. Sometimes I actually sit and do it more with them. I have natural artists who don't need a lot of encouragement. Sometimes I even come up with a cool project before hand (4 times since the beginning of the school year).
***********
Friday: Catch up day!!All those classes we didn't get to the rest of the week because of sickness, arguing, doctor's appointments, etc, we have this day. Generally, I will just shift days if we have major interruptions to keep our "flow."
Latin: we do this twice a week, but we use the "Getting Started With Latin" which involves absolutely no prep for me.
Mom's Reading: only prep for this is finding a winner! We have stopped reading books mid-read because they "feel wrong." Just finished "Heidi" and "Tuck Everlasting"...next one will be...hmmm. So many options. So little time. We do this pretty much every day but Saturday and everyone except my college student and husband listen in, although I think my oldest son (17) will be stopping soon.
Follow-up ideas on "You not Them" in answer to some questions I got from people:
(I was nursing my baby at the time and had just exercised, but I had to seize the day!...here are my answers. As people have ideas, I hope they will comment below!)
"supplementing with any awesome knowledge I have picked up over the years. Or just enthusiasm." I laughed at this one. Enthusiasm is the best word for you. I have always loved that about you. Yes, you have awesome knowledge from the years too, but your enthusiasm is amazing! I have always marveled at how you can express it is such a way that it seems to be an amazing new idea to you. You're awesome. Thanks for taking the time to put together the videos. It's almost like having you here, sort of. Not really, but at least all these things you talked about for years are now getting recorded so that my memory that struggles to hold onto things, can return again and again to get the awesome 'Maryness' that I love. Love you!
ReplyDeleteHilarious...it is because whenever I get excited like that, it IS a new idea to me!!! I have so much to learn and I think it is getting more and more awesome how much I don't know and how much I am learning. Love you, friend :)!
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