For years I have run groups called "Vanguard Youth" that are based
upon certain principles that I feel are inspired and effective for a
variety of learning styles, also allowing for personal agency within
themes and lenses. You can check the "founding principles" out here and include on that blog is a look at what I refer to as "lenses" and my monthly themes that I call the "7 Pillars." (There is also a description of why the monthly pillars and how I selected them.)
However, at this time, I have been blessed with the opportunity to apply these principles even more deeply in our home as I am able to focus on the education of just my children without the blessing and challenge of coordinating groups and needs of other youth. This is how I am doing it!
MONTHLY PILLAR: i.e. January was: "How to live a meaningful life in God's eyes"
Weekly Principle: I pick a principle that finds truthful answers and clarification of the monthly pillar that we may focus on for one week or more, depending upon the depth or inspiration I receive
Monthly Continent: I try to take one continent a month (and sometimes split up the larger or more diverse ones like Asia or Europe) and do meals, dances, library books, songs, and movies to increase my children's appreciation of diversity. I will often select library math books that come from a certain culture or continent or animal books from that area of the world.
Monthly Books: I have a list of books for my older ones to choose from for the month that center around the pillar for the month and we have a discussion surrounding a related-movie or dinner.
DAILY ACTIVITIES
-Devotional (one for older/one for younger or together if time or subject requires it): I use church magazine articles, inspirational stories and media, and music during these devotionals. The purpose is to gain greater understanding of the principle of that week. The younger ones memorize Articles of Faith and the older ones do other activities. We also have what we call "reflection time" for about 10 minutes after each devotional where they are encouraged to write or draw in their reflection book thoughts, impressions, and feelings they had during devotional. Music plays quietly and then they are invited to share with each other.
-10-Minute Math: I take 10 minutes during lunch with each child with age/interest appropriate math. Often we play games or review a chapter in Saxon math. The idea is that a little every day goes a long way and makes it manageable. They select what they are going to do for it.
-Mom reading time: everyone listens while I read a chapter or two of a classic of my choosing. We just finished "Summer of the Monkeys" and are reading "Strawberry Girl." Normally during the morning, unless the older kids are really busy with outside groups. Time for discussion and application to monthly pillar, weekly principle or other things in life
-Quiet Time: after lunch, people are able to go to their own places to study or rest...at this stage of my pregnancy, I normally sleep for a short time after reading to the little ones.
-Memorization Review: poem and scripture that re-inforce our principle, recited during our "pre-breakfast" family ritual: family creed, memorization, religious song, prayer
-Exercise:
-Basketball on Mondays at our church,
-dance on Tuesday,
-swimming or outside play on Wednesday,
-Thursday community sports day,
-something on Friday or Saturday either individually or as a family.
For our weekly subjects I seek for examples and connections with this principle in the world around us using the following four "lenses":
Monday--Leadership Academy lens: start study of principle and learn skills to help think and communicate like a leader
-Word Study on related word ("hope," in this case)
-Reading out of "The Catechism for the Constitution," an out-of-print lesson outline published soon after the Constitution was ratified to help students understand the what and why of our constitution: this is for the older kids during their devotional once or more a week. We take turns reading just a couple pages and talk about anything that comes up
-Penmanship (well-written segment of their word study or part of the memorization)
Lunch
-Short "writer's" lesson with "Author's in the Attic" challenge (see Thursday)
-Short Grammar lesson: 5-10 minutes, tops. A little goes a long way...
-Kick-off or review spelling list for the week
-Leadership games: strategy, good sportsmanship, etc.
Tuesday--Geo-conquest: look for examples in history and the world around us and increase our knowledge of places in the world, focusing on one continent a month: song, dances, food, etc.
-Family History moment if we remember :)
-Time Machine: we pretend to go back into time to a certain place and focus on an event or person: Joan of Arc, this week. We try to either act out, eat, or immerse ourselves in some type of activity to help us learn about this person or event on a deeper level. We also may do a map study. It was fun to do a "tennis ball" activity while studying Joan of Arc, one suggested in the study guide for Story of the World, as well as act out the intricacies of a crowning ceremony in medieval France.
I like to go through history somewhat sequentially, although I do skip many chapters in "The Story Of The World." I also either read with, teach a class for, or support the participation in a history class for my older kids who are either too busy or not interested in the "Story of the World." I do point out to my children, though, that most adults have no idea of most of the content of the "Story of the World" series and that if they knew and understood all of those, they would be far beyond the historical level of understanding of any adult with which I am acquainted :).
-Geo-Safari Challenge: they try to pass off one or more Geo-Safari cards about the continent of that month on their own
-Dancing: learn a cultural or historical dance from that time period or continent: a medieval folk dance this month that Avot found online...Avot-led, with Otter-pops or some kind of refreshment to follow.
-Avot-led Sign language Choir with kids--this is perfect timing as they are worn out by this time.
-Cultural dinner (if mom has energy :)...). I have a goal of at least once a month :).
Wednesday--Eureka! study the world around us scientifically and look for truths and connections we can learn from God's creations.
-Science chapter from "In the Beginning" or chapter of Apologia Biology (the older ones choose their own)
-Science games, field trip or project: one week was a Tasting Test
Normally after a fairly full first two days of the week, they are ready for the relative freedom of this day!
Thursday--Imaginative Arts: through the arts we finish up our look at the Principle for the week or just study it from this lens...art projects, stories, acting something out, etc.
-Do an art project: i.e. one week we made shields from Joan of Arc's time period and make paper dolls
-Read and act out a story: often this is during devotional
-"Authors in the Attic": those who have written anything can join us around a candle-lit table or lantern-lit crawlspace and entertain each other with our writings while eating a yummy treat :).
**Sometimes I get gung-ho about planning and plan more than we can do. The beauty of doing it with just my family is that I can say, "We're done for the day!" after previous projects and just save any remaining ones for another week. I can feel if the kids are "done" and just need time to do their own things for a while. It feels good!
Friday--Catch-up day! :)
Any projects that we haven't gotten to that week, we work on then, while the older kids go to choir, theater, and biology
One week, it was putting together and artistically painting and embellishing a 3-D castle my parents gave the kids for Christmas. Then we put together and delivered our "new year love-you-neighbor" gifts since I missed Christmas. I find I need this day to "finish-up" my goals for the week that have been on my mind.
As you can see, I don't spend a large amount of time on each subject. I have found that when children are having fun and see purpose in what they are learning, from penmanship to science, they engage more deeply for the "class" or activity and you see the effects throughout the rest of the week. If it is more important to you, like math is to me, I have it daily in some sort of exercise. I caution against force during the younger years (before puberty) and encourage you to save that for what you feel is important. I require the penmanship practice once a week but make it very short, and even my more resistant ones can see it is only 10 minutes of torture in a week of fun. We talk about all the other things we are going to do in the day to make it seem better.
The kids also come up with their own daily "schedules" or "to-do" lists, which often include the activities and classes for the day. They need some time to explore and play and wind-down, but I find them pushing themselves and gravitating to the Geo-Safari, the piano, or 10-minute math games for fun.
However, at this time, I have been blessed with the opportunity to apply these principles even more deeply in our home as I am able to focus on the education of just my children without the blessing and challenge of coordinating groups and needs of other youth. This is how I am doing it!
MONTHLY PILLAR: i.e. January was: "How to live a meaningful life in God's eyes"
Weekly Principle: I pick a principle that finds truthful answers and clarification of the monthly pillar that we may focus on for one week or more, depending upon the depth or inspiration I receive
Monthly Continent: I try to take one continent a month (and sometimes split up the larger or more diverse ones like Asia or Europe) and do meals, dances, library books, songs, and movies to increase my children's appreciation of diversity. I will often select library math books that come from a certain culture or continent or animal books from that area of the world.
Monthly Books: I have a list of books for my older ones to choose from for the month that center around the pillar for the month and we have a discussion surrounding a related-movie or dinner.
DAILY ACTIVITIES
-Devotional (one for older/one for younger or together if time or subject requires it): I use church magazine articles, inspirational stories and media, and music during these devotionals. The purpose is to gain greater understanding of the principle of that week. The younger ones memorize Articles of Faith and the older ones do other activities. We also have what we call "reflection time" for about 10 minutes after each devotional where they are encouraged to write or draw in their reflection book thoughts, impressions, and feelings they had during devotional. Music plays quietly and then they are invited to share with each other.
-10-Minute Math: I take 10 minutes during lunch with each child with age/interest appropriate math. Often we play games or review a chapter in Saxon math. The idea is that a little every day goes a long way and makes it manageable. They select what they are going to do for it.
-Mom reading time: everyone listens while I read a chapter or two of a classic of my choosing. We just finished "Summer of the Monkeys" and are reading "Strawberry Girl." Normally during the morning, unless the older kids are really busy with outside groups. Time for discussion and application to monthly pillar, weekly principle or other things in life
-Quiet Time: after lunch, people are able to go to their own places to study or rest...at this stage of my pregnancy, I normally sleep for a short time after reading to the little ones.
-Memorization Review: poem and scripture that re-inforce our principle, recited during our "pre-breakfast" family ritual: family creed, memorization, religious song, prayer
-Exercise:
-Basketball on Mondays at our church,
-dance on Tuesday,
-swimming or outside play on Wednesday,
-Thursday community sports day,
-something on Friday or Saturday either individually or as a family.
For our weekly subjects I seek for examples and connections with this principle in the world around us using the following four "lenses":
Monday--Leadership Academy lens: start study of principle and learn skills to help think and communicate like a leader
-Word Study on related word ("hope," in this case)
-Reading out of "The Catechism for the Constitution," an out-of-print lesson outline published soon after the Constitution was ratified to help students understand the what and why of our constitution: this is for the older kids during their devotional once or more a week. We take turns reading just a couple pages and talk about anything that comes up
-Penmanship (well-written segment of their word study or part of the memorization)
Lunch
-Short "writer's" lesson with "Author's in the Attic" challenge (see Thursday)
-Short Grammar lesson: 5-10 minutes, tops. A little goes a long way...
-Kick-off or review spelling list for the week
-Leadership games: strategy, good sportsmanship, etc.
Tuesday--Geo-conquest: look for examples in history and the world around us and increase our knowledge of places in the world, focusing on one continent a month: song, dances, food, etc.
-Family History moment if we remember :)
-Time Machine: we pretend to go back into time to a certain place and focus on an event or person: Joan of Arc, this week. We try to either act out, eat, or immerse ourselves in some type of activity to help us learn about this person or event on a deeper level. We also may do a map study. It was fun to do a "tennis ball" activity while studying Joan of Arc, one suggested in the study guide for Story of the World, as well as act out the intricacies of a crowning ceremony in medieval France.
I like to go through history somewhat sequentially, although I do skip many chapters in "The Story Of The World." I also either read with, teach a class for, or support the participation in a history class for my older kids who are either too busy or not interested in the "Story of the World." I do point out to my children, though, that most adults have no idea of most of the content of the "Story of the World" series and that if they knew and understood all of those, they would be far beyond the historical level of understanding of any adult with which I am acquainted :).
-Geo-Safari Challenge: they try to pass off one or more Geo-Safari cards about the continent of that month on their own
-Dancing: learn a cultural or historical dance from that time period or continent: a medieval folk dance this month that Avot found online...Avot-led, with Otter-pops or some kind of refreshment to follow.
-Avot-led Sign language Choir with kids--this is perfect timing as they are worn out by this time.
-Cultural dinner (if mom has energy :)...). I have a goal of at least once a month :).
Wednesday--Eureka! study the world around us scientifically and look for truths and connections we can learn from God's creations.
-Science chapter from "In the Beginning" or chapter of Apologia Biology (the older ones choose their own)
-Science games, field trip or project: one week was a Tasting Test
Normally after a fairly full first two days of the week, they are ready for the relative freedom of this day!
Thursday--Imaginative Arts: through the arts we finish up our look at the Principle for the week or just study it from this lens...art projects, stories, acting something out, etc.
-Do an art project: i.e. one week we made shields from Joan of Arc's time period and make paper dolls
-Read and act out a story: often this is during devotional
-"Authors in the Attic": those who have written anything can join us around a candle-lit table or lantern-lit crawlspace and entertain each other with our writings while eating a yummy treat :).
**Sometimes I get gung-ho about planning and plan more than we can do. The beauty of doing it with just my family is that I can say, "We're done for the day!" after previous projects and just save any remaining ones for another week. I can feel if the kids are "done" and just need time to do their own things for a while. It feels good!
Friday--Catch-up day! :)
Any projects that we haven't gotten to that week, we work on then, while the older kids go to choir, theater, and biology
One week, it was putting together and artistically painting and embellishing a 3-D castle my parents gave the kids for Christmas. Then we put together and delivered our "new year love-you-neighbor" gifts since I missed Christmas. I find I need this day to "finish-up" my goals for the week that have been on my mind.
As you can see, I don't spend a large amount of time on each subject. I have found that when children are having fun and see purpose in what they are learning, from penmanship to science, they engage more deeply for the "class" or activity and you see the effects throughout the rest of the week. If it is more important to you, like math is to me, I have it daily in some sort of exercise. I caution against force during the younger years (before puberty) and encourage you to save that for what you feel is important. I require the penmanship practice once a week but make it very short, and even my more resistant ones can see it is only 10 minutes of torture in a week of fun. We talk about all the other things we are going to do in the day to make it seem better.
The kids also come up with their own daily "schedules" or "to-do" lists, which often include the activities and classes for the day. They need some time to explore and play and wind-down, but I find them pushing themselves and gravitating to the Geo-Safari, the piano, or 10-minute math games for fun.
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