Deciding on the School Calendar is the 3rd Step

I have read many things regarding the issue of schooling year round verses following a more traditional schedule.  We tend toward the traditional, although I always say I would like to change to year round.  It might not matter that much what sort of calendar we follow though.  I believe the kids are learning year round, even though we aren't officially doing school work.  The learning does change, so I don't think the kids consider it learning at all.  We go from math and history books to doing more hiking, camping, enjoying nature and vacationing.  Where else would my kids learn so much about the ocean except by visiting the ocean in the summer?  What better way to learn about the stars and constellations then by gazing up at them on a warm summer night?  Taking the canoes and kayaks down the river can be very educational, whether you are learning about the physics of not tipping the canoe, or whether you are learning about the wildlife you see while gazing lazily into the water as you row past.  So, regardless of the actual "School Calendar" I think we are year round learners, just don't tell the kids!

With that in mind, my 3rd step in the planning process is to decide on our school calendar.  In my state, we are to do school for 36 weeks, or 150 days.  Before I sit down to plan the calendar I jot some notes about times we will want to take a break from formal schooling.  I  know we will want to take off a week in the fall in order to visit our favorite family field trip location - Williamsburg, VA.  I also know, from experience, that I need the entire week of Thanksgiving since there is so much to do to prepare, and we need two weeks as Christmas.  I also like to take two weeks at Easter, one for Holy Week and one to really celebrate Easter.  Since it is the holiest time of the year, I feel it deserves more than a long weekend.  Finally, I like to schedule two weeks for testing.  These aren't breaks from the school year, they are counted as school days, but it is important that I actually schedule them in.

Next I print a form from Donna Young.  This site has quite a few calendar printables to choose from,
but I like to use a form like this or this form designed to keep track of attendance.  I like that I can jot little notes about what week number it is and the reason for various breaks, etc.

So, I know the times we want to take off for little breaks, I know we want to end our year by the end of May because, once we pass Easter, the nice weather comes and it gets more and more difficult for my kids to get their end of the year work done.  I also like the idea of dividing the year into 6 week terms.  This will work nicely for subjects like science where we can do a different unit per term. 

I discovered, after plugging in various start and stop times that if we want to end by May 31st, we will need to start by August 6th.  That is early compared to the school calendar, but my kids usually don't mind starting school early if they know they will be done earlier than the school kids.  ;)  They actually tend to be a bit bored by then and it is usually quite hot and humid outside.  Since they tend to want to be inside anyway, at least in the afternoons, it makes sense to be academically productive. :)

I also discovered that it will be difficult to plan my 6 week terms so that every one of them falls at a natural break point.  The first term works great.  Six weeks from Aug. 6 will be right about the time we want to go to Williamsburg.  But, the next term will actually be 7 weeks until we reach the natural break time of Thanksgiving.  Then we only have 5 weeks until Christmas break.  I think it will work out okay though. I will be sure to plan the more difficult units of study for those longer terms, and keep things a little lighter for the short terms.

This step in the planning process takes much less time than the others.  Since we have been homeschooling for 10 years now, (gasp!) I am aware of our tendencies and rhythms.  It takes only an evening to sit down with a calendar and a blank form and jot down the dates.  Getting the calendar figured out and down on paper gives me a settled feeling.  Now I get to move on to my all time favorite part of homeschool planning - choosing curriculum!

Setting Goals is the 2nd Step

After getting all my random thoughts and ideas down on paper, the next thing I do to plan is set some goals.  In all honesty, I have to admit that I often start looking at curriculum way before I set goals, but I try to have the goals in mind once I start the process of actually choosing curriculum.

There are several ways to set goals.  Some like to use the great forms available from Donna Young's website.  I'm sure there are other sites and programs with goal setting forms.  This year, I'm just writing them in my notebook.  I try to keep my goals very general.  In some cases I leave the nitty gritty to the program I'm using for a particular subject.  An example would be math.  I have always been very confident in the Saxon and Abeka math programs.  I know that my children are getting everything they need if I follow one of these.  I think I would find it too overwhelming to set specific goals for math.  I admire those who can do this and then use various resources to help them meet those goals.  English grammar is another example.  I tend to use Voyages or Easy Grammar and I believe, once again, that both of these programs provide the content my children need to learn.  So my goals are more general.

An example of a general goal would be  last year's reading goal for Jetter.  As a fifth grader, Jetter was able to read, but his stamina for reading was low.  A few minutes and he was done, moving on to climbing trees and wrestling with his brother.  So, the goal for Jetter this past school year was to increase reading stamina. We accomplished this by simply finding series of books that Jetter was interested in.  I started with the Bush Boys series which I found at CHC.  I bought just the first book because I didn't know if he would like them.  After one book he was hooked and I ended up buying all the rest.  He has also read the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and several of the Red Wall books.  He is currently waiting (impatiently) to get the next in the series.  He reads mostly before he goes to bed.  He enjoys the privilege of staying up after lights out so he can read a while.  And read he does!  I am delighted that it was so easy to accomplish this goal of building reading stamina!  Next year, the goal is to increase his writing stamina!  I'm not sure that's going to be as easy.

I try to set goals for each of my children in the five areas below.  Sometimes, it works better if the whole family works on one particular goal.  This is usually in the case of a virtue that I see lacking in my children and myself.  I'll describe each briefly below but I think the one thing that is so important, and that I need to really work on, is the act of REVISITING these goals that I have written.  I have, in the past, gone to great lengths to write out wonderful goals for my children and myself, only to stumble upon them in say, April, and think "Oh wow, I forgot we were going to work on that!"  (Yes, I can be that scatter-brained! :)  So the goal for keeping these goals always in mind is to revisit them on a regular basis.  Since I will be dividing our school year up into 6 six-week terms, revisiting goals (and adjusting if need be) will happen at the end of each term.

Early Morning Academics

Academic Goals - I touched on this above.  When possible, for the subjects like math, grammar and spelling, I try to use a program that I trust is going to cover the important objectives for each grade.  Sometimes I will need to add, like in the case of memorizing multiplication facts, but for the most part I can list the goals for these subjects in terms of pages completed.  So for Math I can list the academic goal as "Complete one lesson daily."  At the end of the six week term I know my child should be at lesson 30, or close to it.  Other subjects require more thought though.  For example,  I wrote about Jetter's reading goal above.  For Social BF, the goal for reading is to read more challenging literature, not necessarily a greater quantity.  I am including a Family Goal for Writing this year.  I think this is an area that we as a family need to work on.  I've ordered The Writer's Jungle that I hope to read for inspiration to help us reach our goal in this area.  So, in similar fashion, each child will have goals written for each subject that they will study.

Remorse (?)

Behavioral Goals are more difficult for me to write.  I think that is because I have to admit the misbehavior that is going on, and then make the efforts to correct it.  I think most moms  know the necessity of discipline, and I don't think I'm the only one that finds it difficult.  To take away a child's privileges in order to teach them to follow the rules, or be kind, or respect property (or whatever it is) is not just a hardship on the child being disciplined, but on the parent doing the disciplining.  Here is where the many prayers for grace come in!  I have to pray in order to be the consistent, loving parent I need to be.  Once again, writing these goals and then revisiting them each term helps us to stay on track.  The beauty here is when the goal is met and you can give a great sigh of relief.  ("Whew!  Thank you Lord, that little Beany has learned to stop hitting in anger"!)

First Communion and Confirmation!

Spiritual Goals are most often family goals.  Perhaps we want to make attending Adoration weekly a goal or maybe we need to work on more reverence during our family prayer times.  Or, maybe we're seeing the need to pay more attention at Mass.  The latter was one that we accomplished a couple of years ago.  It was quite simple:  After Mass my husband would ask the kids what the Gospel was about, or the homily, or the first reading, etc.  Since they new the question was coming they listened more intently.  I also listened more intently because of the conversation that often began after the question was asked.  This is also the area in which goals regarding virtue come in.  Areas like self control, obedience, fortitude, etc. can all be spiritual goals.

A terribly blurry picture!

Social Goals are being added to my list for the first time this year.  I think my children have done well in the social area so far.  They see their friends on a regular basis and they all seem to do well in making new friends, although some are a little more quiet than the others.  Also, one of the many advantages of having several children is that there is usually someone around to do things with.  Jetter and Builder are together 24/7.  Beany sometimes joins them or sometimes he and Patch play.  Social BF is the one I worry about most in this area though.  As she matures, she doesn't seem to want to play the same games as her brothers.  She needs other girls her age to talk to.    So we are making plans for guaranteed time with her friends on a regular basis.  One of these plans is to continue the book club she started last year.  It was quite a hit.  All her friends came over once a week and discussed a book that they were all reading.  It was simple, easy, and the girls just loved it.  This year we are also talking about a co-op which will be a new experience for me.  Boys Scouts is on the list of possibilities for the boys as well.  All of these things take effort on my part (driving here and there, making sure to take the time to arrange for kids to come over, planning events like field trips that groups can do together ...) but social interaction is part of the whole development of a person, so, in my opinion, it's just as important as math or spelling.

Builder is now a "Camo-belt"!

Physical Goals are pretty easy to cover around here!  I am blessed (although at times it might seem more like a curse ;) with active children.  But even though there is no lack of physical activity, there are  specific physical skills a child should learn.  Some of them are picked up by playing with their siblings and friends, but I usually try to involve my children in at least one sport each year.  The fall is usually our busiest time of year with soccer and football.  This year  we are also considering Tae Kwon Do for the boys which will be more of a year round activity.  Builder started last year and did very well. Social BF discovered her love for dance, so we will continue that for her.  Even though we live in a small town, the list of opportunities is really quite extensive.  Once again though, it takes that effort to get the kids to practices, watch the games and competitions, wash the uniforms, etc.  It helps that my  husband and I both see the need for this so we share the load. 


So, in ending this rather lengthy post, I will confess one of my goals!  My goal for this coming school  year is to not only prayerfully write the goals, but once again, to revisit them each term and adjust when necessary.  I love the feeling of crossing a goal off the list once it is reached!

Battle Preparation

Taking a little divergence from my planning posts to write about something controversial.  This is something that is weighing so heavily on my heart and mind that I don't have much mental energy for anything else.  I posed the question, "How do we prepare our children for the battle?" at the MODGFamilies Yahoo group, so if you are part of that group this might sound familiar.   I feel like this issue warrants a blog post, though I'm not sure I will be able to address it properly.  Please bare with me.

This whole question arose when, in choosing a speaker to give the commencement address at the high school my son attends, the faculty chose an openly gay man.  This man had recently posted on face book, or maybe YouTube, that he was engaged to another man.  Because of his openly gay stance, the principal decided to uninvite him to speak.  As you can imagine, this caused quite a problem for the man invited to speak, his family, and the faculty at the school.  I wont go into detail but suffice it to say things were a mess.  After four years at this high school I was so happy Night Owl was graduating.  I knew things weren't perfect there.  The Religion classes weren't always the best, but there was nothing said or taught that we weren't able to discuss at home, and bring the Church's truth and clarity to. 

What I didn't realize, is that there was a prevailing attitude of relativism which had affected my son to some degree, and for many of the students at the school to a large degree.  I don't think "relativism" was actually taught as in , "all is relative".  But there was that underlying attitude of relativism that seeped its way into the school.  I'm picturing it as a vile green smoke, that nobody seems to notice.  No one sees it and it has no smell, but its affects are damaging like a poison.

So we set the stage with relativism, and we throw in the fact that there is very little solid Catholic doctrine being taught.  Now we have a shaky foundation on the building into which this green mist seeps. Finally, when the seniors at the school are just about to graduate an issue like this comes up.

The teachers and students are angry at the principal who eventually blames everything on the Bishop.  The students are in a frenzy.  They all rally for the speaker.  They make t-shirts in one of their classes, they make a "students against homophobia" video in another, they are given permission to call an assembly... What a frenzy!  Everyone supports the speaker, but no one, no one, uses this as an opportunity to teach the students what the Church teaches.  There are letters to the editor about how the Catholic Church teaches hate and fear.  There are letters about bullying.  Anyone who tries to speak out for the truth is considered a hateful homophobic.  My son, and many others are confused. 

In all his life I never thought I would have to prepare him for this.  We studied the Catechism, we studied the saints, we studied the Bible.  I never thought to talk to him about how this issue would present itself in so much confusion that it would be hard to know what is right and what is wrong.  The faculty member who was involved in choosing this speaker spoke of how they teach tolerance at the school.  We did not know that going in.  We would have made different choices.  I am not a theologian but I do believe that tolerance is not a Catholic teaching.  I believe that LOVE is a Catholic teaching and sometimes love is hard.  Love tells us to love the person and help the person, not continue to enable him to live in a way that displeases God and will never make him happy.  I love this quote by Fulton Sheen regarding tolerance (mentioned at MODGfamilies)  ~

"There is no other subject on which the average mind is so much confused as the
subject of tolerance and intolerance...
Tolerance applies only to persons, but never to principles.
Intolerance applies only to principles, but never to persons."

             Fulton J. Sheen 1931
             The Curse of Broadmindedness

As my son graduates, I am relieved that this ordeal is over for him.  I am even more relieved that he is back on track and all is well in his heart and soul.  But I'm not willing to let it go.  In speaking with a friend recently I was so tired of it all I said I was done and we're moving on.  But I notice I can't just move on.  The fact is, there are so many children at the school who have been affected by this mess.  How are they moving on?  Is it no big deal, "live and let live"?  Are some choosing to act as though it never happened?  Have some become militant in the campaign for gay rights?  I don't know.  I do know that I need to keep praying.  I need to discern mightily - will any of my other children go to this high school?  If so, how will I prepare them differently?  If not, I have to realize this issue and others like it will come up in their lives no matter where they are.  How do I prepare them for that?  I don't know yet.  I am praying for wisdom because I feel at this point that is all I can do.  And then that nagging question... "Should I be doing more than just praying?  Should I be in that school, in some way, to shine the light of Christ?  Is there some way that I can dispel some of that green mist to bring the clarity of truth?"  I need to pray for courage if that is the case, but I am surely lacking in it!

I would like to end with a quote by a priest who is the pastor at another Catholic Church in our town.  His homily a couple of Sundays ago was in response to the mess at the Parish in which we are members.  His entire homily was beautiful.  A very loving, compassionate explanation of the Church's teaching.  I wished I had a tape recorder with me that day because I knew I would not be able to remember it all.  He did send this short quote to me when I requested it, for which I am grateful.  It is very pointed and a great explanation for all who don't understand why the Church does not accept the homosexual lifestyle~

The key is the complementarity of men and women. Sexual complementarity has to do with God making the human person as male and female, and they are meant for union. This union is a bodily reality as well as a spiritual, emotional, and psychological reality. Only a man and a woman can enter into a bodily union in the natural way. The bodily union is sacramental for Christians as it is meant to express a union with God and a union that images God’s love in the world that is total and complete (bodily), forever (unending), and open to life (conception of new life) if they are of the proper age. Only a man and a woman can give and receive each other in this embrace in a total way (bodily, psychologically, emotionally, spiritually). Our bodies are important.  Our bodies do matter and what we do in our bodies will have lasting effects on our hearts.

In closing I ask for prayers. I know this is a controversial topic and I also ask that all comments would be made in a prayerful way.  I reserve the right to delete comments that I feel are aggressive.

Beginning the Planning Process

        
Now that I have my scattered thoughts down on paper, I can begin to really organize for the coming year. I'm actually a bit late getting started on the planning process this year.  My mind had been full of  many things that we were dealing with, (like college hunting for Night Owl!) and planning for the future had to take a back seat for a bit.  But, my enthusiasm for planning a new year, and the knowledge that planning is essential if I want to have a peaceful, successful year to come, has kept me from keeping it on the back burner for too long. 

I wont be linking back to any old planning posts, although there are many!  My methods for planning have basically stayed the same, but each year I read about or come up with new ways to do things.  For me, this keeps things fresh.  I have an enthusiam for trying new things.  I've often heard people say "If it isn't broken, why fix it?", but I'm always ready to tweak things or change things completely just for variety. 

So, how am I planning for the 2012-2013 school year?  There are several things to take into consideration and I will hit on each of them in seperate posts to keep this one from getting too long.  Here are the steps I will be taking:

1. First, get all the random thoughts swirling around in my head down on paper.  I already did this, and I'll call this first step "Brain Declutter".  Once this notebook is full, it wont be forgotten!  I plan to re-read my notes regularly as I plan so that I don't forget to incorporate a new idea or a new resource.
2. Set Goals.  I will do this for each child individually and for our family as a whole.  This can be divided into five sections-
1. Academic Goals
2. Behavior Goals
3. Spiritual Goals
4. Social Goals
5. Physical Goals
3. School Calendar - This is simply deciding when our school year will begin and end, and any breaks that we will need to take throughout the year.
4. Choose Resources - This is the fun part!  Here I carefully decide on the resources we will use to help us meet the above goals.
5. Create shopping lists.  My lists cover the items I need to gather (already on my shelves) or purchase and from where I will purchase them.
6. Carefully consider how and when each resource will be used.  This includes setting some loose goals regarding where the children will be in each resource per term.
7. Devise a method to keep everyone informed of what they are to do each day, in each subject.
8. Create a daily schedule and work out the logistics.

I thought my list was complete but I just happened to jump over see what was going on at Wildflowers and Marbles and I found this beautiful idea!  Jen is awesome when it comes to pretty organizing ideas!  So adding a number 9 -

    9. Organize it all into some pretty notebooks!

I thought I would come back to this and add links to the planning posts that follow.  They are not all complete, but here are the next, completed posts:
Step 2: Setting Goals
Step 3: The Calendar
Step 4: Choosing Resources
Step 5: Hunting and Gathering
Step 6: Carefully Considering the Resources
Step 7: Assigning Assignments
Step 8: Scheduling the Day

Brain Clutter Solution

Over at 4Real some of the ladies are talking about Decluttering the Mind.  I thought I'd share a bit about how I do that.  This year in particular  I've had a lot on my mind and not a lot of time to be organized.  When I tried to sit down and start my planning for the coming year I had too many thoughts swimming around in my head!  It made it difficult to focus.  There were too many thoughts and not enough of the organization that my "type A" personality craves.  This was causing much stress and anxiety.  Enter the "Everything Notebook" or, to take a phrase from the ladies at 4Real, the "Brain Dump" Notebook.

I bought this little journal notebook from my local store when it was on sale.  It's a bit fancy for what I need.  I'm not usually a "jewel studded" person, but I thought this was pretty, and the price was right.  I had it sitting in my "giant bag of things to read and do" for a while until I decided I was going to use it to write random notes down, in no special order.  Well it didn't take me long to nearly fill it! 

"Giant Bag of Things to Read and Do"

I keep it with me on a regular basis and I've discovered how valuable it is for when I'm waiting.  I think I spend a lot of time just waiting - waiting to pick up Social Butterfly from dance, waiting for Night Owl to get done with his Chem lab at the university, waiting for various sports practices to end ...
I used to keep all my notes on my computer, but I don't always have access to that.  This little notebook has been just perfect for what I need.  As I'm leaving the house it's become my habit to grab my phone, my purse, my keys, and now this little notebook.

I decided right away that I was not going to try to keep it in any special "order".  This was difficult for me!  I don't even date the pages!  That's because I want to keep it random.  If I'm writing notes on our schedule for next year, I don't want to feel like I can't insert a note about Builder's Math.  If things were dated and in some sort of order I would hesitate to write it down.  I add these random notes by simply inserting a "random thoughts" box right smack down in the middle of my other strand of writing.  I just draw a box around it and label it "Random Thought" or "Side Note" or some such thing. Then I continue on with my thoughts on scheduling, or whatever I happen to be writing about.

Is it confusing to read then?  Not really.  I think since they are just my thoughts I can pretty much follow them.  It's actually sort of fun to detour from what I'm writing to insert something completely off topic.  I put these detours into  boxes or surround them with brackets; something to set them apart from the original writing.  I haven't gone so far as to use different colors yet.  I'm afraid I'd get too caught up in the "artsy" part and lose track of my thoughts.

This little notebook has really been the basis for much of my planning for the coming year.  It's been a crazy Spring so far and before I could actually get to the nitty gritty of planning for the coming year, I had to get all the those thoughts swirling around in my head down on paper.  My "Brain Dump" notebook has been just the thing I needed.

So, When Do You Blog?

I have a question for those with blogs who read my blog... When do you find time to blog?  Erin was so kind to comment here that I don't blog enough.  I wish I could find the time to do more blogging.  I have all sorts of ideas in my head that I would like to share.  The trouble is, I think of something to blog about and look over at my computer.  But on the way, my gaze passes "Mount Laundry-more", "the Valley of the Sink of Dirty Dishes", the angry looking daughter who is waiting for her math help, and my nose is telling me there is a 1 year old with a dirty diaper that needs changing - NOW.
So, dear readers, when exactly do you find time to write the wonderful blog posts I read? 

I'm delighted to recieve the Liebster Blog Award from my good friend Erin at Seven Little Australians and Counting !  Actually, she's not really an "in real life" friend.  I wish she was though!  I love reading Erin's blog posts and sharing ideas with her over at 4Real.  Maybe some day I'll get to Australia to meet her, or maybe she would rather come here ... probably not though.  Michigan would seem rather boring ... and COLD compared to Erin's home town.

My understanding is that the Liebster Blog Award is given to bloggers with less than 200 followers, to help them build their number of readers.  With only 7 followers, I am just a humble little blogger sharing my thoughts, when I get a moment to do so!  My hope is that some of my ideas may help my readers, just as I have been blessed by reading the blogs that others write.

So now to pass this very nice award on to fellow bloggers:

Beginning With The Assumption is a relatively new blog find for me.  I enjoy reading the posts written by KackyK, another member of 4Real.

And The Kitchen Sink is another great blog.  I love to read about the very real adventures that happen in this wonderfully large family!

Allison's blog, Totus Tuus Family has always been one of my favorites.  I think it is quite popular so  I doubt she needs more readers, but I notice her members count is just under 200, so I'm going to include her!

I've just found Catie's blog, Our Catholic Homeschool.  It was mentioned on the MODG Families Yahoo Group just as I was about to write this blog post.  Perfect timing!  So far I've enjoyed reading some of her curriculum reviews and seeing the photo of her precious new baby!

So there are four blogs that I am happy to direct you to!  Hope you enjoy reading them as much as I have!

Time to Plan

It's that time of year again, time to plan for the upcoming school year.  There are so many things to think about: Goals for each child, school supply storage, book storage, systems for keeping things organized, systems for assigning work, how to do a better job at keeping the house clean ...
All this on top of just trying to finish up this year! 

This has been our busiest Spring ever!  Between Confirmations and First Communions, Dance Recitals and Highschool Graduations I've hardly had time to think about next year.  I feel like I'm in survival mode.  I just keep thinking, "If I can just make it through June we'll be fine!"  Yet, the planning bug is persistant so even while I'm planting daylillies and spreading mulch to get ready for the Open House my mind is working on planning for the school year of 2012-2013.

So posts ahead will be about this and that, eventually getting to my final plans for next year.  If all goes well, those ideas I have stored in my brain will be the basis for an exciting year of learning for all my children, and for me!

My First Blogger Award!

Wow!  I am honored to receive my first blogger award!  Thank you to St. Francis De Sales Homeschool for the "Versatile Blogger Award". 
Here are the rules:

• Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them.
• Tell your readers 7 things about yourself.
• Give this award to 15 recently discovered bloggers.
• Contact those bloggers and let them in on the news.

Okay, seven things about myself....  Hmmm. Grab a cup of coffee or something with caffiene because this wont be too exciting! :)

1 - I had my 6th baby at the young age of 46.

2 - My oldest son is headed to Hillsdale College in the fall, and my baby is 1.

3 - My favorite vacation is camping - anywhere.  I like condo's on a beach too, but tent camping is my all time favorite.  Hotels are too confining for this family with 5 rough and rowdy boys!

4 - I was a classroom teacher for 10 years before I started homeschooling.  I loved the classroom but I love teaching my own children even more.

5 - My favorite time of the school year is the planning time!  I love to plan and I love to look at new curriculum.  Nothing is more exciting than a blank spreadsheet just waiting to be filled in!

6 - I don't like jelly beans!

7 - My favorite meal is anything eaten with my husband in a nice, quiet and peaceful atmosphere.  So PB&J in the car in a parking lot works just fine!

Now I'm supposed to pass this award on to 15 recently discovered blogs.  I will admit that not all 15 of these are recently discovered, but if you haven't discovered them I highly recommend them!

1. St. Francis Homeschool Blog
2. Seven Little Australians and Counting
3. By Sun and Candlelight
4. Harmony Art Mom
5. Wildflowers and Marbles
6. A Lee in the Woudes
7. Busy With Blessings
8. Like Mother Like Daughter
9. Shower of Roses
10. Sweetness and Light
11. Grace in Loving Chaos
12. Family in Feast and Feria
13. Finding Elegant Simplicity
14. My Symphony
15. Flowing Streams

A Spelling Program That Works

A very old picture, but since I'm talking about the program from which a component is pictured here, I thought it would be appropriate. :)

I have tried many spelling programs since we started homeschooling.  For various reasons, I found that, for my children, the traditional spelling workbook with a list and then several pages of activities just didn't work.  Maybe it's the "why?" factor.  My kids are like me, they don't just want to know how a word is spelled, or how a math computation is done, or how to diagram a sentence....  They want to know why.  Why do I spell chair with an "ai" instead of using a final "e"?  Why are be, me and we not spelled bee, wee, and mee?  I think this made memorizing a list of words difficult for them.  So I started looking for alternatives.   I have actually used a couple of effective programs but today I am going to talk about All About Spelling.

I have found All About Spelling to be quite effective.  I will admit  that the program is "mom-intensive" but I think any effective spelling program is going to take some mom time.   I also believe the time that I put in with my children in the beginning will pay off later when they no longer ask me how to spell every other word.  I find that All About Spelling gives them the tools to spell words so they no longer need my help.

Several of my children have used this program at one stage or another but I am going to concentrate on Jetter since he seemed to benefit the most from it.  One of the benefits of this program is the use of tiles.  This was especially helpful for Jetter early on as handwriting was painful for him.  He didn't have to write anything, so he could concentrate on learning to spell.  I appreciated that the tiles were colored to differentiate the vowels and the consonants.  He learned early on that every word has to have a vowel.  If the word he was spelling was all blue, I would simply ask "where's your vowel"?

As Jetter got older he started to get a little bored with the tiles so we tried some different things.  First, I continued to use the white board to which I had originally attached (with magnets) the letter tiles.  Instead of using the magnet letters, I gave Jetter two different colored dry erase markers.  He could write big so that was nice, and the colors once again helped him to see the vowels, vowel combinations, consonants, etc.  This was a great way to renew his interest when things started to get a bit stale.  (The end of February is always a good time to break out something new, in my opinion!)

I also discovered, once again as Jetter got older, that this program is fun to do at the computer.  I would let Jetter choose whatever font he wanted, as long as the letters were clear (no ultra-fancy calligraphy).  We enlarged the font to about 18 to make it extra clear and then he chose his two colors.  Doing it at the computer was really great because I could go back and use the highlighting tool to point out specific spelling patterns to him.

The use of dictation sentences is another plus.  Both phrases and sentences are given as dictation exercises.  I think this is invaluable.  Children can learn to spell words in lists, but often I hear, and find in my own situation, that the correct spelling of these words is not carried over to their other written work.  It can be quite frustrating to put stars and "A"s on a child's spelling tests week after week and then find that in their written work they can't spell well at all.  Practicing the words within sentences for dictation really helps.

One last point I would like to make regarding the "mom time" required.  If several children are using the program, the cards that come with it are great!  I can ask Social Butterfly to use the cards to quiz Jetter or vise-versa.    I used the cards to test my kids at the end of the lesson.  If they missed a word I just tucked it back into the section for the next lesson.  That way it was easy to remember that the child needed a little more review in that area and I didn't have to make any markings in my book.  (I know, "big deal" - insert eye roll).   But, if you're like me, you might jot little pencil notes to yourself in your teacher's manuals.  With several children using, or who will be using the program all those little pencil jottings add up.  Simply putting the card in the pile of next week's words reminds me to review that concept.

So All About Spelling has been an excellent program for us.  I highly recommend it.  Even for those with older children, it can be tweaked in the ways I mention above so they don't feel it's too juvenile.  One thing though, if you do decide to tweak it,  I think the tiles are important, at least in the beginning of using the program, regardless of the child's age.  There's just something about the concept of building the word that helps.

Lastly, the people at All About Spelling are great about answering questions!  I posted one a couple of years ago and not only did I get a quick reply, but the representative took the time to post a lengthy and detailed answer to my question.  He or she also continued to converse with me as I asked about other scenarios.  So another plus - the customer service is very  helpful!

Finally, Spring, after a very long Winter!

Looking at my last blog post and noticing how long it's been since I posted helps me to realize that I was in a "mood"  for almost a year.  It's hard to describe it - not depression, not burn out - maybe just "lack of enthusiasm".  Of course, the trip I was planning in that last blog post was wonderful.  We enjoyed South Dakota and Colorado especially.  So much so that I was ready to pick up and move someplace where there were mountains.
But, coming back home wasn't anything too exciting and I settled back into this "mood".  The school year started okay.  I had planned some really neat stuff, but for most of this year we have just sort of plugged along, getting it done because it was on our list, fighting off the temptation to do the minimum just to say it's done, etc.  What happened to our love for learning, our excitement about a new book or experiment we were starting?  What happened to the long afternoon tea times when everyone was content to sit and listen to the books we were reading aloud?  This year, it seems like everything was forced for some reason.  Textbooks took the place of "living books" because "everything" was all conveniently covered.  Workbooks ruled the day because they were easy for me to assign.  Sigh. 
"SIGH" - that's how I felt, like one big "SIGH".

Now, lest you become too discouraged, I will say I eventually saw the light in this seemingly endless tunnel of "sigh-dom"!   I'd been praying and praying.  Wondering why I felt this way.  Wondering if (gasp!) this was to be the end of our homeschooling adventure.  Wondering what plans the Lord had for us.

But slowly, painfully slowly, I began to see light.  It reminded me of the years we chose to drive through the night on our family vacations.  Those hours in the middle of the night when there was little traffic (a plus!) and my poor tired husband, who had just driven 10+ hours was knodding off or sleeping and it was just me, in the dark, trying desperately to get a little farther before I had to wake him back up.  But then, the sky starts to lighten and then (after almost an eternity it seems) the first rays of the sun come up over the horizon.  Ta da!  I remember one year my brother telling me he cranked up the Alleluia Chorus right at that moment and woke up his whole car load of kids.  But it's like that!  The sunlight brings new hope.  Yes, I can make it all the way to Florida, or Colorado, or wherever we are going.  The sun is coming up and look!  There's a Starbucks at the next exit! :)

I'm not exactly sure of what caused the "light" here, except for grace.  Lots of grace.  But I began, all of a sudden, to see the value of what is happening in our little academy.  I think, in my times of sigh-dom, I had lost sight of that.  I remember thinking things like, "We don't need to study Latin.  It's too hard.  What's the use?" and "Why am I making my kids memorize the Preamble to the Constitution?  Do they really need to do that?  Does it really  matter?"

Oh yes!  More than ever it matters! These doubting thoughts were lies of course.  The Lord began to slowly open my eyes to the truth.  Just little glimmers of sunlight peeking through at random times.  One thing that really helped was  Night Owl's college choice.  Hillsdale College is a small liberal arts college with very high academic standards.  Guess what?  All the "stuff" I was doubting and thinking was unimportant is very important to the folks at Hillsdale.  I know there are other colleges that are similar.  But even more importantly, all the "stuff" I was doubting is very important to my children!  Whether they go to college or not.  Another thing that has helped is all the talk about Charlotte Mason over at the 4Real Boards.  A renewed interest in all things Charlotte Mason has been very helpful!  And then there is the realization that, as a homeschooling mom, my loss of hope was causing me to shirk the responsibility of truly teaching my children to learn, and even more importantly to "love to learn". 

So, with renewed hope, lots of thanks-giving, and some "sunshine on my shoulder" we will keeping moving on.  I've started to plan for next year and I can tell you I am so excited about the books we will be reading and the experiments we will be doing.  My own excitement will spill over to the children, just as, I'm afraid to admit, my "sigh-dom" spilled over.  I'm ending this post with a promise of prayer for all my fellow homeschoolers.  I know it's difficult at times and the gloom sets in.  We start to lose our way in the darkness or feel that the burden is too great.  But there is hope, it IS coming.  Be patient.  Pray, pray, pray! Talk to friends, spouses, priests. 

This is such a wonderful journey, and I am so thankful to be on it!

Heading West!

Sorry to be away for so long!  We've been busy with the usual - track, dance recitals, trying to finish up school even though the beautiful outdoors call us, etc.  I've been planning two big events - next year's school (which will be an upcoming LONG post), and our big trip out west.

We're all very excited to be heading to Colorado where my husband's sister lives.  We'll be camping so that makes it even more fun.  Our trip will involve a stay in South Dakota, a stay in Colorado and a stay in Indiana with lots of driving in between!  I've recently discovered that there are bear alerts in Colorado so that adds a little discomfort to things.  We camp every year, several times if possible, but we've never been in a situation where there are "bear alerts".  Hopefully it's not as bad as it sounds!

The biggest part of the planning is figuring out what to pack in the way of food and clothing.  The clothing will have to make it for two weeks (I'm hoping I find a Laundromat somewhere!) and the food will have to be purchased as we go.  We'll take enough for the first week then find a grocery store.


Some things that will be different for us this time:

• We usually take kayaks, a canoe, and bikes.  None of those will be coming with us this time because they wont fit.
• We usually camp for 4-7 days.  This will be a 14 day trip.
• We usually camp in sites with electricity.  Our stay in Colorado will be non-electric.
• We usually all stay in our one huge tent.  The addition of PJ means Night Owl and maybe one of the other boys will be in a small pup tent.
• The lack of electricity and space to pack will mean leaving behind some things we've grown accustomed to:  the electric cooler, the coffee maker (horrors!) and the electric skillet.  The coffee maker was the biggest worry, but we've discovered a wonderful invention - the "French Press coffee maker!

I think this will work best as a series of posts, one for camp menus, recipes, and packing lists, one for our itinerary and all the fun things we hope to do, and one for the camping tips we have learned over the years. I'll throw in a few pictures of previous camping trips to make it interesting. I'll post pictures when we return from this big adventure too!

Learning Styles 3

This is the final post in this series.  After Builder, I have 2 more kids to go, but since they are a three year old and a 4 month old, it's hard to determine their learning style!  Actually, I'm finding it difficult to determine Builder's style.  I'm mostly sure he's a 'hands on" kinda guy, but really, aren't most boys in 1st grade "hands on"?  I know as a classroom teacher, at this age and into second grade, I taught most things using some form of hands on work in the beginning.  Children at this age need something concrete in order to grasp concepts, especially in subjects like math. 
That being said, Builder really is sort of an "extreme kinesthetic learner".  He's always working on something with his hands, building with Legos or just taking "stuff" he finds around the house and coming up with new inventions for it.  He's very creative and when I stop what I am doing to listen while he describes his newest invention or idea for an invention, I'm quite amazed at what he comes up with.  He's a bit of a dreamer so logic isn't always involved in these inventions, but none the less his creativity never ceases to amaze me.  I'm not sure he will always be so kinesthetic, but for now, he certainly fits in that category.

Disposition: Thinks / Creates, Invents (!)
Modality: Global
Style: Kinesthetic
Other: Very creative, sensitive to other's feelings, needs lots of activity

I see some of Builder in the descriptions of both the Thinks/Creates disposition and the Invents disposition.
Taking the two descriptions from Discover Your Child's Learning Style, this is what I come up with for Builder:
Creates mental images, idea oriented, preoccupied, imaginative, daydreams, questions, wonders, doodles, articulate with hands, invention oriented, concrete thinker, experiments, "hands on", technical, discovers, focused.

Regarding curriculum for a child like Builder, the first thing one might think of is a need for manipulatives.  At least that was my first thought.  But can you see where manipulatives might be a problem for Builder?  True, there are math concepts that are more easily understood when the child can "feel" it in solid form so they are necessary at times.  But Builder does not do well when manipulatives are available all the time.  The problem is that instead of using the manipulatives to help him learn the math concept, he becomes so distracted with what he can build with them that he loses focus on what he is supposed to be learning!  I've found that some work better than others.  For example, when teaching Builder to add early on I had a choice between using an abacus or linking cubes.  The abacus worked well.  There were beads that he could slide over to add, or slide the other way to subtract.  The linking cubes were not a good choice.  Every time I looked away he would start building a gun, a cityscape, a house ... whatever popped into his mind.  Add or subtract?  What was that?  So the abacus was and still is the math manipulative of choice.

So, with that in mind, here's what I'm using for Builder in First Grade-

Religion  -
Lap books work well!  We are currently working on the Confession Faith Folder from  Lapbooks for Catholics.  Builder still has to focus on the lesson, but I actually let him do some of the cutting and folding while I read or talk to him about the day's concept.  He is better able to attend when he is doing something with his hands.  This was hard for me to get used to at first because I thought his fidgeting was a sign that he was not paying attention.  I was wrong and in fact, it is more distracting for Builder to be still then to build something while he's listening to a book being read or instruction being given.
Builder also enjoys drawing so he will sometimes draw while I read to him from the Baltimore Catechism or stories of the saints.   He really enjoys learning about the saints and will readily narrate back to me what he has learned.  The Once Upon a Time Saints books are our favorite for first grade.  Builder's memorization skills aren't too great so he struggles with the Baltimore Catechism memorization.  I'd love to hear suggestions that might help with that.  It's important though, so we keep plugging away at it. 
I have yet to get out our Mass Kit to use with Builder but I think it is about time I did.  We have the one from Our Father's House and it is quite beautiful.  At first, Builder didn't seem mature enough and I didn't want him to use the materials improperly.  I think now he is ready though, and I'm sure they will appeal to his hands on style of learning.  This Mass kit will help him to understand the Mass, which will be especially important next year as he receives the sacraments of First Communion and Confirmation.

Math -
Builder does well with Abeka Arithmetic for the same reasons Jetter does.  The lessons are short and to the point, the pages are colorful and inviting and the workbook style allows him to write directly into the book.  I do have to pull out manipulatives on occasion, as I described above, but they are not the core of the program. 

Language Arts -
Learning to read has been a struggle for Builder, but that has been the case for all the boys in this family, so far.  By 4th grade it has all clicked though and they do fine.  I'm hoping that Builder catches on a little sooner, but I'm not too worried about it.    Here again, manipulatives, when used a certain way, can be helpful.  I use All About Spelling for both spelling and phonics instruction.  All about Spelling has these wonderful letter tiles that I have attached magnets to the back of.  They are arranged in alphabetical order along the top of a dry erase board.  Builder can slide the tiles back and forth to "build" words.  It sometimes works well.  But, once again, here we have all these wonderful tiles that he can slide around!  I've found it  works better to transfer some of the tiles to a cookie sheet (I actually use this, but a plain cookie sheet would work too!) so he is limited in his choices.
Another thing that is working well for Builder is the Simply Charlotte Mason method of teaching reading.
In this method, sight words and phonics are combined.  I tweek it a bit and use the All About Spelling program for the phonics portion.  But the sight word part, described at this link, works really well for Builder.  He likes the idea of putting the words he has learned on cards and then building sentences with them.

Writing -
Handwriting Without Tears was the first program I used for Builder.  He loved the early stages when the children use wooden manipulatives to build the letters.  (Surprise, surprise!)  I was already using this program for Jetter and continued it for Builder.  Now that Builder is in first grade and knows the formation of the letters, I'm not sure he really needs it anymore.  I am now using a more traditional ball and stick font for him.   Neatness is always an issue since he wants to rush through and just get it done, but he physically, he is able to write well.  I simple use the Startwrite Software I have to create copy work sheets for Builder to use to practice his handwriting.

Science -
Science is all about experiments this year.  I'm using the kits from the Magic School Bus, along with the DVD's and Builder really enjoys it.  We also still incorporate a lot of nature study and that is very hands on!

History -
Since Builder is only in first grade I am not using a formal history program for him.  I'm allowing Builder's interests to dictate what we learn about.  Right now, he is very interested in ancient history.  We have many books on our shelves about ancient history so there are plenty of resources.  We go on line as well.  Here is a neat site I recently found with lots of hands on activities for the various historical time periods.  This has become one of Builder's favorite sites.

That wraps it up for Builder.  Now it's time to start planning for next year!  Actually, I've already started that process. :)  The posts in this series have helped me as I continue to plan.  I'm reminded of my children's strengths and the areas they need to work on.  I think that finishing a year with a recap of what they have been doing has been very beneficial in helping me to plan for the coming year.

Learning Styles 2

My intention, while writing the first post about learning styles was to quickly jump into this second post about Jetter and Builder, but because their learning styles are different from the first two, and they are very different from each other, I've gotten bogged down in details.  I will try to simplify a bit more here, while still being thorough.

Going with the same format at that first post but trying to simplify significantly, we move on to Jetter.

Disposition: Thinks / Creates  (A bit of an "Inventor")
Modality: Visual Spatial Learner
Style: Global
Other: Introverted, excellent visual memory, ADHD tendencies, needs routine

A description of the Thinks / Creates disposition, according to Discover Your Child's Learning Style, is "Creates mental images, thinks in abstractions, enjoys being alone, open to new ideas, idea oriented, preoccupied, imaginative, daydreams, questions, wonders, doodles."  Yep, that's Jetter!  I could also put him in the "Inventor" disposition for some things.

Jetter is a  strong VSL - Visual Spatial Learner.  I find that he is a delight to teach, but I admit VSL learners do create challenges for teachers in schools.  Some articles that will help you to understand a VSL are listed below.  For Jetter, I will just try to summarize by saying academically, he does well with diagrams, maps, word mapping activities, sketch narrations and organizing by color.  He is great at math concepts.  Learning to read was a terrible struggle, but now that he is reading comfortably, he really enjoys it.  He does not do well with curricula that are random.  He needs things to be very organized for him because he doesn't do so great with organizing them himself.  It would take pages for me to describe in detail the strengths and struggles that Jetter has in regards to learning.  Instead I will refer you to these very informative links:
Visual Spatial Learners - Gifted Development
Helping the VSL - Harmony Art Mom Blog
I Think in Pictures, You Teach in Words
Soaring in School

Curriculum and learning strategies that work well for Jetter are as follows:

Religion - Bible History, Saint Studies and Catechism.

• Bible History - I read this text to Jetter and while I read, or after I've read, Jetter draws what I call a picture narration.  We compile these into a notebook.  They are delightful to look at because Jetter is such a detailed drawer.  This is one of our favorite things to do together.
• Holy Traders Activity Kit - I purchased this for Jetter thinking the short concise biographies of the saints that are found on the cards and in the book would be appealing.  I also thought he would enjoy collecting the cards.  I was right about collecting the cards!  The book that comes with the cards has the information from the cards as well as some fill in the blank questions below.  Unfortunately, Jetter just likes to fill in the blanks without really reading the whole page of information so he is not gaining as much as I thought.  Next year we will probably go back to reading biographies of the saints in book format.
• St. Joseph Baltimore Catechism 1 While memorizing the Catechism questions has been a real struggle for Jetter, we have enjoyed the simplicity of the first two St. Joseph Catechism books.  The pictures are excellent.  If I had to do it over, I would have Jetter copy the picture for each lesson, as best as he could, into a notebook and have him narrate the concepts for that lesson.  The pictures are wonderful at helping him to remember the concepts.  I find that there is great depth in them, even in the first and most beloved book that we started with in first grade.

Math - Abeka Arithmetic 4 Normally in 4th grade we switch to Saxon Math.  However, Jetter does so well with Abeka I had him continue for another year.  Abeka uses a spiral approach like Saxon.  The benefits for Jetter are that he can continue to write in the workbook as apposed to transferring his answers to paper, Abeka is challenging which keeps him from getting bored, and the lesson explanations are very short.  I noticed, at least up until the 4th level, that the explanations use fewer words than Saxon, and are more visual.  This appeals to Jetter and he is able to grasp the concepts quickly.

Language Arts

• English/Grammar -Currently we are working through Abeka's Lanuage A.  Like the math program from Abeka, the lessons are short and explained very briefly.  The books have a variety of activities and incorporate some color. 
•  Spelling - All About Spelling is a good program for VSLs. The tiles make it possible for the child to concentrate on the spelling concept not on the formation of the letters. The review cards are simple and colorful, also appealing to a VSL. It is rather mom-intensive so I am thinking of ways for Jetter to use it more independently.
• Latin/ English Roots - We are using English From the Roots Up as an introduction to Latin as well as English vocabulary.  This program works well because I am also incorporating the Greek and Latin Notebooking Pages from 4RPress

History - We've done several things for history this year.  We started with the text, Pioneers and Patriots and added in some additional reading according to the MODG syllabus.  I decided Jetter needed a visual, so when we were studying the Revolutionary War we watched the Liberty Kids DVD's, which all my children enjoyed.  This worked out okay, but I don't feel the Jetter really learned as much about that time period as the other kids had.  Now we're into the Civil War period and, once again looking for a visual resource, I ordered History Pockets Civil War.  What a hit!  I highly recommend this resource for visual and kinesthetic learners.  It sort of has the flavor of a lap book but  the student doesn't make all the small booklets.  While Builder really enjoys lapbooks, all the cutting and pasting is really too much for Jetter.  He gets lost in the process and the content gets overlooked.  History Pockets is kind of the best of both worlds, in my opinion.

Science - Science didn't go as well has I had hoped this year.  Jetter is still very interested in astronomy but the Apologia text we are using is moving too slowly for him.  It's a very informative text but I'm afraid it's almost too much.  Jetter is getting bogged down in details.  We'll be looking for something different for next year.   In years past, I really incorporated a lot of our science studies into our nature hikes.  It was sort of an immersion approach since the kids were in the midst of what they were studying.  I'm not sure of another way to describe it, but it works!  It's hard to really immerse a kid into astronomy!

Handwriting - Jetter has been using Handwriting Without Tears since his kindergarten year.  What a blessing this resource has been for us.  We went from "wailing and gnashing of teeth" to an "oh, I CAN do this" attitude.  Jetter's struggles with handwriting are hard to explain.  One day, his penmanship is beautiful, whether it is cursive or print.  The next day, or maybe even the next hour, it is barely legible.  I honestly don't believe this is a discipline issue.  He truly wants his handwriting to look nice and works hard at it. 
Handwriting Without Tears has helped him to make huge strides. 
That being said, I think it is time to move away from the HWOT books.  Lately, instead of having Jetter do the workbook pages, I have been making my own copywork pages for him using Startwrite.  Startwrite is a program that allows me to make my own handwriting or copywork sheets using any font I want, including the HWOT font.

Geography - This is one of Jetter's favorite subjects.  He's memorizing the states and capitals, and the location of each of the states.  His favorite part though is drawing the states and creating a geography notebook.  For each state, he uses an outline map, either from Uncle Josh's Outline Map book or from the Dover United States coloring book to draw the map and add the important details.  He really enjoys using the Dover coloring book because it includes drawings of the state bird, state flower, and several other details.  He enjoys drawing these things onto his maps.  Jetter has a great visual memory and from this exercise he can usually tell you the name of a state simply by looking at it's outline.  I find that states like Florida and Michigan are quite easy to distinguish but South Dakota and some of the other, boxier states are confusing for me!

Well there you have it for Jetter.  Once again a much longer post than I had hoped!  The final post in this series will be about my totally hands on learner, Builder.

Learning Styles 1

A few years ago I read Discover Your Child's Learning Style .  I thought it was a very interesting read and I was delighted to find, after doing the tests and checklists in the book, that I already had a pretty good grasp of my children's various styles of learning.  I believe that is one of the benefits of homeschooling.  We know our children from the start and we can, with maybe a little thought and research, find those teaching /learning methods that best suit him or her.

On the other hand, I want to quickly add that I'm not sure it's good to use only materials that are in line with a child's learning modality or style.  I believe children, and adults for that matter, need to be able to adapt their learning style.  It will be a rare occasion for a college professor to excuse a child from a written exam because he is an auditory learner!  So, before I jump into my children's learning styles and some of the curriculum that seems to work well for them, let me also say that I  am always on the lookout for ways to help these children develop those learning modalities that are the weakest.

Many people are familiar with the 3 general learning modalities - visual, auditory and kinesthetic.  I can safely say that among my 4 children for whom I've been able to determine which style of learner they are, there are no two that match!  No wonder my life is so crazy!  I have to admit I enjoy that though!  These are the things that keep me challenged.  (Well, these, and devising ways to keep the house clean, run the errands, keep the children well fed and in clean clothes .... you understand I'm sure!)  I think that life as a teaching mom might get a little boring if all my kids learned in the exact same way.  What then, would be the use of poring over those homeschool catalogs that come every spring ... for hours!  What would be the use of all those dog eared pages and pencil jottings in margins?  It would be so easy, and rather boring, to just make them all use the same program.  I really enjoy meeting my children where they are at, and I think most homeschool moms are that way.  If a child is an auditory learner, and he or she is struggling with a concept or entire subject, I can pull out the material designed for auditory learners and help her to understand better.  On the other hand, if said child is such a strong auditory learner that she can't seem to learn concepts without hearing them, I might pull out the materials for visual learners and give her some challenge to help build those areas she is weak in.

I mentioned the 3 general learning modalities ~ auditory, visual and kinesthetic, but  Discover Your Child's Learning Style takes it into further categories.  The author calls these "Learning Dispositions".  I found reading about these dispositions to be particularly interesting as this is the area in which I see my children overlap.  Beyond the information in this book, there is also lots of information on line and in books about other learning types and styles.  I found a brief explanation of the concept of   Linear vs. Global thinkers here .  It is a very short article which explains that a person receives information in either the auditory, visual or kinesthetic modalities, and then processes it in either a linear or global way.  I see that I have 2 linear learners and at least 1 global learner in my bunch.  And then there are  the VSL's (Visual Spatial Learners) we read so much about today.  Well, maybe you don't, but since one of my children is a VSL, I tend to seek out information that will help me help him to learn.   

I see that many of these labels mean the same thing, it's just a person's particular way of saying it that changes, which can create some confusion.  But as best as I can I will try to describe the various labels that fit my various kids and list some of the curriculum choices that work well for each.

So, first up, is Night Owl.  I don't teach Night Owl too much anymore.  He is a junior in high school and doing quite well.  This doesn't surprise me, based on his learning modalities and dispositions.  He can be classified as:
Disposition: "Producing"
Modality: Equally strong auditory and visual
Style:  Linear
Other:  Introverted, excellent memory, all around nice guy type!

So, this child learns information by either hearing or seeing it.  He likes his information to come to him following some sort of natural organized progression, like an outline,  a timeline, a chart or graph.  His "producing" disposition can be described as one that "likes plans and schedules, does well on tests, likes rules and routines, memorizes facts easily, efficiency oriented, focused, diligent ..."  Do you see why a child like this would do well in school?  What has helped Night Owl to stretch a bit outside his comfort zone?  Yearly involvement in the Science Olympiad.  Night Owl has always enjoyed all branches of science.  Give him an encyclopedia about a science topic and he will happily read for hours.  Give him a book like The Elements and he'll disappear for hours, reading and storing information in his very organized file system of a brain.  But!  Now, tell him to work with another student and build a robot for the robotics element of the Science Olympiad and you have a completely different child.  This was the struggle of struggles for him.  Thankfully, he is diligent, and kept at it despite the difficulties.  Science Olympiad has thrown him into the state of insecurity each year, and I'm glad for it!  It has helped him to see those areas in which he needs to work and that all learning isn't as easy as he might think.  Along these same lines are the Shakespeare plays he and a group of friends had to re-create and then video tape for the class.  Definitely outside of his comfort zone!  He had to go beyond just memorizing the play and now actually recite those lines, while acting, while being taped for all to see!  S-T-R-E-T-C-H!  I think it's great, he doesn't always agree!

So I cut my homeschooling teeth on a very easy student to teach.  What a breeze!  Then came child #2, with some similarities but a few differences that provide some challenge for mom.
Social Butterfly:

Disposition: "Producing" and "Relating/Inspiring"
Modality: Very strong Auditory Learner
Style: Linear
Other: Extroverted, excellent auditory memory, musically inclined

Like Night Owl, Social Butterfly is in the "producing" category.  She loves schedules, even more so than her brother, and is constantly organizing things on paper or in her room.  She has schedules posted on her walls and charts for the business she will someday own.  (Yes, at the ripe ol' age of 11, my daughter is determined to be an entrepreneur.)  Along with all this scheduling and organizing though, Social Butterfly has a strong "Relating/Inspiring" component. She thrives when she is in social situations and is happiest when there are lots of people around her, paying attention to her. 

This need for constant socialization, for the only daughter of this family, does create some challenges for me.  I have to make sure she is seeing her friends on a regular basis and I'm always encouraging her brothers to include her in their games.  I try to meet this need in several ways.  She is involved in a dance class where she has met friends, she has a friend down the street that I allow her to see regularly, and when it is necessary to drive her to a friend's house or bring a friend here I try to make that a priority.  One not so great thing that happened this year is that the moms in our homeschool group are all so busy we weren't able to have any formal weekly "get together" for the kids.  In years past my daughter has been involved in Little Flowers groups and last year we had both a Catholic Mosaic group and a Tea and Cake With the Saints group.  This year, we are missing these organized socializing opportunities.  But, in an effort to help her enjoy her least favorite subject - science, she is meeting once a week with a friend to do science labs together.  This has  turned out to be an excellent idea.  The girls have worked through the TOPS  Magnetism Unit and are now working on the Electricity Unit together.  These are definitely not subjects Social Butterfly would enjoy on her own, but add a friend and Science has become her favorite subject!

Here is the curriculum line up for Social Butterfly and a few notes on how / why they work:

~Religion - Besides the Baltimore Catechism, Social B. is doing a study of the gospels of Mark and Luke.  She really enjoys this because we get to talk about it together.  Anything that involves discussion is a subject that ranks high on Social B.'s "Like" list.  For the discussion we are using the questions in Laura Berquist's Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum.
~Math - Saxon 7/6.  Social B. is good at Math, but she doesn't like it all that much.  I believe it is one of those subjects that makes her stretch.  It is not a social subject here at the Academy.  I encourage the kids to read the lessons and work the sample problems to try to figure it out on their own.  I do step in when necessary, but I encourage independent learning here.  I've added the D.I.V.E. CD to Social B.'s curriculum this year and she finds that helpful when she doesn't understand a concept.  Hearing the instructor on the DVD as he explains the concept helps her to grasp it.
~English Grammar- Easy Grammar.  Here again, is a relatively independent subject for Social B.  She says she likes it more than Math but I think she would really like it if I sat next to her and discussed it with her the whole time.  Being a mom of six children, I can't do that though.  She does come to me with questions and I do explain new concepts, but for the most part it is a subject she works on independently.
~Latin - For Latin, I am happy to say that I found a way to make it a bit more social for Social B.  This year, I finally broke down and bought the DVD's that go with Latina Christiana.  What a difference it makes.  In the first place, there is a lady teaching Latin that knows her stuff.   Being an auditory learner, the DVD's are also very helpful in that Social B. can hear the teacher as she goes through the drills and lessons.  I've also added Lingua Angelica this year and Social B. just loves it.  It really appeals to the auditory learner and her love of music.
~Poetry - This year we are all enjoying Linguistic Development Through Poetry Memorization   .  All of the kids, especially Social B. are finding the memorization of poetry much easier and more enjoyable.  I keep the set of DVD's in the car and we listen to them as we travel here and there.  Each morning, after prayer, each of the kids takes a turn reciting the poem they are currently memorizing.  Social B. has two sets of poems she is working on.  She also memorizes those poems as prescribed by Mother of Divine Grace for 6th grade.  She really seems to enjoy poetry in all forms and memorizes it easily.  She enjoys performing for us when she is asked to recite for the family as well.
~Spelling - For an auditory learner that struggles with spelling I haven't found a better program than Phonetic Zoo, created by the same company that gives us the Poetry mentioned above.  Once again, Social B. does this mostly independently.  We go over each new lesson together, and then she uses the CD to work through daily quizzes.  Once she has gotten a 100% the required number of times, we go on to a new lesson.  Hearing the words spelled out loud on the CD really helps them to stick with Social B.  The little jingles and songs that she learns for each spelling rule also help.
~Science - As I mentioned above the TOPS Science units have been a big hit since Social B. is working on them with a friend.  It's a big help to the friend's mother and I too.  For Magnetism the girls met here weekly to do the experiments while I oversaw things.  I taught a little, but most of it is what I would call discovery type learning.  This semester, the girls are working on the Electricity unit at the friend's house.  It's a nice break for me and I know the girls are still getting a quality science lesson.
~History - Social B. is really enjoying history this year.  She is learning about Ancient Civilizations and most of that learning is through reading great historical fiction books.  She did have some text book work early on as a spine, but from there it's just been reading and now writing a paper.  She loves to talk to me about the books she is reading.  She provides voluntary oral narrations on a regular basis and we both enjoy the conversation that follows.  The list of books used in the history program for Mother of Divine Grace is just one of the many reasons why that program has been a big hit for both Social B. and Night Owl.

As usual, in posts like this I tend to get a bit wordy so I'll stop here and continue with my other two learners, different as night and day (except for their high activity level!) in a new post.