Mostly Organized Chaos: 2011-2012 School Year in Review: Belle

As is evident, I've done a terrible job of updating this blog... So, here we are a full year later, and I've documented none of our first year of homeschool. So instead, I've decided to do a summary of Belle and Russell's academic progress and extra curricular activities over the course of this past year. I had no intentions of this being as lengthy as it is - but I'm confident I will appreciate my thoroughness in the future! Here is my summary for Isabelle.

Official Homeschool Tracking Method -- this past year there were three options for how to classify as a homeschooler and officially meet the educational requirements for the state of Iowa: we choose to participate in the "Homeschool Assistance Program" through the public school system. As a part of this program the district pays for and hires an accredited teacher to meet with us 12 (yes TWELVE!) times a year. These meetings are to assess for adequate advancement and (in theory) to serve as a Q&A session for the parents regarding any educational needs of the student. Also, as part of the program we were able to have Belle take the nationally recognized MAP test with other students in the district. Our experience proved that the number of meetings with the supervising teacher was excessive, and honestly, of no value. Any questions I asked could have just as easily been asked via email or phone (instead of face-to-face), and many times I didn't even have any questions (because early in the process I realized that my questions were best answered by other homeschooling families, and not a public school teacher) so the meeting was a total waste of time. However, I did find great benefit in having Belle participate in MAP testing, and consequentially, if the same test were to be offered next year as part of participation in the program, we will likely go that route again. Although I (knowingly) place too much value in test scores, I find that this particular test served to give me confidence that YES, I taught Belle something this past year. Here are her scores for the fall and spring testing session:

Language: 189 (September); 2nd grave average = 175.4 (note that this test is not normally given to 1st graders)
Language: 211 (April); 1st grave average = 190.0
Math: 184 (September); 1st grave average = 162.5
Math: 194 (April); 1st grave average = 179.0
Reading: 199 and Lexil Range 482-632 (September); 1st grave average = 160
Reading: 203 (April); 1st grave average = 176.1
Link: http://www.nwea.org/sites/www.nwea.org/files/resources/2011%20Normative%20Data%20Reference_0.pdf

Math - She used the Math-U-See (MUS) curriculum, starting at the beginning of the alpha level (addition and subtraction with single digits) and working though the beta (addition and subtraction for multiple digits) and gamma (multiplication for single and multiple digits) levels. Before officially starting homeschool, I had worked with the kids a lot in math; specifically, Belle was proficient at skip counting up to 10s, and had a good grasp of single digit addition and subtraction. I decided to start at the beginning of the official curriculum though, to ensure that I wasn't missing any big concepts. In addition to the core emphasis of the curriculum, other important topics were covered including telling time, roman numerals, and conversions (tablespoons, teaspoons, cups, quarts, ounces, gallons, tons, yards, feet, etc.). Unfortunately, math was NOT one of Belle's favorite subject this past year -- and there was often yelling and screaming that took place during lesson and "independent work" time. For next year, I plan to use MUS delta -- and although I would like to continue moving through the lessons at a rapid pace, I realize that we will not make as much progress as we did this year. Ideally, in the near future Belle will discover her inner-love for all things number related! (If we can accomplish that, I'll consider the year to be wildly successful!) Note that at the end of each level Belle took the course exam and scored the following:

Alpha: 64/66 (completed October 21, 2011)
Beta: 27/30 (completed January 27, 2012)
Gama: 37/40 (completed June 5, 2012)

Writing & Grammar - We used the Scott Foresman, grade 1 and grade 2 curriculum from here: http://www.sfreading.com/resources/ghb.html. Belle worked her way through the entire grade 1 book, and through pg. 68 in the grade 2 book. Throughout this curriculum there are small writing assignments, many of which she worked on over the course of several lessons (first brainstorming ideas, then creating an outline/story web, writing a rough draft, editing, and finally writing or typing a final draft). Belle especially loved illustrating her final drafts! Additionally, this curriculum touched on many grammar ideas including capitalization, punctuation, and parts of speech (verb, noun, pronoun, adjective, adverb). This is an area where Belle excels, and really, she should have been working though a higher grade level curriculum (grade 3 would have been a better placement for her), but I was hesitant to skip levels out of fear that she would "miss" big concepts. Ideally, next year we will move through the curriculum at a faster speed, getting Belle to a level that actually challenges her. I'll continue to use the Scott Foresman curriculum, but I'll be adding in Learning Language Arts Through Literature (LLATL) as a core.

Spelling - We used a free spelling word list from www.superteacherworksheets.com, and when that site transitioned to a fee-based system we switched to another free option, www.freehomeschoolresources.info. Both sites provide grade appropriate spelling lists, with daily activities to help learn the spelling/meaning of the words. In example, on Mondays I would give Belle the pre-test -- if she got everything correct on the test (which was often!) we would go on to the next level until she got at least two words wrong in one list. After getting two (or more) incorrect I would consider that list her words for the week. Tuesday through Thursday Belle would have to do one worksheet daily, i.e. a word find, unscrambling the words, cutting/pasting the words into alphabetical order, writing a sentence with the words, etc. On Friday she would take the post-test. Belle is very advanced in spelling, so she always did very well with the post-test. I've contemplated starting a formal spelling curriculum next year, but most likely I will continue to follow the same pattern/schedule we did this past year.

Reading & Reading Comprehension - She didn't use a formal curriculum this year, though she did do a lot of work using the online "Reading Eggspress" portion of www.readingeggs.com. Belle really enjoys computer time, so doing reading comprehension this way made it lots of fun for her. Next year I plan to use Spectrum Reading comprehension guides along with LLATL for instruction in this area. For "free reading", Belle read lots of the American Girl stories, and for family reading time we read through the first 5 books in the Chronicles of Narnia. Admittedly, because Belle started the year off so advanced in this area, I didn't put enough emphasis here, and she didn't make as much progress as she could have.

History - We started this subject area without a good plan. In the beginning I was reading from the book This Country of Ours, by H.E. Marshall (found here: http://www.heritage-history.com/www/heritage-books.php?author=marshall&book=country&story=_front). As the year progressed I decided that we needed a more formal history curriculum, so around February we switched to the Story of the World, vol. 1 Ancient Times. Admittedly, it was not a good transition (going from US history to ancient history really confused the kids), but after everyone adjusted to the new time period and curriculum, the kids really thrived! Through the SOTW curriculum, each topic is presented by reading aloud a portion of the text (many times the student guide includes coloring pages, so the kids would work on their coloring while I read) and asking the kids to narrate back to me what they heard. Additionally, there are excellently written review questions for each topic, along with mapwork and other suggested projects and hands-on-activities. Belle loved history after we started using SOTW, so for the foreseeable future, we'll continue studying history using this format! (Note: the SOTW curriculum exist in four volumes - and it is suggested that you just cycle through the volumes so that the kids will be exposed to the same information several times during their students years.)

Science - We started this subject during the summer with a lapbook I put together myself on the subject of “What is Science”. The kids really enjoyed creating the lapbook, but I knew I didn't have the time to design my own curriculum for each subject, so I decided to go with curriculum designed by Hands of a Child (HOAC). Each subject had various hands-on projects or experiments, plus lots of cutting, pasting, and coloring. At the beginning of the school year I choose the topics, but I let the kids pick the final two. Ideally, we would have gotten through twice as many topics, so I'm slightly disappointed in that respect; yet, the kids enjoyed this subject so much that I'm calling it a success overall. (For some reason I've decided to switch up the curriculum we are using for science next year... hopefully if it doesn't go well I will remember how much the kids enjoyed the subject this year and make the switch back to lapbooking.) At the end of each subject I created a test for the kids to complete - it is probably worth noting that I had *many* people comment on how difficult my tests are, but admittedly, my expectations are very high for my kiddos! Here are the topics we studied, along with Belle's test results:

Heat & Temperature - score 22/25 = 88%
Seeds & Plants - too low of a score to even record!
Trees - score 24/24 = 96%
Dinosaurs - score 20/20
Volcanoes - score 25/25

Spanish - We tried various approaches for learning Spanish this year, but nothing lasted long term. Notably, we watched the "Salsa" video series (found here: http://www.gpb.org/salsa) for several weeks. Belle (and all the kids) really enjoyed watching the videos, but because we were not doing any official instruction to coincide with the videos, she didn't really learn anything of substance from the videos. Next year I'm bumping Spanish up to a higher level of importance and we will be doing the "Escucha Y Hablamos Espanol" series - ideally with the Salsa videos to complement the curriculum.

Sign Language - We did no real instruction in this area. We often watch shows from the Signing Times series and Belle has gained lots of knowledge about signs from these shows. Ideally, we will start formal instruction in this area in the years to come, to both strengthen and expand on the exposure the kids already have in this subject area.

AWANA/copy work - Before the year started I selected important bible verses and typed them up on lined paper to have the kids use for copy work. At the start of the year they did this twice a week, plus we did a bible lesson 3 times a week using a lapbook from "Hands of a Child" (HOAC). Although this format for bible study was working well, in early October we got an invitation to join another homeschool family at a weekly bible study program called AWANA. Only James was able to attend the first week, and it was immediately obvious that this program was something that would be valuable for the kids, as well as lots of fun (think music, dance, arts and crafts, recreation, and more -- all with a focus on biblical living). So, the following week Belle and Russell joined James, and the three kids participated on a regular basis for the remainder of the school year. Belle was considered a "Sparkie" in the program, and each week she had a short story to read and one or two bible verses to memorize. To aid in the memorization, I used those bible verses for her copy work, and she excelled at the program. Memorization comes very naturally to Belle, and she has retained a lot of the versus that she memorized throughout the year! After we began AWANA I used the Sparkie handbook as Belle (and Russell's) bible study, and dropped the HOAC curriculum. The only drawback to AWANA is that it happens at 6pm on Thursday evenings, which means we have one more night a week of running. I'm a "home body" to the core, so 99% of the time Dave did the AWANA night duties, while I got a night at home. We will continue AWANA this coming year (even Ellie may join the "big kids"?!?) as our bible study. In addition, I want to make it a priority to read a bible passage to the kids on a regular basis, something I did only (very) infrequently this past year.

Typing - We started out the year using http://www.typing-lessons.org/ as a typing instruction guide. Around December, Belle had adequately completed all the lessons, though she still needed lots of regular practice. Because she was getting bored doing the same instruction over and over, I decided to let her practice her typing skills with "real world" applications -- she began typing selected writing assignments, and she was given her very own email address. (Well, okay, I control the password, thereby preventing her from accessing it without my explicit permission... but none-the-less, it is her very "own"!) Belle really enjoys typing anything she has written, as well as composing her own emails, and she continues to get faster and more accurate with her typing abilities.

Piano/Music - Belle continued on for her 2nd year of piano lessons. The teacher we found is amazing and both Belle and Russell really thrive under her instruction. This past year Belle added in "finger practice" exercises to strengthen her fingers, and continued to progress through the "Alfred's Premier Piano Course" instruction books, completing through pg. 26 in the Lesson level 2A book, pg. 6 in the Pop and Movie Hits level 2A book, and pg. 20 in the "Showtime Piano Favorites" level 2A (arranged y Faber & Faber) book. Additionally, several times a month Belle worked on note memorization through the website www.musictechteacher.com/musicquizzes and www.musicards.net. She has made great advances in her playing ability and this year she actually enjoys playing (hallelujah!). Yet, she still struggles with note memorization/identification, and often has trouble identifying where her hands go on a new piece. She can always figure this stuff out, but ideally she would just have that information memorized so that she didn't have to "think through" what the various notes are/where they are played on the piano. Next year, that will be one of my biggest goals for Belle in her study of piano/music!

Co-op/Small group - Before diving into homeschooling I did lots of research on the local homeschooling community. I was pleased to find a local Christian based group, Christian Homeschool Alliance/Education of Dubuque (CHAD). The group has co-op classes that meet two Fridays a month for the duration of the regular school year. We joined the co-op starting in September and my goal for participation with this group was not education-based, but rather to allow my kids to build communication skills, develop homeschool friendships, and expose them to an extra social activity. The kids thoroughly enjoyed co-op days, and for Belle especially, I appreciated the opportunity to have her involved with activities without me at her side (as she tends to cling close to me in most social settings). In January, three of the mothers from CHAD plus myself started to meet as a "small group" on the off weeks of CHAD. Our "small" group consists of 4 moms and 18 kids, so "small" is sort-of an amusing name! Again, this group provided a great opportunity for the kids to socialize with other homeschooled kids, and I was really grateful for this group, as it helped with my transition into the homeschooling world. Although final decisions have not been made yet, I anticipate we will continue our involvement with both CHAD and our small group this coming school year.

Extra Curricular Activities:

Piano (detailed above)
Karate w/Papa - Every Tuesday night my Dad came over and in exchange for dinner he taught the kids (mostly Belle and Russell) karate. I think Belle learned a lot this year, though the length of the lessons often tested her attention-span. Ideally, we will continue with lessons this coming year but with a set time-limit, in hopes of increasing attentiveness during the lesson.
Church Choir - Every Wednesday night James, Russell, and Belle participated in our church's "Cherub Choir" for kids ages 3-3rd grade. About once a month they have a performance during worship service on Sundays. Belle really has a flair for all things artsy/musical, so she especially enjoyed participating in choir. Next year Ellie-Jo will be joining the kids!
AWANA (detailed above)
Girl Scouts - Once a month meetings on Saturday mornings. I am one of the co-leaders for the troop, so I was very involved with planning and scheduling the content of the meetings. This past year the troop did a "leadership journey" titled "A World of Girls". Throughout the course of the journey they earned leadership badges and gained some leadership skills. Belle also participated in her troop's cookie sales, and as a result of selling so many cookies got to use her "cookie money" to help fund girl scout camp this summer!
4H - Once a month on Monday evenings. The organization is designed to teach and promote environmental friendliness and outdoor living. The group is composed primarily of farm kids from the surrounding community and they spend their time on a short environmental lesson with accompanying arts and crafts projects. The kids had the option of getting involved with the local fair (via showing arts and crafts or animals). We opted not to participate in fair activities this year, though I think this would be a great opportunity to practice public speaking and presentation, and consequentially, I anticipate the kids will get involved next year.

Whew! So, that's my synopsis of Belle's first year of homeschooling. Here are a few of my favorite pictures of Belle from the past year: