I wonder if it will always be like this. Term 1, we worked diligently, but it was sort of strange since we did a month, took time off to adjust to a new baby, and then proceeded until the holidays. Then, we had DecemberTerm, which was a big hit and I plan to do it every year, Lord willing. Term 2 started off well. We got back in the groove, and then one child took a developmental leap, and so I added a good half-hour of preschool for her. Now, my son has taken it to the next level and I’m going to be adding things for him to make sure that Term 3 is rigorous enough for him.
I always thought that Term 3 would have a winding-down aspect for it, but I think that adding more depth or breadth and working hard right up to the end is really going to bring about a satisfying break for summer.
Of course, summer won’t be without learning. We will still do some daily lessons, but much lighter. I haven’t decided all that we will do, and we’ll take a week or two off before I implement that anyhow.
So back to what we are adding. We’re adding a bit here and there.
Art
We are studying Van Gogh this term. One of our studies will be concerning Van Gogh’s famous sunflowers. In addition to planting a field of sunflowers {over 100, half of which have already sprouted}, I am picking up this picture book:
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| Camille and the Sunflowers |
Free Reading
Before the year began, I picked out about half of the free reading books on Ambleside’s suggested list for Year One and purchased them. My son has already zoomed through them. When I looked at the list again during my time of preparation, I discovered that it included a couple books I was considering buying anyhow, especially a Beautiful Feet book on Pocahontas that I think my daughters will love. So here is what we’re adding to the Free Reading Stack:
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| The Red Fairy Book |
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| Pocahontas |
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Saint George and the Dragon |
Latin
Recently, I asked a number of questions concerning Latin of a group of women on a Yahoo group to which I belong. My interest centered on how to approach Latin learning when the teacher herself does not know Latin. One of the wise women there suggested that, with my oldest being still so young, my time might best be spent learning Latin myself.
So.
Looks like Mommy is going back to school. Daddy is also showing a passing interest, but Mommy has more time than Daddy does for things like this, so we’ll see how that works out. {I’d love to share it with him, but I also don’t want to put pressure on him to over-divide his time.}
Anyhow, below is what Mommy will be doing, along with a fun way to begin Latin with the children.
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| Wheelock’s Latin Grammar |
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| Song School Latin |
Music
Ambleside is assigning Mahler as the composer this term, which means we’ll be going our own way for a short while. I’ve been wanting to try an Opal Wheeler biography. It was hard for me to choose between two favorites, Chopin and Mozart, but I decided to go with Chopin. Since I started with the biography idea, I have yet to actually choose the song selections.
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| Frederic Chopin: Son of Poland {Later Years} |
Natural Philosophy
It is time to get more organized in this area. So, I decided to subscribe to that awesome blog everyone always suggests, and also buy the authoritative book on the subject.
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| Handbook of Nature Study |
Education for the Mama
Since I wasn’t educated in the classical tradition myself, I have purposed to read at least one book each year on the subject so as to increase my knowledge, hone my skills, and generally make sure I know what I’m doing. Last year’s book was incredible, very appropriate since I have young children. This year’s is suggested by many women whose schools I admire.
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| Norms and Nobility |
Funding?
Just in case you all think we recently struck gold or something, I never buy all of our books new. Look around. You’d be amazed at how far you can stretch a dollar.
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