Monthly Archives: July 2011

July Homeschool Planning

Posted on by
20

 

 How is everything going for everyone?  I know a lot of mothers who have gotten their curriculum and are reading through everything now.

 

So, my challenge to all of you who are homeschool planning for fall is to make time this month and into August to work on your plans daily if you are not already doing so.  You can get quite a bit done even in fifteen minutes!   I know many homeschooling families who will start mid to late August or right after Labor Day, and the time will be here before you know it.  I am knee- deep in planning for fourth and first grade with a toddler in tow; I think it is going to be a great year!

 

I would love to hear from you all what you are working on and what plans you have. If you have a blog and are posting plans, I would also  love for you to include the link to your blog.

 

Can’t wait to connect with everyone,

Carrie

Sunday Inspiration From “Beginning to Pray”

Posted on by
4

 

“Beginning to Pray” by His Eminence Metropolitan Anthony Bloom is a classic that I think really  should be read by anyone on a journey to draw closer to Our Creator.  Here is a link to read a brief description about the really interesting life of Metropolitan Anthony:  http://orthodoxwiki.org/Anthony_%28Bloom%29_of_Sourozh

 

Here is an inspiring quote from this book:

 

“What we must do is to collect all knowledge of God which we possess in order to come into His presence, but then remember that all we know about God is our past, as it were, behind our back, and  we are standing face to face with God in all His complexity, all His simplicity, so close and yet so unknown.  Only if we can stand completely open before the unknown, can the unknown reveal itself, Himself, as He chooses to reveal Himself to us as we are today.  So, with this open-heartedness and open-mindedness, we must stand before God without trying to give Him a shape or imprison Him in concepts and images, and we must knock at the door.

Where?  The Gospel tells us that the kingdom of God is within us first of all.  If we cannot find the kingdom of God within us, if we cannot meet God within, in the very depth of ourselves, our chances of meeting Him outside ourselves is very remote.”

 

Metropolitan Anthony has many wonderful things to say about prayer, living up to prayer, taking up one’s crosses, going inward and how to do this, and so much more.  Here is the link to this book on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Beginning-Pray-Anthony-Bloom/dp/0809115093/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1310776866&sr=8-1

 

A lovely beginning to a day of rest —

Many blessings,

Carrie

Serene Summer: One Small Step #4

Posted on by
11

 

Our small steps for a happy homelife continues today with menu planning.  Menu planning is important for those of us on a budget, and it is also  important in terms of saving time, energy and for providing healthy foods in as close to their natural state as possible.

So,  after our other small steps of  decreasing commitments so you can actually be at home, spending time with your spouse or rejuvenating yourself, and having a well-ordered home, menu planning is right up there.

After all, nothing goes well if everyone is hungry and there is no food in the house or no food prepared, right?  Small children and hunger leads to whiny, not peaceful,  times!

We have talked about meal planning before on this blog, but I have a few things that have been working well for me lately that I want to share: Continue reading →

Guest Post On First Grade Readiness: A Comprehensive Look Through High School

Posted on by

 

(7/16/2011 – Comments on this post are now closed!  Thank you for all your comments and questions!)

Our guest post today comes from Donna Simmons of Christopherus Homeschool Resources (http://www.christopherushomeschool.org/home.html).  This is a very comprehensive look at the topic of first grade readiness.  This article includes her perspective as a Waldorf educator, but also as a parent and homeschooler, and includes a deep understanding of the foundation of Waldorf Education, but also includes more mainstream resources for those of you seeking those.

This article is long, but I encourage you to read all of it.   Donna will be answering your questions left in the comment box in regards to this post, and we both look forward to hearing your thoughts. 

Here is Donna….. Continue reading →

Working With “Brambly Hedge” for First Grade Form Drawing

Posted on by
11

 

I have gotten a few emails asking me about how “form drawing with Brambly Hedge” is going.  I first wrote about this idea here:  https://theparentingpassageway.com/2011/01/22/two-ideas-for-firstsecond-grade-blocks/

 

When we start school, it will still be very summertime weather here in the Deep South.  So, my first thought was to incorporate the summer and autumn Brambly Hedge books into this two-week form drawing block.  I picked a two-week block as opposed to a three or four week block because I think this particular child will be fatigued by a longer block of form drawing at this point in time.

 

My fourth grader will be doing local geography and as such will be creating a map of her room, our home, the yard in the first part of this block, so I thought it might be fun for my first grader to have something “map-ish” as well…. So: Continue reading →

The Parenting Passageway Is Now On Facebook!

Posted on by
Reply

 

Please feel free to stop over and say hello:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Parenting-Passageway/197493306934950

Thank you for your support!

Many blessings,

Carrie

Deconstructing Grade Two

Posted on by
10

Grade Two promises to be an interesting year as not only is there a wide variety of stories to choose from (legends, tall tales, Saints, Jataka Tales, animal stories, Aesop’s fables, trickster tales) but also a wide range of academic, social and emotional abilities and levels amongst eight year olds.

Here are a few thoughts for heading into grade two: Continue reading →

Deconstructing First Grade

Posted on by
20

So, I am busy planning a second go round with first grade (along with fourth).  First grade is really fun, simple to plan (I know it probably doesn’t feel that way when you are going through it for the first time, though!), and can be simply magical.

I think there are several things to consider when planning First Grade. Continue reading →

The Christopherus Early Years Book

Posted on by
2

is out!  Here is the link to the blog post announcing its arrival, and there is a link at the bottom of the post to order the book. The book is available only in eBook version, and costs twenty dollars.  It is over 430 pages long, and  has responses from so many wise mothers regarding  many of the most commonly asked questions and dilemmas of parenting in the early years.

http://christopherushomeschool.typepad.com/blog/2011/07/creating-our-new-early-years-book.html

Many blessings to you all,

Carrie

Deconstructing the Six Year Old Kindergarten Year

Posted on by
20

Have you ever heard of a deconstructed salad? It is a salad that has all the components separately instead of mixed all together.  For those “When Harry Met Sally” fans, it is kind of all “on the side.”

I think the six-year-old kindergarten year is a bit like that; sometimes we have to really analyze the separate components and tailor those components.

This last year of kindergarten need not be intense, but I  think six- year -olds do need something “more”.  And we are fortunate that in the home environment we able to meet our child where they are. Continue reading →