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Life, Schoolhouse

Autumn 2020 Schoolhouse

on 3 Comments on Autumn 2020 Schoolhouse

Thoughts this Autumn

Our autumn schoolhouse was felt really good but was also mixed with a lot of interruptions. We went on our family vacation to Montana {read all about it HERE}, we had Halloween and Thanksgiving holidays, and many medical and therapy appointments for our little Lydia.

I have been filled with gratitude that we homeschool {I think the last several months would have been FAR more stressful if we were tied down to a traditional school setting}. AND I am really grateful that we have embraced a year-round schooling mentality. I feel like we’ve been really productive when we are home with school, but with so many interruptions we are a little behind where {in my mind} I thought we would be. But we just continue moving forward and I am so grateful for this lifestyle that we have that allows us this flexibility.

But, trust me, learning definitely still happened this season!

FAMILY

Come Follow Me

We continued our study of The Book of Mormon as a family and it has been such a blessing. It is how we begin every school day and it lifts us and keeps the focus on what is most important. And starts our day right!

This autumn we finished Helaman and studied 3 Nephi, 4 Nephi, Mormon, and Ether.

I love reading over these bullet points of goodness each season {these are the topics we discussed}:

  • The Spirit can speak to our hearts.
  • Prophets teach about Jesus Christ.
  • I am blessed when I follow the prophet.
  • A new star appeared when Jesus Christ was born.
  • The prophets’ words are always fulfilled.
  • I can follow Jesus Christ.
  • Jesus Christ invites me to come to Him.
  • Jesus protects His people as a hen protects her chicks.
  • Jesus Christ wants me to be baptized.
  • I can be a good example for others.
  • Heavenly Father answers my prayers.
  • The Savior wants me to hear and do what He teaches.
  • The Savior loves each of Heavenly Father’s children.
  • I can think about Jesus when I take the sacrament.
  • Jesus teaches me how to pray.
  • I can pray in my heart.
  • Paying tithing brings blessings.
  • Heavenly Father wants me to learn about my ancestors.
  • I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ.
  • Living the gospel brings me joy.
  • I can be righteous like Mormon.
  • Heavenly Father gives me many blessings.
  • Heavenly Father wants me to love everyone.
  • The Book of Mormon and the Bible both testify of Jesus Christ.
  • I can choose the right even when I feel alone.
  • God is “a God of miracles”.
  • Heavenly Father hears and answers my prayers.
  • I was created in the image of God.
  • Heavenly Father can comfort me when I am scared.
  • I can be thankful.
  • I am blessed when I follow the prophet.

Extra Resources: The Red Headed Hostess

Science

This autumn we continued our science unit all about Water and Our World. This was our second time doing this unit {second time for Jacob and I – first for Sarah} and we all LOVED it. I enjoyed it even more than I remembered!

We learned about evaporation, condensation, and precipitation, the water cycle, bodies of water, how water shapes the Earth, oceans, current, and tides, icebergs and glaciers, groundwater, water power, and how essential clean water is for our world.

We learned loads and you can read my whole review of it HERE.

We also began our study of Mammals! This is a first for ALL of us and we are obsessed. It may be my favorite science unit we’ve ever done! The kids are just gobbling it up {and so am I!}. The lessons are taking us a long time to get through – there is TONS of information – but we are loving it!

So far we have done an introduction to mammals, studied about live birth and lactation, odd-toed ungulates {am I the only one who didn’t know what ‘ungulate’ meant}, even-toed ungulates, and elephants! We can’t wait for more!

Curriculum: The Good and the Beautiful Science: Water and Our World; The Good and the Beautiful Science: Mammals

Art

Friday means ART! My kids LIVE for arts and crafts and this is a favorite for all of them. Something I have loved learning this year is watercolor. I use a free online resource with tutorials and this summer they came out with KIDS resources! I was so excited.

We don’t get the subscription box so I just gather supplies on my own and then we watch the tutorials online to complete the projects. The kids look forward to these every week and we’ve really enjoyed them!

This autumn Jacob and Sarah have done three projects!

Resource: Let’s Make Art Kids Project Catalog

Look Up

Dream Big Moon

Monet Inspired Lilies

JACOB {3rd Grade}

Language Arts

Third grade language arts has been great and has pushed Jacob a little bit with some more writing. He is moving along great and he finished up his first unit.

In Unit 1 we covered: UI, verbs, practice with OE words, nouns and adjectives, sounds of EA, open and closed syllables, spelling rule #1, TION, CIAN, SION, adverbs, sentence diagramming, commas in a series, silent e job #1, spelling rule #2, a sentence needs three things, silent e job #2, and spelling rule #3.

We also did some geography and learned about countries, citizenship, the Soviet Union, Austria, and Switzerland.

Jacob also did one lesson in art talking about lines.

Then we were on to Unit 2! So far we have discussed what makes a book worth reading {so IMPORTANT!}, possessive nouns, spelling rule #4, TU can say /ch/, prepositions, prefixes and suffixes, and pronouns.

He’s also done some work with maps for geography. He studied the poet – Eliza Lee Cabot Follen. AND studied the artwork of Edmund Adler!

Curriculum: The Good and the Beautiful Language Arts Level 3

Read Aloud

I definitely planned WAY too many read aloud books for Jacob! They are taking us longer than I anticipated but we are enjoying them. We finished:

  • Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White: This is a favorite and we love it. It is a story about Louis, a trumpeter swan, who cannot make any sound. So Louis learns how to read and write and it starts a series of events that are just so fun. Highly recommend it!
  • The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame: This was a first time read for us and I have a little mixed feelings about it. There were some parts I really liked and other parts that seemed REALLY long. It is a story about several animals and their adventures in the English countryside.

Now, we are reading The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. We are loving it! It’s a classic for a reason!

Click HERE for our read aloud list for this year.

Handwriting

Jacob has really enjoyed learning cursive this year. His handwriting has always been beautiful and it has been fun to watch him dive into cursive.

Curriculum: The Good and the Beautiful Handwriting Level 3

Math

Jacob finished his third unit in math – NUMBERS UP TO 1,000. Jacob studied subtraction with regrouping, logic puzzles, graphs of data up to 1,000, three-digit subtraction with regrouping, rounding to the nearest ten, rounding to the nearest hundred, and estimation using rounding.

Jacob and I have been playing catch-up a little in math. Our goal is to be all caught up by the end of this school year. — Let me just add here, I say we are playing “catch-up” because we were waiting on curriculum not because Jacob has difficulties in math. So Jacob would like to start a fresh unit in the fall. —

I was hoping to be finished with Math 2 by the end of autumn – and we are so close – but didn’t quite get it finished. He is in his final unit – all about FRACTIONS. He studied fractions, thirds, skip counting by 9s, regrouping across zero, double-digit mental math, exploring volume, measuring with cups, teaspoons, and tablespoons, discovering fractions, creating graphs, adding and subtracting within 100 units of measurement, mental math – making 100, skip counting by 11s, number words to 1,000, adding four two-digit numbers, adding and subtracting money, discovering fractions (ninths and tenths), solve for unknowns up to 100, shapes and fractions, addition arrays, fractions in nature, skip counting by 12s, ounces and pounds, regrouping across multiple zeros, and giving to the other.

Our mathematician this unit was Galileo!

Jacob is itching to get started on his NEW MATH!

Curriculum: The Good and the Beautiful Math: Level 2

History

This autumn was ALL about our first unit in history about ancient Mesopotamia and ancient Israel. It was a fantastic unit and Jacob and I really enjoyed it! We learned about the exodus and forty years in the desert, David and Solomon, the Phoenicians, Jonah the Prophet, the Neo-Babylonian Empire and Nebuchadnezzar II, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, the Prophet Daniel, Cyrus the Great, the Persian Empire, Job, the Hebrew Calendar, Esther, Israel after the return, the Alexandrine occupation, the Roman conquest of Israel, the birth of Jesus Christ, the story of the Jews, Christ’s life to Masada, and Judaism.

We also read The Golden Bull: A Mesopotamian Adventure by Marjorie Cowley. It was a great read and I completely recommend it.

You can read our whole review HERE.

Curriculum: The Good and the Beautiful History: Year 3

Typing

Jacob continues to work through his typing curriculum and it’s fantastic. I love that it is completely left to Jacob. It is nice to have something that is hands-off for me!

Curriculum: The Good and the Beautiful Typing: Level 2

Drawing

Jacob has loved adding in some drawing into our school day. He LOVES art and so this is such a fun thing for him.

Curriculum: The Good and the Beautiful Draw Vintage Images: Level 1

Piano

Jacob continues to do well in piano. I think we have found a pace that works for him. Piano is not an easy thing for him and I am proud of him for working through something that is hard. I feel like each lesson he enjoys it a little bit more and I am happy to see that love of music start to grow a little.

Curriculum: Faber Piano Adventures: Level 1

Sarah {Kindergarten}

Language Arts

Sarah had loved getting into all of her “big girl” subjects. She had loved learning language arts and reading! She is very self-motivated and is always wanting to skip ahead of things.

She finished up her first unit in language arts. She learned three-letter words, short and long vowels, simple words, and word families. She also learned the CK, SS, FF, and LL sounds.

She has dived into Unit 2 and has learned ending consonant blends, plural words, syllables, poetry, that a can say /ah/, and the EE and AR sounds.

Curriculum: The Good and the Beautiful Language Arts: Level K

Read Aloud

Sarah is just RACING through our read alouds and we have really enjoyed them. We have already almost read through our entire list and so we will definitely have to be adding to it. This is what we read this autumn:

  • Mr. Apple’s Family by Jean McDevitt: (QUICK READ) This is a simple, sweet story of a family who wants to move to the country. They work together to make it their own.
  • Sammy by May Justus: (QUICK READ) This is another great, simple story of a little boy who works hard to accomplish his goals.
  • The Beatinest Boy by Jesse Stuart: I love this book. It is so endearing. It is about a boy named David who lives in the hills of Kentucky with his grandmother. This is one of those books that I wish each little boy and girl could read because it displays such good character.
  • New Boy in School by May Justus: (QUICK READ) This is a great story to discuss with your child. It is about a little boy who moves with his family. Schools have been newly integrated and he discovers that he is the only black person in his classroom. This story has such great messages and I would definitely recommend it.
  • A Yard for John by Eleanor Clymer: I didn’t realize how many books we have read about people moving! But this is another one about a little boy who moves with his family to the country with a big backyard and woods to adventure in. He makes a new friend and it is just a heartwarming story.
  • Benjamin Banneker, Pioneering Scientist by Ginger Wadsworth: (QUICK READ) This is a great biography for young kiddos. It is written in story format but is factual. This story is about Benjamin Banneker who lived at a time when most black Americans were slaves. He lived his life in freedom and became known as America’s first black American man of science.
  • Billy and Blaze by C. W. Anderson: (QUICK READ) This book is part of a series (we have them ALL and Jacob has loved them). They are a pretty quick read. This first story, Billy gets his own horse for his birthday named Blaze. This story follows their experiences at a horse show.
  • Christian Liberty Nature Reader Book 1 by Julia Wright: This is a great non-fiction book. It talks about insects, spiders, birds, and other animals but in a really wonderful way. We’ve loved these books!
  • Voyage with the Vikings by Marianne Hering & Paul McCusker: Sarah was SO excited to read this book because it is the first book in the Imagination Station series which is Jacob’s absolute FAVORITE! It follows cousins, Beth and Patrick, on an adventure back to Greenland in 1000 AD during the time of the Vikings. These books are wonderful at getting kids interested in history and are so much fun! Highly recommend!
  • Kate Shelley and the Midnight Express by Margaret K. Wetterer: (QUICK READ) This is another great biography for young kiddos. This is about a young girl in Iowa who saves the lives of two men (and an entire train!) during a storm after it has destroyed a bridge. It’s a great story of courage.
  • Molly’s Pilgrim by Barbara Cohen: (QUICK READ) We read this story for Thanksgiving (it only took us one day) and it is so sweet. It is a modern take on Thanksgiving about an immigrant girl who begins to identify with the Pilgrims. It’s a great read and is another great book filled with things to discuss with your kiddos.

Click HERE to see our full read aloud list for kindergarten this year.

Handwriting

Sarah has been busy working on her handwriting book. Her handwriting continues to improve and I think she’s got about all of the letters down as far as correct formation. WOOT!

Curriculum: The Good and the Beautiful Handwriting: Level K

Math

Sarah finished her first unit in math and LOVED IT! It was all about NUMBER SENSE 0-10. She learned tally marks 1-10, the number zero, AB patterns, missing numbers, comparing numbers, subitizing 1-10, sorting, positional words, equal and not equal, the hexagon, ABC patterns, counting on, counting down, numbers before and after, even and odd numbers, an introduction to addition, part-part-whole, addition stories, the plus sign, tally mark addition, number line addition, the penny, adding pennies, and ABCD patterns.

She is now into her second unit about ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION. She has learned about adding on, making five, making four, part + part = whole, making two and three, tally mark addition, and ABB patterns.

Curriculum: The Good and the Beautiful Math: Level K

Piano

Sarah continues to LOVE piano. She never complains about practicing and truly seems to love learning it. We are so happy!

Curriculum: Faber Piano Adventures: Primer Level

Benjamin {Preschool}

All Aboard the Animal Train

Love / Rabbit / Red

Benjamin has really enjoyed preschool. I feel really good about what we are doing and I feel like this first year is a great first “light” step into learning. We did this curriculum with Sarah but I am enjoying is so much more the second time around. I feel bad because I know we skipped so much of it with her because I was pregnant with Lydia and really sick and then we moved also that year and so there was just a lot of stressors so I think we just did the bare minimum.

So far Benjamin is just eating everything up and loves when it is his “turn” to do school.

His first unit was all about the color red, rabbits, and the virtue “love”. We sang songs, read lots of stories, played with playdough, and colored and painted. We also made red popsicles and pizza. Here are the books we read about rabbits:

Obedience / Bear / Black

Benjamin LOVED this unit learning about bears! A lot of the activities are the same as the beginning unit but it is nice to have that loop I think at this age. Oh and we ate lots of blackberries and raisins!

The books we read for our bear unit were:

Patience / Duck / Yellow

Sarah said Benjamin REALLY needed to pay attention in this unit because he needs to learn patience! HA! I think we all could probably use a little more patience and we had lots of fun with this unit too. For food this unit, we made cornbread, yellow popsicles, and yellow ice cubes.

The books we read for ducks were:

Curriculum: My Father’s World: All Aboard the Animal Train

Final Thoughts

This has been a wonderful season of learning for us. As I said at the beginning, I am so grateful for the decision we made long ago it seems, to homeschool. Our life has changed a lot since we made that decision and I really feel like it was inspired and prepared us for the challenges we are currently facing.

As always, I hope this place is encouraging to anyone who is homeschooling or maybe thinking of homeschooling. I know it is not for everyone {and THAT’S OKAY!} but it’s been a wonderful blessing for my family. Feel free to leave a comment with any questions or venting that you may need to do {because we’ve ALL been there, too!}.

  • Jacob’s 3rd Grade Curriculum – HERE
  • Sarah’s Kindergarten Curriculum – HERE
  • Benjamin’s Preschool Curriculum – HERE

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(3) Comments

  1. LuAnn says:
    Posted on

    Iā€™m always so amazed at how much you do. This curriculum is outstanding and you can tell the kiddos love it. Thanks for all you do

    1. Elise says:
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      šŸ’›šŸ’›šŸ’›

  2. Dixie Valentine says:
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    Your children are so blessed that you chose to homeschool.
    A person can’t help but smile and/or chuckle at the photos of Benjamin. What a kid! Elise, you are amazing at what you accomplish.

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