Our "Typical" Homeschool Day

7:00 We get up & dress. The children take care of their animals and we start laundry, etc. before breakfast. The house is put in order before we begin school at 8:30 or 9:00. We gather all our books and sit in the living room. I start by reading a Bible story or devotional. Then we do history or science. I read from the "textbook", then ask the kids questions. We have a world map on the living room wall, so they often climb up on the chair during our reading to find some place that was mentioned. Then we read some living books on the topic or do a project. (We read a lot of books and do lots of projects!) This takes up the main part of our day. Sometimes while I am reading, one of the children decides they want to illustrate the story, so they color as I read. Sometimes after a reading, I will give them a related writing assignment. (My kids really hate writing, so we have been kind of lazy about language arts. But I plan to do more this year. ) Then they sit at the table and do their math and phonics/ grammar assignments. We are usually done 12:30 or 1:00. Then we do afternoon chores and have some free time.

I don't follow a strict schedule for school. We have a general plan of what we want to get done, but if we don't finish we do it another time. Sometimes we "vote" to ditch something because it just isn't working, no one's really interested, or we just don't have the energy to do another project. My philosophy is that education is not about how much you learn. The human mind can only hold a limited amount of information. But if can shape our childrens' character, we will have succeeded in their education. So, the facts and test scores and such are secondary. That doesn't mean I'm not trying to give them the best education I can, but I'm not going to worry if they never get through their algebra book.

It's All (Ancient) Greek To Me

We started our study of Ancient Greece with a lot of reading. There are many books on Ancient Greece that you can read for free online. We enjoyed reading one by Helen Grueber. We also read a stack of books from our library. If you want ideas for children's literature books, check out the Travel For Kids website.

Our first project was painting amphoras. We used black acrylic paint on terra cotta flowerpots. I also found an amphora coloring page. I saw another project using scratch art to make a paper representation of an amphora. (You color really hard with red crayon, then cover with black tempera paint, allow it to dry, and then scratch your pattern onto the "pot".) I think if we study Greece again sometime, we will try this.

Lighthouse of Alexandria papercraft 

We made mosaic placemats using colored paper and laminating envelopes. We were going to make frescos, but we never got around to it. But we did build a papercraft model of the Parthenon and the Lighthouse of Alexandria!

Next, we made jewelry by glueing a coil of hemp cord flat onto 1 1/2-inch circles of cardboard, painting them with gold paint, and glueing "jewels" in the centers. These were glued along lengths of cord for necklaces. Bigger circles with smaller jewels glued around the (top) outside edge were used for belt buckles on thick gold ribbons.  Here is an idea for a Greek costume.

We also made "bones" out of Sculpty to play Knucklebones.

In ancient Greece, the knuckle bones from legs of mutton, were thrown to prophesy the future. They were also used like dice for gambling and, most frequently, for playing the game which is still known today as knuckle bones.

How to Play

Playing knucklebones

Knucklebones may be played by two or more children, though interest may flag if there are more than four. The game consists of performing various 'figures' -throws and catches of the bones- in a chosen sequence. The names of the figures may vary in different regions, but most of the movements are the same all over the world. A basic and ancient knucklebone figure is even depicted on a Roman fresco from Pompeii. The player tosses all five bones into the air and tries to catch them on the back of his hand. Then he throws these up and catches them again in his palm. The score each player obtains can be used to determine order of play in succeeding figures.

To play the figure called 'ones, the first player throws the bones onto the ground. He picks up a single bone, which is then called the jack': he tosses it into the air, picks up one of the bones on the ground, and catches the jack as it falls. He transfers the picked-up bone to his free hand and throws the jack again, repeating the movements until all bones are held. If he drops a bone, misses the jack, or moves another bone, he is out, and must repeat 'ones' on his next turn before starting another figure. Next, he goes on to twos, in which the bones must be picked up in pairs: 'threes, in which he picks up three bones and then one, and fours, picking up all four bones at once.

We documented our study with various coloring pages and notebook pages. And we wrote our names using Greek letters. The biggest disappointment about Greece was that we never got around to having a feast. Oh, well! There's always modern Greece!

Online Books

Greek Theatre masks (2013)

Famous Men of Greece

by John H. Haaren
Attractive biographical sketches of thirty-five of the most prominent characters in the history of ancient Greece, from legendary times to its fall in 146 B.C.

The Story of the Greeks

by Helene A. Guerber
Elementary history of Greece, made up principally of stories about persons.

The Story of Greece

by Mary Macgregor
Stories from the history of ancient Greece beginning with mythical and legendary stories of gods and heroes and ending with the conquests of Alexander the Great.

Streams of History: Ancient Greece

by Ellwood W. Kemp
Presents the chief geographical features of Greece and historical sketches of the life of the people at four stages of their development: Age of Homer, Persian Wars, Age of Pericles, and Age of Alexander the Great.

A Story of the Golden Age of Greek Heroes

by James Baldwin
This book paves the way to an enjoyable reading of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, by presenting the legends about the causes of the Trojan War woven into a continuous narrative, ending where the story of the Iliad begins.

Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew

by Josephine Preston Peabody
A child's first book of Greek tales containing many of the shorter myths.

The Children's Plutarch: Tales of the Greeks

by F. J. Gould
Twenty-one stories are an ideal introduction to the characters that figured prominently in the history of ancient Greece.

Diana and The Golden Apples/The Trojan Horse

downloadable MP3 files of old children's records.

Greek Myths

Storynory free audio stories

Oh, Canada!

We just got done studying Canada and I wanted to share some of the things we did since resources on Canada seemed to be a bit sparce. 

Historica Canada

This was one of our most interesting finds. "The Heritage Minutes collection is a bilingual series of history-focused public service announcements. Each 60-second short film depicts a significant person, event or story in Canadian history. First released in 1991, the Heritage Minutes have been shown on television, in cinemas and online. They have become a recognizable part of Canadian culture." Some of them are pretty dorky, but the kids really enjoyed them.

The Maple Syrup Book 

Our next favorite find was a book called The Maple Syrup Book by Marilyn Linton which we found at our local library. Not only does it tell in detail how maple syrup is made, but it also includes some Canadian history, science, and some wonderful activities. (We made a paper model of bark baskets which the Native Americans used for carrying sap.) If your library doesn't have it, this might be one to purchase. It is published by Kids Can Press.

Inuksuk 

This is a link to a website talking about Inuksuk (or "Inukshuk"). We gathered some rocks from our yard and built some of our own. Very easy and fun!

Canadian Symbols "Quilt"

We also used a coloring page on the Enchanted Learning website as a pattern to make a construction paper Canadian maple leaf quilt. If you want something a little fancier, this is a link to a Canadian symbols "quilt" you can print and make.

Finally, we tried the blueberry dessert recipe from Galloping the Globe and. although I thought it was a little too sweet, the rest of the family loved it. The children decided we will have to go blueberry picking this year so I can have plenty of blueberries on hand to make it often. And I know my husband liked it because he ate most of it and he's really not big on desserts. Definitely a keeper! We had pea soup too, but I followed my own recipe.

I've actually been to Canada a few times, so I was able to show the kids some pictures from the top of the CN tower. What a view! But if you ever go there, do NOT eat at the McDonalds next to it (if it's still there), unless you like your burgers extra greasy. I never though anything could be worse than American fast food. American fast food in Canada is much worse! My only memory of Canadian food is a potato and lettuce soup I had in a hotel restaurant in Toronto. It was wonderful, though I'm not sure how "Canadian" it actually was. I'm still looking for a recipe. The most interesting thing I noticed about Canada was the foreigners there had foreign accents with a Canadian accent. I'd always taken for granted that a Middle Eastern or Japanese immigrant speaking English would sound the same in any country.

Order and progress! Or Going Brazil Nuts?

We are currently in the middle of a world geography study using the book Galloping the Globe. Today we started our study of South America in Brazil. Here are a few extra resources we found on the internet:

EXPLORERS OF SOUTH AMERICA (more info)

Pedro Álvares Cabral (1467-1520) was a Portuguese nobleman, explorer, and navigator who discovered Brazil on April 22, 1500.

Dias Bartolomeu sailed near South America on the way to Africa, and spotted land in Espírito Santo in Brazil, calling it the "Land of the True Cross." Although they thought it to be an island, Dias was still among the first Europeans to see Brazil.

Vincente Pinzon sailed to the Brazilian coast in 1499; at a cape he named Santa María de la Consolación.

CRAFTS

felt llama & feathered headdress

Feathered Headdress

The Yanomami, a group of people who live in the rainforests of Brazil, use colorful bird feathers to make headdresses and armbands.

Materials needed:

Posterboard
Colored feathers
Scissors
Glue
Stapler

Cut a 1" strip of posterboard to fit around your head. Glue the feather shafts to it. Overlap ends of band and adjust it to fit. Staple together headdress and it is ready to wear!

Rainstick

According to South American legend, rainsticks are played to serenade the gods as a reminder that rain is welcomed. Rainsticks are traditionally made from hollow cactus wood, thorns and pebbles. This version is made from a cardboard tube, tinfoil and popcorn kernels. 

Materials needed:

Cardboard paper towel tube
Tinfoil
Cardboard for end caps
Popcorn kernels (1/2 cup)
Hot glue gun
Markers
Scissors

Trace around the end of tube onto a piece of cardboard. Cut out two of these circles. Glue one of onto one end of the cardboard tube. Tightly roll pieces of tinfoil into a long snake about twice as long as your tube and about 1/2 inch in diameter. Push the tinfoil snake into tube, zig zagging it back and forth to fit. Pour the popcorn kernels into the tube. Glue the second cardboard circle onto the open end of the tube. Decorated your rainstick with markers. Turn the stick back and forth. The popcorn kernels will fall down over the tinfoil and make a sound like a gentle rain.

Grass Head Clown
These are made at the spectacular Foz do Iguacu (Iguassu Falls), which sits at the point where Brazil meets Argentina and Paraguay.

Llamas

We cut llama shapes out of felt and decorated them with gliter glue.

GAMES

Gato Doente (Sick Cat)
At least 4 players are needed for this Brazilian game of tag. One player must be the cat, or gato. When the game starts the gato chases the other players. When a player is tagged by the gato he or she also becomes a "sick cat" and must hold the part that has been tagged with one hand. The "sick cats" must chase all the others until only one healthy cat remains. This last healthy cat is the winner.

MUSIC

Songs and nursery rhymes
The roots of Brazilian music

FOOD

Making brigadeiros

Recipes
Meals and Eating Habits
Feijoda