"The Wood Between The Worlds"

Welcome to the unit I have been looking forward to the whole year long! This one is a much longer unit than our usual units. I wanted to have it go over November and December, because typically those are both filled with holiday activities that cause us to have less time to focus on unit studies. But as I developed the curriculum for this unit, I realized I would have to do the January one I had planned some other time and let this one go into January, and February. We'll see if it goes into March. At this point, it most likely will.


What unit study could possibly be taking up quite so much time, you ask??

 NARNIA!


I did a lot of research for this, mainly reading about the creator of this world, C.S. Lewis himself.
I really enjoyed learning about his life and his imagination for this world. I looked up anything I could find on him in the library database and placed on a hold anything I thought looked interesting. It all came in really quickly.

I actually started this blogpost in November, at the start of our Narnia unit, but then blogger "broke" on me and I couldn't figure out how to post anything on here for a while. Until mid-February. But we are still working through the books, so it is still relevant. There are 7 books in the series. we are on our 4th book. It has been slow going, too, with all the holiday stuff. And at the end of this month we are starting back up with the home-school co-op, the spring term.
I have Really enjoyed reading through these books.

This is a set of the novels I found at a garage sale for $8 and gave to my son to read, which he didn't, which allowed me to introduce them at the start of our unit. Despite being a bit old, they are in really good shape, probably haven't been read.

 Here are all the books I got from the library about C.S. Lewis, and Narnia.

I really enjoyed learning all about "Jack", as he referred to himself. This is a fascinating, and well written biography.

This is just a collection of letters "Jack" wrote in response to fan mail from children. He was devoted to writing a personal letter back to each one he received. I read a lot of them to my kids, who also enjoyed it. 

 This is the set of theatrical abridged, audio books of the whole series I got brand-new, never-been-used, still-in-the-plastic-wrapping, from an estate sale also this last summer, for I think $5. The voices are fun and the kids have loved listening to them.

As you can see, they are in the chronological order of Narnia, rather than the common order in which they were produced.

Here is the curriculum I received from a fellow home schooling mother from my co-op, to borrow, and return when we're done.

It is a complete, year long unit that includes all subjects, mainly focusing on literature, and aimed at grades 4 and up.

It is very involved. Overwhelming, actually. Since I always customize my own curriculum, I only gleaned some stuff from it, rather than follow it exactly.

I enjoyed the crossword puzzles they had in the end of every chapter. Each chapter in this covers one of the books in the series.

How I ended up doing the lesson is :
First we learned a little about 'Jack' Lewis, by reading the short biography in the front of this book ROAR

and hearing some of the letters he wrote to the children fans. Then we listened to the story, a few chapters at a time, on the audio books, starting chronologically, starting with The Magician's Nephew, and then read the pages about each chapter in the ROAR book, which has one double page per chapter, including a vocab list of unfamiliar words and their definitions, a summary of the basic plot of the chapter, a comparison to the Bible and our daily lives, and then some questions, like a  quiz, about what they learned so far, and questions to help ponder how they would feel in the situations. It is a great book for what we are doing.

I also have the books in hand while going through ROAR, to reread some passages for reminders, and also because the audio books are abridged, so some details might be left out.
Then, we do some small activity involved with learning about that era in history, or what the children in the book might have gone through. I pulled a lot of ideas from the "Further Up and Further In" book. We do this about once a week. Mainly the kids love to water color paint about their favorite parts of the chapters. At the end of the ROAR book, there is an exam that reviews and quizzes the students about all the chapters, characters, creatures, etc, and helps them recall the details of the books.

We all are learning so much about all kinds of things, from Biblical perspectives, to 1940's English culture, to what goes on in battles, etc. It has been educational for both students and teacher, alike.

After the series has been read through, we will watch the movies. My kids have already seen the 3 that were made recently, but it is always nice to review.

 I also may introduce them to the 80's BBC versions

They are the same books made into movies, plus The Silver Chair, which were remade recently. It is the story in the order in which they were written and produced by Lewis, but not in the order of the history of Narnia, which is how we have been reading them.

Well, I hope this blog inspires you to form a unit study out of whatever you love and your children/students love, that might educate you and them as you delve deeper. I have really been growing through diving into the world of Narnia. Come "a little further up and further in" to the world of learning!

Hello Again

I know it's been months since I posted anything. I promise I haven't been lazy, I have a legitimate excuse: The blogger site was not working for me and I was having tons of technical difficulties with it. I am not techno-savvy. It amazes me that I am even able to upload pictures to this thing at all. No joke. But I am getting the kinks worked out. I just thought I would post something here while I could to let you readers know (and there are over 1100 of you now! Wow) that I haven't given up on this blog thing, and my kids and I are still home-schooling, field-tripping, unit-studying and having a good learning time.

Life around here has been interesting. And I started a new hobby. Actually, it's an old hobby I put away after having lots of little ones around. Now that my last baby is about to turn 4 (! WHAT?!?) I have had the freedom to pick it back up. I am so glad I did, it was worth the wait.

"What is it," you ask? "Well", I say, "as a matter of fact, it's water color painting." I started this hobby When I was pregnant with my oldest. Then after my second was born, I put it away. It is really hard to do any hobby with 2 little ones under 2. I apparently did a few the year my 2nd was 3 or 4, but not many. Evidently doing daycare doesn't leave much time for this type of thing. I think everyone should have an outlet of creativity. I am full of the stuff. I also have many small hobbies, but this one really shows a part of me that nothing else before has shown. If you have a moment to yourself, I highly recommend doing something creative and relaxing. Something you love, and that makes you feel accomplished when you are done. It will be so good for your soul.

Well, I gotta get back to my kids and their assignments. Enjoy your day!

Butterflies, bugs, backaches and beyond.

Hi, there. How's it going?

As far as we are concerned, I have had better da---months.

We got kind of a late start on the school year, with September being mostly filled with reorganizing the garage, and so the horse unit went into October, which we had planned to be our study on Butterflies and other bugs. So, we agreed, once we realized how late we were starting, that the Bug unit would be short, only 2 weeks. That way we could get our November unit started on time, and not throw the rest of the year off track. (I am not going to reveal what the Nov. unit is yet. I am VERY excited about it, though. That's all I'm saying about that.) So, on October 22nd, after Monday school, we took a trip to the library and then started our butterfly study.

But, all throughout this month, I have begun to have severe back pain.

I have known that I have slight scoliosis (or a curvature of the spine) since I was diagnosed at about 14 years old. It's hereditary. And throughout my 3 pregnancies, I have dealt with issues stemming from it. Mostly sciatica. I have been to chiropractors and Doctors of Osteopathic Therapy. But it only seemed to really be painful during pregnancy. I hadn't had to many issues with pain while not pregnant. And then this month, lower back pain out of nowhere that I would wake up with and continue to deal with all day.

On a side note, if you've been following my blog, I talked about migraines, and how they would incapacitate me for a whole day. I think my doctor and I found the solution. I don't seem to suffer from those anymore. But now this back issue...

I went to a new chiropractor here in my new town. I really like it. The doctor agreed that the source of my pain is the curve in my lower spine. And, no, I am not pregnant. So I get some treatments, but occasionally there will be pain. At times it is minimal, and manageable, and at other times, I really can't do so much.
  On those days, I have to sit in my bed or on the couch and have the kids do a lot of work on their own. The other day, I read a lot of books to my kids while sitting on the couch.

Believe it or not, all of these books are about caterpillar and butterflies/moths.

 Some of the beautiful patterns on butterfly (and moth) wings that we learned about.

Then we learned about other types of insects and bugs, as well.

There are so many great books to read at our local library about insects. Poetry, stories, fun-fact books, multilingual books, etc. This was very handy when I had those sit-still-all-day kind of days with my back aches.
But not to worry. Every year, I get my kids academic workbooks that include math problems, writing, reading comprehension, grammar, penmanship and maps reading and comprehension. I hope that they will learn to be more independent with their work-pages so I can focus on lunch and clean up, my preschooler, other housework, my own home-work (for a bible study that I am helping to lead a small group for, I'll explain that later) and any other items I would like to get to during the course of the day. I usually end up helping to at least keep them focused a lot with these pages, and don't get to all of the aforementioned activities. I at least make the preschooler the priority of all that, so he doesn't get neglected. And as for lunch, sometimes the kids make their own sandwiches, and one for the little man..... But the point is, when all I can do is sit and read, they at least get their basics done, nearby me, so I can approve and check answers.
And those library videos also come in handy. We watched a video from the library that was like something you would watch on the discovery channel.

This Fall, I have been pretty busy. My husband and I took on a lot of leadership roles at our church. We are involved with music at least 2x a month, the child-care 2s and 3s class once a month, we are leaders of a marriage class, and I am on the women's board which has a bible study meeting every other weekend. I am also attending the weekly co-op, my oldest is in cub scouts and we are trying to have a small group at our new house on alternating Sunday afternoons. Whew! That all on top of the social get togethers we are trying to maintain, and I am homeschooling and looking for a part-time job. WHAT? Perhaps all that is adding stress to my back...

Ladies, you just can't do it all. Sometimes you gotta sit back and let others handle some things. And also, teach your kids to be more independent. Like, they get themselves breakfast in the mornings ( I am not on speaking terms with mornings, so the more they can do in the a.m. without asking me for anything, the better), take turns with the dishwasher loading and unloading, sort their own dirty laundry, and fold and put their own laundry away, plus towels. I am also teaching them to switch the loads. And they have their other chores, like vacuuming, sweeping, watering plants, setting and clearing the table, cleaning bathrooms. If they have a pet, they are fully responsible, and they are responsible for personal grooming, with nudging and coaxing and reminding from their father and me. I am trying to involve them in the meal making as well.

Anyway. When I am up and running normally, we have some fun things going on with bugs. My kids, especially my boys, LOVE learning about creepy-crawlies, and all things scientific. So they totally get into this unit. We actually learned about insects and spiders during my oldest's kindergarten year, but that was a lot less scientific stuff, and more kindergarten stuff. And this time, with the focus being more on butterflies, it appeals more to my girl. I acquired a game that is very age appropriate for my littlest student, but that I can use for more complicated math problems and such, with the 3rd and 4th graders.

The first types of games are on color patterning, and then it starts matching the different insects. My kids (and I) like the colorful 3D figurines to handle and I have gotten somewhat creative at coming up with new ways to use them.
We also have other bug figurines that have more butterflies, moths and caterpillars in the set.

These are useful with all kinds of educational games, and lend themselves to puppet shows as well. The kind that re-tell the info we just learned. I love incorporating that, it really imprints the info so much better. And it's way more fun (and easier on my dyslexic daughter) than written reports.

Incidentally, my oldest son is taking a class at the co-op about creepy-crawlies, and they equipped him with a "bug bottle" and tweezers for the observation and study of local insects and arachnids.

 

Of which we are in abundance around here. The spiders, in particular, come in significantly generous sizes. And their web building (and the tenacity with which they build them) is truly amazing. Sometimes breathtaking...As in, *GASP* "Oh, my GOODNESS, I can't believe I just walked through this walkway and coming back through somehow there's already a web!!" Lucky for us we have so many opportunities to observe the critters in their "natural habitats". Ahem.


The other day we did these "butterfly prints" with paint and folded paper.

 It's really easy.
You: 1)take a piece of paper,  2)fold it in half, 3)open it, 4)pour different colors of paint globs into the fold, 5)refold, and press together, smearing the paint all over the inside of the paper, then 6)unfold, and viola', 7)you have a perfectly symmetrical print that resembles butterfly wings and their symmetry.  I like to then trace a butterfly outline around it and cut it out once it's dry, to make it look more like a butterfly.

If you do it "right" there's very little mess. But I am notoriously messy, despite any precaution or careful preparation I do to prevent a mess. So I always have a table cover, drip cloths, apron, paper towels and other such clean ups with me. Then I was the one to handle the paint bottles this time. I had the kids tell me where they wanted to add paint, and which colors. Then I would squeeze just enough out, and they folded and smeared. Then I unfolded. I, of course, am the one who ended up with paint stains on my fingers.

The next obstacle we encountered was the flu. We all got sick the last week of October. That sure puts a damper on any plans, or projects. We all got sick one day at a time, and it only lasted for one day each. So on healthy days, each of the kids did some workpages, and we read some more. It's always something that will give you an excuse not to work, but you gotta persevere. They will be tested in what they learned at the end of the year, and you have to teach them something. Mamas and teachers who don't have substitutes don't get sick days.
This pic is of one of the books I already had.

I know spiders aren't insects, but I was having fun with the Halloween editing options.

So that is what this month has been all about: Persevering through the rough times to make it back to the good days when you are having fun :) One thing we enjoyed was the book THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR, by Eric Carle.

I placed a hold on the book at the library at the beginning of the unit, knowing I would want to read it to the little one (I actually had my dyslexic one read it aloud, she did excellently!), and it finally arrived to pick up at the last of the unit. I found out I apparently placed a hold on the Biggest one in existence!

My girl sat on the floor and read it to my son.

She really liked the story. But she was quick to point out any factual errors that were in it, due to all the learning she had just done about butterflies.

For instance, caterpillars are very picky. They don't eat just anything, like all that junk food.

 They only eat certain plants, that they hatched on, and if they can't get that type of plant, they go on a hunger strike and refuse to eat, and may starve to death.
 Also, only moths' caterpillars make cocoons, Butterflies' caterpillars shed their last skin into a chrysalis, and they become butterflies inside that.

Sorry, Mr. Carle, no offense to you, my daughter had to learn about those inaccuracies. Most kids (or adults, for that matter) would never have noticed those. :)
Then, she retold the story to my little man, puppetshow-style.

That was pretty much our whole butterfly/bug unit. I enjoyed it, despite the fact that it was about creepy crawlies. And despite all our challenges. We had fun :)