Curriculum Plans for 2018-2019

Curriculum Plans for 2018-2019

Morning Basket (with Everyone):

Reciting the Morning Offering Prayer /Memorare

Ancient Morning Time plans from Pam Barnhill

Saint of the Day & Once Upon a Time Saints / Around the Year Once Upon a Time Saints

Read Aloud Book of Bible Stories/Catholic Mosaic

Baltimore Catechism with Angel Food Stories

Days of the Week/Months of the Year/Season/Weather

Ryan (8 1/2 years old) 3^rd Grade

Mathematics:

Teaching Textbooks 4

Saxon Math 5/4

Life of Fred: Goldfish, Honey, Ice Cream and Jelly Beans

Religion:

Faith and Life Series: Jesus our Guide (4) - (Online Faith and Life Resources)

Great Adventure Storybook: A Walk Through the Catholic Bible

Catholic Mosiac

Catechesis of the Good Shepard Level 2

English/Spelling:

Language of God: Level C

My Catholic Speller: Level C

Reading:

Memoria Press Third/Fourth Grade Literature Novels and Guides

Charolette’s Web

A Bear Called Paddington

The Moffats

Homer Price

Independent Reading Novels

Geography:

Catholic Schoolhouse Tour 2 Geography

Handwriting:

Catholic Heritage Handwriting: Level 4

Science:

Catholic Schoolhouse Tour 2 Science with Co-Op Science Lab

(Botany / Chemistry / Astronomy/ Sound and Light)

Living Science Books to Enhance Study

History:

Catholic Schoolhouse Tour 2 History

(Ancient /Medieval History)

Story of Civilization 1 & 2 (TAN Books)

Living History Books

Latin:

Prima Latina

Art/Music/Enrichment:

Catholic Schoolhouse Tour 2 Science

Weekly Music Class with Catholic Schoolhouse

Weekly Piano / Guitar Lessons

Connor (6 1/2 years old) 2^ndGrade

Mathematics:

Teaching Textbooks 4

MCP Mathematics: Level C

Life of Fred: Edgewood and Farming

Religion: 

Faith and Life Series 2 (Online Faith and Life Resources)

Great Adventure Storybook: A Walk Through the Catholic Bible

Catholic Mosiac

Catechesis of the Good Shepard: Level 2

Sacrament Preparation:

Preparing to Receive Jesus:  A Hands on Religion Resource

St Joseph First Communion Catechism

A Little Book about Confession for Children

My Path to Heaven

English/Spelling

Language of God: Level B

My Catholic Speller: Level B

Reading:

Memoria Press Third / Fourth Grade Literature Novels and Guides

Farmer Boy

A Bear Called Paddington

The Moffats

The Cricket in Times Square

Independent Reading

Geography:

Catholic Schoolhouse Tour 2 Geography

Handwriting:

Catholic Heritage Handwriting: Level 3

Science:

Catholic Schoolhouse Tour 2 Science

(Botany / Chemistry / Astronomy/ Sound and Light)

Living Science Books to Enhance Study

History:

Catholic Schoolhouse Tour 2 History

(Ancient /Medieval History)

Story of Civilization 1 & 2 (TAN Books)

Living History Books

Latin:

Prima Latina

Art/Music/Enrichment:

Catholic Schoolhouse Tour 2 Art

Weekly Music Class with Catholic Schoolhouse

Weekly Piano / Guitar Lessons

Luke (5 years old) Kindergarten

Mathematics:

MCP Mathematics: Level A

Life of Fred:  Apples and Butterflies

Religion: 

Great Adventure Storybook: A Walk Through the Catholic Bible

Catholic Mosaic

Catechesis of the Good Shepard: Level 1

English/Phonics/Handwriting:

CHC English A

Catholic Heritage Handwriting: Level 1

Reading:

Little Stories for Little Folks

Seton Pre-Primer and Readers

Memoria Press Story Time Treasures

(Caps for Sale, Make Way for Ducklings, Little Bear, Frog and Toad are Friends)

Memoria Press More Story Time Treasures

(The Little House, Billy and Blaze, Blaze and the Forest Fire, The Story about Ping, Stone Soup, Keep the Lights Burning Abbie, Mrs. Rumphius)

Geography:

Catholic Schoolhouse Tour 2 Geography

Science:

Catholic Schoolhouse Tour 2 Science 

(Botany / Chemistry / Astronomy/ Sound and Light)

Living Science Books to Enhance Study

History:

Catholic Schoolhouse Tour 2 History

(Ancient /Medieval History)

Story of Civilization 1 & 2 (TAN Books)

Living History Books

Latin:

Prima Latina

Art/Music:

Catholic Schoolhouse Tour 2 Art

Weekly Music Class with Co-Op

Weekly Piano Lessons

Peter (2 /3 years old) – Preschool

Mathematics

I Can Find Numbers and Shapes (CHC)

Religion

Catholic Mosaic Booklist and Activities

Who Am I? (CHC)

English/ Phonics

I Can Find Letter Sounds (CHC)

Reading

Before Five in a Row Booklist and Activities

Art/Music

Catholic Icing - Catholic ABC's Crafts

Making Music Praying Twice

Simon (<1 year) - Tot School

Reading Stories, Cuddling, Playtime and hopefully taking a few naps so that we can have some time to focus on more structured lesson time!

First Day of School 2018-2019

We are off and ready to go with another year of school.  It is hard to know when we really stop and begin again as with homeschooling we just kind of keep learning in some degree every day, but it is still nice to check in each year to make new goals and plans for the upcoming year.  We are loving life in the country and the boys are outside all of the time exploring the land, bird watching, building forts or caring for our chickens.  We are looking forward to joining other families in our community this year for a new cooperative learning experience.  We pray for a wonderful year ahead and for God to continue watching over and blessing our family.

Ryan-

Age:  8 1/2 years old

Grade: 3rd Grade

Favorite Subject:  Science

Future Occupation:  Wild Life and Nature Specialist  

Connor-

Age:  6 1/2 years old

Grade: 2nd Grade

Favorite Subject:  Music/Math/Typing

Future Occupation:  Paramedic/Doctor

Luke-

Age:  5 years old

Grade:   Kindergarten

Favorite Subject: Reading

Future Occupation: Paleontologist / Dad

Peter-

 

Age:  2 1/2 years old 

Grade:  Pre-School

Favorite Subject:  Art/Music/Story time

Future Occupation: Farmer

Simon-

Age:  6 months old

Grade:  Nursery School

Favorite Subject:  Story Time / Cuddling

Future Occupation:  ??

Simon's Birth Story

My dearest Simon,

How I love that God so perfectly knows exactly what our family needs, as we are so grateful that we have been blessed with you as a part of our family!  We were all going about the craziness of winter and unfortunately we all got hit with pretty bad illnesses.  Thankfully I was starting to feel better when contractions started.  Having had multiple children before you it was pretty easy to know that the time was getting closer.  I went to my 38 week doctor visit on Thursday February 8th and I was already 4cm dilated.  He told me that because I was not regularly contracting that I could go home and just come in whenever I felt ready.  The following day February 9th after I was helping your brothers eat lunch I had a contraction around 1pm.  It was decently strong but another one didn't come for about 20 minutes.  Finally around 3pm and I had a few more contractions I called your dad and told him that we would probably be going to the hospital.  

We went to the hospital around 5:30pm and got checked in.  At that time I was 5-6 cm dilated so they admitted me and we were there to stay!  The Opening Ceremony for the Winter Olympics was the evening you were born and it was also snowing pretty heavily.  Your dad and I walked around the hallways of the hospital and then watched some of the Olympics as we waited for your arrival.  When I was about 7cm at 8:30pm I decided to get an epidural so I could rest a bit.  The broke my water and the contractions picked quite a bit.  My doctor was helping with another delivery so the resident kept coming in to ask if I wanted to be checked or how I was doing.  I kept saying that I was getting closer but I would wait for my doctor.  

My doctor came in the room around 11:20pm to check on me and we started pushing shortly after.  You were born at 11:37pm and were simply perfect!  You weighed 6lbs 13.8oz and were 20 inches long.  You started breastfeeding like a champ right away and we tried to settle down for a short nap before the next day began.

Unfortunately, since most of our family was sick prior to your birthday, most of your brothers were still sick.  We did not want to risk spreading any germs when you were so little so only your big brother Connor was able to come visit you at the hospital the next day.  Your grandparents and Aunt Jodi also came to visit and were so excited to meet you.

Thankfully, we were able to go home early the next morning where your brothers were overjoyed of your arrival to our family.  You were met with lots of love and cuddles and instantaneously were a perfect addition to our family.   We are so excited to see what your little personality will be like and so thankful for the gift of you!

Love,

Mommy

We are Truly Blessed - Our Newest Blessing

Life continues to surprise us with so many blessings and we were simply thrilled earlier this fall to see our newest little one growing and thriving.  The miracle of life is truly amazing and continues to always bring me and our entire family closer to God and his amazing works. 

Our boys LOVE this picture and think that their little sibling is VERY STRONG!

These four young men are so excited to welcome another BOY into our family this next February.  I adore their brotherly bonds and cannot wait to add another little guy to our mix.

Growing up

Human Sexuality and Theology of the Body for Children

An important topic in any household is Human Sexuality and how to teach it to our children.  My husband and I have discussed this topic a lot within our own marriage, how it was presented to us as children and how we would like to present it to our own children.  We have always been open and receptive to our children's questions, but thought that we had a while before we got to the BIG STUFF.  Well, although our oldest is only 8 1/2 years old, between having a new baby in our family this year (which brings up a LOT of questions) and our oldest being very inquisitive we have learned that we are lot closer to all of the big talks than we thought. 


Here is what we have been doing to prepare.

1.  Pray:  Talking about sexuality and God's design for sex is a big topic and even kind of intimidating for parents to approach.  We have been praying to God and together for us to receive the graces to best present this topic to our children.

2.  Unity within the Family:  Although we have boys we want to talk to our children together as a united couple.  Certainly if they have questions that they just want to ask my husband or I we want to be open to listening, yet want to initiate conversations together. 

3.  Fluidity and Continuity:  We want to continue to talk about sexuality as our children continue to age and have more questions.  Even when our children are very little we teach them the proper names of their body parts and what body parts are meant to keep private.  As our children have more questions we want to continue to engage in conversations rather than just having "One Talk" and then brushing our hands of it.

4.  Modeling Healthy Sexuality and Modesty: I think it is really important that my husband and I prioritize our marriage and also modeling healthy sexuality for our children.  It is important for us to teach proper modesty and privacy within our home.  We teach things like shutting the door when you use the restroom, changing clothes in your room, not walking around the house in your underwear (even for boys!) and as our boys have gotten older giving mom full privacy while in the shower and/ or while getting dressed.  We also want our children to witness the blessings of healthy sexuality within a marriage.  My husband and I will kiss and hug in front of our children and speak to each other in loving words.

5.  Education:  My husband and I first wanted to properly educate ourselves about how we want to present the topic of the gift of sexuality to our children.  We also wanted to have resources available to help us in the discussions with our children.  Here are a few things that we have found that we have read, and will read with our children.

For Parents

• The Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality by the Pontifical Council for Family

• Beyond the Birds and the Bees:  Raising Sexually Whole and Holy Kids by Greg Popcak

• Theology of the Body for Beginners:  A Basic Introduction to Pope Paul's Sexual Revolution

For the Kids

• Listen, Son (Family Life Education for Boys)

• The Story of Me (God's Design for Sex Book 1) - Recommended for ages 3-5 years old

• Before I Was Born (God's Design for Sex Book 2) - Recommended for ages 5-8 years old

• Wonderfully Made!  Babies:  A Catholic Perspective on How and Why God Makes Babies

• Good Pictures, Bad Pictures:  Porn-Proofing Today's Young Kids

Lots of other people have also given tips of how they address the topic of Human Sexuality with their children and you can find them here:

• Tools for Teaching Healthy Sexuality - National Catholic Reporter
• Teaching Children Healthy Sexuality - Focus on the Family
• Teaching Our Children about Sexuality -My Child I Love You
• Sheltering Kids, How we do it and How we don't - Catholic All Year