" All Roads lead to Rome"

Having used My Father's World for four years now, we are finally at the ROMANS. The Egyptian and Greek civilizations so enraptured the children that they hesitated to let the course of history continue but rather preferred to freeze time at the last of God's prophets, height of Greek power and Alexander the Great.

I convinced them that it was necessary for them to understand the full picture, the whole story up to now and I promised that Rome would be just as fun!

We began a few weeks ago with the founding of Rome around 750B.C.  To be sure, that story/myth of Romulus and Remus always freaks me out. I hate looking at the statue of the wolf feeding the babies....ewww!

Life as a Roman pupil would have included writing on a clay tablet so here we are making our versions :

We started reading The Bronze Bow in the first week because the story was so relevant and reading aloud is one of my students' favorite things.

We also switched to studying about the Roman versions of all the Greek gods. We chose The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan to read aloud as well It's about a fantastical adventure for a son of Jupiter  in modern times. Although not my favorite author, it's so nice of him to introduce new Roman characters and follow the historical record of how the Romans essentially borrowed most of the myths and deities from Greece and renamed them.

Next stop:  Rise of the Roman Republic

First Day Photos

It's Official - we have begun the 2011-2012 homeschool year.  I have 4 students this year. A fifth grader, a third-grader, a first-grader and a pre-K student. It's a hoot really. I would never have imagined myself here 6 years ago but here we are indeed! 

They jumped right in with the routine which I am so thankful for. We start school right after breakfast and go until just after lunch which makes for about a 4 1/2 hour school day. We also started a new season of our responsibility chart. The kids earn tickets for their completed chores, responsibilities throughout the week and they can 'cash' them in for extra activities, prizes or save them for something bigger like a date with Mom or Dad. So far, we have two dates on the calendar and one saving for a sleepover.

**Kibru decided his role was best played with bunny ears and spoon accessories.

THE Pam School PLAN for 2011- 2012

 
This is the winner. We have been following the My Father's World Curriculum for 4 years now with the excitement building each year and each of my students truly enjoying the materials. We know it works. This year, we are adding a new student to our classroom, a Pre-K student, so I know there will be challenges ahead and my time with the veterans of the class will be so precious- all the more reason to go with what is familiar and loved in a curriculum.

Having loved the Egyptians and the Greeks so much in C to G, we will continue on to the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, the birth and life of Jesus as we study the New Testament, leading to the Middle Ages with knights and castles all the way to the Renaissance, the Reformation and Luther.  I love a good list, it just seems to propel the work somehow. Checking the items off each day, knowing what is in store, having all the ducks in a row...........for a brief moment anyway! And this is that moment.  Here's to a great year!

A list of the resources,materials, and extras that we are gearing up to tackle this school year:


5th Grade:
MFWorld Bible/History/Science/Composers
-Abeka Math 5
-IEW writing class (outside of home) on Medieval History
-First Language Lessons 4 with workbook
-Wordly Wise 3000 Book 5
-Sonlight readers G-( titles include Theras and His Town, The Roman Ransom, Mara- Daughter of the Nile,The Great and Terrible Quest, the Phantom Tollbooth, The Ides of April and Black Horses for the King) See here for all the titles.
-Abeka Windows to the World Reading Program Grade 5
-Art/Drawing classes at local studio
-Piano
-Softball team


3rd Grade:
MFWorld Bible/History/Science
Abeka Math Book 3
First Language Lessons with Wkbk 3
Writing with Ease Level 3
Sonlight Readers  Level 4-5 (click here for complete list)
Wordly Wise 3000 Book 3
Explode the Code Book 8 ( workbook and online)
Abeka Windows on the World Reading Grade 3
Art- Drawing at studio
Piano
Softball team
Soccer team


1st Grade
MFWorld Core
Abeka Math Book 1
Wordly Wise A
Explode the Code 2 workbook and online
First Language Lessons Book 1
Sonlight Readers Grade 2 - click here for titles ( we already own these!)
Art at Studio
Piano
Soccer team


and for the newest student: 
Pre-K / K materials:
Lots of reading aloud from our bookshelves
Explode the Code - get ready for the code
BrainQuest K workbook
Math U See Primer with manipulatives
Art with his siblings at the Studio
soccer team


I am also considering Spanish through Rosetta Stone as we have used this in the past. Jury still out if the students and teacher want to add this or wait until the second half of the year.

We interrupt this program to introduce the newest Pam family member!

In case you missed all the references to travel and Ethiopia in previous posts.....we went, we were forever changed and we have returned with another student for our classroom. He is Kibru Todd Pam and he is our 5 year old son from Ethiopia. We waited exactly one year for him to come home. We are overjoyed and slightly overwhelmed by the journey and all it took to get here. He is amazing and already joining on on school - anything that I could print that he could trace or color- he was game.  We love him so much!

A little note on curriculum progress: We made it through the Greek material up to Week 29 before we brought our son home. We did a broad sweep of the material after Week 30 focusing on a book about Alexander the Great, Aesop's Fables, review of our memory verses.  Other subjects like Math, Wordly Wise, Grammar, and Explode the Code will be finished in the upcoming weeks of summer. That part usually takes about 45 minutes a day so.... right after breakfast until the neighborhood kids come a-knockin!

A few highlights from the weeks between trips to Ethiopia:
- Reading the Greek Myths was a huge hit and my 3 students took to acting them out and pretending to be the gods and goddesses in their free time. We also read aloud the Percy Jackson series to further our knowledge of the Greek heroes and myths.
- Memorizing scripture verses turned out to be something we could do anywhere, including airplanes and hotel rooms.
- Taking their journals on the trip allowed them to draw or write about their new experiences as they happened.

 Harper's drawing of the myth of Perseus and Medusa.

Mackenzie writes about the prophet Elijah.

Harper: statue in Nebuchadnezzar's dream

Mackenzie writes out Psalm I for memory practice

School in 1 hour a day

Yep, that's the extent of the schooling since we returned on May 21st with K. We are all obviously adjusting to the new foursome and the myriad of appointments that come with a child who enters the country at age 4. Doctors, dentists, specialists and the like are now on speed dial.

I have loved watching the kids adjust to a new family member and am honestly amazed at their patience, love and excitement to finally have him here. I am so proud of them and so thankful to God for the size of their hearts.

 All the 'firsts' that come along with having a new brother are so thrilling for everyone.
He has learned to pedal which took a few attempts. His bike has training wheels that won't be coming off anytime soon.

Proof that he is cool on a bike :

I love the concentration! This is a local museum where they have a bike track, he loved it and spent an hour on perfecting the course.

First spectator sport ( baseball/softball games):

First school day with the family:

It may take a little longer to complete the curriculum with all the changes at the end of this year. We are still committed to work on it a little each day.
5th grade, 3rd grade, 1st grade and Pre-K coming up in the Fall!

I also started looking at curriculum for next school year. My instinct is to the stick with what works and we have been enjoying My Father's World for 3 years.
 Rome to the Reformation is next in line and it sounds pretty exciting to study Rome, the birth of Christ, Paul's teachings and Medieval Times with knights and castles!   

Journal Entries on London

I just love these drawings of our adventures. I think they hit all the major sites and included their favorites.  Makes me hope they won't soon forget!

 by Everett age 6

 Mackenzie - age 9

 Harper - age 8

Hyde Park, Notting Hill and Buckingham Palace

Day II in London. 

No rain in site.......we head to the parks. We walked from our Piccadilly Circus hotel to Buckingham Palace. A leaisurely stroll until we got a few blocks away and then one starts to realize that this is a MASS thing. Like Masses of people, all wanting to see the same thing.  I don't care what the guidebooks say about an hour early, you'd have to be 2 hours early on this day to be close to the gates. We decided to skirt around the back side of Victoria's Fountain and see where the parade makes it way down the street toward the palace.  We had a great view from there and enjoyed all the guards marching in, the band music and the horses coming right by us.

It was such a lovely day that we stayed outside and walked clear through Hyde Park / Kensington Park. We happened upon the statue of Peter Pan, erected to honor J.M. Barrie as he was a nearby resident and often wrote about this park in his stories. 

There was also a Peter Pan themed playground that kept the kids adventuring for several hours while Todd and I enjoyed the people watching from a bench.

Next stop, Notting Hill. The Portobella Market is something I have always wanted to see.  

This is us in front of the travel bookstore featured in the movie, Notting Hill, one of our favorites!

And of course, what day would be complete without a jaunt through Harrod's dept store?

The Food Hall alone, OH MY! 

Too bad we already had dinner plans.