Biographies . . .

I spent a couple of hours going through our history book, American History Stories Vol 1, and writing down the important people to find biographies for. I was pleasantly surprised to find that my list matched a lot of the biographies that our local library carries. Our schedule for History will go something like this:

-read a passage out of American History Stories
-have the kids tell back the story using narration
-locate the "place " the event took place on a map
-on library day, find biographies that go with the story
-discuss the biographies and historical stories

Most important, emanate a love of history! We will start with a new story every week, unless we are just enveloped in the events and want to learn more, no rushing. Does anyone have a schedule or ritual that has worked well for history for them?

Groups . . .

It has been a while! We, like most, have been really busy enjoying our summer. I have been reading a lot of home school blogs and see that most families have groups or friends that they get together with for field trips or book discussions. I have tried in vain to find some in our area. I guess I will just keep trying away, but if anyone has suggestions, they would be greatly appreciated.

My sister gave me some great ideas for some Montessori teaching ideas that I am going to incorporate at the preschool level. A lot of the manipulatives could be easily made or substituted for something that we have around the house, so we'll give it a try.

I am still working on our plan for the fall. I am excited to read the books we have planned, I hope my kids love them as much as I do. We have been noticing lately that our second child has a hard time paying attention. She tends to get distracted easily. This hasn't affected what she is learning, but I don't think she could have lasted long in public school this way. She absorbs information easily through reading or paper work, but through open discussion, not so much. I am hoping that narration will help with this. After a few months, I will try to give an update on this.