When your blog post had one title but totally morphed into something else...also about how we found All About Reading

Y'all, I really would shout it from the rooftops...if that was a real thing.
My son was a late reader.
Read that as...L.A.T.E. Reader.
I was sooo very worried about it.
I felt like a failure.
I felt like (in the words of a naysayer) I was "Ruining His Education For Life".
I thought I was failing him.
I felt like everything hinged on his love of reading...or lack thereof.
I was embarrassed.
I prayed that no one would ask him to read aloud.
I just prayed for a miracle.
Mostly I just Prayed and in private...I cried.
A lot.

Have you had those moments? 
Those moments when you look at these perfect Homeschooled children...feeling, well...less than. 
You know what I mean by "The perfect ones". 
The ones speaking two or more languages. 
The ones who are reading Harry Potter, with apparent ease...mind you...at 7 years old. 
The ones doing high level math in 3rd grade. 
They never fight. 
They eat ALL of their vegetables without complaint. 
You KNOW the ones.
 ...The ones we make up in our mind to torture ourselves... 
The ones that we conjure up in our most insecure moments of doubt. 
Are there ridiculously gifted kids that are homeschooled?...yes. 
Guess what...They are in public school too. 
There are kids that learning, learning anything...just comes easily. 
I don't, however, believe that they are EVERYwhere.
Not the way that I came up with in my mind.
I don't think we should be comparing our day to day with theirs. 
Comparison is the thief of Joy. 
The End.

You see, we are super bad about comparing our day to day with the highlight reel that is shown publicly by others.  That is a FACT and you can take it to the bank.

You know I am right.

Well, I am not about pretending to be anything I am not.  Not anymore.  I am not perfect.  I don't have all the answers.  I fail myself and my kids...a lot.  I, also, acknowledge it. Y'all, I have SUPER STAR educators in my family.  The kind that all elementary teachers know their names...and I was terrified they would find out that He couldn't read, yet.  The thing is...I never should have been afraid of their judgment and I should have just asked their advice.  I didn't.  Instead, I distanced myself from that side of the family...because I decided that they were judging my decision to homeschool my kids.  I don't know.  They might have been.  I never asked.  Real mature, right?  So we floundered and we tried several "sure fire" curriculum suggestions that didn't work. I did a lot  of things wrong.

So, what did I do right?  I have friends in my homeschool world that I felt comfortable enough to talk to...about anything.  I'm talking to you Julie...and she gave me the Golden Ticket.  She introduced me to All About Reading.  A literal GOD SEND.  Julie and the curriculum.  Both.  I swear.

So what did I learn?  I learned that we need to STOP comparing ourselves with imaginary competitors.  We need to NOT assume that we can't ask for help.  We need to LEAN on each other for support.  We need to TRUST our instincts and be willing to change what we are doing. One of the best things we are given by the gift of homeschooling is the ability to adapt and change for our kids.  We are not bound to one way, one curriculum, or one methodology.  We can mix it up.  We can change to meet the needs of our students and that is just what I did.

Y'all, let me tell you that my son took to All About Reading like a fish to water.  It was exactly what he needed and one day it was like a light bulb went off.  Exactly.  I started him with Level One.  I figured...I would just hope for the best and go at whatever speed he needed.  Some days we breezed through the lessons and other days we took as much time as needed.  I will share a link for their website...they can explain their methodology much, much better than I can.  All I know is that it WORKS!  You can reach their website by following this link: www.allaboutreading.com

This is just a simple picture.  Nothing special...except that this photo is the FIRST time my son chose a book on his own and read it voluntarily.  So many tears of happiness were shed on this day...in private...as not to embarrass him.  This is a direct result of All about Reading.  I swear...it was a God Send. 

I thank the Lord for Julie and All About Reading.  So, if you are feeling at a loss...know that there will be something that will work for your child.  Isn't it a beautiful thing that we have the ablitity to choose? 

Blessings,
Cheer

Beowulf helps

Beowulf 

I don't know about y'all but I don't really remember much about Beowulf.  I am pretty sure I read it in High School but I know that we didn't do an in depth study.  This upcoming year The Diva will be studying British Lit...starting with Beowulf.  In the spirit of helping her...and actually knowing what the heck I am talking about...I thought I best get started.  This blog post will be updated as I continue my personal study of Beowulf.  It is no means meant to be an exhaustive study guide.  I am NOT an expert but I thought to share what I find interesting and helpful to me. 
First of all I am using two different editions of this epic poem.  The first is found in two places:   The Norton Anthology of World Literature which I found used at Goodwill.  I find this to be very helpful because of the footnotes included.  The translation is by Seamus Heaney.  I found this copy of his translation available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. 

 

Below is the edition that CC recommends for the student. 

 

Of the two, I prefer the Seamus Heaney version.  I like that the Old English is on one page and the new translation is opposite on the other.  To each their own.  HOWEVER, I am already finding that I often refer back to the Norton Anthology for the footnotes.  So, keep that in mind. 

My Notes: 

Likely written in the year 850.  50 years after Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor of Europe.

Longest Epic poem written in Old English.  The Anglo-Saxon language of the time.

Written long after that actual events told in the story.  The only event that can be dated is the death of Beowulf’s lord, Hygelae…in a raid on the Franks…that happened around year 520.

This would have been a story known well and shared orally over the generations.  Not about the English…whom it was written for but their forebears- the Germanic tribes of the South Danes of Denmark, those to the east in southern Sweden known as the Geats, also other northern European tribes- the Swedes, the Frisians, and the Franks.

Tribes and the thought of where they were from:

·         South Danes- Denmark

·         Geats- Southern Sweden

·         Swedes- Central Sweden (Svealand)

·         Frisians- Coastal Netherlands and Coastal Germany

·         Franks- Gaul and part of Lower Germany

·         Heatho-Bards- Lower Saxony

·         Wulfings- an Eastern tribe of the Geats ( Sweden)

·         Waemundings- a Swede clan of unknown location

 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/16328/16328-h/16328-h.htm  a translation of the epic by Lesslie Hall, Ph. D.  in 1892.  Much effort was made to keep this in the truest and most pure translation.  Keeping in the style and rhythm of the original verse.  

https://archive.org/details/songofbeowulfren00gorduoft/page/n11  the same translation as offered by CC. offered by archive.org.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IofrnpOT9Z0  Some great suggestions for understanding themes in each Monsters story

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yby0ZylJAKk  the first of several lessons about Beowulf from a professor online.  I have listened to this entire lesson and will have my daughter use all of his lectures to further her understanding.

Things to know:  (I will be adding more as I continue my study...)

During this time GLORY was the motivating factor for men.  

The tribes would war amongst each other for land, riches, Glory and such.  Often these feuds would last generations.

Dane-is basically like a knight to king.

Weregild- "man-money" a price one would make for killing another.  This was basically to end a feud.  Thusly, the more important the victim...the higher the Weregild to be paid.  

Mead-Hall-  the inner sanctum of the the King and his men.  Considered to be the safest place.

Cycle 2 Science

Happy Mid Summer Y'all!

I spent June visiting Texas and spending time with my family.  July is crunch time for me!  I started looking for my Cycle 2 Science Match-Ups.  The first book I found and worked on is a secular science book called, How to Be Good at Science, Technology & Engineering.

I find that it aligns very well with MOST of this years memory work.  Being that it is secular...you will find references to evolution, reproduction, the Big Bang Theory...and so on.  However, in my opinion...not enough to warrant not using this resource.   The images are clear and visually appealing, the explanations are concise, and my 10 year old son wouldn't put it down.  Works for me.

You can find the book here!

Take a look!  I am working on a match-up as we speak.  THEN I just need to figure out how to put it on here!

The second book I found works VERY nicely with our required CC Science Experiment book...as it is another Janice VanCleave Science selection.  I happened upon, Janice VanCleave's Guide to the Best Science Fair Projects and I am in LOVE. 

Now that I have one child in the Challenge levels...I see some value in introducing Science Experiments in an easy and non-stressful manner.  This book will be a wonderful way to do that!  She provides an easy step by step method for easy science experiments that align with our memory work or even the simple experiments that we do on community day.  I will share my plan for this book soon.


What resources have you found?  I'd love to hear from you!

Blessings
Cheer