History...

For the past 7 years, we have dutifully followed the Well Trained Mind history rotations...Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance, then Modern History. The boys made it through their first complete rotation and began their second when Haley joined them. Newt went to school this year so Haley and Dylan worked together on Medieval History. We used Story of the World 2, History Portfolios for Medieval History, and a number of other resources and project guides.

We finished early this year and, since Dylan will be going to school next year, I decided against beginning the next course. Instead, we began reading through Joy Hakim's History of US. I have had these books for years...a wonderful find for cheap on an eBay auction but until now, hadn't found a good way to incorporate them into our history curriculum. We are nearly finished the first of the series and the kids have enjoyed finding all the places mentioned on the map (and discussing those places we have seen and those we'd like to see), so are also getting a course in United States geography. We've added in some extra readings and projects as well so I doubt we will finish the entire series before September.

Haley is very lucky to have a violin teacher who homeschooled and who is finished homeschooling so getting rid of many great resources!

Here are some of the books we are using with the first History of US book.

St. Patrick's Day...

I am learning that March is a very busy month for Irish musicians. Haley and Dylan played their 1st St. Patrick's gig of the week on Sunday at Haddonfield Home, a retirement home. They enjoyed playing for the residents and their families during their St. Patrick's Day party.

On Monday night, all 3 kids played on WVLT radio for an hour on the Cruisin' with Philly Carol show. They played tunes, told jokes, and answered questions from Carol and call-in guests. Haley did most of the talking during the show since there was only one mic in the studio for them and she took it over (it always amazes the kids and I that they broadcast radio from such a small building not much bigger than a mobile home). Her confidence, poise, and humor during the show were amazing for a 7yo...she did better than I would ever have done. They loved that their cousins in college in NC were listening on the net and called in to the show to say "Hi."

Wednesday morning I received a call for the kids to play at Sacred Heart Church for a St. Patrick's Day concert. Haley and Dylan played and probably played had their best performance together so far. They both smiled and flirted with the audience plus played wonderfully together. They had a great time and also were able to hear a woman with a wonderful voice singing both Irish music and a few selections from musicals and a priest who writes poetry recited some of his works. The photos above were sent to me by a couple attending the event.

Last Sunday, Haley had one of the best days of her life...so far. She was asked to play in a concert with one of her fiddling idols, Kevin Burke and a group of musicians. Kevin and Cal Scott played a concert first then the other musicians, including Haley, played a concert "session style." In between the different parts of the concert, a pipe band played. Before and after the concert Haley was able to talk with Kevin and Cal and played some of the tunes she's learned recently from their latest CD including her current favorite written by Cal, "Stella's Waltz." After the concert, Cal took Dylan backstage and gave him a quick lesson on the guitar chords for "Stella's Waltz" which was very nice of him. The photos of the concert were taken during the sound check prior to the concert because no photography was allowed during the program.

Could it be???

Could it be nearly spring? It sure felt like it today with temps in the low 60s. After a very cold, record-breaking snow filled winter, it seems almost too good to be true. The kids (Haley and Dylan) and I took the day off of school, practiced various instruments, then headed to the State Park for a long walk on a very muddy, slosh in the mud kind of trail! We had a great time!

Newt experienced his first day of wishing he were home rather than at school. The rest of us will do school this evening...one of the benefits of homeschooling.

Competition...

Yesterday, on her teacher's recommendation, I took Haley to watch the Greenfield Competition in Philadelphia. We stayed to watch the Junior and Children's divisions. The very first violinist played Bruch's Scottish Fantasy, Op.48. Haley's eye's shone the entire piece and she kept glancing at me smiling from ear to ear. After the performance she said, "Oh, Mommy, she held that first beautiful note so long I felt like I could cry." I felt the same way!

Music, Music Everywhere...

No, the music isn't everywhere but it feels as if we are travelling everywhere to play it. LOL This has been a crazy weekend. It snowed all day on Friday and although it didn't amount to much...3-4 inches is nothing compared to the 20-24 we've gotten the last 2 storm...I still didn't feel comfortable driving while the snow was coming down so we had one of those rare "stay at home" days.

Saturday, Dylan had Irish guitar lessons then we drove home to pick up Grammy who rode with us the rest of the day to Haley's orchestra rehearsal in the city then another 1.5 hours the opposite direction for an Irish Ceili the kids had been invited to attend. The ceili was so much fun. We girls danced some of the dances. The man hosting the event would come over to us and say "You know this one."

We didn't know any of the ceili dances but it would be an easy one for them to teach us. Haley danced more than Grammy and I did. All her partners were twice as tall as she. She and Dylan played the tunes they knew during the dancing sets then inbetween the dances they had "songs" times and would ask the kids to play something together or one of the guitarists would sing and play. We stayed to 11pm and the kids were still upset that they had to leave "so early."

Sunday, Haley had a make-up violin lesson because of the snow on Friday. After the lesson we drove back home to pick up Grammy and Poppop so they could accompany us to back to the city for an Irish seisun. Today Haley and I are off to watch the Greenfield Competition at the Kimmel Center. We are looking forward to hearing some wonderful young classical musicians performing.

Great Day...

I sort of resolved, but didn't really make a resolution because I don't believe in them, to try and blog more often. We had such a great day of homeschooling that I feel the need to describe it for posterity. LOL

I woke up at 7am to pack Newt's lunch and see him off to school. Then I returned to bed to snuggle Haley for a few minutes before getting her and Dylan up and moving. Dylan made them omelets and they ate while I showered.

Haley and Dylan then began working on schoolwork. They quickly worked through Wordly Wise, Reading Detective (Haley finished up her book today), and math with a little input here and there from me. I gave them their spelling lists then practiced violin with Haley. She worked through her review in the music/school room along with her new Dr. Beat metronome while I got dinner ready for the oven. Then I helped her practice her music reading and current pieces while Dylan practiced guitar and showed me the new song he has written. The kids then watched their SWI lesson (writing lesson) on DVD and outlined their story to be written tomorrow.

We ate a nice lunch of grilled cheese and tomato soup then read through The Song of Roland for history discussing epics, epic heroes, and the different qualities epic heroes might be given in different societies. Just as we finished up, our guests arrived. The kids had a playdate with homeschooling friends for a couple hours while I had a nice visit with their mom. When their friends left, they each sat for their daily reading. Haley began Anne of Green Gables. She read the first chapter then she and I picked out 10 vocabulary words and I showed her how to use the dictionary which she did surprisingly well for the first attempt. We also looked up maps of Prince Edwards Island though we couldn't find Avonlea on any of them. Dylan finished up the book he'd been working on.

I finished up dinner while Dylan continued to read and Haley drew pictures. After dinner, I took Newt to wrestling. Haley practiced fiddle on her own using her videos of her teacher, Brian Conway. Dylan found a recipe and baked a delicious cake that we all just finished enjoying.

It was just one of those perfect kind of days!

New Year....

We have had a couple wonderful days at home. A rarity for us so I enjoy them immensely. Last night, the kids and I sat together and figured out how to play Catan together. Newt won. While we played Daddy made us all non-alcoholic pina coladas.

Today, I cleaned some areas of the house I hadn't really organized yet, straightened up a bit, practiced violin and fiddle with Haley, worked through a physics experiment kit on simple machines with Haley and Dylan (building the machines, figuring out mechanical advantage, then changing load distance and effort distance to see the change in MA), and watched the rest of Ann of Green Gables continued with Haley. We then made dinner, baked brownies, scrapbooked a bit, and watched a movie with the kids and their friend Zach who is spending the night.

It is nice to have the time to just spend at home occassionally.

I wanted to type out our plan for school with Haley and Dylan for the rest of the year just to get it all straight in my mind and keep a record for later....

Dylan:
Math-working through Saxon 87 (we had begun Algebra 1 the beginning of the year but he was having difficulty with it and since he plans to go to school next year, I wanted to sure up his basic math skills rather than have him do something he will repeat in 2 years for 8th grade).

Language Arts- I have determined that Dyl needs to work more on writing so we are going to follow the program outlined in "Guiding Readers and Writers" more closely, work on Student Writing Intensive, continue Spelling Power, Wordly Wise, and Reading Detective. Also continuing with MCT language arts for grammar, poetry, and vocabulary.

Rosetta Stone Spanish
History- Middle ages using SOTW 2, History Portfolio, and various readings
Physics- I am combining a number of curriculums for physics since I haven't found the perfect solution yet...RS4K, NOEO, Rainbow Science, and a variety of experiment kits for fun. I recently purchased a higher level text called Conceptual Physics that we may delve into.

Haley:
Math- Saxon 65 and beginning Hands On Equations for algebra skills.
All other subjects are the same as Dylan, just slightly different levels plus she is doing Rosetta Stone Gaelic.

I think that is everything. School is going very well with them this year. I find myself having a bit more time with Newt in school. He is enjoying school and wrestling season is beginning to get into full swing. Newt won his first tournament of the year, pinning both his opponents easily. Nice start to the season for him.

Music is going well for the kids. Newt put on his new drum heads from Christmas and has been working through his new drum books. Dylan is very interested in guitar repair and has been reading his books and watching his DVDs. He also loves Haley's new mandolin and has learned 6 tunes on it. He took guitar and mandolin to the session Wednesday night and played both.

Haley played in a session Monday night and another Wednesday night. She enjoys playing with other musicians and Wednesday night was the only fiddler. There were so many different instruments plus vocalists so it was an amazing session. Monday night was very nice as well because the instrumentalists were so experienced especially the banjo and accordian players. Some nights while watching the kids at sessions, I get such a warm feeling inside thinking about the memories the kids are building interacting and playing with other wonderful musicians. The experiences they have are just amazing!

Haley is working on polishing the 1st violin part of Bach Double with the other part. She has been working hard on getting the timing perfected...not getting faster as she plays. It has involved lots of work with her new Dr. Beat Metronome. As practice, she has been playing all her review pieces with the metronome to learn to "hear" it. I have to keep reminding her not to tap her toe along with it...fine for the fiddler Haley but looks a little funny on classical violinist Haley. LOL

We have an exciting year to look forward to. Haley was accepting into the SAA Orchestra of the Americas so will perform with them in Minneapolis in May. She has some exciting performances scheduled throughout the first part of this year with her fiddle and the next semester of Temple Prep orchestra begins at the end of the month. We are already looking at planning summer camps for Haley and Dylan as well.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!