Posted by Cindy on May 19, 2009
Field Day at our co-op is always such a fun day! In their class rotations, the kids go around to seven different activities.
- Tug-of-war
- Long Jump
- Softball Throw
- 50 Yard Dash
- Three-legged Race
- Sack Race
- Obstacle Course
The moms sign up to either work a station or escort classes from station to station. Those who escort also keep records of 1st, 2nd and 3rd place so ribbons can be given out at the end of the day. Everyone gets a participation ribbon so they don’t feel left out if they don’t place in any of the events. The escort also gets to decide who receives special awards at the end of the day for things like Most Enthusiastic, Most Encouraging, Most Christ-like Attitude and a few others.
We have a little awards ceremony and snack celebration to finish the day. It’s a long co-op day, but very much worth it!
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Filed Under: Co-op
Posted by Cindy on April 27, 2009
This past weekend was time once again for our co-op’s talent expo. It’s such a fun time of sharing talents and competing for ribbons in the areas of art, music, drama, spelling, Bible memorization, cooking, woodworking, science fair and/or sewing.
This year’s projects for Caleb included two art projects, a *huge* birdhouse and a derby pie. The pictures of the art projects didn’t turn out, but you can see the other two below.
Two of Mahayla’s art project pictures also didn’t turn out, but her photography entry did. You can also see her knitting entry and hummingbird cake.
We’ll find out in a couple of weeks how/if they placed at a little awards ceremony. This is always one of our favorite co-op events!
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Filed Under: Co-op
Posted by Cindy on February 19, 2009
The smaller of the two homeschool groups I’m a part of met this week for a Night at the Museum party. What fun it was!
Each child was supposed to choose either an historical character from the movie or a character based on one of the time periods covered in the movie. They were asked to dress like their character and bring some sort of food representing their era. There was a place to display projects they completed about their character/time period and we gave them each a few minutes to share what they’d learned.
After lunch from the food brought and sharing of projects, all the kids nestled in to watch the movie. What a great time!
Do you have any other ideas for academic themed parties like this?
Posted by Cindy on April 19, 2008
I know, you’re tired of hearing how wonderful our co-op is! But seriously, it is. Friday night was our annual competition night. The children choose from all sorts of competitions to enter – music, art, cooking, Bible memorization, science fair, construction, knitting/crochet/sewing, spelling bee – and maybe even more.
Here are a few pictures from the night. Mahayla entered knitting, science fair, cooking – pies, and art – painting, crafts and printing. Caleb entered wood construction, cooking – cakes, and art – printing and crafts. We’ll have a fun ceremony in a couple of weeks where the kids will find out if they placed. Pretty ribbons and certificates are given to all winners and participants. They make for a nice addition to a yearly portfolio.
Posted by Cindy on April 18, 2008
How do you schedule a Charlotte Mason-style day?
Short answer: Any way you want! LOL
Longer answer: If we’re talking a true CM day, it will be characterized by the following:
- short bookwork lessons (10-30 minutes depending on the age of the child and the subject)
- daily lessons in Bible, copywork, math, language arts, foreign language
- weekly or more lessons in science, history
- bookwork finished in the morning hours
- afternoons spent outdoors with free play or nature study, handicrafts, reading, etc.
- time scheduled throughout the week for nature study, artist/composer study
I’m not a CM “purist”, but our day usually goes something like this:
Chores – aka Life Skills
Bible
Bookwork – which isn’t necessarily workbooks. This includes everything from math to language to unit study.
Lunch
Family Reading – sometimes quiet time reading
Art/Nature/Handicrafts – sometimes guided, sometimes free
FREE Time
Here are some sample schedules from Simply Charlotte Mason.
I realize this post is fairly vague. Since I don’t do CM education to a “T”, I don’t want to mislead anyone. Also, my opinion as you’ve heard my say 1,000 times, is that your homeschool should be your homeschool. Incorporate what you want to incorporate in a way that really works for your family. A Charlotte Mason-style education is a wonderful path to take with your children, though, I can’t deny that!
