We are very lucky to live right outside Shenandoah National Park. This summer we've been to Dickey Ridge; and we've hiked to Overall Run Falls and Old Rag Mountain. (All of the kids, even the 4 year old, made it to the summit!)
Earlier this year we found out about the National Park Service's program called Junior Rangers. It is offered at most national parks. Children can complete a booklet of activities and participate in ranger-led programs in order to earn a badge or patch. (There is a nominal fee to cover printing costs at some of the parks.) Each park has their own unique patch. Shenandoah National Park's Junior Ranger program is by far the most time-intensive one we've done this summer. In order to earn your SNP patch you have to complete 12 activities in the booklet and attend 2 ranger-led activities. My son has earned a patch from Yorktown National Battlefield and a badge from Petersburg National Battlefield.
I think it is a great program. It encourages children to think about why it is important to protect our natural and historic places for the future. The program also gives the kids some focus as they tour the wonderful sites made available through National Park Service. If you are planning a visit to a national park and intend to do their Junior Ranger program, make sure to get your Junior Ranger materials early in the day to ensure you have ample time to complete the activities. To find out if the park you are visiting offers a Junior Ranger program, visit the National Park Service's website at www.nps.gov.
If you are unable to visit a national park, but your child would still be interested in participating in something similar to the Junior Ranger program, you can visit www.webrangers.us.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Monday Is the Big Day
Not that we haven't been learning all summer long, but Monday is the day when we start our Fall School Schedule. No more last minute obligations--I hope my family is reading this. (It's not that I mind helping them in any way. I just need advanced notice so I can make sure I've planned the boys' lesson time accordingly.)
As I said before I think the schedule is going to be key to me keeping my sanity, especially on those days I have 4 kids all doing somewhat different things. I'm not too attached to the schedule yet. I figure the first 2 weeks will be a trial run, and it will definitely need to be tweeked.
Soccer practice and co-op start next week. And the following week dance class and music lessons start. It's always a new adventure and I'm ready (I think).
As I said before I think the schedule is going to be key to me keeping my sanity, especially on those days I have 4 kids all doing somewhat different things. I'm not too attached to the schedule yet. I figure the first 2 weeks will be a trial run, and it will definitely need to be tweeked.
Soccer practice and co-op start next week. And the following week dance class and music lessons start. It's always a new adventure and I'm ready (I think).
Monday, August 17, 2009
Where Has the Time Gone?
As I try to organize my supplies and my space to prepare for a new school year, I am struck by how fast the summer has flown by. It seems we were just scrambling to finish up third grade material and take tests; and, here it is almost time to start again.
We are expecting a big change this year. My sister is going back to school to complete a nursing degree and her children will be staying with me Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I won't have them all day everyday, but enough that I will need to keep up with some of their work too. It just makes it even more pressing for me to be more organized this year.
For social studies and science I am going to try to do Unit Studies. My neice and nephew are both close in age to my oldest son, so I think they will all be able to work on the same (or similar) material. Our first unit study is an Astronomy Unit. I'm developing it myself. I've purused several different companies' Unit Studies. Some were very in depth and/or kind of complicated, I thought. Others were extremely simplistic. I'm going to try to find a middle ground. I have developed an outline of what I think we need to cover and some activities to include. But, I don't want to be too rigid. I want to be able to expand as the kids' interest is piqued. And some things might need to be skimmed over if they aren't as interesting or dropped altogether if they are too complicated.
For language arts we are going to do Literature Studies. I actually purchased a book on this, because it is completely new to me. I'm hoping since grammar is taught in the context of the selections being studied, it might not be as boring as what I was doing last year. I am not using the spelling from the Literature Studies. Because my oldest had such a problem learning to read he still needs a very phonetically structured spelling approach, which does not describe the Literature Studies spelling at all.
Back to my original thought...we've had a wonderful, fun-filled summer. We went to the beach. We visited Yorktown and the Petersburg Battlefield. We visited family. We went on hikes. We swam at the pool. We've tended a vegetable garden that has provided (and still is providing) us with abundant zuccini and tomatoes! We've played with friends and done many other fun things. They say time flies when you're having fun--I guess that's true.
We are expecting a big change this year. My sister is going back to school to complete a nursing degree and her children will be staying with me Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I won't have them all day everyday, but enough that I will need to keep up with some of their work too. It just makes it even more pressing for me to be more organized this year.
For social studies and science I am going to try to do Unit Studies. My neice and nephew are both close in age to my oldest son, so I think they will all be able to work on the same (or similar) material. Our first unit study is an Astronomy Unit. I'm developing it myself. I've purused several different companies' Unit Studies. Some were very in depth and/or kind of complicated, I thought. Others were extremely simplistic. I'm going to try to find a middle ground. I have developed an outline of what I think we need to cover and some activities to include. But, I don't want to be too rigid. I want to be able to expand as the kids' interest is piqued. And some things might need to be skimmed over if they aren't as interesting or dropped altogether if they are too complicated.
For language arts we are going to do Literature Studies. I actually purchased a book on this, because it is completely new to me. I'm hoping since grammar is taught in the context of the selections being studied, it might not be as boring as what I was doing last year. I am not using the spelling from the Literature Studies. Because my oldest had such a problem learning to read he still needs a very phonetically structured spelling approach, which does not describe the Literature Studies spelling at all.
Back to my original thought...we've had a wonderful, fun-filled summer. We went to the beach. We visited Yorktown and the Petersburg Battlefield. We visited family. We went on hikes. We swam at the pool. We've tended a vegetable garden that has provided (and still is providing) us with abundant zuccini and tomatoes! We've played with friends and done many other fun things. They say time flies when you're having fun--I guess that's true.
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