This term is going to look a lot like last term, but I've added some things. The word "generous" comes to mind. As I've been reading and rereading Charlotte Mason's works, I find myself having the urge to broaden our horizons a bit, especially when I combine that with the fact that one of my children is waking up to the world and seems extra hungry for mental, spiritual, and intellectual nourishment these days.
This term we'll be reading through a book of fables. We'll read one {original} fairy tale each week. I'm moving away from manners {formally taught, anyhow} for a term, and we'll be reading through all of the basic Bible stories in Genesis, except the Tower of Babel, which we read this past term. I am pondering buying the book Discovering Jesus in Genesis to use this summer. By the end of the term, the children should have a decent grasp of the flow of Genesis, and this might prove exciting for them, to see how God's covenant works from the very beginning of time. This book was written by the Hunts, and we were quite pleased with their Big Truths for Little Kids. My understanding is that Discovering Jesus in Genesis continues with the characters Cassie and Caleb.
Term Two didn't go as well as I had hoped. Frankly, we caught a lot of bugs this winter, and I was too cheap to take us all to the doctor, so we fought it out at home. This went fine, except that it took us longer to get over it. In the process {as Mommy got more tired}, we dropped Latin, and then the folk song, and ended up at the Bare Minimum.
I am thankful we have a decent Bare Minimum.
Now, we're feeling good, and my three-year-old, whose favorite time of day is Latin time, is begging for us to start again, so I'm putting it into Circle Time to make sure we do it. Now that the weather is wonderful, it is hard for me to get certain children to stop playing once they begin. We'll have to hammer it all out in the morning hours, or we'll never do anything except enjoy the sunshine.
Not that enjoying the sunshine is a bad thing.
This term I was also going for "famous." I am at a point where I want to make sure that my oldest is understanding the many literary references he is surrounded by. So we're going to read famous poems, such as "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" and "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod" and so on. For fairy tales, I picked the most popular, culturally speaking, even though I plan for us to go back through and read those with less name recognition.
I added Catechism back in. The little ones are ready. I'm also going to have them sit through parts of Ambleside Time, if they respond positively to the suggestion. I thought they would enjoy a couple of the readings this term.
We are still plugging away at John Lord's Beacon Lights of History. My oldest completely adores the readings, but we only do five to ten minutes at a time because it is a lot for a little guy to take it. He is getting a deep look at some of the most important Hebrews, such as Moses, Elijah, and so on, so it is all worth it.
Here are the official {I think} Circle Time plans:
Circle Time Weekly Schedule 2009-2010 Term 3
RESOURCES
"Books:"
The Pilgrim's Progress
Song School Latin
Arnold Lobel's Fables
The Oxford Book of Children's Verse
The Pied Piper of Hamelin
Wynken, Blynken, & Nod
Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales
The Jesus Storybook Bible
Beacon Lights of History
"Music"
All Creatures of our God and King
Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us
Come Ye Sinners Poor and Needy
