CC Cycle 3 Week 5: George Washington

Hands down, this week has been our favorite.  Which is basically what I said last week, too, so if I'm overselling just how much we've enjoyed our sojourn through the revolutionary war, you'll have to forgive me.

For the record: we really, really love George Washington.

We cheer when Washington successfully crosses the Delaware.  We boo at the deceit of that treacherous villain Arnold.  We root for the downfall of the dastardly Cornwallis. 

Many a squabble was had this week over just who was going to be Washington and who had to be Cornwallis.

In the end, they abandoned Cornwallis so that they could play together and fight on the same side.

Seems a good trade to me.

This week's reading list includes:

George Washington by Ingri d'Auliare (Our Favorite of the week!)

Liberty or Death by Betsy Maestro

This Country of Ours by Elizabeth Marshall: The Birth of a Great Nation

The 4th of July Story by Alice Dagliesh

Story of the World

Book of America: Yankee Doodle

Paddle to the Sea by Holling C. Holling

Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne

The Burgess Animal Book by Thornton Burgess

Poetry: When We Were Very Young by A.A. Milne

We used Draw Write Now to practice drawing our hero, and mapped out Washington's Delaware crossing.

As it is a new month, we began studying a new virtue.  October, as our favorite month of the year, brings us none other than Joy: choosing to praise God in all things.

We are nearing the end of our composer study on Bach, but, being the month of Halloween, they were particularly enamored with this one, Toccata and Fuge in D minor, for reasons that become obvious the moment you hear it.  YES!  That's good stuff.

For picture study, we tackled (yes, you guessed it!): George Washington by Charles Willson Peale.

Although next week we will move out of the Revolutionary War and on to the next amazing chapter of American history, this has been such a fun place to linger.  

CC Cycle 3 week 4: The Declaration

It is probably going to become obvious pretty quickly: I am taking fewer and fewer photos as the weeks go on.

So, to fill a little space (or to help you get your baby fix... whatever...) I give you...

Luke!  Covered in baby food, because we're perfecting the art of eating.  It's not exactly school-related, though certainly a relevant part of our school day.  

We are thoroughly enjoying our time in the Revolutionary War.  The people, the courage, the wonderful oration.  It is incredible to me how much more we're able to pull out of this subject this time through.  Leah has amazed me with her ability to comprehend the reasons for war and remember dates, events and names.  She is beginning to see the link between cause and effect, and anticipates outcomes appropriately during reading.    And Logan.  Holy moly.  I'm delighted to say that Logan has such incredible enthusiasm for the subject as well, despite his young age. That child remembers everything. 

Of course, he is much more accustomed to and practiced in studying history than Leah was when we last did this cycle.  Logan has already been through the middle ages and World Wars with us, so what's a little War of Independence?  

Such is the plight of the firstborn... they always go first.  She and I are both more practiced at the Classical Method this time through - no doubt, that makes a huge difference!

This week's reading list:

Liberty or Death: The American Revolution by Betsy Maestro

Sam the Minuteman by Nathaniel Benchley

Story of the World vol. 3

The Revolutionary War by Russell Roberts

Independent Dames by Laurie Hals Anderson

A Spy Called James by Anne Rockwell

Book of America: The Bravery of Abigail Adams

Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne

Paddle to the Sea by Holling C. Holling

The Burgess Animal Book by Thornton Burgess

Poetry: Oxford Illustrated Book of American Children's Poems

We listened to a reading of the Declaration, and used the first few famous lines for copy work.

Once we were thoroughly familiar with the Declaration, it seemed only fitting that we make our own.

I started this activity by finding a full copy, with signatures, that I could print off.  Then, we tore off the edges.

This gave the paper that authentic, parchment-style feel.

Next, we had to give that bright white paper more of an aged feel.  Tea bags provided just the right tool.

I keep telling you, there's lots of coffee (and tea!) in homeschooling, but a serious lack of hair brushing.

The finished product came out amazing.  The kids were incredibly proud of themselves and their contribution to "history."  It looks just like the original in the National Archives, or so I'm assured by my experts. 

And, here's a good example of the kind of activities Livvy does while we do school.  A little fine motor practice was on tap on this particular day.  This is something that keeps her content and busy for literally hours.  I'm a big fan of anything simple and self-contained, something that grows her creativity, skills or independence, even though we are not doing formal preschool.

My favorite reading of the week was A Spy Called James, the true story of James Lafayette, a slave who, serving under the Marquis de Lafayette, was also a double agent.  He played a critical role in reporting on the activities of Benedict Arnold - after his betrayal - and British General Cornwallis in the days leading up to the Battle of Yorktown.  I am sad to say that I had never heard of James Lafayette, and I don't think it is an understatement to say that without his information, it is possible that the seminal battle of the Revolution might have turned out very differently. 

Despite his loyal service, James was not granted his freedom after the war as he had been promised.  Ironically, after the battle for America's independence was won - in part due to the information he passed on - he was denied his freedom because he had been a spy rather than a soldier.  It was the testimony of General Lafayette that ultimately helped him to gain emancipation, at which time he decided to take the man's name as a tribute.  

It is an amazing and humbling story, and one I wish I had learned long ago.  

CC Cycle 3 Week 1: Columbus

So, I have a confession to make.

This is our first repeat cycle with Classical Conversations.  Although I very fervently believe in the process (and I do), I wasn't exactly sure what our first repeat cycle would look like.  After all... the last time we learned about American history, my kiddos looked like...

....this.

Oh my.  Blast from the past, right?  

When we began CC, Leah was four and a half and beginning kindergarten.  Logan was just two, and little Livvy was all of about one month old.  Back then, I was extremely impressed by the incredible acquisition of facts, retention of dates, and advanced vocabulary CC provided.  

But.  Three cycles?  The same three cycles repeated for the next seven years?  Would it really work?

As we began this week, it took literally three minutes for my faith in the Classical method to be confirmed.  Because, my kid?  She knows this stuff.  She doesn't remember it all, exactly, but this information is definitely in there.  

It was so much fun to see the marked difference between Leah and Logan - who learned everything together last year at roughly the same pace.  Logan is going through this information for the first time, and I have to go slow, pause often and repeat many times (which is perfectly normal.  This is the foundational part of the Classical process, and he is doing an amazing job!).

What is so incredible, what I had heard stories of but had never yet witnessed for myself, is the incredible growth that happens as they go through the information again.  Leah hears it once and has it because she remembers this information from three years ago.  It's CRAZY!  AMAZING!!  And most of all, delightful.  Such a joy to bear witness to this beautiful learning process. Because she has the vocabulary down, we can begin to go deeper and explore topics with dimension and enthusiasm. 

This week's focus was on Columbus, who, I'll be honest, we've read rather a lot about in the past.  So, although we refreshed our memories on the basics, we didn't spend a ton of time on him and focused our attention instead to what life was like as the first colonists began to build their lives in the New World.

This week's reading list: 

This Country of Ours by H.E. Marshall: The Adventures of John Smith

Story of the World: Columbus

Roanoake: The Lost Colony by Jane Yolen

Paddle to the Sea Ch. 3

Burgess Animal Book by Thornton Burgess

The Adventurous Life of Myles Standish by Cheryl Harness

Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare by Edith Nesbit: Two Gentlemen of Verona

Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne

Poetry: When We Were Very Young by A.A. Milne

Composer: J.S. Bach (Becoming Bach by Tom Leonard)

Picture Study: Mrs. Noah Smith and Her Children by Ralph Earl (1798)

We are focusing our attention on one virtue per month.  This month, we're learning about Respect.  They've defined it and memorized a Bible verse to support the virtue.

This week, we identified and practiced some ways that we can show respect in our actions, and read about how even wolves use respect as an important part of their pack dynamic.

Since it was our first week back with CC, we set up the science notebooks I created for them.  Each week, they'll do a brief reading and activity to reinforce our science memory work (which focuses on anatomy and chemistry this year).

It's so fun to watch the little things that kids enjoy.  Coloring and getting to decorate their science notebooks with stickers took so much longer than I'd anticipated, because they were so excited and took such care in their work.

When they had at last adequately beautified their notebooks, it was time to get down to business.

As my pre-writer, Logan is practicing cutting and pasting his together.  

At 7, Leah reads through the information for us and can write her own answers. 

And, of course, my little Livvy, hard at work.  The ways in which she keeps herself busy as we do school are truly a wonder.  Someday, I'll have to do a post on what she does while we do school.  It's pretty impressive in its own right. 

The two big ones also watched, with alternating disappointment and awe, the Disney movie Pocahontas.  Awe because, well, it might be one of the most astonishingly beautiful movies Disney has ever done.  And the soundtrack?!  It wow-ed us.  Having read several accounts of  both Pocahontas's and John Smith's life, the plot line left something to be desired.  

BUT --- the fact that they recognized and discussed that all on their own?  I'll take it!