Our beautiful summer days of leisure are quickly tapering off, and it is time to sit down to plan the menu. I am mustering up the mental energy to work and trying to not get distracted while the girls are out of the house this morning at a drum workshop my husband has been teaching on the Northshore every Wednesday. Sifting through e-mails, roaming the online CC forum for clarity, walking through curriculum, and organizing binders and bookshelves feels less like a chore with a home-brewed latte and John Mark McMillan on loop! Preparing for a school year is like sailing out into the open sea— eagerly expecting beauty and adventure, praying for wind in our sails, longing to reach the destination, and hopefully no shipwrecks.

Planning the feast for homeschooling is a checklist of having everything physically in hand and, as a teacher, familiarizing myself with the content of the curriculum. I like to review the lesson plan schedule(s) and mentally walk through the days in advance to ensure our weeks will run smoothly. Training the girls to be ready for school by 9 a.m. after summertime is like teaching them how to ride a bicycle again, so we practice the morning routine as usual on a school day— a few weeks leading up to the first day of school. 

Thankfully, I don’t have much to edit in or out of our curriculum—maybe specific crafts I don’t foresee us doing or the hope to linger longer on a subject. By week 5, I anticipate that our lessons must be tailored to individual learning abilities and pursuits, and our home schedule between my husband and I may require shifting. The aim is always for a seamless weekly rhythm and finding a good balance that works for our whole family.

We are diving back into U.S. history and government, which feels like the wind in my sails after studying the timeline and governments of European and Asian history. I like the relevance in our lives and how tangible it is to teach since we are, after all, on American soil!

x jena

A BASIC OVERVIEW

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HISTORY & GEOGRAPHY

In addition to our Foundations Cycle 3 U.S. History memory work this year, we are using The Playful Pioneers Volume II. Three years ago, I went through The Playful Pioneers Volume I with Ema for Kindergarten while Evie (2nd-year Essentials) was going through IEW U.S. History writing lessons.

I love how CC programs are all intertwined together; families with multiple children all at different grade levels are studying the same topics. Our bookshelves this year will be filled with American literature at different reading levels, encouraging the girls to help each other study and read books to one another!

MATH

We use Saxon Math: Math 1, Math 3, and Algebra 1. Leia will be using a Montessori Math workbook for preschool.

SCIENCE

I review our botany and nature books every school year to build on vocabulary and understanding of the natural world through art and observation. The girls also do labs and more significant science projects on our CC seminar days with their tutors and classmates. This year in CC, they will study human anatomy, the periodic table, and the Theory of Evolution vs. intelligent design.

Language Arts, reading & writing

We use IEW as our resource for writing and Our Mother Tongue for grammar lessons. Simple and short reading lessons come out of McGuffy’s Readers.

Challenge 1

Students in the Classical Conversations Challenge 1 program study in 6 different strands: logic (algebra), grammar (Latin 1), research (Physical Science), reasoning (Traditional Logic 1 and Drama), exposition (American Literature), and debate (American Government and Economics).

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“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.”

— Job 12:7-10

8:30 a.m. Tuesdays — North Shore, O’ahu.

We’re getting used to these early mornings and longer days. The girls and I are getting bronzer under the island sun and feeling healthier near the salty sea. From May through July, we study Marine Biology with a homeschool Co-Op on the North Shore, using The Good and the Beautiful Marine Biology unit study. Our Tuesdays begin with learning about marine life and end with beautiful moments of swimming in the Pacific Ocean, combing the beach for seashells, and spending time with kindred spirits.

Everyone gathers together for prayer, then we learn a new name of God each week using “God’s Names” by Sally Michael. Beginning the morning this way really prepares our hearts and minds to learn who God is as we study the ocean and all that lives beneath the surface.

Afterwards, the children divide into grade level groups (K-2, 3-5, and 6+) to go over a lesson taught by mamas who rotate every week!

In addition to the unit lesson for each week, the older students in intermediate-high school need to complete the lesson extensions in their Marine Biology student journals and discuss it together. Elementary students, like Sandi and Ema, keep individual journals in a blank composition book that include worksheets and any experiments that need to be written down. On the side, I also have them write a short journal entry of what they learn on Tuesdays, write down new vocabulary words, and record information about sea creatures they chose to study, or times with their friends they want to remember. After 12-weeks of studying marine life and so much time swimming with their friends in the ocean, I believe these journals will not only become a great resource, but also encapsulate their first summer of living in Hawai’i!

“He who spread out the earth upon the waters, His love endures forever”

— Psalm 136:6

5/2 — Combing the beach for the tiniest seashells with Leia

In the mornings, I sit with Leia for nearly an hour to read, practice writing the alphabet, work on phonics, identify sea life that begins with each letter, teach her how to draw, and incorporate copy work by labeling her drawing. Earlier in the year, she had been tracing the alphabet on the dotted lines, and now she is learning how to write freehand and grasp the concept that alphabets form words. I am smitten by her cute illustrations and how quiet and peaceful homeschooling her is. Her aptitude for bookwork at age 3 is truly impressive!

I love unit studies, especially ones that bring me to the garden or the ocean! Immersing the girls in one subject for an extended time makes our school days more enjoyable and predictable for all of us. This summer, our books, art, activities, and bible memory verses will revolve around the ocean. I know that the more the girls learn about the sea, the greater their appreciation for living on this island.

x jena

resources:

Marine Biology Unit Study by The Good and The Beautiful

God’s Names by Sally Michael

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“The principal value of a private garden is not understood. It is not to give the possessor vegetables or fruit (that can be better and cheaper done by the market-gardeners), but to teach him patience and philosophy and the higher virtues, hope deferred and expectations blighted, leading directly to resignation and sometimes to alienation. The garden thus becomes a moral agent, a test of character, as it was in the beginning. I shall keep this central truth in mind in these articles. I mean to have a moral garden, if it is not a productive one,—one that shall teach, O my brothers! O my sisters! the great lessons of life.”

— Charles Dudley Warner. "Summer in a garden, and calvin, a study of character: First Week", 1870.

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After many years of gardening through the seasons in southern California, I can attest to one thing: you reap what you sow in gardening and motherhood. The labor of a gardener is not so simple, and neither are the duties of a mother. Interestingly, the more knowledge I’ve gained through growing our food, the more I’ve witnessed the parallels in raising children. The garden secretly holds such valuable wisdom through the labor of our hands. From seed to harvest, one of many moral virtues it teaches us is patience—  how to wait with gratitude and to intentionally slow down as we wait for the fruit to ripen. It also teaches us that neglect in the garden can result in a poor harvest.

The more attentive I am to how our plants grow— Does the soil need more nitrogen? Is this specific plant getting too much sunlight or too much water? Do I need to move this plant to a bigger pot?— the healthier our garden grows. I remember one year during the heat of Summer, one of our zucchini plants succumbed to powdery mildew— also known as blight—on its leaves. After a few weeks of avoiding the problem, I looked from the bedroom window and saw the disease spread from one plant to the other, including our beautiful cosmos and morning glory vine along our fence. Not only did I become even more discouraged, but I also gave up on our garden throughout the summer. Neglect led to more damage than I anticipated and more work in the long run; it was a moral lesson to me that the same goes for what happens within the walls of our homes, minds, bodies, and hearts.

“Do not despise these small beginnings,for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.”

— Zechariah 4:10

These pictures show our flourishing 2020 spring garden in our Clairemont home in San Diego. I had learned my lesson as a gardener. We had a bountiful harvest that year and a healthy homeschool that reaped the benefits of having a daily routine and aiming for small victories through small beginnings. Whether it was reading a chapter a day or fixing a bad habit, I believe we overcame so much just by caring enough for what we love.

SPRING/SUMMER 2020 NOTES

MARCH — spring seeds

Vegetables: Chinese Cabbage, Radishes, Beets, Zucchini, Cherry Tomatoes, Spinach, Swiss Chard, Carrots, Green Onions, Sugar Peas, and Peas.

Herbs: Chives, Cilantro, Basil, Dill

Flowers: French Marigolds, Benjamin Buttons, Zinnias, Assylum, Cosmos, and Hollyhock.

Results: The only seeds that did not germinate were the Chives.

JULY — summer seeds

Vegetables: Cucumbers, Okra, Pumpkin, Rainbow Chard, a variety of tomatoes, and more Zucchini.

Flowers: Sunflower, Morning Glory

Results: The summer heat killed the Zinnias and Benjamin Buttons, so we decided to grow more Zinnias and plant them in a partial sunny area. We also planted a dozen Sunflower seeds, but only 4 plants survived. A pest (squirrel or rat) would munch the head of the seedlings once they grew to about 3”.

AUGUST — late summer

I took a break from tending to the garden because I needed to prepare for our school year, which began on August 17th. Ripe vegetables would be harvested, plants were watered daily or every other day because I just didn't have the time, my husband managed our compost; and once a week, I would prune the plants, the girls would dead-head the flowers, and we'd spend a minimal amount of time pulling weeds. Caterpillars are getting the most of our greens, but at least it's a sign that our potager is thriving with life!

SEPTEMBER — almost fall

The days have been too hot to start planting anything right now, so we continue to water and harvest what remains.

x jena

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“The deeper our troubles the louder our thanks to God.”

— Charles Spurgeon

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Our summertime began on the first of July, following our official last day of school when our daily rhythm also ceased. We didn’t throw a pizza party, no certificates, no last day of school portraits, just one final assignment then closed the books to a sigh of relief. This year has been especially difficult for us to navigate as a family due to grieving circumstances; but respite from anxieties and healing from loss, I testify, can be gently walked through while growing a garden.

The days of this month seem to march along after a Fourth of tide pools during sunset, homemade vanilla cake, and watching fireworks illuminate the night sky across the bay as we celebrated America’s Independence from the hillsides of La Jolla. Commitments are being penciled into our fall calendar as I excitedly prepare our feast for the following year— sifting through curriculum that breathes familiarity and inspiration. A parent orientation scheduled next Thursday will likely sneak up on me, along with a road trip we’ve been hoping to take to celebrate our tenth anniversary; and while the days seem to fly, I have much intention to sow personal habits into my weekly repertoire before July escapes!

Less is more, even when choosing what we are dedicating our energy and time to. The girls have been keeping a weekly journal of their observations in the garden, finding their independence in the kitchen and leisure in outdoor activities. They’ve taken quite an obsession for Legos—both building and drawing. The older ones have resumed guitar and ukulele lessons with a family friend, and the younger ones -my wildflowers- are just being their vibrant and lively selves all around the clock with their infections laughter and silliness. My husband installed an arched trellis out of cattle fence and t-bars for the cucumbers, watermelon, and squash to climb, and together we tilled another garden bed in the ground to grow more vegetables and cut flowers. As for me, I’ve made it a goal to pursue this blog as my part-time creative gig and so far it’s bringing me a lot of joy and inspiration to even write this.

“As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds are dead”

— james (hebrews 2:26)

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Leaning into this season looks a lot like carving more time with my family, displaying faith in action and serving one another in tangible ways that show evidence of love. It’s a hard season, but I’ve been assured… we’ll get through.

x jena