Vermeer and Haydn Mini Unit

My planning for our 2011 school year is well underway. I hope to share some more detailed plans soon, but for now, here is our Artist & Composer plans for this term:

I will be doing Barb(Harmony Art Mom)' s Mini Unit on Johannes Vermeer and Joseph Haydn with the girls this term.


Click on the picture to check out this great "mini" unit. Barb calls it mini, but I think it's a bit more than that :-).

Booking it in 2011 with "Life as Mom"

I have decided to join in Booking it in 2011 with Jessica Fisher, at her blog, Life as Mom.

I am planning to deviate from Jessica's booklist, but plan to include some of her books in mine.

Here is Jessica's list, with the "due date for reading":

• February 10 - The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin


• March 10 - Mansfield Park by Jane Austen


• April 10 - Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois


• May 10 - Finding your Purpose as a Mom: How to Build your Home on Holy Ground by Donna Otto


• June 10 - The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan


• July 10 - Dancing with My Father: How God Leads Us into a Life of Grace & Joy by Sally Clarkson


• August 10 - The Help by Kathryn Stockett


• September 10 - Organized Simplicity: The Clutter-free Approach to Intentional Living by Tsh Oxenreider


• October 10 - Not your Mother's Casseroles by Faith Durand


• November 10 - The Monster in the Hollows by Andrew Peterson

Here is my own list for the year:

• February 10 - Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen


• March 10 - Mansfield Park by Jane Austen


• April 10 - Desiring God by John Piper


• May 10 - Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte


• June 10 - The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan


• July 10 - Dancing with my Father by Sally Clarkson


• August 10 - The Professor by Charlotte Bronte


• September 10 - A History of the English-speaking Peoples, Volume 3, The Age of Revolution by Winston S. Churchill


• October 10 - Hard Times by Charles Dickens


• November 10 - No Other Foundation: The Church Through Twenty Centuries by Jeremy C. Jackson


• December 10 - Home Education by Charlotte Mason

Most of these books are currently on our bookshelves - or available to me. I have tried to mix up the genres, and plan to be reading the heavier books throughout the year. If you're wondering why I'm planning to read Churchill's book - it's simply that I want to have a bit more background to the History studies we will be doing this year. We are working through Susan Wise Bauer's Story of the World Volume 3: Early Modern Times, much of which includes the Age of Revolution.

I plan to post a short review of each book here on the blog as I complete it!

As an aside, here is a list of some of the books I read in 2010:

• Van Loon's Lives by Hendrik van Loon


• Sense & Sensibilty by Jane Austen


• Persuasion by Jane Austen


• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte


• Shirley by Charlotte Bronte


• Villette by Charlotte Bronte


• The Life of Charlotte Bronte by Elizabeth Gaskell


• Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte


• The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte


• Lorna Doone by R.D. Blackmoore

As you can see, I was a little biased towards novels last year! This year I am attempting to read more books on Christian living and some History books. Van Loon's lives is a wonderful introduction to many historical characters. Read it if you can, you won't be disappointed!