I’ve updated my resource and planning list for the 2011-2012 school year, so I am reposting it today.
The boys are all pre-registered for Classical Conversations 2011-2012. We are also currently registered with a distance learning program. They help pay for some of our non-faith-based materials and activities as well as administer standardized testing.
It has come to my attention that my boys need to be kept busy and quite structured if I wish to keep the house (and its inhabitants) from being destroyed. Now that I look at my list, however, I'm bemoaning my loss of Dr. Pepper. Will there be enough dark chocolate to keep me alive? (And, oh Lola, please be an angel toddler...)
Much of our work will be done together (with allowances for individual abilities and attention spans) unless otherwise noted.
Why homeschool? Because learning is a constant and essential component of a deep, rich life in God’s huge and fascinating world. Homeschooling is the best way for us to embrace that.
LEVI ~ 4th grade
LUKE ~ 2nd grade
LEIF ~ Kindergarten
Classical Conversations (Cycle 3) (One morning each week for 24 weeks; includes social time and public speaking.)
Faith:
Bible Memory:
CC Memorize John 1:1-7 (in Latin and English)
A New Commandment (CD) (daily review) (Psalm 1, Psalm 23, Psalm 150, John 3:16, books of the New Testament, and more)
Daily Independent Bible reading:
Levi: The Adventure Bible
Luke: The Action Bible
Leif: The Jesus Storybook Bible
Telling God's Story (one lesson weekly with possible activity on another day)
Hymns For a Kid's Heart (Vol. 1, 2) (one lesson weekly)
(Luke and Levi: weekly hymns on piano)
(weekly patriotic hymns/songs)
(Christmas: The Handel's Messiah Family Advent Reader)
Math:
Teaching Textbooks (Luke: finish 3, Levi: 4)
Singapore workbooks and CD-ROM math games
The Critical Thinking Co. math workbooks
Life of Fred
(I shared a little more about our math approach at this link.)
CC weekly memory work (skip counting/formulas/laws) (solidify memorization, practical application of formulas)
Science:
Christian Kids Explore Chemistry (finish)
Exploring the World of Chemistry by John Hudson Tiner
DK First Human Body Encyclopedia
The Visual Dictionary of the Human Body (Eyewitness)
My Body (human body project @ CC)
Bill Nye and Eyewitness DVDs (human body)
CC weekly science memory work (human body and chemistry)
CC weekly science projects and experiments
Christian Kids Explore Physics (after Chemistry and human body, if we get to it!)
The Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia
What’s Science All About? (Usborne) (covers Chemistry, Physics, and Biology)
The Story of Science series by Joy Hakim
Supplemental books and DVDs
P.E.:
Swim Team (3x week, plus swim meets and family swim nights)
(mini trampoline and outdoor play)
Fine Arts:
CC drawing, tin whistle/music theory, fine art/art projects, composers/instruments of the orchestra
Monthly Fine Arts Study (one composer/artist/poet each month)
Draw Write Now (books 2,3, and 5)
Piano lessons (Luke) (loving this piano book series!)
Piano review (Levi)
Language Arts:
IEW Writing (Luke: Primary Arts of Language Writing, Levi: TWSS/Student Writing Intensive A/Fables, Myths, and Fairy Tales Writing Lessons)
IEW Poetry Memorization
MCT Poetry, Grammar, Writing, Vocabulary (Town level)
Writing With Ease/ First Language Lessons
(Online sentence diagramming)
CC grammar memory work (verbs, parts of sentences)
All About Spelling Level 2 and 3
Handwriting Without Tears workbooks
Copy work using custom handwriting worksheets
(I shared more details about our Language Arts line-up at this link.)
Typing (still haven’t purchased a program)
Latin:
Prima Latina (review with DVDs)
Latina Christiana I (one lesson weekly with daily review when finished with Prima Latina review)
CC Latin memory work
Spanish:
El Espanol Facil Jr. (with Spanish-speaking Grandpa!) (probably won’t start until January)
Geography:
Maps & Globes
CC U.S. geography (states, capitals, mountains, rivers, lakes, features, and more)
Postcards across America project (use with coloring pages to create our own U.S.A. notebook)
State coloring and fact pages (free printable)
Passport to America (free printable game)
Geography games (capitals, states, landscapes) (free online—site is wonky, have to scroll a lot to find game links)
Place the State online game
States games and puzzles
Continue map drawing and 'blobbing' continents (CC)
(review CC cycle 2 geography)
(history related maps)
History/Literature:
The Story of the World: Early Modern Times (finish) (with Activity Guide)
The Story of the World: The Modern Age (with Activity Guide)
CC weekly history memory work (American history)
The Usborne Encyclopedia of World History (Luke)
The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia (Levi)
DK Children's Encyclopedia of American History
CC Veritas History Timeline Cards and U.S. Presidents (solidify memorization)
Mission US (free online American history role-playing game)
Liberty’s Kids (Netflix streaming), Schoolhouse Rock America, and This is America, Charlie Brown (YouTube)
Supplemental books and DVDs
Literature study (1800-present using lists from The Well-Trained Mind)|
Parent-child monthly book club focusing on literature analysis via Socratic dialogue (a la Deconstructing Penguins and Teaching the Classics)
Lots of free reading and library visits
Review CC memory work from cycle 2
Leif:
"Grammy School" (one or two afternoons each week at Bambi's house)
(reading, phonogram cards, handwriting workbook, workbooks from The Critical Thinking Co., cooking/baking, crafts)
Heidi,
ReplyDeleteI am in the middle of doing my planning as well! Thanks for a look at your plans! You have some great ideas. I noticed you were starting the Town Level on MCT. Did you guys make it all the way through the Island level already? I just purchased it, and am going to start this fall. I am assuming you loved it, as you got the next level. Thanks for your input!
Julie in St. Louis
Yep. We loved the Island level. I can't wait to see what the Town level looks like!
ReplyDeleteWonderful list! Isn't it wonderful to write it all out and see just how much is accomplished when all the small work in each day is added together? We just started the chemistry book you are finishing. The boys have NEVER enjoyed science more!
ReplyDeleteLove your blog! Our plans look similiar. Have you seen the book The Little Man in the Map? My boys love it. There is a man in the map and we see him every time. It makes learning the states so much fun. Confessions of a Homeschooler has a neat curriculum called Road Trip USA that we are using on our "Trip Across America". LOVE Grammar Island-found out about it through you. We are using Apologia Astronomy with Lapbooking this year and loving it. Have a great year!
ReplyDeletewow!! this looks awesome! I am homeschooling for the 1st time this year. I have a 4th grader and he is doing Foundations and Essentials too! I see that you use Teaching Textbooks. We are using Saxon and it's fine. However if we bring more kiddos home (we have 3 in PS still), I am highly considering TT. How does that work with CC if you do Challenge since they use Saxon. Will you just switch them then? Or am I the only one worrying about challenge already?:))
ReplyDeleteFlamingo~ LOL!! No, you're no the only one worrying about Challenge already. ;-P I think about it all the time. Latin has my knickers in a twist. And history. I'm praying CC changes to First Form Latin before Levi gets to Challenge A in 3 years. And I decided to stick with Ecclesiastical pronunciation even though all the CC stuff is in classical. We'll probably supplement history some. He most likely continue with TT math, he can just listen in on the lessons at CC...I'm sure he'll learn something. :) We are holding off on Essentials for a few reasons. We're doing IEW at home this year and lots of grammar. We *might* do it next year, but definitely the year after so he has one year under his belt before hitting Challenge. My sister's kids did Challenge A last year and are doing B this year, so I'm getting a chance to see how it works ahead of time, which is nice.
ReplyDeleteMary~ I haven't seen that book...will have to check it out. I almost purchased Road Trip USA, but then I looked at all the other stuff I had planned...and all the states stuff I had on my book shelf...and I decided to go with the free coloring pages and actually USE all the other stuff I've bought (games and puzzles and workbooks and maps and flip decks and flashcards and....). :) I'm glad that you enjoyed Grammar Island!! We are so looking forward to using the Town level! I hope you have a wonderful year, too!
Hi Heidi, I'm looking at this almost a year later and would love to know what distance learning program you did. Thanks so much for sharing. I love your blog :) Rachel H.
ReplyDelete