Sixth Grade Plans

Planning this year has seemed harder than in past years.  I suppose part of that is the heavy burden that a homeschool parent begins to feel as your children get older, the fears, the self-doubt, the second-guessing.  Part of it is because I have allowed my time to become too scattered, I have fallen away from my routines as I put all my effort into several other projects.  Part of it is getting older :)  So, here we are, the end of September, and I finally feel as if I have a plan, sort of!

Christian Studies:
Rostov's Lives of the Saints
Saints of Anglo-Saxon England
The Holy Unmercenary Doctors

Here I am keeping it pretty simple.  Some days we will read Rostov's lives together in the morning.  Other days he will read it independently.  It is so far my favorite collection of saints lives, the translation is nice, and is very readable for all. I am also using Sanctity through the Centuries to help incorporate lives of the saints into our history studies.

Math:
If you have read my blog for long, you know my feelings on this subject.  And, once again, I have to eat crow and say, we are using Saxon.  I hate it.  Last year the crocodile hunter hated it.  But, we finally turned a corner over the past few months, and I will be honest, it is great to have him be able to work so independently in this area. 

Latin & Classical Studies:
First Form Latin
Augustus Caesar's World
Horatius at the Bridge

After what seems like forever, we finally wrapped up Lively Latin Book 1. I think it was a good choice, and will use it again.  Now, we are moving on to something more rigorous, and I hope Memoria Press' First Form will provide us with that.  For fun, he will read Augustus Caesar's World.  As a long term goal for the year, he is going to attempt to memorize Horatius at the Bridge, a feat which is attempted by the 6th graders of Highlands Latin School each year.

History & Geography:
Middle Ages History Portfolio
Famous Men of the Middle Ages

The Core - I learned about this book at a Classical Conversations Practicum this summer, and it contains a great method and plan for teaching mapping skills, so we will be using those this year for our geography.

English Studies:
IEW Developing Linguistic Patterns through Poetry - still loving this resource!
Spell to Write and Read
Robinson Curriculum booklist for literature

Science:
Exploring Creation with Zoology 1 - our co-op is covering this book, as well as a short series of lessons on aviation by a homeschool dad who is a pilot
Burgess Bird Book for Children - this is a great complement to Flying Creatures, and I bought each child a Peterson Field Guide coloring book as well as the Audubon birds coloring book.  More on how we are using these in a later post.

Music & Art:
Piano Lessons - he received his first "real" piece of classical music to learn this week - a simple piece by Beethoven, but not a simplified version. He is very excited to learn to play a classical piece just as the composer wrote it!
Beginning Drawing
The Art of Watercolor
Byzantine Chant - there is a wonderful series of podcasts on Ancient Faith Radio which we are going to try to follow along with at a very slow pace

Composers: Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev  (here is our approach to composer study using Charlotte Mason's methods)
Artists:  Audubon, Cassatt, O'Keefe - we also follow Charlotte Mason's picture study method for art appreciation

Physical Education:
Karate - he is close to earning a green belt, which means by next summer he could be a brown belt!
Running

Practical Math

I just want to update you on our math progress. It has been a long road, but I must say I absolutely love Practical Arithmetics! We are still using Math on the Level drills to learn our math facts, and I am using Math on the Level's concepts chart list to track our progress, and to come up with some fun ways to teach a concept, but overall, I could be totally happy using just the Strayor Upton book. The first book is designed for 3rd and 4th grades. It is a great pick up and go book. Our procedure is simple - I put the book and a dry erase board into the little princess' workbox along with a "work with mom" notice. When she is ready, she comes to me and we sit down and work through a page or two together. Most of the work is oral, with a few problems we work out on the dry erase board. Occasionally there is a list of 15-20 problems for her to write out - those are done in a small composition notebook then turned in to me.
The crocodile hunter is also working through this book. I decided not to jump into book two with him because I felt like he does not have his facts down well enough, and there are plenty of concepts in book one that he has not learned. I started him in the middle of the book, and we follow the same procedure - we work together for a few minutes, then he does any exercises as needed. It is a relief to have something so simple and so thorough. This book, combined with the 9's Down math drills have become our daily math routine for the older ones. A no nonsense approach without too much repetition - just what this home school needed!

2009-2010 Plans for 3rd Grade

I am having a hard time grasping that the little princess could be in 3rd grade already! A rough outline of what she will be studying is below.

Orthodox Studies:
Old Testament history - this will fall under our history portfolio and ancient history studies
Lives of the Saints

Arithmetic:
Ray's exercises
Strayer/Upton Book 1
Math on the Level
the focus of this year will be multiplication and division

English Studies:
SWR spelling
copywork from lives of the saints
Lively Language Lessons for grammar instruction
progym - I don't think she is ready to start CW Aesop, so I was excited to see that Classical Writing has developed a primer. I think we are going to try that out and see how it goes. It may be overkill, or it may allow us to drop other things, I am going to order it so I can get a better feel for whether it will be the right thing for us this year.

Literature:
Wonderbook
Tanglewood Tales

History:
Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt - using the plans a created last year but put on hold - I will post these in the next week or so
D'Aulaires Greek Myths
Ancient History Portfolio Junior

Geography:
We are going to focus on Africa and the Middle East this year, using ideas from Serendipity.

Science:
Apologia Botany

And again, she will continue pursuing piano lessons, gymnastics, and CM style composer and artist studies. In looking back over our plans, I am excited to say that I have no big purchases to make this year! I already have all of the core books we will be using, a large selection of supplemental reading for both science and history, and much of Kindergarten will be home created items. I know there will be fun books along the way I will want to buy, but it is good to know that most of my curriculum is already sitting on my shelf, and the school budget can be used for extra-curricular activities and "fun stuff".

2009-2010 Plans for 5th Grade

Here is what is shaping up for the crocodile hunter this year. He will be in 5th grade, and while there are still some unknowns (we may be in a co-op that will change/add some elements), this is what I am looking at planning out. Again, much of this follows the Latin Centered Curriculum, though we are continuing with more of a four year history cycle and are back around to Ancient history again this year.

Orthodox Studies:
Young Folks Josephus
The Christians - this is a wonderful series - I have the first 7 books, they are beautiful, informational, fascinating reading, and a very balanced perspective no matter your denomination. I am planning to let him read the first 3 volumes at his own pace. If you have the financial ability to support this project, I encourage you to order from them, these books are well worth the cost.
readings from the Prologue from Ohrid

Arithmetic:
I will continue using a combination of the exercises in Ray's Arithmetic, Math on the Level, and possibly Singapore Math. Since this is the area in which I feel the least confidence, I need to be open to some flexibility. I love the way things are laid out in Math on the Level, but it is nice to have a workbook to fall back on when things get crazy.
Update 6/5: I am planning to drop Singapore, and use the exercises in Strayer/Upton Book 2

Latin:
I am not sure if we will continue with Lively Latin Book 2, but I don't think we are ready for something like Henle. I need to do a bit more research here.

English Studies:
Copywork from lives of the saints
Spelling - we probably need to continue with SWR spelling lists, he is a decent speller, but could use some work still

Literature:
Black Ships before Troy
Wanderings of Odysseus
In Search of a Homeland - if we get that far :)

History:
Famous Men of Greece
Famous Men of Rome
Ancient History Portfolio

Science:
Apologia Botany

So that is the core of our studies, and of course we will continue with CM style composer and artist studies and piano lessons.

2009-2010 Plans for Kindergarten

Part of me feels terribly behind, as I am only just now beginning to think about the next school year. Another part of me feels guilty spending time planning for next year when there is so much left to complete this year! But, planning for the next school year invigorates me, it encourages me to press on when the spring begins to drag, it gives me a focus, something to strive towards. I am especially excited/terrified that I will be adding a student this year - the Queen will begin Kindergarten this fall, and while I am really looking forward to teaching Kindergarten again - I am definitely nervous about having three to homeschool (I know, I know, all you mom's with 6 + kids are laughing at me now :). So, I am going to post a basic outline of my tentative plans for Kindergarten next year, recognizing that usually means everything will completely change several times before the fall! As usual, much of my planning comes from Latin Centered Curriculum, with a little CM and Waldorf thrown in for good measure. I will post plans for the other two over the next week.

Orthodox Studies:
Garden of Theotokos - I am planning to use the book of creation, the 12 days of Christmas and the Lent to Pentecost units from this program with her
various Lives of the Saints story books
Children's Bible Reader - OT stories

Phonics:
I am creating a set of Orthodox phonics cards and copywork to use with her (see side bar for link to phonics cards)

Literature:
We will focus on Aesop's Fables, Mother Goose Rhymes, Nursery Tales, and Charlotte's Web. I plan to do lots of reading aloud, and hopefully gradually begin doing narrations.

Math:
We will create a book of numbers Waldorf style, review basic shapes, and will introduce addition and subtraction using Math on the Level ideas and Waldorf story telling as she is ready

Science:
the older ones will be doing botany, so I am planning to use the Flower Fairy Alphabet with her, to correlate with our phonics studies, along with some fun read aloud units corresponding to the seasons

Review: Living Memory by Andrew Campbell

I received my copy of Living Memory yesterday, and after much perusing last night I wanted to share my thoughts. A brief disclaimer, I am an LCC groupie - so is would take a lot for Plaid Dad to write anything I hated - but that aside, I will give my honest opinions about the book :). It is a very large and comprehensive volume, with the goal of providing a full selection of memory work for the classical student. There is a brief introductory section with a defense of memorization, a summary of common memory techniques (including a brief mention of the ancient technique of loci), advice on how to structure memory time and an explanation of how to create your own memory binder. The volume is then broken down into subject areas. Those areas include Latin, Greek, Arithmetic, Grammar, Literature, Religion, Geography, World History, US History and the Natural Sciences. Within each subject area are contained memory selections organized by difficulty, proceeding from the simplest to the most difficult selections. For example, within the Latin section one will find latin numbers, proverbs, poetry, prayers, hymns, and finally excerpts from Ceasar, Cicero and Ovid.

The biggest advantage to owning this book is that it is all there. It is a one stop book for referencing memory work throughout homeschooling. Anything that reduces the time I spend online looking for a poem or speech is a positive for me. Another great benefit is the broad range of selections. I particularly appreciate Dr. Campbell's inclusion of prayers from the Orthodox Church alongside prayers of the Catholic and Protestant faiths. The grammar section is nicely done, with an original catechism which when memorized takes the student through a very thorough understanding of grammar. Finally, as evidenced by the generous selection of well chosen poems, the quality of the selections is very high. There is no fluff or twaddle in this volume, only the best of the best.

Drawbacks: Those who are looking for a book divided into grade levels telling you exactly when to assign these pieces will be disappointed. However, if you are following Latin Centered Curriculum, he offers many suggestions in there for when to memorize certain pieces. If you are not planning to study any Greek or Latin, a large portion of this book will be useless. Also, the Religion section makes up a generous portion of the book. This is under the assumption that anyone following the classical model will be studying the Christian religion as a part of that, whether they are Christian or not. For those who do not wish to expose their children to christian hymns, prayers and scripture, there will be a good portion of this book that will be unusable.

It is designed to be a "workbook", or practical guide, not a theory book. If you are looking to really understand the how and why - you will want to do further reading and research. If you are looking to this book to convince you of the value of learning these things, you will be disappointed. If you are looking for a pick up and go anthology of high quality memory work, then this book is perfect.

If you are interested in looking deeper into the theory and philosophy behind this book the following reading is suggested:

Latin Centered Curriculum,

essay Multum non Multa

article on memorization
Memorize the Faith

Our School Plans - Revisited and Revised

We have had a slow start - but we are finally officially back to school! I wanted to repost our plans for the school year, since I have greatly revamped them after some soul searching conversations with a few homeschool friends whose opinions I hold in high regard :) The major change is, I am going back to keeping them both in the same history period. This is a little bit of a let down since I spent a good many hours creating a fun and exciting plan to study Ancients with the little princess - but oh well, I guess that can wait a year or so and then I will have it ready to go when we need it! I will post that plan next week for anyone who might find it useful. Ultimately, I do not think it is practical for me to try to keep up with so many history periods, especially when the other two reach school age. So here is a look at my revised school year.

2nd grader
Christian Studies:
Old Testament Children's Bible Reader (she will read these aloud to me or her little sisters)
various children's lives of the saints books
Let the Little Children Come to Me

Arithmetic
Math on the Level - we are just beginning with this, and I am really liking it, so hopefully things will go smoothly, even though it does require more work from me.

English Studies
Yesterday's Classics - First and Second Readers - she is loving these
Explode the Code - book 4 and maybe 5 depending on her pace
The Sentence Family - I am teaching this at a once a month co-op - the first lesson went great and I think the kids will really enjoy it
Copywork - poems for poetry book
I have decided NOT to continue with SWR with her - instead we will focus on ETC and when she is ready move into Spelling Wisdom for copywork and spelling practice.

History
Colonization and American Revolution - books to be posted later :)

4th grader
Christian Studies
Golden Children's Bible
Memoria Press Christian Studies I
Forty Saints - lives of saints, memory verses and copywork included in this

Arithmetic
Math on the Level - and Singapore if needed

Latin
Lively Latin

English Studies
Classical Writing - Aesop - we played around with this last year, but I finally feel ready to teach it properly so hopefully we will get through it early
The Sentence Family - with the co-op

History
Colonization to the American Revolution - Time Travelers series - these are so much fun!

My favorite purchase for this year so far is Developing Linguistic Patterns through Poetry Memorization (fancy name for a poetry memorization program :) I will post a review on this next - but suffice it to say, it is a big hit in our house right now.

I am in the process of selecting our artists and composers for the year, I will post those when I have decided for sure. We are learning art technique at our co-op using Visual Manna as the core, and I will continue doing Atelier with the kids and my nieces & nephew.

Also, a note about science. We are currently reading Among the Pond People, and for now I am going to stick with that. As the seasons change we will be doing some tree studies, and in the spring focus on plants and butterflies, but for now I am just enjoying reading aloud the stories and letting the kids illustrate them. We have also become more consistent with our nature notebooks and nature walks.

Our Plans for 2008-2009

I know,I promised I would not post another book list. This is not really a book list, rather an outline of our studies for next year, so I really didn't break my promise :) Today I sat down and really spent some time looking through all of the books I have been considering. I am still struggling with a few decisions, but here is what I think I have settled on.

2nd grader

Christian Studies: Old Testament
Children's Bible Reader (she will read these aloud to me or her little sisters)
Days of Creation Art
various children's lives of the saints books
Let the Little Children Come to Me

Arithmetic
Math on the Level - we will be using this as our guide this year, and I plan to continue with Ray's as needed.

English Studies
Yesterday's Classics - First and Second Readers
Explode the Code - book 4
SWR - still debating
The Sentence Family - for fun
Copywork - poems for poetry book

History
Greenleaf Guide to Ancient Egypt

4th grader

Christian Studies
Golden Children's Bible
Memoria Press Christian Studies I
Forty Saints

Arithmetic
Math on the Level - and Singapore if needed

Latin
Lively Latin

English Studies
Writing Tales or Classical Writing - still struggling with this one
The Sentence Family

History
Colonization to the American Revolution - Time Travelers series

Both will be doing:

Geography - North and South America - probably just using maps, living books and encyclopedia

Science
Among the .. series
nature journal

Art
Atelier Art, and CM artist study

Music
piano lessons, and our CM composer study

If I stick with these decisions, then I will not have to do any more purchasing for next year, other than the occasional living book I might add in, and few books to cover our geography lessons. I am still working on a schedule for the year, so when I get my lesson plans worked out, I will post those also. At that point I will be creating my teacher's planner for this year, and will post the sections as I create them for this year.

What would I do?

Someone asked a great question on a homeschool forum the other day. What would you do if you had three years to prepare to homeschool? Would you start buying curriculum, would you start buying supplies? Would you begin making schedules and lesson plans? After thinking about it, I know exactly what I would do. I would read. I would read about different teaching methods and educational philosphies. And I would pray. I would pray for God to show me what was right for my kids. I will admit that I did not really know if I wanted to homeschool when my kids were toddlers. When the time for that decision came, I was a young mom, with a 4 year old and a 2 year old. I am a homeschool graduate myself, having been homeschooled from 3rd grade through high school. I LOVED being homeschooled, and can honestly say I have never regretted it, or felt as if I missed out on anything. I also know first hand the sacrifice required. I look back and see how many things my mother missed out on, how many other activities she could have been doing, how many talents she could have explored. So as my oldest approached school age, I began to really wonder, was I up to it? I find myself still asking that question, especially as I begin to think about a new school year, and new challenges. Looking back, there are so many things I wish I had known, so many books I wish I had read. So here is my list of books I think are most helpful as one begins to consider homeschooling. If I had a year to prepare, I would spend it reading these books and praying.

The Well Trained Mind - This book was the one that gave me the confidence to begin, a path to follow, from preschool to highschool. While we have strayed from that path, I still consider it an invaluable resource for any homeschooler.

Education Is - a free E-book - a short collection of Charlotte Mason's writings and commentary
on what education truly is - an atmosphere, a discipline, and a life. This little book is invaluable for any parent, even if you are not planning to homeschool.

A Charlotte Mason Education - This easy to read book gives an overview of CM, broken down by subject. It is a very practical guide for how to implement the principles of beauty in education professed by Charlotte Mason.

Dumbing Us Down - an insightful look at the current educational system, why it is failing, and what it is doing to the future generations of America. Fair Warning: you may not be able to ever consider sending your kids to public school after reading this book!

Educating the WholeHearted Child - This one I have added to my summer reading. A wonderful book about educating your child, from instilling habits and choosing curriculum to planning lessons and determining learning styles in your children.

The Lost Tools of Learning - an essay by Dorothy Sayers on the need for a return to classical education

Multum non Multa - an essay by Andrew Campbell, author of The Latin Centered Curriculum. It is a brief look at the principle of "much, not many", and for me was a balance to the Well Trained Mind, which can become a daunting curriculum to follow if you feel you "have to do it all." For that matter, any article in the Memoria Press magazine is worth reading :)

So there is my list - and I promise not to post another book list the next time I post :)

A Lesson in Patience?

No, I am not referring to the fact that it has been a little while since I posted! I have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of my copy of Latin Centered Curriculum (the revised and updated version). I placed my pre-order back in April, sold my old copy of the original, and patiently waited for the end of May to roll around (all the while trying to NOT buy any new curriculum until I at least saw the new LCC). So, joy of joys, I received an email on Monday saying it had shipped. I check the mail each day with the anticipation of a child waiting for Santa to come. But is hasn't come. I just checked the mail today, thinking, surely it will arrive in time for me to read it over the weekend (I mean, after all, it's not like I live across the country - in fact, if gas didn't cost so much I would be tempted to take a "field trip" to go pick up my book!). It wasn't there. And I don't suppose it will be there before next week now, since I just checked my email notice - which informs me that is was shipped media mail. MEDIA MAIL!!!! And a holiday weekend!!!! So, I will patiently wait until next week, unless some wonderful mailman miracle occurs and it shows up tomorrow. Usually by this time I have most things generally planned out in my mind for the next school year. This year I forced myself to not do that. I did go to our local homeschool fair, and yes, I did buy something :) but I feel that I restrained myself quite well overall. I really am looking forward to spending a few weeks this summer reading a number of books, and preparing for the next school year. I will post my summer reading list the next chance I get.