2016-17 Curriculum

Kindergarten, 8th & 11th grades

Morning Time- will include everyone and is scheduled for an hour this year.  With older kids doing other things harder to keep them too long.  :)  I decided to do a loop schedule in case something came up so this is how it is scheduled this year.

Morning Loop Schedule

Daily (30 min.) Including 5yr. old

Bible NT – reading OR Geog/Hist lesson in SCM Matthew-Acts & Romans

Geograpy & History on Monday & Friday – Bible on Tues.-Friday (Missionary update monthly)

Character Quality- discussed weekly – Read – Uncle Arthur’s Stories

Memory work pick –Bible verses, Art, Science

Hymn Study

Trivia question- Compact Classics

Weekly Loop (30-45 min.)

MONDAY’s Nature Study-Tree Book (Draw)  & Artist Study (MP Enrichment guide)

Weekly loop (Tuesday-Friday)

Ourselves (1st semester) Plutarch (2nd semester)

Pillar of Iron (finish)

Dictation

Composer Study (1st semester) Poetry (2nd semester)

Evidence that Demands a Verdict (only did parts of this book)

Uncle Arthur’s (Character)

Pillar of Iron (completed this year)

Shakespeare (Much Ado About Nothing & How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare)

Book of Centuries

Evidence that Demands a Verdict

Dictation

Pillar of Iron

Official Kindergarten Year

Taking a more relaxed approach and trying to let him be a kid.  :)  We are only planning on about 1 1/2 hrs of actual "work" where we are sitting at the table.  Not counting our reading.  It will be broken up but are mostly working on some math, spelling, and writing.  The rest of the day he will play and is able to hang out with brothers during morning group time.  Reading will happen throughout the day morning, lunch, rest time, before bedtime.  The lists always seem more hefty then they really are.  Instead of making a detailed week plan this year I did more of an "idea" list of things to cover, books, activities, etc. I wanted it to be a fun exploration year.  He loves learning of other countries so we will be focusing our time and attention on other cultures and countries and since he never went to preschool we wanted to include some community helpers to round out the year.  :) 

Final Book list here

Bible- Golden Children's Bible, Leading Little Ones to God and 5 Minute Devotions (and working through AWANA first year Sparks :)

Literature- Since he is on a 2nd grade reading level decided to boost him up to MP 2nd grade for most things.  Will be reading the following this year:  

Alternating list- 3 days week

·         Read Flat Stanley before the week of school starting

·         Animal Folk tales of America/ Alternate with Billy and Blaze series

·         Prairie School

·         Courage of Sarah Noble

·         Little House in the Big Woods

·         Bears on Hemlock Mountain

·         Peter Rabbit, Benjamin Bunny, Tom Kitten, Johnny Town Mouse

·         Boxcar Children #1 & 2
      Ivy and Bean & others
      Betsy Tacy
      Twig
      George and the Marvelous Medicine 
      The Chocolate Touch
      Velveteen Rabbit 
      See Through the Forest - Selsam

Pathway readers:  2 days week read:

·         Busy Times

·         More Busy Times

·         Climbing Higher

Audio Books-read aloud (with me)

·         Matilda

·         James and the Giant Peach

·         Lion Witch and the Wardrobe

·         Peter Pan (couldn't get through)

·         Penderwicks- Spring
      Penderwicks- Garden Street
      Penderwicks - Pt. Mouette
      Little House and the Long Winter
      The Water Horse
      Five Little Peppers and How they Grew
T    My Side of the Mountain
      Heidi
      

**Also reading the MP 2nd grade Literature as assigned including the poetry enrichment.

Spelling- Reading Lessons through Literature (starting with Level 1 to solidify all of the phonics rules and then working through not sure how far will get this year but will probably begin Level 2) Switched to All About Spelling and completed level 1 then started copywork and CM dictation

Writing - Continue correct letter formation and beginning copywork

Math - Decided for my sanity since I am familiar with Saxon after using it with my other two children will be switching back from Singapore to Saxon.  Saxon 1 this year and continuing with Math Seeds

Science/History- Just readers - Memoria Press 2nd grade curriculum + readers, misc. list will post list at the end of the year.  Once a week nature study and once a week reading God's Big World magazine and activities

Geography/Community Helpers- see help list below all of the books including in the study and will list a final book list at the end of the year of all of the other books we covered during the year.

o   Reading:  Window on the World on each country, Around the World, Missionary Stories with the Millers, using My Book House, The Children's Hour collections, Uncle Arthur Bedtime Stories, Our Little Cousin Series, Seven Little Sisters Who Live on the Round Ball That Floats in the Air, Twin Books (Perkins), Peeps at Many Lands, Audrey of Outback, Boxes for Katje, Children of the Noisy Village, and many others.  For Community Helpers- using Want to Be Series and list of various books (see list at end of year).

Spanish - Memorizing songs (Lyric Language Spanish) and working through Cherrydale Press (Speaking Spanish With Ms. Mason) (ended up using Spanish books (Brown Bear Brown Bear what do you see - memorized this one this year)  and working using youtube videos for color learning, basic daily use of words) Memorized - Doxology, Jesus Loves Me  Also looking at taking advantage of some apps when we finally get cable internet!!  :)

Memory work - Memoria Press 2nd grade

Fine Arts -Memoria Press 2nd grade enrichment 

Art- using Global Art and Preschool Art 

Piano - starting in the winter last year taking classes privately continuing once a week

8th Grade

Bible - Reading through the Gospels, Romans study (Simply Charlotte Mason) 

History/Literature/Theology - online class: Starting Points at The Potters School see book list:  

How to Read Slowly 

Know Why You Believe 

Frankenstein 

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 

The Deadliest Monster 

Mere Christianity (Required) 

Never Before in History - America's Inspired Birth 

The Magician's Nephew (Required) 

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Required) 

Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know (Required) 

Other books reading- What Happened to Penny Candy, The Deerslayer, Story of the World vol. 3

Science - Science Matters and various chapters in Microbe Hunters also included an Astronomy unit end of the year - using Sabbath Mood Homeschooling guides & The Planets by Sobel along with Galileo's Daughter

Math- We felt like he needed another yr of review for Algebra so we are trying Jann @myhomeschoolmathclass.com (he benefits so much from a live teacher- ) Continued on taking Geometry with me using Harold Jacobs - Geometry text

Drill - Geography drills (world 2x wk), Scripture memory:  AWANA (using verses that my youngest will be memorizing) Also memorized John 3

Grammar- IEW Fix It Level 3 (2x week), Rod and Staff Book 7 (2x week), Dictation 2x week

Writing- IEW Starting Points (coincides with his History/Lit class)

Latin II-  online at Landry Academy using Latin Alive 2 - after the split we continued with the same teacher at Big River Academy

Logic- Art of Argument CAP

Other readings-  How to Read a Book (parts)

Life skills - (continuing on from last year) working on note taking and organizational skills this year along with doing own laundry and working through this book mostly when we have time and weekends:  The Young Man's Handybook:  Preparing your Son on the Homefront

PE - participating in a homeschool basketball league this year (mostly year round)

Violin - free time practicing

11th Grade

Bible - Reading through the Gospels, Romans study (Simply Charlotte Mason), 

Literature/Grammar - Dual enrollment courses at Bluefield College- Eng 102 (2nd writing course) and will be taking Literature Appreciation (for his final Lit. requirements for undergrad.) Couldn't get into his class so he took British Literature also reading:  Watership Down, David Copperfield with me.   Will also keep him reading by:

Old Western Culture - Roman Roads Media  Year 2:  Romans  see book list: http://www.romanroadsmedia.com/store/the-romans.php  didn't finish the last 9 wks. so would like to fit that in as part of our Lit course this year:  Nicene Christianity and then adding the following books to read:  Consequences of Ideas (Sproul) and The Jesus I Never Knew (is what we hope to complete this year have an additional list if time to complete more) Also hoping to read more speeches this year and using the list from Ambleside Online. 

Will be finishing up Classical Rhetoric this year, reading How to Read Slowly and our 2nd reading of How to Read a Book 

Dictation- 2x week 

History- DE -Bluefield 2 semesters of U.S. History (to finish up his History requirement for undergrad) didn't get in -took Government at Truett McConnel University and Microeconomics at Bluefield

Current Events- will be reading and writing a summary of the events of the week

Science - Astronomy- homegrown using various resources and having him do more research than anything:  using parts of Muses of a Mom course she made and including labs from Super Charged Science Astronomy 3 CD and the following books:   Microbe Hunters, Great Astronomers, Stargazer's Guide, Taking Back Astronomy (used the clep guide to prep - The Idiot's Guide to Astronomy & Astronomy for Dummies alongside of DVDs)  Dantes test at the end of the year to get college credit

Math- AP Calculus w/ Derek Owens

Drill - Geography drills (world 2x wk), Scripture memory: AWANA verses with brothers

Electives:

Greek I- Basics of Biblical Greek  Decided he really needed a living language and has chosen  Spanish we are going to be using Duolingo and Easy Peasy Spanish for this year also used Language Transfer

Sociology- Taking the Intro to Sociology DE course at Bluefield

Personal Computers - DE  Bluefield College (took this summer) 

Logic- Moral Philosophy- taking a course at Memoria Press Academy

PSAT prep- taking a month course at Memoria Press Academy

Guitar - plays in 3 different bands (High School band at church, and a special event band and fills in about once a month on Sunday mornings for the adult band) also helps out teaching the Middle School Band