I am a Christian and a wife and mother of three trying to live out God's purpose for my life. Our homeschooling journey was not a typical beginning. My husband and I had attended public school and had planned for our children to attend there as well. My oldest had attended a pre-k program at a Christian school to get him ready. It had been a bumpy start but he finally settled down and got used to it. When time came to tour the elementary school that our son was zoned for (which was known to be the best one in the county) we decided it wasn't for us. I was floored at what they had planned on teaching them in kindergarten and the learning environment was not inviting. We therefore decided to leave him at the private Christian school he was at and that is where he stayed until 3rd grade. By that time my middle child was ready for pre-k and I signed him up that year as well. Things went pretty well for him but my oldest through the years was bored and didn't want to go. He almost always got perfect scores and never studied. I tried talking with the teachers and they said there was nothing they could do until he got into the upper grades just to be happy that he was bright and "didn't need help." I was tired of paying big bucks for my son to sit and not be challenged so that is the year I took the plunge and pulled him out. It has been a learning road and I have spent many hours studying and learning what is best for my children. Everyone has a story and what works for their family. This blog is what has worked for mine. I hope that what I write will help others who are beginning or those who are always looking for things to help deepen their children's learning. Blessings!

Monday, July 25, 2016

10th Grade Book List and Course/Credit Description

Course Descriptions – 10th Grade

Ancient/World Literature      Semesters: 2                            Credits: 1                    Home  
In this class we read, discussed, and wrote about various literature focusing on the ancients using the Old Western Culture curriculum.  We also read and used the following to work on writing and grammar skills:  Sentence Skills with Reading, How to Read a Book and On Writing Well, Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student. Also studied poetry using:  The Grammar of Poetry and studied the works and lives of:  Stevenson, Tennyson and Lord Byron.  Books read: Aeneid, Metamorphoses I & II, Lucretius, Lucan & Statius, Cicero (Selected Works), Mere Christianity, Plutarch Lives (Selected Works), Ourselves (partial) Shakespeare:  Julius Caesar, Macbeth

Introduction to the Writing Process                     Semesters: 1             Credits: 0.5             Bluefield College  
This course is designed to improve the student's writing abilities through study and practice of the entire writing process from topic selection through editing.  Texts used: St. Martin’s Guide to Writing, Writer’s Reference with Writing in Disciplines

Honors PreCalculus               Semesters: 2                            Credits: 1                    Lucid Education  
This course will cover the topics normally covered in a high school pre-calculus course.  Topics include: Preliminaries, different types of functions, graphs, analytical trigonometry, analytical geometry, systems of equations, inequalities, sequences, probability, induction, etc.  Texts used: Precalculus by Prentice Hall  Instructor: Derek Owens

Physics                                                Semesters: 2                            Credits: 1                    Lucid Education
Covers a typical HS Physics class including:  motion in 1-2 dimensions, Newton’s laws, work and energy, momentum, circular motion, gravity, temperature and heat, waves and wave motion, optics, electricity, electric circuits.  Text used: Physics by Douglas Giancoli (Prentice Hall), also read outside of class Six Easy Pieces, A Briefer History of Time, Microbe Hunters (selected works) 

World History/Romans          Semesters: 2                            Credits: 1                    Home  
We used Old Western Culture curriculum which focused on how Rome was founded, culture, technology, the rise and fall and the early church fathers struggle with the collapsing empire and persecution.  Texts read: The Early History of Rome (Livy), Jugurthine War, Catiline’s War (Sallust), The Gallic Wars (Caesar), The Annals of Imperial Rome (Tacitus), Early Christian Fathers, Eusebius: The Church History, What Happened to Justice

Latin Readings IV                  Semesters: 2                            Credits: 1                    Wilson Hill Academy  
Latin Readings is designed for intermediate Latin students who have finished working through Latin grammar (using Wheelock’s Latin or Latin Alive! I-III, or the equivalent) and are ready to practice reading Latin literature. Grammar will be reviewed continuously as students grow in their translation skills, reading a selection of literature from Cicero to Newton. Students will explore a variety of time periods, styles, and genres, studying literary components of the texts in addition to Latin grammar and syntax, with a teacher who will integrate Latin Readings with The Great Conversation classes. Texts used: Latin Alive IV  Instructor: Sheryl Vine

Old Testament Survey                        Semesters: 2                            Credits: 0.5                 Home  
An in depth study and chronological reading of 2 Samuel-Malachi in the Bible along with other texts read:  A Shepherd Look at the 23rd Psalm, Practice of the Presence of God, Story of the Greeks, How to Pray

Health                                    Semesters: 2                            Credits: 0.50               Home  
Covering typical Health topics including:  physical, mental, spiritual, and social health.  Text used:  Total Health by Susan Boe

Fine Arts                                 Semesters: 2                            Credits: 0.25               Home  
A study into the lives of composers:  Vivaldi, Bach, and Handel and the works they accomplished using various books and CDs to appreciate their style.  Also studied the following artists’ lives and technique that they used and became familiar with many of their works:  Giotto, Botticelli and Da Vinci

Music Appreciation                Semesters:  1                           Credits:  0.5                Bluefield College
An introduction to the most important forms, styles, and movements of Western music.


Other books read and studied:  Fabre’s Insects, What’s That Bird, Burgess Bird Book, ½ Pillar of Iron
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