LA plans K-12

I thought I had grammar for next year all planned out, Daily Grams and Classical Writing. But guess what I did, I started looking at other grammar curricula and now I’ll never be happy with Daily Grams. I’m in love with Primary Language Lessons and Intermediate Language Lessons, they are wonderful. Oh, they are lovely, but who am I going to use them for?
DD7 (3rd grade): She is the perfect candidate for PLL, copywork, memorywork and dictation loving she is kind of a CM girl in all areas of the curriculum. My only worry is that I wanted to start CW Aesop A with her but since she’s never done formal grammar or writing before this may be overkill. I really want to do PLL and CW but maybe if I held off on CW until January then it wouldn’t be so much at once. Or do I really need to drop one of them? Also, should we start at the beginning of the book or in the middle?
DS10 (6th grade) and DD9 (5th grade) will both be doing CW Homer B, I think they could both do ILL but again I’m not sure where to start.
DD12 will be in 8th grade and is very strong in LA so I think she’s beyond ILL. She is doing CW Diogenes Chreia, is that enough? Is there a PLL/ILL like book for older kids? Is there something else she should use?
DD 6and DS6 will be in 1st grade and I wasn’t planning on starting formal grammar with them until 3rd but now I’m thinking about them doing PLL. Should I have them do it or should I stick to my original plan?

TIA!!


Above is what I posted on the WTM boards. I was going crazy trying to decide what to use for grammar and now (thanks Jessica!) I’ve got it all sorted out. I still need to decide on other things but here are our plans so far:


Below Average Average Above Average

K: ETC A & B ETC 1 and 2 ETC at appropriate level Reading Reading Reading
Read alouds Read alouds Read alouds
HWT K HWT K HWT K
Informal French Informal French
Poetry memorization

1st: ETC C and 1 ETC 3 and 4 ETC at appropriate level Reading Reading Reading
Read alouds Read alouds Read alouds
HWT 1 HWT 1 HWT 1
Informal French Informal French Informal French
Poetry memorization Poetry memorization Poetry memorization
Copywork across the curric. Copywork across the curric. Copywork across the curric.
Narration LLVY PLL
Narration Narration

2nd: ETC 2and 3 ETC 5 and 6 ETC at appropriate level
Reading Reading Reading
Read Alouds Read alouds Read alouds
HWT 2 HWT 3 HWT 3
Informal French Informal French Informal French
Poetry memorization Poetry memorization Poetry memorization
Copy work across the curric. Copywork across the curric. Copywork across the curric.
LLVY PLL PLL
Narration Narration LFC A
Narration
CW Aesop A

3rd: ETC 4 and 5 ETC 7 and 8 Reading
Reading Reading Read alouds
Read alouds Read alouds Informal French
HWT 3 Informal French Poetry memorization
Informal French Poetry memorization Copywork across the curric.
Poetry memorization Copywork across the curric. PLL
Copywork across the curric. PLL LFC B
PLL LFC A CW Aesop B
Narration CW Aesop A Spelling
Narration Narration

4th: ETC 6 and 7 Reading Reading
Reading Read alouds Read alouds
Read alouds Informal French Informal French
Informal French Poetry memorization Poetry memorization
Poetry memorization Copywork across the curric. Copywork across the curric.
Copywork across the curric. PLL ILL
PLL LFC B LFC C
LFC A CW Aesop B CW Homer A
CW Aesop A Spelling Spelling
Narration Narration Narration

5th: ETC 8 Reading Reading
Reading Read alouds Read alouds
Read alouds Formal French with ? Formal French with ?
Informal French Poetry and other memorizationPoetry and other memorization
Poetry memorization Copywork across the curric. Copywork across the curric.
Copywork across the curric. ILL ILL
PLL LFC C Oxford Latin Course 2
LFC B CW Homer A CW Homer B
CW Aesop B Spelling Spelling
Spelling Literature with history LL 7
Narration Narration Narration
Outlining Outlining

6th: Reading Reading Reading
Read alouds Read alouds Read alouds
Formal French with ? Formal French with ? Formal French with ?
Poetry and other memorization Poetry and other memorization Poetry and other memorization
Copywork across the curriculum Copywork across the curric. Copywork across the curric.
ILL ILL ILL
LFC C Oxford Latin Course 2 Oxford Latin Course 3
CW Homer A CW Homer B CW Diogenes Maxim
Spelling Spelling Spelling
Literature through history Literature through history LL 8
Narration Narration Narration
Outlining Outlining Outlining

7th: Reading Reading Reading
Read alouds Read alouds Read alouds
Formal French with ? Formal French with ? Formal French with ?
Poetry and other memorization Poetry and other memorization Poetry and other memorization
Narration Narration Narration
ILL ILL Analytical Grammar
Oxford Latin Course 2 Oxford Latin Course 3 Latin with ?
CW Homer B CW Diogenes Maxim CW Diogenes:Chreia
Literature through history LL 7 LL American literature
Outlining Outlining Outlining

8th: Reading Reading Reading
Read alouds Read alouds Read alouds
Formal French with ? Formal French with ? Formal French with ?
Poetry and other memorization Poetry and other memorization Poetry and other memorization
Narration Narration Narration
ILL Analytical Grammar Analytical Grammar
Oxford Latin Course 3 Latin with ? Latin with ?
CW Diogenes Maxim CW Diogenes Chreia CW Herodotus
LL 7 LL8 LL British literature
Outlining Outlining Outlining
Other language
Rhetoric with ?

9th: Reading Reading Reading
Formal French with ? Formal French ? Formal French ?
Poetry and other memorization Poetry and other memorization Poetry and other memorization
Analytical Grammar Analytical Grammar AG High School Reinforcement Shakespeare
Latin with ? Latin with ? Latin with ?
CW Diogenes Chreia CW Herodotus CW Plutarch
LL 8 LL American Literature LL Shakespeare
Outlining Outlining Outlining
Other language Other language
Rhetoric with ? Rhetoric with ?

10th: Reading Reading Reading
Formal French with ? Formal French with ? Formal French with ?
Poetry and other memorization Poetry and other memorization Poetry and other memorization
Analytical Grammar AG HSR British Lit. AG HSR World Lit.
Latin with ? Latin with ? Latin with ?
CW Herodotus CW Plutarch CW Demosthenes
LL American Lit. LL British Lit. LL World Lit.
Rhetoric with ? Other language Other language
Rhetoric with ? Rhetoric with ?

11th:Reading Reading Reading
Formal French with ? Formal French with ? Formal French with ?
Poetry and other memorization Poetry and other memorization Poetry and other memorization
AG HSR British Lit. AG HSR Shakespeare AG HSR American lit.
Latin with ? Latin with ? Latin with ?
CW Plutarch CW Demosthenes CW Demosthenes
LL British lit. LL Shakespeare LL
Rhetoric with ? Rhetoric with ? Rhetoric with ?
Other language Other language

12th:Reading Reading Reading
Formal French with ? Formal French with ? Formal French with ?
Poetry and other memorization Poetry and other memorization Poetry and other memorization
AG HSR World lit. AG HSR World lit. AG HSR Shakespeare
Latin with ? Latin ? Latin with ?
CW Demosthenes CW Demosthenes Writing with ?
LL World Lit. LL World lit LL
Rhetoric with ? Rhetoric with ? Rhetoric with ?
Other language Other language


The “Below Average”, “Average” and “Above Average” columns are guide lines but I’ll pick and choose from each category depending on strengths and weaknesses.
I need to look into curriculum for:
Latin after Oxford
French in 5th – 12th
Rhetoric

At some point I also need to find something for writing after CW, but now I have other priorities.

UGH! Blogger doesn't like my formating. :(
I'll have to try to sort this out or format it differently.

Rest of our year

Here is (roughly) what the rest of our year should look like. Due to pregnancy and moving house I doubt we’ll do everything on the exact dates but so that I have an idea where we’re headed I’ve organized our history, science, music and art appreciation. I haven’t put down other subjects because I can just open up the book and do the next lesson.

April 14-18
History: SOTW 3 chapter 26, Catherine the Great
Science: Local birds, nature study
Art and music: Rembrandt and Mozart

April 21 – 25
History: SOTW 3 chapter 27, A Changing World
Science: Local birds, nature study
Art and music: Van Gogh and Beethoven

April 28 – May 2
History: SOTW 3 chapter 28, China and the Rest of the World
Science: Other birds, nature study
Art and music: Van Gogh and Beethoven

May 5 – 9
History: SOTW 3 chapter 29, The Rise of Bonaparte and 30, Freedom in the Caribbean
Science: Other Birds, nature study
Art and Music: Van Gogh and Beethoven

May 12 – 16
History: SOTW 3 chapter 31, A Different Kind of Rebellion
Science: Focus on one bird, nature study
Art and music: Monet and Brahms

May 19 – 23
History; SOTW 3 chapter 32, The Opened West
Science: Focus on another bird, nature study
Art and Music: Monet and Brahms

May 26 – 30
History: SOTW 3 chapter 33, The End of Napoleon
Science: Nest, eggs, feathers, nature study
Art and Music: Monet and Brahms

June 2 – 6
History: SOTW 3 chapter 34, Freedom for South America
Science: Seashore exploration, nature study
Art and Music: Renoir and Verdi

June 9 – 13
History: SOTW 3 chapter 35, Mexican Independence
Science: Local marine life, nature study
Art and Music: Renoir and Verdi

June 16 – 20
History: SOTW 3 chapter 36, The Slave Trade Ends
Science: Local marine life, nature study
Art and music: Renoir and Verdi

June 23 – 27
History: SOTW 3 chapter 37, Troubled Africa
Science: Other marine life, nature study
Art and music: Picasso and Tchaikovsky

June 30 – July 4
History: SOTW 3 chapter 38, American Tragedies
Science: Other marine life, nature study
Art and Music: Picasso and Tchaikovsky

July 7 – 11
History: SOTW 3 chapter 39, China Adrift and chapter 40, Mexico and Her Neighbour
Science: Focus on marine animal/plant, nature study
Art and music: Picasso and Tchaikovsky

July 14 – 18
History: SOTW 3 chapter 41, New Zealand and her Rulers
Science: Focus on other marine plant/animal, nature study
Art and music: Dali and Stravinsky

July 21 – 25
History: SOTW 3 chapter 42, The World of Forty – Nine
Science: Marine biology not previously covered, nature study
Art and music: Dali and Stravinsky


It would be great if we did finish by then, but we will see what God’s wish is. When we finish we’ll do a brief study of modern times and then begin the new year in September. Our artists and musicians don’t line up with our time period because I want to cover some modern ones, we may still be reading about them when we begin the ancient times which is fine with me because I have difficulty getting books on ancient art.

Weekly Report

History/Geography – While I think we’ll all the quite happy to have a brake from revolutions for a while we did have fun reading about France, and cooking baguettes! I think Chelsea particularly enjoyed reading the books on France because she was able to remember some of the places where she’d been.
When we learn about history in other countries I like to spend some time learning about the country it’s self. Since we got back to school we’ve read about Australia and France, with Russia coming up next week. There are maps of all these countries on the walls of our school room, along with ones of Canada, US, British Columbia and the world.
Our four favourite history/geography books this week were Paris 1789, France, You Wouldn’t Want to be an Aristocrat in the French Revolution and Daily Life in Ancient and Modern Paris.
Paris 1789 is a “travel guide” perfect for thee grammar years and lower logic years. Reading makes you feel like a tourist in Paris on the eve of the revolution. There are “Sightseers Tips” on every page which add to the fun. There are more books in the Sightseers series which we have used before and look forward to using again.
France is from the Horrible History series. I find the books on the sarcastic and gruesome side but let my horrible loving kids read them. I wouldn’t have even thought of this one if I hadn’t been digging through a box of books I’d stashed away. I wasn’t going to look through the box because I would want to keep just about every book and I was trying to sell them. It’s a good thing I did look through the box because I found France and some other books which I’d been thinking of buying. :D
If there’s a series of books we’re obsessed with it’s the You Wouldn’t Want to be a ____ books. Like the Sightseer books they make you be the people in the book and show you just how bad life was like at XYZ time. There are lots of humorous pictures and “Handy Hints” to help you out along the way.
While Daily Life in Ancient and Modern Paris doesn’t have much on the revolution it is well written and clearly shows the changes of the city through the ages. Mariah, David and Chelsea read the entire book and are now asking their Parisian friends how their life and lives of their ancestors compares to the books descriptions.

French – We got very excited about doing French this week. Many of the books included French words and when we knew one of them the house went into party mode! lol We’ve been slogging through French recently and often don’t get it done at all. Next year I want us all to do French; Mariah, Chelsea and David in a formal manner and Laura, Megan and David more informally. Some other moms and I have been talking about starting a small co-op for our preschool – 4th graders and I’m thinking of teaching French. I think a word of the week approach would be good, but I’ll have to see what others think. If we do that then I’d like to do some extra French with my kids, maybe a word of the day.
Mariah and David are currently doing Rosetta Stone 1 and 2 but I’d like them to switch to something else, Rosetta Stone lacks grammar but I think that being able to hear French spoken is very good. I haven’t spent much time thinking about what curriculum to use for them, but I need to. There is always so much to do.


Science – I’ve thought a lot about doing science projects and have decided to drop the idea. Right now we’ve almost (I think) got our house sold, I’m very pregnant and am constantly getting exhausted, DH is very busy at work and the idea of doing science projects is just too much for us. We love Green Hour so we’ll continue with that and we are also starting on a bird study tomorrow (is it really tomorrow? YIKES!). I need to see roughly how much longer this “school year” will last, pregnancy and moving house will cause some disturbance but I’m praying that we will be done by mid August. That seems very far away, but I know time will fly!

Weekly Report

I haven’t done “weekly” report since January!!

History – Our first week of doing SOTW3 together was GREAT! We really liked going learning about Captain Cook because 1. He explored locally. 2. We read about Australia and made another pavlova which was really good. 3. We got to read a lot of books. There we’re probably some other reasons but those are the most obvious. We’ll be finishing up on Captain Cook today and on Monday we’ll be doing the French Revolution, there are mixed feelings about this. We’re getting a bit tired of revolutions because we just spent two weeks on the American Revolution but we also know people who live in France and we’re asking them what they think about the revolution which will be interesting.

Science – Thoughts on science are whizzing through my brain faster than I can process them! Trivium Academy has been such a blessing because of their Science by Seasons plans which I’ve adapted for us and because there’s a lot of science planning going on there too. Right now we’re doing Green Hour (yes, we’re still doing them even though I haven’t been posting) and science projects for the upcoming science fair. By Monday I want everyone to have decided what they’re doing. We were doing chemistry and physics but they’ve been dropped except for informal reading which the kids do during free time.

Art and music appreciation – We’ve gotten back into them after a two month break. We studied Mozart and Rembrandt this week and will continue for a week or two. After that we’ll do Van Gogh and Beethoven, then Monet and Tchaikovsky (?) if we need to do some more I’ll think about that later. We’re really enjoying both our artist and musician, we do Rembrandt colouring pages while listening to Mozart. There was great disappointment over the fact that we couldn’t find any Mozart music in our violin/piano books.

Logic – We’ve stopped doing Fallacy Detective this year. I LOVE that book, love, love, LOVE it. But for now I feel that we would be more productive spending our time elsewhere. I have put our logic/critical thinking books and games in a prominent place so that if interested DC can take a look at them. When I’m not thinking about science I’m thinking logic. Next year Chelsea begins the “logic years” and I have every intention of her beginning a logic/critical thinking curriculum. David and Mariah will do Fallacy Detective and I know that Chelsea could too. She has a mathematical/logical brain and would be mentally ready for FD, but I’m not sure about emotionally. What really worries me is abortion, which seems to be a major topic FD. It would bring Chelsea to tears, it brings me to tears too but I’m not sure there is any way that she’d understand or want to understand. I’ve looked at other things, but FD still seems to be the best fit. I’m going to have to think and post about this.

I’m trying to organize all our books on Shelfari, now easy task when you have over 2,000! I haven’t done any in days, I think I’ll try for 25 a day and when I get more into it I’ll try for more. The hardest part is choosing where to start, I settled on first grade biology and I’m still there. :D I also have to buy our science books and there seem to be so few on biologists, ancient scientists and hibernation. I’m sure that as I buy and catalogue some more I’ll find even more topics that I can’t find books on. *Sigh*

Biology, earth and space science

Here they are! My biology, earth and space science plans for 1st-8th. I'm scared of high school science and am putting off making any plans for that. The idea is that we will cover each science (biology, earth/space, chemistry and physics) three times, in the grammar years (1st - 4th), logic years (5th - 8th) and rhetoric years (9th - 12th). Please note: These plans are likely to change, they are NOT final! So, here they are:

Biology:

1st grade
Fall – Animals, science project, nature study
Winter – Biographies, hibernation, science project, nature study
Spring – Baby animals, science project for fair, nature study
Summer – Plants, science project, nature study

2nd grade
Fall – Animals, focus on three, science project, nature study
Winter – Biographies, Hibernation, science project, nature study
Spring – Baby animals, science project for fair, nature study
Summer – Plants, focus on three, science project, nature study

3rd grade
Fall – Marine biology, mammals, science project, nature study
Winter – Biographies, Arctic and Antarctic animals, science project, nature study
Spring – Predators and prey, baby animals science project for fair, nature study
Summer – Flowers, birds, science project, nature study

4th grade
Fall – Marine biology, mammals, science project, nature study
Winter – Biographies, Arctic and Antarctic animals, science project, nature study
Spring – Predators and prey, life cycles, science project for fair, nature study
Summer – Flowers, birds, trees, science project, nature study

5th grade
Fall – Marine biology, primates, reptiles, science project, nature study
Winter – Biographies, human body, microscopes, science project, nature study
Spring – Nests, dinosaurs, extinct/endangered animals and plants, science project for fair, nature study
Summer – Trees, bushes, habitats, science project for fair, nature study

6th grade
Fall – Marine biology, primates, reptiles, science project, nature study
Winter – Biographies, human body, microscopes, science project, nature study
Spring – Nests, dinosaurs endangered plants and animals, focus on one plant and one animal, science project for fair, nature study
Summer – Habitats, trees, exotic animals, science project, nature study

7th grade
Fall – Amphibians, bugs, birds, science project, nature study
Winter – Biographies, microscopes, Creation/evolution, science project, nature study
Spring – Local plants and animals, dinosaurs, science project for fair, nature study
Summer – Domestic animals, mammals, trees, science project, nature study

8th grade
Fall – Amphibians, bugs, birds, science project, nature study
Winter – Biographies, Creation/evolution, microscopes, science project, nature study
Spring – Local plants and animals, dinosaurs, life cycles, science project for fair, nature study
Summer – Nocturnal animals, domestic animals, mammals, science project, nature study

Earth and Space science:

1st grade
Fall – Seasons, climate, science project, nature study
Winter – Solar system, biographies, science project, nature study
Spring – Deserts, forests, jungles, science project for fair, nature study
Summer – Arctic, Antarctica, weather, science project, nature study

2nd grade
Fall – Seasons, North America, South America, science project, nature study
Winter – Solar system, biographies, science project, nature study
Spring – Deserts, forests, jungles, science project for fair, nature study
Summer – Arctic, Antarctica, weather, science project, nature study

3rd grade
Fall – Planets, dwarf planets, stars, moons, science project, nature study
Winter – Galaxies, Universe, comets, asteroids, biographies, science project, nature study
Spring – Natural disasters, global warming, science project for fair, nature study
Summer – Weather, mountains, valleys, maps, science project, nature study

4th grade
Fall – Planets, dwarf planets, stars, moons, science project, nature study
Winter – Galaxies, Universe, comets, asteroids, biographies, science project, nature study
Spring – Natural disasters, focus on three, global warming, science project for fair, nature study
Summer – Weather, mountains, valleys, maps, science project, nature study

5th grade
Fall – Asia, Africa, oceans, beaches, science project, nature study
Winter – Biographies, space, telescopes, science project, nature study
Spring – Global warming, prairies, rain forests, earthquakes, tsunamis, science project for fair, nature study
Summer – Mapping, fossils, rocks, shells, science project, nature study

6th grade
Fall – Africa, Asia, oceans, beaches, science project, nature study
Winter – Biographies, space, telescopes, science project, nature study
Spring – Global warming, prairies, rain forests, deserts, science project for fair, nature study
Summer – Mapping, fossils, rocks, shells, science project, nature study

7th grade
Fall – Europe, Oceania, exploration, space travel, science project, nature study
Winter – Mercury, Venus, Mars, telescopes, biographies, science project, nature study
Spring – Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, science project for fair, nature study
Summer – Mapping, fossils, rocks, shells, forests, jungles, science project, nature study

8th grade
Fall – North America, South America, exploration, space travel, science project, nature study
Winter – Mercury, Venus, Mars, telescopes, biographies, science project, nature study
Spring – Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, science project for fair, nature study
Summer – Mapping, fossils, forests, rain forests, jungles, science project, nature study

Biographies will be for the time period and science we are studying.
I would like to have "Science Nights" for family and friends to come over and have fun with science. My kids will do a project for these each month. The one in the spring will also be for the local homeschool science fair.
I'm working on our chemistry and physics plans.

Where are we going, part two

Alright, I must stop saying when I'm going to write stuff because I'm NEVER on time.





Now, for the second instalment it the renaissance and reformation of my homeschoool.





Science





My children's love for science has not died, instead it is continuing to blossom. I've looked at more science curricula and I can't find anything that I want. I really want to stick to the classical ed. cycles, biology, earth and space, chemistry, physics and include nature study, science projects for fairs and child led exploration. I'll start getting a plan but then I feel it won't work and that I'm failing my kids without a curriculum. I really like Jessica's (Trivium Academy) science by seasons plan I wish I weren't so stuck on the whole science cycle thing.


WOW!! I like the science by seasons plan. I feel like such and idiot, I've been trying to arrange my subjects into months and here I am saying that I'd like to do it by seasons. Seasons seems so much easier, I have more flexibility and time. I feel like I'm in control again. This is so GREAT!

:D :D :D



Spelling



Spelling is kind of like science, I was going happily along with Spelling Workout (SWO) and then I realize that it's just busy work. Some of the words my kids have been spelling just right for years and there are other words that never seem to come up in SWO but my kids are constantly spelling them wrong. I can't find a spelling curriculum I like so I'm going to try to be brave and make my own.

Through the week I'll look at dc's spelling when they write. When they spell a word wrong I will take note of it and then next week their spelling words will be word, I'm just worried that they'll only use words that they can spell. I asked about this on the WTM Boards and got some great responses, I'm in full planning mode for spelling.

Latin

I want Laura to start Latin next year and I'm debating which curriculum, Latin for Children or Latin's Not so Tough! I'm leaning towards LFC which is considerably more rigorous tha Latin's Not so Tough! I think she'll get bored with Level One, I could do Level Two but my main reason for LFC is that I really like the way it's laid out. The activity books, history readers and DVDs all make the lessons so fun that I can't imagine teaching Latin without them. Mariah and David are having success with Latin's Not so Tough! and Chelsea is having success with LFC, so I guess I should choose the one I like more.

Literature

I would like Mariah, David and Chelsea to do some more literature studies. I really like reading and discussing for the grammar years but now that they're older I think they need more. I like Lightning Literature but the hard thing is which level to do. I think both David and Chelsea could handle LL7, I have more of a problem with Mariah LL8 seems to boring, she's read all the books and their next courses are estimated for fall '08, but it's only an estimation. I don't want to be scrounging for something at last minute.

There's lots more to think about, plan and post about so be on the lookout for more!

Where are we going?

So much for Thursday! :D We had family over for Easter and, well, things got busy.

I've decided to take this week as a brake. I feel behind on everything. I haven't posted a weekly report in ages and Green Hour #5 needs to be written about. Most of all I need to decided what I want for my children in an education.
Before Mariah, Laura, James, David and Douglas joined the family I had no trouble with our cycles. Before I began nature study I had no doubt about what to do in science. Before I began teaching with more curricula I knew just what I wanted to do. Now, I'm at a loss.

Here are the ideas that have benn tearing through my brain recently:

History

My options, as far as I can see are:

1. Continue what I'm doing, teaching Canadian history and SOTW 3. Next year teach SOTW 1 and SOTW 4 so that we can stick to the cycles. OR continue with SOTW 3 and Canadian history. In the summer do a highly condensed version of SOTW 4 and start SOTW 1 in the fall. OR continue SOTW 3 and Canadian history and next year do only SOTW 4.
I don't like any of these ideas. I'm finding getting everything organized for two history lessons tiring and I find it splits up our family into the adopted kids and the non adopted kids which I'm trying to get away from.
If I continue with two cycles now I don't want to do that next year. That would mean doing either SOTW 4 which I don't want to do because we had a catastrophe with it this year or doing SOTW 1 which would mean that Mariah, David and Laura would have skipped a year.

2. Drop SOTW 3 and do only Canadian history. Start SOTW 1 next year.
I don't like this idea either. We've been enjoying our study of Canada but I'm very worried about April and May. I'm planning on covering the first European explorers to Canada to the present day in two months. There is no way we can get a rich, fun and informative study in such a short amount of time. I could spread it out into June but Chelsea is so eager to study government and I don't know where we'd fit that in.

3. Drop Canadian history and do only SOTW 3 but read Canadian books. Next year do SOTW 4 or do SOTW 4 in the summer and SOTW 1 next year.
I like the idea of dropping Canadian history. We have Canadian history books coming out our ears which we could ready without the formality of it being school work. All the kids would be studying the same period which would mean less stress on me and more of a family feeling for the kids. The only trouble is tha Chelsea did SOTW 3 last year and she might find it boring. I asked her and she said it was one of her favourite times in history and she wants to do it again but still wants to read all those great Canada books.
Then there's next year. I really don't want to do SOTW 4, I'll have an 8th grader, 6th, grader, 5th grader, 3rd, grader, two 1st graders, a 4yo who really wants to be a big kid and a toddler who is desperate for his mothers attention. I'm sure the 8th, 6th and 5th graders could cope but I sense chaos, tears and the words "I hate history." with the younger ones.
So, that means doing modern history over the summer and starting SOTW 1 in the fall. I'm compiling a list of "must read" modern history books which I'll post soon. This seems to be the best decision.

I just realised we could drop Canadian history now and do it next year but I'm eager to get back to our history cycles. The winter will be an excellent time to watch the Canada a People's History DVDs and sit by the fire and learn about our history. I've got veracious readers who amaze me with what they have learnt through books everyday. If supplied with the right resources they will be able to discover their history and that of Canada.

Science

Never, right from the start of homeschooling, have I thought that RS4K wasn't an excellent curriculum, the perfect one for us. I've been so content with them and recommended them to everyone. Now, they've been moved off our curriculum shelf.
They aren't he perfect curriculum, they aren't the one for us. I've discovered the beauty of nature study and child led science.
Since we began our nature study science has been the most popular subject at Morning Glory Academy. Our nature journals our stuffed and it seems someone needs a new one daily. My kids our outside in all weather, observing all things and have decided that they'd rather study birds than flowers. They're noses are always in some science book, whether its on marine biology or engineering, inventors or pansies. Chelsea has been writing reports of her own free will on every interesting scientific fact she learns about and Laura has been doing narrations on ever science book in the house.
More than anything else science is driving our homeschool.
But will it stay like this?
I'm not sure but I do now that I just can't teach from a science curriculum. I feel as though I've looked through everything and it all has something "wrong". The curricula I previously thought were for unschoolers only now seem to structured.
What am I going to do? Where is this going? I've been asking this question about science, Bible, spelling, grammar, writing, memory work, copy work, handwriting, literature and logic. The only things I feel in control over are math and history, which I'm not totally in control of.

Coming tomorrow, "Where are we going? 2"

Disaster!

Today was the first day back at "school" after about a two month break and a big shake up in our lives. And guess what it turned into? Disaster!
It was probably my fault, okay it WAS my fault. I thought we'd just jump into everything and it would be great. As it turns out, there's a bit more to teaching than just jumping in. I was using a lot of new curricula and teaching more kids and had more little ones to keep an eye on. I should have spent another week getting acquainted with what I was doing. Trouble is, it seemed like if we didn't start now we'd never get into the swing.
In the whole day we did Bible, reading and maybe some math or spelling. Then I realized it was time to stop.
Tomorrow will be better.
I am going to lighten the work load and not expect too much. Our subjects will be:
Bible
Math
History which we missed doing today
Reading
Music
Nature Study

I have chosen Bible, math, history and reading because are what I consider our core topics and driving forces of our homeschool.
Music which is violin or piano practice is on because both music teachers expect 5-7 day a week practice depending on skill and age level.
Nature study is on because I want to do Barb's Green Hour Challenge even though we are jumping in on assignment 4. This will get us outside and I've always loved the idea of a nature study. We were going to start today but didn't make it.
Compared with today it seems like a lot to do. Compared with what we "should" be doing it looks pretty easy:
Science - only nature study
Writing - only in history
Spelling - N0
Grammar - No
Music appreciation - No
Cultural cooking - No
French - No
Latin - No
Phonics - No
Handwriting - No
Logic - No

I think I can handle this.

More is not always better

What I want in a history curriculum:

Christian

Easy to use for multiple ages and makes history a family activity

Classical education approach

Easy to do activities

Flexible

Map work

Colouring pages

Makes history fun for everyone

Plays a central role in our schooling

Offers book suggestions but can be supplemented with other books

Reading is the main focus

Readable for parents and children



I'm pretty picky!:D

So back in January I decided that TOG would be the best choice for us. That was before our family grew considerably larger and recently I was thinking "I'm so glad I bought TOG. It's perfect for a large family." .

Today I sat down for a few hours and looked through every bit of TOG. What I'm thinking now is "More is not always better.".

We loved SOTW (Story of the World) volumes 1-3. Sure, SOTW 4 wasn't a hit but we won't be using it again for years and by then the kiddos will be older. The only reason I wanted to change to TOG was because Chelsea was getting older and I thought she would benefit from TOG. I'd heard great things about it, I'd looked at it on the web and thought it looked great. So, it must be great!

*Sigh*

I can see why people like TOG, it's got church history, philosophy, geography, writing, map work, activities...you name it. But it's all this stuff that's there that is driving me CRAZY!! I like to pick and choose from a variety of resources and curricula so I won't be using lots of stuff TOG has to offer. I then have to filter through and find what I do want and organize that, for six kids! Due to the fact of the various age and reading levels of my kids I'll have at least one child on each level. Lower Grammar, Upper Grammar, Dialect and Rhetoric. I find the thought exhausting.

The other thing I've been doing today is creating lesson plans for this week. Laura (7), David (10) and Mariah (12) are studying the American revolution using SOTW 3. Here's what's planned:
Monday:
Read Chapter 22 of SOTW: Revolution! Discontent in the British Colonies - All
Read about Boston Tea Party in supplementary books - All
Colour while listening to read alouds - Laura
Narration - All
Essay on origins of Boston Tea Party - Mariah
Mapwork - All
Have tea (if wanted) and homemade scones with homemade butter - Whole family
Copywork -All

Wednesday:
Finish Chapter 22 of SOTW - All
Supplementary reading - All
Colouring -Laura
Narration - All
Mapwork - All
Make original American flag with paper -All
Add paper feathers to our pens/pencils and write with a "quill pen" - All
Copywork - All

Friday:
Supplementary reading - All
Colouring - Laura
Essay on American revolution - Mariah
Ethics of war - Mariah and David (?)
Mapwork
Dress in clothing of the day - All
Poetry/Memorywork/Copywork: Paul Revere's Ride - Laura, listening and copywork, Mariah and David, copywork and memorywork
Review on lesson - All

I think it'll be great and I think Mariah and David will both receive an excellent history education without TOG.

So, is TOG for sale?
No way! There are lots of great ideas in TOG and I'm sure that if we don't use it as our main curriculum it will guide us when needed.

French school

We leave for France on Thursday! Boy, am I excited. :D
I'm working on my French and am fairly sure I'll be able to communicate our basic needs. Dh knows a family there and they have lots planned for us. We'll start in Paris and spend a week or so there. Then we'll head off to Normandy with some site seeing along the way.
This is a holiday, but we aren't totally dropping school.
We'll do math, grammar, spelling, handwriting, phonics and writing on the plane. I'm not assigning Chelsea writing, I just know she will. :D We'll read of course, and play educational games. I'm taking electricity, French-Canadian and Emily Carr themed books so we can still do a loose art appreciation, history and science studies. French will be on an all time high but we won't do Latin. No piano or yoga. We'll pray and read the Bible, but no real study. No country themed cooking, but we have an iPod loaded with classical music so maybe we'll do informal music appreciation.
I'm still trying to decide what books to take, I'd like to bring the library!
I'm excited! I know we'll be "behind" in our school work, but homeschooling is about FLEXABILITY. I'm going to put that word to use.

Should I buy?

I'm trying to decided if I should buy TOG or not. It goes up on price on February 1st but I'm also not totally sure I want to use TOG this year.

Think, think, think says Pooh Bear.

Rest of the year

I only planned on changing history. We were struggling through modern history and Canadian history seemed a better choice. But, I've been thinking and realized that we've changed a lot more than just history.
History - Switched from modern history to Canadian history. The plan for the rest of the year is:
January - Introduction to Canada
February - French Canadians
March - First Nations and Inuit
April - Discovery of Canada - Confederation
May - Confederation - present day
June - two weeks of Canadian government, one week of scientists and one week of athletes

If you're going "What? Why are the First Nations and Inuit after the French Canadians?" I"ll explain. My original plan was to go chronological along with First Nations/Inuit in Feb. But we'll be in France part of the time so I think French Canadians is a better fit.

Math - I finally clued in to the fact that Saxon 6/5 was too simple for Chelsea. She's loving Saxon 7/6 so much that she did lesson 4 on the weekend! :D
I've decided to buy the first Miquon book for Megan. I'm really excited about it and think she'll like the discovery approach. No more Saxon for her!

Art and music app. - I've been really happy with Harmony Fine Arts but have decided to go with our Canadian history study we should study Canadian artists. I still haven't got that all planed out but we're starting Emily Carr tomorrow. She'll be a good artist for us to start of with, mainly because she's local so there are lots of resources around.
I'm also dropping music app. which is something I never thought I'd do. I really enjoy it and so do the kids but for the rest of the school year we're going to stop. Instead we're doing COOKING! Were going to choose a country per week and make to meals/snacks/baking/cook something from that country. We're going alphabetically.
This week is Australia and we'll make pavlova (I tend to think of this as a New Zealand food but the kids are always looking for an excuse to have it!) and zucchini and vegetable slice.
Next week will be Belgium and make Belgium waffles and Belgium creamed potatoes
Then there's Canada (!) and we'll have pancakes and homemade, vegetarian poutine (Canada doesn't have much traditional food and I was getting desperate!) which I'm going to improvise a recipe for (this might turn into a chemistry class!).
Geography - We finished of Galloping the Globe and are focusing on Canadian geography.
Phonics - Cassidy is flying along with Explode the Code. I thought we'd get through Book A of the Get Set for the Code series but she's happily going along with book B.

I'm amazed at how confident I feel with all this different stuff because normally I like to have tradition and ease into new situations. But everything is going well. :D