Tentative Plans for 2011/12

We are moving back to Ohio in a few months. We've been in TN for 4 years and I am really going to miss it. Not to mention all of the new friends and loved ones that we will miss dearly!

I've only ever blogged in TN. I know that seems silly, but it will be a different experience. =) In my very first post I discussed why I preferred to homeschool in TN, so I won't go there again.

One thing that I absolutely loathe is preparing a Letter of Intent and Curriculum Outline. I only had to do it once, and we moved to TN before it was time for evaluations. Anyway, I'm done with that now and would like to share the outline. If you homeschool in Ohio please comment. (As a side note, I copied and pasted all of the descriptive info.)

        I.                     I. My Father’s World: Exploration to 1850 (www.mfwbooks.com)

a.       BIBLE

                                                               i.      Study the book of James using Boy, Have I Got Problems! (Harvest House Publishers) and memorize verses from James.

                                                             ii.      Be inspired by the stories of Christians from the past using Trial and Triumph (Canon Press) and In God We Trust (Chariot Victor Publishing), which focuses on the godly faith and character of early Americans.

b.      HISTORY and GEOGRAPHY

                                                              i.      Study world and U.S. history from the early European explorers of North America through 1850.

1.      The Last 500 Years (Usborne Books)

2.      George Washington’s World (Beautiful Feet Books)

3.      The Story of the World, Vol. 3 (Peace Hill Press)

                                                            ii.      Learn about U.S. presidents and U.S. geography with a brief trip through all 50 states.

                                                          iii.      Enjoy simple hands-on projects, map work, and timeline.

                                                           iv.      Study your own state (the final 4-6 weeks of the year) as you learn how to write a research paper.

3. SCIENCE

                                                              i.      Explore the world of plants and animals from a Christian perspective. Includes an introduction to taxonomy.

1.      Exploring Creation with Botany (Apologia Educational Ministries)

2.      The World of Animals (Answers in Genesis)

3.      The World of Animals (Parragon Publishing)

                                                            ii.      Focus on nature journaling in your local area as you study state history at the end of the school year.

4. ART and MUSIC

                                                              i.      Enjoy hands-on projects related to history.

                                                            ii.      Sing the great hymns of our faith and learn their stories, coordinated with this year’s history study, using Then Sings My Soul (Thomas Nelson).

                                                          iii.      Music appreciation lessons review music history and focus on Schubert, Mendelssohn and Chopin.

2. PHYSICAL EDUCATION and HEALTH
1. Daily exercise routine
2. Outdoor play
3. Instruction on Health basics (including, but not limited to, hygiene, first aid, safety and fire prevention.
3. MATH
1. Saxon Math 6/5 (Saxon Publishing) - advanced divisibility concepts; multiplication; integers; prime and composite numbers; powers; roots; probability; statistics; patterns and sequences; geometry and measurements; and ratios
2. Primary Math 4A (Singaporemath.com Inc.) - whole numbers, numbers to 100,000; rounding off numbers, factors, multiples, multiplication and division with 2-digit numbers and by 10; adding, subtraction, mixed and improper fractions; graphs, angles, perpendicular and parallel lines, area and perimeter and more.
3. Primary Math 4B (Singaporemath.com Inc.) - decimals to the thousandths; four operations of decimals; measures; solid figures; volume and more.
4. Primary Math 2A (Singaporemath.com Inc.) - numbers, comparing, and place value to 100, addition and subtraction with/without renaming, measuring length in meters, centimeters, yards, feet and inches, measuring weight in kilograms, grams, pounds, ounces, multiplication and dividing by 2 and 3.
5. Primary Math 2B (Singaporemath.com Inc.) - mental addition and subtraction, multiplying and division by 4, 5, and 10, money (US currency), fractions, time, capacity, geometry and area.
4. LANGUAGE ARTS (Including: GRAMMAR, READING, SPELLING and WRITING)
1. Learning Language Arts Through Literature – Tan (Common Sense Press) – spelling, reading, grammar, composition, research and study skills, higher order thinking skills, creative expression and penmanship
2. Learning Language Arts Through Literature – Purple (Common Sense Press) – spelling, reading, grammar, composition, research and study skills, higher order thinking skills, creative expression/games, penmanship
3. Learning Language Arts Through Literature – Red (Common Sense Press) – phonics, spelling, reading, grammar, composition, research and study skills, higher order thinking skills, creative expression/games, penmanship

We will be using the internet and library books for all subjects.

My Planbook

I've never been able to find the "perfect" planner for me. I've tried just about every pre-made planner ever published. In the end I ALWAYS end up printing out my own weekly sheets. So then I thought, "Why not take all of the different aspects that I like and combine them into one book?" And my planner was born...

The Cover - Oh, and I had it comb bound. I really do hate comb binding, but it's sort of, almost like spiral (my fav) in functionality, yet it's a bit forgiving if I need to add pages. It would be a pain, but it could be done.

Calendars -These are both from www.DonnaYoung.org

Artists/Musicians by Term -We school year-round so 1 Term is equivalent to 4 months. The numbered list is for the names of the pictures we will study.

Foreign Language - This sheet is similar to Tanglewood's Corebook plan sheet. This sheet is YELLOW because I will use it with more than one child.

Next, are 2 YELLOW Science planning sheets from the Tanglewood Corebook. There are no samples online, so I didn't think it would be right to show them here. It really is worth the $$ even if you just use the planning sheets.

Then there are 2 History sheets. One is YELLOW (more than one child) and the other is BLUE (Shark). On the backside of the BLUE sheet is another copy of the Foreign Language worksheet for Shark.

The last set of sheets are PINK (Kitten), ORANGE (Crow), and BLUE (Shark). These are also from the Tanglewood Corebook.

On the backsides I have printed a Reading List (from www.DonnaYoung.org). I think I'm going to use these to list the books I want them to read.

Then there are 6 weeks worth of my color coded planning pages. I tried making this a PDF and the colors didn't show up for some reason. Here's a link to the pages without color.

At the end of each six weeks I have color coded copies of the 6 Weeks Report from Tanglewood's Corebook. On the backside of each sheet is a copy of a Journal page from www.DonnaYoung.org.

Then there is a GREEN (Mr Krabs) sheet with lines. (Also from www.DonnaYoung.org) The backside has a Reading List. I will use his as a completed list of everything we read during the 6 weeks.

I have 6 sets of the previous sheets. Term 1, 1st Six Weeks - Term 1, 2nd Six Weeks - Term 2, 1st Six Weeks... and so on...

Planning My CM Education

I bought the Planning Your Charlotte Mason Education ebook a while ago. Just this week I started to really get down to business with it. I just have to say that it really really helped me break the year up and set some goals. Even if you're not planning a CMish school year, it would still be an invaluable resource.

I'm not going to go into great detail (since that would give away the whole book) but I'll tell a little about what I did.

From the Table of Contents:
Step 1: Big Picture
Step 2: Your Year
Step 3: Your Term
Step 4: Your Week
Step 5: Your Day

BIG PICTURE: This helped me put everything into perspective. I laid everything out that was required for graduation, or that was just important to me.

YOUR YEAR: First of all, I had to find a calendar that I really liked. (Why do I have to be so picky?) So after a while of searching I made my own.
eta: I've had a few requests for the calendar...
Blank Calendars: Aug 2009 - Jul 2010 or Sep 2009 - Aug 2010



The orange boxes are scheduled days off. I used this chart to make sure that our year was a more balanced, year round approach.

YOUR TERM: I broke the year and curricula into terms/quarters/semesters.

YOUR WEEK: Basically used the info on the website, but a little more in depth.

YOUR DAY: I just recently (also this week) put together my MOTH schedule, so I already knew which hours I would do school. All I had left to do was schedule those 4 hours.

I highly recommend this book!

Weekly Schedule

I noticed that I fell WAY behind looping, so this is my more structured schedule. I've left Fridays wide open for stuff that still needs to be accomplished for the week. After we move and are back to school in full swing, I'm going to try the suggested schedule in the CtG manual first, but this is everything that needs to be finished each day. Much easier for me to comprehend. :)

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Magazines & Newspape information mythology

My Wish List for 09/10

As Tax Return is right around the corner, I've been thinking and re-thinking next year's curriculum choices. I'm pretty sure that this is the finalized plan.

Please let me know if it looks like I've forgotten something!!

Explorer's Bible Study:
*B* & *C*
~ Bible Discovery: In the Beginning (Genesis)
*T*
~ Bible Foundations: Old Testament Overview

History:
The Story of the World, Vol. 1: Ancient Times
~ with Activity Guide
Usborne Encyclopedia of World History
Life in Ancient Egypt Coloring Book
Life in Ancient Greece Coloring Book
Life in Ancient Rome Coloring Book

History Read Alouds:
Mara, Daughter of the Nile
The Children's Homer
The Bronze Bow
plus other library books

Science:
Ancient Science
R.E.A.L. Science - Life, Level 1 (still not 100% on this)
The Kingfisher First Encyclopedia of Animals (mainly for *T*)

Math:
*B* ~ Saxon 5 / 4 with D.I.V.E. CD
*C* ~ Saxon 3 Home Study Kit
*T* ~ Saxon 1 Home Study Kit

Language Arts:
*B*
~ LLATL - Orange
~ Spectrum Writing, Grade 4
*C*
~ LLATL - Yellow
~ Spectrum Writing, Grade 3
*T*
~ Language Lessons for Little Ones, vol. 2*
~ Plaid Phonics A (maybe, I'll have to actually look at LL first)

Cursive Writing/Picture Study:
*B* & *C* ~ Pictures in Cursive*

Latin (*B* & *C*):
Matin Latin 1 TE
& Student Books

French (*B* & *C*):
Ecoutez, Parlez! Level 1
& workbook

Memorization:
Living Memory

Typing (*B*):
Typing Instructor for Kids

* Queen Homeschool products are linked to the website. You have to click on the appropriate category (listed on the left of the webpage) to see the actual product.

Putting My *LOOP* Together

I do have a toddler who gets jealous at school time, so we don't loop for a predetermined "chunk" of time. I do as much as I can, take a break, do more, break... and so on...

This thread at the Well Trained Mind Forum is how it all began! Here are the steps I took in creating my schedule:

*I listed every single subject that I would ideally like to accomplish in one week's time.

*I weeded out what could be done independently.

*I decided what order to to put them on my flow chart.

*Then I had to figure out how to write out my plans. I just decided to write it out as I will do it. (Except our Read Aloud is done before bed.) I cross it out as I go and continue to the next box. Simple.

I decided to plan 4 full days worth of work and allow Friday as an "overflow" day. Here's an example of how a week might flow:

Monday ~ Bible, LA, Math, Adv in MFW

Tuesday ~ Bible, Latin, Zoology, Picture Study, LA, Math

Wednesday ~ Bible, Adv in MFW, Latin, Zoology, Music, LA, Math, Adv in MFW (Yes, we've done 1 subject 2x in one day.)

Thursday ~ Bible, Latin, Zoology, Art Adv, LA, Math

Friday ~ Bible, Adv in MFW, Latin, Zoology, FREE CRAFT! (not shown above)

I do alter the above as needed. Sometimes listening to our music selection works best during lunch. So, I do it and cross it off.

The Loop is Scheduled

Here's Adv week 11 all worked out with the loop. Btw, you can view a sample of week 11 at MFW. I'll update this post when I've got the Independent work all figured out.

Loop Schedule ~ draft

This is what I've come up with. If you loop (or even if you don't) and you notice something, PLEASE PLEASE comment.

I haven't put together an Independent Folder for the loop yet, but I guess it won't be too much different than what we already do.

My Goal is to get through 4 cycles in a 5 day period. Does that sound reasonable?

In VM Hillyer's Kindergarten at Home, there is a list of age appropriate independent activities.

ETA: Jump here to see how I came up with this!

What is Zoology?

After much thought and debate, I've decided to add Zoology 1 to our curriculum this year. This is the long term plan:

08/09 - Adventures in MFW; Zoology 1

09/10 - Exploring Countries and Cultures; Zoology 2

10/11 - Creation to the Greeks; Zoology 3

11/12 - Rome to the Reformation; Astronomy (included)

12/13 - Exploration to 1850; Botany (included)

13/14 - 1850 to Modern Times; ??

You get the picture, right?

What is Zoology? ~ Lesson 1 (Free Download Here)

Day 1: "What is Zoology?" p.1
DO: Make a list of "flying creatures."

"Classification" p.2
DO: Discuss drawing in text

Day 2: "Latin" p.4
"Binomial Nomenclature" p.5
DO: Try This! p.5
(a) mnemonic phrase: KPCOFGS (b) look up Latin names (c) explain/narrate taxonomy and binomial nomenclature.

Day 3: "Flight" p.6
"Uplifting Pressure" p.6
DO: Try This! p.7 ~ experiment

Day 4: "Airfoil" p.8
"What a Drag" p.8
DO: explain lift, thrust, and drag

Day 5: "Your Notebook" p.9
DO: gather pages, put in notebook

"Mid-Lesson Experiment" p.10
DO: experiment

Day 6: "Habitats" p.12
COPY: All an animal really needs in its habitat is water, food, and shelter.

"Instinct" p.14
COPY: Instinct is a built in need to do something for survival.

Day 7: "Extinction" p.15
COPY: Animals become extinct when every single one dies out and there are no longer any of them living on earth.

"Extinction Errors" p.17

Day 8: "What Do You Remember?" p.18
DO: Make a drawing for notebook pages
DO: Make a Field Notebook

Day 9: "Project" p.19
DO: Nature Scavenger Hunt (list on p.20)

**I will edit my plans as the weeks progress to more closely match what was actually done.**

Daily Work Folders

I decided to come up with some independent work for the older two, while *T* and I work on Kindergarten. They said that they love it because it feels like they're doing homework! 

In the pockets are:

1. Assignment Sheet (example below)

2. Any worksheets needed

3. Extra lined paper

4. Assigned Reading Book 

When the assignments are completed, they "check" the box. In my first free moment I look over what they've done and put the date next to their check marks. (Writing the date is my way of knowing that I've checked something. I do it for all subjects.)

Basically, it has an assigned reading and a page from Adventures in Phonics. *C* also has his copywork assignment from Sonlight LA. The only "limit" is that it has to be completed before they go to bed.

Click here to download a PDF version.

Scheduling ADV and MFW K

I've been mulling over how to schedule Adventures in My Father's World and My Father's World Kindergarten. This is what I've come up with, but we'll see how it works out.

6:00 ~ Mama gets up, does morning routine

7:00 ~ Kids get up, eat, do morning chores

8:00 ~ 100 Chart & count sticks
Calendar- B & C: copy day, month 30, 2008.
- T: write number in correct box

8:30 ~ Bible lesson from ADV

8:45 ~ Math

9:30 ~ History/Science from ADV

10:15 ~ Handwriting

10:30 ~ Language Arts
- B: LLATL - C: PLL

11:00 ~ Lunch, afternoon chores, L-nap

12:15 ~ Latin

12:30 ~ Reading
- T: MFW K
- B & C: Assigned Reading, Phonics/Spelling, Book Basket

2:00 ~ Wake daddy up, break until after daddy goes to work.

6:30 ~ K Activity; Baths/Snacks; evening chores

8:00 ~ Read Aloud & Bed

Friday will be Library Day, since ADV doesn't schedule any reading/activities. I still haven't figured out exactly what to do with *L*, I guess we'll work it out somehow.

Planning Ahead (08/09)

With tax return right around the corner, I had to do some serious planning for next year.

History:
Mystery of History v.1

Science:
God's Design for Life Series: Animal Kingdom, Human Body, World of Plants

Latin:
Prima Latina: I still haven't decided if I'm going to get the DVDs. I probably will, though. I'd hate to not get them while I've got the money, and then decide I want/need them later.

Math:
Singapore Primary Math for *B* and *C*

I'm not sure exactly how far they will make it next year so I'd like to be prepared through level 3, just in case.

I have the HIGs to 3B and texts through 3A ~ still need text 3B and workbooks

Singapore Essential Math Kindergarten A/B for *T*

Language Arts:
*B* has just begun LLATL - Yellow. We may or may not begin the Orange book next year. *C* may or may not start Yellow sometime next year. We'll wait to see on those.

I would like to have *B* start Imitation in Writing - Aesop's Fables. I may be asking too much though.

*C* will continue Explode the Code, I will buy those as we come to them.

*T* finish 100 Easy Lesons and continue to work on reading.

I'd like an Art curriculum. I was thinking of Art Adventures at Home. I got a pretty good look at it before we moved to TN. (It was at my library in OH)

I'm positive that something is missing. I just can't put my finger on it.

Time For A Change

Things haven't been going badly. I just don't feel like I'm covering enough. So this is what we're doing...starting Monday. :)

KONOS: I purchased a used, older edition of Volume 1. I've already planned our first week. It's going to be so much fun!! We're starting with Obedience. The next few weeks our objective is to learn WHO to obey. 1. God, 2. Parents, 3. Other Authroities.

A Child's History of the World: Even though KONOS includes history, I think it's important to learn history chronologically. We will continue to read through CHOW, and then begin MOH 1.

Singapore Primary Math: This will remain the same. B will start 1B by the end of the week. C is progressing nicely through 1A.

B: We're moving along in English For The Thoughtful Child 1. I would like a tad bit more teacher instruction, but I don't want to change again just yet. After she's finished we will probably start Learning Language Arts Through Literature Yellow. Her handwriting is atrocious! (wow, no red underlining I think I spelled it right :) In a few weeks we will begin Handwriting Without Tears. She wants to learn cursive so I'm going to start her there.

C: His phonics work is going well. I think he's learning more from Explode the Code than from Ordinary Parent's Guide. We'll take a break from OPG for a while and see what happens. He's also been reading Days Go By (Pathway Reader) with B.

T: We're going through a Preschool Workbook I picked up (at Staples for 50 cents!) and also Get Ready for The Code, Book A. I love the Explode the Code Primers!!

I think I've covered it all. I can't wait to see how it all pans out!

Week 8 Report

I hate to say that we only got about 1/2 done this week. I found lots of mice "stuff" and I went on a cleaning kick.

B passed her spelling pretest again. She needs more practice in subtraction before we can really move on to the next section of 1A. I did make some number bond flash cards, she likes looking at them. I also made some Number Bond copywork pages that I'll start having her do next week.

C was extremely excited to start his new math book. He's doing very well. It's helping his reading along too, because he wants to read his own directions (like his sister does.)

We finished "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" so I let them watch the movie. I had forgotten how different it was. Poor kids were confused. :) "I thought Jenner wasn't in the book." They just couldn't get over that one. *My* main question is: If the rats don't age normally why was Nicodemus so OLD, and Jenner was fairly young.

This is why I hate it when I watch a movie that was a book. The only movie that I've ever truly been satisfied with is "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardorbe."

I finally got my books from CBD and I will be starting our Science and Earth books next week. I did some researching on lapbooks today and I really want to do them. I think the kids will enjoy it.