CURRICULUM CHOICES FOR 2021-2022
12th grade Literature and Composition-- 1 credit --I decided to wing it this year. There are so many books that we want to read and I haven't found a program that has what I am looking for. I am also considering putting MarioFan into an online semester class with Outschool so he gets to experience someone new teaching this topic since I have always done it with him. MarioFan and the entire family are putting together a book list. He will also have writing assignments. As the year progress I will post what books, poems and short stories we have read.
 We include vocabulary |
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| I have the old Fix It program for grammar but it works for us. |
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| We also do one page of easy grammar every day! |
Physics -- 1 credit -- Outschool class, we really enjoyed the Chemistry teacher last year through this program so we are going to take her physics class.
Math -- 1 credit-- Teaching textbooks Pre-Calculus.
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| I have the book for the old version but I will be purchasing the newest version online. MarioFan like to have the workbox to look at while doing the online version, he finds going back and forth on the screen to access the book annoying. They two programs don't always match up but he prefers it this way |
Social Justice -- .5 credit -- Being taught by another Mom we are using this program that we downloaded for free and (She has created her own program- updates will be in my school update posts) I know she took another course through her local library and will be bringing in other resources to the class.
Finance-- .5 credit -- I plan on using this resource and it is a video teaching program so I am hoping I don't have to do much to fill in the gaps. also being taught with MarioFan's friend
Cyber Security-- 1 credit -- MarioFan is very interested in learning more about this topic so I found an online program through Code HS and there are people he can contact should he have difficulties. Since I know nothing about this topic I paid the extra to get that service.
Piano --.5 credit -- private weekly tutor
Driver's ed-- .5 credit -- Over the summer he attended a driving camp where they went over the rules of the road and he passed his driving permit test! Now he is taking driving lesson from a retired police officer. In order to take the MO driving test he needs a total 60 hours for on the road driving in all weather conditions and day/night time driving. We are planning on him getting his license by next spring
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| Over the summer we went over proper studying skills with MarioFan and his friend. |
2020-2021 Curriculum choices-- 11th grade
I find myself only having to home school one child this year, since my daughter is going off to college next week! I have been working on putting together MarioFan's course work and I think we have made all of the decisions and I have order all of the supplies/curriculum we will need. I do allow MarioFan to have some input but there are some things he just has to do:)!
So without further ado our plan for this year!
11th grade curriculum choices.
English (1 credit) --We are using Lightening Literature focusing on British literature this year. I am also going to add in some Shakespeare plays and sonnets. I will be using the site: Course hero and their study guides in addition to the Lightening Literature program. I found out about Course Hero last year and we used it quite a bit and love their videos and analysis of the novels/plays. I will also be including vocabulary and using a grammar program
Vocabulary -- 11th grade World wise
Grammar Easy Grammar 11th grade
Science (1 credit )-- Chemistry which will be done online through Outschool and will include labs and tests. I will also supplement with Crash Course videos if they are needed. I also purchased the great courses video series on Chemistry last year so it will be available if more teaching is needed for certain areas.
Math (1 Credit)-- We are using Teaching textbooks
Algebra 2 as it seems to work with MarioFan.
Economics (.5 credit)--We are doing this class also through outschool. This class is being done the first semester. I will be using Crash course videos for Economics to supplement in addition to a few other books that will help beef up the course and make it worth half credit.
I find myself only having to home school one child this year, since my daughter is going off to college next week! I have been working on putting together MarioFan's course work and I think we have made all of the decisions and I have order all of the supplies/curriculum we will need. I do allow MarioFan to have some input but there are some things he just has to do:)!
So without further ado our plan for this year!
11th grade curriculum choices.
English (1 credit) --We are using Lightening Literature focusing on British literature this year. I am also going to add in some Shakespeare plays and sonnets. I will be using the site: Course hero and their study guides in addition to the Lightening Literature program. I found out about Course Hero last year and we used it quite a bit and love their videos and analysis of the novels/plays. I will also be including vocabulary and using a grammar program
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| I was lucky to get this free so am just need to buy the books. I did decide to skip some of the books (as they wouldn't appeal to MarioFan--like Jane Eyre) so I can fit in more Shakespeare plays and sonnets. |
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| This is my Shakespeare book from High school! I still have all my notes and remember loving this class in High school because I had an amazing teacher who taught it! Hope I can teach it as well as she did 30+ years ago! |
Vocabulary -- 11th grade World wise
Grammar Easy Grammar 11th grade
Science (1 credit )-- Chemistry which will be done online through Outschool and will include labs and tests. I will also supplement with Crash Course videos if they are needed. I also purchased the great courses video series on Chemistry last year so it will be available if more teaching is needed for certain areas.
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| the class is using this book and will be done in a 3 part series of classes. total cost for the class is about $600 |
Economics (.5 credit)--We are doing this class also through outschool. This class is being done the first semester. I will be using Crash course videos for Economics to supplement in addition to a few other books that will help beef up the course and make it worth half credit.
US Government (.5 credit)-- MarioFan really loved the Economics teacher on Outschool so we elected that he take his class on US government -- yay one less thing for me to teach:)
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The
curriculum also suggests some movies to watch and books to read that
are related to learning more about our system of government
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| I also have this video series that we will be looking into as well. |
ELECTIVES this year will include:
Sociology (.5 credit)--I am using the following book and will be supplementing with Crash course videos and additional readings.
Electronics/computer skills(1 credit) -- we are using 42 electronics and are on book D. This program also includes python coding.
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| Supplies came in and he will be building a moving robot car that takes pictures. |
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| I also order a soldering kit and have several LED kits that he will learn to solder together. |
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| Additional soldering supplies and soldering mat. |
Spanish 3 (1 credit)-- this one is a tough one as we are not going to be attending Co-op this year due to the virus. So I have narrowed down, but have not selected which course of action we will take. Currently looking at Outschool Spanish classes or possible Spanish Homeschool Academy or a private tutor. I am in the process of talking to several people to determine which on will work for us.
Piano (.5 credit)-- MarioFan is continuing private tutoring sessions and participates in several competitions each year.
Total credits for this year will be 6.5 credits.
If we have time we will look into doing a personal Finance class for .5 credits but I may hold off until next year. If you have any curriculum suggestions for personal finance let me know in the comments below.
| Someone gave me this program but I am still exploring other options as I am not a huge fan of Dave Ramsey. |
MarioFan opted not to take driver's education this year wanting to wait until his senior year! Since his sister, Firedrake is taking the spare car with her to college and both my husband and my car are not 100% paid off so we are happy he decided to wait a year;)!
We have another packed year and I am still fine tuning my lesson plans/outline for the year. We don't plan on beginning until the end of August after we get Firedrake settled in college which will be the middle of August. I really foresee me not being super involved in a lot of his schooling this year. Last year was a real turning point and he demonstrated that he was more than able and willing to do a lot of his work on his own and he did it well. I will probably only need to teach Literature for the year and US government next semester and just assist as needed for all the other subjects.
2019-2020 Curriculum Choices
I am down to just one child who is full time homeschooled. MarioFan is going into 10th grade and will go to Co-op once a week. Firedrake is dual enrolled in the local community college (she only needs 4 classes) for her Senior year in High school. She will only be doing piano and Japanese both are with a private tutors at home. So here is the breakdown for our school year.
MarioFan 10th Grade -- 7 credits total
English -- 1 credit which includes the following:
grammar-- We are going to use Easy Grammar 10th grade
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| We are trying this for the first year this year and will see how MarioFan likes it |
vocabulary--Worldly Wise 10th grade
still waiting for this book to come in
American Lightning Literature and Composition
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We are doing the second half of E.O. Wilson's Life on Earth which is free on iBooks. My husband has already created a syllabus and questions for each chapter along with tests. He will be teaching this class while I will be creating some labs to go with the chapters.
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| We did books 1, 2 and 3 last year and called it biology I. We plan to complete books 4, 5, 6 and part of 7 this year for biology II. |
I am going to use a mixture of US history Crash course curriculum and other resources as needed. History is one area where I do not follow a traditional school program. I do not test in this area as I believe knowing The Who, What, and Why of history, from all sides and point of views, is far more important than memorizing dates.
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| I printed out the teacher guide and only the student worksheets and placed them all in a binder |
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| I will be choosing which additional research and projects we will do as we go along. |
Math -- 1 credit
Geometry -- Teaching Textbooks
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| I have an older version which someone gave to me. I may need to get the upgrade one as MarioFan does like to have access to the solutions on the same CD's. We will see how this works out for us this year |
42 Electronics continues with more advance electronics and introducing Python programming. We hope to complete book B, C and D this year in order to earn a full credit
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| Packet C is being released this month and Packet D is supposed to be released by December. |
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| MarioFan enjoyed book A last year which concentrated a little more on electronics and a intro to coding |
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| the next few books continues with electronics and a lot more python coding |
We are doing this with a friend and we plan to use two Great courses to help design the class.
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| We will be also be attending a few musical performances this year though our coop and the symphony school performances which are held every year. |
https://bucketdrumming.net/join/
https://www.bucketdrumming101.com/hey-beginning-bucket-drummers
I have already bought the bucket and the drum sticks, just need to research it a bit more before school starts.:) Best of all the entire kit was under $10!! Although the subscription to above programs will cost a bit.
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| I am kind of excited about trying this, hoping the two boys will enjoy it too:) |
Piano/theory -- .5 credit private tutor weekly along with additional piano performance throughout the year.
Spanish 2 -- 1 credit Co-op class
Kung Fu -- .5 credit Co-op class
Firedrake 12th grade -- total of 5.5 credits
First semester college classes chosen are, she will be attending college on Tuesday and Thursdays and will be working a minimum of 15-20 a week. We are excited to find out that Firedrake has already earned 6 college credits in her Junior year of high school.
Intermediate Algebra This is the one area we are slightly behind in in our homeschool program so she needs to complete this course before she can move on to College Algebra next semester. I am told this is really high school level Algebra II just not called that at the college. Unfortunately this class credits will not transfer to college of her choice but it is the price we pay for falling behind in this area:(
English Composition II-- since she scored so high on the ACT she was able to skip English Comp I class
Piano -- private tutor weekly
Japanese -- private tutor weekly
The goal for the Second semester is to take College Algebra and possibly sociology
That is our school schedule for the 2019-2020 calendar year. I always post a mid term update on how we are progressing around January:)
2018-2019 Curriculum choices
We are entering our 9th year of homeschooling! This year Firedrake has returned to High school for 5 classes. She will only be working on her Music and Japanese at home for credit. Even though she is in Public High School she will still be earning a Homeschool diploma due to the rules of our school district. I am not at all worried about that hurting her chances of getting into college should she decide to go that route.
MarioFan will continue to be homeschool, although we did consider having him try a single class at the local High School but due to our coop schedule decided not to enroll him in any public school classes at this time. We may consider it in the future.
Firedrake (11th grade) 7 credits
Attending public high school for the the following classes
Geometry
AP Literature
Chemistry
Economics
US government
US government
Drama
Mythology
Driver's education
Mythology
Driver's education
At home she will be working with private tutors for
Japanese
Piano and music theory
MarioFan (9th grade) 7.5 credits
Algebra 1 -- using Teaching textbooks
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| MarioFan did well with this program last year so we are using it again. My only complaint is there are not additional practice problems when we do hit a snag in a lesson. I did have to look around for additional resources for a few lessons when we did pre algebra. That is something I wish the company would address! |
English -- Some is done at coop with another family and some we do at home
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| Lightening Literature we do this with another family concentrating on literature and various writing techniques |
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MarioFan and I will be working on this on our own at home, book two of Fix It grammar from IEW. I bought this book a couple of years ago and I have heard the program has since changed but I will use the old program since it is on my book shelf:)
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| We will do Vocabulary at home |
Spanish 1 -- Coop class not sure what book they will be using for this class. He will also continue with a private tutor with outschooling weekly. We are doing this to get in more practice!
World History -- I will be incorporating Crash Course World History online course as well as having him read Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond. I am creating my own lesson plan for this topic and we will be pulling from a lot of resources as needed. Testing will not occur in this class as I prefer papers and projects completed to understand the who, what and whys of history. Dates can always be looked up in my opinion and see no need to memorize them.
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Biology 1- EO Wilson Biology of Life book
Well this is the earliest I have ever changed a curriculum but after much talk and deliberation we decided to begin Biology 1 instead of geoscience for MarioFan this year. My husband and I went back and forth with this decision all summer! On my curriculum post we decided geoscience but now after several more weeks of debating we switched back to biology. Since school is starting next week (full schedule). We are now committed, I hope:). My husband and I will be teaching this subject together using the free book from apple iBooks and it will include labs. As we did with my daughter we will be splitting these 7 books into 2 years concentrating on books 1-4 books this year and books 4-7 next year.
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| We will be including labs for this using some from the book and some I will do from other resources. Testing will occur in this course! |
Health -- I am using this book and will be supplementing with videos as needed.
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| I am creating my own lesson plans using this book as a spine. |
Music -- Continuing with private piano tutor who also works on music theory.
Computer -- We will be trying Outschool this year and using several of their online classes.
Outschool is a new to me online school with private tutor or small classes that can be done at home. We took private Spanish tutoring course this summer and enjoyed it so we are going to try one of their classes. Pricing is not to bad for the classes which is a plus for us.
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| He is looking forward to this 16 week class and our Arduino kit came in on time! |
For Firedrake Public school begins in less than 2 weeks and for MarioFan coop begins in less than 4 weeks!
Curriculum choices for 2017-2018
Firedrake -- 10th grade total of 8 credits earned this year
PE/Health (.5 credit for each)-- we are participating in the program couch to 5K and circuit training at home. Our goal is to participate in a 5K race this fall. She is also reading and working through the book Lifetime Health by Holt. I also found a great online course which teaches first aid and CPR which she will be completing. Check it out here. http://www.firstaidforfree.com We have already started working on this subject this summer with the hopes to wrapping up with the required hours by the mid September, if not sooner.
Geosciences (1 credit)- going to do this with Dad this year. My husband is a geologist and plans to delve deeply into this topic and will use this Glencoe book as a spine. This is one topic my husband is planning and I don't have too:) He did amazing teaching biology the last two years:).
World Literature I and II (1 credit)--We will be using Lightening Literature and I am going to use their plan as describe in the books and try to keep us on schedule for the year.
Vocabulary --Worldly Wise
World History (1 Credit)-- I am creating my own world history program using Crash Course World History and the following book as my spine for this class.
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| I read this book this summer and just loved it. It really gives so thoughts to why things are they way they are. I may not agree with everything but it will be interesting to discuss as a family. My husband read this book years ago and love it! |
Japanese 1B (1 Credit)-- with a private tutor using the book below Firedrake has already spent a year working on Japanese with this tutor. She has already completed 3 years of Spanish but decided she didn't want to continue:(
Piano and music theory (.5 credit) -- with a private tutor
Art (.5 credit)-- She will be taking lessons at coop once a week with the art teacher who will be designing a specific class just for her, working on the skills she still needs to improve on.
Psychology (.5 credit) Public high school 1st semester
Science Fiction (.5 credit) Public High School 2 semester
Algebra 1 (1 credit) public high school --the one area where I feel I have failed my daughter, I am just not able to teach the higher math and my daughter really struggled trying to figure it out herself so we thought and hope going to a class with a teacher 5days a week will help her be successful with this topic and be able to move on.
MarioFan -- 8th grade
English -- We will be working on Lightening Literature 1. I plan in doing this with a friend and her son. We will be getting together weekly to do a class and then the boys will work on their own during the week for writing assignments and homework
Vocabulary-- we will continue with the book Wordly Wise, this book only has 20 lessons so we will be spacing out this topic for the whole year in conjunction with our Literature program
Growing with Grammar--This is the last book in this series and we like this program and he can do it independently. I am hoping that once this book is completed we will no longer need a grammar program in high school.
All about Spelling book 7-- last book in the series (we have done them all) MarioFan is a natural speller but I do like these books. Once this book is finished we will not need a spelling program in high school
Pre-Algebra --I am torn here. I have used Math U See for many years and do like the program, esp since the answer book gives a complete break down on how to solve each problem (which helps a math phobia like me) However my oldest really lost the enthusiasm for math and struggled mightily with algebra last year and I am not sure if it was the math program or something else. I ended up buying a used Teaching Text book to use but I really don't like the way the answers are layed out in the teacher book (it doesn't break down the problem--so it will not be of much use to me, should I need help). I might use a mix of both books and see which one my son gravitates more to for his learning style (which is completely different from his sister)
Science--I am going to use these three books as a spine for the Science this year. MarioFan loves science and has requested more science experiments!! I plan to mostly focus on genetics, evolution and cell biology. I am throwing in a bit of physics and chemistry too, because they have the coolest experiments;)
Geography--We will be using this work book for geography. MarioFan loves maps and learning where countries are so this appeals to him. I find the book a bit dry but he liked the one we used last year so we are going to use this one this year.
World History-- I am choosing for the first time to use a text book for this topic. I usually hate text books for history as they sugar coat a lot of history and whitewash events. I prefer to find alternative resources and create my own curriculum, however this year I am going to be really pushed for time due to our oldest returning part time to High school. I have decided to use the following text book as a basic spine for our world history but I do intend to find additional resources to try to make it more even in the recounting of history.
Computer-- We are using the program Kid Coder Visual Basics MarioFan has already started this program over the summer and is halfway done. We have used this company for several classes and I like that MarioFan can do them independently, as I know nothing about computers! Plus the customer service is excellent!
Spanish advance intermediate-- taking at local coop, trying out a new teacher, fingers crossed that it is successful.
Art -- Using Meet the Masters program and meeting weekly with a friend to work together on this program with our boys.
Piano and music theory--We use a private tutor
PE -- couch to 5 K and circuit training at home with the goal to participate in a 5K race this fall
Curriculum Choices for the School year 2016-2017
9th Grader (total 7.5 credits)
History: She will be doing a history class at our coop focusing on early American history (we have already covered that in the past two years) and at home we will be focusing on the later part of history 1920's to modern day. I create my own history program and will continue to do so for High school. Doing it this way will allow me to make this a credit for American History for the year.
Literature: Will be done at coop and will be focusing on American Literature. The coop using Hewit and Packard Lighting as it base. There is plenty of writing, grammar and reading in this class so I will not be adding any thing extra.
Spanish level 2: Will also be done at coop
Japanese intro/level 1: we have hired a private tutor as this is an interest my daughter has. We will be counting this as an elective this year.
Math: Algebra 1 using Math U see -- we have used this program from the beginning but I have heard it gets more difficult to follow in the higher levels so we shall see if it continues to work for us. I will admit this is the point where Math sort of kicks my butt and I freeze up. So here is hoping I can relearn it enough to help my child, otherwise my husband will have to pitch in here as well.
Science: Biology level 2 and we are using EO Wilson free online books from apple iBooks and we design our own curriculum. using these books. My husband will continue to teach this subject this year! We have research these books and feel confident that they met a high standard and can be used for Bio 1 and Bio 2 -- we used the first three books last year and counted that as Bio 1, this year we will complete the last four books and count it as Bio 2.
Art: Drawing 2 to be taken at coop this year
Music: Continuing with private Piano tutor this year
PE: Fencing club daughter wants to learn Saber fencing
History: She will be doing a history class at our coop focusing on early American history (we have already covered that in the past two years) and at home we will be focusing on the later part of history 1920's to modern day. I create my own history program and will continue to do so for High school. Doing it this way will allow me to make this a credit for American History for the year.
Literature: Will be done at coop and will be focusing on American Literature. The coop using Hewit and Packard Lighting as it base. There is plenty of writing, grammar and reading in this class so I will not be adding any thing extra.
Spanish level 2: Will also be done at coop
Japanese intro/level 1: we have hired a private tutor as this is an interest my daughter has. We will be counting this as an elective this year.
Math: Algebra 1 using Math U see -- we have used this program from the beginning but I have heard it gets more difficult to follow in the higher levels so we shall see if it continues to work for us. I will admit this is the point where Math sort of kicks my butt and I freeze up. So here is hoping I can relearn it enough to help my child, otherwise my husband will have to pitch in here as well.
Science: Biology level 2 and we are using EO Wilson free online books from apple iBooks and we design our own curriculum. using these books. My husband will continue to teach this subject this year! We have research these books and feel confident that they met a high standard and can be used for Bio 1 and Bio 2 -- we used the first three books last year and counted that as Bio 1, this year we will complete the last four books and count it as Bio 2.
Art: Drawing 2 to be taken at coop this year
Music: Continuing with private Piano tutor this year
PE: Fencing club daughter wants to learn Saber fencing
7th grader
History: I provide our own resources for history and we will continue to work on history from 1920's onto the modern era. I use books, videos, movies and text books to make this curriculum
Spanish: Advance intermediate class taken at coop.
Math: Math U see Zeta
Science: I create my own science program. This year my son ask for more science experiments so I will be pulling out every science kit I have on the shelf (and never used) and we will be completing many experiments and working on creating a science class of our own. I will probably have him keep a science journal of our experiments but I am still working out the details. I also have several science field trips planned. We will also be learning about simple machines using a K'nex kit I purchased last year.
Art: done at coop
Music: Private Piano lesson continuing
PE: MarioFan attends different sport activities at a local club weekly
Computer skills: We are continuing Kid Coder an online Homeschool computer class
Minecraft Classes: we are doing several Minecraft courses throughout the year that are fun but also educational often focusing on geography, history, or science.
English includes the following:
Reading: Lots of books to improve comprehension, vocabulary etc will be chosen this year, some related to our history lesson, others will just be books for fun. We will also be doing a mini book club with a friend while at coop in-between classes. Never done this before so we shall see how it works out.
Grammar: We are using Growing with Grammar and are on Book 7 this year
Writing: We are continuing to use IEW and will begin their continuation course
Spelling: All about Spelling book 6 this year
Geography: We are working on map reading skills, and looking at various countries around the world. I completely missed the mark last year on this so I am hoping I do a little better organizing something this year. I am still working on a plan for this topic:)
Curriculum Choices for the school year 2015-2016
8th grade curriculum
Pre-Algebra/Algebra: Math U See due to it taking a while to find a math program that works we are slightly behind but hope to catch up this year
Language Arts: My daughter will be participating in a coop class using Hewitt and Packard lightning literature curriculum. I have heard amazing things about this teacher and think having a new person teaching this subject will really benefit Firedrake. I am told this class requires a lot of homework which will be an entirely new experience for her. This class will include grammar, reading, and writing assignments
Spanish: This class will count as a credit for high school, class will be held at coop
Drawing 2: this class is held at coop and will be the same teacher she had last year and she has been taking summer tutoring sessions with him as well. We have seen tremendous progress with her drawing and this is a skill she wants to learn
Piano: Continuing to take Piano lessons privately along with music theory
History: This is really the only class she will continue to do with me and her brother we are working on history from the Civil War until the 1st World War. I feel I go quite in depth in our history lessons and she will be expected to do extra assignments and produce higher quality of work than her brother!
Science: Biology by E.O. Wilson which is a high school book which is free on apple apps. My husband is going to take over this subject but most of the work will be done independently by FireDrake--this will be hard for me to let go because I love teaching science to the kids! We are going to take two years to complete this book and it will count as a high school science credit
Geography: we will continue with country studies as time permits
Drama: taken at coop
Fencing: taking a fencing class though the Parks and Rec which will count toward her PE for the 1st semester, she may choose something different for the 2 semester and stay with this if she likes it
6th grade curriculum:
Math: Math U See Fractions
IEW: we will continue to use this program to improve writing skills
Grammar: Growing with Grammar book 6
Spelling: Complete AAS book 5 and possible begin book 6
Spanish: intermediate class taken at coop
Art: taken at coop
Computer class: taken at coop
Drama: taken at coop
Piano: private lesson along with music theory
Geography: we will continue to do country studies throughout the year
PE: MarioFan will be taking weekly gym class at the local TASK center
Reading: assigned reading chosen by me will be given out throughout the year along with required book reports, comprehension questions and other projects
History: we are continuing with American history starting from the Civil War until WWI
Science: We will be working thru Prentice Hall Science Explorer book Cells and Heredity and Chemical building blocks and looking at the Periodic table. I am still working on putting this together since I usually create my own science curriculum. It is possible we will veer away from this depending on MarioFan's interests
2013-2014 Curriculum Choices -- Posted on August 16, 2013
Math:
Kids are doing well with Math U See so we are continuing with this program for both kids
Language Arts:
Wordly Wise Vocabulary computer program--NEW
IEW for writing
IEW Fix it -- Tom Sawyer--NEW
Growing with grammar
All About Spelling
Creative writing -- daughter is writing her own novel in her free time:)
Science:
1st half of the year --- Geology -- Real Science 4 kids as well as creating my own curriculum
2nd half of the year -- Human body -- I will be creating my own curriculum for this area -- I did notice a dissection class offered for children at the local community college in our area so I am looking into that option as it is something my daughter would like to do.
Geography:
The kids have requested to learn about Canada, Russia, Chile (particularly Easter Island)
We include studies in cultures, religion and customs. We will also look into doing a mini unit on a few individual states as well.
History:
We are going to study the Pre-Columbus period and the discovery of the Americas. Again I create my own curriculum for this area
Art:
Meet the Masters Art program. We try to complete 6 artists a year. We will also do art activities as it fits into our other studies
Music:
Continuing with Piano lessons with outside instruction, this includes music theory
Character Traits:
Character First program-- we try to complete at least 3 traits in a year
Foreign Language:
Spanish -- We will be enrolling in a Spanish class at a homeschooling coop--our first ever coop class:) I just haven't been very successful teaching it on my own.
Visual Latin--NEW--
My daughter has developed on interest in learning Latin so we are going to try Visual Latin via the computer, my husband is going to learn with her as he has an interest in studying medieval history.
Typing/Handwriting
Continuing to encourage typing for both children either with a typing program which we have or typing school assignments.
Introducing cursive writing to my son this year, using Handwriting without Tears, I hope it improves his penmanship;). Encouraging my daughter to continue to use and improve her cursive writing.
P.E.
I am still looking at various possibilities in our new area. At this time nothing is on the schedule that is organized but I hope to find at least a swim program that they can participate in.
Reading--NEW way of doing things:)
I have been very lenient with the children on their reading choices. This has work fairly well with my oldest who is fantastic reader but I have noticed she is stuck on one genre, mainly fantasy. My youngest while a great reader is not picking quality books to read, preferring to read favorites over and over and over again. So I have decided that I will be putting together a reading list for the children that emphasis quality books. The children will be completing book reports or lap books based on the book selection that I have made (kids will have some input). Currently my daughter is reading Island of the Blue Dolphin and my son is reading Wizard of Oz. I am currently working on a completing a list for both children and am researching what is consider "must reads" for their grade level.
Home Economics/Health--NEW
My goal is to have my Daughter plan and cook one meal bimonthly, this will include picking the recipes, putting together a shopping list, looking at coupons, reading nutrition labels, and planning a shopping budget. I hope to throw in there other relative topics as needed. I am still in the planning stages of this idea.
Both kids are also going to be learning and doing far more household chores as we have moved into a bigger house and no longer have a cleaning service coming into the house on a weekly basis. Learning how to do their own laundry in top on the list:)!!
2012-2013 Curriculum Choices -- Posted on Sept 5th, 2012
Language Arts
Hand writing Without Tears for printing and cursive writing at their own levels
Growing with Grammar books at their level
IEW at their own level ( NEW for us and I have high expectations that it will help us overcome writing anxiety)
All About Spelling at their level
Math
Math U See books at their level
Science
Real Science 4 Kids continuing
where we left off from last year with Physics, also working on the
Biology book this summer wanting to finish both books by January. We
have been working with another family on Science and if they wish to
continue we will plan to continue after Jan with new topics. TBA
Geography
Continuing to study one country every 4 to 6 weeks. Using books, Movies, lap books, Notebook pages, and Little Passports
(we didn't finish every country from Little passports last year so
going to continue with that system and then we will see about switching
to Top Secret Adventures
I do not use a prepared curriculum for this area preferring to put it
together myself. I have also signed up for the Cultural Exchange swap
and have had some good luck with those packages which we use in our
studies.
History
In
the three years we have been homeschooling we have worked our way thru
the Eyptians, Greeks, and British/European history up to WWII. Now are
going back to look at some of the ancient civilizations and Ancient
Asia. I am still in the planning stages here:) We will be working with
books, lap books, Note booking pages, movies and going on lots of field
trips for hands on experiences. Again I don't use prepared curriculum
for this area preferring to put it together myself.***Any resources you can suggest would be appreciated***
Art
Meet the Masters--
continuing on from last year, my aim is to complete one new artist
every 4 to 6 weeks, which is what we did last year. Also I have a
friend who is an art teacher who will be working with the children every
other week on some art skills. We also read books, visit museums,
complete notebook pages on each artist we study.
Foreign Language--NEW
I admit here....I haven't cracked the code on trying to teach the kids Spanish. This year we are going to try Rosetta Stone the
home school addition. When we go back to the states I will be looking
for a tutor if we still aren't making gains in this area. I have been
unable to find a Latin Spanish tutor in England.
Typing
We are using Sponge Bob and Typing instructor. Princess is beginning to email friends on her own and in addition is typing her own story on the computer
Music
Piano
lessons with an instructor and exposure to different music thru
concerts or CD's. Since the music teacher is including theory in her
lessons I haven't gone any further. If there is time we may try to
learn about a few composers using lapbooks, notebook pages, books, CD's
and movies. I will aim for us to learn at least 3 this year:)
Character Skills--NEW
Character First--I
have been searching for a Character Training program for years and
think I have finally stumble on one that might work for our family. I
hope to complete one trait every 4 to 6 weeks.
Technology Skills
This
is another area that we haven't been 100% successful at. I really want
my oldest child to learn power point and may be do book reports or
other reports using this method. This is my husband's area to teach
but with his work schedule he has a hard time fitting it in. So we work
on it whenever we can.
Physical Education
Martial Arts lessonsSwim lessons
Horse riding lessons (for Princess)
There is a possibility of a Home Schooling PE group starting up at our local base so we may give that a try, if it gets off the ground, but it will depend on our schedule which is looking pretty packed
Extra Curricular Activities
Girl Scouts
Boy Scouts
On average we "school" about 4 hours a day, sometimes more sometimes less. I keep a tentative schedule, but find I don't stick to it, as we will often get side tracked on an interesting topic. I try not to stress if we fall behind.
Here is our tentative school schedule:
Language Arts and Math 4-5 days a week
Piano is 5 days a week (one day with instructor)
Science and History is done 2-3 days a week.
Rotating Geography, Artist, and Character Training 2 days a week (rotating every 3-6 weeks)
That leaves Spelling, Foreign Language, and Typing to fit in somewhere:) We do it at least 1-2 days a week
2011 -2012 Curriculum Choices: Posted on July 6, 2011
English/Grammar both kids at their appropriate grade level
Scott Foreman free grammar program UPDATE NO LONGER AVAILABLE FOR FREE :(
So we are switching to Growing with Grammar and giving it a try this year
Writing Spectrum books
Handwriting Without Tears
All About Spelling
Math
Math U See for my daughter
Steven Slavin Math Book for 1st and 2nd graders for my son
Science both children
Real Science 4 Kids physics, chemistry, and biology
Geography both children
Lapbooks from a variety of sources
Little Passports
Reading books
History both children
Lapbooks from a variety of sources
Reading books
Lots of fieldtrips
Art both children
Meet the Masters art program
Music both children
Piano lessons with an instructor and listening to homemade CDs on varying musical periods
Spanish both children
Oliveta Oink Spanish Program Level 1
Just purchased Rosetta Stone Spanish which we will also try
Typing/technology
Typing Instructor for kids
Internet Literacy for kids
Computer Projects for kids
PE
Swim lessons
Martial arts lesson
Horse riding lessons
Outside Activities
Girl Scouts
Boy Scouts