A more in depth look at what we are doing this year.
Bible: This year we are reading through parts of the Bible. We will read Romans to Revelation, as well as Psalms and Proverbs. Later, we will incorporate things from Master Clubs, our Wednesday night kids program.
Spelling: This year we will be working through the All About Spelling program. I could not be more excited. Cameron really struggles with all subjects that fall under language. This is a hands on spelling curriculum that I pray will be right up his alley. It is also a phonics program that will hopefully reinforce what we’ve learned so far and help him to grasp this so far elusive skill.
Math drill: This will be a short drill to help him hone his speed and accuracy by giving him problems that we are currently working on in math.
Music:
- Mondays we will work on our current hymn. This year we are studying the life and work of Philip P. Bliss.
- Tuesdays we will listen to the composer selection following Ambleside Online. Right now we are listening to the works of Beethoven
- Wednesdays are our free music day and I’m not sure what this will look like yet.
- Thursdays we again listen to our composer
- Friday is folk day. Due to what we are working on in History and Geography I thought it best to work on patriotic songs. First on our agenda is The Star Spangled Banner
Writing: We are using Writing with Ease by Susan Wise Bauer. This works well with our Charlotte Mason view and works very similar as our language. It uses copywork, narrations, and dictations that are very CM. We are starting with the first grade level but I expect for us to move through that rather quickly.
Literature: This year we will be reading a variety of works, starting with Tales from Arabian Nights. So far, this book has really captured his attention. He loves the idea that it is a story in a story. And next week, it will be a story in a story in a story. We are reading about Scheherazade who is telling the story of the Merchant and the Genii. In the Merchant and the Genii an old man will begin to tell us a story. Cameron thinks this is funny.
Language: We are using First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind by Jessie Wise for the time being. I love the repetition which is what Cameron needs. There is not a lot of writing with this course yet; something else I think that Cameron needs. We will be finished with level 1 in a few weeks and after that I need to evaluate which direction to take next.
Memory: We work on memorizing a scripture verse a week. As the weeks go on we will review each verse at least once a week.
Poetry: William Blake is this terms author and we read a poem a day.
Math: We are using A Beka Arithmetic 4. (Is there anyone else that still says “A rat in the house may eat Tommy’s ice cream” when spelling arithmetic?) He has always done fairly well in Math. This year, I am not expecting him to finish as much of the book as before. If he has the concept down, a few problems should be enough. I think he likes the shorter lessons. Last year they were taking anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. And it was hard on both of us.
History: We will be studying American History through a study of the Presidents. We are taking a few weeks to study Colonial America and the Revolutionary War before we jump with George Washington. I have 3 books that are packed full of living stories which is essential to CM.
Explode the Code: We were given the Explode the Code workbooks by a dear friend. I am keeping these low key. I want them to help reinforce phonics and reading right now. But we are not worrying about the presentation of the work. He likes to see how many pages he can “crank” out in 10 minutes. This is not in line with CM. She did not advocate the use of busy work. But, living in this state, I need to show some proof of the work we do.
Cursive: We didn’t finish with our cursive program last year so we will continue with our A Beka book but only twice a week. The days we do not work on ETC we will work on Cursive. Both work closely with phonics.
Geography: We are getting an overview of each of the 50 states. He will complete a notebook page for each state. We are also reading Minn on the Mississippi.
History Bio: This term we are reading a biography about George Washington. In term 2 we will read one about Abraham Lincoln. Then, in term 3 we will read a biography about Eleanor Roosevelt. This will keep in line with our Presidential studies.
Natural History: In term 1 and 2 we will be reading through the book A Lone Seal Pup by Authur Catherall. In term 3 we will read through Pagoo by Holling C. Holling. Both of these books go along perfectly with our science study of swimming animals of the 5th day.
Science: We are using Apologia’s Exploring Creation with Zoology 2: Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day by Jeannie Fulbright which focuses our study on aquatic animals. We completed Zoo 1 last year and are excited to continue on with our study.
I’m sure things will be tweaked or rearranged, but this is what school looks like for us right now. And so far, it is working quite well. We are both amazed at the day’s smoothness.
category: Homeschooling
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DanielleW