At this point, you can pretty much count on three blogs a year from me: my end-of-year reading log, my fall curriculum post, and something else that strikes my fancy somewhere along the way. But because I like to see what other people are doing, and because I like to look back on my old curriculum posts and laugh at how life didn't turn out like I planned, I'm sticking with it! T-10 days till our official first day, and here's what's on the docket:
Levi: 8th grade
Math: still undecided. Wait, what?! For my most mathy kid? Yes. We're waiting to hear about a scholarship opportunity before we decide how to proceed. Right now, at 11am on Aug. 19 while I'm writing this, he's taking his college algebra and precalculus CLEP tests, one right after the other.
Science: finishing up Apologia biology, then studying other resources for two months in the hopes of taking the CLEP test in December. (And then, being done with biology forever. He hates it.)
History/literature: Biblioplan medieval. I need to beef up how we engage with literature, but haven't quite figured out how yet.
Language arts: Easy Grammar Plus, Writing With Skill 2, spelling and vocab from a ton of different sources (as he has his eye on another trip to DC for the National Spelling Bee).
Foreign language: Third Form Latin, German on Rosetta Stone (and sometimes he dabbles in French to help with the spelling bee words)
Bible: We're starting off the year with a family Bible study on WORK from notconsumed.com, and then he'll move into a personal study on the book of Proverbs.
Extracurriculars: piano lessons, karate, youth group
If it feels like he has more time -- which seems extremely unlikely -- I have an introduction to formal logic I'd like him to start working on eventually.
Owen: 6th grade
Math: AoPS prealgebra
Science: Elemental Science earth science, logic stage (done out of order so the topics line up with the grammar stage)
History/literature: Biblioplan medieval
Language arts: I Laid an Egg on Aunt Ruth's Head, Writing With Skill 1, Sequential Spelling (which we do orally for Owen, Silas, and Toby together)
Foreign language: Hebrew
Bible: He's working through the Apologia worldview curriculum, in book 3 this year. I don't have a separate Bible study for him yet.
Extracurriculars: art lessons, karate
Silas: 5th grade
Math: Mathematical Reasoning (yet another math curriculum for Silas . . . I just can't seem to settle on something for him)
Science: Elemental Science earth science, grammar stage
History/literature: Biblioplan/Mystery of History hybrid medieval
Language arts: First Language Lessons 3, Writing With Ease 3, Sequential Spelling
Foreign language: Spanish and Italian on Rosetta Stone (he enjoys doing both -- his idea, not mine)
Bible: Exploring the Bible
Extracurriculars: violin lessons, Central MN Youth Orchestra, karate
I might add in Inference Jones again this year, as reading comprehension is something Silas still struggles with.
Toby: 3rd grade
Math: Beast Academy 2 (in print, not online)
Science: Elemental Science earth science, grammar stage
History/literature: Biblioplan/Mystery of History hybrid medieval
Language arts: First Language Lessons 3, Writing With Ease 1-2, Sequential Spelling, A Reason for Handwriting cursive (he did the manuscript half of the book last year)
Foreign language: he keeps changing his mind, so I don't have a plan.
Bible: not sure yet.
Extracurriculars: piano lessons (with me), art lessons, karate
Calvin: kindergarten
Math: Mathematical Reasoning (he loves these big colorful workbooks!)
Science: picture books on the earth science topics we're studying each week
History/literature: picture books on the medieval topics we're studying each week
Language arts: Beyond the Code 1, A Reason for Handwriting
Foreign language: biblical Greek, his idea. He has asked almost every single day this summer when we can start.
Bible: He recently got a "big kid Bible" (passed down from a brother) and has been reading short sections out of the gospels each day.
Extracurriculars: cello lessons, karate
We continue to school four days a week, saving Fridays for instrument lessons and time with Grandma and Grandpa, but Levi's workload has started to carry over into the fifth day a little bit. We've also kept our Thursday afternoon "cookie party," in which we tell Isaac what we learned this week (and eat cookies, of course). I'll be the first to admit that my life is a lot of work, and there are certainly days when I consider (and sometimes even threaten) sending some of the kids to school, but the reality is, I love our lifestyle. I love the books we read together and the science experiments that go wrong and having a kid say, "I finished a (text)book! Will you take my picture with it?" and not having homework or evening music lessons and being right there, every time, to soothe hurt feelings and calm anxieties and show them what repentance looks like (when I invariably lose my own cool). Here's to another year of making brothers best friends and pursuing individual interests and entertaining a toddler all day long who just stopped napping completely!
Oh wait . . . ;)
Comments
Post a Comment