Today's School

These are resources we are using today. 

I hope we learn something by the end of it! :)

High School 2014-15

I hesitate to put a grade level on this but ds is 16 now (Yikes!) and isn't on a specific grade level in anything.  We just keep plugging away and moving forward bit by bit.  But here is what I have put together for this fall's curriculum.

We follow AO/HEO basically but of course we change it up to meet our needs.  I use the "lite" versions and even then we don't get it all done.  There is so much!  Here's what we have planned.

We are just about in Term 2 of Year 8 at Ambleside Online.

DS has some LD (no labels, we just know this after 16 years ;)) and so we make adjustments to just about everything.  We buddy read, use audible, I read aloud, we work on the white board etc to get it all done.  He's very intelligent and a very deep thinker.  His reading comprehension is wonderful but he just doesn't read fast enough to read all the AO books!  He also has trouble with the act of handwriting so we need to work on that this year as well.  It's painful and we need to build up those muscles.  Copywork is perfect for that and his composition can be done on the computer.

As we finish each book or text, we will insert the next one on the list.

Here's what we are using besides the AO titles right now:
Bible - Hebrews. We are starting a new series at our church and ds will be working on his daily reading and "homework" every day
Science - Apologia Biology (we are more than 2/3 of the way through this)
Latin - Latina Christiana.  It is for younger students but I think it will work for us right now. It'll be his first dive into another language
Math - Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra.  We were into Alg 1, but struggling so we went back for a bit.  He's picking up faster now and we'll be back in Alg 1 soon!
Shakespeare - Hamlet
Plutarch - Crassus
Artist Study - Fra Angelico
Composer Study -Hildegard von Bingen

I will let him choose a book from the earlier years of AO to read on his own just for the purpose of reading fluency, and comprehension building and just plain old reading for enjoyment.  He's never enjoyed reading and hopefully this will help!

We will be starting drivers ed soon as well and I have plenty of other books waiting in the wings.

I also work out of the house two days a week so he works mostly independently on those two days and we do as much together as possible the first two days.  I really hope to get it all done in four days.  We are very busy with other things like our puppet team and other ministries at church so "book work" is only part of our education. Plus some time or other we need to clean, do chores and cook as well as just have some down time. :)

I have so many projects I'd like to do and I just never seem to get around to doing them! Some day!

Notes on Habits

Notes from Sonya Shafer @ Simply Charlotte Mason

I was cleaning out paperwork and found a very scribbled set of notes I wrote down on the back of scrap paper. I think I was listening to her CD on Habits.  I'm going to try to rewrite them here and make a little sense out of them!

Charlotte Mason -- "The effort of decision is the greatest effort in life."

(Okay a personal note here.  Ain't it the truth!?! Indecisiveness runs rampant in my family and it is such a waste of time and effort!  I suffer greatly from this just deciding what menus to use or whether to go to the store now or tomorrow, or which math book should we use etc. etc.   I drive myself crazy!  And my daughter is just as bad. She once was asked what she wanted to do when she grew up and she replied, "I can't even decide what candy bar to get at the store!"  True story.  I could write a whole post just on this  subject and maybe I will.  I just can't decide.)


3 kinds of lying:
#1 intentional deception
#2 being careless of gathering facts
#3 careless in communicating the facts
(value of truth)

Habit = railroad track
work on ONE HABIT AT A TIME for 6-8 weeks

The mother who takes pains to endow children with good habits secures for herself smooth and easy days.

1. One at a time: repetition ~neurons sequence/patterns; deal with offences immediately!
2. Motivation: natural consequences; expectant encouragement (someone to cheer you on)

-she has a 250 page book on 60 habits
-top 3 are 1. Habit of obedience 2. Habit of attention 3. Habit of truthfulness/candor

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I need to get this CD out and listen again. And maybe I need the book too.

Librivox. It just keeps getting better.

I found this link today.  Some lovely person has organized all of the AmblesideOnline books that are available at librivox!  Wonderful!  I had a list somewhere...but now I don't have to find it!

http://wiki.librivox.org/index.php/Recordings_of_Books_on_the_Ambleside_List_2

Thank you RuthieG!!!

Week 3 7th grade

Three good weeks in a row!  It wasn't without it's bumps in the road, but all in all a good week.
We are sort of reviewing a time period in history - WWII - that we studied a little over a year ago, but I didn't want to skip it.  DS remembers A LOT of course he loves war, history, bad guys and guns. ;)

We are also getting a lot out of our science right now, ds also loves rockets, and outer space.

These topics might be the reason we are having such an easy time.  I can't wait to start over in our history next term and begin our study of the Ancients!  I know it will be interesting for him too!

This week we did:
Daily Bible reading
4 lessons in math (including all kinds of fractions! He caught on pretty quick thanks to the MUS fraction overlays. I am going to post about these soon. I know I said that last week.)
Spelling
Poetry of Robert Frost
Art Study
Composer Study
Nature Study
Timeline Book (I may show this someday soon too.)
Science, Natural History, Albert Einstein bio
History - Stock Market Crash, Depression, Hitler, Spain
Geography - North America
Writing - how to write a paragraph
Shakespeare - Finished Hamlet
Greek Myths
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
The Hobbit
Helen Keller, The Story of My Life

Hamlet - Drawn Narration

"When Hamlet saw his end draw near, there being yet some venom left upon the sword, he suddenly turned upon his false uncle, and thrust the point of it into his heart, fulfilling the promise which he had made to his father's spirit..." Tales from Shakespeare

What can I say?  He's 12.  This is what impressed him the most out of the story. ;)

Another one down!

We completed our second week of 7th grade.  Don't worry, I won't report every single week (maybe).  But things are going so well I just can't help but share!

We focused a little this week on the Space Race since ds loves rocketry and things of that nature.  We are reading about it in science.  I realized there were a couple of our favorite movies that would go well with this unit and that ds was really too young when we watched them last to get much out of them.  So we watched them both today!

October Sky is one of my favorite movies of all time.  I always get a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye a couple of times in this movie.  We laugh a lot through it too.  If you have never seen it, SEE IT!

Apollo 13 is another one that gives an insight to what astronauts go through.









I can't believe we got so much done in our 4-day week!

We did daily:
Bible
Drills
Math
Spelling
Poetry
History (backed up a little and read more about WW1)
Science (Exploring Space)
Writing assignment (Eye-witness report)
Geography

We did weekly:
Art study
Music study
Nature study
Timeline notebook
Science biography
Natural History
Shakespeare (Hamlet)
Greek Myths
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Story of My Life by Helen Keller

We had some fun in math today too.  I'll post about that later!

First Week of 7th Grade!

Whew!  We made it through our first week of seventh grade.  We did have a bumpy ride but all in all it went well and ds has grown so much academically and physically.  He's getting tall, his hair is dark and his voice is starting to change!  I don't know if I can take it.

Most of our books & schedule comes from Ambleside Online Year 6 (the years aren't necessarily grades)

Here's what we are doing right now:

• He's reading the Bible (NLT) on his own and writing  (Yes WRITING!) something (short and sweet) in a small notebook.
• We do some reading drills, math drills and Digit Span cards.  (He's moved up a digit this year!)
• Math - so far so good.  It was taking waaaayyy tooooo long, so I cut the lessons in half.  No problems now.
• All About Spelling - ds has dyslexia (in fact he hasn't been tested but if he were to be, this would be at least one of the diagnoses) We have started at the beginning and it's going very quickly, we will probably do 2 or 3 levels this year.
• Poetry - Robert Frost, and writing some simple poems of our own.  (Yes WRITING!) 
• Music Appreciation - Beethoven
• Art Appreciation - Albrecht Durer.  DS is making a PowerPoint about Albrecht Durer and his works.  (This covers art and PowerPoint in one lesson)
• Nature Study - trees
• Timeline - we add things into our timeline notebook every week.  
• Science - Finishing up "Observing God's World" by A Beka. We chose this text because it's interesting and short!  Only 2 days a week needed to get through it. It's also inexpensive used.;) We will continue with "Order and Reality" in a few weeks.We don't do all the tests, quizzes, worksheets etc.  We narrate and sometimes make lapbooks or notebook pages, or drawings.  DS is reading an Albert Einstein Biography a friend got for me.  It's a "reader" type book, not really a "living" book but he's able to read it on his own. Also reading School of the Woods.
• History - SOTW 4 and The Story of My Life: Helen Keller
• Geography - Trail Guide to World Geography
• Writing/Grammar - Writing Strands (Yes WRITING!) 
• Literature - Shakespeare Tales - Hamlet, Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, The Hobbit, D'Aulaires Book of Greek Myths

Wow, is that everything?

Here's how it looks in a week.

Day 1
Bible reading & Journal
Drills
Math lesson
Spelling lesson
Poem
Artist Study
Science - Observing God's Creation
History -SOTW
Trail Guide
Writing Strands
Shakespeare

Day 2

Bible reading & Journal

Drills

Math lesson

Spelling lesson

Poem

Composer Study

Science - Observing God's Creation

History -SOTW

Trail Guide

Writing Strands

Greek Myths

Day 3

Bible reading & Journal

Drills

Math lesson

Spelling lesson

Poem

Nature Study

Science - School of the Woods

History -SOTW

Trail Guide

Writing Strands

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

Day 4

Bible reading & Journal
Drills
Math lesson
Spelling lesson
Writing Poetry
Timeline
Science - Biography: Albert Einstein
History -SOTW
Trail Guide
Writing Strands
The Hobbit
The Story of My Life by Helen Keller

We are going to try this 4-day schedule this year.  We need a day to shop and do errands. We also take my Mom shopping and to the doctor, things like that.  Every week we have somewhere to go, so I thought why not just make a day for that?  It might mean we move a little slower through the math, but that's really the only thing.  And that may not be a bad thing for us.  I have also scheduled one week off every 6-weeks to catch up or work on other things besides academics. I'm already looking forward to the break! :-D

I hope to post in one month and say how it is going for us.  We've had such a rough time with school these past few years for various reasons, this one looks to be the best yet!

Composer Study Term 1 2010-11

Beethoven!

Listening selections:
    Piano Sonata 8 (Pathetique) Opus 13
    Piano Sonata 14 (Moonlight) Op 27
    Symphony No. 3 (Erocia-meaning 'heroic') Opus 55
    String Quartets opus 59, no.1-3 (Razumovsky Quartets)
    Piano Concerto 5 (Emporer) Op 73
    Symphony No. 9 (the one with Ode to Joy at the end) Opus 125

We have some of these on CD's but for those we don't:

http://www.dsokids.com/listen/ComposerDetail.aspx?composerID=13

www.pandora.com

http://www.classicalconnect.com/#/browse/composer/Ludwig_van_Beethoven

Art Study Term 1 2010-11

We will be studying the art of Albrecht Durer (1471-1528) Italian Renaissance

Picture 1
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, 1498, woodcut.


Picture 2
Self-Portrait in a Fur Coat, 1500, lime panel, Pinakothek, Munich


Picture 3
A Young Hare, 1502. Watercolour and gouache on paper. Vienna, Austria


Picture 4
Altarpiece of the Rose Garlands, or here, 1506, oil on panel, Národní Galerie, Prague


Picture 5
Praying Hands, 1508, brush and ink, Vienna


Picture 6
The Knight, Death, and The Devil, 1513-14, engraving


Information:

http://www.albrecht-durer.org/

http://www.squidoo.com/durer

http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/durer/

Composer Study April-May-June 2010

Edvard Grieg (1890) & Jean Sibelius (nationalists)



Listening selections for this term:
Grieg - Peer Gynt Suite no 1

Grieg - Piano Concerto in A

Grieg - Norwegian Dance no 2

Sibelius - Finlandia

Sibelius - Symphony 1 (4 weeks)

1st movement

2nd movement

3rd movement

4th movement

Artist Study April-May-June 2010

John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) American (Biography)

1. Oyster Gatherers of Cancale, 1878, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington DC
2. The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit, 1882, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
3. (Violet Sargent at) The Breakfast Table, 1884, Fogg Museum of Art (Harvard, Cambridge, MA). Violet was Sargent's younger sister; he himself never married or had children.
4. Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose, 1885-6, Tate Gallery, London, England (see also here")
5. An Artist in his Studio, 1904, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
6. Lady Agnew of Lochnaw, 1892-3, National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Singer Sargent also painted Theodore Roosevelt, 1903, The White House, Washington, D.C.
and Robert Louis Stevenson and his Wife, 1885, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AK

"Composer Study Thursday"

Richard Wagner

Siegfried

Course of Study Plan for my 11th Grader

I've been working on lining out next year's schoolwork. I always do this (and change it many times over the course of the year ;o)) but this time I really need to get some things firmed up because I may have to go to work part time. I would like to have as many things routine as possible by then, so I'm listing my ideas and will update as I go. If you'd like to see our daily plan in progress go here.

Bible -
Luke, Acts, Judges, Ruth

Devotional -
Lies Women Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free by Nancy Leigh DeMoss
The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel
Fox's Book of Martyrs

English-
SAT Vocabulary Online
Easy Grammar Plus
How to Read a Book by Adler
Continue making a Quote Book including Bible, Literature, Shakespeare etc.
Written Narrations in various forms, as well as study guides for literature

Literature-
Shakespeare: Julius Caesar, The Winter's Tale, Comedy of Errors
The Great Gatsby
All Quiet on the Western Front
Frankenstein
Farhenheit 451
The Chosen
Bridehead Revisited
To Kill a Mockingbird
Short Stories: too many to list
Finish Les Miserables (very long!)

Math-
Algebra 2 by Math U See

Science-
Chemistry by Apologia
Update 7/3/07 Joined VHSG Chemistry Course

History/Geography/Social Studies-

Streams of Civilization Volume 2
America's Century by DK
Diary of Anne Frank
When Hell was in Session by Denton
Witness by Chambers

Government-
The US Constitution
Richard Maybury books
Speeches/Source Documents

Fine Arts -
Art History by Van Loon
Picture Study - Matisse; Titian (1485-1576) Italian High Renaissance; other?
Composer Study: Johann Strauss, Jr.; Wagner and Offenbach, German Romantic; other?

Music-
Piano


That's all I have for now, I'll update any changes forthcoming.

Schedule for 10th Grade Term 3

This is for my dd

I haven't figured out how to post a chart form so I'll just make a list for now.


Day 1

• Bible
• Memory work
• Copywork- Bible
• Poetry- Student Handbook
• History of English Literature
• SAT Vocabulary Online: choose 4 words and write sentences
• Spanish Online
• Biology
• Geometry
• Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1 hour), read w/Mom, discuss
• Streams of Civilization 1/4 of chapter (notes)
• Folk Song - I've been working on the Railroad
• Piano Practice

Day 2

• Bible-
• Memory work
• Copywork- Spanish phrase
• Poetry- Poem per day
• How to Read a Book
• Easy Grammar Plus
• Essay Writing Online practice*(choose a topic and follow the steps)
• Spanish Online
• Biology
• Geometry
• Les Miserables (1 hour), oral or typed narration
• Streams of Civ ¼ of chapter (notes)
• Art Study - Vermeer
• Piano Practice

Day 3

• Bible-
• Memory work
• Copywork- Hymn stanza
• Poetry- Poem per day
• SAT Vocabulary Online: choose 4 words and write sentences
• Spanish Online
• Biology
• Geometry
• Les Miserables (1 hour) oral or typed narration
• Streams of Civ ¼ of chapter
• Hymn - When I survey the Wondrous Cross
• Piano Practice

Day 4

• Bible-
• Memory work
• Copywork- Poem Stanza
• Poetry- Blake Poem per day
• Ourselves by Charlotte Mason
• Grammar
• Essay Writing Online practice
• Spanish Online
• Biology
• Geometry
• Les Miserables (1 hour) (creative narration)
• Streams of Civilization ¼ of chapter
• Composer - Mozart
• Piano Practice

Day 5

• Devotional Reading: How to Study the Bible for Yourself by Tim LaHaye
• Recitation
• Copywork- (see Shakespeare)
• Poetry- Re-read your favorite poem from this week
• Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? 2 chapters (Read aloud to Mom, discuss)
• SAT Vocabulary Online: choose 4 words and write sentences
• Essay Writing Online practice
• Current Events – report sheet
• Health - Human Body Unit
• Geometry Test
• Shakespeare
• Up From Slavery, written or oral narration
• Nature walk/journal
• Piano Practice

*This is not a curriculum but a basic guide. We will aquire a specific essay writing book in the near future.

Science Notebooks

My dd makes pages for her science notebook each week. Lately she's used Microsoft Paintbrush as her medium. She prints them out and places them in her notebook. Here are a few she has made. They look very much like the illustrations in the book! She's doing a great job. IMHO.

Outdoor School

Today we had "outdoor school" we took our Bible, books, notebooks, a blanket, bottled water, sunglasses, a ballcap, a small pillow and changed into shorts and tanks and sat out on our lawn reading. I'm not sure how many trips it took to get everything we needed to get situated but it was a refreshing change. DS and I laughed together as we read Pagoo today. I had really wanted to read this book with him sooner but just didn't get around to it. I'm glad we finally started it today.

We also did:

• Acts Chapter 15 & 16
• Poem by William Blake
• Child's History of the World Ch 4
• The Jungle Book II
• Picture Study - Vermeer's The Milkmaid
• Folk Song - I've Been Working on the Railroad
• Grammar - Lesson 1 in English for the Thoughtful Child
• Cursive Practice
• Pilgrim's Progress about 1600 words
• Explode the Code Lesson 9
• Buddy read a few pages of "I Should Have Stayed in Bed" by Joan M. Lexau

We still need to do math, but it's "homework" tonight. We had a few interuptions because my mom was sick. But all in all it was a good day.

Shakespeare

Plays we've read:

King Lear
Macbeth
Romeo and Juliet
Midsummer Night's Dream (acted in this one w/our hs group. FUN!!)
Much Ado About Nothing
Merchant of Venice
Othello
Henry V

That's all I can remember off the top of my head.

Plays to read:

The Winter's Tale
Comedy of Errors
King Henry VII
Merry Wives of Windsor
Cymbeline
The Tempest
Measure for Measure
Julius Caesar
Richard III
Triolus and Cressida
Love's Labor Lost
Timon of Athens
Coriolanus

We will read 1 play every 6 weeks for the rest of high school

Highschool Plans Overview

I'm posting some future plans here so that I don't lose them! If they are on here, I can retrieve them anytime.

10th Grade Last Term April/May/Summer to finish up
Bible and Social Studies (2 credits)
Christian Cottage Unit Studies(CCS) Vol 2 for Bible, and geography
Streams of Civilization Volume II
Up From Slavery
Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? (Economics: partial credit)

English II (1 credit)
Easy Grammar Plus
Essay Writing
Les Miserables (very long!)
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Shakespeare's Henry V

Science (1 credit)
Finish Apologia Biology

Math (1 credit)
Finish Math U See Geometry

Foreign Language (1 credit)
Spanish Online

Fine Arts/Humanities (1 credit)
Folksongs – I’ve Been Working On the Railroad, Grandfather’s Clock
Hymns – When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, On Jordan’s Stormy Banks
Nature Study – Birds, Weather, Trees, Insects, Patch of Ground
Artists - Vermeer, Matisse
Composers - Mozart, Johann Strauss Jr.

Music
Daily piano practice
Occasional performances

Plus exercise, homemaking, budgeting, child care, drawing, webmastering, desktop publishing, speech, drama, community service, and all those other things that seem to add up.



Tentative Basic Plans for next two years

11th Grade 2007-08

Bible & Social Studies
CCS - for Bible, geography
Streams of Civilization Vol II(If not finished last year)
A History of the American People by Paul Johnson

English III
Easy Grammar Plus
Essay Writing

Science
Chemsitry

Math
Algebra 2

12th Grade 2008-09

Bible & Social Studies
Streams of Civilization Volume I
A History of the American People by Paul Johnson

American Government
Whatever Happened to Justice?
The United States Constitution

English IV
Essay Writing

Science
Physics

Math
Pre-Cal and/or Stewardship


Okay, this is not a complete list but I'll add more as I go along. This is all I had in my notes for now.

Altering plans for January...

I’ve just recently discovered Christian Cottage Unit Studies you can buy a topic at a time here. I downloaded a free unit on Oceanography and I purchased the Middle Ages portion of “In the Beginning God” unit study. We haven’t actually done the study yet, but just going through them and looking at them and making a few notes it seems like a perfect fit for us. We’ve used Ambleside Online (and I still LOVE them) but some of the books just didn't fit us. I also have a visual/spatial son and sometimes just reading didn’t fit the bill so I tried making my own unit studies, the problem was I always tried to do TOO much. I never knew what to keep and what to toss and would end up overwhelmed. I’ve looked at Tapestry of Grace and programs like that but they are just out of my budget. Then I stumbled upon CCUS and found that I could buy them one at a time as needed AND they don't depend on a certain set of books. PERFECT! I’m sooooo excited to try them out! I'm working on notebooks and plans now.