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!

"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.

Scheduling all those books...

Now that we've chosen our books, it's just a matter of plugging them into our schedule. We've been using the same basic routine for quite some time. I don't use time slots anymore, we basically just "do the next thing" but we do use the timer sometimes to keep us moving along. Especially for ds - he tends to dawdle.

DD

Daily
Breakfast and chores
Bible/MemPoetrySpanish/Current Events/TimelineNature study/Fine ArtsMathGrammar/VocabularyHistory Reading (a book each day)Literature (a book each day/Composition-Fridays)SciencePianoFree Reading
DS's looks similar:

Daily
Breakfast and choresBible/MemPoetrySpanish/C.Event/TimelineNature study/Fine ArtsMathPhonics and CopyworkHistory /Science Reading LiteraturePiano Free Reading

We do short lessons and each one only takes about 5-15 min and on a good day we can fly right through it. Some days some subjects are combined. I just check them off if they are combined with something else.

I also added a couple of new things that have fallen by the wayside. News/Current Events and Timeline. I'm really not a current events person and usually hear about what's going on from my dh or my friends. So this is something that is not a habit for me but I'd like my children to learn it. In the past I had subscribed to the kids' version of World mag but we never read it so I felt like I was wasting my money. For now we just read an article off of the web.

As far as the timeline entry that was hit or miss also. Yesterday my ds added Squanto since we just read a book about him and DD decided to add the poet we read yesterday - Christina Rossetti. So that worked well. We just have a hard time deciding which type of timeline to use! Right now we have one on the wall and we do like that but it is partially covered up by a desk we recently added in our sunroom. So I just don't know what we are going to do. We make a history notebook so it seemed redundant to have a timeline notebook. Besides we had a hard time finding things in that HUGE notebook. Just didn't work for us. The wall timeline seems better - we can see it all at a glance. I just need a bigger wall!

Othello the Moor

Othello the Moor by William Shakespeare

March 22, 2006

Othello was a Moor who lived in Venice, Italy where he was an officer in the navy. He was well respected as an officer. He fell in love with his friend’s daughter Desdemona and she fell in love with him as well even though he was twice her age. They wanted to be together and they thought her father and the others would not approve so they eloped. Her father was upset more with the fact that they had eloped, not the fact that they were in love. He admired Othello and as long as Othello treated his daughter well and she was truly happy, that is all that mattered to him.

Othello was to give a promotion within the ranks. He chose a fellow named Cassio for his bravery and loyalty in previous battles. Iago was envious that he had not been chosen. Iago decided to seek revenge on Othello and Cassio. He was also prejudice against Othello for his Turkish background. He devised a plan that included a friend Roderigo. Iago befriended Othello and made him think he was a trustworthy friend. But indeed he put counterfeit thoughts in Othello’s head of Desdemona being unfaithful with Cassio. Othello was unsure at first, but Iago had his wife Emelia, who was Desdemona’s maid, secure a handkerchief of Desdemona’s. He then had her give it to Cassio under pretense that it was another woman whom Cassio admired. Othello saw Cassio with that hanky, he was astonished and outraged and burned with jealousy. As he tried to understand and comprehend the actions of his wife he literally went mad! He believed every lie Iago told.

Iago offered to have Cassio killed. Othello eagerly agreed. He did however want to protect his reputation so he allowed someone else to do the deed. Iago not wanting to get his hands dirty coerced Roderigo into commiting the murder. Roderigo was set up to accost Cassio in the city. He jumped out to stab him but Cassio stabbed him first, then Iago came forth and finished the deed by stabbing Roderigo himself. Roderigo was aware of the betrayal and cursed Iago then died. Iago then stabbed Cassio, but Cassio did not die.

Meanwhile at the castle, Othello went to his bedroom and in a rant tried to choke Desdemona to her death. Desdemona was innocent but she could not get Othello to listen. But she had not yet died when her handmaid Emelia came to her room and saw the events taking place and was extremely grieved and distressed. She cried out for help for her mistress. The others came running including Iago to see what was the matter.

When Othello told them why he had choked her, Emelia told of how she had taken the handkerchief because her husband had told her to and Othello began to realize his grave mistake. Iago tried to shut his wife up but her story had to be told. He threatened to hit her, but she still went on. He was outraged and he stabbed her and ran. Officers ran after him and caught him. Emelia lay down beside her mistress and died.
The officers captured Othello and prepared to take him to jail when he grabbed one of their swords and stabbed himself. He lay down and died beside Desdemona.

Highschool

I'm beginning to relax more now that we're actually DOING high school. In fact when I get overwhelmed one thing I do is pull out the Texas Education Agency's list of graduation requirements. There just isn't that much to it!
Using AO and CM methods goes far beyond that list. I also know that academics are really the easy part of homeschooling. A book and a curious child take care of that. It's all the character building and relationship building in between that shapes our children into adults who serve well the kingdom.

Our school week Feb 13-17

This week went rather smoothly. We’ve adopted our new more flexible schedule. Just getting everything done, but no particular time or order. I guess you could call it assignment based rather than time based.

I made just a very simple weekly grid and included everything to be done for the day and we just work until it’s all done.

This week together we did:
Spanish
Art – Masterpieces From Turkey
Composer – Gershwin
Shakespeare – Othello
Plutarch - Poplicola

Year 2 ds:
Monday:
The Bible – We’re finishing up reading the Exodus from Egypt, now were near Moses’ death
Story of the World Volume II chapter 3 Christianity Comes to Britain
Poetry of Eugene Field
Phonics/Reading/ Copywork
Science – Magic School Bus
Math-U-See Alpha lesson 9
Oral Narration

Tuesday:
The Bible
Wind in the Willows ½ of chapter 3
Phonics/Reading/ Copywork
Science – Exploring Creation with Astronomy
Math- Living book: 12 Ways to Get to 11
Oral Narration

Wednesday:
Pilgrim’s Progress
Burgess Animal Book: Two Unlike Little Cousins
Poetry of Eugene Field
Phonics/Reading/ Copywork
Science – Exploring Creation with Astronomy
Math-U-See Alpha lesson 9
Oral Narration

Thursday:
The Bible
Story of the World Volume II chapter 3 Christianity Comes to Britain
Wind in the Willows ½ of chapter 3
Phonics/Reading/ Copywork
Science – Magic Schoolbus
Math-U-See Alpha lesson 9
Oral Narration

Friday:
The Bible
Marco Polo ch 2
Poetry of Eugene Field
Phonics/Reading/ Copywork
Science – Magic Schoolbus
Math- Living book: Is a Blue Whale the Biggest Thing There Is?
Oral Narration




Year 9 dd:
Daily:
Bible reading – Joshua
Apologia Biology ½ of Module 1 What is Life?
Grammar and Copywork
3 Written Narrations
Oral Narration
Math U See Algebra 1 Lesson 10
Piano practice and lessons

Monday:
The Age of Revolution: The House of Hanover
The English Constitution
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin 16 pages
Tuesday:
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin 16 pages
Common Sense by Thomas Paine – Introduction
Simond’s History of American Literature II Benjamin Franklin
Wednesday:
Mere Christianity – Book I, chapters 1 & 2
Letters to His Son by Lord Chesterfield 1 letter
History of Rasselas ch 1-3
Poetry of Phyllis Wheatley
Thursday:
The Ultimate Geography and Timeline Guide – Ch. 14 North America
Life of the Fly ch 1
Poetry of Phyllis Wheatley
Friday:
CM’s Ourselves
Poetry of Phyllis Wheatley
Life of the Fly ch 2