Since this blog was created with the intention of tracking, organizing, and reporting about our homeschooling progress, I will need to post updates every week or so. I'll title it "Weekly Update" so that you can decide either to read about what we've been up to or to skip right over it so as not to be bored to tears!! Reading about other people's schoolwork is like looking through other people's travel photos.... you either like to or, well, not so much. I have been spending a lot of time developing a schedule that I think will work for us. I won't know for sure how our days will flow until we officially "start school" this fall, but I wanted to have something in place to give us some structure while trying to figure it all out. I've also been reading up on all the various methods of homeschooling, and really admire Charlotte Mason's educational philosophies. I also appreciate the Montessori approach, and plan to use many of the Montessori activities for B's preschooling. As for the actual "bones" of my curriculum--structure I'd like to follow-- I keep coming back to the classical approach as defined in The Well Trained Mind. It just seems to have the best "fit" for us overall. Here's a peek at D's curriculum for the 2008-09 year, based on a CM "living books" philosophy interwoven with the structure of TWTM:
Math:
Singapore Earlybird Math 2A and 2B
PowerMath to supplement
Phonics:
The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading
Little Stories for Little Folks
Grammar:
First Language Lessons
Spelling:
My First Catholic Speller
History:
Story of the World Volume 1: Ancient Times
Story of the World Activity Book
Science:
Easy as 1,2,3: A Catholic Overview of Science
Religion:
Catholic Heritage Kindergarten Curriculum
Fine Arts:
The Harp and the Laurel Wreath~ Poetry
Child-Sized Masterpieces~ Art History
Guitar Lessons~ Instrument Study
It looks like a lot when it's all down on paper, but not everything is studied every day of the week (other than math and language arts) or for long periods of time.
Handwriting is incorporated into the grammar lessons, geography with history, and reading/read-alouds will be a part of every subject, especially history and science. Most of what they learn will be learned from reading literature instead of textbooks. That's what appeals to me the most.
No comments:
Post a Comment