I don't have our official date for when our next academic year will begin but I do have my curriculum choices ironed out. I will be teaching second grade and kindergarten next year.
Kindergarten:
Math: Saxon K
Reading: Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, Bob Books Box 1
Handwriting: Seton Handwriting K
Religion: Catholic Children's Picture Bible and Leading Little Ones to Mary
(History and Science, I will not formally teach at this age but the K'er will be able to participate with the 2nd grader)
Literature: Fairy Tales and Nursery Rhymes
Second Grade:
Math: Saxon 2
Reading: McGuffey's Eclectic Readers, National Catholic Readers, Faith and Freedom Readers and books from the library at appropriate reading level
Handwriting: Seton Handwriting 2
Spelling: Spelling Workout B
Grammar: First Language Lessons (pt. 2)
Writing: Writing with Ease (I don't know if we will like it but I'm going to give it a try)
History: Story of the World 2 (Middle Ages), plus a study on lives of the saints, popes and some councils in this time period
Science: Geology, Astronomy, and Weather, various books and experiments
US Geography: State capitals
World Geography: North American (including Latin America) countries
General Geography: Maps, Charts, and Graphs Level B
Art Appreciation: Child-Size Masterpieces
Art: Drawing, still undecided
PE: Hopefully we'll be doing either bowling or swimming
Music: Listening to Classical music, piano lessons still pending necessary funds
Religion: Our Holy Faith book 1, preparing for First Holy Communion in May or June of 2010.
Literature will be books that fit in with curriculum, independent choices and read-alouds from classics
Showing posts with label curriculum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label curriculum. Show all posts
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Beginning to Teach Reading
I have mentioned before that I have always wanted to homeschool my children. We also do not watch regular television or subscribe to cable. I have tried to create a home that is a not only peaceful and God-serving but also a place where the children can learn. I really want our children to love to learn and appreciate the beautiful and amazing world that God made for them.
It all started with Boo, of course, because he is the oldest. I began to teach him shapes, colors, counting. I would never get him to sing the alphabet until he was 3 or 4 though. When he turned three, I bought one of those Hooked on Phonics early learning packages. It contained a book and a CD to learn the names of the letters. I thought that the songs were pretty stupid, even painful to listen to but he liked it a lot. But that is not what helped him learn the letters.
The Hooked on Phonics book contained a book of bubble letters that you were supposed to color and decorate. I took that one step further and cut them out and hung them on the door by which we exited our apartment. Each day we would review the letters that he colored on the door and when he learned one, we would add a new one. Sometimes I would give him a quiz, so in order to leave the house to go out and play he had to "unlock" the door by telling me the letter names. I did this both with capital and small letters, until he knew them all.
Book had learned all of his letters by the time he was 3 1/2. Beyond that there was not much more to teach him. He began to get bored again and wanted to spend the day doing whatever I was doing.
I have always been an early-bird when it comes to home education, so that winter I ordered much of the kindergarten curriculum that I wanted and began to look through it. I tried to begin him with Seton Kindergarten Phonics and had no success.
I looked through different recommendations and stumbled upon Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. Once we got past the discipline issues- not wanting to sit still, thinking that getting up during a lesson was acceptable, we were fine. I cannot describe the amazement and wonder which I watched my son learn to read through this book. I began the book about a month before he turned four.
We needed a lot of review at first and I wanted to take things at a leisurely pace. But here we are almost a year later, I am 6 lessons away from finishing this book. My son is not yet 5 years old and he is beginning to learn to spell, without being formally taught. He is figuring out for himself what letter words begin with and even standing over my shoulder when I am on the computer, trying to read what I write. He can read Bob Books, Dr. Seuss-type books, like Go Dog Go and Hop on Pop. I even hear him in the car, trying to read signs and billboards.
So that is where we are, almost two years into this journey. We're going to be using The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading next. Beyond that, I have not decided what to use, but we will be gradually moving on to more challenging books. I am looking ahead with anticipation of progress to be made and teaching our second child, Meenie, to read!
It all started with Boo, of course, because he is the oldest. I began to teach him shapes, colors, counting. I would never get him to sing the alphabet until he was 3 or 4 though. When he turned three, I bought one of those Hooked on Phonics early learning packages. It contained a book and a CD to learn the names of the letters. I thought that the songs were pretty stupid, even painful to listen to but he liked it a lot. But that is not what helped him learn the letters.
The Hooked on Phonics book contained a book of bubble letters that you were supposed to color and decorate. I took that one step further and cut them out and hung them on the door by which we exited our apartment. Each day we would review the letters that he colored on the door and when he learned one, we would add a new one. Sometimes I would give him a quiz, so in order to leave the house to go out and play he had to "unlock" the door by telling me the letter names. I did this both with capital and small letters, until he knew them all.
Book had learned all of his letters by the time he was 3 1/2. Beyond that there was not much more to teach him. He began to get bored again and wanted to spend the day doing whatever I was doing.
I have always been an early-bird when it comes to home education, so that winter I ordered much of the kindergarten curriculum that I wanted and began to look through it. I tried to begin him with Seton Kindergarten Phonics and had no success.
I looked through different recommendations and stumbled upon Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. Once we got past the discipline issues- not wanting to sit still, thinking that getting up during a lesson was acceptable, we were fine. I cannot describe the amazement and wonder which I watched my son learn to read through this book. I began the book about a month before he turned four.
We needed a lot of review at first and I wanted to take things at a leisurely pace. But here we are almost a year later, I am 6 lessons away from finishing this book. My son is not yet 5 years old and he is beginning to learn to spell, without being formally taught. He is figuring out for himself what letter words begin with and even standing over my shoulder when I am on the computer, trying to read what I write. He can read Bob Books, Dr. Seuss-type books, like Go Dog Go and Hop on Pop. I even hear him in the car, trying to read signs and billboards.
So that is where we are, almost two years into this journey. We're going to be using The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading next. Beyond that, I have not decided what to use, but we will be gradually moving on to more challenging books. I am looking ahead with anticipation of progress to be made and teaching our second child, Meenie, to read!
Sunday, March 30, 2008
My Home Education Plan and State Law
Today, I am going to explore how the program I created fits into the law and requirements for this state.
First of all, I do not have to give any notification this year. The reason why is that kindergarten is not mandatory; the compulsory attendance age is 6. I often laugh when I think about filing for first grade in 2009- what is it going to look like when my 6 year old is using mostly second grade materials?!
So from the data given at www.hslda.org...
I not even required to teach anything to my children before the age of 6. That would be lazy and irresponsible, wouldn't it?
My home education plan, in relation to state law:
900 hours at the elementary level
---so if I begin in May and we can easily cover that with all of our daily lessons and activities, especially considering that we school on Saturday and sometimes do extra lessons on Sundays
Reading
---I'm teaching a phonics program and we are studying literature, Boo should be reading at a first grade level by fall and maybe even more independently
Writing
---Boo is learning to write his letters and how to spell, so that he can write meaningful things one day
English language and grammar
---We're using First Language Lessons which is great because many of the lessons are oral. I am also trying to remember to get both children to answer in complete sentences.
Geography
---We're going to learn the names and locations of all 50 states. We are also working on learning the names of the continents and oceans. In addition, when geography over laps history we will be locating regions and areas that are pertinent on the map.
Arithmetic
---We've got that covered with Saxon 1.
Drawing
---We will be learning about drawing, I actually possess a little talent for drawing, so this should be a pleasure. I plan on picking up some how-to-draw books.
Music
---We will continue to listen to all kinds of music from around the world. We're keeping formal piano or violin lessons in our minds at some point as well.
History
---We'll be studying ancient history, I can't wait!
I'm not sure that the state requires science but we will be studying the human body which will cover health. We'll also be learning about plants and animals.
I wasn't certain that the requirement for CPR, US Constitution, and duties of citizenship--being taught formally was meant for elementary levels, so I am not going to worry about those.
PE
---if we find a bowling league we're going to go with that. Otherwise, I think we'll just go bowling, for nature walks and do bicycle riding.
Good behavior
---I'm not really sure how the state can require this because it is so subjective. But I think that falls under religion. This is just one of those things that you learn through life's daily tasks anyways.
First of all, I do not have to give any notification this year. The reason why is that kindergarten is not mandatory; the compulsory attendance age is 6. I often laugh when I think about filing for first grade in 2009- what is it going to look like when my 6 year old is using mostly second grade materials?!
So from the data given at www.hslda.org...
I not even required to teach anything to my children before the age of 6. That would be lazy and irresponsible, wouldn't it?
My home education plan, in relation to state law:
900 hours at the elementary level
---so if I begin in May and we can easily cover that with all of our daily lessons and activities, especially considering that we school on Saturday and sometimes do extra lessons on Sundays
Reading
---I'm teaching a phonics program and we are studying literature, Boo should be reading at a first grade level by fall and maybe even more independently
Writing
---Boo is learning to write his letters and how to spell, so that he can write meaningful things one day
English language and grammar
---We're using First Language Lessons which is great because many of the lessons are oral. I am also trying to remember to get both children to answer in complete sentences.
Geography
---We're going to learn the names and locations of all 50 states. We are also working on learning the names of the continents and oceans. In addition, when geography over laps history we will be locating regions and areas that are pertinent on the map.
Arithmetic
---We've got that covered with Saxon 1.
Drawing
---We will be learning about drawing, I actually possess a little talent for drawing, so this should be a pleasure. I plan on picking up some how-to-draw books.
Music
---We will continue to listen to all kinds of music from around the world. We're keeping formal piano or violin lessons in our minds at some point as well.
History
---We'll be studying ancient history, I can't wait!
I'm not sure that the state requires science but we will be studying the human body which will cover health. We'll also be learning about plants and animals.
I wasn't certain that the requirement for CPR, US Constitution, and duties of citizenship--being taught formally was meant for elementary levels, so I am not going to worry about those.
PE
---if we find a bowling league we're going to go with that. Otherwise, I think we'll just go bowling, for nature walks and do bicycle riding.
Good behavior
---I'm not really sure how the state can require this because it is so subjective. But I think that falls under religion. This is just one of those things that you learn through life's daily tasks anyways.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
First Grade or K-5 plans
Beginning in May: Grade K-5/First Grade (call it what you like )
Math: Saxon 1
---I want to use Singapore, but my son loves to use Saxon, I figure why bother with something good! Singapore also has a bit of a culture barrier for me, some of the sample problems on the placement test-- I could not figure out what they meant until I saw the answer.
Handwriting: Seton Handwriting 1 for Young Catholics, plus extra paper for practice
Reading: Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading, Bob Books (all sets), Now I'm Reading series (all levels), various easy readers. ---I want to order the hardbound National Catholic Readers and the McGuffey Readers, but they are a bit expensive so I will have to wait and see. I want to buy the whole sets at once, not just one book at at time! I also have considered ordering the Little Angel Readers. I am also looking into what level that the American Cardinal Readers begin.
English: First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind ---If I can get a sneak peek at the Catholic version of Voyages in English, I may order that later too, but I do want the whole set. First Language Lessons may not last us the whole year, but it is for use in first and second grade so we will use it for 2 years.
Spelling: Spelling Workout Level A ---I am going to probably begin this subject about half-way through the year. I have considering also just making my own spelling lists and doing activities based on them.
Memory work: I plan on keeping a notebook with all of the poems,sayings, etc. that we memorize.
Science: We'll be following the classical sequence described in the WTM, so this year we will be studying Animals, Plants and the Human Body. I plan on doing it by unit studies and doing lots of experiments, museum visits and hands-on stuff. We'll probably be borrowing most of our books from the library. This will probably include getting a pet fish and growing some kind of plant. We'll also probably keep a nature journal, if I can get Boo to do so. (He doesn't really like to draw or color)
History: We'll be also following the WTM sequence here so we will be studying Ancient History. I have the Usborne Encyclopedia of the Ancient World for a reference. We will be using some of the Story of the World and its Activity Book. ---I won't be following the suggestion of studying gods and mythology, especially at this age. I am going to use some of the stories from this time period, but at an innocent level that will be suitable. We will be incorporating the history of our salvation and the creation of the world into everything. I'm going to be looking for a book to fill in my gaps of knowledge of Old Testament history--so I can teach this better. DH said Roman Catholic Books republishes something to that effect. ---I'd like to use a Catholic curricula but I do not think any of the ones currently being published fit my expectations, they tend to be too brief or not even on the same topic as us at the same level.
Geography: Maps charts and Graphs, Level A, memorizing the 50 states and their location using a simple US map and a sticker chart published by Dover, plus the seven continents and the four oceans using puzzles, maps, globe etc. I also plan on using Uncle Josh's Blackline maps for this and History, it's a CD rom so you print it out yourself. ---I believe I also bought a 50 states coloring book which I might copy and turn into part of a geography notebook. The Maps,Charts, Graphs book looks so easy that you could do it in one sitting, I may order the next level. I initially ordered it because graphs were our biggest stumbling block (really the only one) in mathematics.
P.E./Art/ Music: For P.E. we'll be taking nature walks and hikes, bowling--possibly in a league, maybe roller-skating. I've e-mailed a local roller rink to ask if they play classical music or at least oldies instead of Top 40 all the time. For music, I am considering getting a keyboard in order to teach my son piano, I don't know if that will work out. I may spend the next year trying to find a teacher for piano too. I also want the kids to learn violin, we'll see where that goes. We also listen to various music from around the world and different periods, except modern (hehe). For Art we will be doing picture study of great Catholic works as well as using Child-Sized Masterpieces and the book How to use Child-Sized Masterpieces (this book might be out of print). We are also using Art 1 for Young Catholics from Seton. Additionally, A Year with God: Celebrating the Liturgical Year we are using from Catholic Heritage, but omitting the Novus Ordo-y stuff. I also plan on borrowing some how-to-draw books form the library.
Religion: We'll be using and memorizing parts of the St. Joseph Baltimore Catechism (the First Communion one), as well as investing in some more good children's books on the Faith. We also read the New Testament out loud as a family. I have quite a few other resources, we'll use them as need. We also will be following and incorporating the Church year into our daily lives as usual, and reading the lives of the saints for children too! In addition to that, I take every opportunity to instruct the children in good morals, manners and behavior (which I consider to fall under religion because of the virtue of Charity).
Other etc.: I just plan on continuing to use the Kumon workbooks for fun and enrichment. Reading is really our biggest thing because I plan on adding Latin and a modern foreign language, probably Spanish, in the future (I'm thinking third grade).
Our schedule is probably going to look like this:
everyday:
Math 20-45 minutes
Language Arts 1-2 hours
Handwriting 15 minutes
Spelling 15 minutes
memory work 5-10 minutes
geography 10-15 minutes
I almost always do the most disliked subject right away after breakfast, it makes the rest of the day seem easy two days each week for: history ex: Mon, Tues 1 hour science ex: Wed, Thurs 30 minutes-hours art: Friday 30 minutes PE: 1-2 days a week 10-30 minutes
Math: Saxon 1
---I want to use Singapore, but my son loves to use Saxon, I figure why bother with something good! Singapore also has a bit of a culture barrier for me, some of the sample problems on the placement test-- I could not figure out what they meant until I saw the answer.
Handwriting: Seton Handwriting 1 for Young Catholics, plus extra paper for practice
Reading: Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading, Bob Books (all sets), Now I'm Reading series (all levels), various easy readers. ---I want to order the hardbound National Catholic Readers and the McGuffey Readers, but they are a bit expensive so I will have to wait and see. I want to buy the whole sets at once, not just one book at at time! I also have considered ordering the Little Angel Readers. I am also looking into what level that the American Cardinal Readers begin.
English: First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind ---If I can get a sneak peek at the Catholic version of Voyages in English, I may order that later too, but I do want the whole set. First Language Lessons may not last us the whole year, but it is for use in first and second grade so we will use it for 2 years.
Spelling: Spelling Workout Level A ---I am going to probably begin this subject about half-way through the year. I have considering also just making my own spelling lists and doing activities based on them.
Memory work: I plan on keeping a notebook with all of the poems,sayings, etc. that we memorize.
Science: We'll be following the classical sequence described in the WTM, so this year we will be studying Animals, Plants and the Human Body. I plan on doing it by unit studies and doing lots of experiments, museum visits and hands-on stuff. We'll probably be borrowing most of our books from the library. This will probably include getting a pet fish and growing some kind of plant. We'll also probably keep a nature journal, if I can get Boo to do so. (He doesn't really like to draw or color)
History: We'll be also following the WTM sequence here so we will be studying Ancient History. I have the Usborne Encyclopedia of the Ancient World for a reference. We will be using some of the Story of the World and its Activity Book. ---I won't be following the suggestion of studying gods and mythology, especially at this age. I am going to use some of the stories from this time period, but at an innocent level that will be suitable. We will be incorporating the history of our salvation and the creation of the world into everything. I'm going to be looking for a book to fill in my gaps of knowledge of Old Testament history--so I can teach this better. DH said Roman Catholic Books republishes something to that effect. ---I'd like to use a Catholic curricula but I do not think any of the ones currently being published fit my expectations, they tend to be too brief or not even on the same topic as us at the same level.
Geography: Maps charts and Graphs, Level A, memorizing the 50 states and their location using a simple US map and a sticker chart published by Dover, plus the seven continents and the four oceans using puzzles, maps, globe etc. I also plan on using Uncle Josh's Blackline maps for this and History, it's a CD rom so you print it out yourself. ---I believe I also bought a 50 states coloring book which I might copy and turn into part of a geography notebook. The Maps,Charts, Graphs book looks so easy that you could do it in one sitting, I may order the next level. I initially ordered it because graphs were our biggest stumbling block (really the only one) in mathematics.
P.E./Art/ Music: For P.E. we'll be taking nature walks and hikes, bowling--possibly in a league, maybe roller-skating. I've e-mailed a local roller rink to ask if they play classical music or at least oldies instead of Top 40 all the time. For music, I am considering getting a keyboard in order to teach my son piano, I don't know if that will work out. I may spend the next year trying to find a teacher for piano too. I also want the kids to learn violin, we'll see where that goes. We also listen to various music from around the world and different periods, except modern (hehe). For Art we will be doing picture study of great Catholic works as well as using Child-Sized Masterpieces and the book How to use Child-Sized Masterpieces (this book might be out of print). We are also using Art 1 for Young Catholics from Seton. Additionally, A Year with God: Celebrating the Liturgical Year we are using from Catholic Heritage, but omitting the Novus Ordo-y stuff. I also plan on borrowing some how-to-draw books form the library.
Religion: We'll be using and memorizing parts of the St. Joseph Baltimore Catechism (the First Communion one), as well as investing in some more good children's books on the Faith. We also read the New Testament out loud as a family. I have quite a few other resources, we'll use them as need. We also will be following and incorporating the Church year into our daily lives as usual, and reading the lives of the saints for children too! In addition to that, I take every opportunity to instruct the children in good morals, manners and behavior (which I consider to fall under religion because of the virtue of Charity).
Other etc.: I just plan on continuing to use the Kumon workbooks for fun and enrichment. Reading is really our biggest thing because I plan on adding Latin and a modern foreign language, probably Spanish, in the future (I'm thinking third grade).
Our schedule is probably going to look like this:
everyday:
Math 20-45 minutes
Language Arts 1-2 hours
Handwriting 15 minutes
Spelling 15 minutes
memory work 5-10 minutes
geography 10-15 minutes
I almost always do the most disliked subject right away after breakfast, it makes the rest of the day seem easy two days each week for: history ex: Mon, Tues 1 hour science ex: Wed, Thurs 30 minutes-hours art: Friday 30 minutes PE: 1-2 days a week 10-30 minutes
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