Monday, February 4, 2013

The rest of this school year

We have our groove back, in spite of our house still being under construction.

Maeve will finish her current handwriting book
Both kids will complete Singapore 1B
We'll finish reading Little House on the Prairie
The kids will start studying seeds and plants and will help me plan the garden. We'll cover companion planting, soil/compost, and build a worm farm. We will also be spending a great deal of time outside as soon as the weather permits.
The kids will continue reading/working through their McGuffey's Readers.

There is no formal stop date and we will continue school throughout the summer because my kids thrive on routine. Summer school will be nature based and more than likely include fun chapter books, Khan Academy, and math drill worksheets.

Curriculum for 1st and 3rd grades

I'm reading Charlotte Mason's books right now and like them. She explains how to do dictation and narration and talks a lot about the importance of being outdoors. I strongly agree with most of what she has written and it's nice to put a name to what I've been doing, or at least trying to do. It also gives me some direction, which I greatly appreciate. I'm done thinking about curriculum and can move on to planning my garden.

History:
American History Stories, Vol 1-3
 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1599152029/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
American Tall Tales

Science:
I'm ordering quite a few guides like this (as an aside, I was super excited because I found two of these while reorganizing all of our books):
 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0912550007/ref=ox_sc_act_title_9?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

We will focus on nature study as long as the weather is above 50 degrees. When the weather is crappy, we will do experiments and go through Sonlight C, which we are currently using. I already have lots of science stuff so I think I'll fly by the seat of my pants.

Language:
Primary Language Lessons for Maeve
McGuffey's Readers for Maeve and Finn
Handwriting Without Tears Cursive
Handwriting Without Tears My Printing Book
Handwriting Without Tears My First School Book

Latin

Math: Singapore 2A

Art: Adventures in Art