I’ve posted previously that I just wasn’t happy with the way history was proceeding this year for EG. Logic stage history is supposed to be about making connections, discovering the “why” behind history, and delving into cause and effect. I felt like it had instead become a checklist and the result was merely a continuation of learning and approaches like those used in grammar stage. Ouch!
I decided to make a change for next year. Instead of continuing with a chronological study of the world, using a spine, we’re going to look at history through different ‘lenses’ for the next two years (sixth and seventh grades, approximately). Next year, EG is going to study physical geography, the history of cartography, and a bit of cultural geography, all through Ellen McHenry’s Mapping the World with Art. One of things that appealed to me was the drawing component; art skills is one area that continually gets neglected in our home/school. I ordered it last weekend, received it last week, and spent the weekend printing it out and then reading through the history material, the map drawing directions, and the activity suggestions.
I’m really excited about this course of study for next year! Now, if you’re familiar with the curriculum, you know that it really doesn’t include any cultural geography, and that is an area we’ll supplement somewhat. In theory, we have 30-60 minutes set aside each week for art skills, plus 3 hours a week for history/social sciences. With this amount of time, I’m confident EG will be able to complete the reading, the map drawings, one to four activities per chapter, and still have time for a bit of supplementary reading and projects. We may use Evan-Moor geography units for each continent to enhance the physical geography, or we may not; I have to procure at least one in order to decide. One of the things I really want to do is incorporate some cooking for various countries and geographical areas. I also want EG to complete four projects over the course of the year (approximately one per quarter, or one per every seven to eight chapters). Essentially, I’m thinking of having EG do these projects each on a topic that is more related to cultural geography or the history of cartography (as opposed to physical geography), and she’ll have a choice of what format in which to present each one: a display board, a standard essay or paper, a Keynote/PowerPoint-style presentation on the computer, or a website are the formats I’ve brainstormed for now. We’ll also try to actually take advantage of the library for the cultural geography study; I’m thinking of those series of books in the children’s section that cover most of the countries in five or six well-photographed chapters per book/country.
This year of study won’t lend itself to writing as well as straight history might, so I’ll have to make sure to include outlining practice and writing practice in other subjects moreso than I might otherwise would have. It won’t give EG a chance to practice interpreting written primary sources, but it will give her experience with a different type of primary source: old maps! Since the course is projected to take only thirty weeks, we may take time halfway through to do a Jackdaw, and again at the end of the course. Even with these potential downsides, though, I feel like it’s a great choice for her for the coming academic year.
Showing posts with label homeschool: 6th grade plans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homeschool: 6th grade plans. Show all posts
5.12.10
After December Comes 2011.
And, of course, 2011 means that after 2010-2011 is over, there will be 2011-2012. How'd that happen, again?
When it comes to next year and my two students, there's one for whom it's easy to list what we'll be doing. Then there's my darling EG.
Thank goodness for Michael Clay Thompson's language arts. We'll be using the entirety of the level four package - grammar, poetics, vocabulary, and composition. We'll also be continuing to use All About Spelling through the planned seventh level (no, we haven't started the sixth level; that will happen after Christmas, hopefully).
Everything else? Is vague.
Literature… I am taking a serious look at Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings, possibly done through the onlineg3 class. That would cover September, October, November, December, and January, leaving me with a month at the beginning of our school year, as well as the remainder of the school year after January. I need to look at what we're going to do in history through the end of this school year, and restructure that literature accordingly. Then, I'll have a better sense of what other works I want her to read next year.
Mathematics… EG loves Fred, so I won't take her from her beloved Life of Fred for Geometry, even though I think the idea of putting "algebra" in a proof for any algebraic property is bunk. I've looked through the text, though, and anticipate it taking only 108 days, leaving plenty of room in the schedule for her to work through the proofs and end of chapter problems, if not the entire book, from Art of Problem Solving's Introduction to Geometry. All of that said, if next year is like every other year with math, she'll accomplish more than I suspect possible at the outset, so I'd better buy up Life of Fred Trigonometry. (I half-think she'll start Geometry before the end of 2010/2011.)
Social Sciences… I have to reconfigure my expectations for this year. Once I make sure she can finish the middle ages and the Renaissance, then I can begin to move forward. Tentatively, though, I'm looking at Ellen McHenry's Excavating English, as well as her Mapping the World with Art. I also have plans to pull together an economics study, and United States government, plus a world history course focused through the lens of food. All of this is for sixth and seventh grade (and possibly part of the remainder of fifth grade, to be honest), so here's another area where things are totally up in the air.
Science… I'm seriously considering having her tackle chemistry next year, as opposed to biology. Why? For starters, this year, we've spent and will spend a lot of time on biological topics. PLATO Life Science, yes, but also a human body study, a prehistoric life study, and a focused study of evolution and genetics. I love biology, but I do not want to burn her out on biology! Chemistry also fits more neatly into my Hogwarts school plans. We'll probably supplement science in other areas, thanks to Hogwarts, but I can find a chemistry program designed for homeschooling so much more easily. I'm actually seriously considering Spectrum Chemistry, even though I've sworn for years that I wouldn't buy any science materials from an obviously sectarian or creationist company. As far as I can tell, though, from all my reading and investigating, there's nothing in it to which I would object. It seems to be a 32 week course, with only three days of work expected in a week. Since we do core subjects four days a week, that gives us the flexibility to add enrichment (Caveman Chemistry, anyone?) as well as the other Hogwarts sciences (astronomy and herbology/botany).
German… I am considering enrolling the kids in a German Saturday school. I'm also making doe eyes at a friend who knows German to teach the kids. We may do both. Who knows? Not me!
Fine Arts, Skills… EG will continue with trumpet instruction and participation in band. She will audition for the "Advanced Band" and may apply to join Beginning Jazz (admission based on qualifying for Advanced). I think she'd like to continue piano lessons, even though my requirement of two years piano instruction will be met at that time. If she doesn't do any formal drawing instruction this year, it will definitely be on the list for next year. I'm going to outsource it, though, either by getting my mother to do it (with Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain) or by paying for outside instruction.
Fine Arts, Appreciation… Performances will continue to be important. I'd like her to attend two ballet performances, at least one musical performance in addition to the band concerts, and one to three theatre performances. I really would like to take her to an opera if there's an accessible one being performed nearby. She'll continue working through The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music History for, well, music history and world music appreciation, and Art for art history. I hope to renew our membership to the art museum, as well.
Logic… Unless something drastically changes, EG will be using The Snake and The Fox. I anticipate it taking one-half to two-thirds of the year. I also have Nonsense about fallacies, and a list of possibilities saved on amazon, to round out the year. Thanks to onlineg3, she'll have done both Critical Thinking 1 & Critical Thinking 2 this year, which should be a good basis for all of this. I also have some books on mathematical logic by Suppes, though I have no answer key for either. I think that's the point where I outsource, right?
Computers & Technology… I want EG to take some of the free classes and workshops offered at the Apple store. Ideally, I'd like her to take Art of Problem Solving's introduction to Python in seventh grade, so our main goals for sixth grade are to improve typing speed and to get comfortable with basic software usage.
I really want to have everything finalized by March, which means I will have a busy two or three months ahead of me. Why March? We're going to Greenville! (I'm so excited. Susan Wise Bauer, Jessie Wise, Jim Weiss, Michael Clay Thompson, Ed Zaccaro, plus Tim Hawkins. Yay!)
When it comes to next year and my two students, there's one for whom it's easy to list what we'll be doing. Then there's my darling EG.
Thank goodness for Michael Clay Thompson's language arts. We'll be using the entirety of the level four package - grammar, poetics, vocabulary, and composition. We'll also be continuing to use All About Spelling through the planned seventh level (no, we haven't started the sixth level; that will happen after Christmas, hopefully).
Everything else? Is vague.
Literature… I am taking a serious look at Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings, possibly done through the onlineg3 class. That would cover September, October, November, December, and January, leaving me with a month at the beginning of our school year, as well as the remainder of the school year after January. I need to look at what we're going to do in history through the end of this school year, and restructure that literature accordingly. Then, I'll have a better sense of what other works I want her to read next year.
Mathematics… EG loves Fred, so I won't take her from her beloved Life of Fred for Geometry, even though I think the idea of putting "algebra" in a proof for any algebraic property is bunk. I've looked through the text, though, and anticipate it taking only 108 days, leaving plenty of room in the schedule for her to work through the proofs and end of chapter problems, if not the entire book, from Art of Problem Solving's Introduction to Geometry. All of that said, if next year is like every other year with math, she'll accomplish more than I suspect possible at the outset, so I'd better buy up Life of Fred Trigonometry. (I half-think she'll start Geometry before the end of 2010/2011.)
Social Sciences… I have to reconfigure my expectations for this year. Once I make sure she can finish the middle ages and the Renaissance, then I can begin to move forward. Tentatively, though, I'm looking at Ellen McHenry's Excavating English, as well as her Mapping the World with Art. I also have plans to pull together an economics study, and United States government, plus a world history course focused through the lens of food. All of this is for sixth and seventh grade (and possibly part of the remainder of fifth grade, to be honest), so here's another area where things are totally up in the air.
Science… I'm seriously considering having her tackle chemistry next year, as opposed to biology. Why? For starters, this year, we've spent and will spend a lot of time on biological topics. PLATO Life Science, yes, but also a human body study, a prehistoric life study, and a focused study of evolution and genetics. I love biology, but I do not want to burn her out on biology! Chemistry also fits more neatly into my Hogwarts school plans. We'll probably supplement science in other areas, thanks to Hogwarts, but I can find a chemistry program designed for homeschooling so much more easily. I'm actually seriously considering Spectrum Chemistry, even though I've sworn for years that I wouldn't buy any science materials from an obviously sectarian or creationist company. As far as I can tell, though, from all my reading and investigating, there's nothing in it to which I would object. It seems to be a 32 week course, with only three days of work expected in a week. Since we do core subjects four days a week, that gives us the flexibility to add enrichment (Caveman Chemistry, anyone?) as well as the other Hogwarts sciences (astronomy and herbology/botany).
German… I am considering enrolling the kids in a German Saturday school. I'm also making doe eyes at a friend who knows German to teach the kids. We may do both. Who knows? Not me!
Fine Arts, Skills… EG will continue with trumpet instruction and participation in band. She will audition for the "Advanced Band" and may apply to join Beginning Jazz (admission based on qualifying for Advanced). I think she'd like to continue piano lessons, even though my requirement of two years piano instruction will be met at that time. If she doesn't do any formal drawing instruction this year, it will definitely be on the list for next year. I'm going to outsource it, though, either by getting my mother to do it (with Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain) or by paying for outside instruction.
Fine Arts, Appreciation… Performances will continue to be important. I'd like her to attend two ballet performances, at least one musical performance in addition to the band concerts, and one to three theatre performances. I really would like to take her to an opera if there's an accessible one being performed nearby. She'll continue working through The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music History for, well, music history and world music appreciation, and Art for art history. I hope to renew our membership to the art museum, as well.
Logic… Unless something drastically changes, EG will be using The Snake and The Fox. I anticipate it taking one-half to two-thirds of the year. I also have Nonsense about fallacies, and a list of possibilities saved on amazon, to round out the year. Thanks to onlineg3, she'll have done both Critical Thinking 1 & Critical Thinking 2 this year, which should be a good basis for all of this. I also have some books on mathematical logic by Suppes, though I have no answer key for either. I think that's the point where I outsource, right?
Computers & Technology… I want EG to take some of the free classes and workshops offered at the Apple store. Ideally, I'd like her to take Art of Problem Solving's introduction to Python in seventh grade, so our main goals for sixth grade are to improve typing speed and to get comfortable with basic software usage.
I really want to have everything finalized by March, which means I will have a busy two or three months ahead of me. Why March? We're going to Greenville! (I'm so excited. Susan Wise Bauer, Jessie Wise, Jim Weiss, Michael Clay Thompson, Ed Zaccaro, plus Tim Hawkins. Yay!)
22.11.10
Ack.
I was conflicted over how much work we’d do for school this week. On the one hand, no matter how many days we do, we wouldn’t get a full five days completed, so we’d be uneven (I like my number of days at the end of each week to be divisible by five). On the other hand, I was planning to complete five days between this week & the week of December 20, so the more days we finish now, the fewer we do that week.
While I was dithering over this issue, I also realized that we’re going to finish 105 days by the end of 2010! That’s well over halfway, and we’ll hit the two-thirds mark before the end of January. This in turn inspired a moment of panic about planning for next year.
I started planning this year very early last year. Most of this was because I thought we’d be moving in the late spring or early summer, and I wanted to have things planned and purchased before that time. Well, we didn’t move yet, so in theory I should be concerned about the same scenario. Add to that attending the Southeast Homeschool Convention in March, where in theory I could purchase a good amount of next year’s materials, and I realized that at the very least, I should have some things decided, if not planned.
Eeek.
I don’t. Not really. I can rattle off a list of things that are decided, but they’re decided because they are the next book(s) or item(s) in a series or curriculum that is already working for us. There’s no actual decision to be made. Don’t get me wrong, I’m extraordinarily thankful that I know those, at least, and that the majority of those require no advance planning (the best, shining example? Writing With Ease. “Oh look, it’s the first week and the third day. Here, the paper is labeled for us!”). However, that means that while on paper it may look like I’m a good way towards complete, almost all of the real work is still ahead of me.
Sigh.
I have mid-year course corrections to puzzle out, as well – I’m reworking EG’s history, and plan to add a course or two from Duke’s TIP Independent Learning offerings. We’ve shelved Latin for now, have added some computer skills, and may be adding a modern foreign language as early as January.
Help.
It’s time, then, for this year’s iteration of the by 1 July list. Call it v2.0. Subject to editing as I remember more things.
By 1 July 2011
01. Decide on supplemental titles for Story of the World Volume Two. (FB)
02. Plan out life science/biology with spines, supplemental books, and projects and activities. (FB)
03. Work through the next sections of Art in Story for art appreciation. (FB)
04. Make a better plan for grammar stage art projects. (FB)
05. Make a tentative literature list. (FB)
06. Decide whether or not to enroll the kids in a Saturday language school. (FB & EG)
07. Decide what to do about literature for EG for next year. (EG)
08. Work on Hogwarts-ian plans. (EG)
09. Decide on online classes. (EG)
10. Figure out social sciences/history. (EG)
11. Plan social sciences/history once decided. (EG)
12. Make a final decision on science and plan out if necessary. (EG)
13. Decide on what technology/computer skills to emphasize. (EG)
14. Plan art history for the year. (EG)
15. Plan music history/appreciation for the year. (EG)
16. Make a list of various math resources, since she’ll probably tear through them. (EG)
17. Make a shopping list of everything, to take to Greenville.
While I was dithering over this issue, I also realized that we’re going to finish 105 days by the end of 2010! That’s well over halfway, and we’ll hit the two-thirds mark before the end of January. This in turn inspired a moment of panic about planning for next year.
I started planning this year very early last year. Most of this was because I thought we’d be moving in the late spring or early summer, and I wanted to have things planned and purchased before that time. Well, we didn’t move yet, so in theory I should be concerned about the same scenario. Add to that attending the Southeast Homeschool Convention in March, where in theory I could purchase a good amount of next year’s materials, and I realized that at the very least, I should have some things decided, if not planned.
Eeek.
I don’t. Not really. I can rattle off a list of things that are decided, but they’re decided because they are the next book(s) or item(s) in a series or curriculum that is already working for us. There’s no actual decision to be made. Don’t get me wrong, I’m extraordinarily thankful that I know those, at least, and that the majority of those require no advance planning (the best, shining example? Writing With Ease. “Oh look, it’s the first week and the third day. Here, the paper is labeled for us!”). However, that means that while on paper it may look like I’m a good way towards complete, almost all of the real work is still ahead of me.
Sigh.
I have mid-year course corrections to puzzle out, as well – I’m reworking EG’s history, and plan to add a course or two from Duke’s TIP Independent Learning offerings. We’ve shelved Latin for now, have added some computer skills, and may be adding a modern foreign language as early as January.
Help.
It’s time, then, for this year’s iteration of the by 1 July list. Call it v2.0. Subject to editing as I remember more things.
By 1 July 2011
01. Decide on supplemental titles for Story of the World Volume Two. (FB)
02. Plan out life science/biology with spines, supplemental books, and projects and activities. (FB)
03. Work through the next sections of Art in Story for art appreciation. (FB)
04. Make a better plan for grammar stage art projects. (FB)
05. Make a tentative literature list. (FB)
06. Decide whether or not to enroll the kids in a Saturday language school. (FB & EG)
07. Decide what to do about literature for EG for next year. (EG)
08. Work on Hogwarts-ian plans. (EG)
09. Decide on online classes. (EG)
10. Figure out social sciences/history. (EG)
11. Plan social sciences/history once decided. (EG)
12. Make a final decision on science and plan out if necessary. (EG)
13. Decide on what technology/computer skills to emphasize. (EG)
14. Plan art history for the year. (EG)
15. Plan music history/appreciation for the year. (EG)
16. Make a list of various math resources, since she’ll probably tear through them. (EG)
17. Make a shopping list of everything, to take to Greenville.
31.8.10
I Can't Help It, It's a Disease
With the year happily underway, I know what it means.
It's time to start thinking ahead. Time to start thinking about... 2011-2012.
Yes, I just created the "Homeschool 1112" folder on my computer.
I know, I know. Some haven't even started the 2010-2011 school year! I spread out our buying throughout the year, though, which means that very soon, I'll need to have a plan in order to purchase.
There's some good news. I know what I plan to use for FB for language arts and mathematics. The only real prep work that will need to be done for him is with regards to science and history. I know we'll continue with SOTW, so that is simply a matter of getting the activity guide and beginning to select books. For science, we'll do life science/biology, as suggested in WTM, but I need to select our spines, any experiments or experiment kits, and supplemental books. For EG, I know what I plan to use for language arts, including about half of the literature list. I plan to have her tackle geometry next year, and I have two of the three resources I plan to use. I do need to choose her history supplements. We'll continue with Latin Prep, and the art & music appreciation plans that we began this year. I think we'll use The Snake and the Fox for logic. So far, so good, right?
There's a little matter of a class called biology. O, hai there, bane of my existence. She wants to do high school biology next year. She's capable of this. That's not at issue. It's just... well, advanced math is pretty easy. We just keep doing the next thing, whether it's the next thing from Art of Problem Solving or the next thing from Life of Fred, or both. The sciences have more leeway. There's the molecular focus, or the zoological focus, or the ecological focus, or... well, you get the idea. To make matters worse, I was a biology major. Why does that make it worse? Because, as a result, I think every single part of biology is Of The Utmost Importance.
You would think that the lack of secular science material would mean I have few options. In a sense, this is true. All of the options I have identified were originally designed for classroom use, not homeschool use. It will also be necessary to add a laboratory component to the course, whatever I choose. The LabPaqs look like a possibility. If I seem to be rambling, that's because I essentially am. This has me far more flummoxed than I would like!
There was a thread on out of the box chemistry on WTM the other day, and I have half a mind to post a thread about out of the box biology. Surely there's some resource out there for biology that's vaguely reminiscent of Fred or MCT or...
In sum, though, my major decisions for next year are few. Decide on first grade life science spines, experiments, and supplemental books; choose books to accompany SOTW 2; finish EG's literature list; choose remaining history supplements for EG; and pick a biology curriculum for EG.
Sure. No sweat.
It's time to start thinking ahead. Time to start thinking about... 2011-2012.
Yes, I just created the "Homeschool 1112" folder on my computer.
I know, I know. Some haven't even started the 2010-2011 school year! I spread out our buying throughout the year, though, which means that very soon, I'll need to have a plan in order to purchase.
There's some good news. I know what I plan to use for FB for language arts and mathematics. The only real prep work that will need to be done for him is with regards to science and history. I know we'll continue with SOTW, so that is simply a matter of getting the activity guide and beginning to select books. For science, we'll do life science/biology, as suggested in WTM, but I need to select our spines, any experiments or experiment kits, and supplemental books. For EG, I know what I plan to use for language arts, including about half of the literature list. I plan to have her tackle geometry next year, and I have two of the three resources I plan to use. I do need to choose her history supplements. We'll continue with Latin Prep, and the art & music appreciation plans that we began this year. I think we'll use The Snake and the Fox for logic. So far, so good, right?
There's a little matter of a class called biology. O, hai there, bane of my existence. She wants to do high school biology next year. She's capable of this. That's not at issue. It's just... well, advanced math is pretty easy. We just keep doing the next thing, whether it's the next thing from Art of Problem Solving or the next thing from Life of Fred, or both. The sciences have more leeway. There's the molecular focus, or the zoological focus, or the ecological focus, or... well, you get the idea. To make matters worse, I was a biology major. Why does that make it worse? Because, as a result, I think every single part of biology is Of The Utmost Importance.
You would think that the lack of secular science material would mean I have few options. In a sense, this is true. All of the options I have identified were originally designed for classroom use, not homeschool use. It will also be necessary to add a laboratory component to the course, whatever I choose. The LabPaqs look like a possibility. If I seem to be rambling, that's because I essentially am. This has me far more flummoxed than I would like!
There was a thread on out of the box chemistry on WTM the other day, and I have half a mind to post a thread about out of the box biology. Surely there's some resource out there for biology that's vaguely reminiscent of Fred or MCT or...
In sum, though, my major decisions for next year are few. Decide on first grade life science spines, experiments, and supplemental books; choose books to accompany SOTW 2; finish EG's literature list; choose remaining history supplements for EG; and pick a biology curriculum for EG.
Sure. No sweat.
