I contemplated not making this post. Not because the subject matter is particularly offensive, or offensive at all, really. I do worry about its reception. My oldest child is, after all, just finishing up her fourth grade year, and this post - this post is about college.
Suffice it to say that, yes, I know I am worrying extraordinarily early. However, I also believe in the maxim "begin with the end in mind," and we're getting to a point where we need to "begin" a few things that will carry over into the high school years. And, of course, the high school years are where colleges look. It's still early. Just chalk it up to my personality type and try to read the substance of the post. :)
There are two groups of books. There are books about getting into colleges & finding the right college, and there are books about homeschoolers going to college. In large part, the latter focus on the documentation that is necessary. I'm thankful that these resources exist! However, when they turn to choosing a college and getting into a college, their focus is on non-selective colleges. This is understandable; the majority of the population does not go selective colleges. (Selective colleges, as I understand it, are defined as those that admit less than 50% of all applicants.) The books that are not written for homeschoolers but for the general audience tend to focus on selective college admissions. This is also helpful information.
What's the problem? There's little written for homeschoolers who hope to attend selective colleges or selective programs within colleges & universities (or to gain merit scholarships). Oh, the academic advice is sound, across the board. That's not the issue. The advice to show involvement in your community through volunteer service - that's certainly applicable to homeschoolers! Suggestions to get a job or an internship, ideas of how to spend your summers - all homeschool-friendly.
It's the extracurricular activities that keep me cross-eyed.
So many of the mainstream books exhort students to display their leadership qualities in their extracurricular activities. Class officer, editor of the school paper, yearbook editor, captain of the varsity insert-sport-here team; it's not difficult to find a leadership position through school activities. Myself and my two best friends in high school were the sole senior members of math club and science club; we divided the offices of president, vice-president, and secretary/treasurer amongst us for the two clubs, and we dutiful wrote down our positions on our college application forms. As I said - not difficult. If my daughter wrote down that she was the president of science club on her application during her senior year, though, admissions officials would just laugh, even if she did more work than any of us did twenty years before she applies.
In short, showcasing leadership ability seems problematic for homeschoolers. For male homeschooled students whose families do not have issue with the Boy Scouts of America, attaining the rank of Eagle Scout provides an excellent route around this problem. Unfortunately, the comparable Girl Scout award, the Gold Award, is neither as well-recognized nor as rigorous. The Gold Award was comparably rigorous in the past, but I would not hold it up for comparison at this juncture. Can I require my daughter to fulfill old requirements? :)
One of my fond hopes is that I can find or found a way for EG to participate in math competitions, and for all of the kids to have some speech & debate competition experience. I don't want them to participate in one of the Christian debate leagues, however, so I have this sinking feeling that I'm going to have to find or found a group the hard way. Still, that's two activities. Even assuming she has some kind of community service and an athletic endeavor of some kind, I know it will look paltry compared to the extensive resumes that it's entirely too easy to assemble at most public and private institutions.
I do think that more and more organizations and clubs for homeschooled high school students will appear between now and when EG is high school age, much less when the younger two reach high school. I do wonder how other secular, peacenik homeschooled girls have handled this problem, since churches, Boy Scouts, and Civil Air Patrol don't provide the best fit (and are commonly quoted as excellent "resume builders" by the few publications that address selective college admissions). Of course, the fact that I intend for my daughters to pursue a rigorous college education is already anathema to some homeschoolers, so what can you do? Maybe I'll write a book after EG is accepted to Cal Tech. ;)
Showing posts with label homeschool: ideal plan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homeschool: ideal plan. Show all posts
10.4.10
The "Ideal Curriculum" - History
I've been putting off the ideal mathematics & ideal science plans, mainly because there is such wonderful variation in those two areas. So, instead, I'll turn towards history, which isn't so much a plan as an outline. After all, I subscribe to the idea of using a spine and then using lots of real books and primary sources to flesh out the spine text; I'm not about to start enumerating all the possible supplemental sources. Here, then, is the basic plan I intend to follow with both FB & PC. EG's will look the same from fifth grade onward.
Birth Through Age Four
• Important parts of the American mythology introduced via picture books and as seasonally appropriate (e.g., Thanksgiving, George Washington, Paul Bunyan, The Star-Spangled Banner, The Ride of Paul Revere).
Kindergarten
• Ancient history through 400 C.E., utilizing The Story of the World Volume One: Ancient Times, the corresponding activity book, and supplemental history books and biographies.
First Grade
• Medieval history, the Renaissance, and the Reformation (400-1600 C.E.), utilizing The Story of the World Volume Two: The Middle Ages, the corresponding activity book, and supplemental history books and biographies.
Second Grade
• Early modern history (1600-1850 C.E.), utilizing The Story of the World Volume Three: Early Modern Times, the corresponding activity book, and supplemental history books and biographies.
Third Grade
• A one year concentration on United States History, using DK's Children's Encyclopedia of American History as a spine text.
Fourth Grade
• Modern history (1850 C.E. through the present), utilizing The Story of the World Volume Four: The Modern Age, the corresponding activity book, and supplemental history books and biographies.
Fifth Grade
• Year one of a three-year cycle, covering ancient times through approximately 1000 C.E., using History: The Definitive Visual Guide as a spine text.
Sixth Grade
• Year two of a three-year cycle, covering the remainder of the middle ages through approximately 1700 C.E., using History: The Definitive Visual Guide as a spine text.
Seventh Grade
• Year three of a three-year cycle, covering from approximately 1700 C.E. through to the present, using History: The Definitive Visual Guide as a spine text.
Eighth Grade
• One year of United States history, using Joy Hakim's Story of US series, Zinn's A People's History of the United States, Out of the Past, and other primary sources.
Ninth Grade
• Back to the four-year cycle, beginning again with ancients via History of the Ancient World.
Tenth Grade
• Medieval times are next, using History of the Medieval World.
Eleventh Grade
• Early modern era, using whatever SWB titles the third book. :)
Twelfth Grade
• Back around towards the present, again using SWB, this time the as yet unwritten and untitled fourth book.
That's the gist of it. As I said above, all of this would be supplemented with history books, biographies, primary sources, and so forth.
Birth Through Age Four
• Important parts of the American mythology introduced via picture books and as seasonally appropriate (e.g., Thanksgiving, George Washington, Paul Bunyan, The Star-Spangled Banner, The Ride of Paul Revere).
Kindergarten
• Ancient history through 400 C.E., utilizing The Story of the World Volume One: Ancient Times, the corresponding activity book, and supplemental history books and biographies.
First Grade
• Medieval history, the Renaissance, and the Reformation (400-1600 C.E.), utilizing The Story of the World Volume Two: The Middle Ages, the corresponding activity book, and supplemental history books and biographies.
Second Grade
• Early modern history (1600-1850 C.E.), utilizing The Story of the World Volume Three: Early Modern Times, the corresponding activity book, and supplemental history books and biographies.
Third Grade
• A one year concentration on United States History, using DK's Children's Encyclopedia of American History as a spine text.
Fourth Grade
• Modern history (1850 C.E. through the present), utilizing The Story of the World Volume Four: The Modern Age, the corresponding activity book, and supplemental history books and biographies.
Fifth Grade
• Year one of a three-year cycle, covering ancient times through approximately 1000 C.E., using History: The Definitive Visual Guide as a spine text.
Sixth Grade
• Year two of a three-year cycle, covering the remainder of the middle ages through approximately 1700 C.E., using History: The Definitive Visual Guide as a spine text.
Seventh Grade
• Year three of a three-year cycle, covering from approximately 1700 C.E. through to the present, using History: The Definitive Visual Guide as a spine text.
Eighth Grade
• One year of United States history, using Joy Hakim's Story of US series, Zinn's A People's History of the United States, Out of the Past, and other primary sources.
Ninth Grade
• Back to the four-year cycle, beginning again with ancients via History of the Ancient World.
Tenth Grade
• Medieval times are next, using History of the Medieval World.
Eleventh Grade
• Early modern era, using whatever SWB titles the third book. :)
Twelfth Grade
• Back around towards the present, again using SWB, this time the as yet unwritten and untitled fourth book.
That's the gist of it. As I said above, all of this would be supplemented with history books, biographies, primary sources, and so forth.
5.4.10
All These Things That I Have Done...
While my children are 4.5 years and 3.5 years apart, I did not manage to space them quite correctly for following the four-year history rotation as set forth in The Well-Trained Mind. I did, however, manage to come relatively close. As EG begins fifth grade, FB will begin kindergarten. When FB begins fifth grade, PC will begin first grade, although she will be nearly seven already. Beyond the potential advantages for the history cycle, though, my children are spaced such that I have time to look back and really ponder on the should have, would have, could have. EG ends "grammar stage," just as FB begins to gear up for it, and so forth.
With that in mind, what I wish I had done differently, and a little bit about why.
01. Poetry Memory Work I wish we had been more deliberate about memory work in general, but there's a delight in a small child when she or he finishes memorizing a poem, especially when the poem is more than one stanza. It's not that EG hasn't memorized poems this year (and a few last year), and it's not that she doesn't enjoy it still. It's simply that it's one thing that is low on investment, in terms of time and energy, but large in the payoff.
02. Grammar Memory Work Similar to the above, it takes little effort to memorize, for instance, pronouns (FB can recite demonstrative pronouns just because he's heard EG saying them daily for over a month), but again, a large payoff.
03. History Memory Work Honestly, there aren't that many things about some parts of history to memorize. Does a child really need to memorize the pharaohs? Unless the child is going to be an Egyptologist, probably not. There are some worthwhile speeches and documents worth memorizing though, and poetry about history, as well. We weren't deliberate in this area until later, either.
04. More consistent science at an earlier age To be clear, I'm not saying I wish we had used a formal program. I think WTM-style science or even something less formal is perfectly adequate and perhaps better than a formal program. I wish I had bought science kits earlier, though, and, as I say, more consistently. Grammar-stage science doesn't have to be rigorous or thorough, even for the most science-minded, gifted child. It does need to be present and periodic.
05. Wait on Latin until 3rd grade Pretty much what it says on the box. I will probably pick 50-100 words & chants for FB to memorize during second grade, just to ease the transition, but otherwise, I think the payoff is not large enough for the time expended.
06. More narrations I think I was afraid that narrations would somehow take the joy out of reading. I failed to remember that a narration doesn't necessarily have to be formal or written, either one. Yes, in retrospect, we should have done a few more of those formal, written narrations, too, but you can be sure I will not hesitate to ask FB "What was the most interesting thing you learned in this book?" when we read non-fiction, and "Can you tell me/Daddy/EG/PC about the story we just read?" when it's literature.
07. Less worry about 'perfect' This is an issue in basically every area of my life, to be honest. I have to guard against letting the perfect become the enemy of the good.
08. More art, both appreciation and skills So, art. The biggest gap in my otherwise fairly excellent education was art appreciation. I have very little art history. I can remember a few units which were designed to teach us about an artist or school, and then we were to create a project in that style. As a result, I remember a lot about Matisse and cannot tell you in which century Degas lived. Since I knew nothing about it, I threw a figurative blanket in my head, put my fingers in my ears, and sang "la la la, I can't hear you," in the general direction of art history & appreciation. Needless to say, this is not the best approach one can take. Similarly, I do not possess oodles and oodles of artistic talent. Since I was pigeon-holed early on as an academic type, there was rarely any effort to encourage any artistic leanings I might have had. I was an adult before I even realized I had a decent aesthetic sense. This doesn't encourage one to take the initiative in teaching art skills. So I packed EG off to Master's Academy. While I think this still does fill an important role, I wish I had at least incorporate some art into history, and taught her some basic drawing, things I plan to do with FB and PC.
09. Piano lessons in 2nd grade, or 3rd grade at the latest For various reasons, it's worked all right for EG not to have started piano until 4th grade, but ideally, I'd like the kids to be finished with their mandatory two years of piano lessons by no later than the end of fourth grade. I think it's good to have piano experience before choosing any other kind of instrument, and I think learning the basic theory is important, and I can see numerous advantages to learning this "grammar" during the grammar stage.
10. More music appreciation I had a little more music appreciation in my own education, though a good portion of that was the history of rock 'n' roll. Additionally, music appreciation seemed so intimidating, with a need for millions of CDs, spilling over. It was one of those subjects where perfect became the enemy of the good. Luckily, we've also discovered the podcast Classics for Kids, which makes grammar-stage music appreciation that much easier.
11. Less supplemental books for history We love SOTW. We love the activity guides. I also love looking at books in various homeschooling catalogs, and reading posts on message boards about great supplemental books. The result can be too many books. When planning SOTW 1 for FB, I've tried to keep the supplemental books to an average of one per chapter. In some cases, this may still be too much, but it's a start. It's no good to feel overwhelmed with a number of books, even if they are picture books, that you feel you must read before beginning the next chapter.
12. Less dependence on the library In the beginning, I thought I would save money by checking books out from the library. The result of this, combined with the problem of too many supplemental books, was annoying trips back and forth to the library and a growing amount of fines. Yes, I have tentative plans to use the library more next year than we have this year, but I'm trying to be judicious. Not every library book is always available, and the library should never become a burden.
13. Less worry about socialization For a time, I worried a lot about her socialization. I knew very few people with children her age, at the time, and I worried a lot about her being exposed only to children who were younger than her. I've since learned that one seeming solution, having her in a Girl Scout troop with girls who are in a variety of school settings, doesn't really work out that well in the end. For other reasons, too, I should have just worried less. Kids don't need groups of friends. That's a modern affectation.
14. More time outdoors I don't think it's really possible to have too much time outdoors, you know? Enough said.
15. Learn to swim earlier Poor guinea pig EG. In one of my efforts to shore up our relationship with Spousal Unit's relatives, she used to spend the day, from time to time, with the older of Spousal Unit's sisters, who lives in the same metro area as we do. On one of those excursions, said sister-in-law took it upon herself to take EG swimming and try to teach her to swim. She wasn't quite three at the time, and we spent years undoing her resulting fear in the pool. We probably should have kept slowly coaxing her rather than stopping most efforts for a year or two before resuming them in the summer of 2008. She can swim just fine now, but I want the younger ones swimming well by six or seven.
16. Learn to ride a bike earlier Part of this was lack of opportunity for EG, and part of it was other issues, which will be detailed somewhat below. Still, we had the tendency not to push her to do things, and some things? Kids needs a little push and encouragement.
17. Worried about the issues of spelling & hand-eye coordination earlier This doesn't apply to every child, but EG was wildly asynchronous with regard to certain aspects of development. Of course, I read enough that said "gifted kids are asynchronous!" that I pushed it from my mind most of the time. There's a difference, though, between "asynchronous" and "working well above grade level except with handwriting and spelling," especially when the latter is combined with hand-eye coordination issues, difficulty riding a bicycle, and other issues. Also, her handwriting and spelling weren't merely "on grade level," but below grade level. Finally, I realized something had to be done, that despite all of our best efforts, there was something still missing. So we had her evaluated by a developmental optometrist and she's doing vision therapy. There's definitely a difference already. Do I wish I'd had her evaluated sooner? Absolutely. Will I hesitate to push with the others, even when my concerns are dismissed by some? No.
As with anything, your mileage may vary. I'll try to post about the things I'm glad we did within a week or two, because there are many of those, too.
With that in mind, what I wish I had done differently, and a little bit about why.
01. Poetry Memory Work I wish we had been more deliberate about memory work in general, but there's a delight in a small child when she or he finishes memorizing a poem, especially when the poem is more than one stanza. It's not that EG hasn't memorized poems this year (and a few last year), and it's not that she doesn't enjoy it still. It's simply that it's one thing that is low on investment, in terms of time and energy, but large in the payoff.
02. Grammar Memory Work Similar to the above, it takes little effort to memorize, for instance, pronouns (FB can recite demonstrative pronouns just because he's heard EG saying them daily for over a month), but again, a large payoff.
03. History Memory Work Honestly, there aren't that many things about some parts of history to memorize. Does a child really need to memorize the pharaohs? Unless the child is going to be an Egyptologist, probably not. There are some worthwhile speeches and documents worth memorizing though, and poetry about history, as well. We weren't deliberate in this area until later, either.
04. More consistent science at an earlier age To be clear, I'm not saying I wish we had used a formal program. I think WTM-style science or even something less formal is perfectly adequate and perhaps better than a formal program. I wish I had bought science kits earlier, though, and, as I say, more consistently. Grammar-stage science doesn't have to be rigorous or thorough, even for the most science-minded, gifted child. It does need to be present and periodic.
05. Wait on Latin until 3rd grade Pretty much what it says on the box. I will probably pick 50-100 words & chants for FB to memorize during second grade, just to ease the transition, but otherwise, I think the payoff is not large enough for the time expended.
06. More narrations I think I was afraid that narrations would somehow take the joy out of reading. I failed to remember that a narration doesn't necessarily have to be formal or written, either one. Yes, in retrospect, we should have done a few more of those formal, written narrations, too, but you can be sure I will not hesitate to ask FB "What was the most interesting thing you learned in this book?" when we read non-fiction, and "Can you tell me/Daddy/EG/PC about the story we just read?" when it's literature.
07. Less worry about 'perfect' This is an issue in basically every area of my life, to be honest. I have to guard against letting the perfect become the enemy of the good.
08. More art, both appreciation and skills So, art. The biggest gap in my otherwise fairly excellent education was art appreciation. I have very little art history. I can remember a few units which were designed to teach us about an artist or school, and then we were to create a project in that style. As a result, I remember a lot about Matisse and cannot tell you in which century Degas lived. Since I knew nothing about it, I threw a figurative blanket in my head, put my fingers in my ears, and sang "la la la, I can't hear you," in the general direction of art history & appreciation. Needless to say, this is not the best approach one can take. Similarly, I do not possess oodles and oodles of artistic talent. Since I was pigeon-holed early on as an academic type, there was rarely any effort to encourage any artistic leanings I might have had. I was an adult before I even realized I had a decent aesthetic sense. This doesn't encourage one to take the initiative in teaching art skills. So I packed EG off to Master's Academy. While I think this still does fill an important role, I wish I had at least incorporate some art into history, and taught her some basic drawing, things I plan to do with FB and PC.
09. Piano lessons in 2nd grade, or 3rd grade at the latest For various reasons, it's worked all right for EG not to have started piano until 4th grade, but ideally, I'd like the kids to be finished with their mandatory two years of piano lessons by no later than the end of fourth grade. I think it's good to have piano experience before choosing any other kind of instrument, and I think learning the basic theory is important, and I can see numerous advantages to learning this "grammar" during the grammar stage.
10. More music appreciation I had a little more music appreciation in my own education, though a good portion of that was the history of rock 'n' roll. Additionally, music appreciation seemed so intimidating, with a need for millions of CDs, spilling over. It was one of those subjects where perfect became the enemy of the good. Luckily, we've also discovered the podcast Classics for Kids, which makes grammar-stage music appreciation that much easier.
11. Less supplemental books for history We love SOTW. We love the activity guides. I also love looking at books in various homeschooling catalogs, and reading posts on message boards about great supplemental books. The result can be too many books. When planning SOTW 1 for FB, I've tried to keep the supplemental books to an average of one per chapter. In some cases, this may still be too much, but it's a start. It's no good to feel overwhelmed with a number of books, even if they are picture books, that you feel you must read before beginning the next chapter.
12. Less dependence on the library In the beginning, I thought I would save money by checking books out from the library. The result of this, combined with the problem of too many supplemental books, was annoying trips back and forth to the library and a growing amount of fines. Yes, I have tentative plans to use the library more next year than we have this year, but I'm trying to be judicious. Not every library book is always available, and the library should never become a burden.
13. Less worry about socialization For a time, I worried a lot about her socialization. I knew very few people with children her age, at the time, and I worried a lot about her being exposed only to children who were younger than her. I've since learned that one seeming solution, having her in a Girl Scout troop with girls who are in a variety of school settings, doesn't really work out that well in the end. For other reasons, too, I should have just worried less. Kids don't need groups of friends. That's a modern affectation.
14. More time outdoors I don't think it's really possible to have too much time outdoors, you know? Enough said.
15. Learn to swim earlier Poor guinea pig EG. In one of my efforts to shore up our relationship with Spousal Unit's relatives, she used to spend the day, from time to time, with the older of Spousal Unit's sisters, who lives in the same metro area as we do. On one of those excursions, said sister-in-law took it upon herself to take EG swimming and try to teach her to swim. She wasn't quite three at the time, and we spent years undoing her resulting fear in the pool. We probably should have kept slowly coaxing her rather than stopping most efforts for a year or two before resuming them in the summer of 2008. She can swim just fine now, but I want the younger ones swimming well by six or seven.
16. Learn to ride a bike earlier Part of this was lack of opportunity for EG, and part of it was other issues, which will be detailed somewhat below. Still, we had the tendency not to push her to do things, and some things? Kids needs a little push and encouragement.
17. Worried about the issues of spelling & hand-eye coordination earlier This doesn't apply to every child, but EG was wildly asynchronous with regard to certain aspects of development. Of course, I read enough that said "gifted kids are asynchronous!" that I pushed it from my mind most of the time. There's a difference, though, between "asynchronous" and "working well above grade level except with handwriting and spelling," especially when the latter is combined with hand-eye coordination issues, difficulty riding a bicycle, and other issues. Also, her handwriting and spelling weren't merely "on grade level," but below grade level. Finally, I realized something had to be done, that despite all of our best efforts, there was something still missing. So we had her evaluated by a developmental optometrist and she's doing vision therapy. There's definitely a difference already. Do I wish I'd had her evaluated sooner? Absolutely. Will I hesitate to push with the others, even when my concerns are dismissed by some? No.
As with anything, your mileage may vary. I'll try to post about the things I'm glad we did within a week or two, because there are many of those, too.
14.2.10
The "Ideal Curriculum" - English/Language Arts
A few weeks ago, someone posted a question asking what people's ideal language arts lineup would look like. Well, I liked the idea of writing out the ideal for, well, everything, but I started with English/language arts. You'll notice it loses specificity around eighth grade; someday I'll come back and flesh it out when I've played with actual upper level materials. :)
Because I feel that literature is best devoured and analyzed in a non-curricular format, I'm leaving literature and its study out of this plan. I also want to remark that, as always, there is no perfect plan for all students, but this is the plan I would most want to use, and wish my students would be ever so helpful as to adapt to its use. ;)
Ages Birth Through Five
• Pre-reading preparation as detailed in The Well-Trained Mind and The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading.
• Pre-writing preparation as detailed in The Well-Trained Mind.
• Kumon workbooks for tracing, cutting, and other motor skills.
• Handwriting Without Tears' prekindergarten materials and accompanying book, Get Set for School, as well as the kindergarten book, Letters and Numbers for Me.
• Phonics study using The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading as a spine.
• Beginning poetry memorization, using Level One of IEW's Linguistic Development Through Poetry Memorization.
Kindergarten
• Conclude phonics study using The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading.
• Handwriting Without Tears' first grade materials and book, My Printing Book, as well as continued copywork.
• Beginning spelling study using Spelling Workout A.
• Beginning grammar study using First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind Level 1
• Beginning composition skills using Writing With Ease Level 1.
• Cross-curricular composition through oral narrations of fiction and nonfiction picture books.
• Continued poetry memorization.
First Grade
• Handwriting Without Tears' second grade materials and book, Printing Power, as well as continued copywork.
• Continuing spelling study, using Spelling Workout B and Spelling Workout C.
• Continuing grammar study, using First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind Level 2.
• Continuing composition skills using Writing With Ease Level 2.
• Cross-curricular narrations.
• Continued poetry memorization.
Second Grade
• Cursive penmanship study.
• Spelling Workout C and Spelling Workout D.
• First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind Level 3.
• Writing With Ease Level 3.
• Cross-curricular narrations.
• Continued poetry memorization.
Third Grade
• Cursive penmanship study and practice.
• Spelling Workout E and Spelling Workout F.
• First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind Level 4.
• Writing With Ease Level 4.
• Cross-curricular narrations.
• Grammar Island, The Music of the Hemispheres, Practice Island, Building Language, and Sentence Island.
• Continued poetry memorization.
Fourth Grade
• Cursive penmanship copywork, perhaps moving into a study of calligraphy and beautiful penmanship.
• Beginning to learn to type on a keyboard or typewriter.
• Spelling Workout F and Spelling Workout G.
• Cross-curricular narrations and beginning outlining.
• Continued poetry memorization.
• Grammar Town, Building Poems, Caesar's English I, Paragraph Town, and Practice Town.
Fifth Grade
• Typing mastery.
• Study of calligraphy and beautiful penmanship.
• Spelling Workout H.
• Cross-curricular narrations and outlining.
• Continued poetry memorization.
• Grammar Voyage, A World of Poetry, Caesar's English II, Essay Voyage, and Practice Voyage.
Sixth Grade
• Continued typing practice to improve wpm.
• Cross-curricular outlines and compositions.
• Continued poetry memorization.
• Magic Lens I, Word Within the Word I, Poetry and Humanity, Academic Writing 1, and 4Practice 1.
Seventh Grade
• Continued typing practice to improve wpm.
• Cross-curricular outlines and compositions.
• Continued poetry memorization.
• Magic Lens II, Word Within the Word II, Poetry, Plato, and the Problem of Beauty, Academic Writing II, and 4Practice 2.
Eighth Grade
• Cross-curricular compositions.
• Beginning study of rhetoric.
• Continued poetry memorization.
• Magic Lens III, Word Within the Word III, Poetry, Plato, and the Problem of Truth, Academic Writing III, and 4Practice 3.
Ninth Grade
• Cross-curricular compositions.
• Continuing study of rhetoric.
• Continued poetry memorization.
• Participation in debate.
• Systematic grammar, usage, and mechanics review.
Tenth Grade
• Cross-curricular compositions.
• Continuing study of rhetoric.
• Continued poetry memorization.
• Participation in debate.
• Systematic grammar, usage, and mechanics review.
Eleventh Grade
• Cross-curricular compositions.
• Concluding study of rhetoric.
• Continued poetry memorization.
• Systematic grammar, usage, and mechanics review.
Twelfth Grade
• Cross-curricular compositions.
• Continued poetry memorization.
• Systematic grammar, usage, and mechanics review.
Because I feel that literature is best devoured and analyzed in a non-curricular format, I'm leaving literature and its study out of this plan. I also want to remark that, as always, there is no perfect plan for all students, but this is the plan I would most want to use, and wish my students would be ever so helpful as to adapt to its use. ;)
Ages Birth Through Five
• Pre-reading preparation as detailed in The Well-Trained Mind and The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading.
• Pre-writing preparation as detailed in The Well-Trained Mind.
• Kumon workbooks for tracing, cutting, and other motor skills.
• Handwriting Without Tears' prekindergarten materials and accompanying book, Get Set for School, as well as the kindergarten book, Letters and Numbers for Me.
• Phonics study using The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading as a spine.
• Beginning poetry memorization, using Level One of IEW's Linguistic Development Through Poetry Memorization.
Kindergarten
• Conclude phonics study using The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading.
• Handwriting Without Tears' first grade materials and book, My Printing Book, as well as continued copywork.
• Beginning spelling study using Spelling Workout A.
• Beginning grammar study using First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind Level 1
• Beginning composition skills using Writing With Ease Level 1.
• Cross-curricular composition through oral narrations of fiction and nonfiction picture books.
• Continued poetry memorization.
First Grade
• Handwriting Without Tears' second grade materials and book, Printing Power, as well as continued copywork.
• Continuing spelling study, using Spelling Workout B and Spelling Workout C.
• Continuing grammar study, using First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind Level 2.
• Continuing composition skills using Writing With Ease Level 2.
• Cross-curricular narrations.
• Continued poetry memorization.
Second Grade
• Cursive penmanship study.
• Spelling Workout C and Spelling Workout D.
• First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind Level 3.
• Writing With Ease Level 3.
• Cross-curricular narrations.
• Continued poetry memorization.
Third Grade
• Cursive penmanship study and practice.
• Spelling Workout E and Spelling Workout F.
• First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind Level 4.
• Writing With Ease Level 4.
• Cross-curricular narrations.
• Grammar Island, The Music of the Hemispheres, Practice Island, Building Language, and Sentence Island.
• Continued poetry memorization.
Fourth Grade
• Cursive penmanship copywork, perhaps moving into a study of calligraphy and beautiful penmanship.
• Beginning to learn to type on a keyboard or typewriter.
• Spelling Workout F and Spelling Workout G.
• Cross-curricular narrations and beginning outlining.
• Continued poetry memorization.
• Grammar Town, Building Poems, Caesar's English I, Paragraph Town, and Practice Town.
Fifth Grade
• Typing mastery.
• Study of calligraphy and beautiful penmanship.
• Spelling Workout H.
• Cross-curricular narrations and outlining.
• Continued poetry memorization.
• Grammar Voyage, A World of Poetry, Caesar's English II, Essay Voyage, and Practice Voyage.
Sixth Grade
• Continued typing practice to improve wpm.
• Cross-curricular outlines and compositions.
• Continued poetry memorization.
• Magic Lens I, Word Within the Word I, Poetry and Humanity, Academic Writing 1, and 4Practice 1.
Seventh Grade
• Continued typing practice to improve wpm.
• Cross-curricular outlines and compositions.
• Continued poetry memorization.
• Magic Lens II, Word Within the Word II, Poetry, Plato, and the Problem of Beauty, Academic Writing II, and 4Practice 2.
Eighth Grade
• Cross-curricular compositions.
• Beginning study of rhetoric.
• Continued poetry memorization.
• Magic Lens III, Word Within the Word III, Poetry, Plato, and the Problem of Truth, Academic Writing III, and 4Practice 3.
Ninth Grade
• Cross-curricular compositions.
• Continuing study of rhetoric.
• Continued poetry memorization.
• Participation in debate.
• Systematic grammar, usage, and mechanics review.
Tenth Grade
• Cross-curricular compositions.
• Continuing study of rhetoric.
• Continued poetry memorization.
• Participation in debate.
• Systematic grammar, usage, and mechanics review.
Eleventh Grade
• Cross-curricular compositions.
• Concluding study of rhetoric.
• Continued poetry memorization.
• Systematic grammar, usage, and mechanics review.
Twelfth Grade
• Cross-curricular compositions.
• Continued poetry memorization.
• Systematic grammar, usage, and mechanics review.
