“...study hard what interests you the most
in the most undisciplined, irreverent and original manner possible.”
― Richard P. Feynman
I know I mentioned before that I was renaming the years from K/1/2 etc. to "Year 1," with this being "Year 2," but when we did our back-to-homechool pictures this week, I still but "1st" on there. That being said, today was our "first day," but we spent it at the Dallas Arboretum and then the Perot Museum to catch the end of the "Largest Dinosaurs" exhibit before it moves on.
So, tomorrow will be our first day with our new "Year 2" schedule and curriculum. We are heading to DisneyWorld in mid-September, so our first two weeks will be a bit lighter, with the project-based subjects like history, science, and writing/literature not starting until after we get back. When we return, our schedule will be 8am-2:30pm on Mondays - Thursdays, with a few quick things like a spelling test and some different, challenging math on Friday mornings before piano lessons, with the afternoon free for field trips, meet up with friends, or just hanging out and free time.
We put some of the subjects on the back-burner last year (or took them much slower) as we adapted to life, as I wrote about before, so some of what we are doing this year I had originally planned for Year 1. However, most of what I had planned for Year 1 was at least "1st grade" level, so I am not worried about it being "too easy" for this year. In fact, while SC is advanced in understanding-type subjects, things like penmanship are still on target for her age, which meant working ahead in some things means either I did most of the writing for her, or we adapted (or in the case of some stuff, we held off for this year). In the end, here is a look at the curriculum I have planned for Year 2:
LANGUAGE ARTS:
Language Smarts level B (finish)
Language Smarts level C
Jacob's Ladder Primary 1 (finish)
Jacob's Ladder Primary 2
Vocabu-Lit level B
SpellWell levels A and AA
Explode the Code (various levels to reinforce phonics, not necessarily to teach reading)
Handwriting Without Tears
Reading Detective Beginning
BraveWriter - Jot it Down
*We are doing a fairy tale project all year that came from the Bravewriter book Jot It Down, where we will be reading and studying ten separate fairy tales from Perrault, Andersen and the Grimm brothers
BraveWriter - Arrow
*The BraveWriter "Arrow" program is technically for 3rd grade, but we will be reading books on SC's level and modifying the dictation portions into copywork and more manageable amounts for her physical writing ability. We will not be following their choice plan for this year, as I was able to choose individual books from past years. Our list is:
Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer M. Holm
The Lemonade War by Jaqueline Davies
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary
Detectives in Togas by Henry Winterfeld
In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor
HISTORY:
History Odyssey Ancients (finish)
History Odyssey Middle Ages (begin)
MATH:
Singapore Primary Mathematics 1B (finish)
Singapore Primary Mathematics 2A
Zacarro's Primary Grade Challenge Math (begin)
Mathematical Reasoning level B (finish)
Mathematical Reasoning level C
various logic books from Critical Thinking Company and others
SCIENCE:
Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding K-2 (begin)
SPANISH:
Song School Spanish (finish)
Sabio Octavio grammar, math and reading/spelling
BIBLE:
Telling God's Story Year 1 (finish)
Telling God's Story Year 2
ART/MUSIC/PHYSICAL ED:
Meet the Masters
piano lessons, Broadway class at the local theatre, swimming, gymnastics and soccer, plus we got a subscription to a local symphony for the year and are very excited to be able to take SC to these concerts
Also, part of the BraveWriter "lifestyle" is experiencing the stories of life through nature hikes, poetry tea parties, listening to all kinds of music, watching movies, ballets, operas, stage performances, and then being able to understand the narrative and retell the stories in your own words. This is one of the reasons I chose BraveWriter, as it encompasses so much of what else we will already be doing.
I hope everyone is off to a great start to their 2014/15 year, whether in their homeschool or in school away from home!
So, tomorrow will be our first day with our new "Year 2" schedule and curriculum. We are heading to DisneyWorld in mid-September, so our first two weeks will be a bit lighter, with the project-based subjects like history, science, and writing/literature not starting until after we get back. When we return, our schedule will be 8am-2:30pm on Mondays - Thursdays, with a few quick things like a spelling test and some different, challenging math on Friday mornings before piano lessons, with the afternoon free for field trips, meet up with friends, or just hanging out and free time.
We put some of the subjects on the back-burner last year (or took them much slower) as we adapted to life, as I wrote about before, so some of what we are doing this year I had originally planned for Year 1. However, most of what I had planned for Year 1 was at least "1st grade" level, so I am not worried about it being "too easy" for this year. In fact, while SC is advanced in understanding-type subjects, things like penmanship are still on target for her age, which meant working ahead in some things means either I did most of the writing for her, or we adapted (or in the case of some stuff, we held off for this year). In the end, here is a look at the curriculum I have planned for Year 2:
LANGUAGE ARTS:
Language Smarts level B (finish)
Language Smarts level C
Jacob's Ladder Primary 1 (finish)
Jacob's Ladder Primary 2
Vocabu-Lit level B
SpellWell levels A and AA
Explode the Code (various levels to reinforce phonics, not necessarily to teach reading)
Handwriting Without Tears
Reading Detective Beginning
BraveWriter - Jot it Down
*We are doing a fairy tale project all year that came from the Bravewriter book Jot It Down, where we will be reading and studying ten separate fairy tales from Perrault, Andersen and the Grimm brothers
BraveWriter - Arrow
*The BraveWriter "Arrow" program is technically for 3rd grade, but we will be reading books on SC's level and modifying the dictation portions into copywork and more manageable amounts for her physical writing ability. We will not be following their choice plan for this year, as I was able to choose individual books from past years. Our list is:
Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer M. Holm
The Lemonade War by Jaqueline Davies
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary
Detectives in Togas by Henry Winterfeld
In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor
HISTORY:
History Odyssey Ancients (finish)
History Odyssey Middle Ages (begin)
MATH:
Singapore Primary Mathematics 1B (finish)
Singapore Primary Mathematics 2A
Zacarro's Primary Grade Challenge Math (begin)
Mathematical Reasoning level B (finish)
Mathematical Reasoning level C
various logic books from Critical Thinking Company and others
SCIENCE:
Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding K-2 (begin)
SPANISH:
Song School Spanish (finish)
Sabio Octavio grammar, math and reading/spelling
BIBLE:
Telling God's Story Year 1 (finish)
Telling God's Story Year 2
ART/MUSIC/PHYSICAL ED:
Meet the Masters
piano lessons, Broadway class at the local theatre, swimming, gymnastics and soccer, plus we got a subscription to a local symphony for the year and are very excited to be able to take SC to these concerts
Also, part of the BraveWriter "lifestyle" is experiencing the stories of life through nature hikes, poetry tea parties, listening to all kinds of music, watching movies, ballets, operas, stage performances, and then being able to understand the narrative and retell the stories in your own words. This is one of the reasons I chose BraveWriter, as it encompasses so much of what else we will already be doing.
I hope everyone is off to a great start to their 2014/15 year, whether in their homeschool or in school away from home!
