Our Homeschooling CurriculumWe are having so much fun with our eclectic homeschooling curriculum. This is an ongoing list of some of our favorite books and activities. Because of the nature of my electic approach to both curricula and teaching methods, I introduce several new books weekly in my home school program. This is only a brief glimpse at a part of our school day for the spring of 2009. We do much, much more than I have listed here. My hope is this will give you a fair idea of the way we utilize literature and other materials in our homeschooling.
BUSY. We are super busy. I'm in college again, and haven't had time to update these pages. But know we are still here to support and encourage you. Know of a great site? Send it to us to post here. Andy is continuing in Saxon Math, and is now in the fifth grade. We are using ALEXS.com, an on-line math program as well. We have tailored his writing to fit his interest. Right now he is writing a research report on video games; (go figure). He is going to my grandmother's house once a week to learn Spanish and started a science class through the charter school. His anxiety has continued to decrease, his moods are generally happy and positive; we know we made the right decision in homeschooling. We watched some of the episodes of "10 Days that Unexpectedly Changed America" by the History Channel. This was an adult-level documentary, but Andy grasped a lot of the content. I highly recommend the book Escape From Slavery: The Boyhood of Fredrick Douglass in his own Words - Michael Mc Curdy illustrator. I read this aloud. I am reading aloud Tales Behind the Tombstones Which explains accounts of the outlaws in California history. Very interesting. Have to modify some accounts. In Language Arts: Any finished up School Story by Andrew Clements and James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl. He thought it was interesting how Dahl also wrote Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Read Aloud C.D. was Aesop's Fables unabridged version read by Mary Woods. Excellent Tales everyone should listen too. I had no idea how many of our sayings originated from a slave that lived in 500 B.C. Look for this one at your library. Math:Andy has finished the Saxon Math book. I have gathered numerous review pages from various workbooks (purchased at used book store) and put together a packet for Andy to work on for 20 - 30 minutes each day. He can choose which page to do, which serves as a great motivator. Writing:We are reviewing the elements of a fictional story and Andy is going to write his own story. Some Websites We are Exploring
Colonial WilliamsburgHow to Use a Compass Discover Africa Archives of Early America Black History Museum The Earth At Night We travel by boat and car We have begun to look at the children's version of the book: Curing Anxiety, Phobias, Shyness and Obsessive Compulsive Disorders by Howard Liebgold We are watching the dvd series: Slavery and the Making of America (PBS) I am also using parts of this PBS Lesson Plan which includes links to maps, time lines and more informational articles and resources. Andy is starting the book
The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox
We are continuing work in the
Spectrum Geography, Grade 4
and reviewing
Buckle Down California Mathematics Standards Reviews.
For the last several months, Andy has taken practice tests from this booklet. We watched
POPULAR MECHANICS FOR KIDS We are doing chemistry experiments from our kit from "Science Wiz" Products by Penny Norman, PH.D. Our new read-aloud in the van is
Tuck Everlasting
In the evenings, the boys are listening to the series:
The Chronicles of Narnia. The setting is during World War II, so we read a four page story about World War II and also reviewed a
World War II Timeline. Where to find used homeschooling curriculum What is quality literature? Return to Curriculum Main Page Homepage |
