Ah yes, do you feel that summer heat radiating off of every inch of your body? It must be time to plan next year's curriculum. I should preface the next three posts with two remarks.
First, starting in mid-August, I will be acting as an editor for Moving Beyond the Page. In return, they will provide free curriculum to the boys.
Second, I am learning to approach curriculum in a more relaxed way. What follows would best be described as a list of resources from which I will draw, rather than a detailed plan for next year. I'm learning that an open-ended approach produces the better results for all.
Landry is nine years old and enrolled in fourth grade, but his curriculum will meet fifth grade standards.
Math: For the past year, Singapore Math has worked well for us. Landry will start with 5A and B in August. However, having seen these materials, I wonder if they will be enough. I suspect we will either have to go on to 6A and B, or find new materials at some point in the year.
As a homeschooling parent, my weakness is information that must be memorized. I just don't enjoy drilling on rote memorization. Landry has an excellent grasp of the concepts of multiplication and division. At the same time, Landry needs to memorize these facts. He will continue with Timez Attack, and I will continue to look for fun ways to accomplish this relatively monotonous task.
Science: Moving Beyond the Page includes a science curriculum, so that will provide a jumping off point. However, science proves challenging for me because the boys are advanced in this subject. I am looking into a private science class taught by a teacher familiar with gifted students. If that fails to prove a good fit for us, I will continue with homeschool classes twice a month at the Lawrence Hall of Science. I think I will also continue to use the Private Eye materials as time permits because the hands-on nature of these materials makes a nice change and because they provide a useful bridge to other subject areas for my science-oriented sons.
I am less concerned about planning science than other subjects because our lives naturally provide many opportunities to learn in this area. I'm more at ease with something akin to child-directed learning on this subject. We have ample resources lying about the house, and Jerry really enjoys watching documentaries and internet videos and them with the boys.
Foreign Language: Landry will continue with Spanish through Rosetta Stone.
Social Studies/History: Here again, Moving Beyond the Page provides a social studies curriculum. Still, I feel remiss without attempting to give Landry a sense of world history and also to try to bring history alive for him. We will continue to listen to Story of the World audiobooks in the car on long drives. When we finish that, I would like to take a closer look at Joy Hakim's Story of US. I'm also researching local history tours and living history days to add some variety. I will also be researching games like Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego to strength Landry's geographical knowledge.
Language Arts: I really like the literature units provided by Moving Beyond the Page. The literature he will read is first rate, and the activities are well designed. I don't feel the need to add anything to this aspect of Landry's curriculum. These units will also provide Landry ample opportunity for writing.
While MBtP does include grammar and spelling components, I think Landry needs more. For that reason, I'm returning to Spell Connections and Write Source. I'm not fond of workbooks, but I will say that Landry seemed to have a better grasp of these subjects when we were using these texts. As a side note, Landry does well when left to his own devices with workbooks. I'm hoping that will buy me one-on-one time to spend with the younger boys.
I'm adding something new to Landry's curriculum. Words on the Vine will introduce him to Latin and Greek word roots. I loved this sort of thing when I was in school. Landry seems to have my love of language and writing, so I'm hoping he will enjoy this.
Art: Landry will get some art through the Moving Beyond the Page materials. However, I have a few more resources I would like to explore. The boys have done various projects listed on the Art Projects for Kids blog this summer, and I've been delighted to see how they are expanding their skills artistically. I would love to continue to incorporate those projects into our curriculum. On my shelf, I also have Discovering Great Artists and How to Teach Art to Children, Grades 1-6. The former gives biographical information about well known artists and art projects related to their style of work. The latter provides a more technical understanding of the elements of art. Finally, I am also curious about a website called Meet the Masters, which provides technical and historical online art instruction for a fee. Because it's online, I think the boys may take a greater interest in it.
P.E.: Landry has earned his orange/yellow belt and will continue with bok fu in the fall.
Music: Landry will resume piano lessons in mid-September.
This seems like quite a lot. However, if I can, I would also like to find a fun way for Landry to improve his keyboarding skills. He really loves to write stories if he can type. I can't imagine how much he would enjoy it if he did not have to use the hunt-and-peck method.
I am also researching several short educational trips for the family about which I will post when they are definite. However, this is where we will start in August. Where Landry will go remains to be seen.
First, starting in mid-August, I will be acting as an editor for Moving Beyond the Page. In return, they will provide free curriculum to the boys.
Second, I am learning to approach curriculum in a more relaxed way. What follows would best be described as a list of resources from which I will draw, rather than a detailed plan for next year. I'm learning that an open-ended approach produces the better results for all.
Landry is nine years old and enrolled in fourth grade, but his curriculum will meet fifth grade standards.
Math: For the past year, Singapore Math has worked well for us. Landry will start with 5A and B in August. However, having seen these materials, I wonder if they will be enough. I suspect we will either have to go on to 6A and B, or find new materials at some point in the year.
As a homeschooling parent, my weakness is information that must be memorized. I just don't enjoy drilling on rote memorization. Landry has an excellent grasp of the concepts of multiplication and division. At the same time, Landry needs to memorize these facts. He will continue with Timez Attack, and I will continue to look for fun ways to accomplish this relatively monotonous task.
Science: Moving Beyond the Page includes a science curriculum, so that will provide a jumping off point. However, science proves challenging for me because the boys are advanced in this subject. I am looking into a private science class taught by a teacher familiar with gifted students. If that fails to prove a good fit for us, I will continue with homeschool classes twice a month at the Lawrence Hall of Science. I think I will also continue to use the Private Eye materials as time permits because the hands-on nature of these materials makes a nice change and because they provide a useful bridge to other subject areas for my science-oriented sons.
I am less concerned about planning science than other subjects because our lives naturally provide many opportunities to learn in this area. I'm more at ease with something akin to child-directed learning on this subject. We have ample resources lying about the house, and Jerry really enjoys watching documentaries and internet videos and them with the boys.
Foreign Language: Landry will continue with Spanish through Rosetta Stone.
Social Studies/History: Here again, Moving Beyond the Page provides a social studies curriculum. Still, I feel remiss without attempting to give Landry a sense of world history and also to try to bring history alive for him. We will continue to listen to Story of the World audiobooks in the car on long drives. When we finish that, I would like to take a closer look at Joy Hakim's Story of US. I'm also researching local history tours and living history days to add some variety. I will also be researching games like Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego to strength Landry's geographical knowledge.
Language Arts: I really like the literature units provided by Moving Beyond the Page. The literature he will read is first rate, and the activities are well designed. I don't feel the need to add anything to this aspect of Landry's curriculum. These units will also provide Landry ample opportunity for writing.
While MBtP does include grammar and spelling components, I think Landry needs more. For that reason, I'm returning to Spell Connections and Write Source. I'm not fond of workbooks, but I will say that Landry seemed to have a better grasp of these subjects when we were using these texts. As a side note, Landry does well when left to his own devices with workbooks. I'm hoping that will buy me one-on-one time to spend with the younger boys.
I'm adding something new to Landry's curriculum. Words on the Vine will introduce him to Latin and Greek word roots. I loved this sort of thing when I was in school. Landry seems to have my love of language and writing, so I'm hoping he will enjoy this.
Art: Landry will get some art through the Moving Beyond the Page materials. However, I have a few more resources I would like to explore. The boys have done various projects listed on the Art Projects for Kids blog this summer, and I've been delighted to see how they are expanding their skills artistically. I would love to continue to incorporate those projects into our curriculum. On my shelf, I also have Discovering Great Artists and How to Teach Art to Children, Grades 1-6. The former gives biographical information about well known artists and art projects related to their style of work. The latter provides a more technical understanding of the elements of art. Finally, I am also curious about a website called Meet the Masters, which provides technical and historical online art instruction for a fee. Because it's online, I think the boys may take a greater interest in it.
P.E.: Landry has earned his orange/yellow belt and will continue with bok fu in the fall.
Music: Landry will resume piano lessons in mid-September.
This seems like quite a lot. However, if I can, I would also like to find a fun way for Landry to improve his keyboarding skills. He really loves to write stories if he can type. I can't imagine how much he would enjoy it if he did not have to use the hunt-and-peck method.
I am also researching several short educational trips for the family about which I will post when they are definite. However, this is where we will start in August. Where Landry will go remains to be seen.
