Copy work, Memory work, math, spelling, and reading. Lots and lots of reading. A good day is getting through all of those things.
This leaves A LOT of time for extra reading, Bible, chores and play time. One of the greatest benefits of homeschooling is that my children really don't differentiate between "school time" and "other time". We are pretty much always making a lesson out of something.
For example...Nicole has been working for weeks on designing and implementing a "Joan of Arc" stop motion video with her Legos. She has written a script, designed several sets, learned the program, and is currently waiting for a few extra Lego pieces to arrive. Whether or not she realizes it...she has been doing some pretty hard core school work, all under the disguise of "Play".
More often than not, the children's play ends up reflecting whatever it is we've been learning about. This is a great, natural addition to our CC program.
However, I do have a plan to go a little deeper in areas like history, science, and geography when and if needed. Last time through Cycle 3, I purchased the Road Trip USA curriculum, written by another homeschool mom. It was not very expensive. We started, but did not finish. My kids were to young, my life was a bit crazy with an unexpected move and transition, and I tried to force this curriculum to keep up with CC...it didn't work. We survived that year.
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| Ack, it's sideways again....this is just a quick glimpse of two days. |
I want to try to work through that curriculum again this year. But, if we don't make it...it's ok. Here's the plan. Each state gets two days of attention. During those two days we learn some basic facts, read about famous people and events and even make a recipe or do a short project. One of my favorite things is that there is a suggested reading schedule through these books.
I think this reading will give us a great overview of US History. I will not try to keep up with CC's pace (I tried that last time and quit pretty quickly). We will just work through the states at our own pace.
I also like that it comes with printable sheets about each state. Perfect for Nathan and Hannah to color while I read out loud.
The children will enjoy the activities and cooking the recipes. This will simply be an addition.
I also have a lot of great books that I have collected from thrift stores over the years.
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| I would love to work through the Little House books. This might be a summer time adventure though. |
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| The sisters in time series is a great little historical fiction series with a Christian moral emphasis. We have enjoyed reading Sarah's Journey...about a girl and her family on the Mayflower. However, now that Nate is getting older, I need to start watching for some "boy centered" books as well. |
One of our favorite things to do is cuddle up on the couch and read in the afternoons.
I also have a few more books that I am excited about. The first is a set of three history books that came to me highly recommend. I decided to purchase the young reader's Edition.
The Light and the Glory
We have the audio version of Rush Limbaugh's new historical fiction
and the book version of Rush Revere and the First Patriots
We have already started a daily reading (when we remember) of
The American Patriot's Almanac which details an event that took place each day of the year
I found this book at a thrift store last year for .50. I thought that since we learning about the human body, this might be a good, and natural time to go a little deeper with Nicole. I need to read this book more thoroughly though and see if it is appropriate for her yet.
I will also be looking for fun ways to explore science at home. We will find some fun projects about the human body, explore our senses, dissect a chicken wing (did that before...I couldn't eat chicken for a while), and maybe even do some fun experimenting with elements from the periodic table. I will keep up with pinterest for most of these idea that will get thrown in when we can.
If Nate and Hannah are looking for something to do while I work with Nicole on math or spelling, there is always the PreScripts books as well...
Finally, we will be working towards earning several badges in American Heritage Girls. These badges are historically based and will be a great addition to anything read or study.
As you can see...this is very reading heavy. We don't do much "busy work" (well, some might consider copy work busy work...I think it is essential). We do a lot of reading, and from that reading we usually jump on rabbit trails and have fun exploring and learning together.
Oh, and let's not forget Liberty's Kids DVDs.
When life gets busy though... back to the basics we go. Everything else is just fun and games :) For their own quiet reading time, the kids can pick out a book on whatever topic they choose (with my permission of course). This will probably mean animals for Nicole, cars for Nate, and ballet for Hannah.
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