Our only student left! AJ's schedule

Our last child, DS AJ, is a junior and we are basically doing most of HEO year 10 . I have taught a course in American Lit a couple of times now, with my own kids and a few other hs students along for good discussion. That tends to steal from the typical HEO recommendations and rotations from both years 10 and 11. We have to adjust for that, but I have made adjustment to AmblesideOnline ever since we first began it back in the late 90's.

We are looking into purchasing "The Lost Tools of Writing" to help our last child with writing. I'll let you know how that turns out. We may yet keep things simple for him, or we may decide to dive right in to better, deeper methods on a simple level, which is what he needs right now.

History Spine for this year:
Our oldest two students, now long-graduated and married, used Paul Johnson's History of the American People. Our now college freshman read through the Clarence B. Carson set, A History of the United States, for his American History Spine. So, we are trying Churchill with our youngest. He is a junior, but we have rearranged his history for several reasons, one being the American Lit. class issue that I've already mentioned.

Literature:
We did American Lit last year. Hubby teaches American Lit, so I love to present that subject in chronological order, different from HEO, so that I can have Hubby's input and discussion in our classes, as well.

We saved Moby Dick for this year, didn't require it of him in American Lit last year. His big brother read it, but he was ready for it, AJ was not at the time. Hubby also wants him to read Great Gatsby, which is scheduled in Yr. 11 of HEO.


Our main Shakespeare play for the year is "As You Like It" but Hubby wants us to add one more to the rotation. Maybe it will be Hamlet, and we can use Peter Leithart's study book, _Brightest Heaven of Invention_.

DS will keep reading through _The History of English Lit for boys and girls_. This is one of his favorite books of all the AO/HEO recommendations.

Writing:
Zinsser "On Writing" or may get "Lost Tools of Writing" and go deep to see what he is capable of, since AJ grasped things later than our other students/children.


Citizenship:
DS will also be reading "Ourselves" by Charlotte Mason to cover citezenship, along with One Blood by Ken Ham and Sesame and Lilies by John Ruskin

Geography:
Pinpoint places about which we read on a map
also may read Eothen (a travel journal)
We have maps which we bought in New England when we visited there. We will point things out from this year as we come across them, such as Winslow Homer's home(s), Nathaniel Hawhtorne's home, Louisa May Alcott's home(s), Emerson's Home, etc.


Government/economics:
The Law (1848) by Frederic Bastiat


Foreign Language:
DS has studied two years of Spanish, but I'd like to draw him into more conversation and stories. He is still a resistant, reluctant student with learning/processing issues, so I have to present enriching ideas for him to grasp hold and take off. That is difficult to stay the course with this one. I lose heart far too often.


Worldviews:
We'll watch the video series "How Should We Then Live" by Francis Schaeffer to help ease the reading burden on ds. I am also planning on reading _Seven Men Who Rule the World from the Grave_ along with him and disussing.

We may read Frankenstein and Jekyll and Hyde. Not sure if we should add two more books to his reading schedule. Will see how things go. All our other kids read these, plus _The Deadliest Monster_ by Jeff Baldwin, a sort of study guide, but an essay in and of itself for the aforementioned books. Our oldest two read this when they were in year 8 and year 10, respectively.


Essays:
I love the Emerson Essays. We have already read some in American Lit last year. I will have AJ read more, including the LONGER Nature essay. There are two Nature essays. I think HEO still scheduled the very short essay. The longer one is much, much better, IMHO, and in my teacher-Hubby's opinion. He has taught American Lit for 20 years. The American Scholar is phenomenal, and one which we read last year. Oldest kids read it, as well. So I'll have AJ read "Art" this year, since we didn't cover that one last year.

We are going to add a few books by Wendell Berry, as he seems to be a modern-day, Christian Thoreau in whom my husband and I are becoming very, very interested. Hubby is not your typical Christian, evangelical hs dad. He is not a replublican! (lol) and I am more of a tea party person, myself...though I still hesitate to identify with them, because the Tea Party encompasses a broad spectrum of folks and ideologies.


Math:
Consumer Math (we suspect dysgraphia with this student, so we don't expect any miracles toward Algebra I or II and beyond...that is also a real problem I have, so have swapped the teaching of Maths--with other families, Moms--for Spanish teaching {which I *love* and am good at, if I do say so myself, lol!} in years past with all our other, older three kids, all now graduated).

Budgeting and books by Larry Burkett, Ron (I think) Paris, others


Logic:
I hope to work on _How to Read a Book_ with AJ. He has not read any of this, yet, unlike our older kids, who read this much earlier in their schooling.


Health:
Fearfully and Wonderfully Made (probably the DVD instead of the book for this particular student)
The Gift of Pain by the same author

Science:
Six Easy Pieces by Richard P. Feynmen
Bio on Albert Einstein, and DVD documentaries

Nature Study:
We've already read _Walden_ and been to Walden Pond, so we will read some John Muir
and work on nature photography, probably study Ansel Adams again. AJ was too young last time we studied him.

The following are not this year's AO/HEO recommendations completely, because we are studying these with a few others, as well as at home.

Poetry:
We've already been working on Billy Collins and just started William Wordsworth. To these, I will add Emily dickinson and John Greenleaf Whittier for the year


Artist/Picture Study:
An in-depth look at Winslow Homer
Norman Rockwell,
and Vincent Van Gogh


Drawing/Art:
Artistic Pursuits
The Arts by Hendrick Van Loon


Composer Study:
Chopin this term
The Russian composers next term

Music History:
300 Years of Interaction in Western Music, Arts, History, and Culture by Professor Carol


Hymn Signing:
Yes! and Tonic Solfa study, as well
Dear Lord and Father of Mankind by John Greenleaf Whittier (just one of several)


Recitations and Copywork:
sections/speeches from Shakespeare
poems that we are studying this year
Bible verses in English and Spanish


Folk Songs this term:
Aiken Drum
Carick Fergus
De Colores


Plays:
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (we will watch it, instead of reading it)
a second Shakespeare (haven't decided which one yet)


Free Reading:
The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne (We have the added bonus of having visited Hawthorne's hometown, his home in Concord, and Seven Gables, so this may help!)
Little Men (AJ never read it earlier in AO b/c he didn't fully learn to read until he was older, now he reads quite well, but it is not his favorite thing to do)
Hard Times by Charles Dickens
P.G. Wodehouse stories (may simply watch some)
G. K. Chesterton
and MAYBE a Sir Walter Scott novel.


And of course, we will be working on basic life skills, such as changing tires, changing oil, building simple things, helping with home and car maintainence, cooking, etc. He keeps his room very tidy.



It has taken me long enough to share this, but I just gave the schedule another tweak this week, so it wasn't really ready to share, just yet!

I've also been quite busy prepping other classes, Spanish I and II, Artist/Picture Study, and poetry, just to name a few!


The older I get, the slower I seem to be at posting details, LOL.


How is your schoolyear going, my dear, quiet readers? Let me know!


Javamom

A Night Piece

Hunter's Moon October 2011

A Night Piece

by William Wordsworth

composed 1798, published 1815

--The sky is overcast

With a continuous cloud of texture close,

Heavy and wan, all whitened by the Moon,

Which through that veil is indistinctly seen,

A dull, contracted circle, yielding light

So feebly spread, that not a shadow falls,

Chequering the ground--from rock, plant, tree, or tower

At length a pleasant instantaneous gleam

Startles the pensive traveller while he treads

His lonesome path, with unobserving eye

Bent earthwards; he looks up--the clouds are split

Asunder,--and above his head he sees

The clear Moon, and the glory of the heavens.

There, in a black-blue vault she sails along,

Followed by multitudes of stars, that, small

And sharp, and bright, along the dark abyss

Drive as she drives: how fast they wheel away,

Yet vanish not!--the wind is in the tree,

But they are silent;--still they roll along

Immeasurably distant; and the vault,

Built round by those white clouds, enormous clouds,

Still deepens its unfathomable depth.

At length the Vision closes; and the mind,

Not undisturbed by the delight it feels,

Which slowly settles into peaceful calm,

Is left to muse upon the solemn scene.

Placed by Wordsworth among his "Poems of the Imagination" printed in the "Lyrical Ballads"

Ready to begin some plans for Next Schoolyear

Spring fever

Senioritis

This is what we have had going on around here for a couple of months, now. If you had asked me two weeks ago what I was planning to do next year, I would have rolled my eyes at you. Literally. I was so ready just to be done with the year and move on to graduation celebration for our next senior (our third, now).

It has been a traumatic season in the family, with my Mom's cancer diagnosis, surgery, and continued chemo treatments. Then there is my husband's father's cancer numbers going up, after his first diagnosis almost 18 years ago. There are silver linings during the clouds of this chapter. Mom's numbers are going down steadily, and she is 2/3 of the way through chemo. Father-in-law has already outlived what his doctors had predicted by at least a decade, and he's feeling pretty well, all-in-all.

This week, I finally turned a corner in my mind and am getting excited about next year. I had almost given up on inspiration for the next year or two. Those of you who know me, know that I am a huge proponent of life long learning. Home schooling has allowed us the freedom to pursue and encourage that with not only our own kids, but many, many families and children along the way since the very early 90's.

What helped me out of my end-of-year funk? A new-to-me book about education that I purchased for summer reading and teacher continuing education. But first, I had to wrap up some pretty important details regarding this year. I needed to prepare for Spanish class reviews, make copies of Spanish tests, wrap up readings of short sketches and poetry in American Lit. with the writing of Garrison Keillor and Billy Collins, but not capping that class off with a final of any sort. I did not want to beat the literature with an analytical bat, so-to-speak, but let it stand in the kids' minds on its own merit; to marinate.

When we wrapped up today, it was exciting to hear my students' passion and/or narrations of their favorite or most surprising book, poem, or author from this school year. My own senior surprised me the most. He had made connections with Buckskin and Blanket Days, which is the story of a major part of the life of the newspaper journalist who reported on The Battle of Wonded Knee. He also happens to be one of my ancestors.


Several weeks ago, I had ordered a copy of The Student Whisperer by Oliver DeMille and Tiffany Earl, but had not been able to pick it up, for the aforementioned reasons. I could finally pick it up after this past week was nearing its end. Most of my class preps were behind me, so I spent a couple of nights reading into the wee hours. This book is hard to put down!

I am motivated once again to plan afresh, with the old purpose put in me years ago. It's great to have certain things reaffirmed, and to be challenged anew. Some of the background stories are so new to me, but it all reaffirms what I have always felt in my gut and even experienced in my own life of travel and living, working with others from various cultures and countries.

I'll close for now, but plan to blog more on the book as I proceed and as ideas simmer for a couple of days.


Are YOU ready for summer, or for continued learning?? :-)

Anyone want to read along with me and comment? Please do, and let me know!

Ciao for now,


Javamom

Traveling in the New World

I took some time this week to read some of the first pages and the last few pages of journal entries by Sarah Kemble Knight, on her five-month-long journey in 1704 from Boston to New York to settle a cousin's estate. Here you can find a nice map of her apporximate journey. It's a fabulous map, showing the rugged land that she had to cross alone, with only the slight help of a post or mail/message carrier. We've been through many of the same places several times, but thankfully, not on 'hors' as she writes ;-).

Knight's journal is yet another example of the Narrative Historical Literature that we are studying this year in American Lit. here at home.

Next post: a poem about a spinning wheel...or is it?

Huswifery

Huswifery

By Edward Taylor
1642-1729
(puritanamericansermons.com/poetry)


Make me, O Lord, thy Spinning Wheele compleat;
Thy Holy Worde my Distaff make for mee.
Make mine Affections thy Swift Flyers neate,
And make my Soule thy holy Spoole to bee.
My Conversation make to be thy Reele,
And reele the yarn thereon spun of thy Wheele.

Make me thy Loome then, knit therein this Twine:
And make thy Holy Spirit, Lord, winde quills:
Then weave the Web thyselfe. The yarn is fine.
Thine Ordinances make my Fulling Mills.
Then dy the same in Heavenly Colours Choice,
All pinkt with Varnish't Flowers of Paradise.

Then cloath therewith mine Understanding, Will,
Affections, Judgment, Conscience, Memory;
My Words and Actions, that their shine may fill
My wayes with glory and thee glorify.
Then mine apparell shall display before yee
That I am Cloathd in Holy robes for glory.



Analysis of this poem by Kerry Michael Wood found here.

Enjoy!


Javamom

Ann Bradstreet Poetry

This year, I am teaching American Lit to our last two teens. We are moving in a Chronological order of time periods, so we began with some Native American writings (including a perusal of The Iroquois Constitution, which is quite sophisticated and inclusive of women, as well). We discussed Anne Bradstreet, the first female American poet today, and read through some of her poetry, which focuses on matters of daily living in the time of the Puritans.

Perhaps the one she best-known for is "To My Dear and Loving Husband."


This is the one we read today in class:


"By Night when Others Soundly Slept"

By night when others soundly slept
And hath at once both ease and Rest,
My waking eyes were open kept
And so to lie I found it best.

I sought him whom my Soul did Love,
With tears I sought him earnestly.
He bow'd his ear down from Above.
In vain I did not seek or cry.

My hungry Soul he fill'd with Good;
He in his Bottle put my tears,
My smarting wounds washt in his blood,
And banisht thence my Doubts and fears.

What to my Saviour shall I give
Who freely hath done this for me?
I'll serve him here whilst I shall live
And Love him to Eternity.


We are also reading a decent chunk of William Bradford's own writings of the Separatists, the important events leading them to remove from England, on to "The Lowlands" and eventually travel to Cape Cod. We've all heard the Pilgrim stories, but I wanted to kids to read an original source document on this time and group in history.

We are taking an "overview" approach, not completely digging into everything with a fine-tooth comb. We'll also be covering different folklore, historical speeches, documents, maps, music, short stories, some journal entries, just a few novels, as well as poetry. Would love to explore a bit of natural history through the Lewis and Clark journals, but I'm not sure that we'll have time for that. I may make it available as an alternate assignment and paper/project.


Hope your school year has begun well! We are finally beginning to get into a decent groove.


Javamom

Foreign Languages the Charlotte Mason Way

My friends and I hosted a Charlotte Mason Question and Answer Day on August 28th to help advise new-to CM and new-to-Ambleside Online moms who are new to or just beginning teaching with a CM philosophy in their homeschools. I got to help with some basic things like spelling, studied dictation, nature study, high school transcripts, and my favorite, Foreign Language the CM way.


CM mentions several wonderful suggestions in her volumes (1 and 3 especially) and in PR aricles, which I had mentioned and linked to back in May 2010 while prepping for a talk I was going to be giving. During the span of her teaching, writing, and lecturing career, we find that she was settling more and more on the methods of Francois Gouin (also a late 19th century educator). She gives examples of lesson plans and objectives, plus students' samples in the back of her book School Education, Volume 3 for "A Gouin Series," along with other sample grammar lessons and narration examples.


A Gouin Series is:

1. a sequence of logical steps or actions (always about 5-8) in a process.
2. 1st pronoun in each sentence of the series needs to be the same.
3. Pronoun used determines the verb conjugation(s) which is easier, because it is presented in context.
4. Simple, short so not overwhelming even in advanced tenses.
5. Given orally first.
6. Includes gestures to show/demonstrate meaning
7. Students repeat and gesture what you, the teacher, demonstrated.

It is helpful to have pictures that match the series as well, but not always practical. In this case, you can draw the students in to do drawings for the class.

This is an example of a Gouin series set of action statements:

Yo voy a la escuela.
Yo vengo a la clase de español.
Yo tengo mis materiales en mi mochila.
Yo saco mi libro, mi cuarderno, y mi bolígrafo.
Yo saco una hoja de papel, también.
Yo escucho a la profesora.
Yo escribo muchas notas en mi cuarderno.

Translated means: I go to school. I come to Spanish class. I have my supplies in my backback. I take out my book, notebook (workbook), and my pen. I take out a piece of paper, as well. I listen to the teacher. I take many notes in my notebook. After teaching activities/actions with a Gouin series approach, you then add in some (short) storytelling. This is another good site, called TPR World, which is doing a lot of proofing and research, provides resources to keep reforming FL teaching in public and private schools using the writings and work(s) of Francois Gouin, Stephen Krashen, James Asher, and Blaine Ray. Some free printouts are available on these sites, as well.

We find this 19th Century educator, who realized the importance (in his own life, first!) of teaching/learning language in a logical, practical series emphasizing most commonly used verbs. Over the past few years, I've also discovered these modern researchers, teachers, and supporters, all of whom promote the storytelling developments added to the Gouin series and gesturing during lessons, (aka the work of Blaine Ray and others) in the TPR Storytelling movement. Also see Blaine Ray's web site: http://www.blaineraytprs.com/.


Curriculum helps:

I tend to use multiples resources, as many Liberal Arts Education moms do, though I pull from one specific book as a spine, then multiple resources to be more well-rounded and more CM. This also jibes quite a bit, if you know how to tweak it, with the TPR Storytelling enthusiasts, so I get a lot of my ideas/novels in the target language, music, etc., from them. If you are interested in knowing more about High School, feel free to ask me offline. Some TPR supplements to these curriculae are better than others.

I like the "Hola Niños package for the elementary years. This is what I'd buy if I had young elementary students. For upper elementary, Cuéntatme. There is a French version of both of those curriculum packages. Pricelist for these is here. These are what I would use with your children if I organized a Spanish class for the younger years. I am adding high school Spanish 3 this year and also will be teaching American Lit to high school students. That's two preps that I haven't done in a long time, for a total of four classes with outside students.

*** Two things about those programs that you may want to be prepared for. *All of the lessons are meant to be humorous and taken lightly. Some of the lessons may have very silly stories, perhaps elephants falling in love with people or other boyfriend/girlfriend themes that are not something you'd want to use in your family, so there could be some wasted lessons, or lessons that you'll have to tweak.

When I encounter these in resources that I buy for my classes, I either tweak or skip them. If I tweak them, then I've got to make my own pictures to match the new characters or actions.

***The other thing is that these programs assume you have had some Spanish and have a comfortable working knowledge of grammar, pronunciation, etc. Otherwise, you may end up getting frustrated. Take your time to explore these links. You may come away with some neat lessons for your own students/children if you do, or it may bring up more questions for you. Ask away!!

For more information on what Gouin teachers are doing today ~ http://gouinseries.com/. There are some neat lesson links and a few free resources available through more links found on this site.

A third affordable recommendation that I love is for Visual Link Spanish, which helps with sentence building in chunks...Noun, verb, + prepositional phrase. You can get the first 11 or 12 lessons for free. Sign up for their e-mail list and wait for them to send you special pricing (it usually happens within a week!) on the disks. Since it is computer-based, students might be apt to fall into boredom after a month or two.

Visit Mamalisa.com for nursery rhymes and folk songs.

Don't forget that you can do Bible verse copywork, or even reading practice in any language by using the free resource of Biblegateway.net! If you prefer side-by-side translations, look at Biblios.com.

Hymns are available online for free as well at cyberhymnal.com or here. Hope your school terms have started well!


Javamom

Foreign Language Helps

School starts this week, and we've been busy with preparations at the cottage, as have many of my friends and readers.

Today, I'm share a link (that is filled with more links) to a helpful website for those interested in teaching/learning a foreign language using one of the recommendations of Charlotte Mason, late 19th-early 20th century educator and reformer in England. She had several wonderful suggestions, but was settling on the methods of Francois Gouin (also a late 19th century educator) throughout her writing, speaking, and teaching career. She gives examples of lesson plans and objectives, plus students' samples in the back of her book School Education.

Take your time to explore and take a lot of notes. You will come away with some neat lessons for your own students/children if you do!

Sorry to be so brief today, but I must get back to lesson planning!


Javamom

Bored With the Usual?

I just saw a piece of homeschool e-mail titled, "Bored with the usual? Try Unit Studies." Actually, you could fill in that blank with several different things, but my favorite (from personal experience) fits the following sentiment. It was my FB status update tonight.


"Uncle Wally and Aunt Sue at our house! Nice surprise ~ Love it. We've had so much fun and *fantastic* conversation. Education and learning, nature walks, art and art history, science, engineering, math, a little politics and religion. Got to ride around in their sweet Prius, too. I just love them."

They are some of the nicest, benevolent, smart people I know. And they are Democrats (imagine that. I can say that in this red state, and you might understand my subtle inuendo). I am moved and impressed by them in so many ways. I hope I can be more like them as I age, because they are more like Jesus than a lot of folks I've known in my lifetime.


Back to my advice, though, since this is not a post about my frustration with politics :-).

If YOU are bored with the usual, try this:

Have some of your favorite family members (or other smart people) over for some good food and conversation, sharing of quotes, travel photos,, stories, knowledge, and books. Your kids can learn a lot or at the very least be intrigued by your conversations, which will make an impression and can lead him or her to more thoughtful study. I can vouch for this method of learning and growth with MUCH passion. We've been doing this with our kids for over twenty-one years (unofficially. 18 yrs. officially since beginning 'pre-school' types of things).


Be encouraged,


Javamom

Of Chore Charts and Scheduling

A friend asked me to post this family schedule/chart over a month ago, and I am finally getting to it. Below, find a photo of my copy of the Alcott Family chore chart that was posted at "Hillside" which was later renamed to "Wayside" by Nathaniel Hawthorne after he purchased the home. This is where, when the girls were younger, they played "Pilgrim's Progress" on the front staircase and made up other plays complete with costumes. (the small trunk and some of the original costumes reside in Orchard House, just to the left next door, where the family later moved after Elizabeth's death).



(our visit to Hillside, aka Wayside ~ summer of 2009)



The Alcott girls were homeschooled by their father for much of their education, and also had a tutor come in (in this chart, it is a Mr. Lane). We know that money Louisa earned from writing went to send May to study art and painting in France.

The family awoke at 5 a.m. and took very cold baths, something that Mr. Alcott was very keen on. (Brrrrrr!) The girls had some 'recreation' aka chores in the early morning, overseen by Miss Foord, and did sewing, had conversation, and reading in the evenings with their mother and Miss Ford. (spelled two different ways on the chart, perhaps b/c of space?)

(click to enlarge)


Note the high expectation of the girls: "Vigilance, Punctuality, Perserverence. Promt, Cheerful, Unquestioning Obedience. Government of Temper, Hands, and Tongue. Gentle Manners, Motions, and Words. Work, Studies, and Play distinct. No interchange of Labors."

Our guide noted how different most of the world is today...and not for the better.

What other significant things do you notice about their routine that stand out to you? Espcially my Charlotte Mason educating friends?

Can't wait to hear from you, and sorry for my laxity in keeping up with the blog of late. I will post on that another time.

Javamom

Tweaking School Schedules pt. 2

After thinking through what I typed regarding our ds #3, age 16 and his remaingin high school years, I'm considering that perhaps I will be able to crunch nine terms over two years (18-24 months), instead of crunching years 9 and 10 into the next 12 months (which would include summer school). It will take some more time for me to mull over the numbers game of dividing pages over fewer months, and I am NOT a huge fan of SYSTEMS or programs, so if I'm not as detailed here as you like, I am sorry!! I can post page number updates when I get that all completed and fit into a realistic time-frames each week. Do post any questions that you may have. Some friends just e-mail me privately, and that is fine, too.

I still may add one or two small items in this schedule for our 16 yo, but then again, maybe not! We'll see how he manages his time. He is between summer job hours and a different job. His summer job was with a business that only runs through the summer. He is waiting to hear back from other potential employers for work during the school term. He also needs to take initiative and visit those businesses to show his interest and motivation once again.

Jr. Yr. Term 1 Week 5	Monday	Tuesday	Wed.	Thursday	Friday
Devo: Imitation of Christ	Thomas a Kempis		Thomas a Kempis
Bible: James	Daily reading	Daily reading	Daily reading	Daily reading	Daily reading
History: HEO selections	History: Clarence Carson Hist. of the US	History: Letters or journal entries	Government: Are You Liberal, Conserv. Or Confused?	History: Letters or journal entries of the revoltionaries	History: Pope’s Essay on Man
Language Arts: Elements of Style		Writing – narrations of essays		Writing-other narrations
Poetry: Puritan Poetry of N. England	1 poem read	1 poem copy	Mom teaches Spanish I Class	1 poem finish copying	Art History: Raphael bio
Biography: Various HEO selections	John Adams	Geo Wash. Addresses to Cont. Cngrss	Spanish poem scrip, or song	Leave for Chem class	Picture Study Raphael Sanzio
Spanish sheets 2 pgs day	Spanish sheets 2 per day	Spanish sheets 2 per day	Spanish sheets 2 per day	Apologia Chemistry Class	Copy Spanish vocab/phrases in context
Alg 2	Alg 2	Alg 2	Alg 2	“	Alg 2
LUNCH	LUNCH	LUNCH	LUNCH	“	LUNCH
A hymn per term	Benjamin Fr. Autobio 20 pgs./wk		Spanish II	“	Mere Christianity
Geography & Natural Hist.:	Carpenter’s N.American Geograph. reader	View maps of militia and battle sites	“ “	NatureStudy:	Ethics of the Dust
Citizenship: Plutarch’s Lives or Ourselves	Letters from George Washington	Ourselves by CM	Spanish II ends, visit w/our friends before they leave	Writings from other re-volutionaries
			Plutarch - together
Literature: Shakespeare * Midsummer Nights Dream		Shakespeare together
	TIDY	TIDY	TIDY	TIDY
Tea and Fine Arts: Term 1	Ralph V. Wms symph. I A Sea Symphony	job	job	job	job
Free Reading:
Man Who Was Thursday
Sir Walter Scott novel
Games: Farkle backgammon	Or Cranium		Dad Wood Working club		Movie night
Bedtime	Bedtime	Bedtime	Bedtime	Bedtime	Bedtime
Lights out	Lights out	Lights out	Lights out	Lights out	Lights out

Friday:

Bible reading; Pope's Essay on Man (not sure how many pages, yet); Copy Spanish vocab/phrases in context; read Mere Christianity; Algebra 2; Read Ruskin's Ethics of the Dust; family movie night...especially if our college DD is home for part of the weekend with her fiance. We also cook up a feast on most Friday or Saturday evenings.

Any Questions?

Javamom

Tweaking School Schedules pt. 1

Our last two teens at home are following slightly modified versions of the Ambleside Online's House of Education (high school recommendations) online buffet. We are pulling from years 9 and 10.

Youngest son, age 14, has been reading through English Lit for Boys and Girls and is not in the same chapter that is scheduled for year nine. Close, but not exactly the same, which I realize is hardly worth mentioning. We also work with his various learning issues and abilities, so he is not as far ahead as the 'average' student in one or two areas, Math being one. He has caught up in reading ability, spelling ability, and we are still working on writing. It is difficult for him to translate what is in his head to the page, but we are working on it! He is very imaginative and creative, so we have a lot to work with, and a lot of potential.

We are just now cranking up to begin other fine arts and Shakespeare for this year, so they may actually occur earlier in the day than scheduled below. Hubby works later in the day, so we have a later dinner hour than most people do, thus our evening draws out later than the average family's day. I am also a night owl, and am the parent who is up late any time any of our teens are out and returning home late for whatever reason, be it just visiting friends close-by, attending a football game, whatever.

Subjects	Monday	Tuesday	Wed.	Thursday	Friday
Bible:	Daily reading	Daily reading	Daily reading	Daily reading	Daily reading
History: HEO selections	History: An Island Story	History: Story of the Pilgrims	History: Clarence Carson Hist. of the US	History: Capt. John Smith’s World	History: This Country of Ours
Language Arts: Daily Grams	Daily Grams One page	Daily Grams One page	Daily Grams One page	Daily Grams One page	Daily Grams One page
Poetry: Puritan Poetry of N. England	1 poem read	1 poem copy	Spanish I Class	1 poem finish copying	Art History: The Story of Painting Jansen
Biography: Various HEO selections	English Lit For Children Marshall	Autobio of Ben Franklin 6.5 pgs.	Spanish I Class	Autobio of Ben Franklin 6.5 pgs.	Picture Study Raphael
Piano Lessons A hymn per term	Piano practice	Piano practice	Piano practice	Piano practice	Piano practice
An Island Story	Math Facts CD rom	Living Math reading	Math Facts CD rom	Living Math reading	Math Facts CD rom
LUNCH	LUNCH	LUNCH	LUNCH	LUNCH	LUNCH
Spanish sheets 2 pgs day	Spanish sheets 2 per day	Spanish sheets 2 per day	Mom teaches Spanish II Andrew copy Spanish Poem	Science: Science Lab in a Supermarket	Make Spanish vocab cards
Geography & Natural Hist.: Carpenter’s	View maps of militia and battle sites	Carpenter’s N.American Geograph. reader	…or copy a Spanish song	NatureStudy: Draw found treasures from the week	Leave for Piano
Citizenship: Plutarch’s Lives or Ourselves	Listen to Colonial audio dramas	Ourselves by CM	Plutarch	Ourselves by CM	Piano Lesson
Math: CDRom/ Teaching Txtbks Pre-Algebra	Pre-Algebra	Pre-Algebra	Pre-Algebra	Pre-Algebra	Piano lesson
Literature: Shakespeare * Midsummer Nights Dream	Letters from George Washington	* Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream	Letters from John Adams	Writings from other re-volutionaries	Head home
	TIDY	TIDY	TIDY	TIDY	Bank/grocery with Mom
Tea and Fine Arts ~ Term 1	Ralph V. Wms symph. I A Sea Symphony		Raphael Sanzio (1483-1520)	http://cgfa.dotsrc.org/raphael/p-raphae41.htm	“
Free Reading:					“
Rome mini book
Greek Heroes					“
Games: Farkle	Or Cranium		Dad at Wd Working clb		Movie night
Bedtime	Bedtime	Bedtime	Bedtime	Bedtime	Bedtime
Lights out	Lights out	Lights out	Lights out	Lights out	Lights out

Since you can't see Friday, b/c of my blog layout, I will just list it ~

Daily Grams, one page; Art History: The Story of Painting by Jansen (has been reading this one for two years, now, and should finish it this year); Piano practice- scales; Picture Study, this term: Raphael Sanzio; lunch; copy Spanish vocab and phrases; leave for piano lesson; Piano lesson; errands with mom--bank, grocery; movie night or spend night with a friend.

A couple of other modifications are these:

Hubby has added a few of his own recommended readings for our Junior, from summer reading assignments given to his upcoming American Lit students (at the school where he teaches and is head of the English Dept). Examples such as a chapter from _The Travels of William Bartram_, "An Account of the Persons, Manners, Customs, and Government of the Muscogulges or Creeks, Cherokees, Chactaws...of North America." or Washington Irving's "The Creole Village" or Thomas Paine's "The Crisis: Philadelphia, April 19th, 1783." (includes important thougths on 'now what' after the Revolutionary War.

So as our 16 yo son is also studying American History and Lit, we are doing a modified year for him, which includes recommendations from years 9 and 10. You may be asking "Why?" and I'd answer that I chose to have him complete HEO year 8 last schoolyear, to make sure and wrap up as solidly as possible his study of British and Western History. Combining selections from both 9 and 10 so that he will be ready for Yr. 11 and the study of the 20th century for his Senior year. Practically speaking, we will not do everything from years 9 and 10, and will also crunch our choices from the recommendations into the next twelve months.

I am sprinkling in a few original source documents (most quite short) for both boys that fit into this time frame, as well, but I will assign more and expect more from our 16 yo. These are usually just letters associated with the pre-revolutionary and revolutionary wars, and can probably be found online. We have them in Hubby's "Library of America" collection, and more specifically George Washington's letters and some diary entries of some of the British (Frederick McKenzie on the retreat from Concord, MA) on some of the battles. We also have a short "Tory view on Lexington and Concord" by Peter Oliver. Then, we have "A Pennsylvanian Reacts to Lexington and Concord, 1775," John Dickinson to Arthur Lee. I will likely throw in "George Washington's address to the Continental Congress, June 16, 1775."


As I get the time slots tweaked, I'll post our 16 yo's schedule in another post.


Javamom