Sunday, June 2, 2013

Another Curriculum Update

This is a sad little blog.  Sorely outdated and neglected.
Here we go again, another curriculum update, this time for the 2013 school year.

All 3 kids:
Picture Smart Bible - we absolutely love this Bible survey course designed to engage us with various styles of learning.  We draw a symbolic picture of each major act or story in the Bible, summarize and retell each book.

Story of the World Volume 3
with the Activity Guide - this volume covers world history in the Early Modern Times from Queen Elizabeth to the Gold Rush.
We also choose our literature to read from this hisorical time period, based on many recommendations from the Activity Guide.
We use the Audio Books in the car and at home to follow along.
We also love Jim Wiess recordings of classic tales and literature.

Life of Fred - we are working our way through the elementary series quickly as a review of basic concepts for Mary and William and introducing some new ones for Robert, while laughing at such a silly character, Fred, who is a 5 year old professor at Kittens University.  Hilarity and practical math.
Math on the Level - this is still our core math curriculum, based on progressing through skills at your own pace, practicing for mastery and then building on the concept with further learning.  Fred introduces many new skills, which we can practice in our 5-a-day book.

Science with Dad -  Galileo for Kids:  His life and Ideas; Isaac Newton for Kids:  His life and Ideas; K'nex Simple Machine Science Kits; gardening with mom

Robert:
First Language Lessons level 2 - we're progressing through grammar basics, memorizing poetry and classifying sentences.
Alphabet Island Level 2B - We're finishing up this phonics/spelling curriculum with our friends from Alphabet Island.
Reason for Reading - we're working on fluency and inflection in story telling with these easy Bible readers
Independent work:  Reading Comprehension workbook, Time and Money skill book, Reading for the Gifted student, Wordly Wise Book 2; Rosetta Stone German.

Mary and William:
First Language Lessons level 4 - This is the final book in this series (at least for a while).  Students diagram complex sentences and practice writing mechanics.
Reason for Spelling - we love the variety of activities in this book and the ability to adjust the level of each spelling list for each student.
Independent work:  Wordly Wise Book 4; Daily Word Problems, Daily Language Review; Rosetta Stone German; Mavis Beacon Typing.