This year I'll have an 11th grader, 9th grader, 7th grader (first son to hit junior high), 4th grader, 2nd grader, pre-K, early preschool, and baby. Our oldest daughter will be a freshman in college, and we'll probably still have some long-distance tutoring/mentoring going on initially. I think I have everything figured out and ordered for school, except the extra chemistry equipment needed for Advanced Chemistry.
We're going to be making some changes this year to pay better attention to the high school students' progress through the year, with consequences when they fall behind. We've had two summers of catch-up work going on that needs to stop. Sending A off to college has helped us see that we need to be better enforcing deadlines, staying on track, and waking up with an alarm.
Here's the list of subjects and curriculum we've planned for each student ... for the simply curious and the curriculum junkies out there.
16 yo R - 11th Grade (7 credits total)
- Abeka US History
- English - Total Language Plus and Progeny Press units for US Lit (The Scarlet Letter, Adventures of Huck Finn, The Red Badge of Courage, and How To Kill A Mockingbird)
- English - writing using Teaching the Essay Packet and Teaching the Research Paper Packet
- Saxon Algebra 2
- Abeka Spanish 1 (changing gears from the software program we were using)
- Apologia Advanced Chemistry
- Dave Ramsey's Personal Finance for High School
- Community Choir
- Mystery of History Year 1 Ancient History
- BJU World Geography
- Classical Astronomy by Jay Ryan
- Saxon Algebra 1
- Nutrition and Health - Nutrition 101 by Debra Raybern and Sera Johnson and other resources (note: I do not fully agree with Nutrition 101, but it makes an excellent starter for discussion)
- English - Total Language Plus and Progeny Press Guides (Farenheit 451, Lord of the Flies, Redwall, The Yearling, possibly more)
- English - writing using Teaching the Essay Packet and Teaching the Research Paper Packet
- Keyboarding - whether she likes it or not
- History, Geography, Literature - Tapestry of Grace Year 4 (20th Century)
- Language Arts - Spelling Power, Easy Grammar Plus, A Reason for Handwriting Cursive, Story Starters by Karen Andreola, and other writing assignments from Tapestry of Grace
- Saxon Math 76
- Apologia General Science
- Finish Reading "It Couldn't Just Happen" and then read "How To Be Your Own Selfish Pig"
- History, Geography, Literature - Tapestry of Grace Year 4 (20th Century)
- Language Arts - Spelling Power, Grammar Workbook, A Reason for Handwriting Cursive, Story Starters by Karen Andreola, and other writing assignments from Tapestry of Grace
- Saxon Math 54
- Apologia Exploring Creation with Astronomy
- Horizons Math Grade 2
- Language Arts - Handwriting printable e-books, Spelling Power, Grammar Workbook, Write Shop Primary
- Reading - continue to work on fluency through practice, Explode the Code workbooks, and The Ordinary Parents Guide To Teaching Reading
- THE BIG DILEMMA -- should she study history, geography and literature with the boys using her level of Tapestry of Grace Year 4? or should she study history, language arts, art, and science with Five In A Row? I'll try Five In A Row because she's asking for it, but if I start to slack off, then she'll join in with Tapestry of Grace
- Simple Handwriting workbook
- Basic Math workbook
- Begin Explode the Code phonics workbooks
- Five In A Row unit studies with L
- gently introduce preschool concepts through books, television shows, puzzles, toys, games
- Before Five In A Row for gentle preschool learning
This morning I sat down and requested library books for our first two weeks of school to start Tapestry of Grace. These books are ones that need to come from other libraries to our library, so it takes a little time. There are a few books I'll need to pick up from our actual library, and one special inter-library-loan request I'll need to make in person at the library.
All in all, I feel like we're pretty well-prepared. I'm a little less certain that we've got everything in order for my oldest daughter to head off to college. I keep remembering things we need to do or get that we haven't yet. I think it's time for a BIG LIST.
What about you? Are you ready for school to start? Starting in August, or waiting until September? Is there anything you're changing, or are you worried about a particular subject?
April E.
