Planning a school year can be daunting. I am by nature a perfectionist. My life is not perfect. So, I have to learn to let go and live with imperfections. That is okay. It means I can constantly strive for better, because I will never reach perfection till hopefully going home to heaven.
Let's get this school year rolling! How to for me.....
First, we have named our school St. Therese's Little Flowers and registered with the state. At this point I have been reading several books. Currently I am reading Home Education Volume One: By Charlotte Mason, Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum: By Laura Berquist, Honey For a Child's Heart: By Gladys Hunt,A Catholic Homeschool Treasury. My other big resource is http://www.amblesideonline.org/New.shtml. Also valuable, is talking to veteran home schooling moms.
This is a layout of what I have come up with for a guideline. It is definitely subject to change as I see fit.
During the week Monday through Thursday is school work days.
Monday: 6am Animal chores, 7:30am Breakfast, 8am clean up/play, 9am Math, 9:30am Phonics, 10:30am Religion, 11:00am Poetry, 11:30am Lunch, Noon Recess, 1pm Naptime, 2pm Computer/Play/Phy ed., 3pm Literature/Music, 4pm Animal chores, 5pm Make supper, 6pm Supper, then milk goats, 7pm clean up, ready kids for bed, play monster/storytime, 8pm Rosary/bedtime, 9pm my and Franz's time to unwind, 10pm bedtime for me:')
The only thing that will change is that Monday through Thursday at 11am. Monday it is Poetry, Tuesday Art, Wednesday (Something Special0 I will choose what ever I feel like, Thursday
Poetry.
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| Cyprian sporting his new reading glasses. He may out grow the need for them. I wore reading glasses for a short time as a child. |
Basic Curriculum is religion, reading, writing, and arithmetic. Religion: Cyprian is learning from the catechism, we will read the children's Bible, study a saint and virtue each week, go to daily mass once during the week (probably Wednesday evening at 6pm), learn prayers in Latin, etc. Reading I am using: Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, simple readers (still gathering good books). Writing: choosing a passage from the Bible or short story, also free expression of interpretation, writing letters to family and friends, spelling test once a week. Arithmetic: we are starting with Abeka book 1 and the speed drills and tests. After looking at it, I think we will be into book 2 soon. I accidentally used a second grade curriculum last year with Cyprian. Actually I was too cheap so we worked with what books we had around and it happened to be Saxxon 2 :')
Extras: hands on science being outside exploring and understanding our surroundings and sketching them, making simple experiments and reading (nature study). History: reading books and relating to today's current events, projects in history about important people and incorporating geography. Art study of a composer and his works each month of the school year, making a lot of artwork ourselves. Music reading about a specific composer each month and listening to his works. Basic piano instruction and play, learning hymns and folk songs. Literature is all the various subjects readings and also making sure to have a good story book for story time. Building projects, hands on creations. 4H showing goats and participating in events. Museum visits, we fortunately have great access here. Field trips yet to be determined. Clement will be going to the Good Shepard Catechesis on Fridays at 11 am. I will be doing Tae Kwon Do Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7 pm.
Fridays besides Clement's Good Shepard Catechesis is a free day to do
something of our choosing.
There is a beauty to home schooling. It looks like a lot and to be sure it is. But, a lot of these subjects flow right into one another making it not so many individualized subject times. Too, just living life is a lesson. Like impromptu dancing to some music, going for a swim with some friends, taking a hike and discovering something in nature, going fishing, working with animals, using your imagination and playing make believe, bantering back and forth making silly rhymes, and it just keeps going on......
Philosophically we are classical using models such as Charlotte Mason, Maria Montessori, and some awesome Kleinshirism! Our curriculum is a mix and very well will change as we seek the best method for each child. I am going to try and faithfully journal our whole school year. In hopes that it will give me insights for planning the next.
Each day needs to start and end with prayer.
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| The sun is rising on the horizon! |
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