Planning Year 3 & 4

I am a planner by nature. The earlier I can get something planned, the better, in most cases. I have learned, over the years, that sometimes early planning equals extra work and re-planning. I try to decipher what should be planned early and what should be left to the last minute. I'm still tweaking that, but, all-in-all, our family life is easier if there's a plan to consult and follow, even when a plan B or a more creative and spontaneous plan C has to trump the overall plan because of illness, travel, etc.

I also happen to be a slow, deep, and broad thinker. Writing these things out, either into a journal or into the blogosphere, is helpful to me. Taking the time to get it out into a place where I can see and evaluate what's in my head really makes things less complicated. The winter months are typically used to plan next year's school, activities, and garden. A complete plan instills hope and excitement for the warmer days to come.

Since I'd be writing out our school plan in long form anyway, I thought I'd post it with the hopes that it would be helpful to someone else. With just two kiddos, I admit, it's got to be a lot easier for me to plan a school year. I keep my plans filed away too, just in case, for some reason, we add to our family in the years to come.

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I follow a philosophy, but not a boxed or set curriculum. I provide the structure to the philosophy, and, geek that I am, I enjoy making the plan, picking the pieces based on my children's personalities and learning styles, and putting them together. I am also a big-picture person. If something doesn't fit the color scheme or style within that big picture, I tend to reject it. As a result, I'm not a fan of most of the co-op and boxed-curriculum situations available. If I had more children, they might appeal to me. But I am not in that situation. That said, I am ALL FOR and very supportive of everyone doing what they've gotta do to make things work for their families, their personalities, and their preferences as the teachers in their homes (because mama's mental health is very important!), and their children's personalities, preferences and learning styles. Please don't read this as an advertisement for a particular brand of home education. This works for me, but it's not for everyone.

For history, literature, artist, and composer studies, I use Ambleside Online almost exclusively. I typically choose not to abide by their art and composer rotation and I typically do not like their selections for science. While I use suggestions, I keep artists and composers to the time period we're studying in history. I like to watch the kiddos make connections even as I read the stories of the lives of our artists and composers. Ambleside is a curriculum based on the methods and philosophies of an English educator from the 19th century named Charlotte Mason. If you'd like to read more about her and her method, this is a good starting point.

We have used All About Reading and All About Spelling throughout the kid's first three/four years. Jonathan just completed the final level in All About Reading, but will continue studying and reviewing the homophones and spelling in the upper levels of AAS. The program utilizes the very same philosophy as Spell to Write and Read, but in short lessons that include games and readings associated with the skills recently learned. We have had GREAT success with this program and, most importantly, we've had a lot of fun with it.  Melanie is just a half level behind her brother and will likely finish the whole program within her second grade year. Jonathan is mourning his reading program. He told me just yesterday that he wished there was a level five. While the materials can be costly, I have been able to sell the materials quickly through used curriculum sales at near enough the same price. My boy is a reluctant reader, but he will sit and listen to someone else read all day long. My hope is that this year, reading will become more natural to him and more a part of our family culture. I'm hoping to implement a "Drop Everything and Read" half hour most school days this year. If I schedule it, it will most likely happen. I started with fifteen minutes this year and it is now a habit within our school day. Adding another ten to fifteen minutes shouldn't be too big a stretch.

This year, we'll be trying out the Cottage Press Language Arts Primers. I had been using a grammar program very similar to this called Language Lessons for Today, omitting the picture study and copy work because I already had those plugged into other places in our weekly schedule. However, I did not like the direction the curriculum took when I checked into year four. I intended to keep Melanie in LLFT in her third year, but when I received Jonathan's LA materials from Cottage Press, I felt compelled to purchase the materials for Melanie too. The only thing I'm finding that I don't really like about the Cottage Press materials is that I'm now having to purchase more books to utilize it. While that's not entirely necessary (The neat thing about Ambleside Online and Cottage Press is that you can access most of the readings and books online because they are almost all in the public domain, making the whole thing extremely inexpensive!), I really like to have hard copies to read from. One fun tip to share, if you happen to have Child-Craft or My Book House sets (I have two Child-Craft sets from different publication dates. One belonged to my Daddy, and one was a gift from my husband at the outset of our home-educating journey.), many of the stories are in those books. I'll be using a volume of fairy tales illustrated by Tasha Tudor as well (Thanks again, Amanda!). We've used these books quite a lot and if you're interested in purchasing the sets, check out ebay, Thrift books, and Abe books first. I will use Project Gutenburg for that first section of the Level Two Primer to supplement what I couldn't find already on our shelves. What appeals to me about the Cottage Press Primers is that they are beautiful and they encourage independent study habits in the child. My hope is that by mid-year, the kiddos will be opening those primers, completing them on their own, and then checking back with me to make sure everything is completed correctly while giving the necessary narrations to their readings. I purchased them on a recommendation from a trusted and very intelligent friend who loves this beautiful learning style as much as I do.

I love Apologia Science, mostly because the kids love it. They beg me (my boy especially) to continue reading from the book during our science studies. Each lesson includes easy-to-perform labs that mostly utilize items you'll have available in your house. Jonathan will begin helping me read some of our science selections and will also begin reading one of his history spines aloud to me daily now that he is through his reading program. I feel strongly that it is important for all kiddos to read aloud and silently every day, especially while they're still learning.

Over the last few years, I have incorporated a few activities from My Father's World into our studies. This year, that proved to be beneficial because it helped me to have some cute project ideas to accompany our history studies. Next year, I'm finally throwing it out. My hope is that we'll spend more time in nature, art, and composer study.

I have to admit, math is not a strong point for me. Number sense comes very naturally to my son, and he can often be found teaching himself his math lesson and coming up with correct answers all on his own. I know that will not always be the case as the math gets increasingly more difficult, so I'm hoping to purchase instructional videos through Bob Jones University Press this year. How did I pick Bob Jones? I found a teachers' manual for $5 at a used curriculum sale, and I consistently find the teachers' manuals for almost nothing at our used curriculum sales. My husband, who is a former math teacher (and math whiz) approved, and I've never looked back. One thing my kids like about Bob Jones is that there's a story incorporated with the lessons. As "story-formed" kiddos, this really appeals to them. The DVDs are very expensive, but it's worth it to me. Math is a weak area for me, so I'm willing to pay to make sure they're getting what they need. I imagine the little DVD break will be helpful to my sanity next year too.

We are using I Can Do All Things art by Barry Stebbing. I'm not crazy about this curriculum, but the kids love their Thursday morning art lesson with the DVD, and they are learning. My biggest complaint is the low quality of the DVDs. Next year, I hope to incorporate more art lessons utilizing John Muir Laws (free!) nature drawing instructional videos. We took a bit of a break from nature study this winter, but with our schedule lightening, as it usually does towards the end of a school year, we will likely pick this up again soon. That seems to be the way we roll every year, so I'm just going with it. Last year, I purchased a curriculum called Exploring Nature With Children.  It's an e-book that cost me $10. It utilizes many of the books we already own and comes complete with an entire year's worth of ideas for nature study. It would take me 3-4 years to implement all the ideas, so it's well worth the $10 in my opinion. There are so many great ideas in it and it comes with a subscription to the author's blog, which is also very helpful. In adding the link I found that the price has gone up, but she's offering 30% off right now, which would put the current price at $12.

As stated above, for reading suggestions, history, and literature, I follow Ambleside Online. Every time I consider moving away from this lovely curriculum, I come right back to my senses. It is strenuous, especially for folks with reluctant readers, but it is so beautiful and so complete. Probably the biggest hurdle for most folks is scheduling this lovely philosophy. But it is entirely doable. It is not something that can be contained in the first few hours of each morning. It is truly "an atmosphere and a life" as Charlotte Mason puts it. We read on Saturdays, at the supper table, in bed, on the couch, in front of the wood stove, on pallets in the yard, on the trampoline, in the fort, and on the swing. We listen to audio books on the way to Charles Town for groceries and to Winchester for a Cracker Barrel fix. One of the things I love most about it is that it encourages parents to read for their own enlightenment and pleasure, and to craft and create with their children. It forces us to turn off the television so we'll have time to complete our delightful studies. It doesn't feel like a burden when I begin to lose the idea that school should be confined to a few hours every morning. Yes. There's a lot of reading. Some of the reading is challenging, especially for parents. I have grown by leaps and bounds as a reader, even with a mind that seems to process things more slowly.

Probably another thing that detracts folk from using the method/philosophy, is what seems like the lack of formal language arts instruction. It seems informal at first, but in fact, it is very intentional. If you're unsure about this, good news! You don't have to do it that way! However, this book by Karen Glass is stunning and an excellent explanation of the logic behind the Charlotte Mason method. Charlotte Mason simply puts forth the idea that good authors begin more organically. Some students thrive with the study of grammar and diagramming. That is something you can determine for yourself as you determine your child's learning style. 

Our schedule is laid out on a grid that I created in a word document. I posted it below to give an idea of how it looks, although it's really become a basic framework for me and not something I follow to the letter or the minute. Rarely is anything done in the order listed there. I keep that posted each week on our fridge. You'd likely want to come up with something that fits your home and schedule, but feel free to copy and paste it if it gives you something to work off, change and tweak. I check that document, print it each week and then file it at the end of the week into a notebook that I keep for the year. By the start of the year, I typically have a page completed for each week with the readings and activities already scheduled. However, things change, so it's an easy way to keep things organized and easily tweaked. At the top are listed current free reads, the parable we're memorizing, our poet, and our poetry memorization selections. The days of the week are listed just below with categories for time slots over to the left. At the beginning of each year, I make selections on another grid for each 12-week term. I list Shakespearean plays, poets, poetry memorization selections, hymns (typically three per term), free reads, nature study topics, etc. This gives me a basic framework to draw from when I make the more specific schedule. While the home-education laws in Virginia are relatively lax, I tend to like to be prepared on the off chance we end up moving with Jason's job to a state that requires us to provide more information on our children's education.

Weekly Scheduling:

Each morning starts with the Doxology, prayer, hymn, Bible time, AWANA study, and poetry.  That sounds like a lot, but it goes pretty quickly. On Mondays we add geography, Spanish, and science. Tuesday is co-op day, so we only add Spanish review. History lessons are heard and narrated in the van to and from co-op. We have two history spines this year and both are completely recorded on Librivox, a free (amazing) app. Wednesday we hit Spanish, poetry and sometimes Lamb's Shakespeare or Trial and Triumph if it is scheduled. We will also review our geography concepts. Thursday is geography, and poetry with natural history added in. We also use Thursdays to complete our artist or composer study. We study an artist for six weeks and then rotate off into a composer for six weeks (In the schedule below, I have an artist listed. At the end of six weeks, a composer would be listed there.). Sometimes we will review Spanish if I feel the current words are not yet completely understood or memorized. Friday includes a poetry reading and timeline additions. Any new person or major event we've covered will be discussed and an image of that person or event will go into the appropriate spot on our family timeline on Friday. I put in a short write up next to the image based on the kids narrations that day. Friday is also dedicated to written narrations. I only require a few lines, but the kiddos write something they remember from the week's history lessons in a notebook on Fridays. The remainder of each day includes daily math facts, math lessons, reading instruction, grammar, spelling, copy work, handwriting instruction, music theory, piano practice, and often more mama-led read-alouds. Some of these subjects are only completed every other day. The kids are also required to read for a set period of time before turning on any electronics. That's the Book Basket entry you see on the schedule. I try to keep a basket with picture books and short chapter books that pertain to our current history and science topics ready so the kids can choose from that. However, they are not required to choose from the basket as long as they read. That idea came from My Father's World, and we have used it all the time the kiddos have been schooling.  Here's a copy of our current schedule from several weeks ago. There are several abbreviations for books here. HT = Hero Tales/ CB = Children's Bible/ T&T = Trial and Triumph/ TCOO = This Country of Ours (American History)/ OIS= Our Island Story (British History)/ AP&P = American Pioneer and Patriots/ Heroes is a book by Charles Kingsley/ EAH= Early American Heroes/ Secrets= Secrets of the Woods. The times really need to be tweaked over to the left side there. Free reads are typically read in the afternoon, over meals, or at bedtimes. Most lessons over breakfast last only 2-10 minutes each.

Daily Plan: Week One~Term Three (Y2 & Y3) Dates~__________25

Block	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
7-7:30 AM	Breakfast... Hymns,	*Free Read- Treasure Is.	Swiss Fam. Rob.	Grandma's Attic 2	Thimble Summer
7:30–8 AM	Bat. Hymn of Rep.	Mem:The Tyger	Poetry: Blake	Par: Dinner Guests	Luke 14:15-24
8–8:15 AM	AWANA & HT	AWANA & HT	AWANA & HT	AWANA & HT	AWANA & CB
8:20– 8:35 AM	Piano/Theory Lesson Geo. CM & Long	Piano Practice – J Piano Practice - M	Piano Practice – J Piano Practice - M	Piano Practice – J Piano Practice - M	Narration NB: Lincoln
8:40- 8:50 AM	AAR Level 4– M AAR Level 4– J	AAR Level 4– M AAR Level 4– J	AAR Level 4– M AAR Level 4– J	AAR Level 4– M AAR Level 4– J	AAR Level 4– M AAR Level 4– J
8:55- 9:05 AM	Spanish Lesson	Spanish Lesson	Spanish Lesson	Artist Study - John S. Copely	Exploring Nature with Children
9:10- 9:25 AM	BJU Math 3- J BJU Math 2 - M	BJU Math 3- J BJU Math 2 - M	BJU Math 3- J BJU Math 2 - M	BJU Math 3- J BJU Math 2 - M	BJU Math 3- J BJU Math 2 - M
9:30-10	PLAY!!	PLAY!!	PLAY!!	PLAY!!	PLAY!!
10:05- 10:20 AM	Copywork - M&J Book Basket-M&J	Copywork - M&J Book Basket-M&J	Copywork - M&J Book Basket-M&J	Copywork - M&J Book Basket-M&J	Copywork - M&J Book Basket-M&J
10:25- 10:45 AM	AAS 3 – J AAS 2 – M	TCOO: ch. 23 OIS: 83	AAS 3 – J AAS 2 – M	I Can Do... Art J & M	Timeline History & Bible
10:50- 11:05 AM	Heroes: Theseus I	Am. P&P: 121-136	Seabird: Chp.26-27 - M	Secrets: Chp. 6	Pilgrim's Progress 800 Words
11:10- 11:30 AM	T&T: Jeanne d'Albret	Apologia Sceince	Am. P&P: 121-136		Piano Practice – J Piano Practice - M
11:40-12			EAH: 253-261		State NB
12-12:15	Math Facts - J&M	Grammar - J & M	Math Facts – J & M	Grammar - J & M	Math Facts – J & M