I've been writing out the lists of our curriculum subjects and materials on my private blog just to help me organize my thoughts, but I thought it might be beneficial to some of you if I shared it here, too. After I typed it out, I realized that it looks rather daunting. I don't plan to "school" O all day. In fact, one of the reasons I want to homeschool her is to provide her with the freedom to play and explore and spend as much time as possible outside rather than inside a school room doing "work" (even fun work).
We are going to have (hopefully) a school room that is separate from our house (located in our detached garage). I'm hoping to set up the room similarly to a Montessori school room...I want to have a shelf for each subject and have the materials neatly displayed on the shelves. I don't like the cluttered walls and rooms that I typically see in public and private typical (not Montessori) schools, so I am going to try to avoid that as much as possible.
During the summer, I plan to spend the first 4 to 5 hours of the day outside playing and exploring, and then we'll have our "school" time during the afternoon (when it will be too hot to be outside anyway). I am anticipating spending 2 to 3 hours in our school room each day, but we will spend less time during the summer and more time in the fall and winter. When we have nice weather, I plan to have "school" outside on our deck, on the boat, in the woods, etc.
So, here it is...it's probably too much, but it's a start and we can add/delete programs and subjects as we go in order to make our school the perfect fit for our 1st grader.
Art Appreciation- twice weekly
Meet the Masters (via Homeschool Buyer's Co-op)
Usborne Art Treasury
World's Greatest Artist from Confessions of a Homeschooler
Music Appreciation- twice weekly
World's Famous Composers (Confessions of a Homeschooler)
Classical kids Cds
Maestro Classics
Orchestra book
World History- twice weekly
History Odyssey (Ancients) includes SOTW
Science- twice weekly
Science Odyssey (Life)
Science work from Montessori Print Shop
Magic School Bus Young Scientist Monthly subscription (via Homeschool Buyer's Co-op)
Spanish- daily
Elementary Spanish on United Streaming (links via Satori Smiles)
Spanish books from Reading A to Z
Spanish games (Zingo, bingo, beanbags, etc)
Spanish books
Spanish flashcards
Hooked on Spanish
Little Pim dvds
Boca Beth dvd, cd, and puppets
American History- weekly
American Girl books (1 AG per 4 to 6 weeks)
AG lapbooks via homeschoolshare
history books relative to AG girls timeline
Beautiful feet books guide
US Geography- weekly
maybe Holling C Holling books
maybe incorporate map work into AG studies
Math- daily
Singapore Math 1A (she'll fly through this and then we'll decide whether or not to continue with Singapore or not)
Rightstart Math Level B
Montessori Math materials
Miquon Math books and cuisenaire rods
Life of Fred- Apples
ELA - daily
Leveled readers via Reading A to Z
First Language Lessons
Writing with Ease
Literature selections via Ambleside Online
Poetry journal
Nonfiction story journal
Fiction story journal
Letter writing
read aloud
listen to audio book selections via tales 2 go app for Ipad
Five in a Row Volume 2 (occasionally)
Nature Studies- twice weekly
Little House on the Prairie Nature study guide
Burgess Bird Book (links via Satori Smiles)
Sign Language- twice weekly
Signing Time dvds
ASL ABC poster
ASL books, flashcards, games
Handwriting- daily
Cursive book via Queen Homeschool
printables via handwriting worksheet maker
World Geography- twice weekly
country studies via cultural exchange
map work with large felt map
globe work with talking globe and google earth
maybe include Expedition Earth from Confessions of a HOmeschooler
Thanks to everyone who has offered advice and suggestions!!! Also, I'll add that O(5) had LOTS of input into this curriculum. Her interests and personal goals were the starting point in the choosing of each book/program.
What a great Adventure! Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteJust wondering when you are homeschooling your older daughter will you have your younger doing the same activities, or separate? I find that when I have two kids different ages some will engage and the other ones will divert from it. How are you planning having the youngest involve with it, Tks
What a great Adventure! Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteJust wondering when you are homeschooling your older daughter will you have your younger doing the same activities, or separate? I find that when I have two kids different ages some will engage and the other ones will divert from it. How are you planning having the youngest involve with it, Tks
i homeschooled two sons that are almost 30 years.i learned less is more. too much and they and you will get burned out real fsst. take your time and let them lead you. both son s were accepted into harvard,but both chose to be furniture makers. take care and good luck
ReplyDeletei homeschooled two sons that are almost 30 years.i learned less is more. too much and they and you will get burned out real fsst. take your time and let them lead you. both son s were accepted into harvard,but both chose to be furniture makers. take care and good luck
ReplyDeleteLooks like a lot of work for a first grader. Don't be disappointed if you have to drop some things.
ReplyDeleteTHanks so much for the link back to WOrld's Greatest Artists! I hope you enjoy it :o)
ReplyDeleteErica @ www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com
You are amazing!
ReplyDeleteI have one question --
What will your younger daughter be doing while O is in "school." I would love to homeschool my oldest daughter (age 5) but I also have a 3 year old and a 15 month old and am wondering how to best manage.
Thank you for your inspirational blog!
I am so thankful you chose to share this on your blog. I'm not beginning homeschooling this year, but next and will also be beginning with first grade. This is a great starting point for me. Can't wait to see how it goes for you.
ReplyDeleteAll your resources look amazing, but you might want to ease back on the quantity - I agree with Phyllis that it may be a lot (speaking as one who overdid with my own for 1st grade).
ReplyDeleteLess is definitely more at that age, because they're learning so much from everyday life anyway.
I love seeing what other homeschooler's curricula choices are :)
ReplyDeleteI just love comparing, getting ideas, etc! We also school years round and are also using SOTW ( love these books) Out side of that we are mostly online learners: Time4Learning, nick jr, starfall, spelling city, Learning games for kids, etc, etc, etc lol
Good Luck this year, can't wait to read more.
Keri
Something interesting about Montessori is that over-planning is actually encouraged. By having too much, you are prepared for those moments when interest has not taken off, when something else just isn't working - you always have a back-up.
ReplyDeleteThe real trick is in remembering "we won't actually get to all of this" but at least we are ready when the time is right (rather than playing catch-up all the time).
Thank you, Jessica! You said it perfectly! I definitely don't want to feel like we are playing catch-up, but I do want to have options if we find that something I have chosen isn't working for us. Most of all, I just want it to be a fun and joyful experience :)
ReplyDeleteIt will be fun to follow you, as so many of your choices are the same as ours! My list is not quite as deep as yours, but we have also chosen MTM, Classical Kids, HO, SO(life), and RightStart B. And I have FIAR vol. 2 for doing from time to time when we need something different. My daughter turns 5 this month, but she is reading at 2nd or 3rd grade level, so I am comfortable with a 1st grade curriculum for her. Good luck! Have fun!
ReplyDeleteMelissa our choice is very similar to yours . It will be interesting to see how you are planning to schedule all of it during the week . thanks for sharing xxx viv
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing what you'll be using!
ReplyDelete