Back to School

We got home from our big summer trip to Minnesota on Saturday, and once we were unpacked I started prepping here and there for school.  The best part about doing this so many years now is that there's no guesswork.  Hannah will do what Joey did which is what Ben did.  I'm so thankful that my kids have always taken to my curriculum choices.  I know many families struggle to find the right fit for their kids in some subjects, but it's always been easy for us in that regard.

Hannah - 2nd Grade

• Spelling:  All About Spelling vol 2
• Math:  Saxon 3
• Grammar:  First Language Lessons vol 2
• Writing:  The spelling curriculum requires a lot of dictation/sentence writing, and I find that's enough for a 2nd grader.
• Literature:  selections from the 1000 Good Books List
• Piano:  start private lessons with Dad using the Bastien series

Joey - 6th Grade (last year before Challenge A!)

• Spelling:  All About Spelling vol 6
• Math:  Continuing in Saxon 76
• Grammar & Writing: Done at Classical Conversations each week.  Grammar comes from the Essentials of the English Language book and writing exercises come from Institute for Excellence in Writing - Medieval History Based Writing Lessons.
• Literature:  selections from the 1000 Good Books List.  This year I need to implement a due date for his assigned literature because he takes his sweet old time.  Next year he will have to be on a schedule and he needs to get used to that pace now.
• Piano:  continuing lessons with his teacher (both boys started lessons with someone not Andrew back in January and it's been wonderful for them both!)
• Latin:  continued drilling of conjugation and declension endings, introduction to vocabulary he will learn next year in Challenge A.

Shared Subjects for Joey and Hannah

• Classical Conversations memory work (math, history, science, geography, English, Latin, and Timeline facts to prepare them for later studies)
• History:  Mystery of History vol 2
• Science:  Library books and the Christian Kids Explore series from Bright Ideas Press to expound on our CC science topics of ecology, earth science, space, chemistry, & physics, and notebooking pages by another CC parent.

Ben - 8th Grade (Challenge B)

• Logic:  this is math.  He continues in his own math curriculum (Saxon 87) at home and will lead discussion on 2 math problems he brings to class each week.
• Debate:  history/social science:  First semester he will study the lives of American historical figures.  In class he and his classmates will discuss whether their reputations are grounded in truth and if these people really should be considered heroes.  Second semester, he will participate in Mock Trail of a murder case.  The case is prepared from scratch (not just memorizing parts) and will be be heard by a sitting judge in a county courthouse in the spring.  
• Exposition:  First semester he will read 5 selected novels and continue writing pursuasive essays about them using Lost Tools of Writing from Circe Institute.  Second semester he will learn short story form, read classic short stories, and write his own short story to compile into an anthology with his classmates.
• Reasoning:  In this strand he will learn formal logic through Introductory Logic and Intermediate Logic from Canon Press.  I think this will be his toughest subject, but it'll be good for him!  It's something he's never done before and it is very time consuming.
• Grammar:  Continued study of Latin using Henle 1.
• Research:  the science strand.  First semester is the history of astronomy, conducting research on 13 different astronomers.  Spring semester is a quick but in depth introduction to chemistry as well as a bit more on origins.
• Piano (like Joey, with his new teacher)

Morning Time

Last school year I implemented a morning time routine that, funnily enough, rarlely happened in the morning!  No matter what time of day it takes place, it's a time where we all sit down together to have conversation and dwell on things that are good, true, and beautiful.  This year I plan to use these resources:

• Biblical character traits using the book Parenting with Scripture by Kara Durbin.  I apparently bought this in 2012 (thanks for keeping track for me Amazon!) and forgot all about it.  It was a pleasant surprise to find on the shelf.  It's organized by character trait and includes verses and discussion questions. 
• Art discussions using the Usborne Famous Paintings flashcards
• Composer discussions using A Young Scholar's Guide to Composers from Bright Ideas Press
• Poetry from A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson
• Read aloud selections from a new book from Classical Conversations called Old World Echoes.  Stories correspond with this year's geography, featuring stories from Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

We will start half days of homesschool the first full week of August.  We'll go full time beginning August 12th, which is when Ben returns to Challenge B (with me tutoring again).  Joey and Hannah will start Foundations and Essentials the following week on August 19th.  I'm looking forward to this very special final year before the first one hits high school!