Our Plans

Bible - various Vision Forum CDs, followed by Vision Forum's Theological Bootcamp CD set. Spiritual Disciplines For Christian Life (book).

Scripture Study - What's The Bible All About ? (H. Mears) along with corresponding bible readings.

Scripture Memory - one verse per week concerning character.

Grammar - Our Mother Tongue, Serl's Primary and Secondary books. Mad libs.

Phonics - Abeka's A Handbook For Reading. McGuffey''s Readers.

Penmanship - Handwriting Without Tears (printing and cursive). Calligraphy (library books). Copywork.

Composition - Jensen's Format Writing, Writing A Five Paragraph Essay, copywork.

Reading Instruction & Improvement - McGuffey's Readers.

Spelling - Spelling Wisdom.

Math - Math U See (Beta, Gamma, Delta, Zeta). Teaching Textbooks (Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, Algebra 2). Quarter Mile Math program (for math drill and practice).

Vocabulary - Vocabulary Vine, Rummy Roots (game), More Rummy Roots (game), Jensen's Vocabulary.

Science - Apologia Biology, Chemistry, Physical Science, and Zoology.

Natural Science Reading - A Walk Through The Year (Teale), The Country Diary Of An Edwardian Woman (Holden), Christian Liberty Press Nature Readers 1-2-3-4.

Nature Study & Nature Journal - to be done with a group of families once each week.

Foreign Language - The Easy Spanish 1.

History (Spine book) - A Patriot's History Of The United States.

History - Reading & Literature - a chronological list of historical fiction, biographies, non-fiction, and informational books has been assembled for each child / grade level for various time periods and events in American History. Some of the authors of these books include George, Sorrensen, Hesse, Yates, Crane, Irving, Daugherty, Bulla, Shaara, Hawthorne, Steinbeck, Stowe, Collier, ten Boom, Frank, Marshall, Foster, Twain, Henry, Lowry, Dalgliesh, D'Aulaire, Caudill, Wilder, and Moody.

History - Supplements - Various dvds will be used to supplement our study of US History including Liberty ! (revolution), Gettysburg (civil war), Liberty's Kids, Colonial House, and others. (Netflix has a great collection of movies, documentaries, and special interest "films" for these purposes !) Also we have purchased several board and card games to work along with our studies: All American Trivia Game, Professor Noggins United States History, Made For Trade, and Chronology. And finally we have a cardstack type tool (fandex ?) that covers military leaders of the Revolutionary War and another one that covers military leaders of the Civil War. We have plans to make visits to several places this year as field trips including Cades Cove, The Pioneer Festival, Chickmagua Battlefield, Fort Loudon, The Cherokee Homecoming, and other historical sites.

Government Studies - UNDECIDED. We are considering (for the older children) One Nation Under God, Atlas Shrugged (I need to reread it first to be sure it is ok), Whatever Happened To Justice, along with several titles from Vision Forum and another online resource. We will also need something for the younger children that will assist with learning the Constitution, Political Process, and general government knowledge. Any ideas or recommendations are welcome ! We do have a game coming about presidents and the election process called Hail To The Chief.

Literature - How To Read A Book (Adler). Watch Great American Authors dvd series. Read 1 work per each major artist (I am still assembling list of actual literature). Various Ambleside Online selections (library).

Geography - Book of the United States (Dover), United States map puzzles (1 by National Geographic, and a variety of others).

Art Instruction - Studies will include 1/3 watercolor, 1/3 charcoal, 1/3 pastels. There are various books at the library and also are instructional CDs available through the library and through Netflix for these mediums.

Artist Study - 36 American paintings studied 1 per week, Where Art Thou ? (game). We will visit several local museums to view various works by American Artists.

Composer Study - History of American Classical Music (includes 18 track CD). We hope to attend at least one "fine arts" concert this year -- a symphony, an opera, etc.

Poetry - Mentor Book of American Poets.

Shakespeare - (1 play per quarter) - Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth, The Taming of the Shrew, and the Tempest. We will read Lamb's Shakespeare, then will read the actual play, and finally will view a dvd. We also hope to attend a Shakespearian Dinner Theater in Atlanta next spring.

PE - hikes, bike rides, running/training for 1k and 5k races, various activities (under consideration: joining the YMCA ?).

Health - The History of Medicine, Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, Christian Liberty Press Nature Reader 5. Also we have two games for health - Somebody and the Professor Noggins Health. Cherub 1 will take the official Red Cross CPR and First Aid course this year when it is offered.

Typing / Keyboarding - Mavis Beacon.

Computer - Learning to use Word, Excel. Learning more about using the internet.

Electives - Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts (under consideration) or Keepers At Home (if available this year), Sewing (repairing and making clothing, plus various other projects), Woodworking & basic furniture construction (picnic table, outdoor benches, etc), Alternative Energy (solar, wind, geothermal, etc), Farm & Large Animal skills (cow care, handmilking, horse care, horseback riding, fence construction, etc), Cooking & Nutrition, The History of the Horse (literature guide), Draw ____ (a series available through the local library that focuses on drawing horses, cars, planes, trains, flowers, dogs, people, etc), and more to be decided. Each child will choose 2 elective studies per quarter or semester this year for his or her own study. These electives will focus on lifeskills, survival skills, handicrafts, possible career interests, general learning, skill building, etc ....

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Almost all of the "exact plans" have been entered into the Charlotte Mason Planner, with a few exceptions.

Our school supplies (notebooks, pencils, etc) have been purchased and are "ready and waiting" on the shelves. (MamaLion, I also have a good collection of Sharpie markers with a new HUGE one too. Thank you !! I don't know what I would do without my Sharpie's ! HA !)

An order was placed with Dick Blick for nature journals, prisma pencils, and watercolors - it arrived yesterday.

An order from Rainbow Resource, an order from Barnes and Noble, and an order from Teaching Textbooks have been placed. Each should arrive next week.
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DadToCherubs is working to set up a computer for the Cherubs -- he has promised it will be done in plenty of time for our first day of school.
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The last 2 "to do's" are used books and ink/paper -- our local library will have it's annual used book sale this weekend, and we will be making a trip to the used bookstore in "the big city" this weekend or early next week. (I love to buy used books - at stores and events !) And the ink and paper will be picked up from the big box office store in town next time we are there.
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So -- we are nearly "READY" for school to begin in just a few more weeks. It's hard to believe that summer vacation is nearly finished for another year. Where did the time go ? We will begin our new school year on Tuesday, August 18th.
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Today we are picking and preserving vegetables from our garden, and late next week we will be prepping and hopefully painting the school room (the last "unpainted" room in this big old house). Then the corn should be ripe (we will prep it for the freezer), more greenbeans, and our tomatoes might be getting ripe too. After that, our company will arrive, and then we will be starting school shortly after that. We will continue working in the garden in the afternoons, storing veggies and fruits for this winter.
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We are busy busy .... how are your school plans coming along ?

(P.S. -- Blogger is really beginning to frustrate me with all of it's issues --- spacing issues, photo issues, etc. ARGGGGGGGGGG !! Sorry for the jumbled entry -- I simply could not get this post to turn out correctly despite my best efforts.)