Our curriculum plans and link to more

Not Back to School Blog Hop

The new year!
We have a couple weeks yet before we begin. August 22 is our official start date at this point, but at least we know where we are headed.

I made myself a master list like the following but just with the generic subjects listed and then a box for each day of the week. Then I won’t forget what they should be doing each day. And, I can use it to record their grades for each assignment in each subject which will make record keeping so much easier.

In the past I would pull out their individual notebooks and pull their grades off the top of each graded assignment. Now, I will just record it all onto my master sheet throughout the week and just have one paper of info to put into the computer on the weekend. That will make my weekend job a 15 minute one rather than an hour long one.

Lots of the same. We know what works for us and what we love, but some new stuff, too. Of course, since we don’t really follow the regular school calendar, many of these books and subjects they are already in the midst of.

I am streamlining a bit this year and doing history all together. Obviously their homework and their interaction with the material will be quite different over the 8 year age span, but we will all be in the same time period and it will tie into our Bible time as well. Science for all 2-8th will be the same as well. My 8th grader already finished Physical science and General Science so she gets to have fun with us this year as she isn’t really ready for high school science yet.

I am mixing up grammar this year. We love Rod & Staff, but it gets a little repetitive year after year. So, I am going to switch every other year and pepper in Shurley and Easy Grammar. We gave both of these an introductory run during our summer school and they seem to fill the need well.

High School continues to stretch us, but mostly in a good way. This year we will tackle Spanish and Advanced Mathematics (including pre-calc) together.

Nathan — 2nd grade
First Language Lessons (mostly oral)
Saxon Math 3 (already half way through)
Handwriting without tears — big focus!! Trying to improve his pencil grip and penmanship this year
All About Spelling level 3 (almost done)
Truth quest History (Beginnings — ties into Bible)
Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology
PE — baseball, gym and swim, PE at co-op
Brooke – 3rd grade
Rod & Staff English 3 (half way through)
Saxon Math 5/4 (half way through)
All About Spelling level 3 (almost done)
Truth quest History
Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology
A Reason for Handwriting T (half way through)
PE — soccer, gym and swim, PE at co-op
Faith – 6th grade
Easy Grammar Level 1
Saxon Math 8/7 (half way through)
All About Spelling level 4
Truth quest History
Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology
PE — soccer, gym and swim, PE at co-op
Paige – 8th grade
Shurley English 7
Algebra 1 (half way through)
Puppetry (Co-op)
IEW Level B (Co-op, I’m teaching)
All About Spelling level 4
Truth quest History
Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology
PE — soccer, gym and swim
Blake – 10th grade
Apologia Chemistry (Co-op)
PE — baseball, gym and swim, PE at co-op
Bible
Spanish 1
Advance Mathematics (Saxon)
IEW Level C (Co-op, I’m teaching)
Truth quest History
Full days, but wonderfully full. I look forward to another year of exploring life and our amazing world with my kids. In between it all we continue to enjoy the antics of a two year old who breathes new life into everything. Thankful to God for another opportunity to live life in the midst of my family each day.

Fall High School Science classes

Check out Kathy Wentz’s website with all the details on the classes she teaches for homeschoolers at the McHenry County College.

Here is some of the info:
Environmental Chemistry Lab ($99)
This course consists of 16 hours (over 8 weeks) of high school level Chemistry laboratory exercises and related discussions while stressing the Chemistry of Earth’s environment. Lab work will include lessons in lab safety, metric measurements, density, acids and bases, titration, precipitates, endo and exothermic reactions, chromatography, and more. Students should be currently studying Chemistry or be prepared to do some reading in between classes. These labs follow every major curriculum’s scope and sequence.  Oct 1-Nov 19

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Biology: Microscopic Survey ($99)
This course consists of 16 hours (over 8 weeks) of high school level Biology microscope exercises and related discussions. Lab work will include lessons in lab safety, microscope work (including making and staining slides, cytology, mitosis and meiosis), DNA, and microscopic life. Each student will make their own lab notebook of algae, protists, and microscopic life forms and learn how to use a biologic key. Students should be currently studying Biology or be prepared to do some reading in between classes. These labs follow every major curriculum’s scope and sequence.  Fri. Oct. 3-Nov. 21

Science activities in Rockford next week

Mike Riddle, an Answers in Genesis speaker, will be in Rockford, IL at Maywood Free Church on March 27-29.

On March 28th and 29th he will be speaking for an Answers in Genesis conference.  Here is the schedule for this event:

Sunday, March 28, 2010
8 a.m. Mike Riddle Do You Have a Biblical Worldview?
10:30 a.m. Mike Riddle Do You Have a Biblical Worldview?
6 p.m. Mike Riddle Apologetics 101: Answering the Challenges
7:30 p.m. Mike Riddle 4 Power Questions to Ask an Evolutionist
Monday, March 29, 2010
6:30 p.m. Mike Riddle Apologetics 201: Answering More Challenges
8 p.m. Mike Riddle Cloning, Stem Cells and the Value of Life

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And Jay Wile will be speaking in Rockford on Friday the 26th and then participating in the Northern Illinois Regional Science Fair on Saturday the 27th.  Check out the Illinois Regional Science Fair site for more information.   He will be speaking at 7:00 about homeschooling high school science.