Homeschooling with Classical Conversations

At the last moment - literally 6 days before the first class - we decided to join a Classical Conversations community that some friends were joining. I knew nothing about CC so I spent those 6 days ordering new curriculum and surfing blogs, websites and Pinterest for any and all things CC! Several hours, stacks of printed paper, and lists of bookmarked websites and blogs later I felt somewhat ready for the first day. I really wished I would have just relaxed! The day was amazing and really did not require all that stress!

We stated off the morning in a group 'morning meeting' typed thing. There were some announcements, prayers and pledges. It was a little chaotic but I am certain that was just because it was the first day. We were then dismissed to our Foundations classroom. Foundations is a class that teaches memory work in different areas: History (timeline and a sentence), geography, science, Latin, English and geography. The history part is a 6 or 7 different events from a timeline. They also do art and a science experiment The tutor was amazing! The kids traced different geography places using a laminated world map and tracing paper. They reviewed the history timeline memory work with a song and hand movements. Then they worked on the science and Latin memory work, again with song and movements. There was a snack and each student (there are 6 in my sons class) gave a short presentation with the theme "All About Me". They do this each week and there is a different theme or they can just talk about whatever they want. I really like this part. CJ can definitely benefit from a little public speaking. And it's very laid back and casual but just enough to get them up and talking. After the memory work and presentations there was some art then it was outside for a science experiment.

After Foundations it was everyone's favorite part of the day....lunch!

Next was Essentials. This is for the older kids and it the writing and grammar part of the program. And they throw in a awesome math game too! I really liked this class. Parents sit right with the students and participate in the class as much as the kids do. They use their own Essentials book for grammar and sentence diagramming and IEW for writing. I enjoyed being in the class with CJ. Because I work, I'm not home when he does the majority of his school work so it was nice to just sit and hang out with him. We (parents) stay in the Foundations class also, but in more of a 'just sit and watch" capacity. Which is great too! In the Essentials class we started with grammar, played a math game, then went on to writing. This class was also a little hectic, but again, just because it was the first day. So after this week's class, I'll have some more details about how this class works.

We are still trying to figure it all out. We don't even have all of our books yet! But I really think that we are going to enjoy this community and the curriculum. I'll try to post often so you can follow along with us on this journey!

Have you ever used the CC curriculum or been part of a group that did? What advice would give someone like me who is just starting?

2016-2017 6th Grade Curriculum Choices

Wow! A lot of changes have occurred in our house in the last few months!! I've gone back to work full time and my husband is now working from home. Big changes that have thrown our homeschool schedule out of orbit. I tried really hard to just keep it business as usual, just leaving lists and pages of instructions for CJ to follow. That didn't work. CJ's great at doing the work when I'm gone but the books and resources we are using just weren't good for this. I was having to leave pages of details instructions and explanations about what I wanted him to. He needs very short straight forward instructions. Dad is here to help, but he needs clear straight forward instructions too! Next I tried cramming a whole week worth of instruction and teaching into one evening or morning that I was off work. I work retail so my schedule is whacky. That didn't work either. Too much information at one time.

     So, simple solution - and just one of the many things I love about homeschooling! - we are taking off now until June, except our co-op classes which end in May, so that everyone can relax and adjust to the new schedules. And I went on the hunt for curriculum that was more of an all-in-one. Something with everything laid out and organized and with a clear plan that CJ can easily follow on his own.

    Changes with our co-op (I told you we had a lot of changes!) actually helped make this process easier. We decided, as a group, to all use Oak Meadow and meet once a week to do some projects or experiments and go over the lesson together. I'm super excited about using this curriculum. I've wanted to use it for the past couple of years. I think it's going to work perfectly for us. It's written so that Connor can just open it up, read and follow the instructions. All the subjects; History, English, Science, are laid out the same so that there is consistency, which makes it  easier on both of us.

     With  a few other little things added in, this is what our 6th grade plan looks like right now:

Oak Meadow 6th- History, Science, and English

Bookshark 6th- Readers and Read Alouds (as time allows)- I really like this curriculum and wanted to find a way to use it and Oak Meadow. Since there in so way we can, or need to, use the full program, I ordered the IG for 6th grade history and we are going to go through the readers and read alouds, as time allows, using the guide for the schedule, discussion questions and whatever else we might want to do.  

Logic - Thinking Toolbox and Fallacy Detective

Vocabulary - Wordly Wise 6 and Vocabulary from Classical Roots

 Reading Comprehension- Einstein's Who, What and Where

                           

That's it.... now we just wait and see how it all turns out!

                          

2015-2016 Curriculum Plan

 2015-2016 Curriculum

I think I have finally got our schedule and curriculum down for the 2015-2016 school year. This will be our 3rd year homeschooling and I feel like I am just now starting to find a rhythm. Of course, every time I think that, something changes!

Here is the curriculum I am planning on doing for CJ, 10 years old and my only homeschooler:

History
Bookshark History, Readers and Read Alouds, 4th grade level, year 2 American History.

 

Even though CJ will technically be in 5th grade, I am going with the 4th grade level because this year we did Sonlight Core D, which is year 1 American History. I want to finish out American History by doing year 2 this coming year. I'm looking forward to trying Bookshark. See my post here for reasons why I am switching. 

Hard to believe I know but we have changed curriculum choices.... we are going to try History Odyssey Level 2 Ancients. Honestly the reason we are switching is because CJ was really not looking forward to all the reading that comes with BookShark. He loves to read.... as long as it is Dr. Who or Star Wars related. So, I started looking at some other options. I was torn between sticking with BookShark anyway or trying History Odyssey or Oak Meadow. After giving myself a headache trying to decide, I had an idea. I printed off sample lesson plans of each curriculum, showed them to CJ and talked to him about each one and the differences between them. Then I asked him which he would like to do. He impressed me by really thinking about it and asking me some questions. He chose History Odyssey. So, that was that. We will try it. He said he "liked that is was part reading and part research and part book work". He also liked that it was very student led. He likes to be able to do his work without me hoovering over him. I'm excited about it! I think it will be a good fit for us.

Language Arts

Spelling - We are going to try Spelling Workout E. We have tried All About Spelling and Sequential Spelling, neither worked very well for us. They were both great programs. I think the problem is just that spelling is not our favorite subject and seems to always get pu

t on the back burner so we don't seem to ever get into a good routine with spelling. So, we'll try Spelling Workout and see what happens.

Grammar - For grammar we are going with Jr. Analytical Grammar. This year we used Shurley English and I really like it. CJ has learned so much with it. It is quick (we do the grammar only, not the writing) and the question and answer flow to classify sentences is easy to follow. The only problem I have with it is it does not

Our Homeschool Shedule

When I tell people we homeschool they are always curious about what exactly we do all day. And families that are considering homeschooling are always looking for ideas and examples of how other families structure their days, so I thought I would share our schedule.

I have one child, a 10 year old boy, and we are currently using the following curriculum:

Sonlgiht Core D - history, readers and read alouds
Apologia - Zoology 2 (we do this with a live online class through Currclick)
Shurley English 5
Teaching Textbooks 5
IEW Fun and Fasinating
Wordly Wise 4
Trail Guide to US Geography
Live Classes from Currclick
Engineering 4 Kids Robotics and Homeschool Engineering Club

Monday

This is co-op day, so we usually just finish up any homework we have for co-op classes before it starts at 12:30. In fall CJ had LEGO We-Do, Photography and Native Americans. This semester he takes US History Revolution through Lewis and Clark, Newspaper/Yearbook and Gemstones and Minerals.

Tuesday
We have Engineering 4 Kids Homeschool Engineering Club from 10:00 - 11:30. After lunch we  work on homework for our co-op history class, Sonlight history, readers and read alouds and math. If we have time we also do english. We have a live class with Currclick at 3:00 for Zoology.

Eating Our Way Through the States

This is our favorite part of our state studies! We use Geography Matters Trail Guide to U.S. Geography.

Geography Matters

I love this curriculum! There are questions to answer, mapping, topics to research and projects to do. Everything is laid out so that it is easy to follow. Most importantly, my son loves it! It's his favorite thing to work on and he always wants to start the day with 'the states'. 

A few weeks ago we decided to add something fun to our study of the states by adding Eating Our Way Through the States. 

I have not received my cookbook yet, but we decided to start this week. I let CJ choose a state, he picked Hawaii. Then I let him look up so Hawaiian inspired foods and drinks.

He picked Hawaiian Pizza (not sure how authentic Hawaiian that is, but that's what he wanted!) with pineapple, chicken and Canadian bacon. We had pineapple cake and a drink with pineapple juice, lemon juice, club soda and simple syrup. Everything was so yummy!

CJ had so much fun finding the recipes, shopping for ingredients and cooking the meal. It's going to be a great addition to our study of the states and I can't wait to see what we get to eat next!

What food comes to mind when you think about the state you live in? Got any good recipes we should try?

Why I am Switching from Sonlight to Bookshark

BookShark is a relativity new program from Sonlight. It comes with the same service and quality thousands of homeschoolers have come to expect from Sonlight. There are only some minor differences, but it is those differences that have made me switch from Sonlight to BookShark.

1. All program components are sold separately. I mean - all components. I like that Sonlight has programs divided by ages as well as grade levels. Each Core has several different ages and grade levels that it is recommend for. That's great, but my son uses a different grade level for almost every subject! With Sonlight, it is not easy to separate the subjects. If you order just Core D History, you don't get the instructors guide because the instructors guide covers bible, history and language arts. So if you want the guide, you can't separate those subjects.

With Bookshark I can order the perfect package for my son: 4th grade History, 5th grade Language Arts and Science, 6th grade Teaching Textbooks. I simply scroll through the complete list of products and chose exactly what I want. Each subject has it's own instructors guide so that I can order what I want and still get the guide.

2. BookShark is not faith based. For me, this is a plus because I did not use Sonlgiht's Bible Curriculum. So when  I ordered a complete core I was paying for curriculum that I did not use.

Thats it. There's really not much difference between BookShark and Sonlight, but the differences that are there are what convinced me to change. We will start our new BookShark curriculum in the fall and I look forward to letting you know how it turns out! 

Will you be trying a new curriculum in the fall?