Summer Homeschool Schedule

The past several years we have had our break from school in April and May (and some of June) because here in Arkansas that's the best camping weather! And besides, by the time summer really gets going it's too hot to do much outside. Even during our "off" time we still keep a light schedule going. It gets CJ off of the Xbox for a little while and keeps his mind from tuning to mush.

Here is a sample of our summer schedule-

Monday:
Scout Merit Badge- work on for 30-40 minutes
BookShark 5 Science- Day 1
Building Thinking Skills- one worksheet
Chore- Clean off stairs and desk (clean off, organize and wipe down)

Tuesday:
BookShark 5 Science - Day 2
Einstein's Who, What and Where - 1/2 of next lesson
Classical Roots - 1/2 of next lesson
Chore - Pick up and organize all gaming stuff and dust shelf

Wednesday:
Scout Merit Badge- work on for 30-40 minutes
BookShark Science 5 - Day 3
Building Thinking Skills - one worksheet
Chore - (I leave this open for whatever I need help with that day)

Thursday:
BookShark 5 Science - Day 4
Einstein's Who, What and Where - finish lesson
Classical Roots - finish lesson
Chore - Laundry (wash, fold and put away) all trash out of room

Friday:
Scout Merit Badge - work on for 30-40 minutes
Building Thinking Skills - one worksheet
Chore - vacuum room

Do you take off completely from school work for a summer break? What does your summer schedule look like?

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!

                          

What Our Homeschool Week Looks Like

We've been going for a little over a month now and I think we've found our groove. A typical week for us (if there is such a thing!) looks like this:

Monday
CNN Student News
Co-Op Classes 9:40 - 3:30
      IEW Writing, Real Science 4 Kids Physics, History Odyssey Modern Level One, Leadership and
      Art

Tuesday
CNN Student News
Writing-read source material and complete key word outline
Science-read chapter and take notes; finish writing lab report if not finished in class
History-20 minutes review countries for geography quiz; 20-30 minutes work on lesson
Math-Teaching Textbooks 6 one lesson
Spelling-2 pages
Vocabulary-16a and 16b
Grammar-Exercise 1 and 2
Reading-30 minutes independent reading (can be done before bed)
 Loop work until 3pm

Wednesday
CNN Student News
Writing-rough draft; revise and edit using checklist
Science-Daily Questions
History-20 minute country review for quiz; 20 minutes work on lesson 2
Math-Teaching Textbooks 6 one lesson
Read-30 minute independent reading (can be done before bed)
Spelling-2 pages
Vocabulary-16C and 16D
Grammar-exercise 3 and Playing with Words
Loop work until 3pm

Thursday
CNN Student News
Writing-type polished copy
Science-20-30 minutes on project
History-20 minute country review for quiz; 20-30 minutes on project; finish lesson if needed
Math-Teaching Textbooks 6 one lesson
Spelling-spelling test
Vocabulary-16e
Grammar-Test
Reading-30 minutes independent reading (can do before bed)
Loop work until 3pm

Friday
CNN Student News
Science-20-30 minutes on project
History-20 minute country review for quiz; 20-30 minutes on project
Movie / Documentary Day

Sunday Evening
Science-review study guide for quiz; finish project if needed
History- review countries for geography quiz; finish project if needed

Loop subjects are (these have changed some since we started):
Art
Game Time
Life of Fred
Sign Language
Uncle Sam and You
Logic
Typing
Photo Finch Photography

So far everything is going smoothly. I sit down on Sunday's and make out a checklist for each day. CJ likes to know exactly what he needs to be done for the day! We seem to be able to get through all of the daily things and still have time for one or two loop things.