Planning for a new TOG unit (Year 4 Unit 3)

We are wrapping up week 18 and I'm still trying to carve out quiet blocks of time for planning. Each unit of Tapestry of Grace gets easier to prepare, now that we have completed Year 1 (Ancient Times), Year 2 (Middle Ages), Year 3 (the 1800's) and soon the first half of Year 4 (1900-today). 

I'll post more about how I plan a unit of TOG later, but for now, here's my favorite way to print the Teacher's Guide. Since I also use my iPad to view Teacher's Notes each week, I only print the "Threads" pages and Reading Assignments pages. I print two pages on each sheet of paper and staple each Week separately. In this photograph I'm just getting started, highlighting items and making notes (about ways to involve A5 and R2, field trip ideas, resources that can be added).  

Tapestry of Grace, self-described as an educational "buffet," can seem daunting, with thorough Teacher's Notes and assignment suggestions for all four learning levels. I'm glad to discover this curriculum as a digital edition, without those 4" binders I've seen other moms use! Printing just the "threads" and reading assignment pages, and viewing the rest online or on the iPad, makes planning a little easier for me. 

C16's 9th grade curriculum 2013-2014

Wrapping up our fourth year of homeschooling, I finally feel ready to share our homeschool curriculum choices and my position on different topics. I didn't want to lead anyone astray before! The truth is that every family is different and the beauty of homeschooling is that we don't all have to agree on the same curriculum, schedules, etc.

C16 has worked hard to get on track to complete high school in 3 more years and begin university studies. For example. In 2010-2011 he completed Gamma, Delta and Epsilon levels of Math-U-See. 

Science - Elemental Science: Biology for the Logic Stage He will take the final test of this 36-week biology program tomorrow. Though it is written for the 6th grade, the author shares ways to make it work for younger and older grades. I beefed up this program to make sure he can earn a high school credit for Biology. 

History, Geography, Literature - Tapestry of Grace We're starting week 22 of Year 2 on Monday. We're a little "off" a normal schedule because I found out about Tapestry of Grace during the middle of a school year and switched. We continued through the summer and will begin Year 3 in late-September. He does the Dialectic assignments and will move to Rhetoric in Year 3. There are so many reasons why I enjoy TOG and would recommend it highly, but I'll just share one feature here: it's so easy to adjust a child's level and workload within the program. You buy the curriculum per 9-week-long or year-long unit, and all four levels (Lower Grammar K-3, Upper Grammar 3-6, Dialectic 6-9 and Rhetoric 9-12) are included. This year he is completing each Government (at the Rhetoric level) and Fine Art. Next year I will probably add in the Writing assignments, or perhaps start incorporating IEW (Institute for Excellence in Writing). 

Math - He is currently on Lesson 24 of Math-U-See Algebra and, while higher level maths are a challenge for him, he only wants to use this program. Steve Demme is a great teacher! He watches the video for a lesson then we both use the teacher guide book when he has questions. 

Writing - This one was our biggest struggle, but each month is easier than the last. He is working through Voyages in English (I bought the program used from a friend) and completes loads of writing assignments for other subjects, like Tapestry of Grace and Biology.

 

Our 2013-2014 curriculum for a 16-year-old playing catch up

Wrapping up our fourth year of homeschooling, I finally feel ready to share our homeschool curriculum choices and my position on different topics. I didn't want to lead anyone astray before! The truth is that every family is different and the beauty of homeschooling is that we don't all have to agree on the same curriculum, schedules, etc.

My dear son N16 is catching up to his same-age peers and I couldn't be more grateful for our right to homeschool. Though some days are tough, I stand by my decision to homeschool him, with no regrets. This was the right move for him. 

He's all over the map with his "grade level" and when someone asks him what grade he's in, it takes him a moment to think before he finally just answers "9th."

I'm not claiming that this is is the exact program I would recommend for any and every 9th grade boy, I'm just sharing what works for him in hopes that it will encourage others who have kids with "special needs."

Science - Elemental Science: Biology for the Logic Stage We're almost through with this 36-week biology program. Though it is written for the 6th grade, the author shares ways to make it work for younger and older grades. I have been very happy with this simple program and I'm glad I bought the teacher guide and two of the consumable Student Guides (for N16 and his twin brother, C16). Each week there is a hands-on experiment or demonstration. Next year we will study earth science and Astronomy; I'm not sure if we will stick with Elemental Science or try another program. I'd love your input!

Jamestown, round 2! Our second time through American History

We've just completed week 20 of Tapestry of Grace Year 2, a study of Jamestown. Oh, how good this is to revisit a topic and see how much the twins remember!  

Our first unit study as homeschoolers back in 2010 was a study of this first permanent American settlement. We then went chronologically through American History, but, around the point of World War 1, I discovered Tapestry of Grace and decided to change course and start a new plan with Ancient Times. 

I now know first hand how much of a joy this four-year classical education cycle of history can be in our homeschool!

In the spirit of a weekly wrap up, here's what we did this week:

* Watched Pocahontas as a family (just like we did back in 2010) 



* Browsed educational materials and videos at historyisfun.org 



* Completed the TOG geography assignments about North America and began our memory work of the 13 colonies (much easier this go around, but review is still needed) 

* Read books about Jamestown, King James I and Galileo

* Completed more lessons for All About Spelling (affiliate link) 

Shopping at my first homeschool conference

I came home from my first ever homeschool convention road-trip with new friends made, ideas, to-do items and just a few purchases from the expo.

While it's entirely possible to homeschool for free or next to free, I just love buying curriculum. Some people have a shoe problem; I have a curriculum problem. If I won the MegaMillions jackpot, I would probably still drive my van with over 100,000 miles on it, but I would go on an enormous curriculum and school supply shopping spree. Then I'd need more storage shelves and cabinets. Then... Well... Maybe going overboard on school materials just isn't a good idea, regardless of funds.

Here's what I bought:

Math Detective A1 from The Critical Thinking Company
Though I didn't save much money buying it from the tradeshow booth, I did have a chance to meet a rep from The Critical Thinking Company who was extremely helpful. He recommended this series, and I'm excited to try it soon. We used Balance Math recently and even my husband and I worked out the problems. It might have gotten competitive...