Tomorrow is our first day of the new school year! I'm very excited about checking out some of our new programs, while also using some old favorites. Not everything is going to be done everyday (cause that would be ridiculous!). We will be using a kind of quirky loop schedule, to go along with my quirky kids. ;-)
Vicki - 9 years old/4th Grade
Math Mammoth - She has a few pages to finish up MM3B and we will be jumping right into 4A
Beast Academy - Vicki is ready to give BA a try! She likes to read through the Guide books we have from when Squidy started so I thought it was time. We are starting with 3A since this is such a different, more intense presentation of Math than she's used to.
Evan Moor Skill Sharpeners Math 4 - We will continue using Skill Sharpeners Math as a spiral review of concepts already covered. We will wait about a month to start the 4th grade book
Mosdos Press Ruby - This program is new for us and will cover reading comprehension, vocabulary, literature and some writing.
Evan Moor Spell & Write - Vicki is about halfway through the 5th grade book. We will finish through the end of 6th grade and then stop spelling except for watching for mistakes in writing.
Vocabulary from Classical Roots 4th Grade - Another new program. I think Vicki is ready to learn about Greek and Latin word roots and this program can take us through 11th grade if we like it.
Spectrum Writing 4th Grade - I wanted to go back to a very basics, step-by-step writing program. I feel they need more explicit instruction than they've been getting.
Scholastic Logic Posters, Problems & Puzzles - one of the many Scholastic books I bought at Dollar Days over the years. Squidy did these a few years ago and I think Vicki's more than ready to give them a try.
Handwriting - Vicki has about 4 pages to finish up Handwriting Without Tears Cursive. Once she finishes, I'm going to have her do another Scholastic book - Cursive Practice Jokes & Riddles. I will also expect her to do small writing assignments in her best cursive handwriting, but longer assignments I will allow her to type.
Reading - In addition to selections for History and Science, I am having the kids work through the Mensa Excellence in Reading Lists. Vicki is going to work with both the K-3rd list and the 4-6th list. The K-3rd list has quite a few books rated for 9 year olds that she hasn't read yet. Some of them she's already read but doesn't remember and some will be super-easy, but there are many books on the 4th-6th grade list that I know she isn't ready for yet.
Squidy - 11 years old/6th Grade
Math Mammoth - Squidy has one Chapter left in MM5B - Intro to Percentages. He will be doing one page from that chapter each day, as well as one or two pages from 6A. We are using the "old" version of MM so he is done with it after 6B.
Beast Academy - Squidy really enjoys BA so we will continue using it as a fun supplement. He wasn't doing it that often the last few years and I don't want to skip any, so he is still working through 4C.
Jousting Armadillos - Another one of our new programs AND a new subject - Pre-Algebra! It's hard to believe we are at this point. JA looks to be a fun and quirky introduction to Pre-Algebra and I think Squidy is going to love it.
Zaccaro Challenge Math - Another non-traditional math program that I think Squidy will enjoy.
Mosdos Press Pearl - New program that will cover comprehension, some vocabulary, literature, and some writing
Vocabulary from Classical Roots 6th Grade - Another new program. George finished Words on the Vine last year so I needed something new for Greek/Latin roots. I also wanted something that Vicki could do, so we are giving this a try. After the 6th grade book, books A through E cover 7th through 11th grade so we'll be able to use this for a while if it works well.
Spectrum Writing 6th Grade
Scholastic Logic Posters, Problems & Puzzles - I'm going to pull out some of the harder of these and let Squidy give them a try. I don't think he did all of them when we last worked on them since some of them required math beyond what he knew (squares, primes, percentages, etc.)
Handwriting - Squidy is also going to use pages from the Scholastic book - Cursive Practice Jokes & Riddles.
Reading - Squidy will be working through the Mensa Excellence in Reading List for 4th to 6th grade. He actually read his first book as part of our Science - The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. He really liked it but felt the ending didn't wrap things up enough. I did some research and found out there is a sequel so I have that one on hold from the library.
Together
Science - We will be finishing up our Evolution/Prehistory study, then doing units on Microscopes, Botany, Zoology and Habitats. We will be using REAL Science Odyssey, and lots and lots of books and Pinterest ideas.
We are also continuing with our 4-H STEM Club.
History - We will be finishing up the last two units of US History - Westward Expansion and Civil War, and then starting Ancients. We will be using History Odyssey Level 2 and Story of the World.
Art - Art is mostly going to be done along with History but we will also do some general exercises using How to Teach Art to Children. We will also do some drawing using Mark Kistler's Draw Squad.
Foreign Language - We will continue to learn Spanish (I probably shouldn't say "continue" since I doubt they remember anything). We will use Duolingo, First Step Espanol, and lots of videos
Health - Harcourt Health & Fitness Grade 5. I want them to do it together so I split the difference in their grades. I found the Activity Book online for free and bought a used textbook cheap from Amazon.
Music - in addition to doing choir, I'll be teaching the kids to read music and some keyboarding using a variety of resources. Vicki will also work on learning guitar as she wants to.
Internet Safety - we will be working through the Internet Responsibility program from Commonsense Education. My kids spend a lot of time online so I want to make sure we cover this well.
Physical Education - Swimming lessons, Tai Kwan Do and Yoga are our outside classes. We also plan to do hiking, geocaching, biking and Vicki just got a pair of Heely's. We are also going to start each day with some Yoga (using the Kid's Yoga Deck) and meditation.
Extras - we may do some BraveWriter activities as we have time.
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