Category: Among The Homeschool

Creating Your Own Curriculum– Science

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We’re still talking about Creating Your Own Homeschool Curriculum. You can do this. It is super simple.

Choosing what to use for science is just as easy as it is for other subjects. Just pick a book, topic, or supplement and get to it. There are lots of ways to go about science curriculum. I’m only going to cover a few of them because this is a blog post, not a book.

For younger kids, nature study may be all you want to do for science. Nature study is super easy and super appealing to small children. How do you “do” nature study? You go outside and look around. Nature study helps younger kids learn to observe what is around them and to start asking questions about the things they find.

You can go about nature study as organized or freely as you want. Want to just go outside and see what you see? Do it. You know about the world around you more than you think. Observing that the leaves are falling off the trees right now as the seasons change is a full lesson for the week. You can add onto that if you want, but it really can be as simple as watching leaves fall.

Exploring Nature with Children and Firefly Nature School are two organized ways to go about nature study. Each will give you a new topic each week and you’ll dive into that topic as fully as you want. Exploring Nature with Children has a student book with places to journal and poems to copy if you want to go that direction. They also send out a weekly email about the topic of the week with links to videos you can watch or activities you might want to do. The actual PDF contains information for the week, potential activities, and book lists if you really want to go whole hog. Firefly Nature School is a bit different. You get a monthly PDF pack with lessons for each week when you subscribe. It comes with lovely cards to print out and guides to the topic of the week. It also gives some additional reading suggestions and activities. You can also buy the lessons you want on a topic by topic basis.

Unit studies are great for science. You can choose something you’ve observed in nature and research that thing until your child’s interest runs out. Twig and Moth, Brave Grown Home, Chickie and Roo, Green Urban Creative, Home and Haven, and Stephanie Hathaway Designs are just a few of the companies/individuals that make beautiful cards, posters, and visuals to go along with your nature and science journey. You can grab books from the library, watch videos on YouTube, watch documentaries on Amazon or Disney+, go on helpful field trips as you explore your topic. This is great for all of science, not just nature study. Why just learn a few facts when you can really dig in?

As my kids get older, nature study morphs into the art of nature journaling. Science becomes more typical science. You can choose a ready made curriculum or you can just read books about science and learn.

As a large family mom, I like all my kids to be doing the same science. They may not be using the same books, but I like them to be on the same topic. It keeps things simpler around here. And as an added bonus, when the older kids do projects or experiments, the younger kids are learning similar things and can observe or participate and get something out of it, too. Or I can have my older kids lead the younger ones through an activity that educationally benefits them both. Since I use history for my literature spine, it makes sense that I also base our science around our history. This year, we’re in ancient history, so for science, my kids are doing geology and archaeology. Science doesn’t always neatly fit with history, but usually some connection can be made. You could place astronomy in the Middle Ages or your could place it in Modern History. Physics can easily go in early modern history. Anatomy can fit pretty much anywhere. Chemistry usually fits best in Modern. Again, this is entirely unnecessary, but it can make a year flow much more cohesively and have kids connecting their subjects in a very organic manner.

If you decide on chronological history, but don’t want to choose a specific area of study, you may want to check out Berean Builder Science Curriculum. They arrange science in chronological order by discovery. It really highlights well how the scientific process works and how one discovery builds off another. It also shows how even when scientists are wrong at times about aspects of their discoveries, they still help advance science. It helps kids learn that just because one thing a scientist said was proven false doesn’t mean it wasn’t helpful in the scope of discovery or that the scientist was entirely wrong. It is quite a unique way to study science.

There are a great many places where you can find a “real books” science program built for you. Sometimes it can be overwhelming to think, “We’re going to study physics” and then figure out what books to actually read. Guest Hollow and Sabbath Mood both come to mind. You can also choose a textbook as a “spine” and then branch out from there in what you read.

I have Idea Lists for Oceans, Weather, Physics, Flowers, Birds, Astronomy, Anatomy, Zoology, Botany, Earth Science, Pets, and Nature. There are, of course, endless numbers of topics to study. If you want, ask your kids to help decide what to study next. Then you just find books for the topic. You can buy them or head to the library with a topic in mind.

I feel like I should remind you that there will always be holes in their education. At graduation, your child cannot be an expert in all fields of science. Not even scientists are experts in all fields of science. No adult was ever hindered because they couldn’t label all the parts of a cell or replicate the periodic table on command. Your child doesn’t have to either. When they are young, science is about exposure to the world. As they get older, they’ll understand it more and be able to make more connections. But they will not be experts. They aren’t meant to be. If they were, college specializations wouldn’t exist. So don’t fret if you skip something. There will be holes. Everyone has holes in their knowledge. Without looking it up, do you know how thick the earth’s crust is, what the function of the spleen is, and what happens if you add magnesium to heat? If you do know those things, cool. If you don’t, it doesn’t mean you’re an uneducated baffoon, it simply means you’re human. (And you can know all those answers with a quick Google search.) So while I do strive for excellence with my kids, I don’t strive for expert understanding or memorization. I don’t have to be able to name all the constellations to enjoy the stars.

Science also doesn’t have to take a lot of time each week. For younger kids, doing an hour of nature study once a week is enough. As they get older, maybe 2-3 days a week for 45 minutes or so is plenty. Some curriculums will come with a day by day plan for you. If that works for you, cool. If it doesn’t– don’t do it that way!

When my oldest were small, we did Zoology for several years. I took them to the zoo once a week. That was our science. Watching the animals and asking the zoo keepers our questions. I didn’t have a specific curriculum. I didn’t even have a plan. They learned about animal classification, animal habits, habitats, ecology, animal conservation, and more just from weekly zoo trips. No program. No books. Well, I did buy them a couple animal encyclopedias because they loved looking through them on non-zoo days to figure out what they wanted to find out at the zoo. I’m just saying– use what you have available to you. If you’re farming– that is totally science! If you’re near the beach– weekly beach trips totally counts as science! It doesn’t have to come from a textbook and have worksheets. You don’t need those things to learn. If you want them, cool. But they aren’t necessary at all.

Additionally, science experiments are optional. If you don’t want to do them– don’t! Do not stress out about what they’ll learn without an experiment. You can also ONLY do experiments from a book like this or this if you want. You know what will work best for you and your child. It doesn’t have to be complex. It doesn’t have to be Instagram worthy. Want to know my kids favorite ever science activity? Finding a walking stick. Like, going out in the yard and finding a stick long enough to be considered a walking stick. That’s it. We’ve made bricks, looked at bugs through microscopes, found consolations with a telescope, made aluminum foil boats to race, mixed all sorts of slimy concoctions– and they love finding a stick the most. (Insert shrugging emoji here.) Do the experiments. Don’t do the experiments. Occasionally point out a snail. You’re great at teaching science!

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Creating Your Own Homeschool Curriculum — Bible

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We’re continuing talking about creating your own homeschool curriculum. You’ve made your subject list and now you’re narrowing down what to put in each subject. As I said before, choosing a curriculum is just choosing books. It is super simple. You can choose a book, a program, part of another curriculum, whatever you want that makes school work for your children.

Complete Jewish Bible

Bible was a difficult subject for me, personally, to really decide what to do with. For one, I’m not Reformed. There aren’t a lot of ready made Bible studies for kids or families that aren’t Reformed. And I don’t want to spend all my time editing what is being taught so that it is theologically cohesive.

I also wanted it to be different from Sunday School. My kids are in church and I wanted their Sunday school experience to stay a Sunday school experience. I didn’t want to bring flannographs and crafts into every lesson every day.

I want my kids doing Bible every day. I don’t want them to have something so complex we only hit on it once a week. I wanted it to be daily enriching. And once they can read, I want it to teach my children how to have daily Bible reading time. I wanted to use it to build a Bible reading habit for them.

I opted to handle the subject in multiple ways. We place some Bible in our Morning Basket. We read a Psalm together daily. (When the Psalms run out before out 180 school days have passed, we read a chapter from Proverbs.) We also read a devotional book for kids in our Morning Basket. On Friday, we play a Bible game in our Morning Basket instead of the devotional book. (Check out The Action Bible Guess It Game, Apples to Apples Bible Edition, or So You Think You Know the Bible.)

That still leaves the actual Bible subject open. For younger kids, I think what I do in Morning Basket is enough. We’ve added more because I think there is always room for a little more Bible time. But for younger kids, I think prayer, a Psalm, and a devotional are quite a lot of Bible and is sufficient. However, I spent years doing only that much, and I think I missed some opportunities to really help my children grow in their faith.

For my younger kids, we have two things we do for Bible this year. We alternate days four days a week on which we’re doing that day. (We’ll talk about Friday later.) In previous years, we’ve read through the Herein is Love Commentary series, which we loved. We’ve read through various Bible Storybooks.

Rachael and Leah by Topher (7)
  1. Each child is illustrating their way through the Bible so at the end of the school year, they’ll have their own Bible Storybook. I read them a story from the Jesus Storybook Bible. As I read, they draw an illustration of the story. It is super simple. They love it. I love seeing what stood out to them in each story.
  2. I read a chapter of a Christian story. I try to pick books that are imaginative, but thoroughly Christian. This term, we’re reading The Ark, The Reed, and The Fire Cloud. (It will likely take us more than one term to finish.) The Imagination Station, The Cooper Kids, and The Sugar Creek Gang are other good options.

That leaves the older kids. As I said before, one of my goals for Bible as a subject is to help my kids develop the habit of daily Bible reading. We’ve chosen to do a SOAP method of Bible study. They each pick the book of the Bible they’ll be reading. (The Pastor or I will advise if they ask.) They use these books of the Bible printables to keep track of their reading. Each day, they read a chapter.

Using the SOAP (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer) method, the first thing they’ll do is read the Scripture. They’ll write down on a piece of paper (or a journal) which verse they read is standing out to them most in their reading. The second step is Observation. What is this chapter telling us? Are there any places of repetition? What can be directly observed? How is this passage relating to the people it was written to or about? They’ll write this on their paper. The third step is Application. How does this apply to my life? What is my take away? They’ll write that down. Last, but not least, is prayer. They’ll write out a short prayer based on their reading. Super simple. If you want to know more about this method, check this out.

I don’t stop there for Bible. My Logic aged kid also reads a Christian Book a few days a week. This year, he’s reading through the Imagine… series. He’s also read Cold Case Christianity for Kids, Case for Christ for Kids, Love Does for Kids, and Trial and Triumph.

My older kids are now entering a different intensity of school work. This year, since they’re learning about ancient history, our Bible choices centered around that. They’re reading The Bible Among the Myths, Epic of Eden, and Stewards of Eden. (Lectures in Old Testament Theology was close to being put in the line up.) In my opinion, teenagers are capable of reading adult theology books. Don’t be afraid to give them difficult material– just be available to talk to them about it. Apologetics books are also of high interest to teens. Last year, these two enjoyed The Great Divorce, Miracles (by Metaxas), and Miracles (by Lewis). Read along with them. Be on their page. Know how their wheels are turning and you can better help as God guides and shapes their lives.

Now all of this probably seems like a lot to you. You really don’t have to do this much. As I said before, in the past, because I couldn’t find a good curriculum fit for Bible, I didn’t do enough. I didn’t focus enough on it. I didn’t make it enough of a priority. For that reason, as they get older, I definitely focus more on it. If they know calculus, but don’t know Jesus– I’ve failed.

Don’t limit your options to what is under the “Bible” tab on homeschool curriculum. If that was all the options, I’d be sad. You can absolutely use those if you want to. Just be aware of where your curriculum is coming from and how their worldview shapes what is in front of you. Theology matters. Doing your homework ahead of time to make sure what you’re putting in your kids’ hands aligns with what your family believes will save you a lot of time (and confusion) later.

Let’s talk about Fridays now. John Wesley has a method of helping people grow in Christ. He did this through bands, classes, and meetings. A band is a small accountability type group. A class is a small group. A meeting is a larger gathering, like Sunday morning service. That is a gross oversimplification and Wesley scholars are now pulling out their eyebrows in anguish over it. If you want to learn more about it from someone far more intelligent than I am, check this out.

I’ve taken my eight kids and started a family band. Now, technically, my family is the size of a class. But, I was noticing that my kids needed what a band has to offer and there wasn’t any good way to get that going. So, I started a family band. Friday is our meeting day. Each kid shares something that God is showing them. They bring their illustrations or Scripture journals and are eager to share with us. We also do some basic accountability, though I do respect their privacy and don’t go through the full list of questions with them– since they didn’t really choose to be in this band. However, it has been a nice way to help them grow in faith and help give them something in common. They each have something equally important to share– even the young ones. So far, my family band experiment is going pretty well.

ESV Family Devotional Bible

How you set up the Bible portion of your curriculum is up to you. I’ve simply shared what works for me and my kids. You may decide to do a Catechism. That’s great! You may just read a storybook Bible. Cool! You may decide to just read to them our of your devotion each day. (Yes! That is an option! Want to read Mama Bear Apologetics or Death by Living? Two birds, one stone– read it out loud to your kids!) You may pic a devotional books for kids like this one. Neat! You may pick a Bible curriculum designed for homeschoolers. Awesome! There is no single way to do it.

Just don’t skip it. To adapt a quote from The Pastor, if your kids miss Jesus, they miss everything. If you take a back seat on teaching them the Word, don’t be shocked when their worldview is decidedly not Christian. Everything you do shapes your child– from the food you put on their plate to the way you fold towels. It all has an effect on how they view the world and what they are becoming. You cannot avoid your influence. So influence them in the way that matters. Intentionally choose how you’ll guide them. Don’t leave this part to default.

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Basic Homeschool Helps

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With local schools sending kids home to learn for the next few weeks, I figured there might be some parents who struggle with the transition. Any new routine for a kid is likely to lead to a struggle, so I’ve put together some advice and resources you may find helpful. These would also be helpful during long school breaks, as well.

Transitions Are Hard

Know that transitions are hard. What is novel at first quickly wears off and becomes a little difficult. You aren’t doing it wrong. The kids aren’t doing it wrong. It is just hard to get into new routines, especially when you know they are temporary. If your kid’s school isn’t requiring work to be done, feel free to take a full break or look at the activities suggested here to keep the days from becoming drudgery. Give yourself and the kids some grace.

Routines Help

Creating a routine or a rhythm to the “off” days can help make them flow more smoothly. Breaking up the day into sections, even if they are flexible, will help kids not get bored and also not wallow in misery at the never-ending hours to fill. You can model your day after their school day, or you can make something else up entirely. Even just having a “breakfast time”, “snack time”, “lunch time, “tea time”, etc. can help break the day up into manageable chunks.

Work before Play

If your kids will be expected to complete work on break, as I know many will be, set the habit, from the start, of putting the work first. Once they get into a video game, it can be hard to bring them back out to boring old math work. For us, we don’t allow TV or video games before school. (We actually don’t allow video games on school days at all.) If they want to do something before school, they can read, write, or create art. We try to limit the “fun” stuff before work because work becomes such a drudgery when you feel like you’re missing out on fun things to do it.

Time Is Different at Home

At home, time is different. What might usually take them 40 minutes to do at school may only take 15 at home. There aren’t other kids asking questions. There aren’t ducks to line up before work can be done. You didn’t miss anything just because the lessons seem shorter.

Similarly, it may take longer for some kids at home. They’ve been trained to work in a specific environment in a specific way. It can be difficult to transition from that. Think about being used to working in the quiet of an office and suddenly being thrust into the middle of a busy coffee shop— or vice versa. It may take a kid more time to settle into doing work in a different place with different sounds and smells. If it takes a little longer, you’re not doing it wrong and neither are they. Adjustments can be hard.

Activities

You may be fine with letting your kids be a couch potato on break. If you are, cool. Do what works for you and your kids! If your kids are the “I’m boooored” type, here are some ways you can break up your days.

Documentaries

TV doesn’t have to be bad. There are some really interesting documentaries on Netflix and Amazon Prime that can be educational and fun. Definitely check out The Riot and The Dance on Amazon! There are also some fun educational shows like the Magic Schoolbus. Also, some movies that were made from books might be worth checking out. You may have time to read the book and watch the movie. Or perhaps you can choose movies based on books they’ve already read. That comparison is always fun. We’ve also had fun comparing two versions of the same story.

Read Aloud

This may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but we love reading in our house. My kids, even those old enough to read, really enjoy us reading to them. Grab a book and read together. Not sure what to read? What do you want to read? Is there a book you read as a kid that really sticks out in your mind? Maybe read that. Is there a book that has been of interest to you that you haven’t taken the time to read? Maybe read that. Is there a book your child is itching to read? Might be a good one!

Audiobooks

Listening to an audiobook while drawing, crocheting, or just sitting and cuddling is a great way to spend some time. Your local library likely has a good selection using the Overdrive or Libby app and putting in your library card number. You can also get some great audiobooks from Audible through Amazon. You don’t have to be an Audible member to buy books. (Nick Offerman reading Tom Sawyer is better than reading the book. Will Wheton reading Ready Player One is better than reading the book.) You can also sign up for Scribd, which is like Netflix for audio- and ebooks. They have a great selection.

Reading

Reading books that aren’t for school is a fun way to spend time. My boys love Nathan Hale books. They are historical graphic novels that tell the stories of famous wars and things in a very engaging way. Recently, they’ve also really enjoyed reading the Last Kids on Earth series (which is now a show on Netflix). There are also some Teen Titans graphic novels that are coming out, though currently I think Raven is the only one available. Whatever your kid is into— I’m sure there is a book to pique their interest. Neil Gaiman’s Graveyard Book and Fortunately, the Milk have also been big hits here.

Worksheets/Activities

You may have a kid who loves workbooks and activities that they do in school. I was one of those kids. TeachersPayTeachers.com is a website devoted to teachers sharing the resources they’ve created, and you can buy the PDFs and print them at home! There are some free worksheets available, or you can buy any specific worksheets for any subject. My younger ones enjoy The Moffat Girls worksheets. My older ones have loved the interactive notebooks from Lovin Lit.

You may find you want little unit study type activities for your kids. Check out Chickie and Roo, Firefly Nature School, Twig and Moth, Exploring Nature with Children, Fiddlestick Kids, and Brave Grown Home. They all offer various lessons, cards, and tools to supplement a fun unit study.

It would also be a great time to try out Skillshare. (This link will get you two months free for a trial.) You can take classes on a phone, tablet, or computer on virtually anything. My kids really enjoy the drawing and illustration courses.

There are a lot of ideas on Pinterest of fun, hands-on activities you can do with kids. You can also check out my post on Kindergarten Math Boxes for some ideas of hands-on activities for younger kids.

Nature Study

If you aren’t sick, get outside and study nature. Grab some colored pencils and drawing paper or a notebook. Just learn to observe and draw what you see. The trees are blooming, there are plenty of fun things outside to draw and record. If you have watercolors, it can be fun to break those out and practice getting colors you see in nature onto the page. Not sure where to start? Grab a leaf. What do you notice about it? Can you draw the shape? Is the color even and consistent? What do the veins look like? Nature study is really about capturing what you see and learning to see those things.

Games

Board games and card games are a lot of fun when a parent is involved. I have enough kids that they can manage a full board game on their own. But even still, the fun really ramps up when my husband or I get involved in the game. Dust off the Monopoly, Scrabble, Sorry, Uno, or Candyland and get playing! There are also some new games out there you may not have played that are pretty fun. Exploding Kittens, Unstable Unicorns, King of Tokyo, Munchkins, and Dungeons and Dragons might be fun to learn.

Puzzles are also a fun family event in our house. The littles love puzzles, but when we get a big, complex puzzle, the whole family gets in on the creating. There isn’t a single person in our house who can resist putting a few pieces into an unfinished puzzle.

Bonding and Creating Memories

I know it can be frustrating to have such a long, unplanned break. Especially when there is really nowhere to go during the break. But you have the chance to create some really awesome memories and bond with your kids in ways that wouldn’t ordinarily be possible. How often do we wish for a break in the busyness of modern life and never can find a space to take one? We’ve been given the break. It is definitely not the way any of us would want it, but let’s take advantage anyway! Don’t stress yourself out trying to make every moment perfect and magical. Memories are made in all-day pajama-days, movie marathons, and yelling over Uno. No magic required— just presence.

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Godbold Academy 2020-2021: Rhetoric Stage Plans

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The rhetoric stage is essentially the high school stage. This level bumps up in difficulty quite a bit, as students are able to handle deeper and more difficult books. I expect my rhetoric students to be fully independent, except they do join us for Morning Basket. I keep all my kids running along the same history timeline, though they may be at a slightly different pace and very different difficulty levels. I give my rhetoric students a checklist of work for the week and they are responsible for doing it and checking it off. I usually check their work only weekly, though we do discuss their readings over dinner daily.

Bible

The Bible Among the Myths (1 chapter per week; weeks 1-11)

The Epic of Eden (1 chapter per week; weeks 13-23)

The Epic of Eden Small Group Study (daily reading plus weekly video and discussion; weeks 25-36)

History

The History of the Ancient World (1-3 days per week; weeks 1-31)(Keep a list of important people and dates in history notebook)

The Iliad with Memoria Press Student Guide (weeks 1-24)

The Odyssey with Memoria Press Student Guide (weeks 25-36)

The Epic of Gilgamesh (weeks 25-36)

Science

Nature Study: The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling (weeks 1-36)

General Science 2: Survey of Geology and Archaeology (weeks 1-36)

Language Arts

Grammar: 180 Daily Teaching Lessons for grade level (5 days/week; weeks 1-36)

Writing: The Creative Writer (weeks 1-36)

Literature

Till We Have Faces (weeks 1-6)

The Lightening Thief (weeks 1-17)

The Hobbit with Memoria Press Study Guide (weeks 7-11)

The Lord of the Rings (weeks 13-30)

The Sea of Monsters (weeks 18-30)

The Titan’s Curse (weeks 30-34)

Logic

Introduction to Logic (weeks 1-36)

Languages

Latin: Canon Press Latin Primer (weeks 1-36)

French: Rosetta Stone French (2-3 days/week; weeks 1-36)

Math

Life of Fred at level

Character

Plutarch Lives, Volume 1 (2 days/week; weeks 1-21)

Plutarch Lives, Volume 2 (2 days/week; weeks 21-35)

I keep everything planned out as seen above for each week.

** This post contains affiliate links. Using affiliate links is a great way to support your favorite content creators. **

I encourage you, don’t feel like you have to buy all your school books new! Check out ThriftBooks.com for some great deals on used books. (That link is my referral link!) Also, check out Scribd, which is like Netflix for ebooks and audiobooks. (That link is my referral link!) There are so many great books available through both that will save you money. Also, remember to check your library. Libby is a great app that many library systems use where you can get ebooks and audiobooks through your local library. Of course, you can also max out your library card checking out great books, as well.

Godbold Academy 2020-2021: Logic Stage Plans

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The logic stage in homeschooling lasts from about fifth or sixth grade through eighth grade, depending on the child. This is what we’d all typically call “middle school”. The logic stage is a bump up in difficulty, and I expect my logic aged children to be pretty much independent. I do not read the scheduled books to my logic students, they read all their books on their own except for Morning Basket. For the logic stage, I give the child a list of the work they need to do each day and they check it off as they complete it. I do check it at the end of the day or week, depending on the child. And we do discuss it, usually over dinner.

Bible

Herein is Love: Numbers (weeks 1-24)

Herein is Love: Deuteronomy (weeks 25-34)

History

Story of the World, Volume 1 (weeks 1-34)(This is the history spine for both the grammar and logic stages. If you have grammar aged kids and are reading the chapter to them, you can include the logic student in the reading. Logic students keep a list of the important people and dates from this reading. I plan 1-2 chapters each week to complete the entire volume in three 12-week terms.)

Story of the World, Volume 1, Activity Guide (weeks 1-34) (This activity guide has questions about each chapter and outlines to complete, along with activities and book suggestions should you choose to do them.)

Book of the Ancient World with Memoria Press Study Guide (2-3 days/week; weeks 1-12)

Famous Men of Greece with Memoria Press Study Guide (1-2 days/week; weeks 1-20)

Book of the Ancient Greeks with Memoria Press Study Guide (2-3 days/week; weeks 13-23)

Famous Men of Rome with Memoria Press Study Guide (1-2 days/week; weeks 21-35)

Augustus Caesar’s World (3-5 days/week; weeks 23-36)

Science

Nature Study: The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling (weeks 1-36)

Core: General Science 2: Survey of Archaeology and Geology (weeks 1-36)

Language Arts

Grammar: Easy Grammar Plus (5 days/week; weeks 1-36)

Writing: The Creative Writer (weeks 1-36)

Literature

The Hobbit with Memoria Press Study Guide (weeks 1-10)

The Lightening Thief (weeks 1-11)

Imagine… The Great Flood (weeks 1-15)

The Bronze Bow with Memoria Press Study Guide (weeks 13-21)

The Sea of Monsters (weeks 13-22)

Imagine… The Ten Plagues (weeks 16-30)

The Children’s Homer (weeks 22-32)

The Titan’s Curse (weeks 23-36)

Logic

The Thinking Toolbox (2 days/week; weeks 1-19)

The Fallacy Detective (2 days/week; weeks 19-36)

Languages

Latin: Canon Press Latin Primer (weeks 1-36)

French: Rosetta Stone French (2-3 days/week; weeks 1-36)

Math

Strayer Upton Arithmetics (5 days/ weeks; weeks 1-36) (Book: 1, 2, 3)

Character

The Radical Book for Kids (1-2 days/week; weeks 1-35)

I keep everything planned out as seen above for each week. For the grammar stage, I try to plan the majority of the work Monday-Thursday and add extra subjects in on Fridays.

** This post contains affiliate links. Using affiliate links is a great way to support your favorite content creators. **

I encourage you, don’t feel like you have to buy all your school books new! Check out ThriftBooks.com for some great deals on used books. (That link is my referral link!) Also, check out Scribd, which is like Netflix for ebooks and audiobooks. (That link is my referral link!) There are so many great books available through both that will save you money. Also, remember to check your library. Libby is a great app that many library systems use where you can get ebooks and audiobooks through your local library. Of course, you can also max out your library card checking out great books, as well.

Godbold Academy 2020-2021: Grammar Stage Plans

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The grammar stage in homeschooling spans from about kindergarten or first grade through fourth or fifth grade, depending on the child. I include my young ones in our grammar schooling, as they usually want to keep up with their siblings and they enjoy the readings and such. Some things are specific to the actual place the child is in a subject, some things are more universal. If you’ve never seen planning by stage, this may seem confusing that first and fifth graders can go by the same curriculum plans. But trust me, I’ve been combining ages for a long time and can tell you, even with the same sources, kids work and understand at the level they are.

Bible

The Ark, The Reed, and The Fire Cloud (4 days/week; weeks 1-17)

The Dreamer, The Schemer, and The Robe (4 days/week; weeks 18-32)

History

Story of the World, Volume 1 (1-2 days/week; weeks 1-34) (This is the history spine. There are additional readings for history, but this is the main portion of history. I cover 1-2 chapter each week to get through the entire volume in our three 12-week terms.)

Story of the World, Volume 1, Activity Guide (weeks 1-34) (This book is used for weekly activities and contains coloring pages and suggestions to “beef up” Story of the World.)

It’s Disgusting and We Ate It! (week 1)

You Wouldn’t Want to be a Pyramid Builder (weeks 2-3)

You Wouldn’t Want to be a Sumerian Slave (weeks 4-5)

Gilgamesh the King (week 6)

The Revenge of Ishtar (week 6)

The Last Quest of Gilgamesh (week 6)

One Grain of Rice (week 7)

The Story About Ping (week 7)

Anasi the Spider (week 8)

Temple Cat (week 8)

Baby Moses (week 9)

In Search of a Homeland (weeks 9-14)

Tales of Troy and Greece (weeks 13-20)

D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths (weeks 21-36)

Classical Kids (activity guide for making history activities)

Old Testament Days (activity guide for making history activities)

Science

Nature Study: Christian Liberty Press Nature Reader on Student’s Level (1-3 days/week; weeks 1-36)(individual readers availble for sale on Christian Book)

Core Science: General Science 2: Survey of Geology and Archaeology (just using the books for the grammar stage. The logic and rhetoric stages are using the full curriculum. This is our main science curriculum. We’re adding some more books to further study the topics found in these books.) (weeks 1-32) (Individual books: Archaeology, Geology, Fossil, Cave)

Geology Lab for Kids (weeks 33-36)

Rocks, Rivers, and the Changing Earth (weeks 1-28)

Archaeologists Dig for Clues (weeks 1-2)

The Street Beneath My Feet (weeks 3-4)

What is an Archaeologist? (weeks 5-6)

Ancient Civilizations (weeks 7-10)

Planet Earth Inside Out (Week 11)

Rocks, Fossils, and Arrowheads (week 17)

A Rock is Lively (week 19)

Rock Collecting for Kids (weeks 20-21; 28-32)

Caves and Caverns (weeks 22-25)

Jurassic Poop (week 26)

Let’s Go Rock Collecting (week 27)

Language Arts

Once kids can read, they start grammar. I do read the Literature books out loud for the younger kids. Free Reads are for kids old enough to read chapter books alone. If you’ve got a great reader, check out the books for the logic stage. If you’ve got ones learning to read, reading Bob books during the free reading time is a great option.

Grammar

Beowulf Grammar (4-5 days/week; weeks 1-36)

Literature Reads

The First Dog (week 1)

A Cry from Egypt (weeks 1-8)

Mummies Made in Egypt (week 3)

Mummies in the Morning (weeks 4-8)

Hour of the Olympics (weeks 9-12)

The Children’s Homer (weeks 13-20)

The Trojan Horse (weeks 15-18)

Romulus and Remus (weeks 21-22)

Aesop’s Fables (weeks 22-36)

Free Reads

The Mouse and the Motorcycle

Runaway Ralph

Ralph S. Mouse

Fortunately, the Milk

The Fantastic Mr. Fox

James and the Giant Peach

The Boxcar Children

Handwriting

Draw, Write, Now (1-2 days/week; weeks 1-36)

Logic

Creative Problem Solving (1 day/week; weeks 1-36)

Languages

My kids have been learning French. I usually don’t start Latin until the Logic stage.

My First French Lesson (1 day/week; weeks 1-36)

Math

Use whatever math works for your child. This is just what we use for this stage.

Math Mammoth on child’s level (4-5 days/week; weeks 1-36)

Character

The Mess Detectives and the Case of the Lost Temper (week 10)

Junior Comes Clean (week 11)

Bob and Larry and the Case of the Missing Patience (week 12)

Larry Makes a Choice (week 23)

All is Fair When We Share (week 24)

I keep everything planned out as seen above for each week. For the grammar stage, I try to plan the majority of the work Monday-Thursday and add extra subjects in on Fridays.

** This post contains affiliate links. Using affiliate links is a great way to support your favorite content creators. **

I encourage you, don’t feel like you have to buy all your school books new! Check out ThriftBooks.com for some great deals on used books. (That link is my referral link!) Also, check out Scribd, which is like Netflix for ebooks and audiobooks. (That link is my referral link!) There are so many great books available through both that will save you money. Also, remember to check your library. Libby is a great app that many library systems use where you can get ebooks and audiobooks through your local library. Of course, you can also max out your library card checking out great books, as well.

Godbold Academy 2020-2021: Morning Basket

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I mentioned in my review of A Gentle Feast that we aren’t going back to it this coming school year. I figured I’d share our full curriculum plans for this coming year, which include all three classical stages or all four Charlotte Mason forms, whichever way you want to look at it. We’ve got a lot of kids spanning a lot of grades around here. Our history cycle this coming year will be Ancient History, which I’m pretty excited to get back into. For the sake of length, I’m splitting the posts on the curriculum up, so be sure to check out the Grammar (K-4/5), Logic (5/6-8), and Rhetoric (9-12) plans, as well.

Morning Basket

I like to start the day with all the kids together. We will add poetry memorization and Bible verse memorization to this book list. I’ll choose one poem per kid/stage and one Bible passage for all the kids for each of the three terms. All weeks are approximate, as sometimes we read faster and sometimes we read slower. I should also note that this is not the entirety the kids will learn in these subjects, just what we are reading together.

Bible

I Am: 40 Reasons to Trust God (3 days/week; weeks 1-14)

I Am Devotional: 100 Devotions About the Names of God (3 days/week; weeks 14-36)

Action Bible Guess-It Game (1 day/week; weeks 1-12)

Apples to Apples Bible Edition (1 day/week; weeks 13-36)

Character

I am N (2 days/week; weeks 1-36)

Manners

Emily Post’s Etiquette (1 day/week; weeks 1-36)

History

Unveiling the Kings of Israel (1 day/week; weeks 1-20)

Unwrapping the Pharaohs (1 day/week; weeks 8-36)

Science

The Great Dinosaur Mystery and the Bible (1 day/week; weeks 1-7)

Dinosaurs: Marvels of God’s Design (1 day/week; weeks 8-36)

Read Alouds/ Literature

The Mysterious Benedict Society (4-5 days/week; weeks 1-12)

Nooks and Crannies (4-5 days/week; weeks 13-24)

Wonder (4-5 days/week; weeks 25-36)

Fun

Mad Libs (1 day/week; weeks 1-36) (We usually got through 3-4 Mad Libs books per year. I generally grab ones I think the kids will enjoy, since it is for fun. It does help, especially with the younger ones, to learn the parts of speech.)

Mother Culture

This year, I’m adding the category of Mother Culture to my Morning Basket. These aren’t books I’ll be reading with the kids, they are books I’m assigning myself to read to grow and expand. Your choices for this may vary, and your reading speed may vary. I wanted some homeschool encouragement, but feel like I need a lot of mom encouragment this year. You might find you want something different. Choosing the books ahead of time keeps me from making excuses not to do it and it sets a path forward for me. For me, a book a month is a fairly leisurely speed that will allow for other reading as it comes, as well.

The Brave Learner

The Ministry of Ordinary Places

Theology of Home

Mere Motherhood

The Life-giving Home

Why Motherhood Matters

The Call of the Wild and Free

Mama Bear Apologetics

A Mother’s Rule of Life

Extras

These are extra things I keep on hand for after school play or during reading quiet play for the littler ones.

Imhotep Board Game

Temple Trap Game

Zeus on the Loose Game

Greek Gods and Goddesses Coloring Book

Life in Ancient Egypt Coloring Book

Dinosaur Coloring Book

Ancient Rome Toob

Ancient Egypt Toob

Mythical Realms Toob

Greek Mythology Top Trumps

Ancient Egypt Top Trumps

Heir of Egypt Game

Alphabetimals Coloring Book

Animal Alphabet Coloring Book

Sea Life Alphabet Coloring Book

I set up a chart for each week that looks similar to this. I haven’t chosen the specific poems or memory verses just yet, so I’ll fill that in once I decide. If I’ve already printed it, I’ll just write that in. I’ll print these out and put them in a binder with our Morning Basket of books.

** This post contains affiliate links. Using affiliate links is a great way to support your favorite content creators. **

I encourage you, don’t feel like you have to buy all your school books new! Check out ThriftBooks.com for some great deals on used books. (That link is my referral link!) Also, check out Scribd, which is like Netflix for ebooks and audiobooks. (That link is my referral link!) There are so many great books available through both that will save you money. Also, remember to check your library. Libby is a great app that many library systems use where you can get ebooks and audiobooks through your local library. Of course, you can also max out your library card checking out great books, as well.