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 Ministry of Ordinary Places
Extras
These are extra things I keep on hand for after school play or during reading quiet play for the littler ones.
Greek Gods and Goddesses Coloring Book
Life in Ancient Egypt 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.
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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.
Do you do exams?
We did this past year for the first time. We did Charlotte Mason style exams at the end of each term. I think it was a good way to tie up the term and keep our reading in perspective. We’ll likely continue them next year, since they did go well this year.