This school year, we’re going back to me fully planning the year. My home education ideals fall somewhere between Classical and Charlotte Mason. We’ve fully done both, and find that a mix between the two works best for us. I rely heavily on real books, but we don’t rely heavily on narration.

I wanted to share my plans with you because I know this isn’t something everyone likes to do. I know a lot of homeschool moms aren’t comfortable crafting an entire curriculum, or they don’t have the time or energy to do so. It just isn’t everyone’s “thing”. It is my “thing”, so I figured I’d share it, since I have it.

This year, we’re cycling back to Ancient History, which I am very excited about. We’ll have kids in all Classical stages and all Charlotte Mason forms. Essentially, I’ll have kids from elementary school to high school, so the plans for this year are for all grades. For simplicity’s sake, I’ve broken down the curriculum into four posts: Morning Basket, Grammar Stage, Logic Stage, and Rhetoric Stage.

Stages are not a one size fits all. You may notice the Logic Stage plans are too easy for your 8th grader, and you want to challenge them in certain areas. Go for it. You may think the Rhetoric assignments are too difficult for your 9th grade, bump them down in whatever subjects you choose or all of it. Swap out the books you don’t want for ones you do want. There are plenty of options out there, I’m just sharing with you what we’ll be doing.

You may notice I include some books that pure Charlotte Mason enthusiasts would consider twaddle. I try to include plenty of difficult great books for my kids to consume, but also know that I personally read twaddle from time to time for my own enjoyment. I’m just not opposed to letting kids read “fun” books (we’ll call them that instead of twaddle) to give them a break from the intense mental load of some great books. If you don’t like a book choice of mine, cool, don’t use it.

I’m simply putting this out there for anyone who wants to take a peek. Use it for your own curriculum. Use it for ideas to craft your own curriculum. Use it to look over and see options that exist. I’m just sharing.

The post Godbold Academy 2020-2021 Curriculum appeared first on Notes From the Parsonage.

The Rhetoric Stage is roughly high school. These students should be completely independent. Though, I do still include mine in Morning Basket, and choose at least one subject each year to do with them– not because they cannot do it on their own, but just to connect.

Bible/ Apologetics Curriculum

For Bible, all my kids who can read use the SOAP method of Bible study to do personal Bible reading each day. They keep this in a notebook. They choose whatever book of the Bible they want to read.

This year, I put together an Apologetics Course for my rhetoric stage students. Each book they read has a student guide that I created. We also have weekly discussion sessions to talk about what they are learning. The books they’ll be reading for Apologetics are:

On Guard

Mere Christianity

The Case for Christ

The Story of Reality

Can Science Explain Everything?

True for You, But Not for Me

A Student’s Guide to Culture

Medieval History Curriculum

For history, they’ll be using The History of the Medieval World as their spine. A spine is simply the book that they slowly throughout the year to keep their “timeline” moving. All other books are stacked and scheduled around this “spine”. They’ll be outlining each chapter as they read. They’re also reading The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England.

Medieval Literature Curriculum

For literature, they have quite a heavy load to read. (Which is why I went a little lighter in the history section.) I have them keep notes as they read so they can use them to write a book summary when they finish a book. There are a couple books where we’ll be using the Canon Press Worldview Guide as they read. I also had a hard time deciding on a version of Beowulf. If you want to see my side by side comparison of three versions, check out my Instagram story titled “Compare Beowulf”.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

The Once and Future King

Pearl

Sir Orfeo

Beowulf

Hamlet (with Canon Press Worldview Guide)

The Canterbury Tales

The Three Musketeers

Don Quixote

Macbeth (with Canon Press Worldview Guide)

Romeo and Juliet

The Prince

Grammar and Writing Curriculum

For grammar, these students are actually using Rudiments of Anglo-Saxon. It is a guide for understanding and translating old English.

For writing, they’ll be using The Creative Writer, Volume 2 per their request. And they’re also reading Wordsmithy.

I noticed their handwriting has been slipping, so I’m having them do copywork into a handwriting notebook two days each week. They can copy something they have read, Scripture, or their memory work. They can choose print or cursive, just so long as they write neatly and cleanly. I’m not going to harass them about their handwriting outside of this notebook.

Biology Curriculum

For science, they’re using The Riot and The Dance including the labs. They’ll also be reading On the Origin of Species with the Canon Press Worldview Guide. They’re very excited about this class.

Character Curriculum

For character, they’ll be reading Confessions and Ivanhoe.

Logic Curriculum

I was going to replace logic with apologetics this year, but one of my rhetoric students revolted at that idea. So, they’ll be doing Canon Press’s Introductory Logic this year.

Foreign Languages Curriculum

For languages, they’ll be using Rosetta Stone for the language of their choice 4 days per week.

Math Curriculum

For math, they use Life of Fred. They’ve also been enjoying watching some Khan Academy videos, so they’ll do that, as well. This year, they’ll both be using Advanced Algebra.

For math, I always recommend that others stick with what is working for them. Math is so personal with what works for one kid might not work for another. And kids tend to get used to how their math is laid out, so changing curriculum can be quite a set back for them. So if it works, keep with it.

Other Notes From the Parsonage Posts You Might Enjoy

• Medieval History Curriculum for Grammar Stage Students
• Medieval History Curriculum for Logic Stage Students
• Medieval History Morning Basket Curriculum
• Ancient History Curriculum for Rhetoric Stage Students

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

The post Medieval History Curriculum for the Rhetoric Stage appeared first on Notes From the Parsonage.

The logic stage is about fifth to eighth grade. These students are largely independent, though I do try to pick a subject each year to do with them just to connect with them a little more. While the curriculum is based around the medieval time period, it is NOT just for history!

Bible/Apologetics Curriculum for Middle Grades

For Bible, all my kids who can read use the SOAP method of Bible study to do their own personal Bible reading each day. They choose the book of the Bible they’re reading. They keep their notes in a notebook of their choice. This helps them learn to read, analyze, and apply the Bible for themselves without always counting on someone else to tell them what to see and what to think.

This year, Logic and Rhetoric stages are doing Apologetics for Bible class. They read these books on their own and at the end of each book, we sit and discuss. I encourage them to write down questions they may have as they go. We’ll discuss the questions that didn’t get answered in their reading as they finish each book. For logic, these books include:

Case for Christ for Kids

Case for Faith for Kids

Case for a Creator for Kids

Case for Grace for Kids

God’s Crime Scene for Kids

Cold-Case Christianity for Kids

It Couldn’t Just Happen

Medieval History Curriculum for Logic Stage Students

For history, my logic stage students also use The Story of the World, Volume 2. I do print all the coloring sheets and maps for them, as well, and include them in projects from the Activity Guide that I do with the grammar stage kids. We use this as a “spine”. We read it slowly through the year and work the rest of our supplemental readings into the timeline of the “spine” book.

They also have history supplements that they read by themselves to supplement their learning. I don’t have them answer questions or do worksheets for these books. I don’t find worksheets particularly useful for homeschooling. I find note taking guides or study guides to be better when they are necessary. But for most book, they keep notes as they read and at the end of each book, they’ll write a book summary. I also have them keep a master timeline, adding things from all the books they read to the timeline as they go.

Queen Eleanor

The Dragon and The Raven

Where is the Great Wall? 

Who Was Confucius?

Guts & Glory: The Vikings

Who Was Leif Erikson? 

The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow

Who Was Ferdinand Magellan?

The Bard of Avon

The World of Columbus and Sons

Who Was Queen Elizabeth?

Who Was Genghis Khan?

Fine Print

Marco Polo: His Travels and Adventures

Medieval Literature for Logic Students

For literature, all reading is based on the medieval time period. Again, the students keep notes on what they are reading and write a book summary at the end of each book. If a book has a movie based on it, even loosely, I’ll make sure we watch that once they finish reading the book.

King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table

Tales from Shakespeare

Jack

Red

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court

Winning His Spurs

Grump

English Literature for Boys and Girls

Time Castaway: The Mona Lisa Key

The Adventures of Robin Hood

The White Company

Beowulf (This is a retelling! They’ll read the real one when we circle back through medieval history in four years.)

Viking Tales

The Door in the Wall

Adam of the Road

The Pied Piper of Hamelin

Grammar and Writing Curriculum

For grammar, my middle school students are using 180 Daily Lessons on their level. I usually rotate years with Easy Grammar one year and 180 Daily Lessons the next. These are quick grammar reminders each day, since they should be grammar proficient by this stage.

For writing, my logic stage kids are using The Creative Writer, Level 2. They used Level 1 last year and loved it. They begged to continue the series.

For handwriting, my logic stage students do copywork twice a week. They pick a paragraph from something they’ve read this week or can use their memory verse or poetry memory. They keep a handwriting notebook for this copywork. They are expected to write cleanly and neatly in this notebook. I don’t usually harass them about their handwriting anywhere but this notebook. I just need to know they CAN write well. I also let them choose if they want to print or use cursive.

Biology Curriculum for Logic Stage Students

For science, my logic stage kids are doing biology, as well. They’re reading independently, keeping notes as they read, and they’ll be doing some experiments from Janice VanCleave’s Biology for Every Kid.

Super Simple Biology

Cells Close Up

Barron’s Visual Learning Biology

GIANTmicrobes Cells Coloring Book

My First Book About Genetics

Basher Science: Microbiology

Basher Science: Biology: Life as We Know It!

The Biology Coloring Book

Exploring the World of Biology

Who Was George Washington Carver?

Who Was Jacques Cousteau?

Who Was Jane Goodall?

Who Was Rachel Carson?

Where are the Galapagos Islands?

Logic for Middle Grade Students

For logic, this stage is using The Fallacy Detective this year. This is one of my kids’ favorite logic books. I think they’d use it every year if I let them.

Foreign Languages Curriculum

For foreign languages, my logic stage students use Rosetta Stone 3-4 days a week to learn their language of choice. They can pick a new language at the beginning of the year, but must stick with it all year.

Math Curriculum

For math, my logic stage kids are using Life of Fred. They use Fractions, Decimals and Percents, and then the Pre-Algebra series.

Math is so specific to each kid. If what you have is working– keep using it! Don’t switch a kid’s math curriculum unless you really have to as the switch will set them back in the subject. If a math program is working– keep using it until it isn’t or they graduate!

Other Posts from Notes From the Parsonage You Might Enjoy

• Medieval History Curriculum for the Rhetoric Stage
• Medieval History Curriculum for the Grammar Stage
• Medieval History Morning Basket Plans
• Ancient History Curriculum for the Logic Stage

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

The post Medieval History Curriculum for the Logic Stage appeared first on Notes From the Parsonage.

The grammar stage is roughly first through fourth grade. I group my kids together by stage because it allows me to work with them more easily. I still do phonics and math one-on-one during this stage.

By the end of grammar stage, I expect my kids to be self-sufficient learners. So that is something I work with them on as they grow through this stage. Most things, I read aloud during this stage. We do projects together. I don’t give tests in the grammar stage. I don’t give tests much at all– but I intentionally avoid the test/quiz format for grammar students.

Bible Curriculum for the Grammar Stage

For Bible, I purchased my grammar stage kids the same Bible. We’ll spend time in Morning Basket reading, but also during their group work. I find it easier to have the stage in the exact same Bible because it makes it easier to help them as they find their place and learn to read the Scriptures out loud. I’m not having to look over their shoulder because we all have the same version in our hands.

I chose the Adventures in Odyssey NIrV Bible for my kids in this stage this year. I added rainbow Bible tabs to help them find the books of the Bible. The format, the colors, and the little devotional aspects in the Adventures in Odyssey Bible encourage kids to keep looking, keep reading, and keep searching. It really draws them in.

My older grammar kids will also learn the SOAP method of Bible study and do that independently each day. We’ll also be reading The Dragon and the Garden and The Answers Books for Kids Set during our Bible time each day.

Medieval History Curriculum for the Grammar Stage

For history, I’m using Story of the World, Volume 2 as the “spine”. We’ll read a chapter 1-2 days each week. I use the Activity Guide to find activities each week, and I use the coloring pages so they can color as I read out loud. (My logic stage kids also use SOTW as a spine. They have the option to sit and listen to me read it or they can read it on their own in their own time. They usually opt to listen in.)

A history “spine” is just the book we’ll use to keep our timeline going. We’ll add additional readings in as they fit along the timeline of the “spine” book. So none of our books get read out of order. It is just a nice, easy way to keep your real books curriculum moving forward in a cohesive and logical way.

In addition to a history “spine”, I use additional books to help us explore the time and events deeper. For the grammar stage, this means we read quite a lot of picture books about history. I usually buy mine from ThiftBooks, because they are cheaper. (That is a referral link. If you’ve never used ThriftBooks before, you can sign up, spend $30 and you’ll get a free book credit! I will also get a free book credit if you use my link.) Though, I do sometimes have to buy them new. You can also check your local library. (I do not use our library as much as I could. I get anxious about borrowed books.) My history supplements for the grammar stage:

I Wonder Why the Romans Wore Togas

Beowulf the Warrior

How the Bible Came to Us

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Stories of the Saints

Once a Mouse

The Dragon and The Raven

Islam

Cat andRat: The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac

Favorite Medieval Tales

Legends of Charlemagne

Yo, Vikings!

Cathedral

A Street Through Time

A Medieval Feast

Design Your Own Coat of Arms

Saint George and the Dragon

Sir Cumference and the Frist Round Table

Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi

Chanticleer and the Fox

The Bravest Knight

The Sword in the Stone

The Rabbi Who Flew

Ling and the Magic Paintbrush

Marco Polo: A Journey Through China

Baby Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave

Joan of Arc

How the Zebra Got Its Stripes

Columbus

The Discovery of the Americas

Follow the Dream

Cathedral Mouse

Come Worship with Me

The Planets

Good Queen Bess

The King’s Equal

The Bard of Avon

The Ordinary Princess

Do Pirates Take Baths?

The Paper Bag Princess

The Kitchen Knight

Pedro’s Journal

Castle

The Illuminated Alphabet Coloring Book

Medieval History Curriculum Literature for the Grammar Stage

For literature this year, we’re doing fairy tales! I find that a fairy tale literature base works extremely well with Medieval History. I like to compare and contrast different tellings of the same stories. So, we’ll have a story each week, but we’ll read it several different ways. And if there is a movie version, we’ll definitely watch that, too. We can discuss how each author tells the story in their own way. It is a lot of fun to compare and contrast different fairy tales.

I will warn you, if your kids are super sensitive, some fairy tales are quite dark and disturbing– especially in their original forms. So you may want to pre-read (particularly Grimm’s) and make sure your little one won’t be traumatized. My kids are not sensitive, so it isn’t something I generally worry about with fairy tales.

Main Fairy Tale Books

Grimm’s Fairy Tales

Classic Fairy Tales

Time Lord Fairy Tales (if your kids have not been introduced to Doctor Who, this won’t make a whole lot of sense for them)

Hans Christian Andersen’s Complete Fairy Tales

Blue Fairy Book

Supplemental Fairy Tale Books

The Three Billy Goats Gruff

Listen, My Bridge is So Cool

The Three Bears

Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs

The True Story of the Three Little Pigs

The Princess and the Pea

The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales

Aladdin

The Little Mermaid

Frozen

The Snow Queen

Skrek

The Golden Goose

Thumbelina

Dick Whittington and His Cat

The Pied Piper of Hamelin

Henny Penny

Little Red Hen

Three Little Kittens

Medieval History Curriculum Reading Books

My older grammar students also have independent reading. I have had some at that age that could choose their own “free reading” books. But my current group of grammar stage students are more reading hesitant, so I assign their reading to them. The choices are also reflective of reading hesitant students. Their options this school year are:

My Father’s Dragon

Max and the Midnights

Max and the Midnights: Battle of the Bodkins

Dragon Masters: Rise of the Earth Dragon

Dragon Masters: Saving the Sun Dragon

Dragon Masters: Secret of the Water Dragon

Eerie Elementary: The School is Alive

Eerie Elementary: The Locker Ate Lucy

Eerie Elementary: Recess is a Jungle!

Prince Martin Wins His Sword

Prince Martin and the Theives

Prince Martin and the Dragons

Grammar and Writing for Grammar Stage Students

For grammar, all of my grammar stage kids are doing Beowulf Grammar— even the ones who have done it before. It is an excellent program that has plenty of variety for different learners. And it includes sentence diagramming! I cannot recommend this program highly enough! Even for logic stage kids who are poor in grammar or who haven’t really had formal grammar before– this program is excellent!

For writing, the younger grammar stage kids will simply be doing copywork. The older grammar stage kids will be doing this Interactive Writing Notebook and Interactive Poetry Notebook along with keeping a journal.

For handwriting, we’ll be using Draw, Write, Now. We use it every year twice a week for grammar stage kids. They learn to write along with drawing. My older grammar stage student is interested in cursive, so I’ll write his in cursive and the other kids will do print. I draw the picture step-by-step onto our chalkboard wall and then write the sentences for them to copy.

Biology for Grammar Stage Students

For science, everyone is doing biology. The younger kids will do a few activities from Janice VancCleave’s Biology for Every Kid. They’ll also have the opportunity to see what the older kids are doing in biology. The books I’ll be reading to them for science:

Super Simple Biology

Cells Up Close

Barron’s Visual Learning Biology

GIANTmicrobes Cells Coloring Book

My First Book About Genetics

Basher Science: Microbiology

Mr. DNA’s Book of Dinosaurs.

Math for Grammar Students

For math, my grammar students use Math Mammoth at their particular level. First grade, I usually need to sit next to them and work with them one on one. Second grade, I can usually read the instructions to them and let them do the work. Usually by third grade, I can just get it out for them and check it when they are done.

Phonics for Grammar Students

For phonics, we’re finishing up Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons with two of my kids. They’ll begin the Treadwell Readers and Christian Liberty Press Nature Readers as soon as they finish phonics.

Character for Grammar Students

For character, I let them choose what books they’d like. They chose The Berenstain Bears this year. One day a week, we take turns picking a book from the character list. We usually do repeat them. So we have:

The Forgiving Tree

Kindness Counts

The Berenstain Bears and the Truth

The Berenstain Bears Do the Right Thing

The Berenstain Bears Count Their Blessings

The Berenstain Bears Learn About Strangers

The Berenstain Bears and the Bad Influence

The Berenstain Bears and the Trouble with Chores

That’s So Rude!

Patience Please!

Logic for the Grammar Stage

For logic in the grammar stage, you’re mostly just teaching critical thinking skills. This year, the kids are using the Critical and Creative workbooks at their level. These books do have some aspects that don’t apply to homeschool kids (a unit on things in a classroom), but for the most part, we like them. I’m not a fan of the holiday unit, but I usually just skip that one.

Foreign Languages for the Grammar Stage

For foreign languages, my kids who can read well will begin using Rosetta Stone to learn their language of choice. We have a lifetime subscription (that I got free for review) and we have definitely used it a ton! Not all the languages are available on the app version, so be sure to check if you’ll be primarily using the app and not the website. We use a mix of both, depending on the kid.

Other Posts from Notes From the Parsonage You Might Enjoy

• Medieval History Curriculum for the Rhetoric Stage
• Medieval History Curriculum for the Logic Stage
• Medieval History Morning Basket Plans

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

The post Medieval History Curriculum for the Grammar Stage appeared first on Notes From the Parsonage.

Morning basket is just a time that the whole family can be together each day. It is the thread that connects all the various ages together. We spend about an hour each morning together for Morning Basket before we break off into our three groups- rhetoric (high school), logic (middle grades), and grammar (the younger students).

Prayer & Bible Reading

We start morning basket by praying together. I usually ask for one of the kids to volunteer. It gives them an opportunity to practice their praying out loud skills. Then we open our Bibles and take turns reading a passage together. Once my kids learn to read, they are expected to participate in daily Bible reading. This year, we’ll be reading Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Acts together during Morning Basket.

Memory Verse and Poem Memorization

After we’ve read the Bible, we practice our memory tasks. We have a chunk of verses for Scripture Memory each term that everyone learns. We take turns going around and saying these verses. We start with a phrase and add on each week until we have the entire passage memorized. Older kids can read it until the memorize it. Younger kids repeat it after me until they memorize it. You’ll be surprised how easily you memorize something you read and say each day. Even toddlers can memorize Scripture! This year, we’re memorizing Roman 8:1-11 for term 1, John 1:1-5 for Advent, Psalm 100 for term 2, and Matthew 5:13-16 for term 3.

Once we’ve all said our memory verse, we move to poetry memory. Each stage has a different poem, but sometimes the kids will learn everyone’s poem. Our poetry selections for term one (in order of stage from youngest to oldest) are: The Teapot Dragon by Rupert Sargent Holland; Defeat by Edgar A. Guest; and the Prologue to the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. During Advent, all stages will learn Hark! the Herald Angels Sing by Charles Wesley. For term two, our poems are A Pig Tale by James Reeves; A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns; and The Walrus and The Carpenter by Lewis Carroll. For term three, we’ll memorize The Maldive Shark by Herman Melville; The Kraken by Lord Alfred Tennyson; and Sonnet XVIII by William Shakespeare.

Devotional Reading

After our memorization work, we’ll read a devotional type read. This year, we’ll be reading God’s Good News and Wise Words. After that, we’ll read something Biblically interesting– be it a biography, church history, or scientific in nature. This year, those books will be Dragons of the Deep, Dragons: Legends & Lore of Dinosaurs, and Trial and Triumph.

Grammar Fun Time

Three days a week, we’ll do some grammar. Two days a week, that is just doing Mad Libs. My younger kids have all picked up grammar very easily because they had fun playing Mad Libs to learn the parts of speech when they were small. The older kids also love Mad Libs. One day a week we’ll be reading Grammarland.

Manners

One day each week, we focus some time on manners. I find it important to teach kids manners. Yes, they learn the proper fork to use. But it also teaches them how to introduce themselves, how to introduce others, how to involve others in a conversation in a way that makes them comfortable– just a whole host of useful interpersonal skills.

So, one day a week, we pull out Emily Post Etiquette and I read a portion. If it is something we can practice, like shaking hands, we’ll stop and practice, too. (If you aren’t sure you’re up for Emily Post, check out Modern Manners. It is more of a business manners book and is a little easier to tackle than Emily Post.)

Fun Family Literature

Reading books aloud is one of my kids favorite parts of the school day. Even my older kids who could easily read the books on their own find that they love read aloud time. I usually try to pick interesting Middle Grade type books. This year, the read aloud book list includes: The Wild Robot, The Giver, Pax, The Princess and The Goblin, The Westing Game, The Dragon’s Tooth, The Drowned Vault, and the Empire of Bones.

Games

I also add a couple games into our Morning Basket. We usually play them on Fridays instead of doing a read loud. This year, Camelot Jr. and Muchkin Deluxe are our games of choice.

Other Notes From the Parsonage Posts You Might Enjoy

• Medieval History Curriculum for the Rhetoric Stage
• Medieval History Curriculum for the Logic Stage
• Medieval History Curriculum for the Grammar Stage

**This post contains affiliate links. Affiliate links are a great way to support your favorite content creators. They don’t cost you more to use, but they do benefit the creator. **

*** I buy a ton of my books from ThriftBooks! This is a referral link. If you use it and spend $30, you’ll get a free book and so will I. Not only do they have amazing prices on used books, but you get free shipping over $10.***

The post Medieval History Morning Basket Plans appeared first on Notes From the Parsonage.

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.

The post Godbold Academy 2020-2021: Rhetoric Stage Plans appeared first on Notes From the Parsonage.

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.

The post Godbold Academy 2020-2021: Logic Stage Plans appeared first on Notes From the Parsonage.

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.

The post Godbold Academy 2020-2021: Grammar Stage Plans appeared first on Notes From the Parsonage.

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.

The post Godbold Academy 2020-2021: Morning Basket appeared first on Notes From the Parsonage.