Curriculum Overview: School Year 2013-14

Aug 5, 2013

Our Charlotte Mason Education

Year 5

This year I am not writing our curriculum "micro and macro" as I have done in years past. Last year didn't go as planned due to work, mood disorders and sleep issues. So I'm not planning that in-depth this time. 

This year, I'm simply listing the materials I'll be using. That said, here is..

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History

- World History

- U.S. History

  • Early America Library - Although I had planned to do a study of U.S. History last year, it never happened. But that's OK because I just obtained this library for free from Heritage History. What timing! 

Geography

  • Wondermaps - For us, geography is an extension of our history studies. We will be using Wondermaps to aid in the understanding of geographical areas we study. 

Math

  • Math-U-See. I've yet to do the assessments but this the route we're taking this year. 

Science

- Nature Studies

- Science 

After much personal debate, I will continue with Apologia despite being a secular homeschooler.

Language Arts

- Grammar

We will continue using copywork and dictation as our main form of teaching grammar skills. 

In the years of educating my daughters, we've used English for the Thoughtful Child, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, Simply Grammar by Charlotte Mason and Primary Lessons. All of these offer the same types of lessons and are excellent for teaching basic skills using the Charlotte Mason style. 


But the girls are older and I'm going to move into the more technical aspects of writing. I'm considering Editor in Chief

- Literature

I haven't decided on specific books yet. I'll have this part figured out by the end of summer. 

- Spelling 

  • All About Spelling - I will continue using this with Lorelai. This has been thing which has successfully helped her in her spelling and reading skills. So I'm sticking with it. (see my review here)

Character Development

  • We Choose Virtues - This is a fun way to teach virtues and the kids love the neat projects. Alexis may or may not be outgrowing this but Lorelai loves it. So we'll continue using it this year.

Foreign Language

Alexis wants to truly learn Japanese. I'm having a difficult time finding something for that. Any suggestions?

Art and Artist 

  • A Simple Start in Chalk Pastels - We are spending this year learning to use chalk pastels. We've done a few lessons and the kids love it. 
  • I will be using the Artist studies from Confessions of a Homeschooler. I recently purchased her artist studies and am excited to get going with them.

Music and Composers

  • A Young Scholar's Guide to Composers - This is a complete curriculum offering 32 weeks of lessons and 26 composers. It's a bit different than the way we usually do composer studies but I'm very impressed by the sheer amount of information the children can learn from it. 

Notebooking

Both of the girls enjoy using the pages. Alexis likes them because she has Dysgraphia. The less writing she does, the easier her life is. Having these pre-made pages is great for her. 

Recently, I obtained a lifetime membership and plan to use them more fully this year.So that's my curriculum plan for the year. So far. Who knows what I'll add as I go. But I'm sure I'll share it with you.


This post is a part of the iHomeschool Network's 5th Annual "Not Back-to-School Blog Hop. Please visit all the great homeschool blogs and link yours up too! 


Learn how to use the Charlotte Mason method in your homeschool! 
In just one semester you can be fully implementing the methods of Charlotte Mason in your homeschool. Learn one step at a time with this ebook by Cindy West.


Photo Credit: Lusi


Happy Homeschooling!

13 comments

  1. It sounds like a great plan. We love charlotte Mason.
    Blessings, dawn

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    Replies
    1. Hello Dawn! Thanks for visiting. We love CM too! Have you been using it long?

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  2. Anonymous8/07/2013

    I bought Simply Grammar on ebay a few weeks ago, but I'm unsure about it. Have you used it in the past or is it new to your line-up this year? I'm loving your blog, Michelle! ;)

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    Replies
    1. Hi Adrienne! Actually, I've used it before with Alexis (now 15) in her younger years. I realize it may seem "too simple" but you'd be surprised and how much the children learn. I've used "English for the Thoughtful Child" (both parts) as well.

      How old is the child with whom you plan to use this?

      Delete
  3. Looks like a great year ahead of you, Michelle! We have a few of the same things on our list. :)

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  4. We used mango languages on our library website for Japanese. Rosetta Stone Homeschool is good too.

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    Replies
    1. That was on the library site where I use to live but not where we live now. I need to look into it some more I guess.

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  5. I was also going to suggest Mango Languages.

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  6. I really like what you're doing this year! We'll be using our new favorite resource for History (Heritage History) also and getting more into Notebooking! :)

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    Replies
    1. I do love Heritage History. I've been using it quite a while now and am very pleased with it.

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  7. Have you looked into Currclick's online class offerings for Japanese? My 13 year old is taking their Mandarin Chinese hybrid class and it looks promising so far.

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