2020-2021 Pandemic Schooling

 I couldn't have ever imagined the ways in which the pandemic would affect our homeschool. There weren't the usual trips to the library, meet up days at the park, field trips to museums, only day in and day out school work. 

We ended up changing the curriculum around March when my niece came to stay with us temporarily. Our school days needed a more "parent-free" curriculum. So we decided on Accelerated Christian Education ministries curriculum. They've been around 50 years, speak directly to the student and focus on Christian character development. We continued to use Angela O'Dell's The World's Story for history and added in living books where we could. 

As time passed my niece went back home and we continued on with the PACE work. It has definitely made it easier for my high schooler to be an independent learner. 

My 6th grader:

Bible: 

We were using a Bible study from "Not Consumed" but it was a short study. I'm still on the hunt for a good "Bible" program for him. I haven't really looked into PACEs because I want him to have some variety from them. Right now, he reads a devotional in that time slot. 

History:

He is reading through The World's Story, Volume 1. It's from Creation to the Roman Empire. I've only had him doing some of the worksheets, alternating with narrations. He has really enjoyed it. 

Geography:

We were doing our own Countries and Cultures study but it ended up being delayed until next year. We made it all the way through Europe though and we will pick up with Asia next year. 

Language Arts:

We started using ACE ministries PACES for English/Literature & Creative Writing/Word Building while my niece was here. It kept things simple for my son to stay on top of his own work and surprisingly the Word Building has really improved his spelling. I'm not pleased with the Literature choices and have been giving some thought to changing that portion. The English grammar portion has worked out fantastic as well. We will stick with that for sure. 

Math:

We are using ACE PACES for math as well and LOVE it. Its a mastery program and it speaks to the child. My son is learning and retaining and we will likely stick with this all the way to graduation!

Science:

Well, Science gets the job done in PACEs. I can't say that he is really enjoying it or even that he's retaining all the fill in the blanks. He likes it because he can get it done faster but I want it to be richer. I think we will flip back to Sabbath Mood Homeschool Sciences next year. 

My 9th grader:

Bible:

We used Heart of Dakota's "Comparative Religions" course in their World Geography bundle. It was AMAZING! My daughter loved it and learned so much about world religions from within a Biblical worldview. 

She also read Be Your Own Selfish Pig by Susan Schaffer Macaulay, and The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer. 

History

Because my daughter so loved Angela O'Dell's America's Story in younger grades we went ahead and beefed up O'Dell's middle school program for Olivia to take "Introduction to Ancient and Medieval Studies" using Volume 1 and Volume 2 of the The World's Story. She has learned a lot through just Angela's books but we also added Primary Sources and a whole slew of living books and biographies. 

Geography

As you know our Countries and Cultures study was delayed but my high schooler did continue with her Current Events studies which included mapping. So, we were able to incorporate map work through events and her historical reading. 

Math

Math has been a struggle, only because I kept changing curriculum. She has used ACE all year filling in gaps and hopefully this summer will actually start Algebra I. Our goal is for her to be in geometry before her sophomore year is up, we will see. 

Science

We used Biology PACES from ACE ministries this year. She took a biology "lab" course at the beginning of the year so that fulfilled the lab component. She also watched the lab videos and filled out the lab sheets as she completed her course work. Biology isn't a favorite of hers. I'm not sure if its because of the subject matter or the course work. In anycase, we are switching back to Sabbath Mood for her next year too. 

Electives

Electives have been hit and miss this year. 

Health-she read select chapters from ABEKA and also completed Georgia Virtual's course online

Driver's Ed- she's still working on

Computer Literacy- she's also still working on. We found a great site, GCFGlobal, that offers free tutorials and typing lessons. She hasn't been very consistent up to this point but she does like the course work. 

World War II Movies

As we cover WWII in these final days of our school year I wanted to add some movies for us to watch as a family. The kids already watched "The Diary of Anne Frank" and weren't impressed. I wish I had pre-screened the version we chose, there are so many options. Anyway, I'm adding these others for our family movie night.

Auschwitz
Amazon Prime/Rent

American/Japanese Perspectives
Pearl Harbor
Amazon Prime/Rent

     

Germany
Amazon Prime/Rent

Poland
Amazon Prime/Rent

Battle of Midway
Amazon Prime/Rent

British schoolboy in China
Amazon Prime

Denmark
Amazon Prime

2020-2021 General Scope and Sequence

I've been talking things over with the kids to see what they've really enjoyed about our unforeseeable changes this past school year and what they have missed. I was pleasantly surprised by their responses.

They didn't enjoy drawing as much as they did singing the folksongs and hymns. They want to do personal devotions and Bible studies. They want to do another Shakespeare play!

We are continuing our eclectic style this year to meet our students where they are. This year we will be using curriculum for History, High School Literature, Language Arts, Science and Math. We will round these subjects out with biographies, historical fiction, literature selections, and nature lore because we love offering a literature rich education to the children. We will also utilize movies, special projects, and field trips just to change up the pace a bit.

Following is a brief outline to help me stay on track and not forget any of the subjects to address. I did that one year totally forgetting to cover history for the first few weeks!

Bible
· Old Testament
· New Testament

History
· World
· biographies
· Timeline

Geography
· reader
· map skills
· physical

Citizenship

Current Events

Literature
· Curriculum
· Mythology
· Classics/Tales
· Poetry
· Shakespeare

Language Arts
· Grammar
· Copywork
· Narration

Natural History/Sciences
· Science
· Nature Lore
· Nature Study
· Biographies

Maths

Enrichment Studies
· Singing
· Drawing

Physical Education

Planning for a High Schooler

It's hard to believe that in 25 days I will be the parent of a high schooler!!! We gave her the choice to attend the local high school but she's pretty adamant she isn't going that route again. Personally, I didn't think her first four years (pre-K - 3rd) were all that bad. Our decision to homeschool wasn't really based on any one precedent. Over the past five years though, we've seen some things that made us glad we were led to home educate our children.

So, in 25 days we will have a freshman and 6th grader under our roof. I'm comfortable planning for my youngest since this will be my second time through 6th grade. My high schooler? I'm not so sure. She's bright, a self starter who loves to read and "do" school. My worry is transcripts and college, making sure she takes all the appropriate readiness exams, experiences prom and learns how to drive.

If I had to pick my biggest fear, it would be teaching her to drive. Not the teaching part, but the letting her go part. I've let myself daydream a bit about letting her take the keys and drive herself to church or into town. We don't live far from either, its not a particularly dangerous drive, at most 7 miles on a small town road. But the what if's and not knowing parts get me every time. I've already started praying that I'm not going to be a horrid empty nester.

Now is a good time to start considering next year's plan. I feel like it's a whole new ball game with a high schooler. The rules are changing and I have to actually keep up with what I'm teaching her; course titles, descriptions, work load, credits and grades. So, my next few posts will be about planning for high school and sharing all the great resources I've found to help us along. If you have any suggestions or great resources leave me a comment!

Middle School Science

Since Apologia didn't work out like I hoped, I allowed my daughter to join in with her brother's science as a holdover until I found something better. At the time my 5th grader was using God's Design from Masterbooks. It covers 5th - 8th but the topics weren't "general" enough for my 8th grader. An entire term is dedicated to one subject and the lessons themselves, were too short for the information being taught.

My main goal is to cover some gaps in her sciences before starting high school. I wanted something narrative, with occasional experiments, that would fit a "general science" requirement. We all ready covered earth science with living books rather thoroughly during physical geography.

I wasn't to concerned with biology since the plan is for her to take it in 9th grade. However, she is participating in labs this year and I wanted her familiar with the material. So, she's currently reading Tiner's "Biology" book to meet that need, and really enjoying it! The text is interesting and actually covers quite a bit of the major topics.

Since she is already reading biology and scheduled to read physics, I decided to take a look at the rest of Tiner's series. We are adding chemistry and astronomy to the list.  I couldn't have asked for anything more perfect. These are short enough to finish over the school year but have the breadth and depth I was looking for!

    

          

Turns out, while I was at a library book sale I stumbled across a "Ready-to-use Science Proficiency Lessons and Activities" guide for 8th grade. It has been the perfect addition to round out Tiner's books. After reading some reviews on Amazon, I am pre-reading the worksheets to ensure these do not state anything more than the facts being taught.

To help drive home a few of the lessons I added some interesting YouTube videos. One particular set that I really like is produced by the Amoeba Sisters. They've only covered biology so far but I'm hoping they will make more for when my youngest is ready.

This "plan" is evolving as we progress. We've already covered physical/earth science and we are currently covering biology. I will add the other books as we come to them.

8^th Grade General Science

Biology

Exploring the World of Biology, Tiner (14 chapters)

1. Beginning classification, plants, fungi, yeasts, molds, pasteurization
2. Microscope, simple and complex organisms, paramecium, protozoa, amoeba, euglena, algae, diatoms, bacteria, anaerobic, virus
3. Classification System
4. Plants, purpose, structure, life span, seeds, spread of seed, vegetative reproduction, spores, photosynthesis
5. Food for energy, carbohydrates, glucose molecules, fats, hormones, insulin, proteins
6. Digestion process beginning with teeth, through stomach, to small intestine, taste (tongue & taste buds)
7. Plant Inventors-Luther Burbank, George Washington Carver, George de Mestral, land stripping, legumes & nitrogen
8. Insects, classification, structure, life cycles, Jean Henri Fabre, metamorphosis, Louis Pasteur & silkworm disease
9. Arachnids, structure, webs, behavior, molting
10.  Classification of life in water, fish anatomy, fish respiration, lateral line, Jules Verne, Jacques Cousteau, diving, amphibians-structure & respiration, life cycle
11. Reptiles, body temperature, reproduction, snakes-bites, structure, detecting prey, venomous snakes, lizards-structure, life cycle, habitats
12. Birds, structure, life cycle, migration, beaks, food, digestion, John Audubon
13. Mammals, traits, structure, reproduction, variety in size, carnivores, rodents, cats, sheep, elephants
14. Fossils, primitive humans, Darwin, fluorine dating, frauds, hoaxes

Biology Labs & Videos

Ready to Use Science Proficiency Lessons & Activities, Handwerker, PhD ISBN 0-13-034098-7

Plants- Structure and Function (video) https://youtu.be/pFaBpVoQD4E

 Cellular Respiration (video) https://youtu.be/JEnjph9miK4

 Lesson 73: Photosynthesis p. 325-328, Handwerker's book

 Complete Photosynthesis/Respiration 

Cells- Types, Structures, Functions

Prokaryotic Cells vs. Eukaryotic Cells-

                   Amoeba Sisters(video) https://youtu.be/Pxujitlv8wc

                             Prokaryotic Cells vs Eukaryotic handout at TpT      

          Introduction to Cells: The Grand Cell Tour

                             Amoeba Sisters (video) https://youtu.be/8IlzKri08kk

                             Cell Structure (CGI) https://youtu.be/URUJD5NEXC8

                             Identify and Color animal and plant cell structures worksheet from TpT

                             Complete Cell Structure worksheet Les. 75 in Handwerker’s book

          Cell Division: Mitosis-

                             Amoeba Sisters (video) Mitosis https://youtu.be/f-ldPgEfAHI

                             Complete Mitosis Les. 76 worksheet in Handwerker’s book

         

          Cell Types & Cell Theory-

                             Purple Onion Peel cells under microscope

                             Onion Cells 40x and 400x

                             Cheek Cells

                             Cheek Cells vs. Onion Cells

                             Bacteria, Protist, Plant Cell and Animal Cell microscope

                             Introduction to Cell Theory

Specialized Cells: Significance, Examples, Organization

                   Amoeba Sisters video https://youtu.be/wNe6RuK0FfA

                             Read Specialized Cells

                             Complete Body Cell Matching sheet and add to notebook

                             Levels of Organization “Cornell Notes” presentation (read slides 3-12)

Labs Completed w/Co-op (Apologia)

Mod 1/Exp 1.2          Introduction to a Compound Microscope

Mod 2/Exp 2.2          Kingdom Monera: Pond Life B

Mod 3/Exp 3.1          Kingdom Protista: Pond Life C

Mod 3/Exp 3.2          Subkingdom Protozoa: A & C

Mod 3/Exp 3.3          Subkingdom Algae: B

Mod 4/Exp 4.2          Yeast and the Fermentation Process

Mod 6/Exp 6.1          Animal Cell Anatomy

Mod 7/Exp 7.2          Mitosis

Big Bang, Fossil Record, Evolution, & Natural Selection
This has been the hardest topic to cover for my middle schooler. I found some short video clips (longest is 4 minutes) and articles for her to read. I have to keep reminding myself this is introduction only and that she will cover these topics more in-depth later in high school. 

1. A Big Bang - ICR
2. Why Shoudn't Christians Accept Millions of Years? - AIG
3. Young Universe - ICR
4. Dinosaurs & Humans - ICR
5. Catastrophe- AIG flood, dinosaurs, ice age
6. Global Flood - ICR
7. Ice Age - ICR
8. Fossil Record- ICR video (sudden appearance/stasis)
9. Cambrian Explosion - ICR
10. Whale Evolution - ICR
11. Carbon Dating - ICR
12. Cell Origins - ICR
13. Chimp DNA - ICR
14. Scopes Trial - AIG
15. Missing Links in Evolution ICR
16. Natural Selection - AIG
17. Natural Selection -ICR
18. Evolving Bacteria - ICR
19. Evolution in Action? - ICR

I will continue to edit and add to this post as we progress in our year.... 

Life Skills

Life Skills, a fancy title for teaching your children how to adult. In our home it starts with chores. I have tried so many strategies but none have worked better than the Job Box. In the 80's a book came out titled, "Sidetracked Home Executives" and my mother whole-heartedly jumped onto that bandwagon. I have to say at the time it wasn't a favorite for us kids but it worked. Recently, that particular job box was passed on to me. After some revamping to fit our family, we are now using that same system.

The S.H.E. system has been wonderful. It removes me, the nagging mom, out of the equation. The kids know exactly what they need to do without my having to tell them daily. It took some time to get everything set up, then some training in how to use the system and how to complete certain chores but that little bit of work has saved a ton of aggravation since.

Basically, the system uses 3x5 index cards filed in such a way to maintain household chores. The box itself is divided into three sections; Monday - Friday dividers, days of the month 1-31 dividers, and then monthly dividers.

To determine the chores you want to include you walk through each room of your house with pen and pad and write down EVERYTHING you want done in those individual rooms. Once that's done, look over your list and write next to the job how often you would like to do the things listed; daily, every other day, weekly, every other week, monthly, seasonally, yearly. If the job takes 10 min or less to complete it's a "mini" job, write that next to the frequency.

Once you have your completed list it's time to transfer all of that onto index cards. You will need 3 colors. Mine are yellow for daily and every other day., green for weekly and every other week, orange for monthly and beyond.

The kids are responsible for any chore relating to their living space, bedrooms, bathroom, and game room. They also have assigned chores throughout the house; Eli unloads the dishwasher in the morning, Olivia loads in the evening, Eli takes the trash out and feeds the dog, while Olivia sweeps the kitchen floor and feeds the fish, so on and so forth. All daily chores are grouped by person assigned to and placed in front of the particular day card it is. When they get up they go to the box and grab their set.

Weekly mini cards can go anywhere under Mon - Fri card but remain assigned to that day. Jobs that take longer than 10 minutes are assigned to our designated heavy cleaning days. These are typically bi-monthly or monthly jobs and they are filed under days of the month. Seasonal or annual jobs are filed under monthly tabs.

Once all jobs are completed the kids set their cards aside for me to file in front of the next day.  This way I can also do a quick walk through to make sure everything was completed the way they were taught.

The first few times completing a newly added chore is the hardest, especially, if it's a chore that hasn't been done in a while. Once it's done the chore gets easier and easier to do because its maintained. I made cards for everything and I'm still thinking of more to add as I see certain areas that need attention. I even made a weekly chore card for cleaning out the car and a monthly one for washing it.

To keep things flowing well without nagging we have rules and consequences. Morning chores are completed before school. (These are labeled on the cards.) Before any television, tablet, or PlayStation time ALL chores must be completed. If they get on devices before chores are done then they lose those privileges. It really is a huge motivator for our children.

Now there are some of my monthly/seasonal chores that I will occasionally ask the kids if they would like to do and earn some money. My oldest earned $10 by scrubbing the siding on the back porch! I don't pay them to complete their own chores. We don't have a scheduled allowance here, just opportunities to earn some cash now and again.

The system works great for us and I love how the house is coming together!

Homeschool Schedule and Planner Layout

The last two years I made a planner using Publisher and had it printed at Staples. It was a lot of work and expensive to print. This year I wanted to keep things simple and decided to use a spiral bound notebook instead. This notebook has been the best planner out of all the years I've homeschooled!

I printed our weekly schedule in color and taped it inside the cover of my notebook. Then I use color coordinating ink pens and colored pencils to match the printed schedule. It's colorful and yet simple at the same time.

I don't use a planner to schedule out what needs to be done, I use it to keep up with what we've completed. In the morning, I check what is scheduled for the day and transfer that to our current date.  I write the date and then in green ink (our together subjects) I go down the page adding the subjects, skipping every two lines. First skipped line is my son's and his is written in blue, the second is my daughter's and she is in pink. To draw the eye more (or maybe just to please it) I "highlight" the words with the same colored pencil. As we move through our day I add what we've done and if needed, I have room in the margins to write notes.

                       

Just in case you were wondering, we love our new schedule! The time slots are all designated the same. A together subject, followed by a round robin of my son requiring assistance and my daughter working independently, till after the next together subject where that switches up. Then my son works independently while I help my daughter. It's basically the same all week long with just a few variations in some of our subjects. The kids like knowing what's next. 

Our attendance record is hole punched and in a three ring binder along with "printed" lesson plan schedules. We call it the "Mom Binder" and it is divided by subject; Records, Bible, Language Arts, Math, History, Geography, Science and Nature Study. Since my planner is three hole punched I could clip it into my binder but I haven't found it necessary yet.

So there you have it, an easy peasy and inexpensive way to keep up with your days!