Our Upcoming School Year 2011 Edition Part 1

Here we are again about to start our fifth year of homeschooling! This has been a very interesting summer, usually I take the summer months to plan for the upcoming school year. This summer however was very different. I took time off from homeschool planning and spent more time organizing my home and my life for that matter... Now I not only have a homeschool planner but a life planner as well! believe me that was a good thing. I'm hoping to find some time to blog about that, but for now let's stick with school.

Our school year is 36 weeks, in the past I've been able to schedule one book a week and go from there.... this year is not that easy, at least not for A9.

We are done with Five in a Row. We are now entering chapter books land and is not as easy to schedule.

1st Semester
American History: We are going to continue to do American history using the Dear America books just like last year. These books will be read a loud by me. There is a notebooking journal that I created to go along with all the books.

Turn of the Century(1900-1920)
Voyage on the Great Titanic: The Diary of Margaret Ann Brady, 1912
When Christmas Comes Again: The World War I Diary of Simone Spencer, 1917
A Time for Courage: The Suffrage Diary of Kathleen Bowen, 1917

The Great Depression(1930-1939)
Christmas After All: The Great Depression Diary of Minnie Swift, 1932
One Eye Laughing, the Other Weeping: The Diary of Julie Weiss, 1938

World War II (1939-1945)
Early Sunday Morning: The Pearl Harbor Diary of Amber Billows, 1941
My Secret War: The World War II Diary of Madeline Beck, 1941

These Dear America books are double the size of the My America books from last year, so instead of reading them in one week it will probably take us two to two and a half weeks each.

Biographies- These books will go along with the Dear America books.
Who Was Amelia Earhart?
Who Was Franklin Roosevelt?
Susan B Anthony: Fighter for Women's Rights
The Story of Ann Frank

Science
Exploring Creation with Zoology 3: Land Animals of the Sixth Day & Notebooking Journal

Math
Math U See Gamma (lessons 21-30)
Math U See Delta (lessons 1-21)

Language Arts
Primary Language Lessons
Writing with Ease
Learning to Spell Through Copywork Book B
Handwriting practice both cursive and print
Little House books for independent reading
Little House in the Big Woods
Little House on the Prairie
Farmer Boy

Co op (28 weeks)
Geography: Around the World in 180 Days
Health: Abeka
Editor in Chief Beginnings
Reading List (3)
The Littles
Music: Tin whistle
Art

Languages
Spanish
Prima Latina

2nd Semester

History
The Mystery of History Vol 1
History related read a loud & independent readers;
Trojan Horse
Book of Greek Myths
Adam and His Kin
Tales from the Odyssey
The Five Chinese Brothers

Science
Nature Studies

Language Arts
Beyond Five in a Row Reading List- Read a loud books.
Fiction
The Cricket in Times Square
Homer Price

Biographies
Betsy Ross
Heller Keller

Sonlight Reading List for 4th graders- independent reading time
The Hundred Dresses
Strawberry Girl
Mr. Popper's Penguins
My Father's Dragon
Ginger Pye
Mrs. Piggle Wiggle
Charlotte's Web
The Twenty One Balloons
The Story of Dr. Doolittle

Vocabulary
Vocabulary from Classical Roots

The reading lists are not set in stone, it all depends on how fast she can read all of these books. We may end up reading more or less, there is a lot of flexibility in this area. She will be doing oral narrations for some of the books and written narrations for others.
The Latin curriculum is another thing not set in stone. If it works out great, if it doesn't we stop doing it.

We will also be doing artists studies, probably Mozart and Da Vinci and she will be doing a typing program this year as well.