So far so good
Posted by lapazfarm on June 17th, 2006 filed in Curriculum or Lack Thereof...Ok so far I have planned (and discussed with Superboy) materials and methods for next year for the following:
- Around the World Notebook (for geography/history, etc a.k.a. “social studies”) Got the spine books listed on sidebar, just need more sources for info on each country.(Like Faith’s suggestions for related readings.) We will play these by ear.
- Latin/Greek root words-see sidebar list
- Nature Study-see sidebar list.
- Language arts- we will stick with Bravewriter and do fridgeschooling grammar using “Nitty Gritty Grammar”.
- Religion-stick with St. Patrick’s Summer Adventure Catechism and our DK Illustrated Family Bible
- Art: “Meet the Masters” plus fridgeschooling an artist a month.
- Math: Keys to…fractions, decimals, and percents. Plus continue with Jacobs Mathematics a Human Endeavor. Also read-alouds. And games.
What’s left to plan is science, other than nature study. See, we treat nature study as a seperate subject from science, which is just a sneaky way of getting to do twice as much science (or nature study, whichever way you want to look at it). Hee hee, aren’t we just too clever!?!
I think I will use the book “A Short History of Nearly Everything” by Bill Bryson as our science spine. It is chock full of interesting, clever essays on a wide range of topics. It will be neat to read aloud and then let Superboy just run with each topic.
This is a great book-not twaddly or textbooky. If you’ve ever read “A Walk in the Woods” or “In a Sunburned Country” you know how funny and fascinating Bill Bryson can be. Now imagine that same attitude with science. Yep, it’s that good.
So, ladies and gentlemen, this is how we plan here at Lapaz Farm. Nothing fancy at all. No grids to fill out or spreadsheets or planners. Nothing more detailed than what we have here. This is just about it. What we will do from here out is just play it by ear. As we go along in our studies next year we will have a plan that is big and bold, yet leaves plenty of wiggle room. Room for magic to happen.
What do you think of our plan? Is it doable? Is it fun? Is it challenging and interesting and edifying? Is it something you would enjoy if you were an 11 year old Superboy?
13 Responses to “So far so good”
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My husband's new book!
June 17th, 2006 at 7:05 am
We are going to start reading St. Patrick’s Catechism as soon as I am done reading The First Christians (our lunchtime read aloud).
I think what you’re planning looks wonderful. What I am curious to know is what is the rhythm of your days? How often do you do nature study? Do you just go out in your yard with a sketchpad or do go to local parks with a backpack full of field guides, paintbrushes and paints and snacks?
Faith
June 17th, 2006 at 10:28 am
Good question! Now I have something to blog about next!I will try to answer that today, after I clean my sorely neglected house. Bleck!
June 17th, 2006 at 11:12 am
Can you elaborate on “fridgeschooling”? Especially as it pertains to picture study.
Thanks!
Jennifer
P.S. I really enjoy your blog! Keep up the good work.
June 17th, 2006 at 11:25 am
Sure, Jennifer!
I originally posted about where I got the fridgeschooling idea here.
http://lapazfarm.homeschooljournal.net/2006/06/08/this-and-that/
That should give you a good idea of what fridgeschooling is.
My plans for fridgeschooling for picture study is to each month focus on a new artist. At the beginning of the month I will put up a biography of the artists and one piece of art. We will read the biography and hopefully a picture book to go with. Each week I will put up a new piece of art (or two) and we will study them. The artists will correspond with the order of artists in our “Meet the Masters” art program. Pretty simple, really. I think of fridgeschooling as a neat organizational tool,and I think it will help us to keep on track. I plan to use it for art, grammar, latin roots, poetry, spanish, saints, and perhaps part of our around the world stuff (maps and such). I plan to use it like an interactive bulletin board in a way. Oh, and mine wont be on the fridge, but a magnetic whiteboard. Soon as I get it set up I will post pictures. Barb has some great pictures at her blog.
Hope that helps!
June 17th, 2006 at 11:28 am
Anything Bill Bryson gets a thumbs up in this house! Though we have banned him on airplanes (too much snorting and giggling resulting in alarmed looks from seatmates) Have you considered Bryson’s The Mother Tongue?
June 17th, 2006 at 11:33 am
Oh my gosh! I have never heard of it! I can’t believe it! (Happy dance all over the room contemplating additional Bill Bryson fare) Now I am off to Amazon.com AGAIN!
June 17th, 2006 at 3:16 pm
I just read The Mother Tongue a few months ago. It was wonderful! But I have to admit I didn’t care for A Short History of Everything. I think because he was trying to make it humorous and kind of shocking. I really didn’t care to hear about the drug habits of the scientists. I guess I wanted something that was either just funny or just a true blue history of science and it wasn’t either so I found myself doubting his spin on things. Also, he isn’t a scientist, so it would be kind of like me writing a paper on science! I’d rather learn about it from someone who has truly studied it.
But every other Bryson book I have enjoyed very much. And I think Mother Tongue was just about my favorite.
June 17th, 2006 at 3:21 pm
Faith, you make some interesting points. I will definitely consider them. To be honest, I have not read every chapter of the book and have not yet come across the drug references you mention. I will check it out to see if it is something I need to skip or if it is something we can read and use as a springboard for discussion. Not to worry-we have PLENTY of other science books we can use if this turns out to be a no-go!
Thanks!
June 18th, 2006 at 7:25 am
I love your plan; I am very intrigued by your plan of doing an Around the World notebook and by the Bill Bryson book (I LOVED Mother Tongue).I look forward to reading more about your studies.
June 18th, 2006 at 8:40 am
I think your plan is wonderful…
We also do a lot of nature study (we’d been using a modified CM approach in our homeschool). I loved seeing the pictures of your nature journal… it’s beautiful!!!
Maura
June 18th, 2006 at 2:32 pm
Your lessons and the results you show us are always impressive! I’m so glad you take the time to share with us!
June 19th, 2006 at 4:06 pm
Oh you’ve gotta love a woman who writes “Curriculum or lack thereof” ; ) Looks like a wonderful plan to me. Someone asked what our school plan was for next yr. I wonder if “we are planning to do it - definitely” counts as a ‘plan’ lol?
June 19th, 2006 at 10:04 pm
Kim-I think it is an excellent “plan” LOL!