Monday, July 6, 2009

2009-2010 School Year

After posting in regards to a traditional versus a balanced school calendar, I thought I would share my tenative calendar for our upcoming school year. The one nice thing about homeschooling is that if necessary this calendar can be changed. I try to get in at least 10 field trip days over the course of the school year during our break times. If I do that I will be able to finish by the 11th of June instead of the 25th. And if that ends up being the case I may skip the late spring break and finish by the 4th of June instead. I only count on 170 of the 180 days for actual school work. So I plan accordingly when scheduling out the course work for the year.

I know I tend to start our school year early, but we almost always take our family vacation in September after kids are back in school and vacation spots are less crowded and discounted.

Week 1 - August 10 - 14
Week 2 - August 17 - 21
Week 3 - August 24 - 28
Week 4 - August 31 - Sept. 1; Sept. 16 - 18
Family Vacation - September 2 - September 15
Week 5 - Sept. 21 - 25
Week 6 - Sept. 28 - Oct. 2
Week 7 - October 5 - 9
Week 8 - October 12 - 16
Fall Break - October 19 - 23
Week 9 - October 26 - 30 (End of 1st Quarter)
Week 10 - November 2 - 6
Week 11 - November 9 - 13
Week 12 - November 16 - 20
Thanksgiving Break - November 23 - 27
Week 13 - November 30 - December 4
Week 14 - December 7 - 11
Week 15 - December 14 -15; Jan. 6 - 8
Christmas Break - December 16 - January 5
Week 16 - January 11 - 15
Week 17 - January 18 - 22
Week 18 - January 25 - 29 (End of 2nd Quarter or 1st Semester)
Week 19 - February 1 - 5
Week 20 - February 8 - 12
Mid-Winter Break - February 15 - 19
Week 21 - February 22 - 26
Week 22 - March 1 - 5
Week 23 - March 8 - 12
Week 24 - March 15 - 19
Week 25 - March 22 - 26
Week 26 - March 29 - April 2 (End of 3rd Quarter)
Spring Break April 5 - April 9
Week 27 - April 12 - 16
Week 28 - April 19 - 23
Week 29 - April 26 - 30
Week 30 - May 3 - 7
Week 31 - May 10 - 14
Week 32 - May 17 - 21
Week 33 - May 24; June 1 - 4
Late Spring Break - May 25 - 31
Week 34 - June 7 - 11
Week 35 - June 14 - 18
Week 36 - June 21 - 25 (End of 4th Quarter or 2nd Semester)

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Traditional School Calendar versus Balanced Calendar

Tonight in my surfing, I found a breakdown of a traditional calendar versus a balanced calendar for a school year. The balanced calendar makes so much more sense to me. As I set up my calendar for this upcoming school year, I believe I will endeavor to align my calendar more to the balanced side rather than the traditional. Just in case you are interested and for my future reference, here is the link to the comparison of these two calendars. I print out my school calendar from Donna Young's website.

Happy planning!

Friday, July 3, 2009

Julissa - K4 - 2009-2010

I am still trying to decide what to use with Julissa. If she was the only one I had to school, I would use BJU's new Footsteps for Fours program. But because I have four that come before her, I am still contemplating what to do with her this year. Below are the possibilities that I am considering.

ABeka K4

BJU Footsteps for Fours

Before Five In A Row

Rod and Staff ABC Series


Picture Book Ideas

http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/book-themes.htm

Picture Book Preschool

http://www.carolhurst.com/titles/prek.html

1000 Good Book List

Simply Charlotte Mason's book list for 3 - 5 year olds



Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Briana - First Grade - 2009-2010

BIBLE
101 Favorite Stories from the Bible

MATH
Abeka Arithmetic 1

LANGUAGE ARTS
First Language Lessons 1
The Complete Writer: Writing with Ease
ABeka Phonics 1
ABeka Spelling 1
New American Cursive

HISTORY/GEOGRAPHY
Abeka History 1
BJU Heritage Studies 1
Daily Geography 1

SCIENCE
ABeka Science 1
BJU Science 1
CLP Nature Reader 1

MUSIC
Instrument Lessons (possibly)
Classical Music (Listening)

ELECTIVES
Home Economics

Alexander - Third Grade - 2009-2010

Below is the curriculum being considered for Alexander for third grade.
BIBLE
Egermeier's Bible Story Book - 1947 copyright (OT) - COMPLETE

MATH
A Beka Arithmetic 3
Math Facts Practice

SCIENCE
BJUP Science 3 - COMPLETE
A Beka Health 3 - COMPLETE
Christian Liberty Nature Reader 3

LANGUAGE ARTS
Rod and Staff English 3
A Beka Spelling 3
BJU Handwriting 3 - COMPLETE
BJU Reading 3 - COMPLETE
Read and Think Skill Sheets 3 (A Beka) - COMPLETE
Ambleside Online - Finish Year 1 and do Year 2 (Literature)
Spelling Wisdom 1a (dictation)

HISTORY/GEOGRAPHY
BJUP Heritage Studies 2 (Finish) - COMPLETE
BJUP Heritage Studies 3 COMPLETE
with additional biographies and historical fiction
Rand McNally Schoolhouse Intermediate Geography and Map Activities
Fifty State Study (over 3rd and 4th grades)

ELECTIVES
Music
Young Scholar's Guide to Composers

Art
Draw and Write Through History: Pilgrims, Pirates and Patriots