Mt. Hope Chronicles: Mt. Hope Academy ~ Lesson Plans and ...

?Only the curious will learn and only the resolute will overcome the obstacles to learning. The quest quotient has always excited me more than the intelligence quotient.?

~Edmund S. Wilson (1895-1972) U.S. author, literary and social critic

I like that. The Quest Quotient.

Why homeschool? Because learning is a constant and essential component of a deep, rich life in God?s huge and fascinating world. Homeschooling is the best way for us to embrace that.

(I posted a much longer ?why homeschool? post at this link.)

I think I have most of our plans and resources lined up for this next school year. It looks like a lot on paper, but we are much more relaxed in practice. It amazes me how far we have already come on this educational journey!

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2012-2013:

LEVI ~ 5th grade
LUKE ~ 3nd grade
LEIF ~ 1st grade
LOLA ~ preschool (okay, toddlerhood and general entertainment/distraction/chaos)

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Classical Conversations (Cycle 1) Foundations: One morning each week for 24 weeks; includes social time and public speaking. Essentials: (Levi) One afternoon each week for 24 weeks; includes grammar, vocabulary, writing, public speaking, and challenging math games. Essentials: language arts and challenging math games (Levi).

This will be our 3rd year with our Classical Conversations community. It has been a tremendous blessing in our lives. I am amazed that we will have learned all 3 cycles of memory work at the end of this next year! (I shared about the value we?ve found in the memory work in this post.) Levi will be participating in the afternoon Essentials class for the first time this year while the other boys go to a play class.

Faith:
CC Memorize Exodus 20 (10 Commandments)
God Our Provider (CD) (Bible memory songs)
Independent Bible reading
The Children?s Illustrated Bible (read through together, again)?
Victor Journey Through the Bible (supplemental context information)
Telling God's Story- Year 2 (Life of Jesus, one lesson weekly)
Buck Denver Asks?What?s In the Bible? (DVD series)
Hymns For a Kid's Heart (Vol. 1, 2) (one lesson weekly)
(Luke and Levi: weekly hymns on piano)
(Christmas: The Handel's Messiah Family Advent Reader and The Jesse Tree by Geraldine McCaughrean)?

Math:
Teaching Textbooks (Leif: finish 3, Luke: finish 4, Levi: 5/6)
The Critical Thinking Co. math workbooks (for supplemental fun)
Life of Fred ((LOVE!!) All boys: Elementary series, Levi: Fractions and Decimals & Percents. They all enjoy Life of Fred for free reading!!)
Beast Academy (Luke: level 3. We?re going to try out this new program from Art of Problem Solving. I think Luke will do really well with it!)
Khan Academy (free online tutorial videos)
Exploring the World of Mathematics by John Hudson Tiner
Mathematicians Are People, Too: Stories from the Lives of Great Mathematicians by Luetta and Wilbert Reimer
Why Pi? by Johnny Ball
[and other history-integrated math studies, including The Story of Science by Joy Hakim]
Various computer/online games
(I shared a little more about our math approach at this link.)
CC weekly memory work (skip counting/measurements/formulas/laws)
Challenging math games in Classical Conversations Essentials (Levi)

Science:
Christian Kids Explore Physics (finish)
Exploring the World of Physics by John Hudson Tiner
Eureka Physics (online videos)
http://www.animatedscience.co.uk/flv/
Bill Nye and Eyewitness DVDs
Khan Academy (free online tutorial videos)
CC weekly science memory work (biology and earth science)
CC weekly science projects and experiments
Christian Kids Explore Biology
Real Science 4 Kids Biology?
Exploring the World of Biology by John Hudson Tiner
Keeping a Nature Journal by Clare Walker Lesie & Charles E. Roth
The Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia
What?s Science All About? (Usborne) (covers Chemistry, Physics, and Biology)
The Story of Science series by Joy Hakim (history-integrated science studies)
Science in Ancient Egypt, Greece, Islamic Cultures, China, and Mesopotamia (series) (history-integrated studies)
Supplemental books and DVDs

P.E.:
Swim Team (3x week, plus swim meets and family swim nights)
(mini trampoline, bike riding, and outdoor play)

Fine Arts:
CC drawing, tin whistle/music theory, fine art/art projects, composers/instruments of the orchestra
The Story of Classical Music (CD)
Beethoven?s Wig (CD series)
Classical Kids (CD series)
13 Art Inventions Children Should Know (and others in the series by Prestel, one book each month)
Draw and Write Through History: Greece and Rome
Cave Paintings to Picasso (history-integrated art studies)
Piano practice

Language Arts:
Classical Conversations Essentials of the English Language (grammar, IEW writing (theme-based: Ancients), vocabulary)
IEW Poetry Memorization
MCT Poetry, Grammar, Writing, Vocabulary (continue and review Town level)
Writing With Ease (Leif: level 1, Luke: level 3, Levi: level 4 and Writing With Skill level 1)??
CC grammar memory work (lists of prepositions, helping verbs, and linking verbs)
All About Spelling (Levi and Luke: level 4 and 5?, Leif: level 2)?
Handwriting Without Tears workbooks
Copy work using custom handwriting worksheets
(I shared more details about our Language Arts line-up at this link.)
Typing (Levi)

Latin:
Latina Christiana I (continue)
(First Form Latin if/when finished with LC1)
CC Latin memory work (declensions)

Spanish:
La Clase Divertida (finish)
El Espanol Facil Jr. (with Spanish-speaking Grandpa!) (probably won?t start until January)

Geography:
The Complete Book of Maps and Geography (workbook)
CC geography (extensive world geography and map drawing)
Geography games (free online)??
Geography games and puzzles?
(review CC cycles 2 and 3 geography)
(history related maps)

History/Literature:
The Story of the World: The Modern Age (finish) (with Activity Guide)
The Story of the World: Ancient Times (with Activity Guide)
Begin creating our own history timeline (Add-a-Century Timeline) integrating all subjects
CC weekly history memory work (Ancients and world civilizations)?
The Usborne Encyclopedia of World History (Luke)
The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia (Levi)
CC Veritas History Timeline Cards and new CC Timeline Cards (memorize)?
Many supplemental books and DVDs

Literature Study (Ancients, using lists from The Well-Trained Mind) including:
Stories of Ancient Egypt
The Iliad and The Odyssey (Homer)
The Aeneid (Virgil)
Greek Mythology
Roman Mythology
Aesop
Gilgamesh
Lugalbanda

Literature:
Great children?s classics
Book Detectives (Parent-child monthly book club focusing on literature analysis via Socratic dialogue a la Deconstructing Penguins and Teaching the Classics)
Lots of free reading and library visits

Review CC memory work from cycles 2 and 3?

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