Course of Study

Our 2011-2012 Course of Study and Curriculum

7th grade- Mr. Monk is our 12 year old whiz kid who doesn't notice when his shirt is on backwards, inside out, or both : ).  (That's why God gave him sisters.)

Troubleshooting.

Bible- Reading- Sonlight's reading assignments through Mathew,1 and 2 Kings, Daniel, James, and 1 Corinthians. 
Memorization- Sonlight's memorization schedule includes Psalm 91, Mathew 5:1-16, Proverbs 6:6-11, Ephesians 6:13-20, Philippians 2:5-11, and others.  We'll also be working on memorizing the Westminster Shorter catechism. 
Bible study- At home, he'll be working through Discovering Christ-Like Habits, a topical study that covers growing faith, walking in the spirit, the secret of the will, the gift of prayer, celebrating God, and feeding on God's Word.  (Two Bible studies might have been a little ambitious on my part.)  In Community Bible Study this year he'll study Hebrews and Deuteronomy.  And in the bi-weekly Bible study he attends with his dad he's currently studying Essential Truths of the Christian Faith by RC Sproul. 
Math- Teaching Textbooks Algebra 2
Science- Sonlight F Anatomy/physiology, medicine (fed up with evolutionary assumptions of several books), (substituted God's Design for Science:  The Human Body), supplemented with Body of Evidence DVDs
History- Sonlight Core F Eastern Hemisphere
Geography- Sonlight Core F Eastern Hemisphere, Operation World
Literature- Sonlight Core F Readers and Read-alouds
Language Arts- Wordly Wise book 7, Sequential Spelling (I hate Spelling.  There, I said it.), Keys to Good Language 5, Sonlight writing
Biblical Greek- Hey Andrew Teach Me Some Greek, book 4
Foreign Language- Mandarin Chinese- Getting started with DVDs and plan on using Rosetta Stone
Computer Programming- Invent your own Computer Games with Python 2nd Edition (This book was shelved around chapter 9 due to difficulty.  It is designed for college students.  He's loving Computer Science Pure and Simple book 1 and will begin book 2 in January.
Typing- Various resources.
Extracurricular activities- piano, swimming, and computer gaming.

5th grade- Twinkle Toes, age 10, is our resident artist.  Her creativity comes through in everything she does.

American Girl doll Julie is sporting a shawl, belt, and headband that Twinkle Toes crocheted.

Bible- Reading- Sonlight's reading assignments through Mathew,1 and 2 Kings, Daniel, James, and 1 Corinthians.
Memorization- Sonlight's memorization schedule includes Psalm 91, Mathew 5:1-16, Proverbs 6:6-11, Ephesians 6:13-20, Philippians 2:5-11, and others. We'll also be working on memorizing the Westminster Shorter catechism.
Bible study- At home, she'll be working through Discovering Christ-Like Habits, a topical study that covers growing faith, walking in the spirit, the secret of the will, the gift of prayer, celebrating God, and feeding on God's Word. (Again, I was a bit too ambitions.)  In CBS this year she'll study Hebrews and Deuteronomy. And in the bi-weekly women's study that meets in our home, we'll be going through John Piper's Desiring God.  (This was WAY over her head.  Perhaps the next study...)
Math- Finish Saxon 6/5 (lessons 90-120) then continue with Saxon 7/6 (After Saxon 6/5 she's been focusing on fractions, an area she's had trouble with, using Math Mammoth blue series.  This has helped tremendously.)
Science- Sonlight F Anatomy/physiology, medicine, (God's Design for Science:  The Human Body is going great and glorifies God), supplemented with Body of Evidence DVDs
History- Sonlight Core F Eastern Hemisphere
Geography- Sonlight Core F Eastern Hemisphere, Operation World
Literature- Sonlight Core F Readers and Read-alouds
Language Arts- Wordly Wise book 5, Sequential Spelling (Boring.), Keys to Good Language 5, Sonlight writing, A Reason for Handwriting D
Biblical Greek- Hey Andrew Teach Me Some Greek, book 4
Foreign Language- Mandarin Chinese- Getting started with DVDs and plan on using Rosetta Stone
Typing- Various resources.
Extracurricular activies- piano, swimming, cooking, crocheting, ice skating, and more.

3rd grade- Measel Bug, 8 yrs, is our Little Mommy.  She loves dressing her little sister and giving bottles to her baby brother.  If I'm in the kitchen, she's in the kitchen.  She can frequently be found teaching school, gymnastics, violin, or something else to her little siblings.

Measle with her little sister after dressing her and fixing her hair.

Bible- Reading- This is the first year Measle has done independent Bible reading.  By the end of the school year she will have read through Mark, Genesis, Exodus, Philippians, and some Psalms all by herself. 
Memorization- Selected scriptures assigned by Sonlight including Psalm 1.  Measle will also begin memorizing the Westminster Shorter Catechism.  (We spent the last few years working through the first Truth and Grace book which includes a child's version of the Westeminster Shorter.  Now we're starting on book 2, which includes the actual Westminster Shorter.)
Bible study- We're going through Leading Little Ones to God together each morning, and she'll study Hebrews and Deuteronomy in CBS.
Math-  Various resources including Saxon 3, some Singapore workbooks, Times Tales, etc. (She's been getting a lot out of Math Mammoth 3rd grade complete curriculum.)
Science-  Sonlight Science F (God's Design for Science:  The Human Body)
History-  Sonlight Core B World History 1
Geography-  Sonlight Core B World History 1, Operation World prayer through the all the countries
Literature- Sonlight's third grade reader pack and Core B read-alouds
Language Arts- Sonlight's LA including the optional workbooks MCP Phonics C and Wordly Wise B
Biblical Greek- Hey Andrew Teach Me Some Greek, book 2
Foreign Language- Mandarin Chinese, various resources.
Extracurricular activities- swimming, violin, knitting, ice skating, and more.

Kindergarten- Prince, 5 years, is our most gregarious child.  He loves being with friends, meeting new people, or even talking with complete strangers.  He's also beginning to show interest in computer games, thanks to his brother.

Showing me his work of art.

Prince is going to half-day Kindergarten at the elementary school in our neighborhood this year.  All of our children have attended Kindergarten there and we've had good experiences with their teachers.  Last year in addition to attending pre-school two mornings a week, Prince and I went through Teach your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons together.  We also enjoyed FIAR volume 1 and got about a third of the way through FIAR volume 2.  When Prince comes home each day this year we'll continue with FIAR volume 2.  He always looks forward to our time reading together- probably because Mom's usually so busy doing school with the big kids.  Prince is just starting to memorize verses and catechism in the first TAG book.  Extracurricular interests include swimming, of course, art, and anything with other kids.

Preschool-  Queen is our two year old going on twenty.  She's quite the character and competent to accomplish most anything she wishes.  She keeps us all laughing.  This is the little girl we didn't know we wanted (when we were finished after four.)  She has truly been a joy to our family every day of her life.  What a blessing!

Playing her own original composition called "Love". 

Queen loves reading books.  I have to admit I don't read nearly so much to her as I did to her older siblings.  We've recently started working through Before Five in a Row.  I also bought Laura at Heavenly Homemakers Learn your Letters, Learn to Serve preschool curriculum.  Queen looks forward to learning her letters with her sisters and making a tasty treat to take to someone each week.  (Plus her big sisters are learning to teach.  That's what I call a win-win!)  Queen will attend pre-school two mornings a week and go with us to Community Bible Study on Wednesdays.  She learns verses at CBS and I'm amazed at how much she "catches" at home and in the car (listening to Psalms). 

Pre-pre-K-  Calvin, at 10 months, is the youngest member of our homeschool family.  As you can see he's hitting the books already.

Our happy boy.