2011-2012 Schedule

We will be starting Ambleside Online Year 3 in a couple of weeks.  The following schedule is what we're shooting for:


2-3 AO Readings (Daily)  - w/oral, written, & creative narrations
Map work            (With most readings)
Timeline/BOC      (With history readings)    
Silent Reading      (Daily)
Spelling/Vocab    (Daily)
Math                    (Daily)
Poetry                  (Daily)
Copywork           (Daily)
Simply Grammar  (1-2x a week)
Writing Strands    (1-2x a week)
Spanish                (2x a week)
Nature Study       (Weekly)
Artist Study         (Weekly)
Dictation             (Weekly)
Composer Study (Weekly)

This should take about 2.5 to 3 hours per day with each subject taking about 10-20 minutes each (more for nature study).  We'll begin at around 8:30am-9am and finish up before noon.  W asked if we could spend less time on reading and math and more time on science and history - and that's what we'll do.  I will always believe that allowing kids to choose their own educational path keeps them excited about learning.  My girls did this.  They chose to homeschool and how they went about homeschooling.  They decided to try public high school and they actively chose which high school to attend.  W has always chosen his educational path as well.  It gives kids ownership.  It works.

Here are some of the books we'll be using:

History/Geography:
An Island Story (Marshall)
This Country of Ours (Marshall)
A Child's History of the World (Hillier)
Michelangelo (Stanley)
Bard of Avon (Stanley)
Landing of the Pilgrims (Daugherty)
Who was Marco Polo? (Holub)
The Complete Book of Maps & Geography
Basic Series Map Skills (Grades 6-8)
Basic Series World Geography (Grades 6-8)
Basic Series US Government, Economics, & Citizenship (Grades 6-8)
Everything You Need to Know About Geography Homework - Grades 4-6 (Zeman)
American History Homework Survival Guide - Grades 4-6 (Kantor)

Science:
Science Lab in a Supermarket ((Friedhoffer)
The Story of Inventions (McHugh)
The Handbook of Nature Study (Comstock)
Secrets of the Woods (Long)
ScienceSaurus (Houghton-Mifflin)
Science Homework Survival Guide (Dylewski)
Basic Series Science (Grades 4-5)
Basic Series Life Science (Grades 6-8)

The English Language:
Simply Grammar
Writing Strands
Spelling Skills 5
Word Study & Phonics 5
Basic Series Grammar & Usage

Literature:
American Tall Tales (Stoutenberg)
Tales From Shakespeare (Lamb)
The Heroes (Kingsley)
The Princess and the Goblin (MacDonald)
Children of the New Forest (Marryat)
The Jungle Book (Kipling)
Various selections from the AO Year 3 "free reading" list

Poetry:  William Blake, Sara Teasdale, Hilda Conkling, & Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Nature:  Reptiles, Flowerless plants, Crops, Fish, Amphibians
Artists:  Fragonard, Bierstadt, Rockwell
Composers:  Mozart, Mendelssohn, Bartok, Hindemith
Math:  Teaching Textbooks 7, LOF Fractions (maybe)
Spanish:  Instant Immersion Spanish
Art:  Drawing with Children (Brooks)

We will also include lots of (afternoon) field trips and classes - using them as areas for more focused research (rather than for just a get-together).   W will continue with Boy Scouts and CCD classes and he's trying to decide between basketball, soccer, or karate for this year.

So this is the goal.  We may not even come close to the plan, but it's nice having it as a guideline to follow.


This is a cool site.  Beautiful shots of NYC:
Aerial Views of New York City