We’re returning this year to more of the Charlotte Mason style of schooling that has worked so well for us in the past. My plan is based on Ambleside Online‘s Year 5 free online homeschool curriculum, with my own tweaks, additions, and subtractions.
ARTS:
Art and Art Appreciation
– Work on drawing skills in nature journal, plus art/painting projects.
– Multi-media art enrichment class (1st semester only)
Music Appreciation/Composer Study
– Homeschool in the Woods lapbook projects
Piano – weekly lessons (I hope; still trying to work out details.)
BIBLE:
– Scripture memorization
– Character studies using Beautiful Girlhood
– Lamp & Quill daily Bible study
SOCIAL STUDIES:
History 1800-1914 up to WWI
– This Country of Ours by H.E. Marshall
– Abraham Lincoln’s World by Genevieve Foster
– Story of the World Volume 4: Modern Age by Susan Wise Bauer
Additional enrichment class: “American Girl” Addy (Civil War time period)
History Biographies
– Of Courage Undaunted: Across the Continent with Lewis and Clark by James Daugherty
– Teddy Roosevelt: An American Original by Janet & Geoff Benge
– The Remarkable Rough-Riding Life of Theodore Roosevelt by Cheryl Harness
Timeline Book – Homeschool in the Woods
Geography –
– Kids Learn America and state maps from Homeschool in the Woods
– A Child’s Geography: Explore His Earth by Ann VosKamp
Current Events – God’s World News
SCIENCE:
Nature Study
– The Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock
Science Biographies
– Story of Inventions
– Inventor, Scientist, and Teacher: Isaac Newton by John Hudson Tiner
– Always Inventing (Alexander Graham Bell) by Tom Matthews
– The Ground-breaking, Chance-Taking Life of George Washington Carver by Cheryl Harness
– George Washington Carver: From Slave to Scientist by Janet and Geoff Benge
Life Skills – house and garden work, crafts, sewing, cooking, first aid, manners and etiquette
MATHEMATICS:
– Teaching Textbooks – Grade 5
LANGUAGE ARTS:
Spelling & Vocabulary Wordly Wise 3000 Grade 5
Copywork or Dictation – from poems/verses we’re studying
Composition/Writing/Grammar
– Oral narration; begin occasional written narrations
– Language Lessons for the Elementary Child by Sandi Queen
– Typing Instruction for Kids (computer program)
– Daily Paragraph Editing – Grade 5
Poetry
– miscellaneous poets, as interested
Literature
– King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table by Roger Lancelyn Green
– Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
– Kim by Rudyard Kipling
Shakespeare – (Lamb’s versions)
– Midsummer Night’s Dream
– The Tempest
– Two Gentlemen of Verona
– Much Ado About Nothing
– Merchant of Venice
– Romeo and Juliet
** Most of the books above can be found on my Homeschool Curriculum booklist (contains Amazon affiliate links).
I’m a big fan of authentic conversation and always appreciate hearing what you have to say. Thanks for reading.
23 responses to “2011-2012 Curriculum”
Wow! Looks great!!
Can you tell me more about the American Girl enrichment class? I am a part-time children’s librarian and part of my job is programming and this is something we did in the past, then I gave up and now am looking at doing an AG program again. Thanks!
Sounds like it will be a fun year! I am just starting our school planning now…
Jamie, I’m smiling, because my list for my 10 year old is the same, or nearly! We are (mostly) using AO 5 for her, and then AO 2 for my 7 year old. And, it comes as no surprise, that the moment my eyes hit the new-to-me title, Lamp&Quill, I had it Googled 🙂
Thank you for sharing!
Sounds like a great, literature-rich year. I love enjoying great books with my kids.
I’m so glad you’re heading back to AO. We’re only a term behind you, so I’ll be watching with interest to see what works and what doesn’t.
Looks like a great year for you and your daughter!
….and here I am again! Sigh……i love ambleside! I look forward to our children moving through Year 5 “together!” Enjoy the HOTM hop!
Art Appreciation – what a fun idea!!
Life Skills! I totally need to work on life skills. We’ve been trying to push them more on that. Thanks for the reminder to keep working on it.
Love your list — it looks like a fabulous year!
Loved reading your Curriculum choices for the upcoming year. I was scrolling through the “Not” Back To School Blog Hop and noticed your button. I “pinned” it on Pinterest about a week ago! 🙂 I grabbed your button too, had to share on my wall since it was so neat…..and I <3 your name 😉 Newest follower via email. Love your blog!
I love your Shakespeare-rich curriculum. We draw a lot of things from Ambleside Online and those things always seem to be my children’s favorites.
Enjoy your year!
I love AO – what an amazing resource for a Charlotte Mason style homeschool!! We really like “Homeschool in the Woods” timelines!
Praying for a wonderful homeschool year for you!!
I have looked over the AO program and considered it for this year. I wasn’t sure if I was confident enough to not do a boxed program! It’s great to see others have been successful at it!
Love CM inspired learning! It looks like a wonderful year of adventures – we did the Civil War last year and had tons of fun.
Looks like a great year, Jamie!
Sounds like it’s going to be a great year! Good luck.
~Lynn
I hope y’all have a wonderful year!! It sounds delightful!
I have a question for you…..did you pick Year 5 based on age/grade or based on the historical time period you wanted to study—-or for some other reason? 🙂 I’m asking because I am an AO wannabe at some point in the future (have used parts in the past, and I just can’t decide “when” to use it fully)……thanks for any insight you might share!
Kim,
Good question! AO is not based on grade; it depends much more on what they have done in regards to the other years of AO. Since we have previously done Years 1 & 2, and incorporated many of the other books into our non-Ambleside years, I knew I would do either Year 4 or 5. Then it was a matter of getting down to specifics of what each year covered, and I decided Year 5 was a better fit for us.
If you scroll about halfway down on this page they have a more detailed explanation on how to choose a year/level for your child: Ambleside FAQ
I hope that helps!
Thanks! We Jamies have to stick together. 🙂
Yes, thank you, Jamie!
Sounds like a year full of rich learning opportunities. We love Story of the World and many of the Ambleside resources as well. Wishing you a fantastic year!
Sounds like a great year! My favorite part of homeschooler’s yearly plans is the literature–I love reading those lists! 🙂 Happy reading… ~K
Thanks for sharing your curriculum and going back to Charlotte Mason. Although our youngest graduated last year, I started reading For The Children’s Sake this weekend. I love that book. I’m sharing it with many young moms trying to decide on education for their kids.