Curriculum choices for 2017-2018 school year


We are well into our third week of the new school year, so I guess it is about time that I post about this year's curriculum choices.

A is 10 and a 1/2 and should be in 5th grade. She's never been in a traditional school setting as we saw right away that brick and mortar schools would not be a good fit without a ton of flexibility and an administration who could think way outside of the box. At that time we were in rural Alaska and we took the homeschool plunge. So far there's been no turning back.

I really don't know what to call this year's grade or even if we will count these credits toward high school even though they are high school level courses. I'm just keeping detailed records of everything and seeing where the future takes us.

This year A is taking Biology, World Geography, Spanish, Introduction to Literature and Composition, finishing up Algebra 1 and either starting Geometry or Algebra II.
She's also taking an online class focusing on the Psychology of Inside Out and will chose at least one other online class for next Semester.
Later this year she will be doing a semester study on the History of Medicine and of course she will continue exploring her love of all things neuroscience.



So with all that said, lets get down to the nitty gritty of this year.

ENGLISH
Introduction to Literature

We were planning to go with Oak Meadow's 9th Grade English course, and we do still plan on using parts of it, but I was not in love with the way our day was flowing nor did I feel like the literature selections were solid enough.
I was blessed with an outstanding education steeped heavily in the classics.
I am so thankful for the amazing English teachers I had in my gifted high school classes.
I truly believe great books not only immerse us in a world outside of our own, but they shape the people we become. I want to same for A.
Therefor, our main core for Introduction to Literature will be with a course from Excellence in Literature.
We are using their Introduction to Literature course and going with the honors track.

A will be reading a variety of short stories and a plethora of novels including....
Around the World in 80 Days
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (She actually already read this one last month.)
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
The Prince and The Pauper (Again, this is another novel she has already read.)
Jane Eyre (quite possibly my all time favorite book. I have read it close to 50 times since first reading it at the age of 10.)
Pygmalion
Murder in the Cathedrial
Treasure Island
Kidnapped
We will be skipping Module 7 as A has already read both Fahrenheit 451 and Animal Farm, but we might sub in 1984 by George Orwell.
The Tempest
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Gulliver's Travels
The Pilgram's Progress

Pulling from Oak Meadow, when we skip Module 7, we will be focusing on The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank.
Oak Meadow also covers Pygmalion and Kidnapped so we will be utilizing those sections as well.

She will be learning close literary analysis through essays. approach papers, and other evaluative writing projects.

We will also be using Wordsmith and Brave Writer throughout the year to help A find her writing voice.

SPANISH

We are covering Spanish again using Middlebury Interactive. A LOVES it. She had her first test today and scored a 94%.


BIOLOGY

We are using Oak Meadow's high school Biology course and adding dissection labs. I am also adding in articles and videos from Kahn Academy and Crash Course Biology. Everyday I send A an email with her biology assignments for the day and links to everything she needs. It's working great to encourage her independence.



WORLD GEOGRAPHY

Another course from Oak Meadow's high school selection, we both love the variety of project choices given for each assignment.



MATH
Algebra I

Pickling up from where we left off last year, we are using Teaching Textbooks for Algebra 1. She should finish before the end of the year and then move on to either Geometry or Algebra II.



We are starting back with our weekly Poetry Tea Time which I will be blogging about in the near future and adding in weekly art projects per A's request.

A is also taking a weekly cooking class here in our new town and loving it.

I can't wait to see where this year takes her!

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