I seem to have, at last, deciphered a system for reading and history that works for us. No more relying on the library or checking out mounds of books. We’ll still utilize the library for the occasional book, but the bulk of our reading will be purchased. With at least two kids coming behind Gillian, there’s no reason not to purchase books if they are good enough quality. For next year, I’m scheduling three books per week: one history/geography book, one biography, and one literature book. I’m confident that in most cases, Gillian won’t need the full week to complete the literature book, so we’ll have suggested supplemental reading, both on hand (purchased) and from the library (here being where the library comes in). We’ll still use Story of the World (Volume Four) for world history, but since our supplements are focused on American history, I admit I didn’t work too hard to correlate chapters from SOTW with our supplemental books. I wouldn’t with literature, regardless, in most cases.
I really like this pattern, though, and I think I will keep it in mind as we progress into logic stage (5th through 8th grades) as well as when I look at planning for history for Jacob’s first year or two. Speaking of Jacob, though, I’m starting to consider when to start school with him, what to use, and, perhaps most importantly of all, what I’ll do differently with him.
What I wish I had done, essentially, and it becomes what I’ll do this time. I intend to put a much sharper focus on the basics through second grade with him. Phonics, spelling, copywork, narration, dictation, basic mathematical concepts, and the basic math facts. I don’t want to totally ignore history, science, or the arts, of course, and we won’t. But my goal will be to lay the foundation, not least of all so that we can start Latin without impediment in third grade.
So, as part of that, history will be limited. One (perhaps two) chapter(s) of Story of the World each week during first and second grades, with a biography some weeks, and one supplemental history or geography book each week. I’ll put much more of an emphasis on creating a narration from the chapter or a section of the chapter, and worry less about all the supplementing.
For science, though, I am at a bit of a loss. I love the way that R.E.A.L. Science approaches biology as well as earth & space science, but it’s heavy on the experiments. In theory, that’s a wonderful thing, but in practice, I don’t want to sacrifice the basics at the altar of early experimental science. I’m hoping that I’ll be pleased with Real Science 4 Kids as far as chemistry is concerned, and it is not a full year program. I’m tossing around various ideas. My favorite at this point is to read one (or possibly two, even three, depending on the length of the book) science book each week. We would focus on one area of science at a time, spending approximately half a year of first grade on biology, one fourth a year of first grade on earth science, one fourth a year of first grade on astronomy, one half of second grade on chemistry, and one half of second grade on physics. Then, we’d spend half a year on each part of science in third and fourth grades, focusing more on the experimental side of each topic. There are issues with this approach; the biggest is that we would be ramping up science at the same time we’re adding a language (Latin) and starting a formal writing curriculum.
Alternatively, I could make sure I have all materials needed for experiments at least two weeks in advance and, if necessary, relegate science to a weekend afternoon. I don’t necessarily like that idea much better, but we’ll see.
Sometime soon, I need to write out what my plans are for Jacob, since he’s chomping at the bit to “do school,” and then work on a rough outline for the next few years. The planning never stops!
