I am mostly laying this out because I need to have it written it. I thought while I was already typing it up, however, I would share our layout for this coming school year.
Daily Schedule:
Full School Days are going to be Monday-Tuesday, Thursday
Wednesday we are doing a co op
Friday will be a half day for quizzes, reviews, and catching up or anything we didn't get through. If we have no quizzes or catching up we will use it as a 'free day' or unschool based, real world learning.
Monday: Class from 10:30-3:10
Tuesday: Class from 10:30-3:10
Wednesday: Co-OP from 9:30-3:10, Gymnastics 4:30-5:30
Thursday: Class from 10:30-3:10
Friday: Half Day, Morning, 10:00-12:00 catch up, quizzes or reviews, 12:00-3:00 Errands, Real Life Learning
Daily Full Day Schedule is Planned to be:
Language Arts/Writing 40 mins 10:30-11:00
Science 45mins 11:00-11:45
Break 15 mins 11:45-12:00
Math 45 mins 12:00-12:45
Lunch 30 mins 12:45-1:15
Spelling 20 mins 1:15-1:35
Social Studies 30 mins 1:35-2:05
Break 15 mins 2:05-2:20
Special class 30 mins 2:20-3:10
Also: Nightly Reading time of Half Hour a day
Total Weekly Hours: 240 (Plus Co-Op, 480, Then Half Day on Occasions)
Special Class Schedule is
Monday-Art/Art History
Tuesday- Health
Thursday- Hybrid Course- Home Ec and Environmental Awareness
Then for socialization:
Wednesday we have co-op.
The Co-op Classes
9:30-11:00 Earth And Space
11:00-11:50 Roots and Shoots
11:50-12:40 Lunch/Recess
12:40-1:30 Writer’s Workshop
1:30-2:20 Taekwondo
2:20-3:10 Medieval History Projects
Also, we have Gymnastics On Wednesday
The Co-Op also organizes hikes, camping trips, meetings, etc.
We also have the Holistic Moms Network meetings are twice a month as well where she will have kids to talk to/play with.
Class Descriptions and Overall Focus:
Earth & Science: (Co-Op) Lapbooking and experiments add hands-on fun and visual appeal to the study of our planet Earth. Students will be covering: the physical features of Earth, lithosphere, earthquakes, mountains, volcano, tsunamis, rocks, fossils, minerals, soil, erosion, caves, glaciers, rivers, lakes, coastlines, deserts, and more. Tectonic plates and the Pangaea Theory will also be discussed. Students will creating their own rock collections and learning to identify different rocks and minerals, as well as comparing within rock types (for example plutonic vs. volcanic igneous rocks).
The second half of the year will primarily be a study of the solar system with a unique and creative scientific approac
Roots and Shoots: (Co-Op) Roots & Shoots is the Jane Goodall Institute's environmental and humanitarian program for youth (preschool to university). Their mission is to foster respect and compassion for all living things, to promote understanding of all cultures and beliefs and to inspire each individual to take action to make the world a better place for animals, the environment and the human community.
"Roots creep underground everywhere and make a firm foundation. Shoots seem very weak, but to reach the light, they can break open brick walls. Imagine that the brick walls are all the problems we have inflicted on our planet. Hundreds of thousands of roots & shoots, hundreds of thousands of young people around the world, can break through these walls. We CAN change the world." — Dr. Jane Goodall
Writer's Workshop: (Co-Op) Implementing Brave Writer for a language rich lifestyle!
Join us as we implement different aspects of Brave Writer lifestyle for interactive creative writing that incorporates all the senses, hones the power of observation, and explores the use of various literary elements.
We will also be working in regular logic exercises that will encourage strong observational skills and show the importance of careful and specific descriptive language and word choices.
Taekwondo: Students will improve their mental and physical well-being through the art of Taekwondo, the world's most widely practiced martial art. Along with physical techniques, students will learn the tenets of Taekwondo as well as aspects of Korean culture and language. Through in-class accomplishment and advancement, students will develop a greater sense of self-respect and self-discipline, resulting in a healthier mind and body.
Medieval History Projects: This class will offer a comprehensive look at approximately 1000 years of medieval history. Resource and readings suggestions are given for at-home work so that the students can understand and follow the topics and projects presented in class. The course has been created especially for TEE students and uses aspects of Pandia Press's History Odyssey I and II, along with many other art history, science, and hands-on-history projects resources. Because background knowledge learning can be done at home, the students get to enjoy class time for interactive history such as: learning about and listening to Gregorian chants, role playing games to illustrate the Black Plague and how Feudalism worked, creating textile banners inspired by notable works such as the "Bayeux Tapestry" and "The Lady and the Unicorn", and much more!
The students will also create a lapbook as a creative visual log of many highlights of their studies. Topics we plan on covering include: the fall of Rome, rise of the church, Jewish diaspora, Byzantine Empire, the Vikings, the Middle Ages in Europe, Americas, and non-western cultures, Marco Polo, chivalry, the Crusades, the Black Plague, the Magna Carta, Feudalism, medieval arts, science, and literature. Some literature suggestions include: Beowulf, A Door in the Wall, Macbeth, The Trumpeter of Krakow, One Thousand and One Arabian Nights, The Story of King Arthur and His Knights, Robin Hood, The Canterbury Tales.
Reading/Language Arts: We are going to cover a few traditional books and tales. Oliver Twist, The Secret Garden, The Yearling and The Diary of Anne Frank will all be independent reading that we will discuss throughout the year.
In the Language Arts based lessons we will cover Types of narration, concepts of speech, sentence structure and proper use of punctuation.
We are going to cover famous speeches such from people such as John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King. During this we will cover how to properly write a speech and how to make outlines for papers.
Next we will cover Intro to Mythology. In which we will cover a few classic love stories. “Apollo and Daphne”, “Romeo and Juliet”, Echo and Narcissus” will be a few we will cover.
We will also cover basics of poetry and study a large collection of poems. How to analyze poetry, types of poetry and critical reading skills.
Science: In Science we are going to focus on Life Sciences. The classification of living things, ecosystems, microbes, will be covered. We will then discuss Climate and Weather which we will tie into Environmental issues and our elective course by discussing types of energy and how to change our habits. We will also cover electricity, sound, and light. We will not fully cover but touch on astronomy which will tie into her Earth and Science class and from there cover a bit of space and space travel.
Mathematics: Review of basic math skills. Continuation of multiplication, division and more complex mathematics. Exponents, Operation of Powers, Integers. Also, adding to knowledge of decimals, fractions and mixed numbers. We will begin on basic geometry skills such as angles, construction and identification of figures. Expand on Algebra skills and cover in more depth a metric units and measurements.
Spelling: One list of words a week. Child will also learn dictionary skills by being responsible for looking up each word and writing definition. She will also need to use it in a sentence. There will be a weekly quiz.
Social Studies: We will cover the basics of map skills. A bit of world geography. Our main focus will be on ancient cultures and world civilization. (The Roman Empire, Greece, Egypt) We will also cover milestones in human achievement world trade and basics of local community.
Hybrid Course: Home Economics and Environmental Concerns: In this class we are going to look at basic home products, decide what is wasteful, what can be recycled, what can be made at home and what we do not even need. First semesters focus will be on sewing. We will make cloth napkins, towels etc. Meanwhile studying the effect all the disposable products has on landfills.
Second semester we will cover and make homemade cleaning products while discussing the effect chemicals have on the Earth. Third semester we will cover herbal medications, what they are, what to take for what and the proper use, and disposal or medications. We will discuss what to put in our bodies and what is healthy and what is not. Last, we will allow the student flexibility and encourage deductive reasoning and understanding to look around and come up with other products used in the home that could be made or is not needed. The student will then have the opportunity to piece together knowledge learned in other subjects to research how to make a product of their choosing, and then make it, and present a ‘speech’.
Health: Focus will, of course, be on the Human Body. But in order to tie into other classes we are going to focus mostly on what to put into our bodies. We will cover food and growth, the importance of exercise, the food pyramid, effects of drugs and alcohol but take a deeper look into it all as well. We will look into why healthy produce is better for you. What’s so bad about processed foods. Why buying organic is nice and a better option. The effects of chemicals in our foods and how to create healthy diets.
Art Appreciation: We will first cover American Realists Painters, move onto Impressionism then Abstractionism and finish up with Nonrepresentational Art. Famous artists we will cover will be Tanner, Homer, Rodin, Van Gogh, Monet, Picasso, Munch, Mondrian, Hopper, Wyeth and Wright.
So, this is our goal! More to come as we go, of course.
