Every morning we'll light a candle and begin with our morning offering and a family rosary. Weekly we'll learn a new prayer or focus on a tenet or sacrament of our Catholic faith. My Inos Biffi book will come in handy! This is a beautiful way to start our day – thanking God for all He has given us, and learning to praise Him even more. It will also segue quite nicely into our first subject of the day, Religion.
One day we will learn about the Doctor's of the Church. There are 33, so we should cover most if not all of them. I will use excerpts from the Good News Planners and several books strewn around the house (ahem).
I'd like to go over the previous Sunday's Gospel, but we are a blended family and the kids don't attend Mass when they are away from home. Instead, the focus will be on the coming Sundays' Gospel, using our subscription to Magnifikid!
We will have a Catechism day using Faith and Life, St. Joseph Baltimore Catechism, and Jesus and I.
I'd like two days to be driven by the Liturgical Year, using Catholic Mosaic, Finestrae Fidae, and again the Good News Planner. Specifically, we'll discuss Saints and/or Feast days for the week, and read the featured book from Catholic Mosaic. I'm going to follow Colleen and Elizabeth's lead – we will listen to the Adoremus Hymnal CD and color the artwork in Finestrae Fidae silently.
What subject should follow religion? Latin. We will study this as a family, using Prima Latina. We've tried this for two years and have never made it past the third lesson. We will give it a conscious effort this year.
Next up is Math. They will each work independently, using flash cards, workbooks, and manipulative's for new concepts. My daughter will read a living math book aloud to my son, and they will each narrate for their binders. I'd also like to start Gnomes and Gnumbers.
At this point in our day we'll take a quick break (jumping jacks and bathroom, not necessarily in that order), and then regroup for our first intensive 2 hour block of the day. Mornings will be either Art & Music, Language Arts, or Nature study.
For Art the spine will be M is for Masterpiece. We'll read picture books, and even some Mike Venezia biographies, any I can find. I'm hoping we will learn more art terminology, along with great artists.
Music will use M is for Melody as a spine. We'll listen to CDs and also read some of Mike Venezia's books. I have a few and can get more from our library. I will also use Classics for Kids and Creative Kids. I'm going to use Montessori cards (thanks, Tracy!) and coloring books.
Language Arts will take a different direction this year. My daughter has been using a grammar workbook for the last 4 years, my son is ready to start his, and frankly I need a break. Lively Language Lessons uses Ruth Heller's grammar books. It looks like I will only need to buy one as I have all the others!
Nature study will continue as always, the Charlotte Mason way. We'll again be using The Handbook of Nature Study as our spine, throwing in Keeping a Nature Journal, Animals Alive!, several One Small Square books, and the outdoor challenges from this website for good measure.
Lest you think how creative and brilliant I am, I must give credit where credit is due. ALL these plans and ideas are from Serendipity. Those women can think, create, write, and most importantly share! I'm honored to be included in the Serendipity-Do-Dah! blogroll.
After that 2 hour block, we'll take a break. The kids will help make lunch and set the table. We'll pray the Angelus, then eat. I'll clean up while they play – in or out, weather dependent.
We'll start our afternoons with 30 or so minutes of family read aloud time – picture books, history, science. I'll have books in a basket, and the kids will pick what I will read. We all win.
Then we'll have our second 2 hour study block of the day. Afternoons will be Geography, History or Science. All these subjects will be woven together as we ride along the History Trail with Serendipity. We are wrapping up our study of the Middle Ages in August, and from there will be able to move nicely into American History.
In Geography, we will again study the states, this time in the order they entered the union. We will do more map work, and will incorporate the States' quarters into our studies. (yes honey, we will finally be using all the new quarters you have saved!)
The History plans are literature-based. There are multiple reading suggestions and craft ideas, and my kids will narrate, illustrate and add to their Books of Centuries. I believe the tentative schedule is:
September and October: Colonial America and the American Revolution
November: The Louisiana Purchase and the Explorations of Lewis and Clark
December: Advent
January and February: Pioneers
March: Native Americans
April: "Easter Break” and a Shakespeare block
May, June, and July: The Civil War
For Science the spine will be The Ben Franklin Book of Easy and Incredible Experiments. We will also read living books and create notebook pages.
Check out Serendipity for the latest details. Better yet – join in!
Our day will wind down with the Divine Mercy Chaplet, Poetry study, and teatime. Poetry will feature R is for Rhyme as the spine, and many of the Poetry for Young People books as we move through the alphabet. At the beginning of each month we will also discuss the Fruits of the Spirit, and how to weave them into the fabric of our daily lives.
These are the plans for the year. I am very excited about this new direction, as are the children. We have dabbled the last few years in a combination of packaged curriculum and “tweaking”, but this is our first venture without a net. I'm not afraid. In fact, I'll paraphrase from one of my favorite songs.....
And when it`s scary, I won`t look down, I`ll double the danger with no net at all, I`m secure in the fact that you won't let me fall.
(bonus points to the first reader who can tell me the song, the singer or the composer)
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