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It's February! Plans for your AL?


SeaConquest
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Update: We are going to send dd1 to school for the first week or so and then let her choose. I expect she will probably choose ps, but I will do some fun voluntary after-schooling to supplement (like reading good literature together & Beast Academy).

 

Also, Dd1 recently learned about the NME and the ELE, and really wants to take them both next year. I'm not sure how that will work for the ELE since she doesn't actually know any Latin, but she is very, very excited to learn the language of the ancient Romans. So we are starting Latin now and will probably after school Latin in the Fall, too.

Song School Latin is really good prep for the ELE, and there's also a song CD from the ACL. Both would work well for listening to in the car. Honestly, SSL is better aligned with the ELE than any other curriculum I've seen, because the ELE is all vocabulary and culture, no labeling or grammar, and it's mostly the animals, plants, food, family sort of categories.

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Song School Latin is really good prep for the ELE, and there's also a song CD from the ACL. Both would work well for listening to in the car. Honestly, SSL is better aligned with the ELE than any other curriculum I've seen, because the ELE is all vocabulary and culture, no labeling or grammar, and it's mostly the animals, plants, food, family sort of categories.

Perfect, I ordered SSL two days ago so we'll have it in time for a road trip in June!

 

Dmmetler, I've been considering trying to get a mythology kids' group together and I was wondering if your group is a Classics Club through ETC, and if so, is it worth it? Do they give you specific activities to do, or have you come up ideas on your own?

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Song School Latin is really good prep for the ELE, and there's also a song CD from the ACL. Both would work well for listening to in the car. Honestly, SSL is better aligned with the ELE than any other curriculum I've seen, because the ELE is all vocabulary and culture, no labeling or grammar, and it's mostly the animals, plants, food, family sort of categories.

 

The ELE says that it is for kids in Grade 3 and up. Has anyone done it younger than this with their kid?

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  • 3 weeks later...

If dd pass three more 8th grade exams this schoolyear we can be considered highschool next year I suppose.

Good news is that grade 9/10 have no required exams, so we can relax a little before heading to the grade 11/12 exams.

Bad news is we have to chose tracks, and that is hard when you are young, but hopefully we can add some fun back in our homeschooling :)

 

So far I've planned for grade 9/10 ( Belgium schoolsystem works in pairs of two years):

 

AoPs Intro A, Flemish Statistics, and still in search for some Trig topics, not sure if we will continue with AoPs after this, probably not.

Latin, Greek, Dutch (Flemish textbooks)

BJU Physical Science + IGCSE Chemistry ( no exam, just a good text)

TEE, WttW, Introduction to Poetry,

Word Wealth

BJU World Geography, BJU World Studies

 

Still pondering about French and German.

 

Electives:

MP Logic, Dutch and Flemish civics/government

Pondering about how to cover debate with one child.

Attending academy for fine arts, still in search for a new piano teacher, folk dance.

Not for next year but on the shelves:

Philosophy, Medical Ethic, Psychology

Adding to English:

Real English Skill ( Cambridge)

 

French:

Exam prep, Terre des Lettres / Jardin des Letrres

Activites purd CERF ( Cle International)

Apprendre Rediger

 

German:

Praxis: Sprache und Literatur

 

Changing History / Geography into SCM + BBC documentaries

Covering 1500- 1850, and world geography

 

Adding some speech in a Dutch Skype group I will teach.

 

I've never been so late with my final planning, but we've never done so much work in the last weeks of the year.

If dd passes her exam in two weeks I can send my yearly letter and my plans to the department of education.

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Yes, and in fact we were one of the groups that pilot-tested the classics club program.

 

There is a PDF file that provides activities for various areas of Greek/Roman culture, including history, art, the Olympics, mythology, Latin, and so on. When kids complete these, they earn stickers for their Roman standard, and ribbons are provided for kids who complete all challenges. Since we focus on mythology, we only do a couple of the challenges as a group, and my kids do the rest on their own, then present/share. There's a pretty large overlap with SOTW 1.

 

So far, the online component has not materialized, but I think it's worth the cost for my group-in large part because it gives parents a "curriculum" to add to the NME syllabus to flesh it out. I will also say that I've been gradually adding in more things with a cost to my clubs because it tends to get the desired population-the kids and parents who take it seriously. It still is pretty inexpensive (like under $5/month), but having to write a check for $50 or so up front seems to keep those who just want a social/playtime out. I then use that money for ACL dues/registration, NME fees and so on-which has the added bonus that our homeschool group is listed with a couple of private schools as "schools offering elementary/middle school classics programs".

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  • 3 weeks later...

Putting this down as a record for myself, mostly, since I seem to change plans constantly and feel discouraged about completion (or lack thereof):

 

dd10, 5th grade:

 

Jousting Armadillos, Crocodiles & Coconuts, Chuckles the Rocket Dog (we're already 1/3 way through Jousting, but I think we can do enough enrichment elsewhere for this series to take up the whole year)

 

Latin with Lukeion (the main academic endeavor for the year - DD is determined to do it but it is, I think, just at the outside limit of her capabilities.  Possibly I am underestimating her.)  

 

Nature Study, guided by these: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001E09V96http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1580174930

 

TOPS kits, tentatively animal survival, rocks & minerals, planets & stars, chemistry analysis, light

 

The Perilous Journey (http://www.amazon.com/Perilous-Journey-Jewkes-W-T/dp/0153335203), which I used in 10th but should be accessible.  contains discussion questions and writing prompts, etc.

 

Extracurricular:

1 day a week Waldorf-methods charter

violin

maybe diving (I find it scary, tbh)

 

DS7, 2nd grade:

 

might be going to the Waldorf methods charter full time, in which case we'd afterschool math with BA

 

if homeschooled,

BA

TOPS kits with sister (some of them)

Nature Journalling via above resources

Apples & Pears

varied reading

maybe Bravewriter

Horrible Histories and related documentaries

 

extracurricular:

eta: rockclimbing

squash w/dad

waldorf methods homeschool day

 

 

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I am curious about this book. Could you elaborate some more about it?

 

The Perilous Journey (http://www.amazon.com/Perilous-Journey-Jewkes-W-T/dp/0153335203), which I used in 10th but should be accessible.  contains discussion questions and writing prompts, etc.

 

 

 

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It's a sort of survey of different types of writing (short stories, poetry, some non-fiction, retellings of myths/legends), most of it at a sort of upper middle school/lower high school level, that are organized into explorations of the various quests in literature (to find out who I am, golden cup, to do what must be done, etc.).  There are discussion questions at the end of each story/poem, and every section is introduced  with the relevant Greek myth.

 

 

I just really loved it in 10th grade - we had a very charismatic teacher and it was what they called a pre-IB class, so she felt free, I think, to not worry about the standardized tests and just teach the material.  We memorized the poems (something no other class ever bothered with in my PS, as it took away from test prep time).

 

 

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Fun stuff:

Road trip to Reno to go on the school visit to DA. Hubby is curious and keen.

Hoping to go to Germany for a family vacation before Christmas to see their Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market). A German family in their German class is aiming for that too.  For them it would be visiting family.

 

DS10, 6th grade

German - weekly class

Chinese - weekly class

Cello - weekly class with DS9, then both might split to individual slots

Math - finishing intermediate algebra and intro to geometry around year end. after that is ???

Science - Clover creek physics and a weekly homeschool hands on science class

 

Probably taking ACT and SAT for fun.  Language Arts is up in the air though they enjoyed the CTY Young Readers class for fun.  All the other stuff will just fall into place somehow :)  Art is outsourced as they like pottery.

 

DS10, 6th grade

German - weekly class

Chinese - weekly class

Cello - weekly class with DS10, then both might split to individual slots

Math - finishing intro to algebra and intro to geometry around year end. after that probably start intermediate algebra

 

Sports is tricky as there is none they like other than as recreation.   Both run fast but have lousy stamina so maybe I need to find a track and field club for them to burn off some energy. 

 

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