grace'smom Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 (edited) Hey guys: I was wondering if you could look over our first grade plans as of right now and tell me if you think they are enough, or too much, etc... My daughter takes a LONG time to get work done because she needs to bounce off the wall between each subject (sometimes during each subject) so I am a little worried that we won't be able to get all of this done without her going insane. I do NOT want to burn her out by throwing too many subjects at her. After all, she's only in first grade! But I also don't want to shortchange her... I'm sure many of you can understand my feelings. It's such a push and pull of not enough or too much, and I worry that if I put too much on the plate my good intentions will fall apart in some subjects. So- gently- can you tell me if there's something I can cut out or something I really need to add into this schedule/goal list? Math: Rightstart Level B/Math Mammoth supplement as needed Language Arts: Phonics Road Level 1 and WWE Year 1 according to the teacher’s manual and using history book selections (NOT the workbook, just from the teacher's guide). Also, we'll probably end up in PR level 2 by January because we're already doing PR1. Oh, she also reads aloud to me every day for 15 minutes from a book of her choosing. History: Library picture book selections that match up to the Classical Conversations schedule. Read the (3-5) books, do a coloring page and a sentence or summary about two of the books per week. Also, Pioneers and Patriots and other longer read alouds as desired. Science: BFSU- probably only two lessons per month because it seems the lessons take two weeks. We take a week to read preliminary book literature and then the following week we do the lesson and experiments. Also for science- Read a selection of library books (1-2) that match up to the Classical Conversations schedule. Religion: Telling God’s Story one lesson per week is the goal. Literature: We could follow the Ambleside online first year program, but I’m not sure if it’s necessary on top of all the history books? I really like the selections though… Foreign Language: Do we have to, LOL? We could keep up with Salsa Spanish but, to be completely honest, I find that I easily forget to do it and DD acts like I'm torturing her when we watch the videos. We could do Song School Latin but I’m not sure I want to do that before second grade. Art- Artistic Pursuits Level One once per week. Music: Nothing on the books yet… got any ideas? Necessary? Memory Work: Classical Conversations co op. It does cover SOME music and art appreciation but we didn’t put too much effort into the fine arts last year. We may be able to do more this year since we don’t have to learn everything from scratch. Did I forget anything? Is it overloaded? Is it enough? Thanks so much for any advice!!! Hailey Edited June 13, 2011 by grace'smom clarification Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grace'smom Posted June 13, 2011 Author Share Posted June 13, 2011 I forgot- we're also doing Evan Moore Beginning Geography and learning the states this year. I have that Travel America program from AccidentalHomeschooler... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiknGirl Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Sounds about right to me. I wouldn't worry about adding a foreign language if you are doing CC, since I believe that is part of their memorization stuff. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMD Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Sounds about right to me too. Literature selections from AO I use as free time reading (yes, on top of history/LA). We chose an instrument as priority over foreign language here, but for music if you wanted to you could occasionally add in something like the classical Kids - http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Mr-Bach-Comes-Call-Teachers-NotesCD-Bundle-Susan-Hammond/9781894502764 my kids love listening to the cd's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sukale Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Wow, it sounds like you really have it all together. I really like the Ambleside reading list too. Could you read those to her at bedtime or during lunch just for fun. I sometimes feel that memory work can be dull but I think it is so important at that age. I am really big on narration at that age too. I think you have a great year planned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjbucks1 Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 Are you doing American History? I just wasn't sure, but you could add in the "We Sing America" for music, or something similar depending on the time period you are covering. I would just listen to it in the car on your way to co-op or other activities. You could also get a state and capitals CD and do this in the car :D. And I would not worry at all about a foreign language yet :001_smile:. Blessings, Michelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grace'smom Posted June 14, 2011 Author Share Posted June 14, 2011 I am doing American History, so I will check out the CD you mentioned. Thanks for the tip. And thank you all for permission to leave off with spanish for this year! That will really lighten the load and we can start with Song School Latin in second grade.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnandtinagilbert Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 Sounds good, although I would not make the AO reading list anything more than a reference. One history is enough :) You won't need School Song if you stick with PR ;) GREAT PLAN! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted June 16, 2011 Share Posted June 16, 2011 If neither of you like it, drop the foreign language. You can always pick it up later. I wouldn't do the full AO program, just pick a couple of books you like from the list and read them. We're using Fifty Famous Stories Retold, Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare and the Lang fairy books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grace'smom Posted June 17, 2011 Author Share Posted June 17, 2011 Thanks for all the advice guys. It's really good to get tips on what I can cut out and still give a solid education this year. I'm feeling more confident in our choices now! Hailey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom0012 Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 (edited) I'd would do either AO or the history readings you plan to do alongside AO, but not both. I might add in a fun read-aloud here along with the history readings, though, if that's the route you go. Or, maybe do AO and one history reading a week. I'd definitely skip the foreign language and I would think the geography could wait since CC does cover that some. That's just me, though. Looks like you've really thought out your plans and have come up with some good ideas. Lisa Edited June 17, 2011 by LisaTheresa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted June 17, 2011 Share Posted June 17, 2011 My 1st graders only do phonics, reading ~10-15 mins aloud to me, handwriting, math, and read alouds by me (typically 1 chpt in short chpt books.) That's it. They are all well-educated. ;) So, I think you could cut quite a bit and be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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