Cutting back on # of subjects

[MFA323]

This year (technically K but on a 1st-2nd level) we are doing FLL1, WWE1, Z-B handwriting (dropped after finishing one book), SOTW1, Singapore Math 1A-2A or B, Greek (homemade curr. through December, then Athenaze), Spelling Workout 1 and part of 2 until we dropped it, and interest-led science with library and other local resources. It is just too much. I want DD to have more time to play. She generally uses her free time productively. She reads chapter books, plays outside, or plays wonderfully imaginative things with her sisters. Next year I'm thinking of going to the other extreme. I want her to have only 1-1.5 hours of required work each day. Here's my plan:

WWE-style dictations and copywork from good books that DD is reading

Math: Singapore 2B & 3A or 3A & 3B depending on where we end this year

Greek: continue in Athenaze

Latin: ? not someting silly. Maybe Jenny's or a modified journey through Wheelock

History: SOTW2

Everything else will be purely at her leisure. Is this crazy?

[chepyl]

We do SM, Prima Latina, SOTW, Spelling/dictation, R&S 3 grammar, McGuffy Eclectic Readers for reading, and a variety of science unit studies. History and science are on alternate days. We usually accomplish it all in less than 2 hours.

 

We listen to SOTW on did while the kids color. Math is the only thing we spend more than 15-20 minutes on.

[Five More Minutes]

It still looks like a pretty full lineup for a 6yo!

 

Is her handwriting solid? Otherwise you might want to consider how you'll spend time on that. (I do 5 min a day here on a separate handwriting program; others just effectively incorporate it into copywork time.)

 

And how is her spelling? I'd be reluctant to give up on spelling at this age, but maybe something like a Brave Writer style would keep it casual, especially if she's a natural speller.

 

But for Gr. 1, if you've got the essentials down (reading, writing, math), then everything else is really elective and should be at your leisure.

 

(And FWIW, I would drop Greek and Latin before I would leave out some gentle science with a 6 yo.)

[MFA323]

Thanks for your responses. It's helpful to see what others do and what others would add to or subtract from our list.

DD has always done a lot of drawing, so she developed a neat printing style easily. She wants to learn cursive, but we're not going to do that until 2nd grade. She still gets a little messy when she's in a hurry. She's great about exploring scientific topics that interest her, so I'm not worried about that. I think that if we can teach her how to read, think, and explore her world well, she'll be in good shape for more formal scientific study later. DH and I are both classicists, so Greek and Latin are required. DD is a natural speller. We're comfortable dropping spelling for now at least. If she learns Greek and Latin and reads a lot, her spelling will continue to develop. We'll consider resuming spelling in 2nd grade if she needs it and address individually any issues that arise in the meantime.

DD loves SOTW and doesn't really consider it to be work. We'll alternate Latin and Greek and only do three days a week of WWE-type work. Only math will happen every day.

[SorrelZG]

It's not crazy. She sounds similar to my DS7 and very generally speaking, that's how his "first grade" year has been going (after a brief miss-start with a very different schedule). I sit him down for copywork/dictation, math and Latin each day and that takes an hour, maybe. Granted, he writes well in cursive and spells well and doesn't need me to schedule science or even history for him really. Those things are part of how he chooses to spend his free time.

[SarahW]

Greek (homemade curr. through December, then Athenaze),

 

 

Please make a blog sometime where you share what you use to teach Greek to a 1st grader which leads into Athenaze. :drool:

 

Other than that, I'll just ramble some ideas....maybe for science grab some books like Science in Ancient Greece or the like. There's not much that's good for kids for presenting Classical information, but theoretically you could teach Life Science by way of Aristotle. You say she reads a lot, so make sure that you provide her a few good books on art (whether art history, which is something it sounds like she'll enjoy, or something that goes along with her interest in drawing).

[momtoamiracle]

we're pretty light for first grade. The only thing I try to do daily is Math and phonics. I'm just now going to do handwriting every day. My son hates it so much - yesterday he told me it was his worst enemy!

 

otherwise grammar, science, and history are a couple of days a week, sometimes science and history don't get done every week. Of course we read every night.

 

 

He spends his time in a lot of imaginative play. I'd rather let him do that right now instead of a w hole bunch of schoolwork that he really doesn't care anything about... Next year I'll be a little more regular in the deeper subjects, and then for third grade we'll be a bit more rigorous. I think at 8 he'll be more ready than he is at 6. At least I'm hoping!

[MFA323]

 

Please make a blog sometime where you share what you use to teach Greek to a 1st grader which leads into Athenaze. :drool:

 

Other than that, I'll just ramble some ideas....maybe for science grab some books like Science in Ancient Greece or the like. There's not much that's good for kids for presenting Classical information, but theoretically you could teach Life Science by way of Aristotle. You say she reads a lot, so make sure that you provide her a few good books on art (whether art history, which is something it sounds like she'll enjoy, or something that goes along with her interest in drawing).

 

Thanks for the suggestions about art and science. Right now DD pushes back if I try to direct her reading, but next year I'll see if I can get her interested in studying science and art in a historical context.

 

My homemade curriculum will only work well if the child is familiar with the 100EZ method of teaching reading and if the parents knows ancient Greek well, so I don't think it would have very wide appeal. If anyone wants the files, I'd be glad to share. I've thought of rewriting it to make it more accessible and making it available online, but that's a project for another time. Next fall I'm adding DC #4 (due at the beginning of August), a rising kindergartener, and a college course that I've agreed to teach. Athenaze is a great course for kids. I'm not a fan of using the reading method to teach college students, but when DD started Greek I realized that it has its place. She loves it. My 4 y/o has already decided to be Dicaeopolis (a character from the stories) for Halloween next year.

[Gentlemommy]

I've finally found a good groove after cutting WAY back on the number of subjects. Dd is still getting a good, solid education, but she isn't bogged down, has plenty of time to play, and we can explore more in depth the things she wants.

For 2nd grade-

 

Daily (5 days a week)

Math- either MEP or Miquon

LA-spelling and etc OR grammar and cursive

Phonics-quick 5 minute lesson from OPGTTR

Memory work from CC-takes about 15 minutes and covers math, history, geography, time line, grammar, science, and Latin. We add in bible.

 

Extras (1-2 times per week)

History

Nature study

Writing via BW (copy work, poetry, and creative writing)

LoF math or Primary Grade Challenge Math

 

[SarahW]

Thanks for the suggestions about art and science. Right now DD pushes back if I try to direct her reading, but next year I'll see if I can get her interested in studying science and art in a historical context.

 

My homemade curriculum will only work well if the child is familiar with the 100EZ method of teaching reading and if the parents knows ancient Greek well, so I don't think it would have very wide appeal. If anyone wants the files, I'd be glad to share. I've thought of rewriting it to make it more accessible and making it available online, but that's a project for another time. Next fall I'm adding DC #4 (due at the beginning of August), a rising kindergartener, and a college course that I've agreed to teach. Athenaze is a great course for kids. I'm not a fan of using the reading method to teach college students, but when DD started Greek I realized that it has its place. She loves it. My 4 y/o has already decided to be Dicaeopolis (a character from the stories) for Halloween next year.

 

 

Yep, done 100EZ and I did Attic. But the Attic was in college, and with Athenaze. Interesting points about learning Greek with Athenaze. It's good for people who can grasp grammar intuitively, I think, but I'm not that sort of person (though I wish I was). The story kept things interesting, at least until you get bogged down in Herodotus and Thucydides (are we still fighting a war? oh, yes, we are. No, we're making a speech about going to war, oh goodie). I found the verb chart at the beginning of the book invaluable. A classmate even copied it into two legal-sized pages and laminated it for everyone.

 

Sending you a PM.

[5LittleMonkeys]

You might be interested in a Latin Centered method or a modified version if you aren't interested in Latin being the center of your education.

 

The line up looks similar to this:

 

Latin (vocabulary and grammar are included in this)

Math

Compostion (spelling, punctuation, usage and grammar are integrated)

Literature

and then History, Science, Geography and Art/Music on a rotation.

[UrbanSue]

We do basically what you are suggesting for our K/1/2 graders. I understand that classical languages are a priority in your family, but that's what I'd drop first. She has really a lot of time to learn them and will only learn them faster if you do them in a couple of years. If it's her favorite subject or something, I won't fault you for doing it, but it seems you have plenty of time there.

 

You could also let up on WWE for now. Even if she can do it well, there's no rush. You could start it in 2nd or 3rd grade and still complete plenty of writing curricula by the end of eighth and be ready for serious high school work.

 

Then again, my 6yo would mostly prefer to do school all day so if she's not unhappy, don't worry.

[pitterpatter]

I don't think it's totally a matter of how many subjects, more how many are studied in a day. Learning the art of how to efficiently rotate is essential. Of course, schooling year around helps. And, cutting fat is important too.

 

You can see what we study in my siggy, but we don't do them all daily. (We also do copywork, and reading along with phonics instruction.)

 

Studying Spanish just twice a week is sufficient for DD. I don't see the point of studying it daily when she has so much time to learn it ahead of her.

 

Having said this, we school at least 2.5 - 3.5 hours most days.

[Hunter]

When I was making classical languages a priority, I found reading some of the articles at Art Robinson's site helpful. The yahoo group used to be more helpful than it is now.

 

You might also like reading How to Tutor and anything else written by Sam Blumenfeld. The math section in A Guide to American Christian Education is complementary to How to Tutor, if you like it.

 

I have found the handwriting TM and the math pdf from Simply Charlotte Mason good reading. For the lowercase letters I use WRTR 6th edition cursive, but I use the uppercase manuscript in Delightful Handwriting.

 

I also like the original What Your _ Grader Needs to Know series from the early 1990s, for the content subjects. Look for the hardcover Doubleday books, not the current revised books.

 

I'm pretty OCD and streamlined in my choices of curricula. If an author is not also streamlined and OCD, then I usually cannot tolerate using the curricula. I'm not sure if any of these suggestions will be to your taste.

 

I didn't have the educational background to use Athenaze as my core. For better and for worse I used Machen 1st edition as my spine--GASP! Koine, I forever tainted my child with bad habits. :lol: I only used Athenaze and anything else I could get my hands on as readers. We learned a lot of Greek even if it was bad Greek. :D

[Hunter]

Oh, and I think you might like the beginning of Science Matters. The author of LCC liked this book when I introduced him to it while he was writing his book, and he included it. If you purchase LCC, make sure to purchase the 1st edition, as I think you will like it better.

 

Don Potter might appeal to you.

[MFA323]

Thank you! I'm excited about all of these new things to read.

Hunter - Any Greek is good Greek, both for its own sake and for what it teaches the child about grammar and how languages work. I commented to my husband the other day that our DD will be way ahead of the game going into college knowing Greek and Latin. He pointed out that she'll stand out just for knowing English (meaning that American kids don't learn grammar, not that he has ESL students who can't speak English). He has to spend the first few days of his Greek 1 classes teaching basic grammar. He is also noticing that kids no longer know how to read phonetically. They can learn the sounds of the Greek letters, but they have no idea how to combine them and sound out words.

[SorrelZG]

He is also noticing that kids no longer know how to read phonetically. They can learn the sounds of the Greek letters, but they have no idea how to combine them and sound out words.

 

I cannot even imagine. My brain doesn't seem to have the capacity to comprehend this idea. :blink:

[Hunter]

 

 

I cannot even imagine. My brain doesn't seem to have the capacity to comprehend this idea. :blink:

 

A lot of students that are bright enough to make it to college Ancient Greek were bright enough to teach THEMSELVES to read by just memorization. They are survivors and adaptable, despite not having been taught.

[Hunter]

Thank you! I'm excited about all of these new things to read.

Hunter - Any Greek is good Greek, both for its own sake and for what it teaches the child about grammar and how languages work. I commented to my husband the other day that our DD will be way ahead of the game going into college knowing Greek and Latin. He pointed out that she'll stand out just for knowing English (meaning that American kids don't learn grammar, not that he has ESL students who can't speak English). He has to spend the first few days of his Greek 1 classes teaching basic grammar. He is also noticing that kids no longer know how to read phonetically. They can learn the sounds of the Greek letters, but they have no idea how to combine them and sound out words.

 

I spend so much more time on the most basic English now. My boys and I learned English through Greek and Latin. I'm slowly learning how to teach English now.