2022 - 2023 Plan of Study

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 Hi there friends! We are wrapping up year 13, yet we are looking forward to starting the new school year in August. All three kids made great strides this past year and I am so proud of them all for pushing through and excelling. 

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Next school year we will begin our 14^th year of home education and we will have a 10^thgrader, 7^th grader, and a 3^rd grader. This year only Montana will be taking online classes as I jump back into the saddle teaching full time. My break was great and much needed, but now I am ready to get back into the grind of daily teaching and learning with the kids.

We will continue to school 4 days a week for McKenzie and Micah while Montana will do a traditional 5 days for Sophomore year of high school. It may become necessary to adjust our days for McKenzie because of her gymnastics schedule, something we did at this grade for Mikayla. To do this we will add in Saturday school, but for now we are planning on just four days. 

Right now our plan is to start our new year on August 1^st. I may have to adjust this since the University girls need to get back to school mid-August but that is what I am planning. I’m also looking forward to going back to our Sabbath scheduling. This year we will school 9 weeks on / 1 Sabbath week off. It might get a little tricky for Montana as she is taking three online classes again, but we will make it work and make sure she gets her rest when needed too.

Without further ado here is our 2022 – 2023 Plan of Study…

Another year of high school is upon us for Montana! She has excelled in the three online courses she took with Veritas Scholars Academy with final grades ranging from 96-99%! We will continue to utilize VSA for three more of her courses for 10^th grade. Montana has narrowed down what she thinks she wants to be after University, either a Veterinarian or a Medical Examiner. She wants to study art on the side and is interested in animation. Now, don’t be super alarmed at the amount of credits she is taking because everything will not be done every single day. I wanted to make room in her course load to include classes she is interested in as well as our required courses. The schedule will definitely adjust if need be, especially if she starts to get overwhelmed. Here’s what Montana will be learning next school year to earn 10 high school credits. 

10th Grade Homeschool Curriculum Choices

Apologetics, 1 cr:

~ Sonlight Core 300

~ It Couldn’t Just Happen *she will just read this a few times a week

Math, 1 cr:

~ Saxon Algebra 2 with DIVE lecture or OutSchool lecture course 

Honors English II, 1 cr:

~ Rod & Staff 9/10, Book 2

~ Composition 2, online with Veritas Scholars Academy

~ Literature: Sonlight 20th Century Classic Literature

~ Article of the Week {current events only- not the writing portion}

~ Vocabulary Virtuoso: PSAT-SAT Book 1

 

Honors Chemistry, 1 cr:

~ Chemistry, online with Veritas Scholars Academy

 

Honors History/Geography, 1 cr:

~ Sonlight Core 300 : 20th Century WorldHistory

Honors Foreign Language, 1 cr:

~ Avancemos  Spanish 2, online with Veritas Scholars Academy

 

 Music Study, ½ cr:

 ~ 21 Lessons in 20th Century American Music Appreciation

Art , ½ cr:

~ (2-3) 2D /3D Animation courses on OutSchool

 

Philosophy, 1 cr:

 ~ The Discovery of Deduction

 

Home Ec, 1 cr:

~ Home Economics Household and Personal Management Skills
~ Home Economics Kitchen Skills

 

PE, ½  cr:

~ Rec Softball {Fall/Spring}

 

Drivers Ed, ½ cr: (1st  semester)

 

Extras:

~ Montana also works as a Mother’s Helper 5 hours a week

 ~ PSAT prep ~ 45 minutes/day, 4 days a week 

 

* Just as my older girls have done, Montana will sit for the PSAT in October to get her first look and baseline score as a 10^th grader. 

 

Total credits ~ 10.00

 

 

McKenzie has made huge strides over the last year, especially in her reading, Latin, and spelling! For 6^th grade she took two online courses, Apologia General Science and Latin Transition 1 with Veritas Scholars Academy. It was a great fit and the right amount of push she needed. This year she will not be taking any online courses because of timing issues, but hopefully next year course times will work a bit better for her schedule. McKenzie is still interested in being either a Chemist or a Gymnastics Coach/Manager. I’m excited to be feeding her excitement for studying Chemistry this year. Here’s what McKenzie will be learning.

7th Grade Homeschool Curriculum Choices

Apologetics:

~ Sonlight Bible H

~ It Couldn’t Just Happen *we are going to use this as a devotional and stretch it to fit the whole school year with the lesson plans I have.

Recitation:

~ Rhetoric/Latin/Math memory work from Classical Conversations

Math:

~ * At My Pace Pre-Algebra with High School Math Live

~ Pre-Algebra with Saxon 8/7 using DIVE

*we are currently reviewing the first half of this math program.

Language Arts:

~ Rod & Staff Grammar 7

~ Rod & Staff Spelling 6

~ Sonlight Literature H

~ Doodle & Do Vocabulary

~ Analogies For Us All from CC Challenge A

~ IEW Structure & Style, Level B

~ Current Events with World Magazine

History:

~ Sonlight Core H

Geography:

~ CC Cartography course from Challenge A

Latin, 1 cr:

~ Latin Alive 2 *we will count this course for high school credit

Logic:

~ Fallacy Dectective 

Science:

~ Elemental Science Chemistry for Logic Stage

PE:

~ Level 8 (9) Developmental Program Gymnastics Team, 26 hours/week

Extras:

~ co-op enrichment courses

Total credit ~ 1.00

Micah is moving ahead to 3^rd grade, wow! It seems just like yesterday that he was just going into Kindergarten. Cliché, I know, but nonetheless I am excited that my baby boy is growing up. He is a strong reader (yes!) and doing great in math as well. Years ago I did Classical Conversations Foundations at home with the older girls so I am planning on doing the same this year with Micah. We will be focusing on the memory work for Recitation as we work through Sonlight’s Core C that we dropped for 2^nd grade. Micah is also looking forward to starting his formal study of Latin this year. As of right now he would like to be a baseball player or a military officer. Here’s what Micah will be learning next school year.

3rd Grade Homeschool Curriculum Choices

Apologetics:

~ Sonlight Bible C

~ Thy Ology

Recitation:

~ Classical Conversations Foundations Memory work (at home)

Math:

~ Saxon Math 3 

Language Arts:

~ Rod & Staff Grammar 3

~ Rod & Staff Spelling 4

~ Sonlight Literature 3/4 Readers

~ A Reason for Writing, C

~ Writing across the curriculum

History / Geography:

~ Sonlight Core C

Latin:

~ Latin for Children A

Science:

~ Elemental Science Chemistry for Grammar Stage

PE:

~ Fall / Spring baseball

Extras:

~ co-op enrichment courses

~ Cub Scouts Wolf

Thanks for reading our plans! Have you started thinking about what you will use for next school year? I would love to hear your plans! Drop me a note below in the comments and let’s keep the conversation going.

 © 2008 - 2022 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author. 

 https://astablebeginning.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

2021 ~ 2022 Plan of Study

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12 years of home education down

3 high school graduates                                         

1 University graduate

1 University Junior

1 University Freshman

3 children left at home to educate in 9^th, 6^th, and 2^nd grades

Never in a million years did I think we would be in this position when we first started homeschooling back in 2009. We knew we were moving to VA in the fall of 2008 and that’s when God laid it on my heart to keep my then, three school age daughters home. It’s been quite an adventure as we have navigated through Tot School through High School. There have been years where we have been deep in the trenches of homeschooling where I felt as if I were barely hanging on. But you know what? I wouldn’t change it for the world! My children have excelled and been able to pursue the extracurricular activities that interest them whether it be sports, the arts, or Scouting and the fruits of their labor have paid off time and time again.

 

This 13^th year marks a milestone for us so to speak. You see, my last three children have been educated entirely at home. It’s a huge honor and one that I don’t take lightly. I am excited to see them continue to flourish and achieve their educational dreams over the next 11 years we have left homeschooling.

 

Once again we are navigating University move-in’s so we are starting later than normal. In 9 short weeks our school year will begin on August 23^rd  with a 9^th grader, 6^th grader, and 2^nd grader.  It has taken me so long to release this Plan of Study this year because I have had to rethink several curriculum choices for my children. With their input, I have researched and scoured websites, blogs, and reviews to see if the curriculum would be a fit for each child. The biggest change for this upcoming year is that Montana will dive into her first AP course with Human Geography (more about this below).

 

As in previous years, each of my children will have a specific area that we will focus on throughout the year. Pouring into their individual focus areas has led to good fruits down the road as they leave the nest for University. This year the bulk of our curriculum budget is going to online classes for Montana and McKenzie. Typically, we don’t start online classes until 10^th grade, but I recognized early last year that I needed a year to regroup after going hardcore for the previous 12 years. The bulk of Micah’s curriculum is material that we already have with a few exceptions. 


This year we will continue our 4-day, Sabbath schooling schedule of 6/1 (6 weeks schooling / 1 week off) with tweaks during meet season. After much consideration we will be keeping McKenzie in the homeschool morning training schedule for as long as the opportunity affords because it fits our evening needs as a family unit and her gymnastic goals. As a new middle schooler with a heavier course load, she knows it will mean she will be held accountable for her time in the mornings and on double day trainings that are dedicated for school. I am excited to see her rise to the challenge and excel during this time of transition.

We are also excited to fully return to our Wednesday Co-Op where the kids will take some pretty neat enrichment courses. I am looking forward to teaching two fun classes and having a Study Hall. Montana may choose to use Wednesday as a catch up day for school because her workload will increase with high school/college courses. As always, the standing rule is if you don't finish your assignments during the week, it must be done by Saturday afternoon.

With our August 23rd start date we will have 15 weeks completed by the start of our Christmas break on December 17th. Let’s dive into what we are planning to study. 

This year Montana will continue building on her college prep studies. She has already earned 3 high school credits from 8^th grade year and is excited to officially be a high schooler! This year her focus studies will be in math. 

Bible 
  ~ Sonlight Bible 200 ~ Westminster Catechism

Math 
 ~ Saxon Algebra 1 with lecture from Mom and Nicole the Math Lady

Honors Science 
 ~ Apologia Biology online with Veritas Press

Honors English 9
~ Rod & Staff Grammar 9/10, Book 1

~ Wordly Wise 3000, Book 9

~ Composition 1 online with Veritas Press 
~ Sonlight Literature Core 200

History 
 ~ Human Geography with AP test  

*Montana will be doing a self-study for this course as I am not submitting a syllabus to the College Board for approval. I have found another homeschooler who has created the course and will be following her scheduling to prepare for the May exam.

 

Foreign Language

~ Spanish: Avancemos 1 online with Veritas Press

Electives

~ Apologia Health
~ Artistic Pursuits, High School Book One

PE
~ Softball, fall & spring through rec league?

Extras 

~ PSAT/ACT study 45 min/4 days *I am planning on having her take the PSAT in October to get a baseline score.

~ Girl Scout Cadette

Total credits: 8 credits 


 

Last year we changed up our history study for my youngest two. Bottom line…it didn’t work and I quickly went back to Sonlight but with a twist. McKenzie was not ready for complete independence of Core G and I really wanted to focus just on Ancients with the Story of the World as our spine with both her and Micah. So, she completed the first half of Core G and will finish Core G, Middle Ages this year. I still plan to add in hands-on learning for them both as we go the Middle Ages. My goal for her this year is to get her ready for Core H in 7^th grade. Also, you may notice that she is jumping into her high school science prep for 6^th grade instead of 7^th. She’s ready and she has a great teacher online to help increase her love for science that has been planted in the grammar level. Her focus this year is on spelling and vocabulary.

Morning Time Recitations *more to come on our plan

Bible 
~ Wise Up from Positive Action for Christ 

Math 
~ Saxon 7/6 with Nicole the Math Lady

 
Science 
~ Apologia General Science online with Veritas Press

Language Arts 
~ Rod & Staff Grammar 6 
~ Rod & Staff Spelling 6

~ Writing with Skill 1
~ Get to the Root of It Vocabulary

~ Reading List *coming soon

History/Geography/Literature 

~ Sonlight Core G, 2^nd half Middle Ages

~ Sonlgiht Core G literature list

Foreign Language 
~ Latin Transition online with Veritas Press (Latin Alive 1)

Logic

~ Critical Thinking Skills 2

~ Inference Jones 1

PE 
 ~ Level 8 gymnastics Team, 25+ hours a week

*we are hopeful she moves up to compete Level 8 this season after coming off of injury and repeating Lv7.

Time is flying by and my baby boy is in 2^nd grade! This year we are going to continue plugging along and laying the foundation in the basics for him. I am switching a few subjects this year to BJU Press because he enjoys the colorful workbooks this curriculum provides. Like his sisters, Micah is strong in math and loves to read. Our focus this year is completing our work without complaining. 

Morning Time Recitations 

Bible 
 ~ BJU Press Bible Truths: A Servants Heart 

Math 
 ~ Saxon Math 2 
 ~ Math Made Fun, Grade 2

 Language Arts / Phonics 
~ Rod & Staff Grammar 2

~ Writing with Ease 1

~ Explode the Code, Books 4,5, & 6

~ BJU Press Spelling 2

~ Wordly Wise 3000, book 2

~ Sonlight Readers 2
~ A Reason for Handwriting, Transition

~ Reading list * coming soon. I would love to know what some of your favorite reading books are for this age?

Science 
~  Sonlight Core C: Geology, Meteorology, Mechanical Technology 

History/Geography/Literature 
~ Sonlight Core C

Foreign Language 
 ~ Song School Latin 1 with Classical Academic Press 

Art

~ Artistic Pursuits, Book 3 Middle Ages

 

PE 
 ~ Fall & Spring Baseball

Extras 
~ Boy Scout Wolf

~ AWANA ?
 


 

Thanks for making it through this long post! This week I am going to finalize our Morning Time Recitation plans and booklists. We are in the process of a major house declutter and room swap (yes, again) so I’ll be painting and doing that in the next few weeks as well. I’m excited for year 13, our first day will be here before we know it!

 © 2008 - 2021 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author.     

http://astablebeginning.com

 

 

 

 

Grade 7 Lightning Literature Set from Hewitt Homeschooling Resources ~ a TOS review

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It's that time of the year again when homeschooling Moms and Dads are thinking and planning new curriculum purchases for the upcoming school year. You may have just ended your last school year, but I am knee deep into the planning stages as we start back up in early August.

I have loved using the Lightning Literature curriculum with my older daughters in the past for our summer studies, so I was super excited to have the opportunity to have Montana, my rising 7th grader, work with the Gr 7 Lightning Lit Set from Hewitt Homeschooling Resources.

If you have been reading this blog for long you know that we are a book loving family. During our time off for summer break I like the girls to complete some type of summer reading project to keep their knowledge going. Hewitt Homeschooling fits the bill for what I was looking for; a literature curriculum that uses classic books and poems to teach writing skills and literacy analysis. I was thrilled to be offered the Lightning Literature and Composition: Grade 7 Student's Guide, Grade 7 Student's Workbook, and Grade 7 Teacher's Guide to use with Montana.

Hewitt Homeschooling has been around for many years in the homeschooling circle. The company firmly believes that reading great literature and then writing about it goes hand in hand in preparing students for college-level reading and writing. There goal is to serve parents with students from kindergarten through high school with an emphasis on combining excellent academics with character development, by instilling a strong work ethic, and to develop a spirit of community service within the next generation.

We have had the opportunity to use the Seventh grade set for the last six weeks. This set includes a student guide, a teacher guide, and a consumable student workbook. Lightning Lit exposes your child to several different genres of short stories and books and helps your child dig a little deeper into the context. Your child will also practice several writing techniques that are presented in a variety of methods and exercises.

This set covers the following stories and books in this order: 

“Rikki-Tikki-Tavi” by Rudyard Kipling from Stories & Poems for Extremely Intelligent Children The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain 

Various poems from Stories & Poems . . . 

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol 

"The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky” a short story by Stephen Crane from Stories & Poems . . . 

The Story of My Life by Helen Keller 

Various poems from Stories & Poems . . . 

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot 

These books are available in a package with Stories and Poems for Extremely Intelligent Children and in a pack without Stories and Poems for Extremely Intelligent Children. For this review we were to supply our own books to complete the work. We are blessed to have many overflowing bookshelves and a library that fills in most of the time when we don’t have a specific book. That was the case with the story of Rikki~Tikki~Tavi. Our library had a copy of the story for Montana to read to complete the beginning exercises in the curriculum.

The Teacher’s Guide contains complete answers to everything in the student workbook as well as discussion questions to check for comprehension. It also includes a helpful  planning schedule for 36 weeks of learning. The schedule is split into two semesters so you don’t have to. The Teacher’s Guide retails for $25.00.

The student guide breaks each literature  piece or short story down into manageable sections including: an introduction to what is being read while you read a vocabulary list comprehension questions literary lesson a variety of mini-lessons writing exercises The vocabulary list could take the place of your separate spelling list as it contains words needed to know. I had Montana complete her comprehension questions in her literature notebook. The Student Guide also retails for $25.00.

The Student Workbook is a consumable workbook and retails for $25.00. Your child will complete grammar exercises, analyze parts of the book or short story, complete crossword puzzles and complete short writing exercises. To keep from being so repetitive, Lightening Lit varies the activities for each book/short story.

I should note that even though this course is listed for seventh graders, a sixth grader who is a strong reader and likes writing may also be able to do well with this course as well as a eight grader who needs a little more instruction on the foundations of composition.

Since I was using this as a summer enrichment for Montana, I scheduled her work through the exercises three times a week. I will say that even though Montana is a strong reader she was challenged by this program quite a bit. She breezed through Rikki~Tikki~Tavi reading and exercises, but really had to think and take her time with some of the questions to complete the exercises for Tom Sawyer. I like that the program challenged her because that is exactly what she needs right now.

Overall, I am completely pleased with this set! Even though it challenges Montana she is excited to get through the next six weeks of lessons on Tom Sawyer and move into reading Alice Adventure’s in Wonderland. I wholeheartedly recommend the Grade 7 Lightning Lit set to anyone looking for a thorough all encompassing Literature program. Check them out for sure!


And be sure to check out what my fellow CrewMates thought of this program and the other products offered from  Hewitt Homeschooling by clicking on the banner below.

 Elementary: 

 Grade 1 Lightning Lit Set 

 Grade 2 Lightning Lit Set 

Grade 3 Lightning Lit Set 

Grade 4 Lightning Lit Set 

 My First Report: Solar System, Grades 1-4 

 Chronicles of __ State History Notebook, Grades 3-8 

 Joy of Discovery w Learning Objectives 

 Junior High: 

 Gr 7 Lightning Lit Set  

 Gr 8 Lightning Lit Set 

 High School: 

American Early-Mid 19th Century Gr 9-10  

American Mid-Late 19th Century Gr 9-12  

Speech  Gr 9-12 

British Early-Mid 19th Century Gr 10-12  

British Mid-Late 19th Century Gr 10-12  

British Medieval Gr 10-12  

Shakespeare Comedies Gr 11-12  

Shakespeare Tragedies Gr 11-12  

British Christian Gr 11-12  

American Christian Gr 11-12 

Company ~ Hewitt Homeschooling Resources

Product ~ Grade 7 Lightning Lit Set (includes the Teacher’s Guide, Student Guide, and Student Workbook) 

Format ~ perfect bound

Price ~ $ 130.56, sale price $117.50

Ages ~ Junior High

Social Media Links: 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hewitthomeschooling 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hewittonline 

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/hewittonline/ 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/HewittOnline 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hewittonline/

© 2008 - 2019 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author.      

 http://astablebeginning.com

Weave Your Word in Me -- Part 1 ~ a TOS review

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Something I have been looking for is a prayer curriculum for my upper elementary daughter to teach the Lord’s Prayer, and Kid Niche Christian Books and their program, Weave Your Word in Me -- Part 1, is currently filling that need. Normally I like the kids to memorize the Lord’s Prayer by fourth grade, but for some reason or another that just did not happen last year for Montana.

Kid Niche Christian Books is the brain child of author, Susan Case Bonner, who has dedicated the last four decades of her life teaching the Bible to children in a simple yet creative way. The mission of Kid Niche Christian Books is simple. They want to produce family-friendly Bible curriculum to help those who wish to have deep relationship with the one true God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There curriculum geared towards the tween and teen age groups help these young minds grow in their relationship with God through truth, communication, and friendship.

Weave Your Word in Me -- Part 1 is a Bible and prayer curriculum designed to walk your tween, or upper elementary students, through the Lord’s Prayer. With thought provoking questions and various fun activities geared towards the tween age group this curriculum makes learning the scripture fun.

Part 1 of this curriculum includes 36 lessons and focuses on God as our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and his ministry on earth, salvation, resurrection, Christ’s impending return, and the importance of a prayer life. Throughout the lessons there are several scriptures that tie in and focus on the main theme. The translations used in the Weave Your Word in Me curriculum are clearly marked and it even includes answer keys for six different Bible translations including:

 King James Version {KJV} 

English Standard Version {ESV} 

New King James Version {NKJV} 

New International Version {NIV} 

New American Standard Bible {NASB} 

 New American Bible Revised Edition {NABRE}

To complete daily lessons your student will need a Bible of your translation choice, a pencil, and a dictionary. Learning opportunities include activities such as charts, true and false, definitions, fill in the blanks, cartoons, matching, multiple choice, art, sequencing, and drama so there is little chance that your child will become bored of the curriculum.

Using this prayer curriculum in our homeschool was easy to do. Montana (11), was the main user three days a week. She did this in addition to her regular Bible curriculum because the lesson in this curriculum is relatively short. I appreciate that the instructions for this curriculum are written directly to the student, allowing Montana to work independently. Using this curriculum for 3 days a week allows the 80 lessons to be spread out over an entire school year. This is the ideal situation for our family because of Montana’s participation in AWANA.

Overall, we have thoroughly enjoyed this curriculum and plan to finish using it for the rest of the year. It fits our lives and Montana does the work without complaint. If you are interested in hearing what my CrewMates thought of this Bible prayer curriculum, then click the banner below to read their thoughts.

Company ~ Kid Niche Christian Books 

Product ~ Weave Your Word in Me -- Part 1 

Format ~ physical book 

Price ~ $20.00 

Ages ~ geared for the tween group, 4th-6th graders

Social Media Links for Kids Niche Christian Books:

 Facebook ~  Twitter @susancasebonner ~ Pinterest 

©2008 - 2017 A Stable Beginning. All rights reserved. All photographs, text, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of the author.

 http://astablebeginning.com