Homeschool Open House

I am the wife of a wonderful man who has blessed me with four wonderful children. I have educated my children at home for one school year. This year will be our second year. Our school consists of 8th, 2nd, Kindergarten and Pre-school.

This year we will be incorporating the Charlotte Mason learning style. All of our curriculum is free aside from the cost of toner, printing paper and school supplies. The two older children work at the dining room table and the two younger are at the kitchen table. Our day is usually over between 1:30 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. My 8th and second grader work on their own. I explain what needs explaining and allow them to complete their daily assignments checking them off as they go. I do all of the reading for my pre-k and kindergartener, which is fine because I love to read. I also incorporate audio stories. My must share tip for home school families would be for them to always pray and remain open to change.

Below is our Course of Study for the 2007-2008 school years.

Recitation: (10 min.) Monday-Friday

Monday, Wednesday & Friday-Bible Memory Verse
Tuesday & Thursday-Poem

Math: (30 min.) Monday-Friday
Workbooks M-Th & Math in everyday life Fri- My 13 and 7 year old work independently for 15-20 min.
5 yo and 3 yo morning kitchen chores or centers (blocks, marbles, cars, clay etc.)

Language Arts & Literature (20-30 min.) Monday-Friday
Monday-Thursday 13 yo- reads for 20 minutes and narrates verbally for 10 minutes
Friday- 30 min. written narration
Monday-Friday 7, 5 & 3 yo-7 yo reads aloud for 10 minutes while 5 & 3 yo listen. 10 minutes for all three to get a chance to verbally narrate.

History (Monday, Wednesday & Friday) Nature Study (Tuesday) Science (Thursday) (30 min.)

Monday- American History
Wednesday-Bible History
Friday- World History

The children read a living book on a person or event in history. Then they complete a (13 yo) written or (7 & 5) verbal narration from one of the events read in history. Finally they all participate in creating one index card for each event to be added to our wall time line.

Current Events: (10 min.) Monday & Wednesday
(7 & 13 yo)Wednesday- Choose the most important 2 or 3 stories of the week
Monday- Re-write one story in their own words as a chronicle of the year, making the heading of each page something like “This Week in History, March 15, 2007.”

Mapping: (15min.) Monday-Friday
Locations read in literature and history are pinpointed on the map by the children. I also allow the children to compete at mapping drills.

Composer Study: (15 min.) Tuesdays & Thursdays(All children)
We study one composer per term.
Tuesday: work on our composer biography sheets.(on going)
Thursday: study and listen to the composers work.

Biography: (15 min.) Tuesday & Thursday(all children)
13 yo- 3 people studied per school year
7 & 5 yo- 15 people studied per school year

Geography: (15 min-20 min) Monday & Wednesday
3 locations assigned per school year
Read living books about assigned location
Oral and written narrations about location
Map work of location
Sketches related to location

Citizenship: (15 min.) Tuesday & Thursday
Read 3 pages of Charlotte Mason’s “Ourselves”

Foreign Language: (15 min) Wednesdays & Fridays (Spanish)
We will use the language we learn daily in conversation to reinforce knowledge

Physical Education: (30 min) Monday, Wednesday & Friday
Drills & Athleticism
Each child is given a number of push-ups and jumping jacks. They practice three times a week to build muscle and endurance. Each child must be able to demonstrate for their end of the term grade.Learn and demonstrate an athletic activity; kickball, ping-pong, track etc. each term

Bible Study: (15 min.) Monday-FridayStudy
3 books of the Bible in conjunction with Bible study worksheets
Reading-“Saint’s and Heroes” Vol. 1 and “The Pursuit of God”

Life & Work Skills: (30-60 min.) Monday-Friday
housekeeping, cooking, menu planning, grocery shopping, sewing, knitting, crocheting, volunteer work, wood working, typing, dictation, babysitting, etc.