Isaac's 7th Grade Reading Log

This is a post mostly for my own records. However, it may also be a good place for someone to find book ideas for pre-teen boys! This will be a running log of the books Isaac reads this school year. The list includes books I require him to read for school as well as books he chooses to read on his own (they must be chapter books to qualify). I'll mark the required books with an * in case you're wondering which I required for school and which he chose himself! If you'd like to see what books Isaac read in past years, click the links for 4th, 5th, 6th.

*Books required for school

1. George Müller: The Guardian of Bristol's Orphans (Janet & Geoff Benge)*
2. Beowulf (retold, Michael Morpurgo)
3. Beric the Briton (G.A. Henty)*
4. Fellowship of the Ring (J.R.R. Tolkien)
5. Swiss Holiday (Elizabeth Yates)*
6. Escape from the Island of Aquarius (Frank E. Peretti)
7. In the Days of Alfred the Great (Eva March Tappan)*
8. Point Blanc (Anthony Horowitz) Read 2x
9. The Two Towers (J.R.R. Tolkien)
10. The Bronze Bow (Elizabeth George Speare)*
11. Skeleton Key (Anthony Horowitz) Read 2x
12. In Freedom's Cause (G.A. Henty)*
13. Watership Down (Richard Adams)*
14. Return of the King (J.R.R. Tolkien)
15. Young Reader's Christian Library: In His Steps (Charles M. Sheldon/retold by Dan Larsen)
16. The Wool-Pack (Cynthia Harnett)*
17. The Windy Hill (Cornelia Meigs)*
18. The Hound of the Baskervilles (Arthur Conan Doyle)*
19. The Jinx of Payrock Canyon (Troy Nesbit)
20. The Adventures of Robin Hood (Roger Lancelyn Green)*
21. Stormbreaker (Anthony Horowitz)
22. The Golden Key and Other Stories (George MacDonald)*
23. Young Reader's Christian Library: Robinson Crusoe (Daniel Defoe/retold by Dan Larsen)
24. The Hawk That Dare Not Hunt by Day (Scott O'Dell)*
25. The Children of the New Forest (Captain Marryat)*
26. Isaac Newton: Inventor, Scientist, and Teacher (John Hudson Tiner)*
27. Full Steam Ahead: The Race to Build a Transcontinental Railroad (Rhoda Blumberg)*
28. The Door in the Dragon's Throat (Frank E. Peretti)
29. Mayday at Two Thousand Five Hundred (Frank E. Peretti)
30. Trapped at the Bottom of the Sea (Frank E. Peretti)
31. The Tombs of Anak (Frank E. Peretti)
32. Stories of Don Quixote (James Baldwin)*
33. The Ghost of Grania O'Malley (Michael Morpurgo)
34. Scorpia Rising (Anthony Horowitz)
35. Wulf the Saxon (G.A. Henty)*
36. War Horse (Michael Morpurgo)*
37. Snakehead (Anthony Horowitz)
38. Old Yeller (Fred Gipson)*
39. Twist of Gold (Michael Morpurgo)
40. Theodore Boone: The Abduction (John Grisham)
41. William Booth: Soup, Soap, and Salvation (Janet & Geoff Benge)*
42. Ark Angel (Anthony Horowitz)
43. Boyhood and Beyond (Bob Schultz)*

Summer Holiday Reading:
1. Crocodile Tears (Anthony Horowitz)
2. Eagle Strike (Anthony Horowitz)
3. Theodore Boone (John Grisham)
4. Theodore Boone: The Accused (John Grisham)
5. Spy Stories for Boys (Hamlyn, publisher)
6. Scorpia (Anthony Horowitz)
7. Bartlett and the Ice Voyage (Odo Hirsch)
8. Minn of the Mississippi (Holling Clancy Holling)
9. Seabird (Holling Clancy Holling)
10. The Adventures of King Midas (Lynne Reid Banks)
11. Paddington Marches On (Michael Bond)
12. Paddington Abroad (Michael Bond)
13. Paddington Takes the Test (Michael Bond)
14. Scorpia Rising (Anthony Horowitz)--2nd reading

British History Finalized

I finally finished my lesson plans for 7th grade British history.  I would like to thank SarahElisabeth from delivering grace for pointing me to a free British history outline (written by Kathryn Faulkner and obtained through the Sonlight UK yahoo group).  That outline, which is loosely based on the style of the Sonlight curriculum, was a tremendous help to me in planning.  I am using some of the suggested resources for our British history, but not all. 

My lessons plans are 14 pages, typed, so I’ll stick with just listing the resources I’m using.  This course will be using a British encyclopedia, an old textbook, and a story-based British history (audio).  I’m supplementing this with other books and a few special assignments.  In elementary school, my son rarely took tests, except for spelling and math.  This year, because I’d like him to get used to studying and taking tests, I am working on writing simple study guides and quizzes for each history unit.

So, here are our resources for British history.  This list has been expanded from the list I included in my 7th Grade Curriculum, Revised post.  Five of the books listed are books I have not read yet, but I’m fairly sure they’ll be okay.  That will probably make up my personal reading material for the next month anyway.

Main sources

“Introduction to British History” outline (Kathryn Faulkner)—Sonlight UK Yahoo group

British History Encyclopedia (Nicola Barber and Andy Langley)

Hamlyn Children’s History of Britain (Neil Grant)—This is an older textbook I found at a charity shop.  It is a very secular textbook, which is not really surprising.  There are a handful of objectionable statements which I will skip.  The large section on Darwin I found to be full of inaccurate and unfair statements (definitely not tolerant of other viewpoints). However, I found most of the material to be alright.

Our Island Story (LibriVox)

Supplements

History of Britain: Roman Britain (Brenda Williams)

Castle (David Macaulay)

Cross-Sections: Castle (Stephen Biesty)

Great British Speeches (Simon Heffer)—We’re not reading this book in its entirety.  I’ve picked out a handful of short speeches for Isaac to read and for us to discuss.  This includes individuals such as Elizabeth I, Charles I, William Wilberforce, Churchill, and more.

Animated Hero Classics: Joan of Arc (DVD)

Animated Hero Classics: Florence Nightingale (DVD)

Making Merrye (Medieval Music CD)

The Pastons in Medieval Britain (Martyn Whittock, ed.)—This book is a collection of real letters, written during the Middle Ages.

Tudors & Stuarts (Usborne)

Tales of Shakespeare (Charles and Mary Lamb)—Online

Brain Box: British History game—To be used throughout the year for review

A Charles Dickens movie (A Christmas Carol, Great Expectations, or David Copperfield)

War Boy: A Wartime Childhood (Michael Foreman)

Novels/Biographies

Beric the Briton (G.A. Henty)—Gutenberg Project

In the Days of Alfred the Great (Eva March Tappan)—Kindle

Wulf the Saxon (G.A. Henty)—Gutenberg Project

In Freedom’s Cause (G.A. Henty)

The Wool-Pack (Cynthia Harnett)

The Hawk That Dare Not Hunt By Day (Scott O’Dell)

Children of the New Forest (Captain Marryat)

Isaac Newton: Inventor, Scientist, and Teacher (John Hudson Tiner)

Bonnie Prince Charlie (G.A. Henty)

William Wilberforce: The Freedom Fighter (Derick Bingham)--Kindle

William Booth: Soup, Soap, and Salvation (Janet Benge)--Kindle

War Horse (Michael Morpurgo)

Isaac will also be reading a biography of George Muller, but it’s for his biography unit in reading, not necessarily part of our history lessons.

Here are the units we are covering (the first and last units are very short):

1.  Ancient Britain (Stone Age through Celtic)

2.  Roman Britain

3.  Anglo-Saxon Britain

4.  Norman Britain

5.  Medieval Britain

6.  Tudor England

7.  The Stuarts

8.  Georgian Britain

9.  Victorian Britain

10.  Edwardian Britain & World Wars

11.  Modern Britain

I also have a large number of field trip ideas listed (over 50 locations).  Whether we get to take all of these trips depends largely on finances.  At least I can jot down the ideas and dream, right?  It does help that we’re studying British history while living in Britain.  Actually, we’ll be taking one of these field trips this month, as it’s the only time we’ll be near the location.  I’ll tell you all about it when we get back!

I'm linking this post to "History and Geography" at All Things Beautiful.

7th Grade Curriculum, Revised

Okay, I have all of next year’s curriculum purchased for Isaac.  I did make some changes from what I listed in my original POST.  So, here are the final choices:

1.  History:  British History

Main sources

British History Encyclopedia (Nicola Barber and Andy Langley)

Hamlyn Children’s History of Britain (Neil Grant)

Our Island Story (via LibriVox)

Supplements

Tudors & Stuarts (Usborne)

The Hawk That Dare Not Hunt By Day (Scott O’Dell)

In Freedom’s Cause (G.A. Henty)

Bonnie Prince Charlie (G.A. Henty)

In the Days of Alfred the Great (Eva March Tappan)

William Wilberforce: The Freedom Fighter (Derick Bingham)

William Booth: Soup, Soap, and Salvation (Janet Benge)

Isaac Newton: Inventor, Scientist, and Teacher (John Hudson Tiner)

Brain Box: British History game

Monarchs card game

Great British Speeches (Simon Heffer)

2.  Bible: Christian Growth & Logic

Boyhood and Beyond (Schultz)—1 day a week with dad

Dig Deep (9-week study of Proverbs) (Powell)—3 days

The Fallacy Detective (Bluedorn)—1 day a week

3.  Science: Earth Science

Interactive Science: Earth Science (Pearson, pub.)

This was my big change, but I think it’s going to be a lot of fun for Isaac.  My dad, a retired high school science teacher with a doctor’s degree in geology (and he’s also a college professor), has agreed to do Isaac’s science this year via the internet (since we live an ocean apart).  We selected Interactive Science together, and I’m pleased with the choice.  It is not a Christian program, but my dad is a Christian AND an expert in the field of earth science, so he’ll know how to teach the material.  He has taught junior high as well as high school, so I’m confident this will work well.  He is getting a book for himself and one for Isaac so he can give assignments, lab directions, and occasional lectures/explanations via Skype.  In fact, he’s already making PowerPoint presentations to go with it.  I think it will be neat for Isaac to have a partly online  science course from his very own grandpa!

4.  Math

Life of Fred: Decimals and Percents

Life of Fred: Elementary Physics

I’ll be supplementing these with math games, worksheets, and math apps, in order to completely master his math facts and to give practice on the material he’s learning, so that he’ll be completely prepared for Pre-Algebra.

5.  Reading

Drawn Into the Heart of Reading (Heart of Dakota)—I’ll be using this book some of the time, but I’m also going to have him write book reports and reviews.

Biography: George Muller: The Guardian of Bristol’s Orphans (Benge)

Adventure: Swiss Holiday (Yates)

Historical Fiction: The Bronze Bow (Speare)

Fantasy: Watership Down (Adams)

Mystery: The Windy Hill (Cornelia Meigs) AND The Hound of the Baskervilles (Arthur Conan Doyle)

Folk Tales: The Adventures of Robin Hood (Green) AND The Golden Key and Other Stories (MacDonald)

Nonfiction: Full Steam Ahead: The Race to Build a Transcontinental Railroad (Blumberg)

Humor: Stories of Don Quixote Written Anew for Children (Baldwin)

Realistic Fiction: Old Yeller (Fred Gipson)

6.  Language 1 (Grammar/Writing)

Easy Grammar Plus

Daily Grams 7

Wordsmith

7.  Language 2 (Spelling/Vocabulary)

All About Spelling 6-7

Vocabulary Cartoons

8. Extracurricular

P.E. (2x/week): Family Time Fitness along with an out-of-home sport (swimming and/or soccer)

Music:  Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool’s Music--Ancient

Art:  Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool’s Art—Ancient

Technology:  Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool’s Computer along with Typing Instructor

Isaac’s Book Picks (age 11)

Ever since my kids were infants, I have read to them.  I have collected children’s books since I was a child.  This collecting was increased when I began studying to be a teacher.  It increased even more when I discovered I was pregnant with my first child, and it has never stopped!  Anyway, since I’ve surrounded my children with good books, I thought it would be fun to have them tell you their favorites.  First up is Isaac, my 11-year-old son.

I showed Isaac the lists of books he read in 4th and 5th grades and what he’s read so far in 6th grade (click links to see the lists).  I had him tell me which ones stood out as his favorites.  In the process, we came up with favorite authors (most of his favorite books were by the same authors).  Isaac’s top five favorite authors are (in order):

1.  Frank Peretti

2.  Enid Blyton

3.  J.R.R. Tolkien

4.  C.S. Lewis

5.  Arthur Ransome

It’s interesting that the first is a current American author, but the other 4 are famous British authors who are no longer living.  Anyway, he loves all the books he has read by those 5 authors.

For each author (except Enid Blyton), I asked Isaac to choose his favorite of all their books.  With Enid Blyton, I had to be content with allowing him to choose his favorite from each series that he has.

1.  Frank Peretti—His #1 favorite books right now are the Cooper Kids Adventures series (the only Peretti books he’s read).  Out of the 8 books in the series, he’s read 6.  His favorite is The Deadly Curse of Toco-Rey.

2.  Enid Blyton—I had never heard of Enid Blyton before moving to England, but her books are very well-known here.  Upon having someone recommend her mystery series to Isaac, I checked some of the library.  Isaac now has a full shelf of her books. 

Enid Blyton wrote over 800 books in her life, including several popular series.  Isaac has chosen his favorite from each series he has (though he finally did pick one overall favorite—see note below):

The Famous Five series:  Five Run Away Together

The Secret Seven series:  Shock for the Secret Seven

The Five Finder-Outers series:  The Mystery of the Vanished Prince

The Adventure series:  The Mountain of Adventure

NOTE:  Isaac did say The Mountain of Adventure was probably his top favorite of Enid Blyton’s books because he likes the funny parrot in the series.

The Adventurous Four:  The Adventurous Four, Again

He also likes one that’s not a part of a series:  The Boy Next Door

3.  J.R.R. Tolkien—Isaac has read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.  His favorite is Return of the King.

4.  C.S. Lewis—He has read The Chronicles of Narnia and loves them all, but his favorite is The Last Battle.

5.  Arthur Ransome—This is another author I never heard of before moving to England, but his books are famous here.  Many of his stories took place in the Lake District, which happens to be our #1 favorite place in this country.  We have nine of Ransome’s books.  Isaac has read 3 and is working on his 4th.  He has enjoyed all of them, but his favorite is Peter Duck.

Here are some more books that made Isaac’s favorite book list (in no particular order):

The Adventures of King Midas (Lynne Reid Banks)

Stormbreaker (Anthony Horowitz)

Bad Kitty vs. Uncle Murray (Nick Bruel)

The Adventures of Tintin series (Hergé)—Isaac has read 2 volumes of stories that we checked out of the library; I’m not sure which ones.

Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (Roald Dahl)

Generally speaking, I’d say mysteries, adventures, and humorous book are what Isaac likes best!

Read-Alouds

I have read a lot of chapter books to my kids (since kindergarten), and I asked Isaac to choose 5 favorite books that I’ve read aloud to him.  Here are the books he chose as favorites:

The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien)

Little Lord Fauntleroy (Frances Hodgson Burnett)

The Twenty-One Balloons (William Pène du Bois)

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain)

Aesop’s Fables

If you have preteen boys, what books top their lists?

I’m linking this post to “The Children’s Bookshelf” at What Do We Do All Day?

7th Grade Curriculum Choices…for Now

Yes, it’s that time of year when I am (once again) researching for next school year!  Actually, I’ve been researching since last year…  Anyway, I have come up with a preliminary plan for Isaac’s 7th grade year, and it helps me to have it down on my blog, nice and neat, so I can see it and make appropriate changes as the year progresses.  Here’s what I have so far:

1.  History—I had planned to do American History in junior high (split into 2 sections).  However, the thought hit me that we had never done a full British history.  We live in England.  We really OUGHT to do some British history while we’re here.  Yes, we have had some British history included in our 4-year cycle of world history, but we haven’t focused on it by itself.  So, unable to decide for sure, I finally asked Isaac what he would like to do.  He decided on British history, so that’s what we’re doing! 

I’m in the process of putting this course together myself.  While researching, I did find 3 good British history courses, but two of them are more of a high school level, and the other one is a 4-year program, which is not what I’m looking for.  So, I’m pulling from all kinds of sources, including quite a lot of literature, to put this together.  It’s a work in progress, so please do let me know if you have any suggestions.  It will be a full ancient to modern history (if that’s possible)…I hope.  We’ll see.  Here’s list of book ideas I have so far, and I don’t yet have all of these in my house, so my list might change.

NOTE:  All my British history book links are for Amazon.uk, just for your information.

Main sources:  My 2 main sources are books I already own, so I decided to use them, along with other supplemental material, instead of searching for a “perfect” textbook.  I’ll use what I can and skip anything I don’t care for.  Both books adequately cover British history.

British History Encyclopedia (Nicola Barber and Andy Langley)

Hamlyn Children’s History of Britain (Neil Grant)

Our Island Story (via LibriVox)

History of Britain: Roman Britain (Brenda Williams)

Tudors & Stuarts (Usborne)

Biographies:  I’m considering George Muller, Isaac Newton, William Booth, William Wilberforce, William Tyndale, and Eric Liddell

Historical Fiction:  The Hawk That Dare Not Hunt By Day (Scott O’Dell), In Freedom’s Cause (G.A. Henty), Bonnie Prince Charlie (G.A. Henty), and some others I’m looking at on Project Gutenburg.  I’m open to suggestions. 

Other resources:

Brain Box: British History game

Tales from Shakespeare (Lamb)

Monarchs card game

Great British Speeches (Simon Heffer)

A selection of British poetry and literature

I’ll probably head to the local library as well. This British history planning may well turn into another post!

2.  Bible: Christian Growth & Logic

Boyhood and Beyond (Schultz)

Dig Deep (9-week study of Proverbs) (Powell)

The Fallacy Detective (Bluedorn)

3.  Science: Health & General Science

This could possibly change.  I really want a General Science but NOT Apologia (it’s looks too overwhelming for my son who hates math).  Any thoughts (even on Apologia)?  The Great Science Adventures mentioned below have several topics, and Isaac chose those 3 himself.

What is God’s Design for My Body? (Horner)

Passport2Purity Weekend Retreat Kit

Great Science Adventures: The World of Space

Great Science Adventures: The World of Insects and Arachnids

Great Science Adventures: The World of Tools and Technology

4.  Math:  As of right now, I’m planning on leaving Teaching Textbooks behind after this year.  The main reason in the price—I still love the program.  We are currently using Life of Fred: Fractions alongside TT, and we like it, too, so that’s what I will continue with next year. 

Life of Fred: Decimals and Percents

Life of Fred: Elementary Physics

5.  Reading

Drawn Into the Heart of Reading (Heart of Dakota)—The literature selections below COULD possibly change.

Biography: George Muller: The Guardian of Bristol’s Orphans (Benge)

Adventure: Swiss Holiday (Yates)

Historical Fiction: The Bronze Bow (Speare)

Fantasy: Watership Down (Adams)

Mystery: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Doyle)

Folk Tales: The Adventures of Robin Hood (Green) and/or The Golden Key and Other Stories (MacDonald)

Nonfiction: Full Steam Ahead: The Race to Build a Transcontinental Railroad (Blumberg)

Humor: Stories of Don Quixote Written Anew for Children (Baldwin)

Realistic Fiction: We Didn’t Mean to Go to Sea (Ransome)

6.  Language Arts (Grammar/Writing)

Easy Grammar Plus

Daily Grams 7

Wordsmith

7.  Word Power (Spelling/Vocabulary)

All About Spelling 6-7

Vocabulary Cartoons

8. Extracurricular

P.E. (2x/week): Family Time Fitness along with an out-of-home sport (swimming and/or soccer)

Music lessons: Guitar or drums IF I can talk someone into giving the lessons for little cost or free; otherwise, he’ll be stuck with piano lessons given by Mom. 

I may also do some Music Appreciation, using Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool.  The current choices are Ancient through Renaissance and Modern Music.  There is also an Early American Music course, but she doesn’t recommend using it until September so she can edit and fix anything on it—that particular course includes European composers from the same time period.  The courses appear to be workable for any grade level.

Art Appreciation & Related Art: As of right now, I may try out Easy Peasy’s Modern Art for Level M as it looks closest to what I’m looking for and is completely free!

Technology:  Computer (Easy Peasy, Grade 7) along with Typing (Typing Instructor)

That’s what I have so far.  Believe it or not, I am already looking for 8th grade and beyond!

Isaac's 6th Grade Reading Log

This will be a running list of books Isaac reads during 6th grade. I will be adding to it throughout the year. This is mostly for my own records. This list includes books I require for school as well as books he is reading on his own. If you'd like to view his 5th grade reading list, click HERE.

1. Children in History: Victorians (Kate Jackson-Bedford)
2. The Adventurous Four (Enid Blyton)
3. Carry On, Mr. Bowditch (Jean Lee Latham)
4. The Adventurous Four Again! (Enid Byton)
5. Rifles for Watie (Harold Keith)
6. The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien)
7. Pigeon Post (Arthur Ransome)
8. Shades of Gray (Carolyn Reeder) [NOT to be confused with another book of similar title!]
9. Trapped at the Bottom of the Sea (Frank E. Peretti)
10. History Spies: The Great Exhibition Mission (Jo Foster)
11. ...If You Lived at the Time of the Civil War (Kay Moore)
12. The Door in the Dragon's Throat (Frank E. Peretti)
13. The Wizard of Oz (L. Frank Baum)
14. Adam of the Road (Elizabeth Janet Gray)
15. The Deadly Curse of Toco-Rey (Frank E. Peretti)
16. The Tombs of Anak (Frank E. Peretti)
17. Tom's Midnight Garden (Philippa Pearce)
18. Peter Duck (Arthur Ransome)
19. Meet Samantha (Susan S. Adler)
20. ...If Your Name was Changed at Ellis Island (Ellen Levine)
21. ...If You Lived at the Time of the Great San Francisco Earthquake (Ellen Levine)
22. Road Race Round the World (Robert B. Jackson)
23. Titanic (Victoria Sherrow)
24. The Mysterious Message (Steve and Susie Castleberry)
25. A Letter to Mrs. Roosevelt (C. Coco de Young)
26. Esperanza Rising (Pam Muñoz Ryan)
27. Toro! Toro! (Michael Morpurgo)
28. Tales of the Greek Heroes (Roger Lancelyn Green)
29. Run for Your Life! (Betty Swinford)
30. Winter Holiday (Arthur Ransome)
31. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (Leigh Brackett & Lawrence Kasdan)
32. The Victory Garden (Lee Kochenderfer)
33. Miracles on Maple Hill (Virginia Sorensen)
34. The Great Fire (Jim Murphy)
35. The Enchanted Wood (Enid Blyton)
36. The Magic Faraway Tree (Enid Blyton)
37. The Folk of the Faraway Tree (Enid Blyton)
38. Apollo 13: The Junior Novelization (Dina Anastasio)
39. The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips (Michael Morpurgo)
40. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Mildred D. Taylor)
41. Cows in Action: The Moo-My's Curse (Steve Cole)
42. Cows in Action: The Ter-Moo-Nators (Steve Cole)
43. Ginger Pye (Eleanor Estes)
44. Kensuke's Kingdom (Michael Morpurgo)
45. Treasures of the Snow (Patricia M. St. John)

SUMMER READING:
1. The Island of Adventure (Enid Blyton)
2. The Castle of Adventure (Enid Blyton)
3. The Valley of Adventure (Enid Blyton)
4. The Sea of Adventure (Enid Blyton)
5. Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (Roald Dahl)
6. The Ring O' Bells (Enid Blyton)
7. The Rubadub Mystery (Enid Blyton)
8. Stormbreaker (Anthony Horowitz)
9. The Tombs of Anak (Frank E. Peretti)
10. The Deadly Curse of Toco-Rey (Frank E. Peretti)
11. Homer Price (Robert McCloskey)
12. Emil and the Detectives (Erich Kästner)

6th Grade Curriculum

I’ve just about finished ordering curriculum for the upcoming school year.  As of right now, here are my plans for Isaac’s 6th grade.  I will list his subjects by workbox number, but there will only be 8 instead of 12 this time.  I made this change so that Gabriela could have her own boxes, and because I didn’t have the space to add another 12 for her.  I’ll post Moriah’s and Gabriela’s (3rd grade and preschool) separately.

Isaac’s 6th Grade Curriculum

In brief:

Box 1:  Bible—Discover 4 Yourself series

Box 2:  Math—Teaching Textbooks 6 and Life of Fred: Fractions

Box 3:  Reading—Drawn into the Heart of Reading

Box 4:  History—Story of the World, Volume 4: The Modern Age

Also Box 4:  Read aloud time (classics)

Box 5:  Language Arts 1--Easy Grammar, Daily Grams, Vocabulary Cartoons, copywork

Box 6:  Language Arts 2--All About Spelling, Story Builders (writing)

Box 7:  Science—Investigate the Possibilities set (Physical Science) and Exploring Creation with Botany

Box 8:  Extracurricular—Fine Arts, P.E., Thinking Skills (Critical and Creative Thinking Activities)

With explanations:

Box 1:  Bible—Discover 4 Yourself series (This year, we studying Genesis and 2 Timothy).  We’re using the following books: 

God’s Amazing Creation

Digging Up the Past

Abraham: God’s Brave Explorer

Extreme Adventures with God

Joseph: God’s Superhero

Becoming God’s Champion

Box 2:  Math—Teaching Textbooks: Math 6 and Life of Fred: Fractions

Box 3:  Reading—Drawn into the Heart of Reading (I haven’t finalized the book choices)

Biography: Carry On, Mr. Bowditch (Jean Lee Latham)

Adventure: The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien)

Historical Fiction: Adam of the Road (E.J. Gray)

Fantasy: Tom’s Midnight Garden (Phillipa Pearce)

Mystery:  The Mysterious Message (Stephen and Susie Castleberry)

Folk Tale: Tales of the Greek Heroes (Roger Lancelyn Green)

Nonfiction: The Great Fire (Jim Murphy)

Humor:  Ginger Pye (Eleanor Estes)

Realistic Fiction: Treasures of the Snow (Patricia M. St. John)

Box 4:  History—Story of the World, Volume 4 (The Modern Age), supplemental books (historical fiction, nonfiction, biographies), History Pockets: The Civil War

Read-Aloud Time—I will be reading aloud to Isaac from a number of classics.  I’m choosing stories that take place during (or were written during) the same time periods that Isaac is studying.  So far my list includes the following (although we may not get to all of them):

Little Lord Fauntleroy

Little Women (I may only do the first half)

The Mysterious Island

Treasure Island

The Story of the Treasure Seekers

White Fang

Pollyanna

Box 5:  Language Arts 1—Grammar and Vocabulary/Handwriting

Easy Grammar: Grade 6 (Monday-Thursday)

Daily Grams: Grade 6  (daily)

Vocabulary Cartoons (Friday)

Handwriting Practice (Friday)—I’m going to have Isaac do copy work on Fridays (using Bible verses, quotations, book excerpts, etc.) because he needs the practice, particularly with cursive capital letters and overall neatness.  And yes, I am a believer in teaching neat penmanship!

Box 6: Language Arts 2--Spelling and Writing

All About Spelling, Levels 4-6 (Monday-Thursday)--We are most of the way through book 4 and will continue at a normal sort of pace and see where we come out at.

Story Builders: World of Animals (Friday)—I absolutely love WriteShop; however, I felt I had too much for Isaac to do each school day, and he will be doing a lot of writing in other subjects anyway.  I already had the Story Builders set we hadn’t used yet, so I’ll let him do this on Fridays.  I feel like WriteShop C gave him the skills he needs to progress with his writing.  Hopefully it was enough of a foundation, and I think it gave him the confidence he needed. I may change my mind and get WriteShop Junior, book D later in the year

Box 7:  Science—Physical Science and Botany

Investigate the Possibilities set

Exploring Creation with Botany

Box 8: Extracurricular--Fine Arts/P.E./Thinking Skills

Fine Arts (Monday/Friday):  I haven’t decided yet how to teach this.  I found 2 programs that I can purchase online (ebooks), and I love both of them.  However, both programs require supplemental books.  They’re just not in the budget this year.  I may come up with my own program, or I may substitute just art and music.  We’ll see.

Thinking Skills (Tuesday/Wednesday):  Critical and Creative Thinking Activities and other books and games

P.E. (Thursdays):  We do different things for P.E., but the focus is mostly on fun exercise and basic skills.  You can read my P.E. post HERE to see what we generally do for P.E.  I recently purchased a long jumping rope and some plastic bases to add to our P.E. equipment.

I'm also adding a new typing program (Typing Instructor for Kids Platinum) and maybe a little art and music.

I’m linking this post to the “Link Your 2012-2013 Curriculum Picks!” blogroll at {School} Days Gone By.  If you have any questions or need links for any of the curriculum I mentioned, let me know.  Adding links to everything on this list would take more time than I currently have. I did add nearly everything to Amazon widgets in my sidebar, so you can click on that as well.

Isaac's Reading Log--5th Grade

Last year, for our records, I kept a log here of every book Isaac read. I counted chapter books and a few longer, higher-grade level picture books. During 4th grade, Isaac read 71 books. During our 7-week summer break, he read 10 more, for a total of 81 books in one year. I'm so proud of him! If you're interested in what Isaac read in 4th grade, you can view his 4th Grade Reading List by clicking on that link.

I'm starting a new post for Isaac's 5th grade reading log. Throughout the year, I will add to the list as he completes each book he reads. We've only finished 3 days of school, and he's already finished 3 books; however, 2 of those were started during summer break. This list will include books Isaac is required to read for school, as well as books he reads on his own.

5th Grade Reading Log: 2011-12

1. The Mystery of the Vanished Prince (Enid Blyton)
2. Five Have Plenty of Fun (Enid Blyton)
3. Magic Tree House: Adventure on the Amazon (Mary Pope Osborne)
4. The Mystery of Tally-Ho Cottage (Enid Blyton)
5. The Boxcar Children: The Ghost Ship Mystery (Gertrude Chandler Warner)
6. The Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk (Donald J. Sobol)
7. Brighty of the Grand Canyon (Marguerite Henry)
8. Farmer Boy (Laura Ingalls Wilder)
9. The Borrowers (Mary Norton)
10. The Silver Chair (C.S. Lewis)
11. The Last Battle (C.S. Lewis)
12. Stormy, Misty's Foal (Marguerite Henry)
13. Escape to Liechtenstein (Ed Dunlop)
14. Mik-Shrok (Gloria Repp)
15. Miss Pickerell Goes to Mars (Ellen MacGregor)
16. Red Sails to Capri (Ann Weil)
17. Amos Fortune, Free Man (Elizabeth Yates)
18. The Mountain of Adventure (Enid Blyton)
19. Fellowship of the Ring (J.R.R. Tolkien)
20. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (Robert C. O'Brien)
21. The Two Towers (J.R.R. Tolkien)
22. Return of the King (J.R.R. Tolkien)
23. Why the Whales Came (Michael Morpurgo)
24. Born to Run (Michael Morpurgo)
25. The Invisible Friend (Lois Walfrid Johnson)
26. Stormbreaker (Anthony Horowitz)
27. The Adventures of King Midas (Lynne Reid Banks)
28. The Life of Leonardo da Vinci (Susie Hodge)
29. Mr. Popper's Penguins (Richard and Florence Atwater)
30. Knights, Kings and Conquerors (Geraldine McCaughrean)
31. The Wreck of the Zanzibar (Michael Morpurgo)
32. The Trumpet of the Swan (E.B. White)
33. Christian Liberty Nature Reader, Book 4 (Michael McHugh)
34. The Trumpeter of Krakow (Eric P. Kelly)
35. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Roald Dahl)
36. Swallows and Amazons (Arthur Ransome)

Summer Reading (beginning May 18, 2012):
37. Twice Freed (Patricia St. John)
38. The Boxcar Children (Gertrude Chandler Warner
39. The Legend of Annie Murphy (Frank Peretti)
40. The Secret of the Desert Stone (Frank Peretti)
41. Bad Kitty vs Uncle Murray (Nick Bruel)
42. The Adventures of Tintin, Volume 3 (Hergé)
43. The Twits (Roald Dahl)
44. The Adventures of Tintin, Volume 7 (Hergé)
45. The Indian in the Cupboard (Lynne Reid Banks)
46. Under Threat: Great White Shark (Richard Spilsbury)
47. Saving Zasha (Randi Barrow)
48. Garfield Pigs Out (Jim Davis)
49 Five Go Off to Camp (Enid Blyton)

Our Curriculum Choices 2011-12

This is a post that I’ve put off for awhile because I’ve only just now finalized all my choices and finished my ordering.  Just a note on these curriculum lists—not everything will be done daily! Anyway, here’s what I’m planning for this year:

Isaac (5th grade)

Math:  Teaching Textbooks 5

Reading:  Drawn Into the Heart of Reading (using the following literature selections):

Biography—The Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk (Donald J. Sobol)

Adventure—Escape to Liechtenstein (Ed Dunlop)

Historical Fiction—Amos Fortune, Free Man (Elizabeth Yates)

Fantasy—Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (Robert C. O’Brien)

Mystery—The Invisible Friend (Lois Walfrid Johnson)

Folk Tales—Knights, Kings and Conquerors: 20 Stories from British History (Geraldine McCaughrean)

Nonfiction—Christian Liberty Nature Reader, Book 4 (Lindstrom and McHugh, eds)

Humor—Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Roald Dahl)

Realistic Fiction—Swallows and Amazons (Arthur Ransome)

Language:  Learning Language Arts Through Literature (The Purple Book), Language Lessons for the Elementary Child 2 (finishing from last year), English Grammar and Stories with Cartoons for Young Children, and various Mad Libs books.

Writing:  WriteShop Primary C

Vocabulary:  Vocabulary Cartoons and Rummy Roots game

Bible:  Discover 4 Yourself Series:  Lord, Teach Me to Pray for Kids, Wrong Way, Jonah!, Bible Prophecy for Kids (Rev. 1-7), and A Sneak Peek into the Future (Rev. 8-22)

Spelling:  All About Spelling, levels 3 and 4

Thinking Skills:  Building Thinking Skills, Level 2 and various games

Science:  Apologia:  Exploring Creation with Zoology 1: Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day (only the flying insects section, to finish from last year), Exploring Creation with Zoology 3:  Land Animals of the Sixth Day and Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology. 

History:  Story of the World, Volume 3:  Early Modern Times.  Also, we’ll complete History Pockets: Native Americans, which we never finished last year.

Geography:  I teach geography units in a similar style to Jolanthe at Homeschool Creations.  I come up with my own lesson plans, which I don’t mind since geography is my favorite subject.  However, the ideas I include in my plans aren’t always my own.  I get a lot of my ideas (and printables) from other websites and blogs.  I chose a list of countries from those mentioned in our history program.  This year, I’m planning 2-week long units on the following countries and 1 continent:

Canada, Haiti, Peru, Venezuela, Argentina, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Czech Republic, Iran, Mongolia, Burma (Myanmar), Korea, Angola, South Africa, Antarctica.

In my plans, I try to use literature, YouTube videos, notebook pages, art or craft projects, music, food, maps, drawing, resource books, websites, science projects, games and sometimes lapbooks.

Storytime:  Read-aloud classics.  Here’s our list of books we plan to read through this year, if possible (though I may add or subtract some): 

Anne of Green Gables
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Little Lord Fauntleroy
Heidi
Around the World in 80 Days
Treasure Island (Junior version)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Extracurricular Rotation 1:  I’m not sure how I’m going to work this, but I’m planning to rotate these subjects by school quarter (we’ll see how it goes):

Art Appreciation & Handicrafts—Study paintings (M), reproduce paintings (Tu), do handicrafts (W), study architecture (Th), Art Appreciation notebook (inc. architecture)(F)

Music I—Composers, using A Young Scholar’s Guide to Composers

Art—Drawing Textbook

Music II—Piano (4 weeks), recorder (4 weeks), singing (with Singing Made Easy) (Fridays)

Extracurricular Rotation 2:

Physical Education—Various activities and games (I do plan to include some daily exercise for the whole year)

Typing—Continue with Typing Instructor PC/CD

Health & Safety—Website SuperKids Nutrition and possibly others

Technology—Coming up with my own plans

 

Moriah (2nd grade)

Morning Seatwork:  Spectrum Test Practice, Grade 2

Reading:  Helping Hands and Happy Hearts (Reading to Learn series)

Math:  Singapore Math:  Primary Mathematics 2A and 2B

Spelling:  All About Spelling.  Right now, Moriah is in the middle of level 2, so we’ll work up as far as we can this year, up through level 4 if possible.

Phonics:  Explode the Code (books 4 and 5)

Language Arts Rotation:

Handwriting:  Pictures in Cursive Primer (M/W)

Language:  My own plans (Tu/Th)

Writing: Journaling (Fridays)

Poetry:  Poems for Memorization (daily)

Rotation (Science/Thinking Skills):

Science:  Our Father’s World and nature study (M/W/F)

Thinking Skills:  MindWare brainteaser books:  Analogies, Venn Perplexors, Logic Links, and various games (Tu/Th)

Bible:  Grapevine Studies Stick-Figuring Through the Bible: New Testament Overview, Beginner level and Seeds Family Worship, Volumes 2 and 4

History:  Story of the World, Volume 3:  Early Modern Times (along with Isaac)

Geography:  Same as Isaac (see above)

Storytime:  I’ll read aloud books from 9 genres:

Biography—Squanto: Friend of Pilgrims (Clyde Robert Bulla)

Adventure—Sword in the Tree (Clyde Robert Bulla)

Historical Fiction—Little House on the Prairie (Laura Ingalls Wilder)

Fantasy—Rabbit Hill (Robert Lawson)

Mystery—The Railway Children (E. Nesbit)

Nonfiction—If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon (E. Levine)

Humor—A Bear Called Paddington (Michael Bond)

Realistic Fiction—Misty of Chincoteague (Marguerite Henry)

Folktales—Dick Whittington and His Cat (retold by Eva Moore)

Rotation (Electives):

Music:  I may do Moriah’s music along with Isaac.  We have a keyboard now, so I’m planning to give her beginning piano lessons.  We’ll also do singing, using the program Singing Made Easy.  I’ll probably do some stuff on composers, music appreciation, and musical instruments as well.

P.E.:  With Isaac

Spanish:  Teach Them Spanish, grade 1 (if we finish that, we’ll go on to grade 2)

Life Skills:  Life Skills for Kids

 Art:  Joseph the Canada Goose,  Little Annie’s Art Book of Etiquette and Good Manners, and Draw-Write Now books.  May also do some Art Appreciation.

Gabriela—Preschool/Tot School

I’m not really sure where I’m going with Gabriela yet.  She won’t be 4 until October.  In the US, age 4 is preschool, and in the UK, age 4 is Reception (Kindergarten).  In either case, Gabriela would turn 4 too late to be enrolled in school if I had her in public schools.  So, this is a case of “wait and see what she’s ready for.”  In some ways, I feel she’ll be ready for preschool, but in other ways I feel she still needs Tot School.  I’ll figure out at the end of the school year whether I feel she’s ready for Kindergarten.  With Isaac and Moriah, I used the program Early Education at Home for Preschool.  With Gabriela I’m planning to use that program along with Tot School trays/Montessori activities AND Before Five in a Row…sort of.  I don’t actually have the book BFIAR, and I don’t plan to purchase it because it’s hard to get in the UK and expensive (not to mention that some of the required story books are out of print).  However, I like the idea behind it, and I have several of the books.  So, I’m going to come up with my own activities for those books and cover one a week.  I may even add some different books, if it goes well.  For Montessori activities, I use the book Teach Me to Do it Myself, by Maja Pitamic, as well as several Montessori blogs I follow online.  The Early Education at Home book covers the alphabet, numbers, colors, shapes, and various theme units.  To supplement the alphabet section, I’ll be using the Letter of the Week preschool curriculum from Erica at Confessions of a Homeschooler.  For Math, I also use Math Play! and Singapore Math: Earlybird Pre-School Mathematics.  I have lots of early learning math manipulatives, too. 

When I get Gabriela’s preschool plans finalized, I’ll do a separate post!

Geography Travels: Colorado

Isaac chose Colorado mostly because his aunt and uncle go there every year, and his grandparents have also been in recent years.  I enjoyed teaching Colorado, because I’ve been there at least 4 times myself, even though it’s been several years ago.  It’s a beautiful state for sure!
Week 1
Located and colored Colorado on the map, and located capital and major cities. 
Notebook page (from Homeschool Creations)
Flag page—We used construction paper for the flag this time.  Isaac put the pieces together like a puzzle and glued it. 
Listen to state song (YouTube)


Geography from A to Z: mountain range, plateau, plains, river, butte, canyon, gorge, desert, dune, valley, forest, Continental Divide
Map page (from Enchanted Learning)
Discussed 14ers (all mountains over 14,000 feet in altitude), Pikes Peak, and the Rocky Mountain National Park.

You can watch another Adventure Crew (YouTube) video on Rocky Mountain National Park HERE.  It covers Estes Park and Grand Lake.
Graphed Colorado’s highest mountains—I got this customizable bar graph printable at Teacher Vision.
Discussed Great Sand Dunes, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Royal Gorge, Continental Divide




Click HERE for a YouTube video on Black Canyon of the Gunnison…I couldn’t embed it.

Week 2
Discussed popular Colorado sports (skiing, whitewater rafting, etc.) and US Olympic Committee

I don’t care for the music on the following video, but it’s a good demonstration of snowboarding, so I just turned the music down.

Shaun White snowboarding in Colorado:

Click HERE for a nice ski map.
Discussed Colorado animals and labeled pictures:
Mines (gold, silver), Cripple Creek

The following video does contain a section about gambling and casinos if you’d rather skip that part.

Mesa Verde and Anasazi culture (click link to learn all about the Anasazi)

Discussed the Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado National Monument, Garden of the Gods, and Seven Falls.

Colorado Websites:
The best one is Colorado for Kids.  It has a great interactive map with lots of info and games.
Colorado’s Kids and Students Page has a lot of links
Kids Konnect also has loads of links.
Here some other blogs I know of that have fantastic units on Colorado.  Check them out!
Musings of Me
Montessori Tidbits
Get Down and Get Your Hands Dirty
I’m linking this post to “Geography/History” at Children Grow, Children Explore, Children Learn.
NEXT UP:  Montana and Texas!