We have started a new homeschool year! We start in July and homeschool year round. We now have an 11th grader, 9th grader, 5th grader, PreK 3 and of course we also have a 1 year old toddler and a newborn! Our sweet Capri completed our family May 12th, 2021. We have mostly recovered and started feeling like we have some semblance of a routine and are ready to slowly begin a new school year.
The first week we began by just doing our sunrise basket, explained below, and next week we will add in apologia science and the girls’ math. Then in the third week of school we will add in their main lesson blocks. We stagger main lessons so that I can handle teaching all of it without getting burned out and overwhelmed.
Sunrise Basket
This is just a basket/bin that has their solo morning work while I’m on a walk with the littles [ages 3, 1.5 and newborn]. They light a candle, play light music or Gregorian chant or nature sounds and get their basket of solo morning work.
In the girls’ basket is an Intuitive Eating workbook, journal, Catholic prayer book and rosary, geography workbook and some art supplies for creative journaling. Everett has all of those things minus the intuitive eating workbook. Instead he has Health 5 for Young Catholics by Seton. The girls’ geography books are just simple ones meant to refresh their geography skills.
Main Lesson Blocks
Daily/Year Long –for the high school girls
Faith – Daily/Weekly & part of Sunrise Basket
English – Daily [for reading and writing – part of Sunrise Basket] with two concentrated literature main lesson blocks.
Health – not a block study this year, part of Sunrise Basket and regular life
Science – 4 Days per Week for the whole school year with main lesson block in Nature Study
Math – math fact flashcards [on an app], algebra daily worksheet until finished
Order of Main Lesson Blocks – for the high school girls
1. Math – Geometry – 9 weeks
2. English Literature Block – 4 weeks
3. History – 9 Weeks
4. Business & Entrepreneurship – 4 weeks
5. English Literature Block – 4 weeks
6. Science – Nature Study for 4 weeks
7. English Shakespeare Block – 2 weeks
Total Weeks : 36 weeks
Lorelai 11th Grade
- Faith : We are still using the Hallow App and will doing prayer time in the morning, afternoon and evening [just part of our life, not curriculum]. All three kids are also going to be listening to The Story of the Church by Tan Books on Fridays together. We listen to the audio while all following along on our kindles. On Mondays we will watch one episode of The Chosen.
- English : Continuing with Word Up Latin & Greek Vocabulary, The Good & The Beautiful Honors Book Studies [Pride & Prejudice and The Screwtape Letters], Copywork from The Harp & Laurel Wreath, our own literature picks [another blog post], and assigned essays, research papers by me. We also do daily journaling! Sometimes it is free writing and sometimes I will be putting a journaling prompt on the board.
- History : American History via Story of Civilization Volume IV by Tan Books . We use the kindle book along with the audible.
- Math : Continuing the rest of Math U See Algebra and Khan Academy Geometry alongside Waldorf Essentials Geometry.
- Science : Apologia’s Exploring Creation with General Science. We are using the video lessons [via thumb drive], the students workbooks [we finally got the backordered workbooks!], text book, test booklets and lab kit from HomeScience Tools. In the Spring, a Nature Study unit.
- Health : Continuing the Intuitive Eating Workbook for Teens as part of their Sunrise Basket and daily outdoors.
- Electives : Dave Ramsey’s Foundations in Entrepreneurship, Intro to Photography, building her stationery business.
Breezy 9th Grade
- Faith : Same as above : Hallow App, The Chosen, Story of the Church and daily prayer.
- English : Continuing with Word Up Latin & Greek Vocabulary, The Good & The Beautiful Level 8 Book Studies plus Pride & Prejudice book study with Lorelai, Copywork from The Harp & Laurel Wreath, our own literature picks, and assigned essays, research papers by me and daily journaling.
- History : Tan Books’ Story of Civilization Volume IV. We use the kindle book along with the audible.
- Math : Math U See Algebra and Khan Academy Geometry alongside Waldorf Essentials Geometry.
- Science : Apologia’s Exploring Creation with General Science. Using the video lessons [via thumb drive], the students workbooks [backordered], text book, test booklets and lab kit from HomeScience Tools. In the Spring, a Nature Study unit.
- Health : Continuing with her Intuitive Eating Workbook for Teens and daily outdoor activity.
- Electives : Dave Ramsey’s Foundations in Entrepreneurship, Intro to Photography, building her candle making business.
Everett 5th Grade
* Waldorf Essentials Grade 4 is for children age 10 so we are going by developmental age and not necessarily traditional grade level. All of his blocks are already laid out for him in our Waldorf Essentials curriculum so we will just follow that.
- Faith : Using the Hallow App, Baltimore Catechism No. 1 and The Chosen.
- English : Waldorf Essentials Grade 4, English Block and Copywork from The Harp & Laurel Wreath, our own literature picks,
- History : Waldorf Essentials Grade 4
- Math : Seton Math and then likely moving to The Good & The Beautiful Math 4,the new one coming out this autumn. We are using this in lieu of the math block in Waldorf Essentials because we already like what we are doing with math. However, Everett does love math so we might do the block anyways.
- Science : Apologia’s Exploring Creation with Astronomy w/student book [on backorder] and lab kit from HomeScience Tools. Astronomy is his passion so he’s pretty stoked about this! Our Nature Study main lesson block for Everett will be synched with the girls so they are all doing it at the same time.
- Electives : Working on cars with daddy
Zephyr PK3
Same as our previous update, no changes here for Zeph. We do not usually do any type of schooling at this age. We typically start kindergarten at age 6, however, Zephyr has a speech delay so we are working with him on some things.
- FOCUS : speech, letters, colors and shapes
- Sign Language
- Brother Francis DVDs or on Formed.org
- Christian Liberty Nature Readers Books 1 & 2
- Big Letter Tracing Book
- Pattern Blocks
- Bean Bags Shapes & Colors
That is all for this blog post! In the next one I will show you our homeschool daily rhythm and our weekly schedule for how we get all the things done without taking over the whole day!
xo, Jane
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