Preparing to Homeschool, Part 2

Now that I have figured out Ryan's learning style and chosen my curriculum, I'm ready to narrow down what each child should be working on for their age range.  At first, the task was absolutely overwhelming!

In The Well-Trained Mind, the authors grouped kids into specific categories: Preschool (birth to three), Kindergarten (4-5), The Grammar Stage (1st-4th grade), The Logic Stage (5th-8th grade), and The Rhetoric Stage (9th-12th grade).  I was excited to discover that I have one child in each of the first three stages...especially when it didn't occur to me that Jason would be in any stage other than, "Try to stay out of our way, wouldja?"

Lots of friends have been asking me how I'll know what to do each day. Basically, I am putting together a schedule for our learning that takes lots of breaks to get out everyone's wiggles. 

A few weeks ago, I started training Jason to sit on a blanket and play with specific toys while we did homework.  He knows not to get up from the green blanket and, when he gets restless, I alternatively have Kaylin and Ryan play with him while I work with the other one.

This is what I'll be working on with each child. (I'm typing this up, just in case I lose my notes!)

Jason, 2 years old

Reading
- talking (NOT a problem for me) and reading as much as possible
- ask questions about the story (to begin comprehension)
- teach letter sounds (because he already knows his letters) starting with consonants first
- sing "Old McDonald" with AEIOU and short vowel sounds instead of EIEIO and animal sounds.

Writing
- drawing pictures of circular objects (snowmen, train smoke, car wheels, Slinkies) using a counter-clockwise motion to encourage the natural shape of many of our written letters
- write letters with his finger in cookie sheets filled with rice, sand, finger paint, pudding, etc.

Math
- model counting by playing Hide & Seek (this is how he learned how to count last year)
- count backward (to blast off), by 2s, 5s and 10s

Kaylin, 5 years old

Reading
- phonics
- rules of sounds
- 5 minutes of drills (flashcards) and 5 minutes of reading, working up to 15 minutes of each

Writing
- teach proper direction of letter strokes
- encourage a continuous-stroke alphabet (instead of picking up the pencil within letters like b and d) - makes learning cursive an easier transition
- 10 minutes of instruction, 5 minutes of supervised practice

Math
- count in daily life (grocery store, baking)
- manipulatives (beans, pencils, chocolate chips) for basic addition and subtraction
- talk about money, time and shapes
- learn to write numbers
- count to 100 by 2s, 5s and 10s
- 5-10 minutes per day - more like a game, not academic

Ryan, 7 years old

Reading
- main purposes are to work up to reading quickly, well and habitually and to fill his mind with stories of every kind to develop a love for reading
- read 20-30 minutes per day
- give him simplified versions of original literature (Illiad, Odyssey, Bible stories)
- get books on tape from the library (without bells and whistles)

Spelling
- workbooks
- keep a page of trouble words, reviewing 2-3 times per week
- write different spelling rules

Grammar
- parts of speech, proper relationship between parts
- narration of stories (summarizing the plot, answering specific questions in complete sentences)

Math
- Math U See, which is very hands-on
- introducing money (you'd think MY kids would know all about money by this age)

History - I thought this recommendation was extremely interesting:
1st, 5th and 9th grades - Ancients (5000 b.c. - a.d. 400)
2nd, 6th and 10th grades - Medieval to early Renaissance (400-1600)
3rd, 7th  and 11th grades - Late Renaissance to early Modern (1600-1850)
4th, 8th and 12th grades - Modern (1850-present)

The idea is to introduce history at a basic level during the Grammar Stage, then repeat the information in both the Logic Stage and Rhetoric Stage, at the appropriate age levels for each period of history.  That way, by the time they're in 9th grade, reading the Illiad or the Odyssey won't be as daunting, because they know the basic stories already.

Can you tell that I'm really pumped up about this?  What excites me most is re-learning WITH my kids on a lot of this stuff.  I didn't retain 90% of what I learned in school and I don't want the same thing to happen to them.  I specifically remember covering World War II for exactly 2 days in high school, then being tested on it.  And by two days, I mean 2 one-hour classes.  I can't even tell you when that war began...or any war, for that matter!  And the only reason I know when the U.S. got involved was because of Pearl Harbor.  Not the tragedy...the MOVIE.  With Ben Afflek.  Now that's just embarrassing.

I'm reading books, blog posts and articles to prepare myself for when we start schooling.  I'm fully expecting there to be a horrible adjustment period for our family.  I'm fully expecting to feel inadequate, unprepared and unfit to educate my kids.  I'm fully expecting meltdowns...from them and me.  I'm fully expecting to want to quit, but am committed to sticking with it through the summer.

This is either going to be an amazing experience or an absolute train wreck.  I'm bracing myself...