Today we began our third year of homeschooling. Its hard to believe its been so long already! We enjoyed taking some pictures to kick off the year, then I snuck this one, too.
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| First attempt at Draw Write Now, book 2 |
I am sticking with
AO for another year, and likely for many more to come. The Charlotte Mason method and her philosophy of education resonates with me, and I believe AO holds true to these. Besides, you really can't beat a free curriculum!
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| Third grade bookshelf |
AO Year 3 moves us from the Middle Ages into the age of discovery and the Reformation. We will cover the adventures of Marco Polo, using Towle's "Marco Polo, his travels and adventures", and following along with a map. We move from learning about Martin Luther through the age of widespread printed materials. The conquests of the Americas, the quests for gold, pirates and heroes. Tall tales and Greek myths. Nature study and foreign language. Pilgrim's Progress and Shakespeare. I'm excited just thinking about all we will learn this year! Yes, I said "we". I am learning so much, right along with him, and I love it!
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| Current favorite game and Geography puzzles |
In addition to the mental feast in the
AO Year 3 booklist, which covers history, science, Bible, geography, poetry and literature, we will add the following materials:
- Copy work - Write Through the Bible, cursive (Lord's Prayer, then Philippians chapter 2); Draw Write Now, book 2 (alternate, but some writing daily)
- Art - Creating a Masterpiece DVD series, AO's picture study rotation (weekly)
- Music - all hymns, composers and folk songs from AO; Piano, using freepianolessons4kids (daily)
- Health - The Boy's Body Guide: A Health and Hygiene Book
(terms 2 and 3)
- PE - Occupational therapy/Sensory activities; horseback riding
- Phonics/reading - McGuffey and Treadwell readers (daily)
- Grammar - Simply Grammar
(after Christmas break)
- Spanish - Rosetta Stone, songs and stories (3 times a week)
- Typing - Typing Instructor for Kids
- Finance - Richest Man in Babylon (2-4 pages a week with Daddy)
- American Sign Language - ASL from The Joy of Signing and some fun iPad apps (once or twice a week)
- Geography - Galloping the Globe (3 weeks per country, taking it slow, and coordinating somewhat with Marco Polo's adventures)
I think that about covers it! What are you changing about (or adding to) your chosen curriculum this year, if anything?
Bailey used the Typing Instructor for Kids during the six weeks last year before we put her in school. She killed in her computer class, because she was so far ahead on her skills.
ReplyDeleteWe had started using Simply Grammar, but we didn't get far enough into it to get an accurate impression of it.
I'm intrigued by the "Richest Man in Babylon". I added that to my library wish list. ;-)
I read it first, since DH will be reading it to the boy. The language is meant to sound old English, I think, but once you get used to that, the stories are very good. You get a feel for Babylon's culture, and listen in on the story of one man's journey from pennies to riches, as he shares his "secrets" with those in his community who desire to learn. I also have Rich Dad, Poor Dad and others, but Riches Man in Babylon was the most story-like of the financial philosophy books, so I chose to do that one first.
DeleteHi! here visiting from the AO forum :) How exciting! I love to see all those books! :) we still have a few more weeks of year 1 but I'm all excited getting year 2 ready :) just today we received two books I ordered from amazon. It felt like Christmas in August!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great year, busy but fun and so informative. Thanks for sharing!
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