Year 4 - Term 2 / January 2 - March 24

Sage: Year 4 - Term 2 / January 2 - March 24
Goal: Year 4 completion by June 16 / Start Year 5 July 10

Nature Study -
Weekly hikes with homeschool group at local parks.
Weekly nature journaling.


Art -
Vincent's Starry Night and Other Stories Ch 4 - 15
Continue reading a chapter each week. Discuss and search out examples to study.

1 story per month from Shakespeare Stories by Leon Garfield


History - American History: 1400's - ?
Book list: http://www.hclibrary.us/pdfs/youth/booklists/hisficgrade4.pdf

Spines:
A Young People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn
A Different Mirror for Young People by Ronald Takaki

DVD to start off history: National Geographic: America Before Columbus

Review Columbus - 2 1/2 weeks
-Morning Girl
-Encounter
-Children of the Longhouse (Jaden)
-Walk the World's Rim (Sage)

1600's - 2-3 weeks
-Sees Behind Trees by Michael Dorris (Sage)
-The Primrose Way by Jackie Koller (Jaden)
Book list: http://www.cincinnatilibrary.org/booklists/?id=teachingamericanhistory
-Look to the Hills: The Idary of Lozette Moreau, a French Slave Girl (Jaden)
-The Witch of Blackbird Pond (Jaden)

1700's - 
-I am Regina (Jaden)
-The Light in the Forest (Sage)
-Many Thousand Gone: African-Americans from Slavery to Freedom
-No More! Stories and Songs of Slave Resistance

1800's - 
The Bobbin Girl 1800-1849
The Slave Dancer (Jaden) 1840
Freedom's Wings, Flying Free, Message in the Sky 1857
The Porcupine Year (Parallels Little House on the Prairie series) mid-1800's

Civil War Era - (April 12, 1861 – May 9, 1865)
Dzání Yázhí Naazbaa': Little Woman Warrior Who Came Home
Dayshun's Gift
Nettie's Trip South
Pink and Say

1900's booklists (For Future Reference)
https://zinnedproject.org/teaching-materials/?media_types=books_fiction&levels=3-5
https://zinnedproject.org/teaching-materials/?media_types=books_non_fiction&levels=3-5

World War II
The War that Saved my Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (takes place in Europe but putting here for future reference)

Depression Era
Stella by Starlight by Sharon Draper

Geography -
Finish up Minn of the Mississippi (ch 12 - 20)


Literature -
America's Mark Twain


Poetry -
JAN Shel Silverstein
FEB Emily Dickinson
MAR Walt Whitman


Math -
Continue with Math-U-See Gamma (finish by end of Term 2)
Family Math book for supplement


PE - 
Twice weekly gymnastics
Once weekly hiking
Daily/often trampoline, scooter and bicycle

Year 6 - Term 2 / January 2 - March 24

Jaden: Year 6 - Term 2 / January 2 - March 24
Goal: Year 6 completion by June 16 / Start Year 7 July 10

Nature Study -
Weekly hikes with homeschool group at local parks.
Weekly nature journaling.


Art -
Vincent's Starry Night and Other Stories Ch 4 - 15
Continue reading a chapter each week. Discuss and search out examples to study.

1 story per month from Shakespeare Stories by Leon Garfield


History - American History: 1400's - ?
Book list: http://www.hclibrary.us/pdfs/youth/booklists/hisficgrade4.pdf
Spines:
A Young People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn
A Different Mirror for Young People by Ronald Takaki

DVD to start off history: National Geographic: America Before Columbus

Review Columbus - 2 1/2 weeks
-Morning Girl
-Encounter
-Children of the Longhouse (Jaden)
-Walk the World's Rim (Sage)

1600's - 2-3 weeks
-Sees Behind Trees by Michael Dorris (Sage)
-The Primrose Way by Jackie Koller (Jaden)
Book list: http://www.cincinnatilibrary.org/booklists/?id=teachingamericanhistory
-Look to the Hills: The Idary of Lozette Moreau, a French Slave Girl (Jaden)
-The Witch of Blackbird Pond (Jaden)

1700's - 
-I am Regina (Jaden)
-The Light in the Forest (Sage)
-Many Thousand Gone: African-Americans from Slavery to Freedom
-No More! Stories and Songs of Slave Resistance

1800's - 
The Bobbin Girl 1800-1849
The Slave Dancer (Jaden) 1840
Freedom's Wings, Flying Free, Message in the Sky 1857
The Porcupine Year (Parallels Little House on the Prairie series) mid-1800's

Civil War Era - (April 12, 1861 – May 9, 1865)
Dzání Yázhí Naazbaa': Little Woman Warrior Who Came Home
Dayshun's Gift
Nettie's Trip South
Pink and Say

1900's booklists (For Future Reference)
https://zinnedproject.org/teaching-materials/?media_types=books_fiction&levels=3-5
https://zinnedproject.org/teaching-materials/?media_types=books_non_fiction&levels=3-5

World War II
The War that Saved my Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley (takes place in Europe but putting here for future reference)

Depression Era
Stella by Starlight by Sharon Draper


Geography -
Finish up Minn of the Mississippi (ch 12 - 20)


Literature -
America's Mark Twain


Poetry -
JAN Shel Silverstein
FEB Emily Dickinson
MAR Walt Whitman


Math -
Continue with Math-U-See Epsilon (finish by end of Term 2)
Family Math book for supplement


PE - 
Twice weekly ballet
Once weekly gymnastics
Once weekly hiking
Daily/often trampoline

Rethinking Columbus Study

For history, books and ideas for studying about Columbus:

Morning Girl by Michael Dorris
Encounter (Voyager Books) by Jane Yolen

Stand alone unit study (99 pages):
https://laii.unm.edu/outreach/common/lesson-plans/rethinking-columbus/complete-guide.pdf
(would be good for doing around Columbus Day)

Howard Zinn's A Young People's History of the United States pgs. 1-22

The Talking Earth Unit Study

The following are my notes for creating a unit study following the reading of The Talking Earth by Jean Craighead George. This is a work in progress that I hope to update as I add to it.

Note: If no "$" exists after the link, it is a free downloadable link. Most $ items are in the $4-10 range.

My Pinterest board for this unit study

Cover Page

Novel-ties optional supplemental study guide $

Supplemental reading books (Can be used as read alone or snuggle time reading in conjunction with TTE):

The Missing 'Gator of Gumbo Limbo by Jean Craighead George
Night Bird: A Story of the Seminole Indians by Kathleen V Kudlinski
Osceola: Seminole War Chief by Wyatt Blassingame
Everglades by Jean Craighead George
Welcome to the River of Grass by Jane Yolen
The Moon of the Alligators by Jean Craighead George (also found in her book Autumn Moon) 
Escape to the Everglades by Edwina Raffa plus bonus: Escape to the Everglades Teacher Activity Guide

Daily literature reading (one story per day):

The Wonderful Sky Boat and Other Native American Tales of the Southeast retold by Jane Louise Curry

Science/Geography: Everglades Study

Everglades National Park coloring page (shows a girl in a dugout canoe, makes a great introduction coloring page) from the National Parks Coloring Book 
Biome diorama 
Everglades Habitat & Mangrove Habitat

History/Social Studies: Seminole Native American Study

Green Corn Dance - info 1, info 2, video of Cherokee performing GCD

Sem-in-oli meaning "wild" 

https://www.floridamemory.com/onlineclassroom/seminoles/lessonplans/4thgrade/4th-pioneer.php 

Questions to answer:

Where did the Seminoles come from?

Where did they live?

What do they look like?

What did Seminole clothing look like? How did men’s clothing differ from women's?

What did Seminoles eat? How do you think their diet compared with other pioneers in Florida?

Where did Seminoles live? What type of houses did they build?

What types of families did Seminoles have?

What type of work did Seminoles do?

Information http://www.semtribe.com/Culture/Clans.aspx

Movie filmed in 1928: https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/232400 

http://schoolworkhelper.net/the-seminole-natives-history-life/

digging canoes: http://vacationmaybe.com/big-cypress-seminole-indian-reservation/ 

Story: http://kokkila.com/eight/Micco/Micco.html 
Chickee: https://www.warpaths2peacepipes.com/native-american-houses/chickee.htm 
http://msoutheast.wikispaces.com/Housing 

Coloring pages for Seminoles:

Seminole coloring page from the Indian Tribes of North American Coloring Book 
Clan wheel coloring page

Worksheet on Seminoles 
Seminole Unit study

History/Social Studies: Calusa Native American Study

http://fcit.usf.edu/florida/lessons/calusa/calusa1.htm
http://www.bigorrin.org/calusa_kids.htm
http://www.funandsun.com/1tocf/inf/nativepeoples/calusa.html
http://www.ancient-origins.net/history/calusa-people-lost-tribe-florida-early-explorers-wrote-home-about-005873
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xukK77RZoZc 
http://www.fourdir.com/calusa.htm

Seashell and Shell People unit study $ (also can be used for seashell unit study, has religious tones)

Science: Animals of the Everglades Study

For coloring books that are listed A, B, C, D, E look below for coloring book listings
Finger puppets of snapping turtle, alligator, manatee and deer
Notebooking pages for animals of the Mississippi (though the majority are revelant for the Florida Everglades)

Fresh water animals/reptiles/etc.:

Large-mouthed bass, coloring book C, coloring book D
Mud turtle - coloring book D
Alligators - info, coloring book D
Otter* - info, coloring page 1, coloring page 2, coloring book D
Garfish - coloring book D
Snapping turtle - coloring book C
Coral snake - coloring page 1
Water moccasin (cottonmouth), coloring book D
Muskrat - coloring book C
Gopher tortoise* - info, info 2, coloring page 1, coloring page 2

Ocean animals:

Sea Life Notebooking Pages $

Manatee**- info, coloring page 1, coloring page 2, coloring book D
Snook
Shrimp larvea - coloring page 1
Sand crabs - coloring page (lots of options)
Oysters

Insects:

Ant lions
Yellow butterflies
Golden spider, coloring book D

Birds:

Notebooking pages for birds $

Red-winged blackbird - info, coloring book C
Pileated woodpecker - info, coloring book D
Turkey vulture - info, coloring page
Barred owl - info, coloring book D
Wood storks - info, coloring book D
White heron - info, coloring book D
Red-shouldered hawk - info, coloring book E
Ibis - info
Egret - info, coloring book D
Brown pelican - info, coloring book D
Coot - info,
Bittern - info, coloring book D
Gallinule - info, coloring book D
Kingbird - info
Spoonbills - info, coloring book D

Forest animals:

Armadillo - info
Deer - info, coloring book A, coloring book B, coloring book C, coloring book D, coloring book E
Florida panther*- info, coloring page 1, coloring book D
Raccoon - info, coloring book A, coloring book B, coloring book C
Gray fox - coloring page
Fox squirrel - coloring page
Opposum - info, coloring book A, coloring book B
Rabbit - info, coloring book A, coloring book B, coloring book E
Yellow bat - info

*Create a profile of each of these 3 animals (the 3 animals that lived on Billie Wind's houseboat as she traveled). 

**Another significant animal in story

Choose at least 2 (adjust this according to interest) more animals to learn about. Many of the animals listed can be found on this page. 

Coloring books that contain several pages that are relevant: (A) Backyard Nature Coloring Book, (B) Forest Animals Coloring Book, (C) Freshwater Pond Coloring Book, (D) Swampland Plants & Animals Coloring Book, (E) A Walk in the Woods Coloring Book 

Science/Botany: Plants of the Everglades Study

Grasses:

Bamboo - coloring page
Saw grass - 

Trees:

Tree Notebooking pages $

Cypress - coloring page, pictures
Willow - HRz $, coloring page
Mahogany - info, 
Gumbo-limbo - coloring page, 
Live oak - HRz $, coloring page
Royal palm - info
Pond apple - HRz $, coloring page 1, coloring page 2
Avocado - 
Orange - 
Fig - 
Sabal palm - info
Mangrove - 
Buttonwood - 
Pine - HRz $
Saw palmetto - HRz $

Questions to ask:
Which trees grow near fresh water and which grow near salt water?
Which would be found in a hardwood hammock? 

Plants:

Alligator flags
Orchids, coloring book D
Ferns
Spanish moss
Bromeliads (air plants)
Pickerel weed
Pitcher plant, coloring book C
Arrowhead, coloring book C
Poorman's patch, aka Mentzelia floridana 
Morning glory
Spider lily

Science/Weather Study:

Hurricanes
Droughts

Geography: Florida Study

~ Print out map of Florida. Pencil in boundaries for Everglades, Fakahatchee Strand, Big Cypress Reservation (use Google maps to locate)
~ Spend time on Google maps earth view (3D view is fun too, it shows modern day "chickees" aka houses on stilts) to see the land forms, especially around Ten Thousand Islands, Everglades, Fakahatchee Strand. Look for manmade canals vs. natural waterway formations. Observe how little of an area the Big Cypress Reservation is. 
~ Add key to color: Everglades, Fakahatchee Strand, Ten Thousand Islands, Big Cypress Reservation
~ Label: Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic Ocean, Everglades, Fakahatchee Slough, Big Cypress Reservation, Lake Okeechobee
~ Color appropriate areas 

Florida State Symbols
Notebooking pages from Harrington Harmonies
State Tree - Sabal Palm
State Flower - Orange blossom
State Bird - Northern Mockingbird
State Animal - Florida panther

Vocabulary words:

Hardwood hammock - a habitat that is found on higher elevations, making it a dry habitat. 
Sem-in-oli meaning "wild"
Chickee - a rough, open structure consisting of palm or palmetto thatching on a log frame with a raised floor  

Activities:

~ Build a chickee model or go outside and attempt real life shelter building 
~ Build a model or draw a picture of Billie Wind's houseboat. I love the description on page 114: "The houseboat looked more like a county fair than a vessel, with its sails flopping, animals tucked under eaves and in crates, and flowers swinging from the roof."

Optional studies:

This could break off into seashell studies. 

Montessori seashell unit study
Sunny Seashells $
Different Sunny Seashells - books, projects, etc. based on the Sunny Seashells unit
Beginning seashell ID Note - has religious tones
Seashell and Shell People unit study $ (also listed under Calusa above) Note - has religious tones
Seashells of the Florida Gulf Coast jigsaw puzzle

Or tidepool unit studies.

Harrington Harmonies Pagoo unit study on tidepools
What is a tidepool?
For kindergarteners but has some get ideas that could be expanded on

Or a carnivorous plant study.

Carnivorous plant study notebooking pages (join her newsletter for an updated version)
Murderous plants teacher pack

My 2016-17 Homeschool Planner

This has evolved over the years to become what I need for the year and will continue to evolve as those needs change.

It is about 1/2 inch thick. I use my coil binder and a clear plastic cover on the front with a black plastic cover for the back.

The cover page has the school year on it, a drawing of Jaden and Sage and the grades they are in. I have a separate book for each this year.

The first page is a print out from HSLDA of the Illinois Homeschool law. I also have a copy of our member card with our number on it.

The next page is an article about asperger children. Following that is a list of foods Sage cannot eat.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone should know them.

A list of reminders how to have a serene home life. Good to read over when I'm feeling extra frazzled.

A few pages of goals for my kids, plus life skills and practical skills everyone should possess, things kids should master (age appropriate) and then handcrafts to learn.

Jaden's Cecchetti Grade 3 theory pages.

Nature Study schedule.

Reading lists for 4th and 6th grade for book suggestions.

Next is our goals for the year, what we need/want to learn over the next 12 months.

The year at a glance on 2 pages so I can list all important dates for each month.

Each month on a 2 page spread to write out curriculum blocks/themes and map out time off for vacations and holidays.

Weekly pages for the kids. Each week is side by side, one for each kid so I can write out both at the same time. There are 52 weeks worth of pages for each kid. I switched to the 6 day week this year as we formally hs Mon - Fri but much learning goes on during the weekends too.

Trip logs for field trips.

Hiking logs for weekly hikes.

Reading logs to keep track of books read.

Media logs to keep track of videos, plays, etc. that were watched.

Attendance sheets to keep track of our attendance.

Grade sheets for spelling and math. (Jaden requested I start grading her last year).

A few checklist pages to jot down notes for things to add next year or things we want to learn in the future.

Pocket in back to stash brochures/collectables from field trips.

Catching Up

A lot has happened since I last posted. Jaden is now in 5th grade, Sage in 3rd. We ditched Waldorf about 1 1/2 years ago because I got too frustrated with it. Now we are a mix of eclectic and unschooling style.

The past 3 years I have worked on putting together a planner to keep track of things. This year it's doubled in size from the previous years, partly because I used a thicker paper stock to print on and partly because I've added a few more sections. I plan to put together a post on that since I keep getting asked what I do to assemble the planner.

For curriculum this year (August 2015 - July 2016), we are using:

Mathematics
Math is our weak point, mostly because of the Waldorf method which was slow to teach and wasn't working out for Jaden. I used Making Math Meaningful to help catch us up, the free drill worksheets they offer online was a great boost for getting her up to speed on her multiplication skills.

Math-U-See Delta for Jaden
Math-U-See Beta for Sage


Reading
Reading was another slow start because of Waldorf but I'm fine with that. Jaden is picking up speed and loves to read Shel Silverstein poems. This year we will be focusing on poetry from Shel Silverstein and possibly branching out to other authors as she chooses. I am also requiring her to read 1 chapter book a week from any series of her choice (she likes Magic Treehouse and Secrets of Droon). I may up that requirement in January or sooner as her reading skill picks up.

I am starting Sage on reading Dr. Seuss books, he can read better than he wants to admit so they are a great confidence builder for him. Right now, we will do 3 - 4 a week and increase as his confidence increases.

I also still do read aloud with them at bedtime as well as audio books when we are in the car (we are currently on the 3rd book in the Percy Jackson series).


Writing
Jaden loves to write in a journal daily. We will also add in learning proper punctuation this year and occasionally they will have assignments to write.

Sage doesn't like writing so I try to give him simpler things just to work on his penmanship.

Science/Nature Study
I'm sure we'll have a variety under this category by the end of the year. For now, they want to learn tracking skills, primitive fire building and shelter building. We'll also do nature study, probably starting off with collecting a monarch caterpillar from our milkweed so we can watch it create a chrysalis and eventually emerge to be released.

Sage and Jaden are also interested in building, how houses are constructed and how to build things. We have 2 books that will probably be a starting point, plus their dad the architect will get involved with this.

Carpentry for Children
Housebuilding for Children


Social Studies/History
Last year Jaden wanted to learn some of our family history but we didn't make it far. We'll pick that up in the winter months. We are also learning United States History and will study South America/Central America. And because the kids love Percy Jackson so much, we'll probably throw in a bit of Greek Mythology/History as well.  I am still finalizing a lot of those resources but for US History I am using:

A Young People's History of the United States
Voices of a People's History of the United States
A Different Mirror for Young People: A History of Multicultural America


Fine Arts
Jaden loves to paint acrylic paintings and play guitar. We will continue with that. Sage is interested in playing mandolin so he will pursue that as well. We also generally study artists throughout the year as it fits into other things we are learning about.

Harmony Fine Arts Art & Music Appreciation eBooks
Artistic Pursuits books

Jaden is also returning to ballet. At 11, she will be starting Grade 3 Cecchetti this fall. Sage has not decided if he wants to return or not.

Both will do art illustrations when I read aloud to them for various subjects (a natural rhythm we got into the habit of doing during our Waldorf years that stuck).


Lifeskills
Though this is not a government requirement, it is mine. I want kids that will be confident to go out into the real world and know how to take care of themselves. Topics we'll be covering this year include cooking (both love to cook and create their own recipes), money skills, swimming lessons, house cleaning, and Jaden is going to take a safe sitter class at the YMCA this fall (she has been wanting to babysit for about 3 years now). The kids are also both involved in my herbal business, mostly the soap making and selling.

The Nourishing Traditions Cook Book for Children
Practical Money Skills - they have lesson plans from Pre-K - College level


Physical Education
The kids ride their bikes often and in the winter, we skate weekly at the Y. We also do core exercises to increase our core strength for archery classes which will start up again next month. Plus weekly swimming at the Y and the dance classes.


Health Education
Jaden is heading towards puberty so maturing bodies has been our topic of late, learning about the menses cycle.


Foreign Language
While I consider Math to be a foreign language, I also want them to learn other foreign languages that will be beneficial for when we are able to travel abroad. This year we'll be focusing on Spanish again.

Rosetta Stone Spanish (if I can get it working on my computer again)


Religious Studies
Jaden is interested in the pagan traditional sabbats (what we generally celebrate) so we'll be pursuing that more formally for her this year. She loves the Pooka pages and I have several books on the subject.

Pooka Pages
Celebrating the Great Mother
Circle Round: Raising Children in the Goddess Tradition
The Llewellyn book series on the sabbats
The Earthchild's Handbook: book 1 and 2

The Little Witch books series (I loved these as a kid and was able to snatch them up on Amazon for about $5 each including shipping)

Main Lesson Block II

I'm not sure if I mentioned before but I decided to go with Donna Simmon's Christopherus Curriculum. I purchased the Language Arts book and the First Grade Syllabus. It is WONDERFUL!! I also have a few more of her books and highly recommend them to anyone wanting to homeschool waldorf style.

Although Sage is only 5 and would be considered Kindergarten level (waldorf specifies Kindergarten as ages 3 - 6) I haven't worked formally with him. He learns differently than Jaden. He does often sit in with us during our lessons so I include him as much as possible.

The past 2 1/2 weeks we have been doing a 4 week language arts lesson block. Jaden has been begging to do school and is excited each day to pick up where we left off.

For the main lesson, week 1 & 2 was spent with the first part of the alphabet story. Letters are presented randomly in a continuous story that is woven with the sounds of the letters plus Grimm's Fairy Tales stories. Each day we recap what we did the day before and review the letters and sounds we learned. Jaden would help retell the story as we looked at the pictures. We also reviewed the words in the story that started with the letters we were learning about.

Lesson A was handcrafts. We started week one with her braiding wool yarn together into ropes. Week 2 we made Knitting Nancys (hopefully the how-to will be in the winter edition of Rhythm of the Home).

This was also a 2 week block for the recorder so we did finger plays to warm up our fingers, sang the songs we were learning on the recorder and then played the songs. We worked on 3 separate songs: Mary Had a Little Lamb, Hot Crossed Buns and Aura Lee.

We are now on week 3. We are continuing on with the Language Arts main lesson and reviewed the entire story yesterday before continuing on. Jaden decided to work on re-drawing 3 of her pictures for her main lesson book as the first few were a bit sloppier than the rest.

For handcrafts we are continuing on with knitting. Today we are going to begin making our own knitting needles. They should be finished by the end of the week and next week we'll begin knitting.

The next two weeks we are supposed to take a break from the recorder. I'm not sure how long that will last as she loves to play it but for now, we will focus on watercolor for the next two weeks.

~~~

Although I have eased up on teaching her to read, she has been making amazing leaps and bounds in this department. She read a name of a facebook friend of mine the other day (a friend she doesn't know and had never heard the name before). It was pretty cool, she asked if the person's last name was 'rob-ets' (it was roberts). I asked how she knew that and she said she sounded it out. She is doing that a lot more. It is great just watching her emerge w/o me forcing it.

~~~

I'm also looking into the Feingold diet for Sage. I know he has chemical sensitivities, I've seen his behavior change when eating red or blue food dyes. I avoid HFCS at all costs and most other preservatives. I suspect he may be gluten intolerant as well which is hard for me to stomach but I'm looking into alternatives. I don't often buy bread but when it's in the house, he eats it like crazy. They both like pancakes for breakfast so I bought a gluten free mix. It's pricey but while I'm eliminating items, it's making my life a bit easier. Luckily, Greg is on the South Beach diet right now which is similar to the Feingold diet so it's easy to modify it for everyone. I just have to make sure myself and Adelena get enough to eat so we don't lose weight since we are the runts of the family and can't afford to lose a pound. Jaden and Sage don't need to, they are of perfect build in my opinion so I need to carefully supplement them as well but it's not as worrisome as it is for A and me.