CPO BIOLOGY Schedule and Links

One of these items is to be done four days a week, Tuesday through Friday. I expect each task to take 20-30 minutes on average. Some activity days or video days might be longer.

The loop schedule follows this pattern:
1.) Watch videos on chapter topic.
2.) Read a section, do review orally. Do one of the skills worksheets.
3.) Read Connection, do extra science reading from literary selections recommended in the teacher's guide.  Sometimes I've scheduled the chapter activity here, but many of them are geared towards classrooms so we won't do all of them.
4.) Watch more videos, and do final chapter test.
We usually don't do the skills worksheets that involve in-depth experiments or set-ups. We use TOPS science, Mystery Science and the VanCleave science activity books for our hands-on science experiments instead.

1. Watch videos on Measurement
1. Measurement Mystery: Crash Course Kids #9.2 (3:44)
2. Bill Nye: Measurement (22.57)
2. Read section and do review - 1.1 Measurements
3. Read section and do review - 1.2 Thinking like a scientist
4. Read section and do review - 1.3 Graphs
5. Read Connection: Role of a Scientist and do extra reading
6. More videos, and Chapter test
1. TED-ED Why the Metric System Matters (5:07)
7. Watch videos on Living Things
1. 11 Biggest Living Things (6:54)
2. National Geographic Documentary: Wild Islands Zanzibar (43:59)
8. Read section and do review - 2.1 Is it Alive?
9. Read section and do review - 2.2 How living things are organized
10. Read Connection: Is there proof of life on Mars?
11. More videos, and Chapter test
1. National Geographic Documentary: Rare and Exotic Animals (52:05)
12. Watch videos on Classifying Living Things
1. Taxonomy: Life's Filing System Crash Course Biology #19 (12:15)
13. Read section and do review - 3.1 Types of living things
14. Read section and do review - 3.2 Dichotomous Keys
15. Read Connection: Discovering a New Species
16. More videos, and Chapter Test
1. Speciation: Of Ligers and Men - Crash Course Biology #15 (10:24)
17. Watch videos on Physical Science Connections
1. The Periodic Table: Crash Course Chemistry #4 (11:21)
18. Read section and do review - 4.1 Elements and Compounds
19. Read section and do review - 4.2 The Compounds of Life
20. Read section and do review - 4.3 Physical Variables
21. Connection: Chef or Scientist?
22. More videos, and Chapter Test
1. TED-ED The Genius of Mendeleev's Periodic Table (4:24)
2. Will the Periodic Table Ever Be Complete? SciShow (3:40)
23. Watch videos on Ecosystems
1. Ecosystem Ecology: Links in the Chain Ecology #7 (10:09)
24. Read Read section and do review - 5.1 Ecosystems, Energy and Nutrients
25. Read section and do review - 5.2 Food Chains and Food Webs
26. Read section and do review - 5.3 Ecosystems, a Natural Balance
27. Read Connection: Food Webs of the Deep
28. More videos, and Chapter Test
1. Ecology - Rules for Living on Earth - Crash Course Biology #40 (10:25)
2. Bozeman Science - Energy Flow in Ecosystems (7:45)
29. Watch videos on Biomes
1. AMAZING Introduction to Biomes (3:09)
2. Rivers of the Sun Amazonia (52:02)
30. Read section and do review - 6.1 Climates and Biomes
31. Read section and do review - 6.2 Deserts and Grasslands Video: Worlds Deadliest Animals Deserts to Grassland (35:41)
32. Read section and do review - 6.3 Temperate Forests and Rainforests Video: The Magical Forest BBC Plants Documentary (2.5 hrs)
33. Read section and do review - 6.4 Taigas and Tundras Video: Children of the Tundra (28:18) Video: Nat Geo Iceland (45:05)
34. Read Connection: Ecological Impact of Forest Fires
35. More videos, and Chapter Test
1. How the Sahara Desert was Made Documentary (44:54)
36. Watch videos on cell structure and function
1. Biology: Cell Structure (7:21)
2. Eukarypolis The City of Animal Cells Crash Course Biology #4 (11:34)
37. Read section and do review - 7.1 What are cells?
38. Read section and do review - 7.2 Cells: A look inside
39. Read Connection: Organ Transplants
40. More videos, and Chapter Test
1. 
   
41. Watch videos on cell processes
1. Why do organ transplants fail so often? (3:56 min)
2. Heart in a Box: UCLA patient's life-saving donor heart arrives 'warm and beating' inside box (4:20 mins)
42. Read section and do review - 8.1 The Cell Membrane
43. Read section and do review - 8.2 Cells and Energy
44. Read Connection: Amazing cells!
45. More videos, and Chapter Test
1. NOVA Origin of Life - How Life started on Earth (49:53)
46. Watch videos on the microscopic world
1. 50 Things Looking Totally Bizarre Under a Microscope (6:02)
2. Old and Odd: Archaea, Bacteria, and Protists Crash Course Biology #35 (12:16)
47. Read section and do review - 9.1 Protozoans
48. Read section and do review - 9.2 Bacteria
49. Read section and do review - 9.3 Viruses
50. Read Connection: The good, the bad, the microbe
51. More videos, and Chapter Test
1. Nat Geo Virus Evolution Documentary (42:46)
52. Watch videos on reproduction
1. Reproductive System Part 1 Female Reproductive System Crash Course #40 (10:14)
2. Reproductive System Part 2 Male Reproductive System Crash Course (10:43)
53. Read section and do review - 10.1 Growth and cell reproduction
54. Read section and do review - 10.2 Sexual reproduction and meiosis
55. Read Connection: Differences between twins start with cells
56. More videos, and Chapter Test
1. Reproductive System Part 3 Sex and Fertilization (9:58) - I've previewed this video and I find it's fine for a grade 6 level, but it goes into quite a lot of depth so please preview it beforehand to make sure it's right for your child.
2. Reproductive System Part 4 Pregnancy and Development (10:44)
57. Watch videos on heredity
1. GENETICS: Greatest Discoveries with Bill Nye (44:07)
58. Read section and do review - 11.1 Traits
59. Read section and do review - 11.2 Predicting Heredity
60. Read section and do review - 11.3 Other patterns of inheritance
61. Read Connection: An inherited blood disease
62. More videos, and Chapter Test
1. TED-ED How Mendel's Pea Plants helped us understand Genetics (3:06)
2. Bozeman Science: Mendelian Genetics (16:03)
63. Watch videos on The Code of Life
1. PBS The Secret of Life (53 mins)
64. Read section and do review - 12.1 The role of DNA in Heredity
65. Read section and do review - 12.2 DNA and technology
66. Read Connection: Cracking the Code Video: NOVA Cracking Your Genetic Code (55:27)
67. More videos, and Chapter Test
1. PBS The Human Race - the Human Genome Project (53 mins)
2. OR Miracle Cure: A Decade of the Human Genome BBC (53:54)
68. Watch videos on evolution
1. Evolution: It's a Thing - Crash Course Biology #20 (11:43)
69. Read section and do review - 13.1 Evidence for Evolution
70. Read section and do review - 13.2 How Evolution Works
71. Read section and do review - 13.3 Natural Selection
72. Read Connection: Chameleons of the Sea
73. More videos, and Chapter Test
1. Natural Selection - Crash Course Biology #14 (13:43)
74. Watch videos on earth and life history
1. Nat Geo The History of Earth (1.5 hrs)
75. Read section and do review - 14.1 Evidence from Rocks
76. Read section and do review - 14.2 How Earth Changes Video: The World in 2050 (38:15)
77. Watch: Snowball Earth (48:02)
78. Read section and do review - 14.3 Life History Video: David Attenborough Origin of Life (58:45)
79. Read Connection: Mass extinctions, devastation and opportunity. Do Chapter 14 Activity: Radioactivity and Half-life
80. More videos, and Chapter Test
1. NOVA What Darwin Never Knew (1:51 hrs)
81. Watch videos on the diversity of life
1. Nat Geo Desert Seas by David Attenborough (44:57)
82. Read section and do review - 15.1 Taxonomy and Systematics
83. Read section and do review - 15.2 Algae and Fungi
84. Read Connection: Likeable Lichens. Do chapter 15 activity: How to make a simple Cladogram
85. More videos, and Chapter Test
1. Energy 101: Algae to Fuels (2:33)
2. Bozeman Science: Fungi (9:13)
86. Watch videos on plants
1. TED-ED How plants tell time (4:19 mins)
2. BBC How Plants Communicate & Think (52 mins)
3. What Plants Talk About (52 mins)
87. Read section and do review - 16.1 What are plants?
88. Read section and do review - 16.2 Roots, Stems, and Leaves
89. Read section and do review - 16.3 Reproduction in Flowering Plants
90. Read Connection: The Buds and the Bees
91. More videos, and Chapter Test
92. Watch videos on animals
1. Comparative Anatomy: What Makes Us Animals Crash Course Biology #21 (8:50)
2. David Attenboroughs Rise of Animals: Triumph of the Vertebrates (59:02)
93. Read section and do review - 17.1 What is an animal?
94. Read section and do review - 17.2 Invertebrate structure and function
95. Read section and do review - 17.3 Vertebrate structure and function
96. Read Connection: Snails vs. Crabs: An Undersea Arms Race. Do Chapter 17 activity: Making an evolutionary tree
97. More videos, and Chapter Test
98. Watch videos on human body systems
99. Read section and do review - 18.1 Circulation and Respiration
100. Read section and do review - 18.2 Other Organ Systems
101. Read Connection: Skin grafts for Burn Victims. Do chapter 18 activity: Build a Lung Model
102. More videos, and Chapter Test
103. Watch videos on support and movement in the human body
104. Read section and do review - 19.1 Bones and Muscles
105. Read section and do review - 19.2 The Human Body as a Machine
106. Read Connection: Prosthetic Legs and Technology. Do chapter 19 activity: Leg levers, Digger or Runner?
107. More videos, and Chapter Test
108. Watch videos on vision and hearing
109. Read section and do review - 20.1 The Nervous System
110. Read section and do review - 20.2 Color Vision
111. Read section and do review - 20.3 Light and Images
112. Read section and do review - 20.4 Hearing
113. Read Connection: Keeping Things in Focus. Do Chapter 20 activity: Build a Human Ear Model
114. More videos, and Chapter Test

2017-2018 Homeschool Schedule

I posted our plans for next year over on this post. Now the fun part begins, fitting everything into a workable schedule! I think I may end up doing a third blog post all about gathering materials and organizing all of the physical items we'll be using this year. Maybe also a fourth post about how I organize MY time so I can actually get all this done! LOL (I'm going to be blunt here... I am ruthless with how I spend my time. No TV, no social media, no "fun" reading until tasks are completed. Kids also don't get screen time if they don't take care of their responsibilities).

So this is what I've got so far... there are a few subjects we need to do daily. Those are easy to plan, we'll just always do the next thing - making sure there are about 180 "sessions" to cover through the school year in each subject. This schedule is almost exactly what we've already been doing this year, and the previous year, so I know it's realistic for us. We school year round and take breaks whenever we need it. I try to keep going with daily math practice if our break is longer than a week.

Grade 6 Daily Schedule: (approx. 5 hrs)

1. Morning Basket Time (about 20-30 minutes)
The following are done mostly independently, while I work one-on-one with his younger sister:
2. Math lesson (about 45-60 minutes)
3. Typing practice (15 minutes)
4. History lesson (reading plus worksheet/quiz, about 20-30 minutes)
5. Reading history or literature book (about 20 minutes)
6. Literary Analysis (30 minutes Tuesday through Friday)

--lunch break--


Monday afternoon we have gymnastics, Tuesday through Friday:
7. Spelling/vocabulary (15 minutes)
8. Language Arts Block (writing, copywork, grammar - 20 minutes)
9. Latin (about 30 minutes)
10. CPO Life Science Loop Schedule (about 20-30 minutes)
Again, the following are done mostly independently, while I work one-on-one with his younger sister:
11. Loop schedule #1
12. Loop schedule #2


The loop schedule will include rotating activities from the following resources:

1.) Maps, Charts, Graphs F (Eastern Hemisphere) 34 lessons
2.) Engineering for Every Kid - 25 activities
3.) TOPS Analysis - 16 activities
4.) Unlocking Analogies Workbook - 32 lessons
6.) Food & Nutrition For Every Kid - 25 activities

7.) Child's History of Architecture - 33 chapters each (may split this with Child's History of Painting)
8.) Botany in 8 Lessons with extra books from Guesthollow Botany (not sure how I'll schedule this one, we definitely don't have time to do the entire thing as she has it scheduled, but maybe we'll do just part of it and continue on with it over a couple years. The Guesthollow book list is intended for grade 6 through high school.)
9.) Maybe another TOPS Unit - about 15 activities


The kids will have one longer combined art lesson bi-weekly on Friday afternoons instead of the loop schedule.

He also has 60 minutes of mandatory free reading time daily in the evening.

At least once a month do an activity from "Nature Connection Workbook" and/or nature journaling.


Grade 3 Daily Schedule: (approx 2 hrs)

1. Morning Basket Time (about 20-30 minutes... this will include reviewing flash cards, music appreciation, poetry, etc)
2. Phonics (about 15 minutes)
3. Language Arts Block (grammar, writing, literary analysis - 10 to 20 minutes)
4. Math (about 15 minutes)

-- lunch break--

Mondays are gymnastics in the afternoon, Tuesday through Friday:

5. Spelling (10 minutes)
6. Daily Geography Practice (5 minutes)
7. Loop Schedule 


Her loop schedule will include rotating assignments in history, health and science.

The loop schedule will include rotating activities from the following resources:
1.) Reading out loud books recommended in "Story of the World activity book" and in "The Well Trained Mind" and doing corresponding activities
2.) Reading science books recommended in "The Well Trained Mind" and BFSU book list.
3.) Reading health books.
4.) Reading social studies books.
5.) TOPS Lentil Science, though I think this is something she'll probably end up doing in her free time.


**Every other Friday afternoon will be a combined video art lesson instead of the loop schedule.**

10-20 minutes mandatory free reading time in the evening.


************************

Homeschool Plans 2017-2018: Grade 3 and Grade 6

I decided to spend a lot more time planning and scheduling this year then I usually do. Next year will be our seventh year homeschooling. I started off as an unschooler, and every year I've become more and more structured. I haven't ever made a specific daily schedule, usually I only schedule about a week or two at a time. I want to do things differently next year by incorporating a loop schedule prepared for the entire year in advance.

I should preface by explaining what kind of homeschoolers we are. I consider us to be "Eclectic Classical", so a large component of our curriculum is based on history and a Classical approach to literature. (What is Classical Education?) But we are also Eclectic, in that I borrow bits and pieces from other approaches (primarily Charlotte Mason, Montessori, Waldorf). My son is also gifted in science, so we do a lot of STEM (science, technology, engineering, math). We are registered and do not follow the Provincial curriculum. We are Christians but only use secular science curricula.

So what I've done this year is previewed and read through almost everything to assure that it will be a good fit (so many times something that looks good on the surface ends up being a bad fit later on!). I've been a follower of "The Well Trained Mind" by Susan Wise Bauer for the last 3 years and I've slowly been adding in more and more of her suggestions. She recently came out with a new version of her book and it's *awesome*! Many of our choices are based on it.

I'm scheduling everything so it fits into approx. 180 school days (with some grace time, since we school year round). We do core subjects daily (basically math and alternating portions of LA), and everything else will go on a loop schedule. I plan to post the loop schedule when it's finished. I've started a post with our daily plan here, and I'll add the loop schedule as I work on it.

An idea that has intrigued me but we haven't implemented yet is a morning time basket. We've never done morning time. Our mornings can be chaotic. The idea of taking time to start the day all together with some thoughtful and calming books and/or activities sounds appealing to me. I've made a note of what parts of our plan I can use for a morning time basket, and so far I've come up with this list of ideas. We wouldn't do all of these every day, maybe just 3 or 4 things - I'm only brainstorming for now.

• Singing "Oh Canada".
• English from the Roots up flash cards
• Reading poetry out loud
• Reading Aesop's Fables out loud
• Reading DK Illustrated Children's Bible
• Reading less well known fairy tales
• Montessori Art History flash cards and games
• Memorizing scripture, poetry, parts of speeches (really want to get back into this!)
• Listening to music/singing
• Doing some geography, science or anatomy colouring books while listening to music.
• Waldorf style drawing notebooks with a science theme

Here are the plans for next year, starting with sixth grade:

Grade 6

LANGUAGE ARTS:

Spelling: All About Spelling (includes dictation). We tried other spelling programs the last couple years but we've come back to AAS and are seeing tremendous improvement very quickly. For extra language exposure I might have him do some of the Spelling Workout workbook, I do like the parts where they have to fix spelling and grammar mistakes, and the literature selections for context. It just wasn't working well as a core curriculum.

Grammar: Analytical Grammar combined with Montessori Grammar symbols and methods. We are starting off with Junior Analytical Grammar which is an 11 week course. That might be enough for this year, but if not we can move on to Analytical Grammar or add in something different. I'm waiting to see what Susan Wise Bauer's new grammar curriculum is like, we might end up using that.

Handwriting: Getty-Dubay Italics (use some important quotes, poetry, verses, selections from famous speeches, etc for copywork). We have used Zaner-Bloser the last couple years which is my favourite way to teach manuscript writing to young students, but my son has atrocious writing so I think switching to something like italics might help improve it. Apparently it's a more natural and fluid way to write, which would help when he has to start taking lots of notes in the future.

Writing: "Writing With Skill" by Susan Wise Bauer. It took me forever to decide on a writing program, but when I previewed WWS I was just blown away by it. For some reason I expected it to be much more difficult and complicated, but I don't know why. Susan Wise Bauer is known for her stellar products and this is no exception. My son is a struggling writer but I still think this format will be great for him. I also like that it involves some STEM topics and a heavy focus on non-fiction writing. From the advice I've read by the author and others, I expect it to take two years to complete the first book.
I had also been considering Bravewriter Arrows, but after buying and reading one I knew for sure we did not want to go that route. I did not like the format (you would have to buy a lot of Arrows year after year to make sense of the program I think, at about $1 per page!) and I think they are way overpriced for what you get. I do own "Writer's Jungle" as well which is a good "hand holder" if you need it (although again, definitely not worth the price - there is so much free stuff on their website, I'd start there instead). Homeschool Buyers Co-op sells Bravewriter products at a discount.

Creative Writing: "The Creative Writer" from Well Trained Mind Press (though honestly, creative writing is not a priority for us so this may or may not get done). There are also some creative writing assignments in the curriculum we use for literature analysis (Mosdos Press) and history (Oxford University Press) which we might use instead.

Vocabulary:   Michael Clay Thompson "Caesar's English" (start now, but probably continue into Grade 7)

Advanced Phonics: Megawords by EPS, and reading McGuffey's Eclectic Readers.



Literary Analysis: Mosdos Press Pearl (not every little thing though, cause it's massive!). The way I will schedule this is that we will probably take 2 days to read the literary selection, and a third day to do some worksheets or writing assignments from the student workbook. Some people take a fourth day to do vocabulary or extra worksheets. I plan to do at least some of the reading out loud together, so this will be time intensive. Since the writing assignments are quite intensive and my son is a reluctant writer, we will probably still use Daybook of Reading and Writing for many of the assignments. The "scrapbook" format is just so much less intimidating to him. That said, the literary selections are too short if that's all we did... so that's why we are using Mosdos as the core. We'll probably do a lot of the literary analysis in Mosdos orally as discussion. The selections in Mosdos are a lot longer. My son is a very good reader and I expect each selection to take around 20-30 minutes. If we read out loud together it will take longer though, so I will probably give us two sequential days for selections we do out loud. The Mosdos reader is jam packed, and the teacher guide comes in not one but two huge volumes so it's a LOT of material. I'm not sure if we'll get through all of it, I think we'd have to spend two days max on each selection to do that. But I do plan on scheduling this daily, and it may take us into next summer which is fine.


Reading: Basically the literature and history list from "The Well Trained Mind" by Susan Wise Bauer, and whatever sounded interesting or we haven't read yet from the Wayfarers Ancients and Middle Ages book list (the books are listed in the free previews btw). Plan to do two novel studies but haven't decided which ones yet, one of them might be "Island of the Blue Dolphins".

Extra L.A.:

• Study Idioms from the "What Your Sixth Grader Needs to Know" book.
• Study Analogies with "Unlocking Analogies" workbook, middle school level.

Math: CLE (Christian Light Education) with some supplemental from Stanford RedBird math online for word problems and projects. CLE is like a workbook version of Saxon math. RedBird math is like an online version of Singapore math. We started using CLE Math about 2.5 years ago and it's soooo good. Drop everything and check it out. Seriously. It's been such a life saver for us. Best things about it is that it is written to the student, it's thorough, challenging without being tear inducing (most of the time lol), and it can be done almost 100% independently.




History: Oxford University Press "The World in Ancient Times" and "The Medieval and Modern World", all of the books in both series with the student guides and also Human Odyssey by K12 (which is arguably the most readable history book I've read so far, and I've been reading a lot!). This is a lot - if it takes longer than a year to finish that's okay - it's worth it! :) I've been reading through this ahead of time and it's *amazing*. The worksheets in the student guides are short so it's mainly just a lot of reading. The teachers guide includes short chapter tests and a blackline master worksheet for each chapter (usually some kind of a diagram or mapping work). We'll add in a few projects and documentaries here and there to round it out. I plan to post our schedule and the documentaries we add in later. We plan to continue this path by studying Oxford University Press "Pages from History" primary documents series for grade 7 and 8 combined with literature and writing.

 


Science:

• CPO Life science with lots of videos and extra reading added. Books are suggested in the teacher's guide, which is a must-have component (it also includes an answer key and scheduling plans). I buy the student textbook and teacher's guide secondhand online (Abebooks) and then download the worksheets from their website. We usually take 3-6 sessions per chapter. I really appreciate the literature recommendations for each chapter. We've found some really cool books this way. We don't do all of the experiments since they are meant for classroom use and some of them are quite in depth or expensive. Instead we watch a YouTube video on the experiment, and then use Mystery Science and TOPS science for hands-on experiments.
• Mystery Science together with younger sister. We did Mystery Science this past year and the kids loved it.
• TOPS Learning Systems (choose from: corn and beans, electricity, analysis, magnetism, astronomy... these he does independently just for fun). I love that these can be done independently! We have a science table set up just for these "experiments".
• Some reading selections from Guesthollow Botany
• Various scientist biographies (probably DK Biographies)
• Nature journaling based on "Nature Connection" book. Nature studies are really important to me, I want to make this a priority.
• Universe Sandbox 2.0 computer game for astronomy
• Dragon Genetics with Geniverse (maybe)

Socials/Geography:

• CNN 10 Student News Videos on iTunes
• Book: "Who Runs this Country Anyways?"
• Create Your Own Country project using "Micronations: Invent Your Own Country" from Rainbow Resource
• "Material World: A Global Family Portrait" by Peter Menzel
• "Hungry Planet" by Peter Menzel
• "Where Children Sleep" by James Mollison
• "A Life Like Mine" Unicef
• "Off to Class: Incredible and Unusual Schools Around the World" by Susan Hughes

• "Maps, Charts, Graphs E: Eastern Hemisphere"  (one lesson per week)
• ArtK12 Draw Europe
• ArtK12 Draw Canada and Greenland
• Reading selections from Guesthollow Geography Book List 
• National Geographic Atlas
• "A Child's Introduction to the World" (together with younger sister for morning basket)

Also several reading selections from this list.

-Montessori Style Country Boxes or theme weeks (ideas on Pinterest)
-Documentaries and travel shows about different countries



Latin

• Visual Latin video online subscription with the activities

German

• Homemade vocabulary and verb flash cards based on the book "Fluent Forever"
• Memrise App. This is the best language learning resources I've come across yet. I'm bilingual and most language learning curriculum I've come across seems to be a waste of time to me, this one is an exception. It really works (at least for spoken language).

Art:
I want to do a lot of art this year cause it was neglected the past year and both my kids just love art.

• Atelier Art DVD based art teaching program, probably level 4. The kids would do this together.
• "A Child's History of Painting" curriculum by Calvert School and "A Child's History of Architecture" curriculum by Calvert School (ongoing, so probably won't do all of it this year... I'm considering matching up these art lessons to the periods in history we are studying). This curriculum includes history, art cards, and also projects for each chapter.
• Mike Venezia biographies on various famous artists
• Montessori style art history with Child-size Masterpieces cards

Some other options in case some of the above don't work out, is Scott Forsman art textbooks or Artistic Pursuits. We used Artistic Pursuits this year and it worked quite well but the format was not very organized and that bugged me. It also seemed very repetitive and some of the instructions were unclear. Though I think I may have had an older version, the newer higher level one I've previewed looked a whole lot better.



Bible:

• Telling God's Story Volume 1 and 2 together with sister during Morning Basket Time
• There is also a lot of Biblical history being covered in our history curriculum, a whole month on the ancient Near East which includes things like archaeology and cultural context.
• Scripture memorization during Morning Basket Time, and scripture used as copywork during language arts.
• Daily Devotional "Jesus 365 day devotional" by Zondervan, he does this before bed.
• Read through parts of "What the Bible is All About For Kids"
• Watch "What's in the Bible?" DVDs
• Read through parts of "Window on the World", either during Morning Basket Time or during loop schedule.
• Possibly read through "How the Bible Came to Us"
• Read "History Lives" Volume 1 and 2, middle school level church history that covers ancient and middle ages period of church history.

Typing: MAC Typing Instructor App

Music Appreciation: Mike Venezia's composer biography series, listening to various composer's, The Composer's Specials DVDs.

Health and Careers:

• Janice VanCleave's Food and Nutrition for Every Kid (experiments)
• probably "Gods Design" series

Extra Units:

• Engineering (Janice Van Cleave book)
• Filmmaking/Animation (Khan Academy, and maybe some other sources)
• Architecture (resources from Rainbow Resource)
• short reading list on history of health and disease
• biographies for free reading time, from this list
• Economics

PhysEd: gymnastics and swimming

Grade 3

LANGUAGE ARTS

Grammar: A mixture of "First Language Lessons" and Montessori Grammar.

Spelling: All About Spelling

Handwriting: Zaner-Bloser

Writing: Writing With Ease Workbook by Susan Wise Bauer (you don't really need the "strong fundamentals" book, but it does explain why the curriculum is the way it is.)

Phonics: All About Reading mainly, Explode the Code as supplement if needed.

Reading: Penguin Young Readers

Math: CLE

Social Studies and Geography:

• Evan-Moor Daily Geography Practice Workbook
• Reading books

History:

• Ancient and Medieval history, with the Usborne History Encyclopedia and picture books.
• "A Little History of the World" or "Story of the World" as a read aloud.
• Mapping and crafts from the Story of the World Volume 1 activity book. This was one of the funnest things we did when my other child was in grade 3, so I'm really looking forward to it. It takes a lot of time to prep the activities but what a way to help them remember! My son is still talking about it years later.
• We used the Story of the World MP3 stories by Jim Weiss previously, but my daughter is not really a fan of audio so we might skip it this time. They are really well done!

German

• Homemade vocabulary flash cards based on "Fluent Forever" book. My daughter really loves this.

Art:

• Atelier DVD based art instruction
• Child Size Masterpieces Montessori style. This is one of the new discoveries I've recently made, and I love it! It's deceptively simple. Yet it helps teach art analysis skills that are sometimes not learned until college. It's meant for younger children but I think it can suit any age.
• nature journalling
• picture studies Charlotte Mason style, using the art from First Language Lessons and other resources.

Science:

• Mystery Science together with her brother
• TOPS Lentil Science together with her brother, but at a different level. I plan to have this set up semi-permanently so they can do it whenever they want, independently. I've read that there is a ton of prep work involved to get it started, but with the kit you can buy it should save some time. We've tried TOPS in the past and I think this will be worth the effort.
• Some reading selections from BFSU book list. The BFSU curriculum itself is too complicated for my taste, but the book list is good. My daughter is also pretty advanced in science so many of these might be too easy for next year. We also like the DK First Encyclopedia series. We will probably go through the DK First Nature Encyclopedia which goes through the various biomes on earth.

Bible:

• "What's in the Bible?" DVDs
• Reading books about character traits using this list from Eclectic-Homeschool.com
• "Telling Gods Story", together with either "Bible Road Trip" or "Picture Smart Bible" (together with brother)

Music Appreciation:

• reading Mike Venezia composer biographies
• The Composer's Specials DVD

Health: reading books

PhysEd: gymnastics, swimming and Ballet