Tentative age 6 plan

I'm fairly committed to using Amblesideonline as a basic outline for the younger kids education. I read through their scope and sequence and it reflects what the older kids and I have done. There are a few substitutions of course and we worked through a few of these books during different years and at different pace at times but I think it is going to be useful for a jumping off point.

I've been thinking long and hard how to make the AO Year 1 work for a summer birthday, active boy who is still involved with biweekly speech therapy. I don't want narrations to be a burden and I don't want to be in a position that after each narration we have to correct his speech. I also want him to be mature enough to truly enjoy all those books!

We currently have such a nice rhythm to our day that I want to build on.

So this is what I have decided to do....
5/5/08
Changes to the original plan in blue
At age 6 we will

1. Continue with 100 EZ lessons It appears that we have dropped 100 EZ lessons and are back with LLATL -blue. Sam just prefers LLATL so I will deal with my problem with all the extras and just work with it. BUT if he gets bored I'm pulling out 100 EZ lessons again!

2. Progress to easy readers....I have a list started but will leave that for another post

3. HWT- 1st grade printing

4.MUS- Foundation slowly about 1 lesson every 2-3 weeks. I've decided to purchase the newer version of MUS so we'll work through the Alpha level this year......our copy of Foundation was musty and after looking at it I remembered why I didn't like the layout of the older version.

5. Work on "A Formidable List of Attainments for a Child of Six", a reprint
of a curriculum outline from a CM school in the 1890's.

from Summer 93 Parents Review pub by Karen Andreola

especially the following

11. to mount in a scrap book a dozen common wildflowers, with leaves (one every week); to name these, describe them in their own words, and say where they found them.
12. to do the same with leaves and flowers of 6 forest trees
13. to know 6 birds by song, colour and shape
16. to name 20 common objects in French, and say a dozen little sentences
17. to sing one hymn, one French song, and one English song

I want to start our formal nature notebook....Spend the summer term working on trees, winter term on birds and spring term on wildflowers.

We will substitute Spanish for French.

We already started our formal nature notebook and have already added 6 trees during our spring focus. Thank you - Barb-Harmony Art Mom and the Green Hour Challenges! We will work on flowers this summer and see where the Fall takes us.

We haven't started Spanish yet although I just got my hands on a copy of Phrase a Day Spanish AND French so perhaps we start working with these soon. Big Sis' commandeered the French copy .....perhaps she'll teach us all some French! She has already taught Sam a few greetings....

6. Start following the AO Art appreciation schedule.

7. Start following the AO Music appreciation schedule.

We've added Art & Music appreciation informally this Spring.....will continue with a composer and artist each season. I need to pick them soon for summer so I can get a cd and find prints.

8. Hopefully be finished with Speech Therapy work!

Just switched to monthly sessions! Way to go , Sam!

9. Start some lite history with ancients using Time Travelor Book by Usbourne.

10.Encourage oral narrations

11. Start the AO Year 1 Free reading list.

Instead we have just recently started reading different selections. Instead of TT book by Usbourne we will keep reading STOW with a local co-op. We are currently reading Burgess' Seashore book , Among the Meadow People and a Fairytale/ Literature selection weekly. We'll keep this pattern going through the summer.

At age 6 1/2 -which will be next January- we will transition to following the AO year 1 schedule.

I don't see us following the AO year 1 schedule- I'm not sure how I'll make it fit into our 4 day a week/ 4 quarter planner that I prefer to use. I'll be using the booklist and making substitutions for books and resources that we already own and creating a plan that works for us as we go along this next year. I suspect that we'll be adding AO year 1 books to our reading rotations during the Fall.