Supplemental schooling details for Anna (and whoever else wants to know)

Why am I doing this?  I am pretty insistent that the kiddos learn certain things that I am sure are not going to be provided by the public schools adequately, or in the manner that I wish. The schools just don't have the time to fit it all in.  I really want them reading more interesting and challenging things, and compiling more data about all things in general. But particularly about grammar, writing skills, math basics (alternative methods of problem solving since I think the math curriculum is questionable at best), history and literature. Literally this week, we have just started actively working with supplemental schooling and plan on doing it from now on, indefinitely.  So keeping them where they are in school, but moving forward with significant additional help at home.

I found my outline in a book I read called The Well Trained Mind.  Has some great stuff, and some stuff I won't use, but that is ok too. http://www.welltrainedmind.com/classical-education.  The website has some good stuff to get you started, but if you really want to dig in, buy the book.  You can also use a pre-set up curriculum that is similar, if you'd like.  I found one called Classical Conversations, which is designed to be totally home schooled, but can be used as supplemental too.  Has a REAL Christian bias, but if you can deal with that, the information is easily laid out for you and easily bought, since it is a huge business.

But I decided to somewhat follow the Well Trained Mind process.  It goes like this...For the first year, we are studying things from the Ancient period.  The goal is to start at the beginning of early human history, and spend a couple years going through the whole timeline of history (more on that later). It gives the kids an overview of data and stuff that happened in order, so ideally it makes more sense.  Going through it in order helps place everything in perspective rather than studying chunks of historical data out of context.  Example - Margaret studied ancient Greece this year, and also jumped into America, our government and the Constitution.  Kind of jarring difference when the two could have had some real relationships pointed out.

So - 1st through 4th 'grades' are the first run through of the timeline. Gathering data and information.  This is called the 'grammar stage'.

• First grade - Ancients - BC 5000 to 400 AD
• Second Grade - Medieval/Early Renaissance 400-1600 AD
• Third Grade - Late Renaissance/Early Modern 1600-1850AD
• Fourth Grade - Modern Times - 1850- Present

To quote the web site - "spend one year on each division. If you begin to do this in first grade, the student will study all of history three times: in elementary school; in greater depth in middle school; and, finally, by using original sources in the high school years."  www.welltrainedmind.com/history-at-the-center.

Then, you do it again, but with a different focus.  Middle school is the argument or logic stage.  Theory is that kids are naturally questioning and arguing (on a different level of complexity) at this age and going with that natural tendency allows them to review the data on a different level.  More in depth, and questioning how and why things happened how they did and when they did.

Final stage, high school levels, is the rhetoric stage.  Review the same data again, more in depth, focusing on areas of interest for the teen, and accessing primary sources.  The Iliad isn't so daunting when you have already touched on it twice before.  Learning how to assimilate data into your own ideas and share that data with others.  Public speaking with clarity and conviction, and the real craft of writing clearly are the focus.

How we are doing it:  I have both kids working on the first grade process just to make it easier on me, but Margaret does hers more in depth.  What we do is read a bit about the subject we are working on (right now we are focused on Ancient Greece).  Either poetry, fables, myths (kids are OBSESSED with Greek gods right now), bible stories (if so inclined, but interesting to compare to Greek's explanations of how things were made/controlled), biographies (we just checked out Socrates and Alexander the Great), historical events, philosophies, basic culture and religions, science which is ideally based on what they were thinking about at that time in history (so the ancients were looking at plants, the human body and animals), art, music, etc.  All focused on that period and that culture.

After we read about whatever topic was chosen that day (myth, biography, history story, whatever), I have the kids copy a sentence (or three for Margaret) out of the text.  Practicing physically writing neatly and well, plus exposing them to more complex language and grammar instead of 'See spot run'.  Now for those who aren't writing yet, have them practice letters or color a 'journal' about what you read.  Twice a week, we do narration.  Narration is after the reading, I have the child narrate back to me what the story was about, and write that down.  I do the writing for Donovan since he can't do it well yet and I don't want to pressure.  Prepares the kids for active listening, learning to think about the important parts of the story, communicating thoughts, and eventually prepares them for books reports.

Twice a week we do some math skills drill (just did a multiplication flash card game yesterday with Margaret.  Going to practice with money later this week).  Haven't gotten to science yet, but have checked out a couple books on juvenile science experiments to try.

We are starting with Ancient Greece since that is something really interesting to the kids, then will move to Ancient Rome, Africa, Arabia, China, India, Aztecs and Mayas, and thinking about looking at the Northern Europeans like the Nordic Explorers and the Polynesians too.  Basically, hit all the important cultures during that time period.

The great thing is, that since I am not totally homeschooling, we can do whatever we want, or whatever is needed most at the time and take as long or as little time as we want.  Kids are eating it up, since it is a lot of me reading to them, with just a bit of writing or discussion afterwards.  They are REALLY looking forward to the science experiments. After the 'assigned reading' the kids are free to do their own reading.  Margaret just got a book on puppies (always puppies) and Donovan wanted a book on Superman and Space, so we are adding Astronomy to our science too. 

So there you have it.  That is what we are doing for now and why.  Hopefully it will last.  For now, it is fun.  Margaret and Donovan told me today that they can't wait for summer so we can do more of 'mommy's school'.  I must say, I am having fun too!