Preedy Academy Plans: 2018-19

Here's what's on tap for next year at Preedy Academy!

This is the plan for my older two kids. They do all their studies together with the exception of their math studies.

Language:
-Writing & Rhetoric Books 7-8: Encomium & Vituperation, Comparison
-Latin for Children C: Second half of book
-French for Children B
-Poetics: A World of Poetry by Michael Clay Thompson
-The Art of Argument: Introduction to the Informal Fallacies

Logic:
-Math-U-See PreAlgebra & Algebra, some select Art of Problem Solving work for fun
-Novare Earth Science
-A Beginner's Guide to Constructing the Universe: Numbers 1-6

Humanities:
-20th Century History: The Century by Peter Jennings, biographies
-Literature: 20th century literature with Teaching the Classics AND
-Memoria Press American Literature: Poetry & Short Stories (selected works)
-Memoria Press Geography 3: 4 units of the 8

They will also continue with piano lessons and orchestra at the local school. We will study hymns, Bible and catechism, Shakespeare and Plutarch, composers and artists in our Morning Time, as well as recitations.

We have two new elements for next year, but I'm compensating for that by basically swapping Reasoning & Reading for Logic, which is a new study for us.  We're also taking a break from grammar for this year to make room for the Beginner's Guide to Constructing the Universe. I'm so excited about this book! It's about the art of number and how number is used in nature to literally construct the universe. This is my attempt at dipping our toes into the quadrivium. I hope to work on this fun study of number for the next 2 years and then move into Euclidean geometry, possibly with Polymath Tutorials curriculum.

I'm also beginning a gentle on-ramp to upper level literature and history.  We'll be in year 4 of our history cycle next year, so it will be covering modern history.  We'll be using a spine book called The Century for Young People and reading a number of biographies that the kids will get to choose with certain parameters.  They'll also get to read some topical non-fiction books on major events like WWI and WWII, the life of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights movement, and more.

For literature, we'll read 6-10 modern novels like The Call of the Wild, The Tolkein Trilogy or Narnia, Anne of Green Gables, The Little Prince, Lord of the Flies, The Red Pony.  The kids will have some choice in this.  We will use the tools from Teaching the Classics by Adam and Missy Andrews to discuss the themes and plot of these books, and the kids will have an essay writing assignment at the end of each book.  We'll use these assignments to cycle back through reviewing the types of essays they have learned through the first seven books of Writing & Rhetoric.  As the Andrews suggest as well, we'll start the year off by learning to analyze the plot, characters and themes by applying their tools to simple picture books the first four weeks of school.  We'll also be reading the CiRCE Reading Guide to learn how to skim, close read, and their highlighting system to annotate as you read. The goal for next year(s) is to learn to read (well).

We're also stepping into upper school science this year. I gave the older two the option of one more year of nature study on birds and trees or to begin the Novare science sequence with earth science.  They opted to do birds and trees over the spring and summer and do earth science next year, because they wanted to do it all!

I'll be taking a class on teaching Logic over the summer in preparation for teaching that. :) In writing this year the kids will continue to practice writing encomium and vituperation essays, as well as begin learning about writing research papers, in addition to beginning comparison essays. 

I'm really excited about this coming school year! I have a fully fleshed out plan for high school, and this is hopefully a gentle step to higher level work they'll be doing in a couple of years. My hope for the older kids is they will be able to really delight in what they're learning, learn to read deeply, reason well, while also having plenty of time to enjoy music, art in their own way (crafts, Lego design, drawing), meaningful work, being outside, sports, quiet contemplation, and service to others. I don't want our family to be hyper-focused on academic achievement. I do want to give them space to develop well-rounded, full lives lived in wisdom and virtue to the glory of God. 

For My Lower Grammar kids: 

Language: 

-Song School Latin 1 & 2

-The Good & The Beautiful Language Arts, Levels 2 & 3

-Copy work and New American Cursive

Logic: 

-Math-U-See Beta and Gamma

-Nature Study with ChildCraft books, Christian Liberty Nature Readers, etc.

Humanities:

-20th Century History with picture books from Tapestry of Grace

-My BookHouse and a year with Andersen and Grimm Fairy Tales 

For my younger two, we're just pretty much repeating what we did 4-5 years back for the older two.  They both will be continuing in their math studies which are working so well.  We have a pretty heavy focus on language learning in the elementary years.  Meryn is dying to learn Latin (to the point of making up her own words and claiming they're Latin!), so I'll let her begin next year with a very gentle intro with Song School Latin 1.  Levi has worked on it over the last 18 months and is ready to move on to Song School Latin 2.

Levi is not quite ready for Writing & Rhetoric, and as much as I was dying to try Cottage Press Primer 2, I wasn't sure that was going to be a good fit for him either.  So we're trying something totally different this year to bridge him into being ready for Writing & Rhetoric next year.  He and Meryn will both be using The Good & The Beautiful language arts (levels 2 and 3) next year. I had planned to start him with Michael Clay Thompson's Grammar Island books this year, but I'm now thinking I'll wait until he begins Writing & Rhetoric to start those since G&B is extremely thorough. Right now I don't plan to do any other spelling or grammar, but once we get into it we'll see if its sufficient. I have All About Spelling ready on stand-by to rescue us if we need it.

We'll keep with our organic nature studies for the younger two for another year, and more Tapestry picture books and My Book House for history and literature.  I do plan to begin to teach them the tools in Teaching the Classics with some of these pictures book. I'd like them to learn to identify and talk about the characters and plots to some of the short stories that we read.

Overall, my goals for this age is to develop a real wonder in learning: how letters form words and words form thoughts and stories express truth and beauty is really wonderful. How numbers work together in the mathematical operations and never fail is truly wonderful. How the intricacies of design in creation show us a glimpse into the creative genius of God is truly wonderful.  This is what I want to cultivate in the younger two kids through their studies!

I'm really excited about next year. And for the third year in a row (or maybe fourth?) I'm finishing this school year feeling really filled up rather than really drained.  This is the grace of God, and I think also due to the philosophy of education we're allowing to guide our days, to inform our habits and to shape our loves.  When you work along the grain of your nature, instead of against it, things are so much easier!