Curriculum Picks for 2022-23!
Things are starting to change around here at Spero Academy. This year, everyone is in middle school or high school for the first time, which feels really unreal for me. I can't believe I'm done with elementary school! It's a little bitter sweet, because elementary school is so laid back and fun, but middle school is fun in a whole different way.
But with everyone growing up and becoming more independent, and with me doing a lot of repeats with Levi and Meryn, my plate is finding itself with a little more space on it. This is a refreshing change for me, and I've got some plans for how to fill it back up this year! :)
Homeschooling is still my priority though, and I'm excited (as always) for what we've got planned for this year!
Junior Year for Luke and Kiryn:
We still are working towards a solid liberal arts education, so I try to organize their studies around the seven liberal arts. This year, they're done with the grammar and logic studies for now, so they only have rhetoric, math, science and great books left to do the next couple of years. With outsourcing science, that leaves me with only three things to do with them!
Rhetoric: Writing & Rhetoric Book 11: Thesis Part 2. In this book, they will continue to study formal rhetoric, pathos, ethos, logos, and will write three speeches: judicial, political and ceremonial. In the spring, the kids will work through Rhetoric Alive! Book 1. This will prepare them to do a senior thesis next year.
Math:
-Last year, the kids finished VideoText Complete Algebra and started dipping their toes into the Complete Geometry program. This year, they will finish Geometry which will give them one full credit in Geometry and the other 1/2 credit of PreCalculus (the first half was part of Complete Algebra, along with one full credit for Algebra 1 and one full credit for Algebra 2). At the end of this year, they will have four high school credits of math. I'm also going to have them read a book my dad told me about. He has a math degree, and told me this story about when he was in high school. He said there were a handful of students at North High School in the 1960's who had taken all the math courses in the school catalog, so one of the teachers created an "off-the-books" class using a book called How to Solve It by Polya. He said the main idea was that, "It's not enough to know how to get the right answer, you have to know how to ask the right question." This dovetailed perfectly with a book I've been reading called The Global Achievement Gap which has highlighted the lack of preparation for real work kids are graduating even from college with. One thing the author highlights is a lack of inquiry and curiosity and an inability to ask good questions. So I'm hoping this book will help them learn how to ask the right questions in math on their own. Next year for their final year, I'll give them the choice between taking Economics, Probability & Statistics, calculus as a dual-enrollment class, or Calculus for Everyone at home.
-In addition to formal geometry studies, we're going to continue with a type of sacred geometry. We've been slowly working our way through A Beginner's Guide to Constructing the Universe for a couple of years and really love it. This year, hopefully we will finish through number 10 and call it good!
Science: It's time for Chemistry. DIVE Biology went just OK last year. It was really just checking the box of biology. There was no love grown or curiosity cultivated by this class. I really want them to have at least one science class in their education taught by someone who really loves what they're doing in an engaging way. So we decided we would enroll them in Dr. Jay Wile's online class Discovering Design with Chemistry. This is totally off my plate, and I couldn't be more happy about it. :) But, I'm also going to have them read Napoleon's Buttons and The Chemical History of a Candle to enhance their real-life understanding of chemistry and hopefully stoke their curiosity. Next year, they'll do Physics. If they enjoy Dr. Wile, they can take his class for physics, or they could do dual-enrollment through the local college.
Great Books:
-History: We really enjoyed Dave Raymond's American History last year. So we're going to continue with his Modernity class this year. Because of their reading and class load this year, I'm going to give them the option to do either the weekly exams or the portfolio, but not both. We have a little group of families all using this program that meets together for the kids to present the projects that are assigned. We so enjoyed that last year and I'm really looking forward to seeing what all the kids come up with this year! I'm going to really stretch and push my kids on the research paper this year with a couple of extra resources to support their research paper process. Last year was their first research paper and it was pretty basic. I want to challenge them this year!
I'll be using Canon Press's Brit Lit Volumes 5-10, and adding in Crime & Punishment for a dip in Russian literature, and All Quiet on the Western Front for a German author and using Tapestry of Grace as a guide to those. Canon Press weaves a lot of poetry through these volumes so kids will get a good exposure to British poets through the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. I love this list because it's very balanced with short reads and long reads, light fun easy reads and heavier, dark reads. I think the kids will really love the books they'll engage this year!
Philosophy: In addition to this literature list, we'll continue with Tapestry of Grace's Pageant of Philosophy. This will be our fourth year reading through the Pageant and the kids will finish it up this year! I have really loved this track and it has introduced them to a lot of philosophers and ideas in a very approachable way.
Electives:
-Philharmonic Orchestra: the kids are going back to the public school for orchestra. I'm just delighted that they don't want to quit playing!
-Dual Enrollment Classes: The kids are going to take American Government at WSU Tech. It's their first college class. AAA! :) Kiryn's also taking Interpersonal Communication because she won a scholarship in a raffle that's only good for one semester, so we're capitalizing on that!
Sometimes this feels like a lot and other times it feels like a pretty light year. We'll see how it goes when we get into it! I'm just so excited that they've reached the end of Latin and Logic in high school. They've worked hard and put in a lot of hours and done so well! Also, I want to say that last year I intentionally chose things to plug some holes that had been revealed by the CLT (Classic Learning Test). We worked really hard at VideoText and re-did whole sections that they had not mastered.... we worked hard at Lost Tools of Writing and reading analysis through Teaching the Classics and Tapestry of Grace literary analysis. And it paid off. Both kids improved their CLT10 scores by 15+ points! So thankful to see that validation after a lot of hard work!
Levi: 7th grade
Grammar: Grammar Voyage, Kilgallon Sentence Composing for Middle School, and Dr. Whimbey's Thinking Through Grammar web program.
Logic: The Art of Argument at Derby Scholé Community
Rhetoric: Writing & Rhetoric Books 7-8
Math: Rod and Staff Math 7. He really did well with Rod & Staff last year and it was a good challenge for him. Math comes easy for Levi, and he needs something that stretches him. I wasn't sure whether to do a Pre-Algebra this year, start VideoText, or do another year of Rod & Staff. I ended up opting to do Rod & Staff, but we're not going to do every chapter. If we finish early, he can get started on VideoText. I just thought he was a little young for it at the beginning of this year. And we've got plenty of time.
Science: The Story of Science vol. 1-2 by Joy Hakim at Derby Scholé Community. I am so excited for this! Luke and Kiryn read through the first two volumes of this series in 8th-9th grade and we really liked these books. But we just used them as supplemental reading. Levi is going to be doing it as a whole program through our co-op as his whole science. After doing intense science in middle school with the older kids, I decided that while it was good, I think an understanding of the history of science would be a lot more beneficial going into high school sciences based on the scientific method and inquiry based studies. So I'm very content to let Levi spend 2-3 years doing this series. Next year for 8th grade, I do plan to add Secrets of the Universe and count it as a Physical Science credit.
Good Books: Modern world History and Literature. Both Levi and Meryn are going to be reading through A History of US, also by Joy Hakim. They'll be building a history portfolio that I bought from Homeschool Journey. We'll also be reading through a collection of modern literature, like The Wind in the Willows, Diary of Anne Frank, The Phantom Tollbooth, J.R.R. Tolkein stories, Homeless Bird, a few others.
Electives:
-Latin for Children Primer C, second half
-French for Children Primer B: Levi finished the first half of Latin for Children Primer C and French for Children Primer A. We alternate weeks for chapters and spread the series out over two years. This worked really well for the older kids and so far so good for Levi!
-Geography I by Memoria Press: I really like this straightforward series that thoroughly teaches geography of the whole world across three books. We've only ever gotten through the first two, but it's better than nothing!
-Viola: we don't really have an orchestra option for this year, so we're just going to do some private lessons this year. Levi's also picked up the electric bass and is enjoying that a lot too!
Meryn, 6th grade:
Grammar: Meryn is going to be continuing Alphabetic Phonics with mom this year. I'll also do some Sentence Island with her, and maybe some Kumon Writing workbooks.
Logic: Meryn will be doing Reasoning & Reading.
Rhetoric: Cottage Press Fable & Song. Meryn got through Writing & Rhetoric book 3, but book 4 was just a little too much of a reach, so we're going to take a break and do some Cottage Press this year. If it goes well, it may just be a better fit for the long haul for Meryn. So we'll see!
Math: Making Math Meaningful, Level 5. This went SO well for Meryn last year! She has always struggled with math, and this didn't necessarily come easy, but it clicked with her brain and she could do it without tears. Win. We will continue with this I think through their Algebra book.
Science: Meryn has the privilege of taking Apologia's Anatomy & Physiology through our co-op this year. I think it's going to be really good for her!
Good Books:
-History: Same as Levi: A History of US with History Portfolio and a few extra historical fiction thrown in.
-Literature: she and Levi will read the same set of books and we'll talk about them together this year. I'm looking forward to this!
Electives:
-Latin for Children Primer A: we shelved this for the last couple of years, but we're login to give it a go again this year.
-Violin: same thing as Levi. She'll get to do some private lessons this year.
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