Our Homeschool Year Shaping Up and Changing

We like it, but I gave the kids the option of not watching the Biography of America videos and spending more time in reviewing their US History through this wonderful site:

http://www.historyteacher.net/USQuizMainPage.htm

This is an awesome site for reinforcement and something I failed miserably at last year. I was trying to keep in step with Thelma's pace, and she was so slow through the "Early Settlement" phase of US History that they would not read for quite some time in their text. Then, we had to FLY through the last part because she spent very little time on that. So, we are reviewing everything they learned last year at an even pace. When they finish a period, they are taking the quiz. Biography of America was an excellent "color" commentary on the events, dealing more with principles, but it wasn't hard core fact reinforcement. I think this is what they need at this point in time. So, their time will be allocated more wisely with this.

They just might feel confident enough to take the CLEP exam at the close of the review, but Paul may be too young, and Michael really lacks confidence. I will pray for him in all of that.

BRITISH LITERATURE

I don't think all this American History review will be in conflict with our moving on to British Literature. I spent HOURS this weekend working on the course that starts tomorrow. I am sure that it will get much quicker once I get into the swing of editing Thelma's lectures for our use.

She got the wrong lecture up for the second half of the class. So, I had to wait for her to get it out later last night. So, I am working on editing that last 56 minutes today.

I am thinking I will need to have my Mondays during the day be reserved for class prep since we will have TOAG ministry on Monday nights now (at least that is what we are leaning toward).

Here is our reading list for British Literature:

Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan ISBN: 0486426750

Everyman, Anonymous ISBN: 0486287262

The Imitation of Christ, Thomas a Kempis ISBN: 0486431851

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, editor Jessie Weston ISBN: 0486431916

As You Like It, Shakespeare ISBN: 0486404323

Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare ISBN:0486282724

Complete Sonnets, Shakespeare ISBN: 0486266869

Selected Poems, John Donne ISBN: 0486277887

She Stoops to Conquer, Oliver Goldsmith ISBN: 0486268675

English Romantic Poetry: An Anthology, ISBN: 0486292827

The Kreutzer Sonata, Tolstoy- (translation) ISBN: 0486278050

Favorite Father Brown Stories, G.K. Chesterton ISBN: 0486275450

Non-Dover titles:

Beowulf: A Verse Translation, Frederick Rebsamen ISBN: 9780060573782 (old editions okay)

Paradise Lost John Milton –– Norton Critical Edition ISBN: 13: 9780393924282 (old editions okay)

One novel of choice from this selection: Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe (1819); Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (1813); or Cooper’s The Last Mohican (1826) ; other titles by instructor approval. This novel is not needed until March 2010. Students may delay making their choice or check out a copy from a local library.

They will have 8 quizzes, 4 papers (3 for Paul), 2 exams, 4 study guides, 2 vocabulary sheets, and 1 explication worksheet. It seems more straightforward than the American Literature class with less that last year's 17 writing assignments, 20 quizzes, and 4 exams (no study guides last year). The exams are both open book and take homes whereas last year's were all closed book exams. So that is very nice. :)

I am so into this. It is a TON of work, but I really like it! Maybe someday, I will develop my own literature courses for homeschoolers. I think I would do well at the lecture part of it. I am still learning, but I have learned much over the last two years through The Well-Educated Mind reading and Thelma's classes.