2014-2015 Curriculum Plans

Trinity - 7th Grade

This year we will be using Heart of Dakota. Trinity will be working on Hearts for Him Through Time: Revival to Revolution which is American History.  I really like this curriculum because not only is it christ centered, but its in the style of Charlotte Mason which means we get to read a lot of good books. Trinity is my book worm and loves that part of it.  Revival to Revolution has 35 units with daily plans including math (we use something else) and language arts. Each unit lasts for 4 days. The 5th day of each week I can use how I wish for extra work, field trips, park days, and even co-op.  All of the boxes are listed as Independent, Semi-Independant, and Teacher Directed. As they go up through the guides, more and more boxes are listed as Independent teaching Trinity how to teach herself.

Click on the pictures to see larger images

Bible - Revival to Revolution Guide, Who is God? And Can I Really Know Him?, Heroes of Faith – The Hidden Treasures in Hebrews


Math - Teaching Textbooks 7th Grade, Mastering Essential Math Skills Book 2


Grammar - Analytical Grammar


Spelling - Revival to Revolution Guide, Dictation


Writing - IEW Student Writing Intensive Continuation Course Level B


Poetry - Revival to Revolution Guide and Poems from Guide


Reading - Beyond The Book Report


Books for Reading This Year:

                Biography: Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different, 

                Adventure: The Hobbit; or, There and Back Again 

                Historical Fiction: Beorn the Proud,

                Fantasy: Tuck Everlasting

                Mystery: Ellanor's Exchange 

                Folk Tale: Tales of Greek Heroes

                Nonfiction: The Geology Book

                Humor: By the Great Horn Spoon!

                Realistic Fiction: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

History - Revival to Revolution Guide, Student Notebook Pages, George Washington's World, The Story of Napoleon, Hearts and Hands, Thomas Jefferson's America CD, Abraham Lincoln and the Heart of America CD, The Story of the Great Republic, The Growth of the British Empire, What in the World? Vol.III, Draw and Write Through History: Napoleon to Lady Liberty


State Study - Revival to Revolution Guide, Fifty States Under God


Science - Exploring Creation with General Science Textbook 2nd Edition, Exploring Creation with General Science Student Notebook, Exploring Creation with General Science Audio CD, Exploring Creation with General Science Solutions and Test Manual, Exploring Creation with General Science, Companion CD-ROM, Apologia General Science Lab Kit


Inventor Study - Revival to Revolution Guide, Inventor Student Notebook Pages, The Story of Inventions, Michael Faraday, Four American Inventors, Henry Ford: Young Man with Ideas, Always Inventing, The Wright Brothers


Geography - Revival to Revolution Guide, Map Trek Printable CD (customized to time period), United States History Atlas


Research - Revival to Revolution Guide, The Signers


Music Appreciation - Revival to Revolution Guide, The Story of Classical Music, Composer Study

I liked the idea of workboxes but when we tried it, it just didn't work. We don't do the same thing in the same order everyday. So instead I set our books up like the pictures above. :) This makes it easy to have the books at the tips of our fingers and we don't have to search for them.

Novalee & Morgan

This year we will be using Heart of Dakota. Novalee and Morgan will be working through Hearts for Him Through Time: Creation to Christ which is Ancient History. Again this is set up a lot like Revival to Revolution.  It also has 35 units with daily plans including math (we use something else) and language arts. Less boxes are marked as Independent but it is still helping them work towards being a independent learner. Morgan and Novalee's curriculum is mostly the same with a few exceptions.

Click on the pictures to see larger images


Novalee - 5th Grade




Bible - Creation to Christ Guide, Genesis: Finding Our Roots, The Illustrated Family Bible, The Bible Study in Stereo: Philippians 2

Math - Teaching Textbooks 5th Grade / Mastering Essential Math Skills Book 1




Grammar - Junior Analytical Grammar




Spelling - Creation to Christ Guide,  Dictation




Writing - IEW Student Writing Intensive Level A, Student Writing Intensive Continuation Course Level A




Poetry - Creation to Christ Guide




Reading - Drawn Into The Heart of Reading Guide, Drawn Into The Heart of Reading Student Book 4/5

Books for Reading This Year:

                Biography: Steve Jobs: American Genius, 

                Adventure: The Golden Goblet,

                Historical Fiction: Freedom Crossing,

                Fantasy: The Castle in the Attic

                Mystery: The Railway Children

                Folk Tale: Ella Enchanted,

                Nonfiction: Discovery Kids Human Body

                Humor:  Mr. Popper's Penguins

                Realistic Fiction: The Saturdays




History - Creation to Christ Guide, The Story of the Ancient World, Ancient Greece: Streams of History, Ancient Rome: Streams of History, What in the World? Vol. I - Ancient Civilizations & the Bible, Draw and Write Through History: Greece and Rome, Student Notebook Pages for Hearts for Him Through Time: Creation to Christ, Dinosaurs of Eden, The Golden Bull, Boy of the Pyramids: A Mystery of Ancient Egypt, Jashub's Journal: An Old Testament Law Story, God King, Archimedes and the Door of Science, Cleopatra, City: A Story of Roman Planning and Construction, Traveling the Way, The Accidental Voyage: Discovering Hymns of the Early Centuries

Science - Creation to Christ Guide, Exploring Creation with Zoology 3: Land Animals of the Sixth Day, Birds of the Air, Plant Life in Field and Garden, Exploring The History of Medicine, Galen and the Gateway to Medicine, An Illustrated Adventure in Human Anatomy, Apologia Zoology 3 lab Kit

Geography - A Child's Geography Vol. II: Explore the Holy Land




Morgan - 5th Grade




Bible - Creation to Christ Guide, Genesis: Finding Our Roots, The Illustrated Family Bible, The Bible Study in Stereo: Philippians 2




Math - Teaching Textbooks 5th Grade / Mastering Essential Math Skills Book 1




Grammar - Junior Analytical Grammar




Spelling - Creation to Christ Guide, Dictation

Writing - IEW Student Writing Intensive Level A, Student Writing Intensive Continuation Course Level A




Poetry - Creation to Christ Guide




Reading - Drawn Into The Heart of Reading Guide, Drawn Into The Heart of Reading Student Book 4/5




Books for Reading This Year:

                Biography: The Story of Harriet Tubman Freedom Train

                Adventure: The Wolves of Willoughby Chase

                Historical Fiction: Island of the Blue Dolphins

                Fantasy: The Borrowers

                Mystery: The Invisible Friend

                Folk Tale: The Castle Corona

                Nonfiction: The Astronomy Book

                Humor:  The Middle Moffat

                Realistic Fiction: Pollyana


History - Creation to Christ Guide, The Story of the Ancient World, Ancient Greece: Streams of History, Ancient Rome: Streams of History, What in the World? Vol. I - Ancient Civilizations & the Bible, Draw and Write Through History: Greece and Rome, Student Notebook Pages for Hearts for Him Through Time: Creation to Christ, Dinosaurs of Eden, The Golden Bull, Boy of the Pyramids: A Mystery of Ancient Egypt, Jashub's Journal: An Old Testament Law Story, God King, Archimedes and the Door of Science, Cleopatra, City: A Story of Roman Planning and Construction, Traveling the Way, The Accidental Voyage: Discovering Hymns of the Early Centuries

Science - Creation to Christ Guide, Exploring Creation with Zoology 3: Land Animals of the Sixth Day, Birds of the Air, Plant Life in Field and Garden, Exploring The History of Medicine, Galen and the Gateway to Medicine, An Illustrated Adventure in Human Anatomy, Apologia Zoology 3 lab Kit

Geography - A Child's Geography Vol. II: Explore the Holy Land

Why We Homeschool

Here are the 5 main reasons why we have decided to homeschool our kids.

God.  He plays a big part of why we decided to homeschool and why we file privately. I felt like God called me to homeschool. When Trinity was in 1st grade public school the thought of homeschooling kept popping up. I believe it was God telling me what he wanted me to do. At first I strongly resisted the idea. Every time it would pop into my head I'd push it away. Me? Homeschool? No way I could do that! Its too much work and what if I screw up? But like clock-work the thought kept coming back and finally I listened.  So in second grade I brought her home. I also took my younger daughter Novalee out of private kindergarten. The first few years we used charter schools. I just wasn't secure in myself to do it on my own yet. After a few years though, I had to leave. I started using Christian curriculum and they were supportive but when it came to reporting and our samples that was a different story. When I brought in my records and work samples, they would have me or they would white out anything related to God. At first I was okay with it but slowly I realized that was very wrong! Why am I letting them white out my God? So we left and now we file privately.

Public/Private Schools did not meet my children's individual needs. My oldest daughter would get bored at school with all the busy work.  She also wasn't being challenged because she couldn't move as fast as she needed. She is advanced in certain areas but not all so we couldn't just let her skip a grade. They would try to send home a stack of busy work that was about 1 1/2 inches thick that she didn't finish in class. I never made her do it and then they would start complaining to me. Novalee was also having a hard time in private kindergarten. They were not letting her go to the bathroom when she needed. She ended up having a few accidents. There was also a teacher change mid-year that I was not comfortable with. The teacher was a big reason why we went to that school.

I get to be the main influence in my children's lives. Most kids main influence if they are public schooled are friends or teachers. Most of which may not go to church or believe in God.  Friends have a lot influence on kids. Today's society has made kids grow up too fast. Kids are having boyfriends at very young ages. The idea of my daughters having boyfriends in 5th or 6th grade scared me and gave me another push towards homeschooling. I want my children to be children for as long as they can.

My daughters will not learn to "fit into society". Gods calls us to be a light in the world. Society teaches us we need to be like everyone else. Public media tells us we need to be a certain way to have friends and be "popular". I don't want my girls to be like everyone else. I want them to be the person God made them to be. I want them to get their value from the way God looks at them. I want them to stand out and to be a light in the world that points back to God. I want them to be brave enough to stand up for their beliefs. I don't want them to be just another face in crowd, I want them to carve their own paths with God besides them.

To be more involved in my children's lives and education. I get to be there to see and share in everything. I get to see the light bulbs go off in their heads when they figure out a math problem. I get to encourage them when they have a new interest. I get to help them keep the joy of learning. I get to help them learn new life skills they wouldn't learn in public school. I get time with them that I wouldn't get if they were gone all day. I get to learn with my children and have amazing conversations. I get to hear and answer their questions. I get to help them learn manners. I can foster their creativity and teach them real world problem solving.

Of course there are many more reasons why we homeschool but theses are the top 5. Homeschooling has changed our family. We are no longer just living in the same house but living life together!