It is time... Curriculum

The uniforms and the books are here. The kids are counting down the days and well I have had several people ask me recently what Curriculum I am using. The short answer: Mother of Divine Grace with some adjustments. Well really Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum with MoDG's Syllabi. But what does that mean what does that look like. Tonight I think I will answer that question for DG.
This year, every Mon, he will have Math, Poetry, Phonics, Handwriting, Religion, Music, History and Geography and 30 minutes of reading a day. Tuesday, he will have Math, Poetry, Phonics, Handwriting, Religion, History and Geography, 30 minutes of reading and Art. Wednesday is Math, Poetry, Phonics, Handwriting, Religion, Science, Music, History and Geography, and 30 minutes of reading. Thursday consists of Math, Poetry, Phonics, Handwriting, Religion, History and Geography, Music, and 30 minutes of reading. Friday is just Math and Reading.
What are we doing in these subjects.
Well, we have decided for Math, there is just no need to do such an extended review as 2nd grade math seems to be so he will be doing 3rd grade math. That includes addition and subtraction of multi-column numbers, multiplication tables, division short and long and many other concepts.
Poetry: He learns (memorizes) poems line by line. When he is finished he writes them in a book and illustrates them. The poems this year include: The Owl and The Pussycat, Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening, Psalm 100, The Duel, The Land of Storybooks, and The Song of Mr. Toad.
Phonics: Although DG is a fantastic reader, he just finished the Hobbit, he has not learned all of his phonograms. So this year we are going to learn phonograms and spend a good deal of time working on spelling. He can't spell to save his life. Wonder where he gets that.
Handwriting: Will be included in his phonics lessons and depending on how his printing improves, we may start cursive this year.
Religion: We use the Baltimore Catechism, where he will learn questions and answers about his faith. We also will continue learning the Bible Timeline. We also will continue reading St. Patrick's Summer. In the BC, it suggests each section a prayer to learn and most are parts of the Mass. So on off weeks, we will be making a mass book with the prayers he is learning and he will decorate it.
Art: This year, DG will be studying VanGogh landscapes, Angels by 6 different artists, and 4 portraits by 6 different artists. We will study the method, the type of tools used, the color contrast, the subject, etc. Then for art projects, both DG and RA will learn a specific trait of a specific artist, a little bio about the artist and then attempt to make their own art using the trait they learned about.
Music: DG will start by learning some basic music theory and then begin to learn the recorder and hopefully by 2nd semester the piano.
History and Geography: In geography, we will continue states and capitals. I am hoping to use the H is for Hoosier series to reinforce that concept. In History, he will learn about maps and then begin a family tree, where he will interview his family member and keep a journal. He will also be reading bios of famous Americans.
Science is learning about the seasons and what happen to plants, animals, and weather during each season. He will also be doing experiments about plants.
His 30 minutes of reading will include his history bios, lives of saints, stories of virtue, and good literature.
Kindergarten is next!