The overview below is based on The Well Trained Mind. The time commitment seems overly burdensome to me. I'd love to hear details on how others do a classical education. Summary of notebook usage follows this outline.
Kindergarten
Reading:
As much read aloud time as possible.
Basic phonics 10-30 min every day.
Practice reading easy books.
Writing:
Practice printing 10 min daily.
Copy short sentences from model.
Math:
Count and write 1-100.
Skip count by 2's, 5's, and 10's.
First Grade
Language:
Do Spelling Workout A for 10-15 min daily.
Begin First Language Lessons for 15-20 min daily.
Spend 30 min daily reading and making notebook page.
Fun reading 30 min daily.
Practice penmanship.
Writing:
Simple letters to friends 2x week.
Copy short sentences 2-3 days per week for 5-20 min.
Math:
30-40 min daily
History:
Study ancient times (3 hrs a week)
Read biographies and easy history books to child.
Ask child to narrate what you just read.
Make notebook pages.
Science:
Study animals, the human body and plants twice a week for 60 min each
Religion:
World religions through history study.
10-15 min family religious study.
Art:
Do Drawing with Children, art projects, or picture study 1-2x weekly
Music:
1 hr per week listening to classical music.
Begin instrument.
Second Grade
Language:
Do Spelling Workout B or C for 10-15 min daily.
Begin First Language Lessons for 20 min daily.
Spend 30 min daily reading and making notebook page.
Fun reading 30-60 min daily.
Memory work for 10 min daily
Begin cursive penmanship.
Writing:
Simple letters to friends 2x week.
Write from dictation 3 days per week for 10-20 min.
Math:
40-60 min daily
History:
Study medieval- early Renaissance times (3 hrs a week)
Read biographies and easy history books to child.
Ask child to narrate what you just read.
Make notebook pages.
Science:
Study basic earth science and astronomy twice a week for 60 min each
Religion:
World religions through history study.
10-15 min family religious study.
Art:
Picture study for 1 hr weekly or do art projects.
Music:
1 hr per week listening to classical music.
Begin or continue instrument.
Third Grade
Language:
Do Spelling Workout C or D for 15 min daily.
Spend 30 min daily reading and making notebook page.
Do formal grammar for 20-30 min daily
Fun reading 30-60 min daily.
Memory work for 10 min daily
Continue penmanship.
Writing:
Longer letters to friends 1x week.
Write from dictation 3 days per week.
Begin a writing program twice a week for 20-30 min each day
Math:
40-60 min daily
History:
Study late Renaissance - early Modern times (3 hrs a week)
Read history books to child.
Assign easy biographies and history books to child.
Ask child to narrate what you just read.
Make notebook pages.
Science:
Study basic chemistry twice a week for 60-90 min each
Latin:
Memorize vocabulary; study language daily.
Religion:
World religions through history study.
10-15 min family religious study.
Art:
Picture study for 1 hr weekly or do art projects.
Music:
1 hr per week listening to classical music.
Begin or continue instrument.
Fourth Grade
Language:
Do Spelling Workout D, E or F for 15 min daily.
Spend 30-45 min daily reading and making notebook page.
Do formal grammar for 20 min daily
Fun reading 30-60 min daily.
Memory work for 10 min daily
Continue penmanship.
Writing:
Longer letters to friends biweekly.
Write from dictation 2-3 days per week.
Do your own writing program twice a week for 20-30 min each day
Math:
40-60 min daily
History:
Study Modern times (3 hrs a week)
Read history books to child.
Assign easy biographies and history books to child.
Ask child to narrate what you just read.
Make notebook pages.
Science:
Study basic physics twice a week for 90 min each
Latin:
Learn vocabulary and basic syntax rules for 45 min daily.
Religion:
World religions through history study.
10-15 min family religious study.
Art:
Picture study for 1 hr weekly or do art projects.
Music:
1 hr per week listening to classical music.
Begin or continue instrument.
(*All time ranges mean start with lowest time and work up to highest time.)
Notebook Summary
Language:
1. Spelling. Rules the child is having difficulty with and a list of trouble works he consistently misspells.
2. Grammar. File any grammar exercises the child completes.
3. Reading.
a. My reading. Summaries or illustrations of books from reading lists.
b. Memory work. All pieces learned and recited.
c. Writing. Copywork assignments, dictation, composition assignments, letters and other writings.
History:
Contains pictures, compositions and historical narrations, arranged chronologically and separated by year of study.
Science:
1. Life science divided into
Animals
Human Body
Plants
2. Earth science divided into
Earth
Sky and Space
3. Chemistry divided into
Definitions
Experiments
4. Physics divided into
Definitions
Experiments
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1 comment:
Hi! I was blog hopping today and found myself here. :) Anyway, we are also LDS and following The Well Trained Mind in our homeschool. I agree, the time commitments are a bit much, although if I only had one child I think I could do it. However I have 3 (almost 4) and it's just not possible. I did get to hear Susan Wise Bauer speak last month and she is quick to point out that the times are only put in as suggestions. I have found that while we do practically everything she recommends and use most of the same curriculum, we just can't do it all as much or as often as the books says. So we may only narrate history once a week rather than twice and do writing for 5 minutes a day rather than 15. And art may only happen twice a month rather than twice a week. I still feel like we're following the spirit of classical education even though we don't adhere strictly to what WTM says to do, you know?
Anyway, you're welcome to visit my blog and poke around. I have 3 boys and we're gearing up for 3rd and 1st grade plus preschool starting Monday. I'm working on the big "what we're doing this year" blog post today.
I also visit the WTM message boards frequently for ideas and inspiration and a lot of us post a weekly report every weekend so we can share with others what we're doing in school. It's kind of fun to see how others do classical education at home.
It's nice to "meet" you and kudos to you for trying workboxes. They sound so wonderful, but I know if I had to load boxes for 3 children on a daily basis, I'd go crazy in a hurry. I also absolutely love that top quote in your sidebar. It's a good one!
Kristiana
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