SY 2023-2024

Curriculum Picks for SY 2023-2024

Our annual picks always look like a ton, but allow me to explain the rationale behind these choices. Roux and Paco are both Manifesting Generators in Human Design. The insight behind this system that combines elements of astrology, the I Ching, the Kabbalah, and the Chakra system describes them as dynamic and multi-talented by nature. So we've come to embrace the fact that they tend to change their minds frequently because they have a strong desire for variety and stimulation. They explore different activities to satisfy their curiosity, and they learn through trial and error. So our lessons adapt A LOT in such a way that we get to keep them engaged in a variety of activities to allow them to harness their creativity, adaptability, and resourcefulness, in our pursuit to align their formation and education with their natural energetic blueprint.

And that's exciting for me and Pao because we're both Generator parents so we share a similar energetic foundation. When we were kids, we were either labeled ADHD or jill-of-all-trades but masters of none! I'm personally relieved to discover that our Sacral Centers possess a powerful life force energy that fuels my own actions and in fact, I thrive when multiple activities align with my power! I genuinely love homeschool planning, especially when we find synchronicities in our lessons across various subjects! Seeing Roux and Paco as persons in the lens of a Charlotte Mason perspective made us recognize our children as unique individuals soon as they were born into our realm, and the principles of Human Design that emphasize honoring each person's energetic blueprint gave us the tools to focus our own energy into understanding and respecting their individuality.

Both philosophies advocate for providing an education that nurtures the whole child, acknowledging their strengths, interests, and authentic nature. By combining these approaches, we strive to create a home life and learning environment that supports Roux and Paco in discovering their true selves, allowing them to thrive in alignment with their vibrant qualities and fostering their potential for growth through these combined resources which tbh, we couldn't afford if we enrolled them in the many fantastic traditional schools in our community.

Morning Ritual

Roux and Paco will both be in Form I this schoolyear so we planned to do a lot of subjects together!

Enrichment

- Daily Memory and Copywork
  - Buhay Aralan's Ala-ala Memory and Copywork (Filipino citizenship); and
  - Treehouse Nature Schoolhouse's Light My Way Scripture Memory (Bible study);
  - Paco needs a bit more work with his handwriting and reading so we will do more copywork using Simply Charlotte Mason's Copybook Readers
- Weekly Rotation of Values & Catechism
  - A saint a week;
  - Memorize Catholic prayers once a week;
- Reinforcement of Habit Training incorporated in chores and once a week readings from:
  - We'll be following Gentle+Classical Primer's reading plan for Everyday Graces; and
  - continue with Simply Charlotte Mason's Laying Down the Rails for Children

Bible Study

We're still covering a large part of the Old Testament through Simply Charlotte Mason's Genesis to Dueteronomy with Ancient Egypt; and

touching on the New Testament through the Gospels covered in Brighter Day Press Morning Time Vol. 3 while coverinng Hymn, Composer, Artist and Poetry selections through it.

Science & Nature Studies

Roux and Paco looooove Science (in spite of me!) so we're doing a lesson each of the following guides on loop:

Buhay Aralan's Umaaraw, Umuulan for our over-arching Philippine Geography and Nature Study Guide; and
A Beautiful Feet Books' History of Science to align with our ..... (see below)

Social Studies & Values Education

We will follow the daily scheduled prescribed in the Simply Charlotte Mason's History & Bible Curriculum Ancient Egypt (Bible, World History & Geography)
on Mondays and Tuesdays, we do the mapworks and timelines
on Wednesdays, we will read from Leading Little Ones to God;
on Thursdays, we'll be doing a lesson from Olive Branch Press' Telling God's Story (Bible Study)
On Fridays, we're doing a simple Catholic Catechism overview with Into the the Deep Year 1 (Catechism)
on Fridays, we will do Buhay Aralan's Kasaysayan Ko Course 1: Noong Unang Panahon (Philippine Pre-colonial History); and
Coincidentally, I found Brookdale Press' Writing Through Ancient History to start with Ancient stories too, so Roux will be doing writing exercises to go with our lessons and have a deeper and more connected Language Arts copywork and grammar lessons tied in to our History studies using Writing Through Ancient History Level 1 in Manuscript!

Beauty & Truth Math

I hate Math. I have been going back and forth many Math Programs for the past four years. So I was pretty excited/ challenged to be embracing a Charlotte Mason Math curriculum this schoolyear. I, as a teaching partner, personally embark on being more consistent with my keeping habits and pre-reading so this gentle and connected way of doing Math (as opposed to when I would dismiss Math and delegate it to Teaching Textbooks or my eldest son's tutoring skills) is my way of making the most out of this vocation to educate my children. Paco will be going through Year 1 using Wentworth's Elementary Arithmetic and Roux will do Year 2 that covers the Strayer-Upton Practical Arithmetic books.

Wish us delight and luck please!

Paco's Individual Grade 1 Language Arts

A Gentle Feast Sight & Sound

While we still read from Treadwill & Free's Reading Primer, we're touching on Nature Study and more books using Blossom & Root's FIRST Edition of her Level 1, Stories We Tell. I find the stories here easier to find and more attuned to Paco's interests over the Second Edition selection.

Mainly, we'll continue finishing up A Gentle Feast's Sight & Sound Level 1 and move up to Level 2 when he's ready.

If I may, I want to commend this program because I've looked at A LOT of Reading Programs (The Good & The Beautiful, Bob Books [which Paco still loves], Discover Reading, etc). This one has transformed my son Paco's reading journey because sof its comprehensive approach to teaching phonics and sight words to beginning readers in a very simple and easy-to-implement way! What makes this curriculum truly special is its alignment with Miss Mason's philosophy on teaching reading. By combining captivating nursery rhymes with innovative learning techniques, students are exposed to interesting words through both sight recognition and phonetic decoding. Through this approach, Paco has developed a strong foundation in reading, enabling him to confidently explore word families related to the enchanting poetry. One of the remarkable aspects of this curriculum is its ability to engage students through hands-on activities. Paco has eagerly participated in activities such as writing words in sand, constructing words with letter tiles, and even maneuvering a car to blend individual letters together. These interactive exercises not only make the learning process enjoyable but also reinforce essential literacy skills. The curriculum's focus on sight words is truly impressive. Paco is on his way to learning over 100 sight words, including commonly used words like "little" and "where." Moreover, the program introduces unique and fascinating words, such as "frightened" in the context of Little Miss Muffet. The program's systematic and thorough approach to phonics has empowered him to grasp the intricacies of sound-letter relationships, enhancing his reading fluency and comprehension. The lessons are thoughtfully designed to accommodate your child's individual pace, so flexible!

If you are seeking a curriculum that instills a love for reading, nurtures foundational literacy skills, and sparks a sense of wonder in your child, I wholeheartedly endorse 100 Gentle Lessons in Sight and Sound Level 1. It has provided Paco with a solid foundation for a lifetime of learning and exploration.

Roux's Individual Grade 3 Math & Language Arts

Roux has quite an extensive add-ons with some treated as optional* in case it does get overwhelming for either of us.

Your Business Math Series: Bookstore

Roux will be doing a lesson per week of Simply Charlotte Mason's Your Business Math Series. She picked a Book Store business and will be applying Math principles in doing the inventory, stock, pricing, selling and learning profit analysis concepts.

*Art of Finance

Roux has been very interested in the concept of abundance and wealth. Paolo and I are not Math whizzes and have had a rough childhood in terms of our money mindsets so we're happy to accommodate her early interest in responsible wealth management and happily picked up Torchlight Curriculum's Art of Finance for an optional add-on.

Language Lessons

Roux has been consistently enjoying the short and effective Language Lessons by A Well-Trained Mind since she started Level 1 in her 1st Grade so we're contuining to Level 3.

Blossom & Root LA 4 Heroes & Myths

Although the schedule of these read-alouds will be folded in our Morning Virtues (especially the Emily Dickinson poetry parts), most of the book selections from Blossom & Root's Heroes & Myths Language Arts Level 4 Readings and Poetry for Kids by Emily Dickinson will likely be read independently by Roux and focus her narration and beginner composition writing on the Hero's Journey for Literature studies since she's been attempting to write her own stories now.

*Torchlight Ideas & Innovation Level 3

We're picking out the Literature, Art and Ideas & Innovation Selection from this for an introduction to Shakespeare and themed conversations. We love the Socratic approach that this curriculum provides so even if it's a lot, we appreciate the lessons we are able to do even if not consistently.

So there you have it! I will be linking our curriculum picks in case some of you might be interested to try them out too and vlog about them as we go through them for flip-throughs and reviews. Hope you have a wonderful schoolyear ahead!

Want to see what we did for 2nd Grade last year?

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