Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime
We're two months into homeschooling my 8-year-old son. So far, so good.
It still amazes me how amenable he is to the learning process. We have to fight him constantly to make his bed, pick towels up off the bathroom floor, and turn off his light at bedtime. But at 9am every weekday morning he's sitting at the little school desk my wife found at a thrift shop ready and willing to start the day's lessons.
I've had people ask me what kind of curriculum we're following. It's basic third-grade stuff, courtesy of K12 Inc.
My son's favorite subject is history (mine too). We started with the ancient Greeks and Romans, then jumped ahead to the middle ages, covering topics as diverse as Thomas Aquinas, feudalism, and the Black Death. My son is enthralled with the barbarian invasions of Rome... Naturally, since we're Vandal fans.
The past few weeks we've studied the Italian Renaissance, learning about the city-states of Florence, Venice, and Rome, and the artists of that time, such as Michelangelo, Leonard Da Vinci, and Brunelleschi.
The materials that we've been supplied with, both online and off, are excellent. But I still supplement them with books from the library and DVDs from Netflix. In fact, I want to recommend several historical documentaries that are good for kids 8 and older:
Empires - The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization - A little long at two hours, but my son sat through all of this stunning PBS film about ancient Greece and the first stirrings of democracy.
Ancient Mysteries - Miraculous Canals of Venice - Fascinating look at the history of Venice. I was especially intrigued by how they managed to build the foundations of all those buildings in such muddy soil.
Europe To The Max: Hidden Treasures of Greece and Rome - Rudy Maxa, host of the Smart Travels series, shows us around all the historic sites of Rome and Greece.
The K12 art curriculum is tied in with the history, so my son has made an illuminated manuscript, a clay sculpture (inspired by Donatello), a replica of Brunelleschi's Duomo, and a Limbourg calendar, among other things.
Besides art and history, my son loves science. We started off learning about different kinds of weather and climate zones, and are now finishing up a study of the earth's main biomes: tundra, boreal forest, deciduous forest, grasslands, desert, and tropical forest.
I have DVD recommendations for science too:
Antarctica - IMAX - I love IMAX films because they're always visually stunning, and they clock in at around 40 minutes (perfect for kids).
Beavers - This is an amazing film. Who knew that beavers making dams could be so fascinating? We watched this right after a science lesson on freshwater ecosystems.
The Weather - We're big fans of Donal MacIntyre after watching this BBC series about the different extreme climates of our world. There are four 1-hour episodes covering Heat, Cold, Wind, and Water. My son's favorite moment was when MacIntyre had himself stripped nearly bare and placed in a freezer to see what happens to the body in such extreme cold. I highly recommend this DVD to everyone.
The other subjects in my son's schooling include Language Skills, Literature, Spelling, Math, and Music. I'll talk about those another time.
It still amazes me how amenable he is to the learning process. We have to fight him constantly to make his bed, pick towels up off the bathroom floor, and turn off his light at bedtime. But at 9am every weekday morning he's sitting at the little school desk my wife found at a thrift shop ready and willing to start the day's lessons.
I've had people ask me what kind of curriculum we're following. It's basic third-grade stuff, courtesy of K12 Inc.
My son's favorite subject is history (mine too). We started with the ancient Greeks and Romans, then jumped ahead to the middle ages, covering topics as diverse as Thomas Aquinas, feudalism, and the Black Death. My son is enthralled with the barbarian invasions of Rome... Naturally, since we're Vandal fans.
The past few weeks we've studied the Italian Renaissance, learning about the city-states of Florence, Venice, and Rome, and the artists of that time, such as Michelangelo, Leonard Da Vinci, and Brunelleschi.
The materials that we've been supplied with, both online and off, are excellent. But I still supplement them with books from the library and DVDs from Netflix. In fact, I want to recommend several historical documentaries that are good for kids 8 and older:
Empires - The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization - A little long at two hours, but my son sat through all of this stunning PBS film about ancient Greece and the first stirrings of democracy.
Ancient Mysteries - Miraculous Canals of Venice - Fascinating look at the history of Venice. I was especially intrigued by how they managed to build the foundations of all those buildings in such muddy soil.
Europe To The Max: Hidden Treasures of Greece and Rome - Rudy Maxa, host of the Smart Travels series, shows us around all the historic sites of Rome and Greece.
The K12 art curriculum is tied in with the history, so my son has made an illuminated manuscript, a clay sculpture (inspired by Donatello), a replica of Brunelleschi's Duomo, and a Limbourg calendar, among other things.
Besides art and history, my son loves science. We started off learning about different kinds of weather and climate zones, and are now finishing up a study of the earth's main biomes: tundra, boreal forest, deciduous forest, grasslands, desert, and tropical forest.
I have DVD recommendations for science too:
Antarctica - IMAX - I love IMAX films because they're always visually stunning, and they clock in at around 40 minutes (perfect for kids).
Beavers - This is an amazing film. Who knew that beavers making dams could be so fascinating? We watched this right after a science lesson on freshwater ecosystems.
The Weather - We're big fans of Donal MacIntyre after watching this BBC series about the different extreme climates of our world. There are four 1-hour episodes covering Heat, Cold, Wind, and Water. My son's favorite moment was when MacIntyre had himself stripped nearly bare and placed in a freezer to see what happens to the body in such extreme cold. I highly recommend this DVD to everyone.
The other subjects in my son's schooling include Language Skills, Literature, Spelling, Math, and Music. I'll talk about those another time.
Permalink posted by Idaho Dad at 12:48 AM
5 Comments:
Wow, you have covered a lot in just two months. I don't remember grade 3 being nearly that interesting. Glad you are making History fun. I found it so dull in school and as an adult I can't for the life of me understand why so much fascinating material could have been presented as such a mundane subject.
It sounds great. Maybe we'll move out to Idaho and you can teach our kids too.
I think it all depends on the tacher himself. At school I excelled in subject taught by good and motivated teachers only.. and every year had to depend on my luck coz the teachers kept changing. Now that you're homeschooling him, it only depends on you to make every subject intersting.. and I have a feeling you've got the talent. Not many parents can stand selecting good materials for the kids' lessons..they're used to depend on schools all the time. I think both of you will do great!
You and your son are both very fortunate with your schooling arrangement. Keep up the good work!
Who needs K12 when we have Phil! I love your movie suggestions. My son is still attending the local private school. He is in a 3rd/4th combo class and also loved the Greek and Roman study they have just completed. The school will have an end of the unit celebration with a Living History Museum at the end of the week. My sons class will be dressing as greek gods! Last year my older son built a model parthanon which will be on display again Friday! Lots of fun this school stuff...:)
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