November 2018
This is what we're using this year in school: R (14, yr 9) L (12, yr 7) Jy (10, yr 6) K (7, yr 3; K'ish school yr 2)
English
For L&Jy. Here is the link.
For K:
For L,Jy,K:
A Young Scholar's Guide to Poetry I've written about it here.
September 1st 2017
Another school year dawns, eek!
I'm not feeling very ready or motivated but I'm hopeful that once we get started the reality won't be as bad as the prospect of another year of school.
I chopped and changed a bit last year as we went through the school year. I'll try my best to list what we've been using and hope to use this coming year for R (13, yr 8), L (11, yr 6), J (9, yr 5), K (6, yr 2 and full time Kurdish school yr 1).
English
R: Last year English became a very negative experience so we started Northstar online half way through the year and R absolutely loved it and we'll be carrying on this year.
L: will be doing Schofield and Sims spelling and grammar
one day a week and creative writing another day using this book
. Also, a verbal reasoning
and handwriting book.
J: Jolly Grammar 5 for spelling and grammar as well as verbal reasoning and handwriting.
L&J: I'm excited by this new course we started last year from Apologia called Readers in Residence. They really enjoyed it- it involves teaching children how to become 'expert readers'.
Seehere for more about it.
Last year for English we used
to study Carrie's War. It was brilliant. We all loved doing it. They have amazing activities to do alongside each chapter. It's the best study companion I've ever used and it was a great book to study too. This year I hope to use the same series to study Private Peaceful.
I read to them each day mid-morning. See this page for books we've enjoyed.
We've also used some great ideas from teaching ideas
such as opposites poem, writing inspirations, persuasive writing
K has been doing Jolly Grammar 1 and I'm trying to teach her to read using Oxford Reading Tree books (a slower process because she has been at kindergarten full time). I'm planning on using Essentials in Writing 1 this year.
Maths
R is continuing with Northstar Worldwide. It has been a relief for me her being able to study on her own more. I'm not convinced it is worth the money for maths (there's more input for English). She reads the teacher's notes, does the set exercises from her textbook then I still have to mark it. Every 2 weeks she has a test which she sends in for marking and at the end of the year an exam.
LJK continue with Heinemann Maths (1996ish) which is working well.
We also do various Maths games (see this page )
Science
Last year we just ended up finishing off some science but this year we plan to use Apologia
for LJK and 
for R.
The children loved drawing each constellation from this book, spotting them in the sky map and hearing the stories from the Greek myths of how the constellations got their names.
This chapter book is all about Galen (100s A.D.) and how medicine developed during and after his time. It's always a hit to have a book to read which includes the Gladiators and all things Roman.
Last year we read
which was brilliant! Sometimes the science got a bit heavy but it was a really good introduction to the periodic table and how it came into being. There were some fun experiments throughout the book. We then made our own big periodic table poster which I have yet to stick on the ceiling.
History
We are carrying on into volume 3 of Mystery of History and absolutely love it! This is definitely my favourite subject to teach.
We do it over 3 days which includes 3 lessons, a pre-test, a test, map work, activities for each lesson (which I don't always do) and timeline figures. One week will often go into two and if we find we're particularly interested in a subject we'll do more research and activities based around it. I never expect one volume (36 weeks) to be done in a year- more like 1 1/2-2 years. This helps us not to feel pressurised to get things done.
Languages
RL and I have started studying Arabic with a view to the girls taking a GCSE in it at some point. They already know most of the Arabic alphabet and we know lots of words but we're now learning how to put it together. We're using this course:
and an app called Memrise as well as making the most of Arabic speakers around us.
J has started teaching himself French using Memrise.
The children all have Kurdish lessons once a week with a local teacher. They play a lot of games, tell stories, write out Bible stories, translate and write out Oxford Reading Tree graded readers in Kurdish and lots more.
Geography
They study Geography on their own twice a week for half hour slots using
Art
We've been using
from confessions of a homeschooler which has been great, learning about different artists which ties in well with learning the historical background too. It takes the form of a lapbook. We use this series of books 
-one on each artist and we watch Khan academy you tube about specific paintings. I try to do practical art once a week, ideally based around the artist we've been learning about.
Music
We've used the Composers laptop curriculum
from confessions of a homeschooler and this series of books.
We listen to a lot of music on you tube. It's a lighthearted thing and not at all hard work. We just do a composer for a week or two every so often.
R&L have been having flute and piano lessons on skype with your space music. This has been great. They have a concert with other pupils twice a year online and mock grade exams.
********************************************************************************
Here's what we're using at the moment and what is working for us.
R is 12 (yr 7 UK) L is 9 (yr 5) J 8 (yr 4) and K 5 (yr 1)
Here is a rough timetable (there to be broken of course!) that I'm trying this year:
8.30-9.10 Bible memoristaion and Activities
9.10-9.20 Break
9.20-10.05 Maths
10.05-10.15 Break
10.15-11.00 History (3x/week)
or My Father's World (2x/week)/Composers Project
or Science (3x/week)
11.00-11.15 Break/ Snack
11.15-12.00 English
12.00-12.10 Break
12.10-12.55 History
or Science
or My Father's World/Composers Project
12.55-13.10 Break
13.10-14.00 Arabic (R,L,mum!)
or Reading
or Nature
or History test,maps, timeline work (1x/week)
14.00 Lunch
Thursdays are a little different- I try to make these lighter/more fun/practical as they're our last school day of the week (and we finish at lunchtime). We still do maths but the only English is spelling tests (Jolly Grammar). We will be doing an art project from the blog confessionsofahomeschooler. Also Thursdays are a chance to catch up on any art and craft outstanding projects from Mystery of History or My Father's World. It will also be a chance to read more to the children and do some sporty activities.
The purpose of the activities section from 8.30-9.15 after we've learnt/revised our memory verse (we do these in K and English) is to do activities which if I didn't plan would never happen. We do 2-3 in this slot. Here's some we do: (Click here for more info about educational games we use)
1.Play games- Brain Box, Maths games, Geography game (from My Father's World)
2. Revise history using Mystery of History revision cards
3. Use Usborne Art and Kings & Queens of England card packs- share an intersting fact, why we like the art etc.
4. Singing practise
5. Handwriting
6. Book Basket- choose a topic eg history, geography then they choose a book to look at from that section of the bookshelf
7. Music Theory
8. Read-aloud (sometimes with a jigsaw)
9. Story Cubes
10. Agility Ladder, Treadmill, Step aerobics
11. Art- we watch videos about paintings from Khan Academy
English
Jolly Grammar - a page of spellings and grammar each week.
Jolly Phonics- I've used this for teaching phonics to all 4 of them now. It's very good and user friendly.
Institute for Excellence in Writing - a DVD course; multi- age (for R & L) (from Conquestbooks.co.uk)
Junior English - Key stage 2 (for J) comprehension, grammar, spelling and creative writing
Usborne Creative Writing books- 'Write your own story books' 'Write your own adventure stories' 'Write and draw your own comics' Fun, independent work in really nicely produced books
Creative writing can be included in other subjects too in different forms
(See Home school projects page for A-Z Alliterative poem)
Books-based We sometimes read a book together then do activities based around the book (see projects page for examples) Some books we've done this for-
Redwall by Brian Jacques
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S.Lewis
Shadow by Michael Morpurgo
Lion Adventure by Willard Price
Lapbooks These can be based around books or topics. homeschoolshare have lots.
Some we've done- A New Coat for Anna (K's age- 5 yrs)
Addy (American Girl Stories)
Maths
Heinemann Maths- This is a really good course with a comprehensive Teacher's Book, Text book and Workbooks. I use the 1996 version as its lots cheaper.
topmarks.co.uk has some really good maths games
Northstar Maths- we're about to start this with R (yr 7).
Maths games (See Educational Games page)
History
We LOVE Mystery of History. It's a Christian curriculum. Book one covers Creation to Resurrection and Book 2 which we're on now covers Resurrection to Reformation.
Each week there's a pre test, 3 lessons each with multi-age activities, timeline, mapwork and a quiz. I'm learning so much history too! We don't do 3 lessons a week but just go our own pace and sometimes do our own research around a topic we want to know more about.
Geography
We also LOVE My Father's World, Exploring Countries and Cultures. Again, a Christian, multi-age curriculum. You study a different continent zoning in on specific countries. Activities include-
Bible memorisation; praying for people groups; copywork; mapwork; flag book; activity sheets; crafts; music; geog vocab; biographies; science curriculum.
Science
As part of our cooperative we're studying Human Anatomy and Physiology with Apologia Science.
Its Christian, multi-age. (Some parts are a little complicated for their age, so they need to be re-explained more simply.)The notebooks which goes with them are really good and the activities are generally fun.
mysteryscience an online course.
Music
We do music theory using these books.
R and L have music lessons twice a month with your space. This has been wonderful for them.
Also, we've studied composers, orchestras and musical genres using curriculum from this blog.
I teach them to sing using this warm-up book and The Great Big Book of Children's Songs which is excellent (I like it because it's very easy for me to play on the piano!).
Art
We do art history with Khan Academy.
Practical art using Drawing with Children by Mona Brookes and Paul Priestley's you tube lessons.
We love the Prestel (13 artists, detective, treasure) books to learn about artists and art history. Also the James Mayhew 'Katie' books.
Sport
This is a challenge here- especially in the long, hot summers. We can't rely on signing the children into sports clubs. I've had to think of things we can do indoors. (Also we only have a small garden.) I try to do sports for 10 minutes to start the day as well as on Thursdays. Here's some things which work:
* Step aerobics- we've got a step and use these three you tube videos:
* Agility Ladder- this is a lot of fun and you can do lots of different exercises with it. I get the children to hold weights at the same time to increase the intensity:
* We have a tennis ball on the end of a long piece of elastic, attached to a weight- this is fun for practising tennis and not losing the ball all the time!
This is what we're using this year in school: R (14, yr 9) L (12, yr 7) Jy (10, yr 6) K (7, yr 3; K'ish school yr 2)
English
For L&Jy. Here is the link.
For K:
For L,Jy,K:
A Young Scholar's Guide to Poetry I've written about it here.
***********************************************
September 1st 2017
Another school year dawns, eek!
I'm not feeling very ready or motivated but I'm hopeful that once we get started the reality won't be as bad as the prospect of another year of school.
I chopped and changed a bit last year as we went through the school year. I'll try my best to list what we've been using and hope to use this coming year for R (13, yr 8), L (11, yr 6), J (9, yr 5), K (6, yr 2 and full time Kurdish school yr 1).
English
R: Last year English became a very negative experience so we started Northstar online half way through the year and R absolutely loved it and we'll be carrying on this year.
L: will be doing Schofield and Sims spelling and grammar
one day a week and creative writing another day using this book . Also, a verbal reasoning and handwriting book.J: Jolly Grammar 5 for spelling and grammar as well as verbal reasoning and handwriting.
L&J: I'm excited by this new course we started last year from Apologia called Readers in Residence. They really enjoyed it- it involves teaching children how to become 'expert readers'.
See
here for more about it.Last year for English we used
to study Carrie's War. It was brilliant. We all loved doing it. They have amazing activities to do alongside each chapter. It's the best study companion I've ever used and it was a great book to study too. This year I hope to use the same series to study Private Peaceful.I read to them each day mid-morning. See this page for books we've enjoyed.
We've also used some great ideas from teaching ideas
such as opposites poem, writing inspirations, persuasive writing
K has been doing Jolly Grammar 1 and I'm trying to teach her to read using Oxford Reading Tree books (a slower process because she has been at kindergarten full time). I'm planning on using Essentials in Writing 1 this year.
Maths
R is continuing with Northstar Worldwide. It has been a relief for me her being able to study on her own more. I'm not convinced it is worth the money for maths (there's more input for English). She reads the teacher's notes, does the set exercises from her textbook then I still have to mark it. Every 2 weeks she has a test which she sends in for marking and at the end of the year an exam.
LJK continue with Heinemann Maths (1996ish) which is working well.
We also do various Maths games (see this page )
Science
Last year we just ended up finishing off some science but this year we plan to use Apologia
for LJK and for R.The children loved drawing each constellation from this book, spotting them in the sky map and hearing the stories from the Greek myths of how the constellations got their names.
This chapter book is all about Galen (100s A.D.) and how medicine developed during and after his time. It's always a hit to have a book to read which includes the Gladiators and all things Roman.
Last year we read
which was brilliant! Sometimes the science got a bit heavy but it was a really good introduction to the periodic table and how it came into being. There were some fun experiments throughout the book. We then made our own big periodic table poster which I have yet to stick on the ceiling.History
We are carrying on into volume 3 of Mystery of History and absolutely love it! This is definitely my favourite subject to teach.
We do it over 3 days which includes 3 lessons, a pre-test, a test, map work, activities for each lesson (which I don't always do) and timeline figures. One week will often go into two and if we find we're particularly interested in a subject we'll do more research and activities based around it. I never expect one volume (36 weeks) to be done in a year- more like 1 1/2-2 years. This helps us not to feel pressurised to get things done.Languages
RL and I have started studying Arabic with a view to the girls taking a GCSE in it at some point. They already know most of the Arabic alphabet and we know lots of words but we're now learning how to put it together. We're using this course:
and an app called Memrise as well as making the most of Arabic speakers around us.J has started teaching himself French using Memrise.
The children all have Kurdish lessons once a week with a local teacher. They play a lot of games, tell stories, write out Bible stories, translate and write out Oxford Reading Tree graded readers in Kurdish and lots more.
Geography
They study Geography on their own twice a week for half hour slots using
Art
We've been using
from confessions of a homeschooler which has been great, learning about different artists which ties in well with learning the historical background too. It takes the form of a lapbook. We use this series of books -one on each artist and we watch Khan academy you tube about specific paintings. I try to do practical art once a week, ideally based around the artist we've been learning about.Music
We've used the Composers laptop curriculum
from confessions of a homeschooler and this series of books.We listen to a lot of music on you tube. It's a lighthearted thing and not at all hard work. We just do a composer for a week or two every so often.R&L have been having flute and piano lessons on skype with your space music. This has been great. They have a concert with other pupils twice a year online and mock grade exams.
********************************************************************************
Here's what we're using at the moment and what is working for us.
R is 12 (yr 7 UK) L is 9 (yr 5) J 8 (yr 4) and K 5 (yr 1)
Here is a rough timetable (there to be broken of course!) that I'm trying this year:
8.30-9.10 Bible memoristaion and Activities
9.10-9.20 Break
9.20-10.05 Maths
10.05-10.15 Break
10.15-11.00 History (3x/week)
or My Father's World (2x/week)/Composers Project
or Science (3x/week)
11.00-11.15 Break/ Snack
11.15-12.00 English
12.00-12.10 Break
12.10-12.55 History
or Science
or My Father's World/Composers Project
12.55-13.10 Break
13.10-14.00 Arabic (R,L,mum!)
or Reading
or Nature
or History test,maps, timeline work (1x/week)
14.00 Lunch
Thursdays are a little different- I try to make these lighter/more fun/practical as they're our last school day of the week (and we finish at lunchtime). We still do maths but the only English is spelling tests (Jolly Grammar). We will be doing an art project from the blog confessionsofahomeschooler. Also Thursdays are a chance to catch up on any art and craft outstanding projects from Mystery of History or My Father's World. It will also be a chance to read more to the children and do some sporty activities.
The purpose of the activities section from 8.30-9.15 after we've learnt/revised our memory verse (we do these in K and English) is to do activities which if I didn't plan would never happen. We do 2-3 in this slot. Here's some we do: (Click here for more info about educational games we use)
1.Play games- Brain Box, Maths games, Geography game (from My Father's World)
2. Revise history using Mystery of History revision cards
3. Use Usborne Art and Kings & Queens of England card packs- share an intersting fact, why we like the art etc.
4. Singing practise
5. Handwriting
6. Book Basket- choose a topic eg history, geography then they choose a book to look at from that section of the bookshelf
7. Music Theory
8. Read-aloud (sometimes with a jigsaw)
9. Story Cubes
10. Agility Ladder, Treadmill, Step aerobics
11. Art- we watch videos about paintings from Khan Academy
English
Jolly Grammar - a page of spellings and grammar each week.
Jolly Phonics- I've used this for teaching phonics to all 4 of them now. It's very good and user friendly.
Institute for Excellence in Writing - a DVD course; multi- age (for R & L) (from Conquestbooks.co.uk)
Junior English - Key stage 2 (for J) comprehension, grammar, spelling and creative writing
Usborne Creative Writing books- 'Write your own story books' 'Write your own adventure stories' 'Write and draw your own comics' Fun, independent work in really nicely produced books
Creative writing can be included in other subjects too in different forms
(See Home school projects page for A-Z Alliterative poem)
Books-based We sometimes read a book together then do activities based around the book (see projects page for examples) Some books we've done this for-
Redwall by Brian Jacques
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S.Lewis
Shadow by Michael Morpurgo
Lion Adventure by Willard Price
Lapbooks These can be based around books or topics. homeschoolshare have lots.
Some we've done- A New Coat for Anna (K's age- 5 yrs)
Addy (American Girl Stories)
Maths
Heinemann Maths- This is a really good course with a comprehensive Teacher's Book, Text book and Workbooks. I use the 1996 version as its lots cheaper.
topmarks.co.uk has some really good maths games
Northstar Maths- we're about to start this with R (yr 7).
Maths games (See Educational Games page)
History
We LOVE Mystery of History. It's a Christian curriculum. Book one covers Creation to Resurrection and Book 2 which we're on now covers Resurrection to Reformation.
Each week there's a pre test, 3 lessons each with multi-age activities, timeline, mapwork and a quiz. I'm learning so much history too! We don't do 3 lessons a week but just go our own pace and sometimes do our own research around a topic we want to know more about.
Geography
We also LOVE My Father's World, Exploring Countries and Cultures. Again, a Christian, multi-age curriculum. You study a different continent zoning in on specific countries. Activities include-
Bible memorisation; praying for people groups; copywork; mapwork; flag book; activity sheets; crafts; music; geog vocab; biographies; science curriculum.
Science
As part of our cooperative we're studying Human Anatomy and Physiology with Apologia Science.
Its Christian, multi-age. (Some parts are a little complicated for their age, so they need to be re-explained more simply.)The notebooks which goes with them are really good and the activities are generally fun.
mysteryscience an online course.
Music
We do music theory using these books.
R and L have music lessons twice a month with your space. This has been wonderful for them.
Also, we've studied composers, orchestras and musical genres using curriculum from this blog.
I teach them to sing using this warm-up book and The Great Big Book of Children's Songs which is excellent (I like it because it's very easy for me to play on the piano!).
Art
We do art history with Khan Academy.
Practical art using Drawing with Children by Mona Brookes and Paul Priestley's you tube lessons.
We love the Prestel (13 artists, detective, treasure) books to learn about artists and art history. Also the James Mayhew 'Katie' books.
Sport
This is a challenge here- especially in the long, hot summers. We can't rely on signing the children into sports clubs. I've had to think of things we can do indoors. (Also we only have a small garden.) I try to do sports for 10 minutes to start the day as well as on Thursdays. Here's some things which work:
* Step aerobics- we've got a step and use these three you tube videos:
* Agility Ladder- this is a lot of fun and you can do lots of different exercises with it. I get the children to hold weights at the same time to increase the intensity:
* We have a tennis ball on the end of a long piece of elastic, attached to a weight- this is fun for practising tennis and not losing the ball all the time!
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