livelyminds

Most folks won't want to read this, but I'm putting it here for a couple people who have asked for ideas on lists I'm on. This is what we proposed for last year & this year for our younger son (Dear Son #2). Naturally, there have been a lot of changes!

Major goals

Goal #1: To continue becoming a life-long learner who is intrinsically motivated, displays intellectual curiosity, finds learning enjoyable, and will continue seeking knowledge outside of, and after the completion of, his formal instruction.


Goal #2: To have sufficient academic knowledge to enter any school system at or above grade level.


Goal #3: To continue learning skills which will enable him to be a wise, compassionate and contributing member of society, who is able both to stand up for what he believes and to enjoy life and other people.



Materials and Methods


Since we have nearly enough relevant books, videos, tapes, computer software, and other educational resources to start our own school, we will choose those that fit the topics below and DH2’s needs as we go through the year. We will also use Web resources and field trips, including those sponsored by Family Resource Center and Freelance Learners. We generally prefer John Holt’s “unschooling” model, and in that spirit find that we can use any situation and material to DH2’s educational advantage.

DH2 received scholarships to take courses at Somelocal College in eighth and ninth grade; he took a physics course each year and earned an A in both. This year he will take five courses at Favorite Community College.

In addition, a short course from the Virtual School for the Gifted,
http://www.vsg.edu.au/
field trips with the Family Resource Center
http://www.frc.info/
and other homeschool groups, and activities from Edventures.com supplement course-specific materials listed below.

Subjects to be taught
"Two year plan for DS2"

English Language Arts

DS2 will continue to develop his appreciation for and understanding of literature, as well as his proficiency in oral and written communication.

Reading course covering literature, grammar, vocabulary and composition using materials such as:

Dicey's Song, Farenheit 451, Romeo and Juliet, Under Milkwood, How Does a
Poem Mean?, JB, Night, Great Expectations, Catcher in the Rye, Slaughterhouse
Five, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, The Left Hand of Darkness, A Clockwork
Orange, Emma, Things Fall Apart, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Walden,
and selections from Journeys through Bookland.
Waiting for Godot, Samuel Beckett

Harpers Magazine
(video and DVD) A Room with a View, Much Ado About Nothing

Composition (including grammar and vocabulary) will include readings and exercises from sources such as:
Mother Tongue, Woe Is I, Lapsing Into a Comma: A Curmudgeon's Guide to the Many Things That Can Go Wrong in Print -- and How to Avoid Them, The Elements of Style, Words Fail Me: What Everyone Who Writes Should Know About Writing, Writing Down the Bones, Vocabulary from Classical Roots, Wordly Wise 3000, local newspapers and biographies of writers.

See also Visual & Performing Arts


Mathematics


Saxon Algebra II*
Saxon Physics * (to supplement other physics courses)
Saxon Advanced Math* (possibly starting it)
Note: Saxon integrates geometry into the rest of its math curriculum. Although DS2 has already done most of the geometry covered in some basic texts, Algebra II and Advanced Math each incorporate a semester of geometry (with formal proofs in the latter). Thus they cover 3 years of math in two text-books, so there seems to be no need to rush through them.
Supplemented by reading and computer programs such as: Against the Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk, A Cartoon Guide to Statistics, Knowledge Adventure's Geometry and Multimedia Spreadsheets and Graphs.

Science, Technology & Engineering

Biology
Will cover the following:

Cellular and Molecular Biology
Ecology
Classical Genetics
Organismal Biology
Evolution and Diversity
using the Online Biology Text, http://www.emc.maricopa.edu/faculty/farabee/BIOBK/BioBookTOC.html, and readings from the text: Biology: The Unity and Diversity of Life (college level) and/or FCC course.
Evaluation: SAT II and/or FCC grades

Physics (see Math)
Has completed:
“Astronomy” course, Johns Hopkins University CTY program, Johns Hopkins Campus, June 29 - July 18, 2004.
"Quirky Physics" module, Virtual School for the Gifted.
"Topics in Physics," 3-credit course, Somelocal College
[completed "Quantum Physics and Relativity (General Science)" 3-credit course, Somelocal College, in 8th greade]

Technology & Engineering

This will be done informally, for the most part, and tied in with physics in particular. We may use hands-on activities such as computer exploration, K'Nex roller coaster building, and Lego Mindstorms.

Chemistry

chemistry course at FCC.

Science studies will be supplemented by extensive reading in science magazines such as

Scientific American, Discover, Invention & Technology, New Scientist and American Scientist; books and Web sites such as Genome, Demon in the Freezer: A True Story, Biography of a Germ, The Double Helix, Silent Spring, Lives of a Cell, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory's Website, www.nasa.gov, www.wwf.org, http://regentsprep.org/Regents/;

and labs and field trips such as

Harvard's fruit fly research lab, MIT DNA lab for homeschoolers, Ecology Science lab, Smithsonian Frog Lab, Museum of Science labs, and visits to NSC and/or MCC chemistry labs. He will also continue his work in the Venturing program, including a study of tidewater muckets and a wetland meadow.

Social Studies

DS2 will continue to expand his knowledge of history, politics, economics, geography and world religions and his understanding of how they affect our lives and decisions today as he continues to pursue his fascination with this area of study.
Directed reading course in World History I (pre-historic to 1600 C.E.) and II (1600 to present)

A Short History of the World by J.M. Roberts (Oxford University Press)* [selections]
A Cartoon History of the Universe, II, III
Peoples [selections]
Continue research related to his patent medicine bottles, Our Townhistory and archaeology.
Geopolitics course through Johns Hopkins' Center for Talented Youth.

Supplemented by extensive reading about social studies and current events in magazines such as

Smithsonian, National Geographic, The News, Newsweek and The Economist, selections from books such as Rage of the Nations, the 1895 Sears Catalog , Sophie's World, The History of the Mongol Conquests, A Distant Mirror, Gandhi:Great Soul, Past Worlds Atlas of Archaeology, Atlas of World History,
video such as Cry Freedom, Triumph of the Spirit,
computer & Web resources such as www.nara.gov, the National History Day site, National Geographic on CD-ROM,
and by field trips such as: Sabbathday Lake Shaker Community (religious history in England and U.S.).

Evaluation: SAT II and/or FCC grades

Civics
Much of this will continue to be informal, but some formal reading and activities may also be assigned, or he may take a course at FCC, "State and Local Government."
Member of the Open Space Committee,
Attendance at a variety of other meetings relevant to government and citizenship.

To be continued.... (World Language, Visual & Performing Arts, & Practical Living Skills)