How do I know what to teach?

I have always loved the Core Knowledge Foundation (www.coreknowledge.org).  I think they are most known for their series of books "What Your _th Grader Needs to Know."  The idea (and I apologize if I am oversimplifying) is that there is a "core" of knowledge that is necessary in order for us to function as educated members of society.  We will understand allusions, put historical references in context and understand their importance, have a base of knowledge on which to rely in evaluating information we run into throughout our lives.

So, there was never any question in my mind about what to teach.  The big question is how to teach it.  The Core Knowledge Foundation prints a sequence -- a list of topics to teach.  But it doesn't specify what material to use.  The foundations does offer some materials, but mostly in the elementary grades.  The teacher handbooks and "starter kits" only go through 5th grade.  I have to admit to some frustration about that.  Especially starting mid-year, it would have been nice to have the option to use an "out-of-the-box" curriculum.  I do realize that one of the benefits of the Core Knowledge Sequence is that it gives teachers/homeschoolers the choice of what sources to use in teaching the concepts.  But a "kit" would have been great for me this year.  I feel like I have spent a lot of time searching for appropriate sources and had some false starts.  It is a small foundation with limited resources.

One of the big time-savers for me is that the Sequence includes marginal notes about how to link subjects.  When you study Ancient Rome, for example, you can read Julius Caesar, look at Roman art and architecture, etc.  It's fun to tie several subjects together through one topic.  There are also free lesson plans available.  They are mostly geared toward teaching a topic over several weeks to a class that you see for 45 minutes a day, so they don't always translate smoothly into homeschooling.  But they often include worksheets and other materials (including lists of sources) that are helpful.

Another helpful aspect of the Sequence is that it is designed to be about 60% of a school's curriculum.  This is great for me because it gives me time to go back and fill in blanks when I need to, or add units that seem to make sense for one reason or another.  For example, Fionn's doctor told her that she needs more calcium, so I threw in a unit on calcium.  She will learn about why her body needs calcium, she will keep track of what she eats and how much calcium those foods contain, track it in a spreadsheet (computer skills), make a list of the foods she eats in order of calcium content.

Some subjects are easier than others.  Math is easy.  Fionn uses the Saxon Homeschool math books.  There is a CD that she watches on her laptop that teachers her each new topic.  It is a great program.  Not exciting at all, but very good.  Instead of teaching a topic (dividing decimals, for example) and then moving on to a new topic, they practice many topics every day in the "mixed practice" portion of the lesson.  Because you revisit topics so often, they are always fresh in your mind.  Fionn doesn't like it very much, but I think it is giving her a very solid base in math.  Quite a lot of it has been review for her so far (she is almost half way through the book) but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.

Vocabulary was another easy one for me.  I have always loved Wordly Wise.  They explore the meaning of words through the use of synonyms and antonyms, context, analogies, and comprehension pieces.  We will work through the 6th grade book (20 weeks) and then finish out the year focusing on Latin and Greek roots as outlined by the Core Knowledge Sequence.

I will write more another time about the topics we have covered in Social Studies, Science, Language Arts and what materials/resources I have found.  These subjects are still works in progress.  I am hoping 7th grade will be a little easier as I will have the summer to review materials and figure out what will work (and have a little experience under my belt while doing so).