RC...
and what our year looked like...

Go HERE to for the details of what RC is.

This is what RC looks like in our home.

There are no textbooks...
no lapbooks...
no quizes...
nearly no tests (we do have spelling/vocabulary tests).
No more loose papers,
nor stacks of workbooks,
nor stacks of papers to correct,
and no more CHAOS!

What do we do, you ask?

...simply read.

We read good old fashioned books. The quality of the content in these books has opened my eyes at how much the educational system has been watered down over the years, both in education and morals. Not to say that all curriculum out there is bad; I'm just saying that we have found a better choice for our family.

Someone asked about boredom. No thrills, frills, etc... We are only a year into this new journey called RC, but thus far boredom is certainly not something we have ran into. Instead we have discovered that letting go of busy work lets us focus on content, and the quality of the books keep them interested.

Our Classroom Schedule:

Morning:
1/2 hr writing
1/2 hr English (grammar, punctuation, & vocabulary)
1/2 hr Science
1/2 hr Literature
1 hour Math

Afternoon:
1/2 hr French
1/2 hr Fine arts

Evenings:
1 hr history(reading, map work, & sometimes history related activities)
This is intended as a family read aloud. I missed out on so much details of our history, that I am enjoying learning so much more through these quality books.

Fine arts is broken into days:
(this is not RC, but I feel it completes what I want out school years to look like)

Monday is our official Bible lesson,(w/ scripture review the rest of the days)
Tuesday is our composer study.(we continue to listen to the musical piece all week)
Wednesday is our artist study.
Thursday is our poet study.
Friday is our Nature Study.

I do have a scope & sequence I have created to sort the extensive list of books that RC has on a list. The original RC way is to just simply start reading at the beginning of the book list, and work your way through. They do have different "levels" as you go through, but they are not to be considered grade levels as the easier books can be challenging in content at level 1 for a typical 1st grader, and level 12 is more of a college level reading. Non-the-less, I wanted an guideline to go by. So I sorted books by not only levels, but topics (subjects), and tried to find common ideas amongst the topics & grade level put together.

I will share the scope & sequence on a following post, along with how we implement the McGuffey Readers that are provided in the Robinson Curriculum.

What about the cost of printing & binding books?
I like printing out the books. Admittedly, many books can be found in the local city library. Many folks opt for e-readers and download all the books from the RC list for free.

Our printer was worth the investment; binding for me is pennies (duct tape & staples);
ink & paper are a cost, but compared to the money I was using for this curriculum or that, or this workbook or that, or this cool new method or that, the $$$ we will save in the long run for this quality education is far worth it! For me, I will be getting 41 years worth of education out of this curriculum (counting each students years left in home education)...discs, printer, ink, paper, staples, duct tape, & few late fees at a library might eventually add up to a $1000 over the years, but that is one inexpensive route in the long run.

And if I am really blessed, I will be able to pass it along to my own grandchildren some day...

education is a legacy worth leaving, eh?

THE ROBINSON CURRICULUM
review...


About us:
We began our home-
school journey 9 yrs ago, and we love it! To get a quick recap of those previous years, go HERE

This year we homeschooled:
Nick- a senior
TJ- an 8th grader
Katie- 3rd grade
Andrew- kindergarten
Bryson- TOT school

First, I want to share a post I placed on the Robinson Curriculum group recently~

"Does anyone else read TOS (The Old Schoolhouse) Magazine? I use to read it a lot. Great folks. Helpful ideas. I have gleaned fabulous information from them for 10 years now...
but guess what? Today's topic from the Homeschool Minute?
~Choosing Curriculum For Your Kids~
and what could interest me about that?
NOT having to read it!
Instead...

I am doin' the Happy Dance...

and singing

"I'm free, I'm free, I'm free,
Thank God we've found RC!"

And that is exactly how I feel. *smile*

Here is a letter I shared with someone who wanted a sincere opinion of the Robinson Curriculum.

"Dear Friend,

May I be completely honest with you? Indeed, I found much more than I expected through RC. I am stunned at the quality content of the books. I, personally, have learned more from reading a few of the History Autobiographies (on the booklist), than from my full 12 yrs in the public school. All those years glossing over the facts every holiday *sigh*...

Here have been the effects of RC in our home in the past year...

ds 17- struggled for years with reading comprehension and became a reluctant reader. He has read more books (willingly) this year than all his previous years put together. The lack of pressure to do fact checks, quizes, tests, worksheets, etc, left him to actual just read; to get lost in the story w/o the fuss of the other stuff.

ds 14 is our reluctant writer. I couldn't pull a sentence out of this child; I tried multiple writing programs, all w/ rave reviews, and he continually looked like a frightened deer staring into the headlights...currently we have slowly progressed from copywork to random writing on his own. I never realized the importance of copywork (I though it was about penmanship, oy!). Most importantly, his attitude has been positive w/ this approach.

dd 9 is a voracious learner =) The girl is devouring books as quick as she can. The intelligence of the books are displayed in her vocabulary. These books are of quality content from the very beginning; do not underestimate the earlier part of the list if you have older students.

ds 6 (kindergarten) has Asperger's thus this direct and simple approach has been best for him. Ofcourse he is just beginning this journey so his *time* requirements are much lower thus far.

After gaining some real structure and calmness to our days (I am of the over-planning kind of mom) by RC's simple, yet effective format, I can truly say we have gained much more from our education this year! A few hundred dollars investment for a lifetime of education is astounding. I now view (from my own perspective; not judging others) conferences, and curriculum fairs, and homeschool catalogs, and other curriculums as mass money makers. Oh sure, they provide and offer what they say they do; I am not particularly against any one of them; yet so much fluff, and complication, and rules, and continued purchases are in my past now, and I am thankful not only to the quality of my children's education, but that I can also be a good steward of my husbands hard earned paychecks. "

So there's my perspective ;^)

I will follow up with a post of how we implemented The Robinson Curriculum to our daily life, along with a few other details...

l.i.f.e Academy

It is refreshing to realize we are halfway through the school year. This is usually a time, where the new calendar year begins, to start questioning myself on how we are doing; to second-guess my agenda & goals for my children; to juggle my ideas around. This is the first time I am just moving forward, no changes, confident that what we are doing is right for us. (Actually, I suppose that is not completely accurate, as I did switch up the literature reading for most of the kids, but that had already been done before now).

~3rd quarter~

December Goals...

Science:
Meteorology-
study of rain, wind, snow, & storms

Bible:
The 12 Apostles.
(family study w/ Mom)
Pilgrims Progress
(read aloud w/ Dad)

History:
Life of George Washington
(family read aloud w/ Mom)
Constitution & the Federalist Paper
(family study w/ Dad)

Economics:
What Has Government Done to Our Money
(a study for Nick, to get an economic credit for his high school transcripts)

Literature:
TJ- Rover Boys on the Ocean
Katie- Charlotte's Web
On the Banks of Plum Creek w/ Mom...
(from Nov. goals, just now getting to it ;^)

English:
Interjections! amazing adjectives, and conjuctions.

Math:
Katie- intro division, multiply by 8's & 9's
TJ- decimals, fractions, & percentages.
Nick- volumes of cylinders, cones, & pyramids.

Fine Arts:
composer- Sergei Prokofiev
w/ Peter & the Wolf
artist- Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze w/
George Washington Crossing the Delaware.
"quotes" from George Washingtons Rules of Civility

French:
We will be in the throws of lots of review this week. =) The following weeks will include Things we have, and Things that we do. This is our 2nd year, so conversation is beginning to get easier.

TOT School:
I am going to use a more multi-sensory teaching approach with Andrew (Bryson can just follow along w/ the fun). We use a lot of audio/visual activities. Some are embraced, others are strongly opposed...'sense of control' seems to be a determining factor. I am planning on introducing much more tactile means for teaching a concept. We do playdough, shaving-cream writing, & finger paints already. I intend to add sand paper, rice, velvet, & cold-cooked spaghetti noodles to the mix. This ought to be interesting.... =)

SCHOOL YEAR 1010-11 will begin in 5 weeks. =)

Summer is a season in which I begin to plan our year. I have tried many styles & curriculum over the years. You can read more HERE if interested. This year we will begin a new journey.

ROBINSON CURRICULUM

It is so simple, yet so effective (I am told ;^), that it is almost hard to explain. The concept is so basic. I consider it the very foundation that "education" was intended to be.

What it is:

A complete set of DVD's that contain a seemingly endless supply of books! Lots of them! It begins with Level 1 thru Level 12. They are not to be considered as grade levels as to not hold back (or push) a child, but to let the student progress naturally to self educating.

"From Phonics to Physics, these 22 CD's and a set of Saxon Math Books is all that you need to give your children a superior education."

Who it is:

A couple who both happened to be scientists, aware of the flaws of our public school system, began to seek out how to best educate their own children as to give them more than a fighting chance.

How it is:

The Basic Rules and Procedures are :

1) no sugar
2) no TV
3) 2 hours of math
4) 2 hours of reading
5) 1 hour of writing

Yes, apparently that simple! Ofcourse, this is what Dr. Robinson can claim as success, cuz this is what has effectively worked for all his children!

The cost:

$195 for all 22 CD's.
$275 includes 22 CD's plus G. A. Henty CD's .
We purchased the latter. =)

As for us:

I purchased this curriculum at the first of the year, and have been slowing setting the kids up for this self-taught style. We have reduced our sugar intake, and are limiting TV as we see fit.
I have created a schedule that I think will serve our family best, along w/ a scope & sequence of the curriculum. The "RC way" is exactly as described in steps 1-5 listed above. I, however, live in a state that demands 11 specific topics are to be taught in order to "home educate". My need to adjust the books into subjects and years gives me peace of mind over our government.

Up to this point:

I did purchase a new printer. I did have a fear of "printing" books, binding books, etc... I am not very gifted at this sort of thing. I love it! It is so amazingly easy. The books are of such old-fashioned character and of amazing quality of content. Where good ole Family Values are encouraged.

My next post will contain our intended schedule, and why, along with the scope & sequence with tidbits of details. I had several folks ask about this, so please feel free to ask questions here or to e-mail me at sherihollinger@yahoo.com