Tapestry of Grace, Year 1, Unit 1

I am using Tapestry of Grace as my spine for History and Language Arts. I have scheduled Unit 1 out over the first quarter of our school year, covering 13 weeks. There are 9 weeks of TOG lesson plans, the remaining weeks allow me to add in some things of my own. Specifically, as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints I find that I need to clarify or elaborate on certain topics that are explained more fully in the Book of Mormon and modern revelation. TOG year 1 covers history using Biblical chronology as the main thread, so it seems appropriate for me to include the chronology of human existence as contained in LDS scriptures--thus week 1 will cover the pre-existence (our life as Spirit Children of God before we came to earth). I then cover Biblical history chronologically (the sequence recommended by TOG for families without older children). This takes us through TOG 1 Weeks 4, and 5; I have inserted the history of the Jaredites at this point (taken from the Book of Mormon), as their story begins with the Tower of Babel which was covered in TOG Week 5. This is also a place to possibly cover what was happening in other areas of the ancient world, as TOG at this point focuses exclusively on Mesopotamia and surrounding areas. Chronological history then continues with TOG 1 Weeks 6, 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, and 9. I am inserting my own unit between TOG weeks 7 and 8 to cover the LDS perspective on Priesthood and Temple. The last week will either be catch-up or special projects.
I am including under each week resources I might use to teach history and scripture. I really enjoy the audio recording of Mystery of History by Linda L. Hobar, so I plan to use those recordings as overviews of history for my children to listen to. Again, I will adjust as I see necessary to meld with our family's beliefs. For example, my understanding of the Bible does not require that the creation of the Earth be understood to have happened in six periods of exactly 24 hours--rather, I take the term "day" to mean an epic of creation, a stage in the events, that might have lasted any number of years. Mystery of History subscribes to a Young Earth creation model, so I prefer to teach that segment on my own or using other resources.
I will not necessarily use every resource listed! This is just for my own planning purposes so I know what resources I have available and how they might correlate with each other.

Here's what it looks like:

Week 1
Pre-existence
Creation

Week 2
TOG 1 Week 4
Creation through Noah
Mystery of History V1 Lesson 3 Jubal and Tubal-Cain (c. 5000 BC)
Mystery of History V1 Lesson 4 Noah and the Flood (c. 4000-3500BC)

Week 3
TOG 1 Week 5
Babel to Ur: Early history of Mesopotamia
Mystery of History V1 Lesson 7 The Sumerians (c. 3500-2500 BC)
Mystery of History V1 Lesson 8 The Tower of Babel (c. 3500-3000 BC)
Mystery of History V1 Lesson 9 The Epic of Gilgamesh ( 2750 BC)

Week 4
Jaredites, Ancient America
(Book of Ether in the Book of Mormon)
Mystery of History V1 Lesson 10 Stonehenge (c. 2700 BC)
Mystery of History V1 Lesson 12 The Minoan Civilization (2200BC)

Week 5
TOG 1 Week 6
The Patriarchs: from Ur to Egypt
Mystery of History V1 Lesson 13 Abraham
Mystery of History V1 Lesson 14 Jacob and Esau (2005 BC)
Mystery of History V1 Lesson 15 Joseph (1914 BC)
Mystery of History V1 Lesson 16 Hammurabi (1792 BC)

Week 6
TOG 1 Week 1
The curtain rises on Egypt
Mystery of History V1 Lesson 11 Early Egyptians (c. 2575-2500 BC)

Week 7
TOG 1 Week 2
Pharoahs and Pyramids
Mystery of History V1 Lesson 17 The Israelites in Slavery (Began c. 1875-1730 BC)

Week 8
TOG 1 Week 3
Egyptian Polytheism and the Judgment of God
Mystery of History V1 Lesson 19 Moses and the Exodus (c. 1525-1270 BC)

Week 9
TOG 1 Week 7
In the Wilderness: The Tabernacle and the Law
Mystery of History V1 Lesson 20 The Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle (c. 1500 BC)

Week 10
Priesthood and Temples

Week 11
TOG 1 Week 8
In the Wilderness: Holiness, Worshiping God as God

Week 12
TOG 1 Week 9
In the Wilderness: Slaves to Warriors

Week 13
Catch-up or Project Week
Mystery of History V1 Lesson 22 Amenhotep IV and Nefertiti (1353 BC)
Mystery of History V1 Lesson 23 Tutankhamen (1333 BC)
Mystery of History V1 Lesson 24 Ramses II (The Great) (1304-1237 BC)

Science Study

Well, after considering my proposed science rotation I decided to scrap it in favor of greater flexibility. Generally, I prefer to keep science study a family subject as much as possible--much like history, family member will study the same topics but at levels appropriate to their ages and abilities.

Here is a list of possible topics:


The Big Three--should be covered by every high school student:
Biology
Chemistry
Physics

Sub-topics and accessory topics
Astronomy
Geology/Earth Science
Nature Study
Botany
Zoology
Anatomy/Physiology
Medical topics
Computer Science
Mechanics and Machines
Forces/Motion
Marine Biology
Oceanography
Seismology
Micribiology
Molecular Biology
Organic Chemistry
etc...

Exploring Creation with Astronomy

My schedule for the first quarter of our school year:

Week1
Lesson 1: What is Astronomy?
Make Notebook

Weeks 2-3
Lesson 2: The Sun

Weeks 4-5
Lesson 3: Mercury

Weeks 6-7
Lesson 4: Venus

Weeks 8-9
Lesson 5: The Earth

Weeks 10-11
Lesson 6: The Moon

Weeks 12-13
Lesson 7: Mars

Family History Rotation

I like the idea of having the entire family work together on content subjects, such as history and science. Each child can tackle the same subject, but at different levels.

Here is my proposed History rotation:

A Year:
Ancient World through the Middle Ages (ca. 5,000 BC - AD 1400)

B Year:
Middle Ages through American Founding (ca. AD 800- 1800)

C Year:
American Founding through WW I

D Year:
1900--Present

These divisions are flexible, and the overlap between periods is intentional--to allow us to plan each year's study according to our needs/interests, while still cycling through history in a generally chronological manner.

An Ideal Mathematics Program for the Elementary Years

I have probably spent more time researching mathematics curriculums and teaching methods than I have spent researching all other curriculum elements combined. I feel that a solid grounding in mathematical skills, concepts and reasoning is critical for life in our complex society. I want my children to see mathematical problems as interesting puzzles, and themselves as capable problem solvers.
I have always enjoyed "figuring out" solutions to problems requiring mathematics. When I hit highschool mathematics, however, I floundered. In retrospect, I believe my failure to make a smooth transition to higher-level mathematics was the result of too much fragmentation in the middle years of my mathematics instruction. Between grades 4 through 9, I attended 6 schools, in 4 countries, with instruction in 3 different languages. No wonder I was confused! In a subject that builds upon itself incrementally as mathematics does, this was a sure recipe for disaster.
Maybe this background explains my obsession with finding the perfect math curriculum for my children--one that will cover all important concepts and operations, and equip them with confidence in tackling new mathematical challenges.
I have read hundreds of reviews, and examined dozens of texts. I have scoured sales and online sources for used curriculum to evaluate. I have found elements I like in many different curriculums: the manipulative presentation of Math-U-See, RightStart's development of number concept and mental imagery, Singapore's problem-solving strategies, Miquon's discovery process...My big problem is that I just can't bring myself to settle on any one of these programs to the exclusion of all others!
Then I discovered Math on the Level. This is a unique approach to mathematics, designed by a homeschooling mother. It is not another series of mathematics texbooks. Rather, it is a system that empowers me, as my children's teacher, to teach according to my children's maturation and abilities, to review concepts regularly but without kill-joy pages of worksheet problems, and to track concepts taught and reviewed in an orderly manner.
The program includes four teaching guides covering Operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, etc.), Geometry and Measurements, Money and Decimals, and Fractions. Taken together, all the concepts normally covered from Preschool through Pre-Algebra can be found in the teaching guides, together with explanation, teaching helps, and suggestions for ways to incorporate mathematics into your daily family activities. Two additional guide books, Math Adventures and Math Resources, round out the program with more teaching ideas and aids.
The true genius of this program, however, lies in the concept and record keeping charts. The concept chart lists every concept covered in the instruction guides, and allows you to track which concepts have been covered by each of your children; a sample sequence if provided if you want help knowing what order to cover the concepts in, but the program is really designed to be personalized--you can present each concept as your child is ready for it.
Now another piece of genius comes into play. Mastery of any concept, of course, requires practice. Once a concept has been taught, you write that concept into your child's review chart. You use this chart to write 5-a-Day review problems. These problems (you can write your own or use the problems provided in the book) allow your child to regularly practice new and not-so-new concepts. As your child becomes more comfortable with a concept, you can move it to a less-frequent review category. And of course you can drop the concept from that child's review when regular review is no longer needed. Again, flexibility is the key, the tracking system ensures thorough coverage and follow-through. And 5 problems a day should not feel too burdensome the child--I'm sure many children learn a hatred of math from the pages and pages of problems that are required by typical math programs! Of course, when teaching a new concept you can have your child work through as many problems as needed to establish thorough comprehension.
I love the way this program allows me to bring math into everyday life, without worrying that if we don't follow a textbook my child will miss out on something critical. I like the fact that I can pull elements from other math programs as needed, and take advantage of the teaching strengths of each program without feeling that my child must complete an entire textbook from that program. I intend to use the various mathematics curricula I have collected, as well as living books (check out Julie's site for some fabulous living math ideas), and many daily life experiences, as resources. And Math on the Level will help me pull everything together and keep it coherent.