Wow, it’s been a little while since I wrote an outline for our homeschooling, the last being unexpected and in June. This month you’ll notice that some things in our routine will remain the same while some have had a slight change–like we are a little lighter on reading about a particular topic as they are so focused on working in their homeschool room with traditional Montessori materials and still spending a lot of time outdoors. What will always remain the same? Following them and their interests as well as Music Monday.
This month we are focusing on Ancient Egypt, as we saw a wood carving of King Tut’s tomb and the girls had so many questions. It just seems to the perfect for this month, mummies with Halloween and all. E and V are beginning to notice more Halloween decorations and children dressing up as we visit more places and this will give them knowledge and assist in controlling fears that may arise. We are less likely to fear something that we understand, even if someone makes it a bit extra silly.
We will be focusing on a single artist this month rather than one each week. A huge reason behind this is Kid’s Art Box. For our Ancient Egypt studies, we mainly relied on one book, this one. And for Music Mondays we used this book and this one.
Week one:
Monday we will be learning about the band Queen. They heard a few songs from them recently and wanted to hear more. I found some articles online about how inspirational they were, to other artists and to music in general.
Tuesday we will use our Kid’s Art Box to learn about Antoni Gaudi and create stained glass, as inspired by La Sagrada Familia. While their artist box is typically for ages 6-12, we chose it as it meets our homeschooling needs. It’s an opportunity for E and V to immerse themselves in an inspired work while still focusing on process over product.
Wednesday we will read our Ancient Egypt book, pages 4-7, about the Ancient Egyptians and their society.
Friday we will read about children in Egypt, page 50–discussing things they have in common with them and things that are different.
Week two:
Monday, off to observe Indigenous People’s Day.
Tuesday will be the Casa Batlló reproduction in their Kid’s Art Box.
Wednesday we will look at the pyramids, on page 16.
Friday we will cover the tombs, homes, and temples–pages 22-25 and 30-31.
Week three:
Monday we will learn about and listen to Schubert. There’s a little shared about him on page 69, so we will need to mostly rely on the internet.
Tuesday we will learn about the mosaic technique that Gaudi used. The Kid’s Art Box comes with terminology cards to ensure proper explanations and expand our vocabulary.
Wednesday we will cover Ancient Egyptian artwork and writing, on pages 26,27, 52, and 53.
Friday we will talk more about hieroglyphics and use page 19 of this book to write our names.
Week four:
Monday our composer will be Prokofiev, relying on the internet for information.
Tuesday will be the tower diorama from the Kid’s Art Box. I’m rather excited to see what E and V create as they’ve used clay before and learned about mosaics the week before.
Wednesday will be about farming, food, and drink–pages 40-43. We will, again, compare what is different from what we do now and what is the same. We will also read pages 46 and 47 as we talk about boats and trade. We will also talk about Egyptian jobs, on pages 38 and 39. How they used the Nile to transport as well as how jobs have changed, due to new innovations.
Friday will be medicine and animals (pages 48-49 and 44-45). We use a lot of natural remedies and it will be a lot of fun to see what we still do now and what we know shouldn’t be done. We will talk about mummies and, in an appropriate manner thus skipping a bit of what is in the book, how they are created and their beliefs, pages 20-21.
Week five:
Monday we will cover Beethoven, as specifically requested, on pages 20-21, in both books.
The Kid’s Art Box cards are a high-quality card stock with holes pre-punched to allow for saving in a binder. Each project card provides a list of items they provide as well as what is needed. These lists are great for if, or rather when, we decide to cover this artist again–when interest in this artist is sparked or as their skills grow and strengthen.
Melanie, the creator of Kid’s Art Box, has provided me a $10 off code, ffm10, for first-time customers. It’s not affiliated, I just know that many families would benefit from the convenience of a well-thought-out artist box, whether it be for homeschooling or supplemental learning.
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