Language Arts Plans (partially complete)

I worked on literature plans for David and Emily this afternoon, as well as their Grammar lessons.

For Grammar, we are using Sonlight's new grammar curriculum, The Grammar Ace.

I listed out the lessons and the activities we will do. It takes us two days to do one lesson. I was doing grammar two days a week, but I think we'll increase to three days a week so we can finish on time.

I make up my own reading and literature "curriculum", following the philosophy that it's better to just READ. Now that David's in junior high, I have instituted a little more structure. Emily is a good reader, so I've started having her do a little more as well.

Here are the books that they will read for the rest of the year.
David - 7th grade, second semester
Adam of the Road - Elizabeth Janet Gray (finishing from before Xmas)
The Book of Three - Lloyd Alexander
Captains Courageous - Rudyard Kipling
C.S. Lewis (Heroes of the Faith) - Sam Wellman
The Bulletproof George Washington - David Barton
The Life and Times of Washington - Enzo Orlandi (reading these two together)

Once a week or so, he will do an exercise from Adventures in Greatness: Speed and Comprehension Reader (A Beka).

Emily - 5th grade, second semester
Pilgrim's Progress (A Beka edition) - John Bunyan (finishing from before Xmas)
The Secret Language - Ursula Nordstrom
Meet My Friends - Joni Eareckson Tada
Amy Carmichael (Women of Faith) - Kathleen White
Island of the Blue Dolphins - Scott O'Dell
Plain Girl - Virginia Sorensen
The Midwife's Apprentice - Karen Cushman

Once a week or so, she will do an exercise from Read and Think Skill Sheet 5 (A Beka).

I need to find some online reading guides for some of these books, but I didn't have time to do that yet.

For their literature study, they write every day in their literature journals to respond to what they've read. They can write a summary (which they usually do) or they can respond in some other written way to the selection. (James does this too on a smaller scale.)

If there are comprehension questions, they answer them in the lit journals as well. Any book reports are also written in the literature journals. They will do a book report for each book, I believe.

They will do one entry a week from English from the Roots Up and play Rummy Roots once a week or so as well.

They will do Spelling Power four times a week. David will do handwriting once or twice a week. Emily will do handwriting three or four times a week. They are both working on their cursive.

I think that's it. I am going to find some online reading guides (free!) and then work on James and Suzy's plans, which are much easier. Then I just have History and Math to do, I think. Oh yeah, Art and Music.