Smrt Lernins

We’re wrapping up Egypt and I just feel like we didn’t cover enough. Old, Middle, and New Kingdom…how much is really relevant? How much does Captain Science need to know in 4th grade? Did we cover enough of it? What will he need for high school and college? How much more does he need to be an enriched and educated individual? I know he’s already learned more than he would in school, as I don’t think I ever learned there was more than one kingdom of Egypt. Still, is it enough?

He’s read the Kingfisher chapters on Ancient Egypt, learned Ancient Egypt-related vocabulary, wrote important Ancient Egyptian dates on the time line, and filled out maps of the Old and New Kingdoms. He read The Great Pyramid. He read The Golden Goblet and is currently reading Mara, Daughter of the Nile. We went to the Carlos Museum where he saw items from all three kingdoms firsthand. Today, he read through the section on Egyptian gods on the Children’s University of Manchester’s Ancient Egypt site. Tomorrow, on that same site (which has several great activities) I might let him use a virtual hook to scoop out virtual brains to make a virtual mummy. He did a keyword outline for each of the ten main gods listed and then wrote a short paragraph (upstairs, based only on his notes and memory) about each of the gods. Next week, we’re doing review and Officer Daddyman would like to build a pyramid with Captain Science. We’re considering Rice Krispy treats as an appropriate building block.

Is this enough? Will he learn every thing he needs to know (in this particular history cycle) about Egypt? How do I know? I know that, in theory, these are the building blocks for deeper study the next go-round, which will be 8th or 9th grade for us), but is our foundation strong enough to build upon? Will I really not know until I come around to it the next time?

I know we’ve covered it in greater depth than the public school. I know this. I really do. Captain Science had a piddlin’ little Egypt unit last year. I’m not just satisfied with “better than public school,” though. I want it to be enough. I want it all to be enough.

If it’s not, however, I’m not going to throw the baby out with the bathwater when it comes to planning, at least. I’ll just build a better scope and sequence. It’ll end up rigorous enough.

Right? Right?

ETA: Considering ditching Kingfisher and replacing it with the National Geographic Almanac of World History. Or maybe History: The Definitive Visual Guide (From The Dawn of Civilization To The Present Day), because it actually uses BCE, which I prefer. Timelines of World History looks nice as a supplemental, doesn’t it? Maybe I can sell the Kingfisher.

Captain Science just started a new writing program and I feel so relieved. We’ve both been struggling with his previous writing curriculum from the Institute for Excellence in Writing (which I think could be called The Institute for Tedium in Writing, personally). The Captain has struggled with the size of the assignments, which aren’t broken down into manageable chunks, and the content of the assignments. Reading a one-paragraph essay, taking notes, and then writing a one-paragraph essay isn’t exactly a wellspring for creativity. I’ve struggled with the insidious Bible literalism I’ve found in the example writing and vocabulary. When the example sentence for “validate” was “Science and archaeology validate the Bible,” I knew we couldn’t continue with this curriculum.

We got a copy of Writing Strands 3. It’s simple and to the point. It’s secular. It doesn’t have a “banned words” list. It’s not going to turn Captain Science into Shakespeare, but frankly, nothing can do that. We’re going to work through it at a slightly faster pace than recommended, doubling up lessons some days, because I don’t think we need to take it quite so easy with writing.

I don’t want the Captain to hate writing. I don’t want to feel like each day of writing requires me to swallow my concerns about the curriculum. I hope this new one is going to be a better fit for us.