My Unofficial Year 1.5

(Originally posted on my other blog 8-3-2008)

After enjoying Year One of Ambleside Online together, I realized that my daughter was not ready to move onto Y2. I decided I would create a Year 1.5 for her this year. My Year 1.5 is also serving as Y1 for my six year old son, for they will move together into Year 2 in the fall of 2009. I used books from the free reading list that we did not get to during Y1, and chose living books already in my library to fill the remaining subjects. Here's the booklist we'll be enjoying together:

My Year 1.5

General History
*Viking Adventure by Clyde Robert Bulla
**William Tell illustrated by Margaret Early
**The Silver Mace: A Story of Williamsburg by Maud and Miska Petersham
***Thirty More Famous Stories Retold by James Baldwin (Audio CD)

American History
*Pocahontas by The D’Aulaire’s
**Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
***Our Country’s Story by Francis Cavanah

Geography
Home Geography For Primary Grades by C. C. Long (done with older siblings)

Geology
* The Little Island by Golden MacDonald (Margaret Wise Brown)
** Hill of Fire (Volcanoes) by Thomas P. Lewis
**The Buried City of Pompeii by Shelley Yanaka
***The Year of Fire by Teddy Jam and Ian Wallace
***WildFire by Evans G. Valens, Jr. illustrated by Clement Hurd

Natural History/Science
Handbook of Nature Studies for additional information
Christian Liberty Press Nature Reader 1

*Mammal/Fish Focus:
Animals Born Alive and Well by Ruth Heller
Strange Fishes of the Sea by Olive L. Earle
Fish Out of School by Evelyn Shaw
Dissect a fish from the grocery store

**Reptile/Amphibian Focus:
I Caught a Lizard by Gladys Conklin
Frogs and Toads by Herbert S. Zim
Snakes by Herbert S. Zim
Pet store visit/ friend’s house for snake visit and handling

***Bird/Insect/Invertebrate Focus:
Birds At Home by Marguerite Henry
Birds and their Nests by Olive L. Earle
The Honey Makers by Gail Gibbons
All Upon a Sidewalk by Jean Craighead George
Worms by Lois and Louis Darling

Phonics
100 EZ Lessons until finished OR
Phonics Pathways
then
McGuffey’s Pictorial Primer

Mathematics
Finish Math-U-See Primer, begin Alpha

Foreign Language
Sign Language
Spanish

Poetry
* **The Girls’ Book of Verse compiled by Mary Gould Davis AND/OR The Boy’s Book of Verse compiled by Helen Dean Fish
*** First Poems of Childhood complied and illustrated by Tasha Tudor

Literature
*Happy Little Family by Rebecca Caudill
**Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
***Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie

Mythology/Folklore
*D’Aulaire’s Norse Gods and Giants
**D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths
***American Tall-Tale Animals by Adrien Stoutenburg

Virtues/Hero Stories
* **Child’s Book of Heroes by William Bennett
** ***The Children’s Book of Virtues by William Bennett

Artist Study, Folk Song, Hymn, Composer all according to the AO schedule

Free Reading
IR=Independent Reader
RA=Read Aloud

The Wonder Clock by Howard Pyle RA

King of the Golden River by John Ruskin (repeat) RA

Pinocchio by C. Collodi RA

The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang RA

A Lion to Guard Us by Clyde Robert Bulla RA

The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams RA

St. George and the Dragon retold by Margaret Hodges, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman RA

The George and Martha Series by James Marshall IR

Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren RA

Little Bear Series by Else Holmelund Minarek illustrated by Maurice Sendak IR

The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes illustrated by Louis Slobodkin IR

Nurse Matilda by Christianna Brand illustrated by Edward Ardizzone RA

The Plain Princess by Phyllis McGinley RA

Mother West Wind’s Children by Thornton Burgess RA

Paddington Stories IR