Revival to Revolution Take 2

 My second child finished Resurrection to Reformation yesterday, and he will start Revival to Revolution on Monday!!!

I did start organizing things like I did for my first, but then I realized I wanted to make a few changes.  So, I will go over how I set up everything for this guide this time around.

History Binder
This binder has the notebooking pages from HOD.  There are two "sections" - the normal pages and then the Signer study pages.  I think we will start with all of the cards together, and then he can cut them apart at the end if he likes.  I have created a template in Word so he can type the information for the back of the cards if he likes.  Since he has been typing his history narrations since this summer, I am going to guess he will type those as well. 

  

Science Binder
This binder is set up very similar to how I did it the first time as well. The first part is the notebooking pages for the inventor study. 

 

Then, I asked my son if he wanted to use the workbook as is or if he wanted me to take the pages out.  Since the workbook doesn't stay open well, he asked that I take the pages out.  I used a hair dryer to soften the glue.  And then I pulled out chunks of pages.  Once I had all of the pages out, I trimmed them to 8.25 inches, which cut off any remaining glue.  I then placed them into the binder, adding dividers for each unit.  I also put the one page for the experiments in the back pocket, as I thought that was a better place than the box.

 

 

Music Appreciation
This is a totally new binder for this year.  My oldest never put the full lapbook together, so I thought we would approach things a little differently.  First, I took the text from Pieces with a Purpose and pasted them into a Word document. 

 

Then, I screenshotted the pages for the Periods of Music, and pasted those into Word.  This makes the text bigger and easier to read! 

 

Next, I printed all of the parts for the timeline.  I then cut them apart and laminated them.  I taped the actual timeline together, and then I placed glue dots on the back of each composer.  My kids can now place the people on the timeline, and take them off.  All of this is taped to the top of a manila folder. 

 

Inside the manila folder I have the orchestra.  I placed all of the pieces into a little zip lock, so we don't loose those. 

On the back of the folder, I have the vocabular.  I placed a strip of cardstock down the middle to keep the "keys" from opening as pages are flipped.  But it is still very easy to open and read the definition. 

 

After the folder, I have the Music Appreciation page, printed on both sides.  I printed it a total of ten times, but I can always print more if needed. 

Behind those pages, I have a pocket divider with the pictures for Music Appreciation and Collection of Composers.  My son can then easily cut out the pictures as he needs them.

 

Finally, I made my own version of the Collection of Composers.  Those little books are SO easy to loose.  And sorting through to find the right one can be a pain.  So, I just made a notebooking page for those.  There is a spot for the picture (that would be on the front of the little book). 

Finally, I printed the Composer Cards and have them in another zip lock.  These likely won't stay in the binder, as they are very thick.  But, I did punch holes so I can store them in the binder at the end of the year until my third starts Rev2Rev.  I will only pull out the Music Appreciation and Collection of Composer pages to save with my son's completed work.

Geography, State Study, and Worthy Words
The last binder is "everything else."  For geography, I printed the student pages from MapTrek.  I already have a binder with all of the teacher pages for RtR-MtMM.

 

For State Study, I removed the appendix pages from the spiral.  The answer key pages I have stored with my other answer keys.  Then I placed the reference pages in page protectors, so I don't have to remove those for my next child.  I placed the picture pages in a pocket divider, so my son can easily cut those out when he needs them.

For Worthy Words, I printed the tone and purpose information on colored cardstock, so it can easily be spotted.  My daughter didn't complete many of the pages, but my son might use them more (I reused most of the ones I had for my daughter!).  With four kids, often they can't report immediately.  So, jotting down some notes should be helpful for him.

Other Boxes/Subjects
Math: He will be continuing Horizons Prealgebra.  When he finishes that, I am considering buying an inexpensive Prealgebra workbook to do as a review before Algebra 1.  He struggles with signed numbers and not doing all of the steps still, so I think some "easy" review will be helpful!  (He CAN do signed numbers, but he often just ignored the sign.  If it is focused on signed numbers, he has no problem.  But, he gets overwhelmed easily and misses steps.)

Writing: We are getting close to finishing Wordsmith Apprentice.  Whenever we finish that, we will be starting Jump In for writing. Most of his work for writing is in the workbooks, but he also has a composition book for any longer writing.  I often store anything typed in the history binder, as there is always extra room there.

Grammar: We will be doing Rod and Staff 5, first half, with Rev2Rev.  My goal is for him to complete Level 6 by the end of high school, as I feel that is more than enough for him.  What he does written (only what can't be done easily orally) is done in a composition book we continue level after level.

DITHOR: He has 2-3 more genres of the 4/5 workbook (with 5/6 books), and then he will move on to the 6/7/8 workbook.  I hope he will be able to complete all of 6/7/8 by the end of MtMM, but he may end up 1-2 genres short.

Bible: He will continue Awana for Bible quiet time (T&T this school year, Trek next school year).  We will be doing the worldview study in Rev2Rev as well.

Dictation: We will keep chugging along!  I don't know if he will get through all of the levels, but we will try.  He has his current level in a report folder, and he has a composition book he has used since the beginning to write in.

Getting Ready for Revival to Revolution

My oldest will be starting Heart of Dakota's Revival to Revolution soon.  This guide covers world history from the mid 1700's to the 1900's, including US History.  It is designed for 11-13 year olds, with extensions for 14-15 year olds.  Most use it for 7th or 8th grade.

When we received our package, the first thing I did was make sure we had everything.  Then, I went through and put washi tape on the binding of each book.  On the washi tape, I labeled what box the book was used for and what units it was used (unless it was used the whole guide.  I use a different washi tape for each guide, so I can easily see what guide a book is used for when it is on the bookshelf.  I use one washi tape for all DITHOR (literature study) books.  On the washi tape, I put the genre, level, and how many days it is used.  I also put clear contact paper on the guide, to keep it in good shape.

Then it was time to get everything set up.  First, I created a binder for history.  This binder has the notebooking pages from HOD in it.  The notebooking pages came with a piece of chipboard, already hole punched.  I simply cut a single slit in each of the holes, so my daughter can move it without opening the binder rings.  This way she can place it behind the current unit page, giving her a firmer surface to write on.  And that is all I did to set up the first binder.

The second binder I set up was for science.  I could have just put the inventor study notebooking pages in the binder and called it done.  But, I didn't love how the guidebook opened, and I thought it might frustrate my daughter.  So, I heated up the edge of the logbook with a hair dryer, and removed the pages from it.  I then hole punched them and placed them in the binder.  I used removable sticky tabs to mark the beginning of each section of the textbook.  At the end of the logbook, there are a few template pages.  I put them in a page protector, so my daughter can get them out easier.  The index pages are after that page protector, so they are easy to find.

The third binder took the longest to get set up.  First, it has the student pages for geography, printed from the MapTrek CDs.  There is a file in the Facebook group for this guide that lists what maps are used with each section, which made printing easier!  I wrote at the bottom of each page what unit the map was used for, to make it easier for my daughter to determine what map to use.  I then placed them in the binder in that order.  The second section in the binder is Worthy Words.  This box is intended to be done orally, but my daughter prefers to be more independent.  And if I don't remember, she just skips reporting to me.  So, I printed the questions for each unit so she can jot down answers.  I don't require full sentences, but I want to see she is getting the gist of the assignment in her quick answers.  I also found a page explaining purpose and tone.  I put that page into a page protector which serves as a divider in the guide.  The last section is the material for the composer study, taken from the Amy Pak CD.  I tried to organize them by how we would use them.  Some pages I put in page protectors.  Some items I pre-cut for my daughter, and then put those pieces in ziplock bags.  I am still not 100% sure how it will all go together, but I think I have everything printed at least.

The last thing I put together was the MapTrek teacher maps.  I decided to go with one binder for all the maps (RtR-MtMM).  I put the pages into page protectors to ensure they last through all of my children.

The other items we have are:
1. 3 composition books for language arts - 1 for dictation, 1 for grammar, and 1 for writing.  We continue these year after year until they are full.

2. Common Place book.  My daughter's original one got destroyed, so I purchased a new one this year.  I am contemplating going through the guide and noting what should be written each unit so I can confirm it is getting done.

3. Math.  We are going back to Horizons Pre-Algebra.  I am just not confident that Principles of Math is a great option for our family.  I find the textbook lacking, the word problems often overly wordy, and more typos that I want to deal with.
4. DITHOR.  We are moving on to Level 6/7/8 this year.  I have decided to keep the books well "hidden" so my daughter can't read ahead.
5. Dictation - I print out the passages and put them in a report cover.  We are still continuing a level from last year, so there was no preparing for the start of the year.  But we will likely change levels mid-year. (Report cover under dictation composition book)

And I think that is it.  We are ready to begin next week!