What would you include in a 1st year curriculum?

[psychic_serpent]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "bluesqueak" <pipdowns at e...> 
wrote:
> --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "mehndimama" 
> <mehndimama at h...> wrote:
> > I think I'm in a rather unique situation - my 11 year old son, 
who 
> > is a non-directed learner (we homeschool according to John 
> > Holt's "unschooling" principles), as expressed disappointment 
that 
> > he didn't get his Hogwarts letter last month. :D I sort of 
> jokingly 
> > said "Hogwarts isn't the only wizarding school, you know...." 
and 
> > asked him if he would really like to do his first year of 
> wizarding 
> > school, even though some of the stuff would be difficult, and he 
> > said YES.
> > 
> > Soooooo.....what would you include in a curriculum like that?  
> > Here's some of my ideas:
> 
> You could also include some Latin for the spells - it might be a 
> little young for him, but the Minimus series is aimed at age 7 and 
> up. Minimus Pupil's Book: Starting Out in Latin. There's a 
teachers 
> book if you know no Latin, with the answers but I think it's quite 
> expensive.
> 
> There's also Latin for Beginners, but that seems to assume you're 
> learning Latin in class and want a supplementary text. 
 
For Transfiguration you could do a science curriculum that focuses 
on creatures that change from one thing into another.  This could 
include moths/butterflies, tadpoles/frogs, and in general, the life-
cycles of many creatures.  It would also be a good way to introduce 
the idea of the evolution of various species for survival.  We 
homeschooled my son last year (who should get his Hogwarts letter on 
Oct 27 this year <g>) and my father-in-law handled science, which 
largely consisted of biology and evolution.

Potions could, of course, be another sort of science--introductory 
chemistry.  Or cooking, take your pick. ;)  (Eleven is a good age to 
start kids learning how to make their own simple meals, like 
spaghetti, sandwiches, etc.)  Teach him how to make a good red sauce 
for pasta and you might not have to make dinner a couple of nights a 
week!  (Do you have a large cooking pot that could pass for a 
cauldron?)  And back to the topic of Transfiguration, this is also a 
good age to teach him to use the washer and dryer (Transfiguring 
dirty clothes into clean ones <g>).

--Barb

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Psychic_Serpent
http://www.schnoogle.com/authorLinks/Barb