Whole Child, Healthy Planet

Thank you for your interest in the Global Village Whole Child, Healthy Planet curriculum
guides. This sample contains the full Table of Contents along with excerpts from the 3rd
Grade curriculum guide.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction to the

Global Village “Whole Child, Healthy Planet” Method ................................ 1

About the Curriculum ................................................................................................... 1

About Global Village School......................................................................................... 2

Homeschooling from the Heart .................................................................................... 3

A Special Note to the New Homeschooling Parent: ..................................................... 3

How the System Works ................................................................................................ 4

Getting Started – Step One is Ordering Your Books and Resources ....................... 5

Planning Your School Year....................................................................................... 5

Chapter 2: The Global Village Philosophy,

Untangling the Myths about Education and Learning ................................. 6

Am I Going to Ruin My Child’s Life If…? ...................................................................... 6

Observing the Role Fear Plays in the Educational Process ......................................... 6

Allowing Time for the Healing Process......................................................................... 7

Learning Styles ............................................................................................................ 8

Assessment, Testing, and Grades ............................................................................... 9

About “Standards” and Grade Level........................................................................... 11

Some Thoughts on Vocabulary, Grammar, and Spelling ........................................... 12

Music, Art, Nature, and Imagination ........................................................................... 13

Chapter 3: Resources ................................................................................................ 15

About the Resources.................................................................................................. 15

Core, Recommended, and Optional Resources ..................................................... 15

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How to get the materials ......................................................................................... 15

Grade 3 List of Resources............................................................................................. 16

Social Studies/Diversity/Literature.............................................................................. 16

Whole Child/Literature................................................................................................ 18

Language Arts............................................................................................................ 19

Science/Eco-Integrity ................................................................................................. 20

Math ........................................................................................................................... 21

Art .............................................................................................................................. 21

Chapter 4: How to Use the Materials ......................................................................... 23

Introduction to Third Grade ........................................................................................ 23

Developing Observation Skills (Including Self-Observation),

Finding Teachable Moments .................................................................................. 24

Using Your Educator’s Ear with Materials and Books ............................................. 25

How do you know if you are “doing enough?”......................................................... 26

What if My Kids Finish Early or We Run Out of Things to Do?

(You’re in Luck – We Live on a Fascinating Planet!) .............................................. 27

Suggestions for Scheduling ....................................................................................... 28

Social Studies/Diversity/Literature .......................................................................... 28

Whole Child/Literature ............................................................................................ 28

Language Arts ........................................................................................................ 28

Science ................................................................................................................... 29

Math........................................................................................................................ 29

Art ........................................................................................................................... 29

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UNIT 1 Planning (Weeks 1-4) .................................................................................... 31

UNIT 2 Planning (Weeks 5-8) .................................................................................... 32

UNIT 3 Planning (Weeks 9-12) .................................................................................. 33

UNIT 4 Planning (Weeks 13-16) ................................................................................ 34

UNIT 5 Planning (Weeks 17-20) ................................................................................ 35

UNIT 6 Planning (Weeks 21-24) ................................................................................ 36

UNIT 7 Planning (Weeks 25-28) ................................................................................ 37

UNIT 8 Planning (Weeks 29-32) ................................................................................ 38

UNIT 9 Planning (Weeks 33-36 ) ............................................................................... 39

Chapter 5: How to Work with the Materials: Ideas and Activities .............................. 41

How to Use the Books in Our Curriculum – A Learning Model................................... 41

Drawing Out the Learning: ...................................................................................... 41

Book Project: .......................................................................................................... 42

Re-Tell and Re-Create: The Value of Narrative Learning: ..................................... 43

Making Your Own Workbooks and

Creative Ways to Use Traditional Workbooks: ....................................................... 44

Make Your Own Workbooks: .................................................................................. 46

Saturation Projects: ................................................................................................ 47

Chapter 6 Additional Resources and Support ........................................................... 49

Consultations – If you would like additional support with this curriculum ................... 49

Recommended Books and Music – Some of Our Staff Favorites .............................. 49

Books for Instilling a Love of Reading (by Mary Kate Considine) ........................... 49

Global Village Links and Resources........................................................................... 64

A Few More of Our Favorite Resources ..................................................................... 64

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Appendix ....................................................................................................................... 65

About the Authors ...................................................................................................... 65

Acknowledgements: ................................................................................................... 66

The Earth Charter ...................................................................................................... 67

Sample Planning Calendar ........................................................................................ 69

Sample Planning and/or Record-Keeping Format ...................................................... 71

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 Whole Child, Healthy Planet
Chapter 1: Introduction to the
Global Village “Whole Child, Healthy Planet” Method
It's an amazing world we live in. We are delighted to be your guides as your family explores the
wonders of life on this planet together. We hope that this curriculum facilitates a powerful and
engaging experience that opens your children's hearts, eyes, and minds to all the magical
people, places, and experiences this world has to offer.

This is such an incredible time to be alive because so much of the world is open to us - people
in other centuries did not have access to the amount of knowledge and information that we do.
The thought of homeschooling may be intimidating if you are a first-time homeschooler, but we
trust that you will soon feel much more confident as your view of learning expands to include the
world around you. In fact, you'll likely have trouble remembering what you were so worried
about!

Homeschooling from the Heart (Excerpt)

We have been working with new homeschool parents for many years now and have found that
the thing we do more than anything else is aid them as they create the learning environment
they know is best for their child. There are so many pressures homeschooling parents face,
particularly those doing it for the first time; so many myths about education that rear their ugly
heads as soon as someone steps outside the norm…

… Our goal is to assist you in homeschooling your child in a humane, inspiring, and socially
conscious way. We encourage you to listen to your heart and to listen to your child: observe
them – what lights them up? What fascinates them? When do they come alive? That is where to
start your “curriculum.”…

How the System Works

People who are "products" of traditional schooling methods are taught to follow directions (and
not to get started without them, because you might do something wrong!) So it is natural to be
concerned that you "do it right," and to want detailed instructions. That is how most parents start
out. What we have observed over the years is that people get more and more comfortable with
the process and soon find (often during their first homeschool year) that they do not want or
need as much instruction as they thought they did. Kids and their parents get "into the flow" and
they are off and running. School life is never the same again.

We want to help parents and children make the learning process their own. We provide a
multitude of ideas; by following your child’s interests and learning style you are free to branch
out in numerous ways. There is no reason for every fourth grader to answer the same questions
about the same topic at the same time. Some families will probably structure their year exactly
as we have suggested, while others may be so excited by one of the books that they spend
several weeks following where it takes them, and, accordingly, spend less time on some of the
other topics.

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Homeschooling affords you the opportunity to keep the learning process alive; we encourage
you to make the most of it!

Getting Started – Step One is Ordering Your Books and Resources

If you have not already done so, we suggest that you start by reviewing the list of suggested
resources (see Chapter 3). Check your local library first, then order anything that you or your
library do not already have. We recommend that you get your own copies of all the core
resources, since you will be using them throughout the year. If your particular grade level
contains movie recommendations and you have a local video store, you can rent the suggested
movies from them. Otherwise, you may want to rent them from Netflix.

Once you have ordered the materials—or at least a good portion of them—then take your time
and read through the rest of this guide.

Planning Your School Year

While some people do fine “just winging it,” we highly recommend that you look at the full year
in the beginning, and plan around when your vacations and other family activities and trips
might be. See the Appendix for a calendar format that you may find helpful.

Observing the Role Fear Plays in the Educational Process (Excerpt)

Most of the traditional views on education are oriented around fear, particularly in the so-called
“No Child Left Behind,” era. Now it is not just kids failing, it is entire schools under threat of
being taken over if their kids do not do well enough on standardized tests created by people
who think they know how to quantify learning and define what is essential. The government
pressures the administrators, who pressure the teachers, who pressure the kids.

Then there is the idea we mentioned earlier and it's one that pretty much everyone buys into: “to
get a good job you have to have a good education.” Putting aside disagreements over what a
“good education” is, we see that this emphasis on jobs and competition has created a
tremendous climate of fear that impacts families almost from the time their children are born.
Fairly early on many worry about being able to get their child into a good preschool. And so it
goes, right through high school and into college…

Assessment, Testing, and Grades (Excerpt)

Friends and family members of homeschool students often want to know what grades they are
getting. New homeschool parents feel the pressure. They want to be able to reassure everyone
that their children are doing fine, that they have not made a big mistake by pulling them out of
school.

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Why all this emphasis on grades? What do they think grades mean? What are they really
asking: Are your children learning as much as mine? Are they learning as much as they would
in a “regular” school? Most of us have been taught that grades are a valid way of assessing
children and comparing them to each other, but are they? …

Music, Art, and Nature, and Imagination (Excerpt)

For many children, the arts are what make the soul come alive and sing its song. We hope that
you will put as much art, music, nature study, and time for imagining into your child’s life as you
can…

… We have provided a substantial number of resources for you. Some are listed in the main
Resource List (Chapter 3); others are in the Resources section (Chapter 6) at the end of this
guide.

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Chapter 3: Resources

About the Resources

Okay, here we go!

We have spent many months researching and combing through our collective resources to
come up with a list of materials to inspire and enliven your family. There is a lot here – most
likely much more than you will be able to get through in a year. So please remember that we
have designed it to be like a big smörgåsbord, which means you probably do not want to put
everything on your plate all at once, and some of it might not even make it onto your plate this
time round!

Core, Recommended, and Optional Resources

We have categorized the materials in the following way:

Core – you need to get it; it is a core part of the curriculum for the year (If a resource is
not labeled as optional or recommended then you can assume that it is core)

Recommended – we strongly recommend that you get it

Optional – we really like it, but it’s up to you (depends on your time, interest, budget,
etc.)

In addition to the resources listed in this chapter, there are many more in Chapter 6. These are
all optional.

How to get the materials:

Most of the materials we have chosen are readily available. If we have not told you where to get
something, it means it can easily be found at either a local bookstore or library or online. We
have provided information on where to get the resources that are not so easy to find.

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Grade 3 List of Resources (Excerpts)
Note: While most of our resources are generally listed as being for third graders, a few
are not. We take a broader view than many reviewers do about what grades/ages a
particular book is appropriate for. We feel that people tend to dismiss "picture books"
way too early. There is so much learning that can be built around them, and, some of
them contain quite sophisticated language, art, and ideas. So, don’t worry about the
“official” grade level. Using the instructions we have provided throughout this guide, you
will be able to facilitate wonderful learning with books that are supposedly for many
different age levels. Also, remember that there is an extensive supplemental reading list
in Chapter 6.

Social Studies/Diversity/Literature
This section contains 11 books: plus a series on international cultures with many more to
choose from. Here is one of the storybooks:

Monsoon
By Uma Krishnaswami and Jamel Akib
A story of a family waiting for the rains in India. Beautiful illustrations! The story begins:
“All summer we have worn the scent of dust –“ The story portrays the anticipation of
the monsoon season in India through the eyes of a young girl describing the sights and
sounds of a village in India waiting for relief from the heat with the first cloud burst.

Whole Child / Literature

3 books

Language Arts
1 spelling option

1 grammar option

2 cursive writing options

Science / Eco-Integrity
6 books: one is about activities children can do to make a difference, the others are
stories, poetry, etc.

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Math
Describes the program we recommend, also mentions other options

Art
Includes two options

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Chapter 4: How to Use the Materials (Excerpts)

Introduction to Third Grade

Welcome to Third Grade! Children this age are often a delightful mix of energy, curiosity
and opinion. They are becoming more independent and their confidence in their own
abilities grows. This is the flowering of middle childhood and it can be a settled and
interesting time. Having passed through many intense growth periods between birth and
7 years old, they are settled into childhood, and curious about who they are and who
others are ...

…Children this age are quite capable of becoming real experts in the things that interest
them.

Developing Observation Skills (Including Self Observation), Finding

Teachable Moments

Our book recommendations for this level were chosen to enhance that feeling of care
for the earth, curiosity about the world, and desire for greater independence that is the
hallmark of this age. Our curriculum is designed to be used in a creative and free
flowing way, providing home teachers with the space, freedom, and attention to
individual needs that is the highlight of homeschooling.

A good way to begin this level is to look over the books together, listen carefully to what
inspires your student, and begin from there. Listening into what your child is saying
about what inspires her is a vital part of the homeschooling teacher’s job. Don’t begin
with worrying if and how you are going to get through all the curriculum “goals”. If you
listen well into what interests and captivates your learner you can ALWAYS get the
‘academics’ accomplished also.

Before you can listen clearly to your child, it is important to do some self observation.
Always begin with yourself and how you are feeling, and what you are bringing to the
day’s learning…

Using Your Educator’s Ear with Materials and Books

Just as an exercise, let’s choose one book from our choices in this level and “listen in”
on what it can tell us and where it can lead.

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We have chosen the book, “Monsoon,” by Uma Krishnaswami, as an example. This
beautifully illustrated book tells the simple story of an Indian family awaiting the coming
of the monsoons. When we ‘listen’ in to this book, we begin to hear many things. First
we hear the story itself, and we might like to hear it more than once. We definitely want
to hear it read aloud, perhaps more than once, from different voices...

… We may want to make a list of words for our vocabulary and spelling studies. We
may hear into a way to teach parts of speech inherent in the writing…

Next, we ‘hear’ into our curiosity about the place in which the story is set. Now we want
to know more about India, its land and people. If we follow what we hear, we will
probably be at the library, online, or seeking video material that can saturate us in things
Indian. As is easy to see, in just this one simple story we can hear all the way to a
distant land rich in learning…

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Suggestions for Scheduling

We suggest dividing the school year into nine four-week units. Most schools are in
session for approximately 180 days per year, which comes out to thirty-six weeks.
Allowing for four weeks of vacation time, this will take you through a typical 10-month
school year.

The curriculum guide contains two pages of suggestions for working with the resources in these
subjects:

Social Studies/Diversity/Literature

Whole Child/Literature

Language Arts

Science

Math

Art

Planning
9 pages - a basic chart for planning each month’s activities

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Chapter 5: How to Work with the Materials: Ideas and Activities

Part 1: How to Use the Books in Our Curriculum – A Learning Model

(Excerpt)
This article comes from Michele Blumberg’s many years of experience as a very
successful tutor.

In our curriculum guide we present a suggested book list you can use as the framework upon
which to build your child’s learning year. This is by no means a complete list of all books you
need or could use. You can get more suggestions from your GVS teacher.

Our hope is that you will utilize these books as a springboard into the many ideas and
discoveries they present. At best these are a representation of what is out there. In exploring
these suggested books you may be led to many others.

Most curricula are built around a textbook and a workbook. Ours is built around the inspiration
found in many types of literature. Sometimes we do suggest a text or a workbook, but more
often we look for a book that will bring about the same learning in a more creative, beautiful and
fulfilling way. In many ways our choice of books resembles the idea of “living books” that early
home educator Charlotte Mason proposes. Some of the qualities of living books are:

• Literature created by a person with an obvious special interest in his/her subject.

• A personal, human, emotional quality to what is presented.
• Books that are inspiring and attractive to the spirit as well as intellect.
• Material that promotes a sense of wonder and appreciation.
• Books that fulfill the learning goals of that grade.

Drawing Out the Learning:

Our suggested books (and those that you can find for yourself) can be used as a way into your
own creativity. You can do this in lots of ways, specifically: Book Projects, Re-tell or Re-Create,
Make Your Own Workbook, and Saturation Projects.

Book Project:

Select your book and read it. Stop now and then to ask your student to make predictions about
what they think may happen in the story, or to find out what they are noticing about this book.
Take time to notice the illustrations and discuss them. How do you discuss a picture? You can
talk about the colors used, the content of the pictures, whether you feel the illustrations really
express what is written or not, how they make you feel, if the illustrations match the “pictures”
the story brings to mind, etc.

Discuss the story itself…

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Chapter 6 Additional Resources and Support

Consultations – If you would like additional support with this curriculum

If your children are enrolled in Global Village School, then contact your GVS teacher for support.
They will be happy to help you. If your kids are not enrolled, then you can arrange for individual
consultations. Call 805-646-9792 or e-mail info@globalvillageschool.org for more information.

Recommended Books and Music – Some of Our Staff Favorites

Books for Instilling a Love of Reading (by Mary Kate Considine) (Excerpt)

Every educator agrees that the key to a successful student experience is instilling a love of
reading at an early age. The statistics go on ad nauseum about the importance of reading to
your child, but in the world of parenting there is nothing so valuable as curling up on a couch or
holding your little one on your lap as you read them a story…

This section contains over 70 books. We include the full article and resource list with each grade
level. (Approximately 30 of the books are for younger children, grades 4 and below. Advanced
readers may enjoy some of the books for the older children as well.)

Special Circumstances (Emotions, Body Changes, etc.):

A half dozen books that may be helpful as students or their families go through the changes that
life brings…

Addressing Sexual Orientation (Full section)

Some families have an LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender) family member. Some
parents may wonder if their child is gay. A child might think they are gay, but be afraid to talk
about it. Even if none of these is the case, every child hears about the issue in the media or
some other way, at a very early age. “Sexual orientation” is an unfortunate term in a way,
because—just like heterosexuals— there is so much more to an LGBT person, and to their
relationships with those whom they love, than sex. Know that there are many beautiful
sensitively written books out there that open the door to the conversation without talking about
sex at all. If you feel the need or desire to address the idea of sexual orientation in age-
appropriate ways with your children—or if you would like to be better educated yourself—here
are some resources that may be helpful.

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And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, Pre-K-3. We fell in love with
this one. It’s a true story about two male penguins at the Central Park Zoo in New York City.
There’s no discussion about sex – just a description of their special relationship – and the way
they hatched an orphan penguin egg and cared for the baby.

GLBTQ: The Survival Guide for Queer and Questioning Teens by Kelly Huegel, Ages 13 and
up. The teen years are full of challenges. For gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and
questioning teens, these challenges can include prejudice, discrimination, rejection, reprisals,
insensitive remarks (even among friends and families) and violence. Topics include coming out
(the pluses and minuses), facing prejudice and pressure, getting support, navigating
relationships, staying safe, making healthy choices, surviving and thriving in high school, and
more. (Description from the publisher, freesprit.com)

For other great books:

GLSEN (The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) has compiled a wonderful
comprehensive list of books that they have screened for accuracy, sensitivity, and age-
appropriateness:

http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/all/booklink/K-6.html

http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/all/booklink/7-12.html

For the Heart and Soul

A list of about a dozen of our favorites

Great Music for Kids

A list of several great CDs and/or downloads

Global Village Links and Resources

Global Village School (GVS): http://www.globalvillageschool.org

The Global Village Voice (GVS Blog): http://www.globalvillageschool.org/gvsblog

GVS Bookstore: http://astore.amazon.com/globalvillage-20

Progressive Resources: http://www.globalvillageresources.org

GVS on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/globalvillageschool

GVS on Facebook: www.facebook.com/globalvillageschool

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The curriculum guide concludes with author information and acknowledgements, a copy of the
Earth Charter, a sample planning calendar, and a sample record-keeping format.

To order a Global Village Whole Child, Healthy Planet curriculum guide,

write to info@globalvillageschool.org or call (805) 646-9792.

Thank you for your interest; we look forward to sharing our curriculum with you!

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