Robinson Curriculum (Part 1)...me and my RC

Here's what the RC looks like all packaged up. Mine is a little different. My box is square instead of rectangular. It has pages that you can flip through that the CD's slide into. (Similar things are sold at WalMart and other places to store CD's in.) Here is a great summary of the RC by the creator of the RC, Dr. Art Robinson.

The above is how I've put some of them together. A few of the little books, I bound with yarn and poster board covers. The kids thought that was cute! One here was even bound in cardboard. (Younger kids like it when they look more like a real book.) When they get older....and the books get larger, more pages, finer print, etc. I've just put them in the cheap little 3 prong portfolio folders that are like .05 or .10 cents at the beginning of the school year. (The older kids have longer books and sometimes they may take 2 of these (folders) and a few times it took 3.)

Here's Kayanna with one of the little cardboard bound readers.

I have a few of the books in paperback. I've found them at the Goodwill for .59.

I've also added a few books to the collection. Some will be optional, some mandatory.

The upper grades have finer print which equals more words per page.

(That's important as you try to keep check with how many pages per day that they are reading. You want to make sure that they are not day-dreaming, etc.)

This is about a 3rd grade reading book. I think it's one of The Rover Boys. The print is a little bigger. (The RC has a built in way to adjust the print/size of the page.)

The 'books' also have these handy-dandy pockets.

I put the vocabulary exercises in them and as each kid reads through the books, they take their exercises out.

The main vocabulary sheets are stored in here and not too neatly I might add! These have the vocabulary word and the definition. (Each book has it's own set of new vocabulary words.)
(For each book, I have the kids copy the vocabulary words and definitions one day, another day they will use each word in a sentence, when those two things are done then they will work through the vocabulary exercises that are printed from the RC and are usually stored in the pockets of each 'book'.

These buckets were bought at Walmart. As you can see, they have an open side. The tops are also open but have fold down handles and are stackable.

This is actually standing in a closet; they were in the dining area at one time.

These are our printed books. And the top has a portable filing system where grades, assignment sheets, and tests are stored. (Each kid must get an assignment sheet every Monday and fill out every day. They write the Math lesson completed and their scores, the story they are reading and number of pages that they read, as well as check off the vocabulary. (They also have to write down the time they started each subject and the time they finished.) These can be printed free of charge from a link on the RC site. I have also made up an assignment sheet just for Bible and typing.)

These old drawers were taken from an old chest. They match perfectly to a set of bunkbeds we have and slide nicely underneath. That is where each kid keeps his work when not in use. Two kids share one drawer. All pencils,, notebooks, etc are kept in the drawers.

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Each child has a math book, answer key, the current book they are reading, their assignment sheet, and 3 to 4 notebooks. One notebook is for math, another is for vocabulary, a third is for their writing, and some of them keep an extra one for their Bible work while others just write their verses in the writing notebook. We buy the spiral notebooks when they go on sale at the beginning of the school year for .05 to .10 cents each. Outside of school work, some of the kids like to keep other notebooks for various things. A couple of the kids like to write made up stories and write their own comics, so how could I say no to that?

These are a suggested addition to the RC that Dr. Robinson recommends. They are older and do not have the biases in them that current books do. They are The World Book of Knowledge and with much prayer, I was able to get this set off ebay for about $15! (He specifically recommends that parents use materials dated from the 50's and earlier.)
The kids also use these books for their written assignments often.

Their writing assignments can be copywork or their own writings. Most of the time I let them make the choice, but there are times that I give specific things.

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As per Dr. Robinson, we start our mornings with math. As per Dr. Robinson and the kids personal preference, we use Saxon math books which must be purchased separately once the children have learned basic math facts which are on the RC.

Math lasts for 2 hours.

The rules vary on how much work, slightly. If they are having a tough time, they can slow up to half a lesson. If they are having an easy time getting through the lessons, they do every other problem and work two lessons a day. But most of the time, they just work one lesson a day of approx 30 problems.

(Currently, two of the children are using the same math book so one child has to do reading first.) Then after math, the kids do two hours of reading. Usually they are only reading one book during this time. My oldest is in high school so he is the only exception. He has a couple of subjects that he can switch around.

After math and reading are complete, the children then do their vocabulary. This time can be 15 to 30 minutes.

Then they do their writing assignments as above.

The children then have to write their Bible verses two times each.

Then they take 15 minute turns on the computer doing their Typing assignments.

(I will be doing a part two and show you a little about how I print the books, how I teach the younger two, and some other things!)
*********Update: this lady has put together a very nice list of all things RC plus many freebies that will work right alongside the RC.*******