We just finished up our current homeschool year, and I have been busy planning our upcoming school year. We really enjoyed Adventures in My Father's World curricula. We love homeschooling year round, and find that it works really well with having a larger than "normal" sized family.Though my husband and I still need to make a few final decisions, these are our current plans for the 2011-2012 school year.
Language Arts
Grammar: Easy Grammar 3 I love grammar and this curriculum looks fantastic!
Spelling: Natural Speller I found this at my local, used- homeschool supply store for $2! It covers spelling for grades 1-8. Paired with the free website, Spelling City, she can practice learning her spelling words each week. I love that Spelling City has alphabetizing games, vocabulary activities, and more.
Handwriting: Cursive Workbook
Writing: Writing letters to family and pen pals.
We are focusing on manners, this year, so we are using George Washington's Rules of Civility for
Creative Writing: We love using Story Starters, which is a non-consumable course for multiple children.
Foreign Language: Prima Latina I loved learning Latin in school, and am looking forward to re-learning it with Lily.
Math: Teaching Textbooks 3
Stephen (uprising 1st grader):
Language Arts
Phonics: Finish up Phonics Pathways. Phonics Pathways is my favorite resource for teaching reading. It is a non-consumable resource that can be used with all of your children. Lessons are short, yet effective. Most days, it only takes 10-20 minutes for my child to read through a page or two, and practice writing a few words from dictation. My local used homeschool bookstore usually carries a few copies of this book for only $2-$5 each! (Regularly $30)
Writing: Writing letters to family and pen pals.
Copywork
Learning Time Together
I generally tutor my children individually in phonics/English and math. Then, we join together for Bible, science, history, geography, and literature.
Bible- Old Testament Studies (which correlate to our History lessons)
Bible Memory Verses
History: The Mystery of History I
I love the Mystery of History, as it is a complete, chronological History curriculum. Kendra has some great ideas here for utilizing The Mystery of History with several ages. Her supplemental ideas are great, too!
The supplemental resources we will be using this year include Draw and Write Through History and Veritas Press Bible Cards.
Geography: I will be gleaning from the fun ideas in Hands on Geography and The Ultimate Geography and Timeline Guide to correlate with our history lessons.
Literature: Ample read alouds (Aiming for 1-2 hours per day) I glean from a variety of booklists such as Five in a Row and Sonlight, on a variety of topics. I will be reading a few selections which complement our history studies, such as The Bronze Bow and Twice Freed.
Science: We will be reading a plethora of books about science from the library, and will be taking nature walks.
We are having a blast with the science experiment kit that my son received for Christmas!
I know this sounds like a lot of materials, but since we homeschool year round, we can take it easy, and don't have to do it all at once. Also, some of the listed materials can be used as resources for multiple years, such as the geography resources. We love to have a fun time, everyday! We love to learn by playing games (Bananagrams, Blokus, Somebody), doing puzzles, etc.. I am so thankful for another year to homeschool my blessings!
I will continue working with Annie (almost four) on pre-reading and math skills. I hope to post soon about what resources I utilize to teach reading to my crew.
I would love to hear what you are planning on using in this upcoming school year!
This post is linked to Show off Your Curriculum Link Up .
Check out some of the materials, we have received so far, for this school year, here.
7 Comments:
Those look like some great resources. So you decided not to continue with MFW?
We bought the K package for MFW at the GHEA conference yesterday. Jeremy wants us to start something God centered with a little structure for Maggie this year. Still aren't sure if we will make it through K in 1 year. She will be 5 in Oct so we aren't too worried about her starting 1st for another year or two.
Emily~
The reason we aren't continuing with My Father's World for 3rd grade is that the focus is on Geography, and I did a year of thorough geography with Lily for first grade, through Galloping the Globe. (We will still be learning geography, but mainly alongside our history lessons.) I wanted to get back into the cyclical, chronological study of history with Lily, by using The Mystery of History, which is Christ-centered. The Mystery of History starts with Creation, and you use one book a year, which takes four years. Once you have finished the last year, you have studied all of history and then you repeat. It really helps children to learn history when it is studied in order, and then repeated.
MFW kindergarten looks fabulous. I would love to use it with my Annie, once she turns five, but I haven't found a good deal on it. (I have a very difficult time paying full price on curricula.)
I am sure it will be a very fun year for you and Maggie!
Hi Christine thanks for linking up - we're using Mystery of History too - I am so excited to start it!
Looks like a fun year planned - I am your newest follower and can't wait to read how it goes!
Stef
We homeschool year round as well. We are doing some Classical Conversations material which includes the Bible cards. I am excited to use those!
Kelly
Hello, I'm stopping by from the curriculum link up.
I'm using Heart of Dakota with my younger two and then will start ancient history with my older two (I'm sure the littles will learn some as well). I agree with you it is nice to study history chronologically.
Blessings to you and your family - :)
Looks like a great year ahead and some fantastic resources!
Visiting from curriculum link up.
Marcia
www.settleshomeeducation.blogspot.com
I LOVE MOH, and I'm betting you're going to enjoy it too.
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