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our curriculum for the younger kids ~ 2013-2014

Written by Joy
9 Comments
our curriculum for the younger kids ~ 2013-2014

Disclaimer: There are some affiliate links in this post. The little money that I might make from you purchasing through the links, help our family in buying our curriculum.
 I always enjoy seeing what curriculum that everyone else is using, so I thought I would share with you our curriculum we will using this upcoming school year.  I am also joining in with the iHomeschool Network and the 5th Annual “Not” Back-to-School Blog Hop.

My younger two kids are in 2nd and 3rd grade this year.  It is amazing how quickly time is passing us by.  I am enjoying being able to be at home with our kids, watching them grow and learn new things everyday.  Since there is only 18 months difference between my younger children, I find it a lot easier on our family if we do a lot of the curriculum together.  While they are on different levels in math, everything else, we do together.

our curriculum

{History and Geography}

For the first time in a couple of years, I am changing curriculum.  While I am excited about this change, I am also nervous.  I don’t think I have changed so much in one year since we started homeschooling 11 years ago!  The first big change for us is our history.  As much as I love Mystery of History and Bright Ideas Press, I wanted to focus this next year on American History.  With the way our country is today, it is important for me to teach how the country was founded and why it was founded.  After much praying and researching, I decided on My Father’s World, Adventures in U.S. History.  We will be doing everything they offer in their deluxe package, with exception of their science.  Notebooking will also be a big part of our schooling this year as well.  We will be notebooking through the 50 states for history and geography.

{Language Arts}

We will also be switching up our Language Arts curriculum.  We will finish the Bob Jones English I have from last year, but we will be adding in Growing with Grammar, A Reason For Spelling and A Reason for Handwriting.  I haven’t used a Spelling or Handwriting curriculum with the kids before.  I have always printed off worksheets and just worked on the words as we came across them in our English book.  I felt like we needed to step it up in this area of our schooling.

{Math}

For Math, we will finish up our Bob Jones curriculum from last year.  Once they finish those books, we will begin using A+ TutorSoft.  They will be doing the math on the computer.  I think this will be a good switch for the kids.  I also have the Life of Fred books; Apples, Butterflies, Cats, Dogs and Edgewood.  That I got for a great deal and we will be trying those out. Everyone that I have talked with that has used them, has said they have been a success.

{Science}

Since I have been homeschooling for so long, some companies and curriculum have just worked for us.  One of those companies is Apologia and their science curriculum.  We will be using their new science book, Exploring Creation with Chemistry and Physics along with their Jr. Notebooking journals.  I have used Apologia science curriculum for 7 years now and my children and I thoroughly enjoy reading the lessons and doing their activities.  I have learned as much as they have!

{Bible}

We will also be sticking with Apologia for Bible as we go through their curriculum book, Who is God?  We will be using their coloring book and their notebooking journal.  I bought this book last year, but when we moved, I set it aside since we had so many changes to begin with.  We will also be covering Bible lessons that My Father’s World has in Adventures in U.S. History.

{Fine Arts}

My kids love to draw and listen to music, so for Fine Arts we will be using See The Light for art lessons. Pat Knepley is amazing in the See The Light art dvd’s.  My kids really enjoy listening to her explain how to draw.  For music, we will be using Young Scholar’s Guide to Composers (Bright Ideas Press) and Introduction to Tchaikovsky & the Nutcracker Suite (My Father’s World).

After writing it all out, it seems like an awful lot of work to do and yet, I still feel like I have not added everything that I have planned!   We won’t be doing ever subject every day.  We will also be adding in field trips with our homeschool group.  Our youngest daughter will be taking dance lessons and our youngest son is wanting to play sports.  Once you fill in those days, I think it will be a well rounded year for us.

Are you excited about the upcoming school year?  I would love for you to share what all you and your family will be doing.  Be sure to stop by and link up with iHomeschool Network and see what others are doing.  As you will see, all homeschooling families are unique and do what is best for them and their families.  THAT is what is so wonderful about homeschooling!

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curriculum changes for the new school year …

Written by Joy
7 Comments
curriculum changes for the new school year …

A lot has happened since I last posted about what we will be using for our curriculum for this school year.  The biggest, we moved.   So, as I am getting ready to start school again, there have been a few changes in our curriculum.  We will be using Illuminations.  They give many suggestions on what to use and even offer an awesome scheduling tool to help you prepare your lessons.  We will be using a lot of the suggestions that Illuminations gives.  One of the main reasons why I am going with Illuminations this year?  All three of my children will be using a lot of the same materials.  Especially my younger two.  I am hoping this will help scheduling and teaching them  slightly easier this year.

So what is Illuminations? Bright Ideas Press says it best in their description.

“Illuminations is an all-inclusive *curriculum, covering Bible, Language Arts (grammar, writing, copywork, spelling and vocabulary), Literature, Science, Humanities (poetry, theatre, music, and art), Geography, History, Life Skills, and Projects. Illuminations is built to compliment our Mystery of History or All American History Series.”

 So, what will we be using with Illuminations Year 1?  We are still using Mystery of History: Volume I.  We finished about a 1/4 of the book last year, so I thought I would save some money and just continue to use it this year.  All three of my children will be using this as their History.

For Language Arts, we will be using what they recommend.  For the younger kids, Natural Speller (Spelling), WriteShop (Writing), English from the Roots Up (Vocabulary) and Winston Grammar Basic Level AND The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation (Grammar).  They also give a great list for the Literature section.

I am excited about incorporating the geography that they are recommending; The Ultimate Geography and Timeline Guide and Hands-On Geography.  We will also be using WonderMaps.  We have used it in the past and it is one of the best programs that I have seen.

I love Apologia Science curriculum, so we will be continuing on with it this year.  The younger two kids have asked to study Astronomy.  My oldest daughter, who is now in 9th grade, will be doing Biology from Apologia.

For Math, we are sticking with Bob Jones for Samuel and Claire.  Sarah, she will continue with Teaching Textbooks.  If it works, I see no need of changing it.

We will also continue to use See The Light for our art curriculum.  My younger two have absolutely enjoyed using this and have learned a lot.  I love how Pat Knepley teaches the art and then shares a scripture at the end of the lesson.   As for Sarah, she will be using Artistic Pursuits.  I think she will be challenged by this art curriculum.  I am also wanting to add Harmony Fine Arts at Home.  We will also be using the Young Guide to Composers curriculum.

The most important book of all we will be using, is the Bible.  It is important to me for my children to learn about God and to love Him with all their heart.  We will also be using the Who is God? curriculum from Apologia, for a family bible study.  I am excited to be able to use this with all three of my children.

While it does seem like a lot, it really does not take long to complete the work that is involved.  Illuminations has this amazing scheduling tool that I can use to schedule the curriculum out the way I need to.  I am excited about this curriculum and look forward to sharing with you all we learn this year.

I would love for you to share with me some of the curriculum you are using this year.  Is it working so far?  Have you had to change anything yet?  Let me know in the comments!

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homeschooling plans changing just bit..

Written by Joy
10 Comments

I am sure you are all just about tired of hearing about us moving to Colorado.  I know I am!  I am so ready to be there!  So I thought I would talk a little about how our homeschooling will look for us when we first get to Golden, CO.  You see, we will be living in a vacation rental for a month, or until we can find us a more permanent place to live.  That means that the majority of our school books are boxed up and in a storage unit until then.  So what will we be doing for school until then? Well, I am so glad you asked!  {grin}

Thanks to an awesome homeschooling blogging buddy of mine, we will be approaching the first 4-6 weeks slightly different.  To begin with, we will be covering the state history of Colorado and the town history of Golden, CO.  It will be good to learn all about the place that we will be calling home.  We will be taking field trips to local historical places in town, as well as finding the library, police and fire stations and any science or history museums in the area.  We will also be covering geography and science by learning all we can about the Rocky Mountains.

I have packed a couple of small boxes with our math, spelling and bible study books.  For math, my oldest daughter will finish up her Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra, while the younger two kids will finish up their Bob Jones math books.

We will be using a new spelling book this year for the younger two kids.  The Natural Speller is recommended with the Illuminations program that I will be using by Bright Ideas Press.

As for the bible study, we will finish up the Esther book we started last year.  We got side-tracked and I never finished it with the kids.  They loved doing this study, so I am excited to begin it once again.

I also packed up the See The Light art curriculum DVD’s.  My youngest son just asked me the other day when we could begin this again.  I am so happy that we have found an art curriculum they love!

So as you can tell, we do have some great ideas to get us started.  While it isn’t everything that we will eventually be using, I am happy that we will be able to do something not long after we arrive.  My kids thrive on a routine and we have been out of one for far too long.

I was so excited when Honey mentioned those ideas to me about studying the state and local history with the kids once we arrived.  It will help us get acquainted with the area, as well as get one some sort of routine with our schooling.  A win-win for all of us!

We will also be meeting up with a new homeschool group that I have been in contact with.  They will have their first park day on August 9th.  We will also be checking into the extra-curricular activities that the kids want to be involved with.  This includes finding a new dance studio, musical theater company and a recreation league for sports.  I don’t know why I was so worried about jumping right into school, we will have plenty to keep us busy the first couple of weeks!

Once we get settled next week in our temporary rental, I plan on sharing with you all the rest of the curriculum we will be using.  I am truly excited about it this year as I am stepping away from a lot of the traditional textbooks and workbooks.  This is truly going to be an interesting year with all the new adventures that we will have!

Do you have any special studies planned to begin your new school year with?

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curriculum: what worked and hasn’t worked for us this year…

Written by Joy
6 Comments

We have definitely had one interesting sort of year.  Nothing bad has really happened, but some things never go as you plan them.  This past year was just like that.  However, I do feel like we have accomplished what God wanted us to.  To me, I feel like we have even come closer together as a family.  Sometimes, book work definitely needs to be set aside while we work our our relationship with one another and also with God.  I feel like this year was that big year for us.  We have had a lot of great talks around our table during school time.  Talks that I don’t think would of happened if my kids were in school all day away from me.

So, let’s get started with what did work for us.

Mystery of History, written by Linda Lacour Hobar and published by Bright Ideas Press, has been a wonderful addition to our homeschool this year.  My kids (all three that I am homeschooling) have come to love history again through this wonderful curriculum.  We have enjoyed it so much that we are going to begin Illuminations that is also from Bright Ideas Press.  I am excited about this currciulum as I can adjust it for my 2nd grader so she can do it along with my 3rd grader and 9th grader.

Apologia Science has also been a big hit in our home.  I have used the elementary series with my oldest daughter when she was younger and she loved it.  This year, my younger children and I read through Exploring Creation through Botany.  We have had a wonderful time learning all about plants from our they grow from a seed, to how they get water and food to why some tree leaves change colors and fall off trees.  My oldest daughter has also enjoyed Apologia Physical Science and will be moving on to their Biology course as soon as I can get it ordered!

My younger kids have also used Hooked on Phonics and Bob Jones English this year.  It has worked well and the kids are beginning to read.  This was our first year using Hooked on Phonics and I like the fun little songs and lessons that the kids watched.  They also have workbooks that you can get to follow along with the lessons.  I used Bob Jones English with my oldest daughter when she was in elementary grades and it worked well with her, so I thought I would try it with the kids.  They have done well with it.  I think I will keep using the workbooks for extra practice, but we will be using other curriculum for English, Grammar, Spelling and Writing next year.  (Will explain in another post what that is. ) I will still recommend it for homeschooling families that are just beginning their journey.

My oldest daughter has loved using Teaching Textbook for math.  It has made a big difference in our family.  We no longer have anymore crying breakdowns.  She will be finishing up Pre-Algebra and heading right into Algebra this year.  For myself, I started the younger kids out with Bob Jones math.  I was comfortable with it from using it before and it has worked with our family.  My youngest son does get frustrated at times with math, but I think it is because there is so much repetition with it.  He catches on to a concept very quickly and is ready to move on.  While I think I will look for something else for him, I plan on keeping it for our youngest daughter.

Finally this year, thanks to a great friend, I found an art curriculum that we all love!  It is See The Light with Pat Knepley.  This art curriculum uses every day art supplies and really captures a child’s attention.  However, what I love about it most is how they incorporate scripture at the end of each lesson.  I am looking forward to getting the rest of the lessons.  They also have wonderful story dvd’s that are told through their art and give the students lessons after the story has been told.

We really had a lot work for us this year compared to what didn’t work for us.  What didn’t work for us was mostly with my oldest daughter and her curriculum.  At the beginning of the year, we started out with Tapestry of Grace.  I have said before that I love Tapestry of Grace and was excited about using it again.  We had used it two years ago and it worked well for us then.  This year, we just couldn’t get it to work, no matter how hard we tried.  By mid-year, my oldest daughter was listening in on the younger kid’s history and doing lessons suggested for her age.  It worked so well, that she will begin the Illuminations with the younger kids.  Not only am I excited about this change, so is she.  They will all 3 be using the same History and reading a lot of the same books, just at their own levels.

We will begin Illuminations soon and continue schooling through the summer.  It won’t be a very heavy workload, but I am excited to begin this new season with my three children that I still have at home with me.  I am looking forward to sharing with you all soon what new curriculum we will be adding.

Until then, I would love to know what curriculum has worked for you and what hasn’t worked!

 

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