I am not a blogger....or a writer of any kind. I've attempted this sort of 'record-keeping' before, and here I am again....starting over. I know that the chances of this 'fizzling out' over a short period of time are really good. Still...I'm going to try.
I hope to keep a record of our homeschooling days, primarily. But, am hoping to also keep some sort of journal of my own thoughts and feelings as we journey through life together.
I've been trying to use this summer to prepare for school. We'll be using a couple of new things this year, and keeping some things that worked from last year. In a nutshell....here's our curriculum....
http://www.excellenceinwriting.com/ (writing program...Student Writing Intensive). We're starting with Level "A". The kids are dreading it. David especially hates writing. I've spent some time getting acquainted with the program, watching the videos "for the teacher", etc. I am so fresh and full of excitement about all of the possibilities for the new schoolyear...praying that God will help me stay on track.
http://www.easygrammar.com/ Grammar program.....not sure if we'll do this daily, but I see a need to work this into our lives!
http://www.totallanguageplus.com/ I am especially excitecd about this program....ALL of the language arts stuff revolving around a BOOK! We (they) have a reading assignment from the book each week. We're starting with 'Pippi Longstocking' (recommended). Since I have so many Language Arts things going on this year, not sure when we'll work this in...maybe over Christmas break, maybe as an 'add in'....not exactly sure, yet.
http://www.mathusee.com/ Our Math program....it's been working so far. I am considering doing a trial month of "Aleks" math (online program) over Christmas break, but we'll see. I am a little concerned that math-u-see doesnt' provide enough 'drills'. We need to add this in...although the kids are through their multiplication, they still have to 'think' when asked what 9x6 (or other multiplication program) is.
http://www.homeschoolinthewoods.com/ This is our history program. We will be basing our history largely on read-alouds and the projects from this program. We'll be focusing on the Revolutionary War time period in American History this year. They will be making a lapbook throughout. We did this with 'Explorers' last year, and it was a highlight for them, so we'll keep the program again for this year!
http://www.spellingpower.com/ http://www.sequentialspelling.com/ No change in spelling programs from last year...but, I am considering 'scaling back' and not requiring it daily.
http://www.realscience4kids.com/ I purchased the entire year...3 books....Chemistry first, Botany, Physics. I need to accept the fact that it is unlikely we'll get through all three.
http://www.bibledraw.com/ This is the "Picture This" Bible curriculum we started at the end of the year and the kids LOVED it!
http://www.homeschoolart.com/ This is a curriculum I purchased for art....hoping to incorporate it once a week, but will be forgiving about this. They will also be attending a "parent lead" art class that was phenomenal last year.
"Typing Instructor 4 Kids".....an online typing program. I need to be more consistent with this. It's a skill that, if mastered, will help them with EVERYTHING ELSE they need to work on in school!!!
Spanish.....I can't remember the name of the program....but, it's one of the few things they can work on independently online. Hoping to be more consistent with this.
Handwriting....purchased a couple of inexpensive handwriting drill books. Also encouraging them to follow their "calligraphy' books...in hopes of developing neater handwriting.
Classes/field trips.....we'll be doing a gym class every other Friday. On opposite Fridays, we'll be attending "Academy" in Chaska (3 1/2 hours of classes led by parents). Very social, very fun for them. Tuesday afternoons will be our "Parent lead art class"....also a huge hit. We'll be going to homeschool days at Orchestra Hall and the Children's Theatre. We're also hoping to take advantage of all the great Homeschool programs offered by Three Rivers Park District. This, combined with all of the other great field trip opportunities, make it difficult to follow a strict 'school schedule' at home. It can be difficult to decipher what is "best" each day.....there are so many choices. :-)
Read-alouds.....lots of ideas here.....we are currently reading "Poppy" and I am reading "Johnny Tremain" and "A Wrinkle in Time" in order to figure out if these are appropriate choices for my kids this year. I just received an order of "Graphic Novels". They are historically based..."The writing of the constitution", "The Boston massacre", "The Boston Tea Party", etc....or science-based "The Digestive system", "Photosynthesis", "Louis Pasteur", etc.
My goal for the year? TO WAKE UP AND START OUR DAYS EARLIER!!! We are night-owls and late sleepers. When spring came last year, it seemed we never were able to really wake-up and 'think.' When we started doing 'daily walks' to start our days, everything improved. The down side to this? We were often gone for the first hour (sometimes two hours) of our day! That's a HUGE chunk of the day....and it meant we were often still working on school late in the afternoon. If only we could wake up earlier....we would be so much more efficient!!
Now, I just need to decide WHEN to start! Monday? hmmmmm..... I would like that, but it would take away precious playtime for the kids. They adore the neighbors (and so do we).
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