I’ve been busy, busy, busy planning all of our fun for the next year, trying to arrange our schedule and decide how and when to fit it all in. Of course, I’ll probably make lots of changes as the year begins, but for now, I’m so excited about what’s in store!
Want to take a peak?
Tot School
Misc. activities
A little structure, a lot of play, and hopefully some well-timed naps are in store for Littlest next year. Oh, and potty-training—yea, me.
Kindergarten
A Beka Numbers K5
Logic of English Foundations A and B
I am absolutely giddy about Middlest’s phonics program this year. This curriculum is new on the market and mind-blowingly awesome—solid phonics, step-by-step logical instruction, and VERY kid-friendly. It addresses all of the little problems that you meet along the way, helping children form the sounds and tell the difference between sounds, allowing children to experience reading through all of the learning styles, clear explanations for teaching the blending of sounds, and eliminating nearly all of the sight words. It is colorful, engaging, and extremely interactive.
Middlest could probably have started with just the Foundations B, but I thought she could really benefit from a brief review and solid instruction in the basics as Foundations presents it. So she’ll be doing a very fast spin through A before spending the bulk of the year in the level B.
2nd Grade
A Beka Arithmetic 2 and Reflex Math
Logic of English Essentials (phonics, spelling, and grammar—all in one) Read my review.
Leagues and Legends story and workbook (geography terms and concepts)
Shared Subjects and Activities
History Tapestry of Grace Year 2 (studying the Fall of Rome to the War for Independence); Story of the World 2 & 3 audiobooks and activities (my spine resource for Tapestry)
Science Christian Kids Explore Earth and Space
Latin Song School Latin 1
Art Artistic Pursuits K-3 book 2
Bible Teach Them the Faith catechism songs and AWANA memory work
I love being able to share several subjects together, providing age appropriate activities for each child while studying the same material. I’m using some Story of the World resources to ease my load, having audios rather than needing me to do all of the reading and adding coordinating coloring pages and simple activity ideas.
I have been on the search for science materials for awhile. We’ve enjoyed the nature studies and relaxed lapbook studies, but as Oldest gets older I really want him to have the experiments and depth of a real science program. My obstacle was finding one appropriate for smaller kids while maintaining the same depth and quality of instruction. I totally found both in Christian Kids Explore series, and Oldest has been begging me all summer about getting started.
Latin is a very light introduction—fun DVDs, catchy songs, and coloring pages that teach the vocab.
And art combines our history with some hands-on art appreciation from the time period we are studying. Science, Latin, and art will all be spread out through the week on different days; Latin on a couple of days, art on another day, science on the other days.
I can’t tell you how super excited we all are about this next year. It hasn’t been easy making the decisions and searching for the best deals, but by God’s grace I think we have the perfect combination of challenge and fun.
You said you were looking for a good science curriculum…We have really enjoyed the God glorifying Apologia Science Curriculum (K-8) with the book, and Jr. Notebooks (which include Scripture copywork, coloring pages, crossword puzzles, simple projects, additional suggested resources and videos, etc.). We also get the lab kits from one of the following companies: HomeScienceTools.com; Nature Workshop Plus-workshopplus.com; or CreationSensation.com (all companies that provide supplies for all the experiments that go along with the curriculum so you are not running all over town trying to get all the supplies you need to do the experiments!!! (This made me soooo happy!!!!) If your kids enjoy lapbooking, we have loved the Journey Through Learning Lapbooks that go with the Apologia curriculum…Something I found helpful – cut out all the pieces for the lapbooks and put together your lapbooks (the folder part) (maybe during the summer if you are planning ahead to make the year go smoother???)or over a weekend or BEFORE the lessons and put them in ziploc bags and pull them out when you are ready to review the most important info. in a hands-on kinesthetic way (helpful for review later too and to show grandparents what the kids have been learning – they love to make a show and tell of them!!!) Then the kids (and YOU!) can focus on and enjoy coloring and writing and gluing into their lapbooks without taking so much of your science time cutting things out (especially for younger students)… I hope that helps!!!