Curriculum

This is a little of the curriculum we will be using this year and have already begun. (And I'm writing this quickly so I don't have time to proofread adequately.)

Table Time
This has been working out for us, so far, a couple of days a week. We have been eating breakfast together while I read a chapter or two from the Bible and devotion. Then we move to the homeschool table for calendar, patterns, and money activities, etc. They each have their own little folders, and we will go over the pages every homeschool day for repetition. Then they do a few activities in their Logic Links, Coin Clues, and Scholastic Map Mysteries books. This something the boys especially enjoy doing and request it on the days we wouldn't normally do it. So that's working, so far.

We'll also continue using our workbox system. 

Tornado, my 12 year old

Baby Brother is wearing the outfit Tornado 

picked out for him before he was born.

My Father's World: Adventures in My Father's World
(For those not familiar, this includes history, Bible, science, etc.)
I Can Do All Things Art
Draw, Write, Now (We love this, so far! He spends so much time drawing and writing stories that I'm trying to funnel that interest in a way that will help him progress his abilities. Handwriting has always been his struggle, which is a shame since he loves to write and draw so much. So we're working on it...)
Apologia Swimming Creatures (with our homeschool co-op...Flying Creatures was such a great class for him last year.)
Easy Grammar
Spelling: Steck Vaughn (He's no longer in Abeka Phonics at our co-op, which is fine because it wasn't my favorite for him. I looked up the spelling he did at public school two years ago and found a used but new book on amazon for $4. He seems to do well with this one.)
Saxon Math (with our homeschool co-op)
continuing on with what I can come up with in Touch Math, which helped him grow LEAPS and BOUNDS, mathematically last year
Reading Eggs.com

other homeschool co-op classes: My Father's World ECC, Spanish, art, thinking skills, p.e.

extracurricular: community drama club, art class, speech, OT, PT

Dash, my 7 year old

in Chicago, on our cross-country Amtrak trip

He wanted me to take a picture of him with the birds.

My Father's World: Adventures in My Father's World
I Can Do All Things Art
Abeka Phonics, Spelling and Poetry (homeschool co-op)
Abeka Language Arts
Saxon Math (homeschool co-op)
Reading Eggs.com

other homeschool co-op classes: My Father's World, storytime, science, art, Spanish, thinking skills, p.e.

extracurricular: gymnastics, piano, community drama club, basketball starting in January, maybe soccer next spring (We are taking a break from soccer this fall.)...Ryan coaches/plays tennis with him almost every night, which will be his sport for now. We didn't really want to cut the kids' extracurricular, but since last year was CRAZY at times - we thought maybe having a semester with no Saturday sports might help. We'd rather have weekends together as a family and to visit with our other family members.

I'm waiting to hear if he got into a 12 week science program that meets all day, once a week. (The lady I talked to thought there was an opening.) I hope so! I think he will LOVE it.

I'm still trying to find the perfect online typing program for him and his brother.

Sissy, my 5 year old

a picnic at a local park this summer

My Father's World: Adventures in My Father's World
I Can Do All Things Art
Abeka Phonics, Spelling, Math (homeschool co-op)
Reading Eggs.com

other homeschool co-op classes: thinking skills, p.e.

extracurricular: ballet, tap, jazz, art, gymnastics, piano, learning tennis with Daddy

Sissy and I are also really excited; we're starting a little girly girls kindergarten club for her and any of her girlfriends.

I also have all of my other "stuff" to supplement the core subjects above, including all of these binders I prepared during the past 6 months when I was spending so much time sitting and nursing at the computer. I got a lot of great material from Teachers Pay Teachers, Teaching Mommies, Confessions of a Homeschooler, 1+1+1=1, Spell Out Loud, and others. I have many fun themed units planned, especially for Sissy, including Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Astronauts, Cupcakes, Ice Cream, etc.

We're always doing activities related to whatever chapter book I'm reading aloud. Right now, it's Farmer Boy and also Adventures in Odyssey #1 which went along with our viking studies in My Father's World. They really like that book, so I'm going to continue on in the series.


Baby Brother, who is now 7 months old...

will just be along for the ride. And we'll be enjoying every second with him. 

He is pure joy.

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Next week: school room pics.