All four kids are on the official homeschool map this year {i.e. all four were reported to our local school district as homeschooling}. At times the thought is overwhelming to me, but also so very exciting! This is our seventh year homeschooling and we officially start on Monday, August 6th! Our list of homeschool curriculum choices is finally in place {phew!} ~ here’s a peek at what we’ll be using this year…
Bible {Daily}
- All ages – Grapevine Bible Studies {Esther to start with} and then the New Testament study.
- Apologia’s Who is God? – Laurianna will be using the notebooking journal and we are using this for some 1:1 time together.
- Bible Memory – we’ll be using our verse printables and learning verses throughout the year.
- We Choose Virtues – part of our morning/calendar board for character
Language Arts {Daily}
- Kindergarten ~ First Language Lessons 1 as well as our studies with Before Five in a Row and Five in a Row
- 3rd, 5th and 6th Grade ~ The three oldest will be using Easy Grammar and Daily Grams.
Spelling {Bi-Weekly}
- All ages ~ All About Spelling this year {range from Level 1 up to Level 5}. We will also use All About Homophones with everyone during the year. Not familiar with this curriculum? Check out my review of All About Spelling.
Writing {Daily}
- 3rd Grade ~ WriteShop Primary B
- 5th Grade ~ finishing WriteShop Junior Book D
- 6th Grade ~ IEW course through our local co-op
Vocabulary {Daily}
- 5th – 6th Grade ~ 15 minutes a day with Dynamic Literacy’s Word Build Foundations
Reading ~ {Daily}
- Kindergarten ~ All About Reading Level 1.
- 3nd Grade ~ Zachary will be reading books that I pick for him {some are the All About Reading books} as well as other grade-level books.
- 5th and 6th Grade~ The girls will be reading books at their level to go along with Mystery of History 2 that we are doing as well as books for fun! They will be keeping track of their books on their Reading Log and writing reports for me using our Book Report Form. We will also have read-alouds for the whole family during the week and I’m working on that list. The bulk of the books will go along with our studies, but we want to include some other fun books to read during the year too.
Math {Daily}
- Kindergarten ~ Saxon Math 1 and Life of Fred
- 3rd, 5th and 6th Grade ~ Teaching Textbooks levels 3, 5, and 6. All of the kids are also using Life of Fred {different levels} twice a week.
History {Daily}
Our ‘core’ focus this year will be Mystery of History Vol. 2 from Bright Ideas Press. In addition to the main book, we are using the following go-along digital pieces:
- reproducible tests/quizzes
- folderbook
- notebooking pages
- coloring pages – our kids LOVED these last year and helped with wiggles while I was reading!
- Illuminations - the schedule is already laid out for the year and also includes Read Aloud Guides and Family Study Guides that are a great tool
- Wondermaps – the fabulous interactive maps from Bright Idea Press.
We started using Mystery of History late last fall. Can I just tell you how much we are all enjoying history?? Very much!
Science {Daily}
- Kindergarten ~ Science K from Nancy Larson Science
- 3rd Grade – Christian Kids Explore Earth and Space with Activity Book{will go along with the science the older two are doing}
- 5th and 6th Grades – Science 3 {ages 9 to 11} from Nancy Larson Science {and Zachary will participate as he is able to}.
- Weekly science experiments using the book How to Do Science Experiments with Children and other fun ones we find!
Handwriting {Daily}
- Kindergarten – Handwriting Without Tears
- 3rd, 5th and 6th Grades – A Reason for Handwriting levels C, E, and F
Art {Once a Week}
- All ages – See the Light art curriculum dvds {we ordered the art class 1 year set}. We also are planning to do several of the special art project dvds.
- Draw Write Now ~ these books from Barker Creek have been a staple in our home for years and our kids LOVE them. We have the full set which is available from both Barker Creek and Amazon.
- Pastel tutorials from HodgePodge ~ the kids loved these last year!
Spanish {Bi-Weekly}
- Kindergarten and 3rd Grade – Flip Flop Spanish
- 5th and 6th – Rosetta Stone Latin America Level 1 and Level 2 {Homeschool version}.
Kindergarten Core
For the bulk of our year we will be finishing up Before Five in a Row, working on some Five in a Row books, and also using various Printable Packs. Technically Kaleb is kindergarten this year, although he is academically ahead in a few areas, so we are adjusting things accordingly.
Additional Resources:
If you are unfamiliar with some of the curriculum choices/names above, you can follow the links below to learn about a few of the products that I’ve previously written reviews for.
- All About Spelling
- Teaching Textbooks
- All About Reading
- Rosetta Stone Homeschool
- Nancy Larson Homeschool
- WriteShop Primary
- Word Build/Dynamic Literacy
- Grapevine Bible Studies
It is definitely shaping up to be a full year! What are your favorite picks for upcoming the upcoming year? Link up and see what other moms are using this year at the Not Back-to-School Blog Hop. Leave a comment too ~ I’d love to hear what you are using!
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