Friday, September 2, 2011

School Journal - What We're Going to be Busy With in 2011-2012

It doesn't really feel like we should be gearing up for a new school year since we just finished the old one week and were on to the new the next. Next year won't be like that, but I wanted to finish up our World Geography countries before starting the new stuff. I need closure. :) I decided to stagger-start since I knew the curriculum I picked for E would be a change for her and I'm glad I did because that first day in the new program was a little (ehem) difficult. :) But anyway...I haven't said what curriculum we are doing!

E - 7th Grade

Heart of Dakota - Revival to Revolution It includes bible quiet time, biblical worldview, music appreciation, history, geography, state study of all 50 states, research on the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence, Art, language arts, math, science and an inventor's study. I think it the perfect fit for her since she loves to read biographies and interesting books and she will be doing most of the things on her own. I also ordered the extension pack for 8th and 9th graders because she loves reading and being read to so much. I didn't use the math HOD recommends (although I love Singapore Math). E enjoys Teaching Textbooks so we're sticking with that. Rev to Rev language arts includes dictation, Drawn into the Heart of Reading program and grammar, but she needs a little more help in spelling, so we'll also supplement with All About Spelling. She's also using IEW's SICC-B Writing course that I am teaching for our co-op as well as Rosetta Stone for Spanish. She really loves the program and was very faithful with it until a certain 1yo got a hold of her headphones. Now she remembers to put them away. :) 

L - 4th Grade

Z - 2nd Grade

L and Z are going to mostly be doing the same things this year except at their individual level. We started Primary Arts of Language this spring and are continuing our way through that program. L is my main helper and game player as well as getting some review on weak areas. They are both in  All About Spelling at their level. For history/geography we are using Confession of a Homeschooler's Road Trip USA doing a state-by-state trek across the country which ties into a state study that E is doing. Instead of doing the coloring sheets that she includes in her package, the boys will use Fifty States Under God for Young Learners while E does the older kids version. I think they will enjoy cutting and pasting more than coloring. L is enjoying Singapore Math and I broke down and got Teaching Textbooks for Z because he begged to do math on the computer like his sister. I also have a stack of great literature that I hand-picked for them and we'll be using those for read-alouds. They will also be reading to themselves books that interest them.

For Betty I decided to go with Heart of  Dakota's Little Hearts for His Glory (LHFHG). I think she will enjoy the challenge of the program, but I'll probably just start it at half speed and throw in some other fun things if I see she is getting overwhelmed. It is a Kindergarten/1st grade curriculum and I got only the Kindergarten options, but she loves her Montessori-type workboxes. I really think she's going to like the reading and things like the big kids, though.

Bo, well, he'll be along for the ride. His favorite perch is on top of the schoolroom table, but I'm hoping he'll be broken of that soon. I will have fun stuff on his shelves that I will try to rotate, but he's never been one to NOT have something to do especially with four older siblings to play with him while I'm busy with one student.

I'm looking forward to a more laid-back year for me in that I won't have to plan so much outside of school time. I'll have more time to do a little blogging and just being with the family.

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