A Mom On A Mission

A few words that manage to simultaneously excite and terrify me year after year….homeschool book fair.

I LOVE looking at what’s out there and I am definitely a self-confessed curriculum junkie (hoarder status would not be too far off base). But, I also get so confused with all of the awesome options. Last year was my first time to go and I went completely solo so that I could soak everything in. Big mistake! I went to every possible seminar and then aimlessly wandered the marketplace for hours on end. By the end of day 2, I had a migraine and bags of stuff that I wasn’t quite sure what to do with. Literally the moment I walked through our front door, I made Mike promise that he would plan on going in 2013.

Thankfully, my husband is a man of his word!

Now might be a good time to mention that about a week prior to the book fair, I had a firm plan of what I was going to do this coming year. Then, Sabrina brought over her curriculum and once I actually got to flip through it, I realized it just wouldn’t be a good fit for us. Bummer! So I ended up doing what I said I would never do again…piecing together my own plan from various stuff on the market. Perhaps I am a little too OCD for those nice prepackaged boxes. Womp womp.

Since Christina would be with the kids all day Friday, Mike and I decided to make a date out of our trip to the book fair ( I know, we are just romantic like that). I may or may not have stayed up late printing out the exhibit hall vendor sheet and highlighting the booths I wanted to see. *ahem*. Hey, after my previous experience, I knew I needed a firm plan before going in or else I would be toast! For the most part, I stuck with my “to buy” list but did happen to  find some other really cool stuff along the way. I was a glutton once again and went back to the book fair today so that I could make a final decision on spelling curriculum and spend time with some sweet friends (thanks Amanda and Lisa!) while Mike watched the tribe back home. Let’s just say my body definitely started to crash after all of that walking and thinking. Seriously, my brain might explode.

All that being said, Eltza mentioned that I should take pictures of what I decided to buy and write about it. Hopefully this blog will help offer a starting point for fellow homeschoolin’ mamas looking for options. So without further ado, here is our “unofficial” plan for the coming school year!

Lucas (1st grade…ish?)

Here is the honest truth: I have no idea what “grade” Lucas is in. He confuses me. Technically he will be in 1st grade according to age, but he is kind of all over the board when it comes to skill level (as I assume the majority of kids are). The great thing about homeschooling is that I have the option to meet him exactly where his skill level is for each subject. But boy, where the rubber meets the road, that is a lot harder said than done! Thus, his curriculum this year is mostly 2nd grade with a smidge of 1st mixed in…or something like that.

Math: I decided to stick with Saxon for another year since the first half of the book will be mostly a review of Sax 1. I am still considering switching to Teaching Textbooks at some point but for the time being, Saxon works well for Lucas. Why fix what isn’t broken? I also picked up a few “fun” books (Mathematical Reasoning Level C and Math Analogies Beginning) to help present information he has learned in a different way and to give him something to fill out the rest of the year once we finish Sax 2.

Language Arts:

I wanted a more Charlotte Mason approach to LA so I bought both Primary Lang Lessons and Lang Lessons for the Very Young to see what is the best fit for us. I also bought Daily 6-Trait Writing Grade 1  and Word Fun (not pictured). He will move up to A Reason for Handwriting Book B and use the Pathway Readers Grade 2 for reading practice. For spelling, I decided to switch from A Reason For Spelling to All About Spelling level 1 (not pictured). Lucas is a strong phonetical speller but I fear he might hit a wall if he doesn’t learn the “why” behind spelling before he gets too far in. Hopefully he will enjoy AAS as much as he did ARFS. I will also be using the Simply Charlotte Mason and Ambleside Online Yr. 1 guides to pick free reads and literature for this year.

Bible Study: I want to encourage Lucas to begin having his own quiet times so I found a book of devotions that he can read alone. I also found a notebook that has a few lines for handwriting and space up top for him to illustrate what he studies. I bought a similar notebook for Logan with wider handwriting lines and room to draw. The “Writing Journal” will be used for Lucas to write his spelling words throughout the year.

Geography: I signed the kids up for Little Passports which I think will be such an awesome (and gentle) intro into World Geo. I plan to use resources from the library to flesh it out a bit. I ordered Daily Geography 1 to help introduce grade appropriate concepts to Lucas. I also got my hands on a used copy of Beautiful Feet’s Geography Through Literature, but I haven’t decided if I will use it this year or not. Decisions, decisions!

History: A Child’s History of the World as a read aloud. I am chomping at the bits to get started on Story of the World and Mystery of History, but I think I want to wait another year or so until we can enjoy it as a family. I think ACHOW should work well in the mean time.

Science: we will probably stick with 106 Days of Creation Studies and add in some Usbournce Science books along the way. The more science experiments, the better!

Poetry: Continue on with IEW Poetry Memorization.

Picture/Composer/Hymn Study: Simply Charlotte Mason as a family

Logan (Kindergarten)

I would totally wait on anything formal with little man until he is around 6 or 7, but he begs to do school with his big brother.  I wanted to piece together a laid back curriculum that could flex with how much “work” he feels like doing on any given day. He loves doing work books so I tried to get him a wide variety to keep his interest.

Math: Since he completed Saxon K but isn’t quite ready for the massive leap into Sax 1, I decided to use this year as a chance to let him work at his own pace through a bright and colorful book. Hopefully by the end of the year, he will be ready for all of the handwriting of Sax 1. If not, we might consider a switch to something else…or just continue on with these Reasoning books if he enjoys them. I also ordered Math-U-See’s skip counting and song book (not pictured) to help reinforce some concepts he learned this past year.

Language Arts:

I didn’t buy it at the book fair, but we will be trying All About Reading Level 1 this year. We made it to about lesson 52 of 100 Easy Lessons before he just got overwhelmed with the layout of the book. Hopefully this multi-sensory approach will be a better fit. I also bought the beginning Pathway Readers just in case he is ready for them at some point this year. He will be starting A Reason For Handwriting K and possibly sitting in on the language art books with Lucas. He will also join in on all of the literature selections for the year.

Geography:  As a supplement to Little Passports, I bought Beginning Geography.

History: same as Lucas

Science: same as Lucas

Bible: study with Daddy

Additional: He will finish out the Rod & Staff preschool books G, H, and I if he desires

Brielle (Pre-K)

Since she is in speech therapy and overly motivated to “do school” like the big kids, I decided to focus on her letter sounds this year. I mainly picked hands-on resources or “open and go” options to make her day as relaxed as possible. Christina will be helping Brielle out a lot and she always has great ideas for making things fun. I definitely want this year to be more play than school!

Kinder Readiness: Rod & Staff makes a preschool series that was dearly loved by Logan. Brielle asked to do them as well so I made a point to grab some while at the book fair.

Math: Mathematical Reasoning Beginning 1 for ages 3-5 (if she shows interest); and Inchimals which are seriously TOO cool!

Phonics: All About Reading Pre-Reading (not pictured) which I think will be a great reinforcement to speech therapy. Especially when paired with hand’s on activities. Not pictured are Montessori Letter Work and Jumbo Banagrams

She can also join in on science, literature, Bible, art/composer/hymn study, history, and geography as much as she chooses.

Enrichment for the family as a whole:

I *think* that might be everything! Ha! Hopefully you enjoyed getting a peek at our coming school year! Now I guess it is time for me to actually sit down and write out our schedule! Yikes.

Oh, and what did Mike end up thinking about the book fair? Let’s just say that he ended up buying more stuff for himself than he anticipated. He also may or may not have bought 3 wooden daggers for the kid’s to give themselves/each other concussions and a Backyard Ballistics book. I guess it is probably time to put the fire department on speed dial? In all seriousness, he was such a trooper and I am SOOOO thankful he came with me. I love how much he supports our decision to educate our children. It was a great day alone with my hubby and I certainly can’t complain about that. Especially when he attempts to use LeCrae to woo me. Such a charmer. I heart him.

Eclectic Curriculum Junkie signing off…