Bear's Kindergarten Curriculum

It's finally happened.  All three girls are officially in school!  **Trying to not hyperventilate and reminding myself that I can do this.**  This year Bear enters Kindergarten and is so excited to be a "big girl" and take classes at the local home education program.  She is hilariously confident that she will rock Spanish class because she knows how to count to five and say "Hello" and "Help me!" from watching Go, Diego, Go! episodes.

Little Bear getting ready for Kindergarten.

Veteran homeschool parents, can you relate to this?  You find a program that works beautifully with your child, your family values, and your teaching style.  You say to yourself, "This is the best program ever!  I will keep everything in pristine condition because I will use this with each child coming down the line!  My days of searching for curriculum are over!"  And then a child comes along who doesn't work with that curriculum.  She freezes up and clenches her fists and tells you that it's too hard, when you know that she could read the page if only she would relax.  You find her in the playroom writing out her ABC's, but when asked to write a "F" on her worksheet makes wobbly lines and says that she can't write letters.  And then you find yourself back at square one and wondering what on earth are you going to do with that preserved curriculum on your supply shelf.  Please, somebody else tell me that they have been there.

That's where I was at last year.  It wasn't a big deal because it's only preschool and if she didn't do anything that would have been okay in the long run.  However, I was thinking the whole time, "What am I going to do with her next year?  Sonlight K is going to frustrate the two of us and leave us in tears."  My solution was not one that I would have foreseen, but I'm thrilled that I found it.  Bear did a free two week trial of Time4Learning, and suddenly she was making patterns, identifying letters, and begging to do lesson after lesson.  My husband and I signed her up and I had my answer.  She blew through the preschool program and completed the kindergarten program last week.  There are easy readers that you can print from the site and she loves to print up the books and read them to Daddy when he comes home.  I honestly don't know what it is about her personality that makes her a "computer learner," but that is what she is.  I do know that Time4Learning is a well thought out program, incorporating all the best practices that I was taught to use while pursuing a degree in education.  Phonics is approached from a variety of perspectives and every lesson closes with a summary of what was learned.  The first grade program includes a language arts extension that covers social studies and science topics while providing book lists for you to read aloud to your child and even some hands on activities.

I'm not as thrilled by the math program, and suspect that they hired different people to put it together.  I will use it as a supplement, but purchased Singapore's Earlybird A&B for Bear's math.  Hopefully with so much time on the computer, Bear won't balk at a couple workbook pages.

So that's it.  Reading, social studies, and science are all covered by Time4Learning, and then Singapore for math.  What more does a Kindergartener need?  Oh yes; extracurricular activities.  Bear will take Spanish and art classes, as well as participate in the Kindergarten club through our local home education program.  This program also does monthly field trips aimed at the K-1st set and we are looking forward to those.  As for PE, Bear will take swim lessons at the Y, goggles firmly affixed lest a drop of water get into her eyes, and I have yet to decide if she will do a ballet/tap class or beginning gymnastics.  It's going to be a very busy 36 weeks!  ("Thirty-six weeks" sounds more managable than "school year" to me. lol)

I'm linking up with Kris at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers for her annual Curriculum Wrap-Up.  I have also linked up with the Not Back to School Blog Hop.   So many curriculum choices, so little time...  :o)

Boo's Third Grade Curriculum

Boo heading on into third grade.

This year Boo will be completing the second half of Sonlight's Introduction to American History, starting with the Civil War and ending with modern times. She did a great job last year, enjoying the books and the additions of some lapbooks, history pockets, and a unit from Download N Go. The book basket approach was a hit, so I'm keeping it in place, with a new wrinkle. Now she will have to complete a question packet on the assigned books, but doesn't have to do any book reports on the basket books. This fills in my desire to know that she's grasping character development and plot constructs within the Sonlight readers. It also takes away the "book report for every book read" assignment, which actually just made her hide the books she had been reading in order to avoid the report.

Bible is done through Community Bible Study. This is a wonderful program where the mother and child study the same text side by side during the week, and then participate in small group discussions about the week's lesson on Friday morning. Boo loves it so much that she cried when she had to miss one because of a sick sister.

Boo will be back to Singapore Math this year, having taken a slight detour last year. She was never challenged with that program and I'm honestly not sure that she is as ready for 3A as I'd hoped. I'm steeling myself for more than one whiny math morning. She did the first four books of Life of Fred this summer and loved them, so finishing off the set of ten is my fall back plan.

The spelling program for Boo is taken from her home education program's reading resources. Sequential Spelling became too frustrating for her and she would cry when I pulled out the book. I finally ditched that plan and decided to use the spelling program that her "mentor teacher" had provided at the start is the school year. She loved it and we are sticking with it for this year. Boo reads aloud a story from the basal reader on Monday, does the worksheets for the corresponding spelling list on Tuesday and Wednesday, and tests on Thursday. I think it's the story on Monday that hooked her, and I'm happy that she enjoys spelling so it is one more curriculum change that I will happily make. :-)

The rest of her curriculum is complied from Evan Moor's Daily Series. She will be doing Daily Language Review, Daily Reading Comprehension, Daily 6 Trait Writing, Daily Geography, and Daily Science. I like these books because they are strait forward enough for the girls to do them independently, and yet comprehensive and the girls really learn the skills they need.

Boo loves to play basketball, and we are looking forward to the coming Upward basketball season when her dad will coach her team for the second year in a row.  She will also take swim lessons through the Y as she felt that she was becoming a strong swimmer during the summer and wanted to keep going.  And then there are the Spanish, art, and science classes that she will take through our local home education program. Oh, and she has requested that she begin violin lessons through a program that is geared toward homeschoolers.  They take lessons during the day (a bonus because "after school" stuff fills up fast) and there are concerts twice a year where the entire group comes together to play as a "full orchestra."  That should keep her busy enough.  :o)

See what a strong swimmer she is?  :o)

As I mentioned in last year's curriculum post, Boo keeps me guessing. I think that I have a way to make Sonlight work for us, and 6 Trait Writing has brought out the writer in my daughter so language arts seems to be well in hand. Math is still a question mark, and we will see if Boo can build the perseverance she will need to complete the assignments.  It should be an interesting year.  :o)

 

I'm linking up with Kris at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers for her annual Curriculum Wrap-Up.  I have also linked up with the Not Back to School Blog Hop.  So many curriculum choices, so little time...  :o)

 

Bug's 5th Grade Curriculum

I'm so excited to be starting a new school year!  There is something about new workbooks, filled in lesson plans, and freshly sharpened pencils that shouts purpose, plan, and order to me.  After these past two chaotic months, with every day different from the last and so many people and activities coming and going, I'm craving order and a schedule.  My girls...  Well, not so much.  But they have had "the summer of fun" so they don't have anything to complain about.

Bug's curriculum has me the most excited, to tell the truth.  She will be embarking on Sonlight's Eastern Hemisphere History.  Since my history education has been largely American and Western Hemisphere, I'm sure that I will learn much of the material right alongside her.  We can share in the joy of discovering new things, and marvel at events and places together.  I'm also looking forward to the personal growth that this study will bring, as there will be daily research assignments that she will be expected to complete on her own.  I know that she will need some hand holding at the start, but I trust that she will become competent with using internet research tools, as well as library systems and indexes.  Quality research skills will be invaluable in practically any career she will go into and I'm thrilled that she will be developing them at an early age.  Sonlight will also cover reading, with read alouds and vocabulary work as well as great comprehension questions for the individual readers.

A very happy Bug doing her research.

Bug will be entering 5th grade and the state standard is to study US History through looking at individual state histories.  Since Sonlight clearly won't be touching on that, I'm looking to My Father's World Adventures workbook for the state history notebook pages.  Written for a second and third grade level they should be easy enough for her to complete on her own, one or two a week.  She will also participate in a US History Club through our local home education program.  My plan is for her to do Sonlight four days a week, and MFW on Fridays.

If you are wondering why I'm combining the two, here is the simple explanation:  We have chosen to participate in a home education program for the free classes and numerous field trips, seasonal parties, and choir.  It is a great program and I barely scratched the surface of all it has to offer last year.  The cost of the program is that I am required to meet state standards and I need to submit monthly reports of what learning took place along with samples of their work.  This is why Bug needs the state reports.  I could just use their history curriculum and call it a day, but I chose to homeschool in part to provide a richer education than the schools would provide.  For me that mean Christian values, literature based, great discussions, and learning above and beyond the state standards.  This is why I went with Sonlight.  Now, I suppose I could do Sonlight's condensed American history, but Bug did Cores 3 and 4 in second and third grade and will do their higher level American history in eighth grade (SL's schedule nicely joining with state standards that year.)  I don't want her education to be as one sided as mine, learning all about the West and barely touching upon the East.  So I'm going to stick with Sonlight's schedule and toss in really simple work and a fun club to meet the minimum state and program requirements.  Does that make sense to anyone, or am I crazy?

Bible will be done through Community Bible Study.  This is a terrific program that we have participated in for the last three years.  The older kids (2nd - 8th grade) study the same book as their mother, reading the same passages and memorizing the same verses.  Our group meets on Fridays.  I love the time to meet with other Christian women, and the girls enjoy their classes.  It is the highlight of our week and we turn down any classes, field trips, or activities that conflict with CBS.

The rest of her curriculum is pretty standard fare.  Singapore Math has been a great fit for Bug, and she rocks state testing year after year, so we are sticking with it.  She will be doing 5A&B.  I decided that for my own sanity it would be worth it to purchase the answer keys, but I will probably still do the reviews along side her as it becomes a fun competition and they don't seem so long.  Spelling is taken from the home education program's provided resource, Pearson's Reading Street.  Bug will read aloud a story from the basal reader on Monday, complete the worksheets for the correlating spelling list on Tuesday and Wednesday, and test on Thursday.  This plan worked so well last year that I'm keeping it in place.

Everything else is covered by Evan Moor's Daily books.  Bug will be doing Daily Language Review, Daily Reading Comprehension, Daily 6 Trait Writing, Daily Geography, and Daily Science.  I clearly like these books, and the reason is that they are simple in their format so she can work independently, and yet the content is solid and she is learning what she needs to know.  The writing book in particular has helped her become a very strong and confident writer by giving her a clear set of guidelines and tools to use to craft a solid essay.

Bug will also be taking Spanish, art, choir, and computers through the home education program.  She will continue to grow as a dancer, a true passion for her, and will pick up three more classes.  She will qualify for a locker at the studio.  :)  She wants to join the performance troupe, but I'm going to wait another year on that to let her maturity and skills develop a bit more, and to delay the hit my checking account and sanity will take when she does join.

I really feel at this point that I know what works and what doesn't work with Bug and I'm anticipating a great school year!  I have linked up with Kris at Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers for her her annual Curriculum Wrap-Up.  I have also linked up with the Not Back to School Blog Hop.  So many curriculum choices, so little time...  :o)