This is our first year of homeschooling! YAY!
So…naturally, I'm all over the place with curriculum.
I'm not a boxed curriculum type, though I probably should take advantage of the ease of having someone plan all of my lessons for me. I really am striving to let Heavenly Father direct me this year, though. And He has told me there are two major things I need to accomplish with homeschool this year:
1) Give my children a solid foundation in the Gospel.
2) Repair my relationship with my oldest child
Those two points have guided my choices.
As far as homeschooling philosophy, I am very attracted to the Classical method. I like the focus on literature, the repetition, the logical manner of presenting ideas to children based on what stage they are in in their development. But…in full disclosure, I can't do a single thing in my life without putting my own stamp on it, so to speak. So I'm going to label myself as an Eclectic Classical homeschooler. This year at least!
My children are going to be in 1st Grade, Kindergarten, and early Tot-School. Some of the curriculum I will be using for my 1st Grader I will also be using for my Kindergartener, just at a slower pace.
First Grade
Religion: Mommy made! We'll be doing some scripture memorization during Circle Time, and working through the Scripture Stories, starting with the Book of Mormon. I'm obviously relying heavily on Heavenly Father in this area. I'll go where the inspiration leads me.
Math: Basic Arithmetic 1, by Rod and Staff. They are a Mennonite publisher, and so their curriculum is Christian focussed, which I am A.O.K with! I went through the teachers manual when we received our books, and I'm pretty in love with it right now! It's meant to be used in a classroom setting, but I have found that the activities they suggest could easily be done with one child, so I likely will do the activities in the way they suggest.
Writing: Handwriting Without Tears, Grade 1. This was highly recommended by a friend from church who has home schooled for several years. She has also expressed an interest in learning cursive, so we'll be starting with Cursive 1, from Memoria Press. We'll also be doing narration exercises.
Reading: Story Time Treasures and More Story Time Treasures, by Memoria Press. I love Memoria Press…if I was going to use a boxed curriculum it would be theirs. We'll also be reading a lot for history and just for fun, and making some lap books. We're also using McGuffey Readers for fluency practice.
Phonics/Grammer: We'll be using both Spelling Workout and First Language Lessons, recommended by The Well Trained Mind. I will also be using The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading, to buff up her phonics base.
History: We're going to use the historical American Girl Doll books as our spine, and kind of attack history in unit studies. I wanted to cover American History this year, and I really felt that history needed to be something fun and full of projects while we 'ease' into homeschooling this year.
Art and Music: Confessions of a Homeschooler has some really great curriculum she has put together, and this year we are going to use her World's Greatist Artists Vol.1, and World's Greatest Composers Vol.1. The oldest will also be taking piano lessons through Hoffman Academy.
Science: We have a group of homeschooling families in our ward, and our plan right now is to meet with them once a week to work on science. I have also looked into using the Magic School Bus books and TV show as a spine for a gentle science study.
Kindergarten
I used middle's rejected IEP as a rough outline for where I should be starting with him this year. You have no idea how nervous I am to tackle the challenge of homeschooling a child with autism! But I know it's what Heavenly Father wants, so I have faith that he will direct me in the best ways to accomplish this task.
Religion: He'll be doing the same things as the oldest when it comes to religious studies. This will probably be the only subject that we homeschool together as a group.
Math: He will also be using Basic Arithmetic 1, by Rod and Staff. This curriculum is surprisingly multi sensory, and relies heavily on repetition and drill, which is exactly what middle needs. I plan on slowing the lessons down to just two new lessons a week, to provide even more repetition, however I am prepared to go a little faster if he proves to thrive in this curriculum.
Writing: He will also be using Handwriting Without Tears, Kindergarten. This is also a multi sensory handwriting program. Rod and Staff covers writing numbers in the first few lessons of their program, so I am torn on whether to follow HWT or Rod and Staff when it comes to forming numbers, because they are different. I am leaning towards using the HWT method, to remain consistent across all handwriting platforms.
Reading: Middle will be learning to read this year, and we will go as fast as he can handle. I will be using The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading, as well as the BOB Books, and Dolch Sight Words lists to supplement.
Art/Fine Motor: Middle will participate in any art projects that he takes an interest in that his sister is doing, as well as occasionally work on the Cutting Workbooks from Memoria Press. I may also use some of the Kumon workbooks with him as well.
Middle also receives speech, behavioral, and occupational therapy with keeps him VERY busy.
Tot School
Baby is going to be 17 months when we officially start school at the end of August, so there really is nothing formal I plan to do with her except to give her fun things to play with while I work with the older two. I do plan on trying to get her to used tot trays, as demonstrated by Carrisa at 1+1+1=1.
So that's it! Crazy…seems like a lot when I write it all down like this, ha ha! I'm more put together than I thought!
History: We're going to use the historical American Girl Doll books as our spine, and kind of attack history in unit studies. I wanted to cover American History this year, and I really felt that history needed to be something fun and full of projects while we 'ease' into homeschooling this year.
Art and Music: Confessions of a Homeschooler has some really great curriculum she has put together, and this year we are going to use her World's Greatist Artists Vol.1, and World's Greatest Composers Vol.1. The oldest will also be taking piano lessons through Hoffman Academy.
Science: We have a group of homeschooling families in our ward, and our plan right now is to meet with them once a week to work on science. I have also looked into using the Magic School Bus books and TV show as a spine for a gentle science study.
Kindergarten
I used middle's rejected IEP as a rough outline for where I should be starting with him this year. You have no idea how nervous I am to tackle the challenge of homeschooling a child with autism! But I know it's what Heavenly Father wants, so I have faith that he will direct me in the best ways to accomplish this task.
Religion: He'll be doing the same things as the oldest when it comes to religious studies. This will probably be the only subject that we homeschool together as a group.
Math: He will also be using Basic Arithmetic 1, by Rod and Staff. This curriculum is surprisingly multi sensory, and relies heavily on repetition and drill, which is exactly what middle needs. I plan on slowing the lessons down to just two new lessons a week, to provide even more repetition, however I am prepared to go a little faster if he proves to thrive in this curriculum.
Writing: He will also be using Handwriting Without Tears, Kindergarten. This is also a multi sensory handwriting program. Rod and Staff covers writing numbers in the first few lessons of their program, so I am torn on whether to follow HWT or Rod and Staff when it comes to forming numbers, because they are different. I am leaning towards using the HWT method, to remain consistent across all handwriting platforms.
Reading: Middle will be learning to read this year, and we will go as fast as he can handle. I will be using The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading, as well as the BOB Books, and Dolch Sight Words lists to supplement.
Art/Fine Motor: Middle will participate in any art projects that he takes an interest in that his sister is doing, as well as occasionally work on the Cutting Workbooks from Memoria Press. I may also use some of the Kumon workbooks with him as well.
Middle also receives speech, behavioral, and occupational therapy with keeps him VERY busy.
Tot School
Baby is going to be 17 months when we officially start school at the end of August, so there really is nothing formal I plan to do with her except to give her fun things to play with while I work with the older two. I do plan on trying to get her to used tot trays, as demonstrated by Carrisa at 1+1+1=1.
So that's it! Crazy…seems like a lot when I write it all down like this, ha ha! I'm more put together than I thought!
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