Our curriculum choices for 2016-2017 Kindergarten

Here are my choices for Kindergarten curriculum.
OK, this is going to sound like a LOT, but I don't do everything everyday.  See below for weekly schedule.  Sorry that I'm so late in sharing this, but we have really enjoyed the curriculum we have used this year.  Let me know if you have any questions! Thanks!

Bible:
*Grapevine Bible Study- Old Testament Overview
*Character Concepts- Character Trails
*Morning Time- verses, poems, songs

Language Arts:
*Language Lessons for Little Ones Volume 1 (I love how this program is designed.  My son started here and is now on the 4th book in the series.)

*Reading
-All About Reading Level 1 (LOVE this program!)

-Reading the Alphabet- we do this off and on
-Reading Lesson- slowly working through this book
*Skills and Math- Rod and Staff Preschool books
*Handwriting- Handwriting Without Tears (I love this way of teaching handwriting!)

Math:
*Math Lessons for a Living Education Volume 1 (I used this with my son and we really liked it, but we have an older edition).

Extra:
*Give Your Child the World- reading books from different countries
*Nature Friend Magazine
*A Living History of Our World Volume 1

I also use Usborne books and I read aloud  A LOT (see ideas from Read Aloud Revival).

Electives:
*Piano- PiAnimals
*Awana
*Swimming co-op
*Kids Cook Real Food
*Homeschool co-op

Online:
Reading Bear- FREE

Each morning at breakfast I read from Nature Magazine, The Story of Inventions (Usborne Books) and we listen to Daily Audio Bible for Kids.  After breakfast we do a few chores and then we start Morning Time.  We spend 15 minutes quietly reading and looking at books.  Each child has their own box of books.  Then we have 15 minutes of moving and dancing.  After that we sit on the couch and read from a book recommended by Give Your Child the World (we are reading through books from a different continent each month).  We also are memorizing famous paintings with Usborne art cards and we read a page from the Usborne Encyclopedia.  Then we move to the coffee table and go through our Morning Time notebook with songs, poems and verses.  We then do our Grapevine Study (Stick figures through the Bible).  We have a little break and snack.  Then each child moves to their independent work.  My daughter usually finishes earlier than my son, so then I move on to her one on one work with me.  We do Handwriting Without Tears, All About Reading and some math skills.  Then she's off to play!  We do a few of the other things listed here and there.  It's been a fun year so far!

Our curriculum choices for 2016-2017 2nd Grade

These are the curriculum choices for 2nd grade.  See below for a weekly schedule.


Bible:
*Grapevine Bible Studies- Old Testament Overview
*Character Concepts- Character Trails
*Morning Time- verses, poems, songs



Language Arts:
*Language Lessons for the Very Young Volume 1
*All About Reading Level 3
*All About Spelling Level 2
*Handwriting- Printing with Pictures Book E
*Creative Writing- Here to Help Learning- Paragraph Writing Flight 1 (I love this approach to teaching creative writing!)  Here is my son's first story: click HERE to see video



Math:
*Math Mammoth for 2nd grade (My son has really done well with this curriculum)
*Xtra Math- He finished the addition section!
*Math Wrap ups


Science:
*Patterns of Nature- Rod and Staff 2nd grade
*Nature Friend Magazine

History:
*Which Way USA
*A Living History of Our World Volume 1
*Our Father's World - Rod and Staff 2nd grade
*Give Your Child the World- reading books from different countries

Electives:
*Piano- Hoffman Academy
*Awana
*Swimming co-op
*Kids Cook Real Food
*Homeschool Co-op

Online:
*Xtra Math


Weekly Schedule:

Monday-Wednesday
Morning Time (includes Bible)
Daily Learning Notebook- Clipboard with various independent work pages or books
One on one time with Mom for Reading, Spelling, Creative Writing, History

We also added gymnastics to our Spring PE program

Thursday
Swimming co-op in the Fall
Electives- Cooking, Piano

Friday
Homeschool co-op
Library day

As you can see we are very busy.  I would love to share more of what I do in my homeschool, but I'm so focused on my kids during my homeschool day and I do lots of cooking, cleaning, working out and I always feel like I can't keep up.  My husband also needs me to help in things he does around the home like the garden, canning and dehydrating.

If you want to keep up with what we are doing, you can follow my FACEBOOK page.  It's much easier for me to post a few pictures and share what we are doing rather than writing up a blog post.  So, please check out my page and see what we are doing.  I would love it!

I hope this has given you some ideas for what you can do in your homeschool.

I'm sorry this was shared so late in the year, but I hope it gives you some ideas for what you might like to use with your kids.  Let me know if you have any questions. 

(some affiliate links)

Curriculum Choices for Kindergarten and 3 Year old Preschool for 2014-2015

I am so excited to finally announce what I am using for this upcoming school year!  I have been perusing and researching material for over a year.  You would think that since I taught K, I would have it down, but being at home and knowing my son's level of learning, I don't.  In fact, I felt like I was flying on the seat of my pants all this year during PreK.  We had many ups and downs. Suffice to say, it was a great year, but I can see that homeschooling is going to be challenging with two very different children and the dynamics of sibling interaction.

I tried to design this coming year with a lot of things we can do together since my daughter is more able to sit and do things at the table as well as listen during our morning circle time.  I will be combining Bible, Science, History, Writing, Reading Aloud, Crafts, Field Trips, Sign Language, Cooking and various other things.  Both kids will be in Awana and we also joined a Homeschool Co-op so I think we will be quite busy! 

So here is what I have chosen.

Kindergarten: For my son

Reading- BOB Books Set 3 and 4, The Reading Lesson, books from the Reading List for Kindergarten (Kirstin Joy Awake) and Hooked on Phonics for 1st Grade (we finished K).  We'll start working with BOB books and The Reading Lesson.



Language Arts- Language Lessons for Little Ones Volume 2

Math- Math Lessons for a Living Education Volume 1

Handwriting- Printing with Pictures A and B

Social Studies- Berenstain Bears Year Long Lessons
 
Geography- Usborne Children's Picture Atlas

Extra Work-
RRSK- from 1+1+1=1
Rod and Staff GHIJK series
Daily Learning Notebook from Confessions of a Homeschooler

Preschool 3's: For my daughter

Character Concepts for Preschoolers which includes Character Qualities, Bible Memory and Character Drill, Bible Doctrine, Personal Application, ABC's, Writing practice, Craft Projects, Preschool Projects, Field Trips, Recipes, Skills, Science/Nature and History for Preschoolers from the Boyers (at Character Concepts)



Together:
Bible- Jesus Storybook Bible and Crafts from Blessings Overflowing

Character Concepts Lessons- See above

Science- Magic School Bus Series and various topics of our choice


History for Preschoolers- Character Concepts (see above)

Writing- Nellie Edge (Kindergarten- Sing, Sign, Spell and Read) and Preschool/Kindergarten Writing from This Reading Mama and The Measured Mom




Cooking- Teaching Your Kids to Cook and Kids Cooking Activities



Read Alouds- We are reading The Boxcar Children, but I hope to add a few more in there.  Wow, I think if I had to get through a list that I found I would be reading all day every day. 


As always, this is probably way more than I can chew, but I do have a plan in mind that involves lots of cuddles on the couch, playing outside when weather permits, sharing what we learn with daddy and having a daily quiet time so we all take a break from each other. And most of these lessons are 10-15 min max so we have lots of breaks and stuff to do in between that will keep us from sitting still for any length of time (if that is at all possible...NOT!).



I am very excited to get started, but I'm glad I have the summer to plan.

Starting in the Fall, I hope to give quarterly updates.  I don't feel I can possibly share all that we do, but I do post some things on Facebook as often as I can even if I don't write a blog post.  Life is SO busy with little ones and mine have a lot of energy!

There are SO many options out there.  It was really hard for me to narrow it down.  But I feel that these resources will help me give my children a great start to their schooling.

And remember that each homeschooling family is unique.  What works for one family might not be for another family.  That is what I feel is the true beauty of homeschooling is to do what is right for your family!  Don't copy me, but if you find some good ideas from what I share, try them.

I'm pretty happy with what I picked for this year, but I'm constantly looking for what will work best for each of my kids.  They both learn differently, but I want to do as much as I can to work with their learning style.  Glad I'm down to 2 kids in my "classroom."  I can truly tailor the day and teaching to meet their exact needs.  Can't you tell I'm really looking forward to homeschooling?

Have a great day, Shonda