Thinking Curriculum

With us being snowed in I have had lots of time on my hands. What better time to start thinking about next year's curriculum?

Since this was our first year homeschooling, we have totalling winged it. What we have done has been very successful, but there are some changes I would like to make based on many factors.

Here is what I have tentatively planned for next year, so far:

Dawson ~ 9th Grade (next year)

Language Arts: Easy Grammer Ultimate Series 9
Science: Apologia Biology
Math: Life of Fred: Pre-Algebra with Economics and then Beginning Algebra
Social Studies: American History by using "America: The Story of Us" video series from The History Channel with Notebooking using Advanced History from Hold that Thought!
Literature: Every three weeks we will read a Living Book based on our history topic
Writing: IEW (Institute for Excellence in Writing) U.S. History-Based Writing Lessons Volume 1
Art: The Usborne Art Treasury ~ study one artist per month
Personal Reading: Student's choice
Typing: Good Typing (continuation of lessons from this year)
Spanish: LiveMocha (continuation of lessons from this year)

** Does anybody have any bad experiences with any of these curriculum choices? **

Brynne ~ 2nd Grade (next year)

Language Arts: Easy Grammar Daily Grammar Teaching and Review for 2nd Grade
Science: Interest-based (self built curriculum) starting with The Human Body and Health using primarily Living Books
Math: Math Mammoth Light Blue Grade 2
Social Studies: Following Dawson's curriculum with self-built lessons using primarily Living Books starting with Jamestown, Early Settlers and Boston Tea Party and with Notebooking using Beginning History from Hold that Thought!
Literature: Each week we will read several Living Books based on our history topic
Writing: IEW (Institute for Excellence in Writing) U.S. History-Based Writing Lessons Volume 1 and copywork with Copywork for Little Girls.
Art: The Usborne Art Treasury ~ study one artist per month
Personal Reading: Classic stories and student's choice
Nature: We will follow lessons from Barb at Handbook of Nature Study

And those are my preliminary plans for next year. I welcome any comments or recommendations. I am trying to stay as much on a Charlotte Mason path as possible, keeping in mind that my son needs to be prepared to re-enter public school at any time we might decide that it would be best for him to return. (I don't have any plans for that at this time, but I want to be prepared.)

CTC Math {Schoolhouse Review}

We found our groove with math this year. I found a curriculum that both of the kids respond well to and seem to enjoy (as much as one can enjoy math). We have spent the whole year learning the ins and outs of multiplication and were just a few lessons away from being ready to move onto the next year-long level on division. And then an opportunity to review the 12 Month Family Plan from CTC Math became available. To be honest, I wasn't very enthusiastic. I mean, why mess with the methods that have worked so well? When I was chosen to review the product I didn't go into it with the level of enthusiasm that it deserved. We have been using a dvd/workbook curriculum with great success. The 12 Month Family Plan from CTC Math is a web based curriculum. As we have not had a lot of luck with those types of programs, I went into this review with a negative attitude. And then my socks were knocked off by how great it is. In fact it is so great that we are going to continue to ...

Veritas Press Self-Paced History: Old Testament and Ancient Egypt (Schoolhouse Review)

For the past several weeks we have been reviewing Veritas Press Self-Paced History: Old Testament and Ancient Egypt and the Old Testament and Ancient Egypt Flashcards from Veritas Press . As we were entering into our more easy-going summer schedule, and had just concluded a two-year Old Testament Bible course, I was happy to try out this product as it appeared to be something that Eli and Brynne could do together, alone, and would act as a review of the Old Testament presented in a different way. And I was right. Each Veritas Press Self-Paced History program includes 160 lessons teaching about 32 events in history. They are designed for children in grades 2-6, and it is recommended that the student be a minimum of 7 years of age at the time of the first lesson. What We Received We received a full one-year subscription, for one child, to the online Veritas Press Self-Paced History: Old Testament and Ancient Egypt program and the accompanying Old Testament and Ancien...

Cells ~ It's What's for Dinner

Dawson made edible cells on Friday. He made an animal cell pizza ... and a plant cell chocolate chip cookie ... He reviewed what he's learned about cells the past two weeks, and I had dinner made by someone else. Win, win!! I am linking up at Science Sunday at Adventures in Mommydom.

closedFebruary 6, 2011 at 12:41 PM
I think your off to a great start! I have also been snowed in and making my order list for next year(: I would suggest for math, math U see, it has great reviews...if you want to check out reviews for anything you have or are thinking about you should check out homeschoolreviews.com its great and has been very helpful! Blessings!!!
StandinginhislightFebruary 6, 2011 at 1:02 PM
Fabulous choices; stay w/ what is working for you all.
For the younger years, Math-U-See or Abeka arithmetic are good choices.
Keep on keep o;, you, dear mama, are doing fantastic!
~Sheri
Aloha AcresFebruary 6, 2011 at 5:16 PM
You probably already have a plan, but we love the history living books / study guide from Beautiful Feet. (www.bfbooks.com). You can purchase the study guide and get the books from your local library. Brad and I have used it for two years in a row and it's been great.

I know, I know .... you asked about "math", not "history". I get side-tracked easily. :)

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