Back to Home School
We have finally settled on this years home school curriculum. There are many free resources and a ton of stuff out there but I need a bit more structure to help give me that push. I do plan on using many of the resources as well but I need to put my plan together and go from there. I have pulled together several different curriculum to ensure that we do not get bored, by using different styles I am hoping this will help. Each one covers different things that I myself like and the kids seem to as well. We are well up to state standards so I am not concerned with any of that. During our researching we found some great resources and books that we found very cheap. David and I are both very excited about these finds. I remember as a child the hours I spent looking through all of my mom’s books, she loves history and so she had some pretty great books to look through. She also had gotten me the complete Childrens Encyclopedia set that was another thing that I looked through all the time and when I learned to read, I read them all the time.
We found books through National Geographic that are awesome!
Now that I have all of this curriculum I have to put it all together for the year and make individual plans for each child. I really enjoy doing that but I do get overwhelmed when I start to put it all on paper. I don’t get overwhelmed by the work, I get overwhelmed by the not knowing if the kids are going to get it. If they don’t then what? It actually seems a ridiculous question because all of the kids are up to their grade level and above, when I did their assessments that proved that to me but for some reason I have these thoughts that they will lose it or something. I don’t know what it is really, I just get concerned that I am not teaching my kids the best and the truth is right now it is the best for them to learn from home. I am more than willing to let them go to school if we find good ones, but where we currently live it is not an option. I know I can do better and the kids are thriving, I just have a little doubt once in a while.
Now on to the curriculum.
Last year we used Sonlight and I really liked that as a core and we decided to get that again. I like how they use literature rich teaching and the Kindergarten core is focused on history. It uses time-lines and maps to connect the countries and adds different cultures. I respect this Christian curriculum because it does not make a focus on evangelizing, they incorporate multicultural ideas, their religions, children stories from the different cultures and moral tales. It is very important for children to know that there are other faiths and cultures out there, especially children on the spectrum, even adults. I have had this really click for me in the last few years through reading to the kids and stepping out to learn about different faiths or even no faith at all. We want our children to understand this and respect others, you cannot care for a person if you automatically believe that they are wrong or that you have to convince them of your beliefs. That can actually apply to a lot of things not just beliefs.
We really like Sonlight’s Science also because it is Science focused.
They have focused on critical thinking skills and implementing the Scientific Method. We like that they do not throw a scripture in there and say God did it all, that is all you need to know. They are really teaching Science for this age level. David being a scientist is a real stickler about it and of course we will be supplementing with more science activities, the kids really love doing experiments. Then we have the language arts and reading. They have some really great reads in there. A bunch of Dr. Suess, 1 2 3 Reads, My Father’s Dragon which I have been wanting for a very long time and many other books. Ariel is already reading at level 1 and she picked up one of my books the other night and started reading from there. Now she didn’t understand it all but that was a first step. Then we also got several Calvert curriculum items, reading books, math and intro to computer/skills. We also got several art and music items. Along with the social skills set I think we will be doing pretty well. I have more things I do for the social skills. You Tube has a ton of videos and autism sites have clips or free resources and I am using those as well. I am pretty excited about this year, I get so excited watching our kids learn and connect to their world.
It is even better when we all connect to this world at the same time and have a family “Aha” moment.
We had purchased the Pre-K and K Handwriting Without Tears this last year. It has worked well for the boys Ariel has been writing for two years and she has it down pretty well. Now she just practiced writing words a lot. The Calvert items include several Houghton Mifflin Reading books, Kindergarten and Grade 1, Computer skills and applications Kindergarten and Grade 1, McGraw Science Text Grade 1 and a Math manual. I am looking for their music curriculum set at a good price right now it’s a bit too steep. We found a lot of these items on Ebay and got really good deals. I like Calvert and Sonlight both very much. Where one is lacking the other seems to have, our plan is to combine them as much as possible to get a well-rounded education for the kids.
Some of our other finds.
Through Home school Buyers Co-op we are using Aha! Math and EasyTeach. The kids love them! These are used in the Calvert curriculum, but they are good on their own.
http://www.amazon.com/Science-Book-Everything-National-Geographic/dp/1426203373
http://www.amazon.com/National-Geographic-Visual-History-World/dp/0792236955/ref=pd_sim_b_2
http://www.amazon.com/Theories-Everything-Illustrated-History-Science/dp/0792239121/ref=pd_sim_b_4
Tags: curriculum, Home School
