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

http://www.amazon.com/National-Geographic-Essential-History-Mythology/dp/B003V1WE3G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1281451890&sr=8-1

I have had meltdowns this week just as much as the kids.

A schedule is very hard for me to create on my own but I know that I desperately need one for my sake and the kids sake. It just causes me so much stress and anxiety to think of a schedule but when I do make one then I get all anxious if I don’t follow it or if the kids cause me not to follow it. It totally ruins my day, my mood and my train of thought. I have to fight to get back into it. I will just keep pressing on because I know it is the best for everyone.

I will focus on the positive. (try)

This week I have found out how much my kids do already know it has been great. Ariel and Joshua are really into it until about the afternoon then they are ready to stop. Daniel traced shapes, letters, and colored inside the lines for me in a picture. HUGE!! I haven’t been able to get him to touch any kid of writing instrument for months and here in this week he has made amazing progress. All of them have done amazing with their writing skills and reading comprehension.

I am looking forward to this year.

We like to have a lot of variety in our curriculum so we chose SonLight which incorporates a large diversity of reading material. They are also a great guide, not to be used as the only thing for your homeschooling. They encourage parents to be involved and be creative. I really like the fact that their goal is to help equip the children to be learners not indoctrinate them  with theology. I want my children to learn to think for themselves and love diversity.

I love the article they wrote entitled “27 Reasons Not To Buy from Sonlight” http://www.sonlight.com/not-to-buy.html

We are using many other supplements along with Sonlight curriculum for math, art, and music. There are many free things out there and many things not so free. We haven’t coined one particular thing. We are trying different things to see what kind of learner each of our children are.

Here are some books that have been great helps.

http://www.amazon.com/Homeschooling-Child-Asperger-Syndrome-Pyles/dp/1843107619

http://www.amazon.com/Autism-Life-Skills-Communication-AbilitiesEvery/dp/B001UE7DF0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252087419&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Literacy-Centers-Photographs-Step-Step/dp/0545007984/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252087475&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Organized-Teacher-Hands-Terrific-Classroom/dp/0071457070/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252087519&sr=1-3

http://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Effective-Classroom-Routines-Deborah/dp/0439513804/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252087519&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Other-Doing-While-Teach-Groups/dp/1574712934/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1252087676&sr=1-1

http://www.kumonbooks.com/home/index.aspx

Here is a link about the Kumon method. http://www.kumon.com/about/default.asp?language=USA

We do not go to a center but we do use the workbooks and think they are great.

We use Learning Games manuals The ABECEDARIAN Curriculum. They do better at explaining then myself, here is their link. http://www.mindnurture.com/

There are excellent workbooks that I find at Target all the time for a $1.00 or $2.00. The kids love to work on them in their free time they call it coloring. They do color too.

Well that is a pretty hardy list but mix and matching helps me and them not get bored.