This year the majority of our learning will be as a family, with a couple of subjects done separately by age. I hope to gear most of this to Izze's age and level, bringing in Jesse when and where we can.
Geography: We will be starting the year with Evan Moor's "Beginning Geography" and moving back in to "Road Trip USA" when we finish. My father in law is a former geography and history teacher so he helped guide us to this decision.
History: I am really excited about starting "Story of the World". We will NOT be finishing it this school year, but should get through a good portion of it.
Science: We completed Apologia Botany last year and are beginning Apologia Astronomy this year. I really wanted to do astronomy following botany. Botany raised SO many questions in my daughter about God and his attention to detail, and I can't WAIT to show her the expanse of His creation! My dad will actually be teaching the kids, I will be doing the projects and worksheets.
U.S. History: this isn't something that is typically required at their age, but we came across this book (Have FUN with the Presidents) and LOVE LOVE LOVED it, so the kids will be studying the presidents once a week as we have the time.
Spanish: This is what I'm most excited for. Spanish is a language near and dear to my heart, and my husband will be going through Rosetta Stone's Homeschool Spanish in the evenings starting with our daughter. At one point in our lives, my husband and I were both fluent in Spanish, and now we are both only able to translate. I am hoping that this helps us get back on track ourselves. Every year my parents gift us with a curriculum purchase, and this was their gift to us this year.
Unit Studies: Our homeschooling methods have always revolved around our unit studies. This year will be the same. A lot of "Five in a Row" and some "Prairie Primer" with a few other selections tied in.
Even though this seems like a "heavy load", most of the curriculum choices listed above will be used 1-2 times per week MAYBE. I believe in introducing my kids to learning new ideas, but not forcing them to retain information at their ages. It's all about learning to love learning. The majority of what we are using now in a lighter form will be revisited again in a few years. The only subject that we plan to do every day this year will be our unit studies, and that will be our "core" curriculum all around. If we do nothing other than reading and talking, I am one happy teacher mom!
They will also each play a sport (football and soccer), raise an animal for 4H, take horse lessons, and continue to be involved in a local bible study for homeschoolers. My husband and I are very blessed by many family members who love to pour into our children's educations! Besides my father teaching science, my sister-in-law is teaching sewing, and my mom is helping with their 4H projects.
Stay tuned for my next homeschooling post about their individual studies!
No comments:
Post a Comment