home sweet homeschool: our curriculum

Last week, I talked all about our decision to homeschool our oldest two kiddos.  If you missed it, you can read all about it here.  Today, I thought I would talk a bit about the curriculum that we are using.  Choosing our curriculum for the year was incredibly intimidating and overwhelming for me.  There is so much out there to choose from!  I found it very helpful to read about what others were doing and what was working for them, and so I want to share what has worked, and not worked, for our family!

Caleb is in third grade and Makayla is in kindergarten.  While we do have two completely different sets of curriculum for each of them, we ended up doing so much of it together.  I am keeping this in mind as I plan for next year!  Obviously, my expectations for each of them were different based on their ages and abilities.  But overall, it worked well for us and we are happy with how our first year has gone.

We chose to use curriculum sets from My Father's World.  It is a wonderful combination of classical education, Charlotte Mason, and unit studies - all with a biblical approach.  While the sets for each grade level include a lot, we did supplement some things as well.

These subjects are done mostly together:

Bible

My Father's World God's Creation from A-Z - Focus on how God created the world and everything in it; Character development.  (Caleb does not do some of the crafts and things that are geared for younger students, unless he wants to.)

My Father's World Adventures - Focus on the character of Jesus, the names of Jesus, etc.

Scripture Memory - We've been using the Charlotte Mason method to memorize scripture, and I think it is such a great way to get the review in each day.

Hymn Study - We've not done anything formal here.  I simply made a list at the beginning of the year of some hymns that I wanted us to learn.  We will talk about the words and their meaning, a bit of the history, and we listen to different versions of it each morning (mainly using Spotify).  We spend about 2-3 weeks on each one.

History

My Father's World Adventures - Covers the history of the United States, as well as a "trip" through the 50 states.  Includes an extensive read-aloud book list, and many hands-on activities.

Science

My Father's World Adventures - General Science studies through various books: First Encyclopedia of Science; Science in the Kitchen; Science with Air; Birds, Nests, and Eggs

Nature Journals

Literature

Read Alouds - We have had so much more time for reading!  We have read so many chapter books together, many of which go along with the historical time period that we are studying.  We usually read a few chapters before bed each night.  I will do a separate post on some of the books that we've been enjoying soon!

Book Basket - Every week I fill up a basket with different books (mostly from the library) that go along with whatever we are studying at the time.  So, books might be about animals, historical figures, the United States, and so on.  The kids spend about 20-30 minutes each day looking through these on their own, and I am sure to read some of them aloud before we turn them back in.  Since these change out each week, this stays fun for them and doesn't get boring.

Quiet Time - We also try to do about 30 minutes of quiet time each day where they can read books of their choosing - although it's still approved by me!  We've been trying to find audio books from the library that have paper copies as well so that they can look and listen at the same time.

Music

My Father's World Adventures - Includes Patriotic songs, and a Tchaikovsky unit focusing on the Nutcracker and Swan Lake.

Classical - Many songs and composers are listed throughout the MFW curriculum.  We just try to listen throughout the day to familiarize ourselves with them as much as possible. 

Hoffman Academy - Free piano lessons online

Art

I Can Do All Things - Included with the MFW Adventures curriculum.  Very basic and simple art instruction.  Honestly, we've not really enjoyed this, so we are doing it very sporadically at this point.

Art for Kids Hub - We just started this a few weeks ago, and the kids are loving it!

These subjects are taught separately:

Language Arts

Third Grade

Language Lessons for Today - Grammar and Language; Charlotte Mason style; A very gentle approach that we have enjoyed.

All About Spelling - This is a wonderful program!  Solid teaching of letter sounds, letter combinations, spelling rules, etc.

Handwriting Without Tears - Cursive

Kindergarten

My Father's World God's Creation from A-Z - This has everything needed for spelling, reading, handwriting, etc.

Handwriting Without Tears - Letters and Numbers for Me - This was definitely not a necessary addition, but it has been nice for extra practice.

Math

Third Grade

Horizons - Very thorough math taught using the spiral method.  While I think it's a great curriculum, it does not seem to be a good fit for Caleb, so I am exploring other options for next year.

Kindergarten

My Father's World God's Creation from A-Z - Simple introduction to math is included.  We have purchased many workbooks from Dollar Tree or Target for her to work through as well.  (Some of these workbooks seem to use the common core method, which I am not personally fond of, but for the kindergarten level they are usually fine.)

Ok, I think that's everything!  If anyone is still reading, I am super impressed!  :)

Keep in mind, we are still new to this and we have a lot to learn.  I am by no means an expert!  But I do think that we have had a fairly successful year thus far, and I hope that this is helpful to someone.  If you have any questions, let me know!

we homeschool now

This year, we made the decision to homeschool our kiddos.  Caleb had been attending our local public school until now, and honestly, we loved the school and had a really good experience.  He had some wonderful teachers while he was there, and we will be forever grateful for them!  Our decision was not due to anything negative at all, but there were quite a few factors that played a part.

- Caleb was doing well academically, but some things were becoming more of a challenge for him.  Math and reading comprehension were two areas that were a bit concerning for us.  We wanted to be able to work with him directly and really tailor his education according to his needs.  We also had some concerns with the way in which some things were being taught.  We felt that a lot of things were being made more complicated and confusing - unnecessarily so.

- Some days, there was a lot of homework.  While I understand the need for homework at times, there were so many days when Caleb would get home from school, have a quick snack, do homework, have dinner, get ready for bed, and go to sleep.  He would get so upset about having homework and how long it took, and he would then be grumpy about everything else that night.  And quite honestly, I couldn't blame him!  He wanted, and needed, time to play, and we wanted that for him.

- We started to feel more and more convicted about sending him to spend a majority of his day in a place where God isn't really spoken of.  I could say so much more about this and our thoughts on it, but the bottom line is - we love Jesus, and our greatest hope and prayer for our children is that they know and love Him too.  Caleb is now able to learn about science from a biblical viewpoint, or talk about historical events and consider how they were orchestrated by God.  We are able to begin each school day with a prayer, or have a spontaneous prayer if we need to regroup and adjust attitudes, end sibling squabbles, or if we simply just want to!

- We want more time.  Caleb is coming up on nine years old and Makayla is six.  We know that Ashlynn will be running alongside them before we know it.  Time is fleeting, y'all, and I don't ever want to look back and feel like we rushed through these days.  Don't get me wrong - homeschooling is a lot of work, and in a lot of ways it added so much more to my to-do list.  But I feel like the biggest difference now is the quality of our time, not just the quantity.  Our days typically feel less rushed and less busy, and we have been very selective in what things we commit to that will take up our time or pull us away from home.

There are a million other reasons that we made the decision to homeschool, but these are the main ones for us.  We just celebrated our 100th day of school, and I can absolutely say that I think that we've made the right decision for our family.  I know that homeschooling is not for everyone, and that's ok!  I know that our reasons may not resonate or apply to some families at all, and that's ok too!  I do know that this is where our family is today.  This is what we feel God has called us to, and we are thankful for this homeschooling journey that we're on.  We are taking it day by day, year by year, and doing our best to cherish each and every moment!

second grade

We are one week into second grade now, and Caleb is totally rocking it!  On his first day, he walked right into his new classroom, found his desk, sat down and got right to work!  After I talked with his teacher (who we love, by the way!) I went over to give him a hug and tell him it was time for me to go.  He looked up at me and said, "Bye mom.  I love you."  And that was it.  He was completely ready and totally confident in himself, and he wasn't nervous or anxious at all.  As a mama, there's nothing more I could ask for!

I walked back to the car hand in hand with my girl (who thank God doesn't leave me start school for another year) and I thought back on how far our boy has come.  We haven't always known what path to take with him, and there have been a lot of steps to take and decisions to make, both in and out of school, that we have been unsure of.  But our God is so faithful, and He has seen us through every step of the way.

I am so very thankful for our sweet boy, and I am so excited to see what he is able to accomplish in second grade!

|first day of first grade is here|  |first day of kindergarten is here|

|printable sign found here|

#tbt stories - school days

Talking about Caleb's school year had me thinking back to past school days.  This picture is from May of 2012.  It was the last day of his first pre-k year.  This was a tough year for him, but he had an incredible teacher who holds such a special place in my heart.  She ended up being his teacher for just over two years, and I know that he is where he is today in large part because of her.

It's so easy when you're caught up in all of the day-to-day happenings to forget where it is you actually started.  But when I look at this picture, it really does all come back to me, and I realize all over again just how far our boy has come.

first grade wrap-up

I know I'm a little behind on this, but I just have to take a minute and talk about our sweet boy.  He totally rocked his first grade year and we could not be more proud of him!  All of the choices and decisions that go along with school have not always been easy on this mama's heart.  We haven't always been quite sure what to expect from our boy - he has changed so much and has kept us all on our toes!  We've often found ourselves hoping for the best while still preparing for all sorts of different scenarios.  But he has continually surprised and amazed us with how far he has come and what he is able to do!

He is now officially a second grader, and we have less than a month of summer left until he goes back to school.  I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't nervous about this next school year.  A new classroom, a new teacher, all of the changes and expectations - it all definitely makes me anxious for him.  But he has shown us again and again that he can and will rise up to the challenge, that he is capable of more than we could have ever hoped for, and that he is confident in himself and his abilities.

I'm so thankful that God entrusted this sweet boy to us.  I see the work that God is doing in him, and it is a daily reminder of what a good and gracious God we have.

school's in session

Caleb started school last week, so we took our traditional first day of school pictures.  He was not feeling it, but he humored me long enough to at least get a few decent ones.  I've loved seeing all of these pictures pop up on friends' instagram and facebook feeds all week - it's just so sweet to see all of these excited kiddos!

He has had a great first week of first grade, and we are so excited for him and for this next year.  He definitely feels like a big boy, and he is reminding us of it every day!

| last year's first day of school pics here |  | sign found here |

#tbt.....first day of school

Well, our summer break is officially over.  Our little man started first grade yesterday.

Ummmm, seriously?!!!  

We took his first day of school pics yesterday afternoon, which made me want to go back and look at his very first pics just three short years ago.

And now I want to go snuggle my babies and ask them, yet again, to please stop growing so fast.

school is out

School's been out for a few weeks now, and we are really enjoying the summer so far.  May was one heck of a busy month - I guess when you have a school-aged kiddo that it just goes with the territory!  We made it through a field trip to the zoo, Muffins with Mom, Doughnuts with Dad, Field Day, and Awards Day.  Caleb got the Spunky Spirit Award.  No surprise there!  Our boy is most definitely spunky!  He also got a third place ribbon for his artwork, which he was super excited about.

I mentioned way back here about how nervous we were about kindergarten for our boy and what a big decision it was for us.  We knew he would likely be fine academically, but we were concerned about some social aspects and maturity issues.  We debated a lot about doing another year of pre-k or moving ahead to kindergarten, but kindergarten ultimately won out.  Well, Caleb absolutely rocked this year! We are so proud of our boy and so thankful for the work that God is doing in him.  It has been pretty remarkable to see his progress and how much he has changed and grown.  

Next up.....first grade!

kindergarten

My baby started kindergarten.

Even though it's been 4 weeks now, it still hurts my heart a little when I think about it. He was so excited his first day, and I did a really great job of pretending to be! But driving away from school that morning, it really hit me - KINDERGARTEN! How are we here already? Time is going way too fast, and my heart just isn't quite keeping up with it!

His going into kindergarten this year was a really big decision for us. There were many meetings, much discussion, and a whole lot of prayer to get us all here. He has done really well so far. There have been a few rough moments, but overall he has transitioned incredibly well. This guy is continually surprising and amazing us in so many ways. We are so proud of him and are looking forward to what this year has in store for him.

| printable sign here |

| printable questionnaire here |