Every year I like to share our plans for the new school year, and some of the curriculum we have chosen. This year I have a 4th grader, 2nd grader, a preschooler and will have a newborn come November. One of the questions I get asked most when people find out we are welcoming a new baby is if we still plan to homeschool. The answer is yes!
We take homeschooling year by year- which means at the end of the year we assess how well it is working, if our kids are thriving, and if it still suits our family. What I like about homeschooling is that it doesn’t have to be an all or nothing, life long decision. At least not in my books. There are so many things I love about homeschooling- including the flexibility to our schedule, learning at my kids pace, creating a strong family focused atmosphere and instilling a strong world view that upholds our family values. We are heading into our 5th year, and while there are definitely tough days, as there are for every parent and kiddo, there is great joy!
I am excited to dive in as we have made some changes to our curriculum choices this year. Of course- I decided to change things up when I am expecting a baby… because why not? We started school a bit early this year- with a 10 week countdown to baby. I am hoping to get a jump start so we can take the month of November easy, and most of December too.
I’ll be sure to link up to our past years homeschool curriculum plans at the end of this post. There are still a few things I have not fully finalized- mainly in Science, as I am creating my own curriculum plan with gathered resources so far. Our greatest changes and school focus are in the area of Language Arts- so here we go!
Grade 2
Language Arts
- All About Reading Level 2
- All About Spelling Level 2
- Institute for Excellence in Writing “Bible Heroes”
- “Teaching the Classics” Novel Discussions/ Studies using the Socratic Method
Math
- Singapore Math 2A and 2B
Social Studies
- Mystery of History Vol.1
Science
- Exploring Chemistry and Physics (Apologia Series)
- JR Notebooking Journal
Health
- Horizons Health Grade 2
Bible
- Apologia Series with Jr Note Booking Journal
Grade 4
Language Arts
- Fix It Grammar (Robin Hood)
- Institute for Excellence in Writing “All Things Fun and Fascinating”
- All About Spelling Level 4
- “Teaching the Classics” Novel Discussions/ Studies using the Socratic Method
Math
- Singapore Math 4A and 4B
Social Studies
- Mystery of History Vol.1
- Canada Mapping
Science
- Exploring Chemistry and Physics (Apologia Series)
- Notebooking Journal
Health
- Horizons Health Grade 4
Bible
- Apologia Series with Jr Note Booking Journal
If you are familiar with AB homeschooling, then you understand “Aligned” “Blended” and “Traditional” homeschooling. After keeping my boys Aligned for the past three years, we have made a switch this year. I have decided to go blended- and teach them Science and Social Studies together. This means we don’t follow the specific learning outcomes and topics required by AB Ed for each particular grade. Last year AB Education made a lot of changes to their requirements for homeschoolers, and to be honest I found all the additional paperwork, reports and assessments to be too much added stress. It was so much to prepare Science and Social for both of my boys- not to mention turning in the 10 assessments per subject, per student required by AB Ed. So- we are easing that burden this year, and getting back to the joy of learning and exploring! Saying no to busy work is a good thing.
2 weeks into school, and I am happy to say that things have gone better than I could have hoped. It’s taken discipline to get up and get to work, but the kids enjoy a nice long recess every morning, and free time in the afternoon. It isn’t so bad 😉 They seem to thrive under the new routine. I didn’t include pre-school activities, because to be honest my youngest colors in her journal, plays, paints, or does some sort of sensory activity. I won’t be doing much with her that is planned, other than when she is really interested- because she is after all only 3! But she likes to take part and do her “school” too.
Some fun extras for my kiddos: lego, magna formers, snap circuits, k’nex, super mind magnets, play dough, mats, 4M science kits, and lace and trace. We have also restocked our prize box to include things like: pearler bead sets, suncatcher crafts, baseball cards, paint, bubblegum, cool pencils, smelly markers, glow sticks, fun erasers, stickers.
Past Curriculum Outlines:
- Grade 1+3 (2016/17)
- Kindergarten + Grade 2 (2015/16)
- Grade 1 (2014/15)
- Kindergarten (2013/14)
- Preschool (2012/13)
Our schedule is similar to years past- we start school between 9 and 9:30 5 days a week. We usually take a break right before lunch- the kids play and I make lunch. If we have anything to finish up we reconvene and work on that in the afternoon. We usually do one larger “science” day during the week, that includes a hands on activity, experiments etc. And then reinforce some of the concepts covered throughout the week. I am still waiting on a few of our curriculum items to arrive- so we will make any adjustments needed. I think I am going to break Science and Social Studies up vs. teaching both simultaneously. That seemed to work relatively well for everyone last year! We also include a lot of reading throughout the year, journaling, and unit studies in different areas of interest.
If you have any questions about what our day looks like, or any of our curriculum- feel free to fire away!
-Miss Ash
You will sure have your hands full. Sounds like you have things organized!