I'm back, finally. I know I keep saying I'm going to get better about posting, but I think we all realize by now that consistency is not my forte. I will finish up the second part of my post about what curriculum I'm using next year, but first....
I went to my very first homeschool convention a couple of weeks ago. I didn't go to all the seminars, I just went to the curriculum fair part. I have never seen so much homeschool curriculum in one place in my entire life! It was slightly overwhelming at first, but I'm so glad I went! It was definitely worth the cost to get in. After leaving, I had totally made up my mind about all the curriculum I'm using next year, and purchased some of it! Yay! It was so helpful.
In my previous post, I was undecided on arithmetic. I have finally made the decision (and purchased) arithmetic for all three kiddos. Motormouth is starting Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra 2.0. I had been concerned, because I had heard quite a few people say that it was a little behind grade level. I got over that though, because I decided to get past the title on the book I ordered, and just order what level he tested at. You would think, after being at this for 6 years, that I would have gotten over the public school mindset of "grade level". I think I'm finally there! When looking at the table of contents for the level 7, there were no concepts introduced that he wasn't familiar with until 3/4 of the way through the book. I spoke with a Sonlight curriculum advisor (If you haven't ever utilized one of their curriculum advisers, I highly recommend it. They are incredibly helpful, and super nice. I have nothing but great things to say about Sonlight's customer service.), and she told me that the first part of TT Pre-Algebra 2.0 is a review of TT level 7. Motormouth has already started using it, and is LOVING it. He no longer gripes every time I mention math. Saxon was great, and very thorough, but I'm just not all that good at teaching math, and TT basically teaches it for you. I had thought about making him wait to use it until the beginning of the next school year, but then decided it seemed crazy to make him finish out the year of Saxon if he wasn't getting what he needed to out of it. I figure if he finishes up early next year, we'll just spend the rest of the year reviewing the concepts to make sure he has a firm grasp of it before moving on!
The Tweebs are using Life of Fred. We're beginning with the first book, Apples, right now. After I returned home from the curriculum fair, I took a better look through the book. (I purchased it, and the 2nd book, Butterflies, at the fair.) It seemed to cover some concepts we have already discussed, so I decided to start it now, and then supplement it with our Abeka worksheets. The LOF books are only $16, so I figure I'll just buy them as I need them. I may switch them to TT in 3rd grade (which is the first grade level offered by TT), but for now I don't really want them using a computer curriculum. I can teach math at this level just fine, and I don't think they are really mature enough to work that independently yet.
For History, we are sticking with Mystery of History, because we LOVE it. Next year we will start Volume II: The Early Church and the Middle Ages. I love reading about the middle ages, and the kids do as well, so we're all excited to start that.
Lastly is Science. We love Apologia. We will continue in the Young Explorers series, with Zoology 1: Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day. This time I bought notebooking journals for all three kids. The Tweebs have really wanted one, and I think the Junior Notebooking Journal will be perfect for them next year.
I think that covers everything! I'm so happy to have it all decided on and purchased this early. It's one less thing to worry about now.
This is all I have time for tonight, because I have to do some lesson planning. (the one downside of no longer using "curriculum in a box"...ugh.)
Be back soon!
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