New Curriculum

After pouring over the Internet and many a homeschool forum I've decided what to do for next year....for the most part.

For math (which is really the only bundle curriculum that I am planning to get) Daniel and I think Math-U-See is perfect. He has struggled all year with Horizons Math. I have watched all of the video demos on the website. I think Deacon will like it and learn from it. Downfall is to get all of the manipulatives and the books it is $230 plus tax and shipping. He would be doing Gamma. This is a 100% going to get it for next year.

For science I plan to spend the year doing science experiments that Deacon will love and learn from. I also want to get him a real microscope (which he asked for at Christmas but we couldn't find) with an internal light. The ones with a mirror are just plain hard to see. I priced them online at around $120 plus tax and shipping.

For reading, literature, grammar, etc we are going to just get books he likes to read for pleasure like the Junie B. books and work out of those. I am considering getting Easy Grammar as well. I've heard nothing but good things about it.

For history I have heard from a lot of people that Story of the World is a great set...but man it's expensive! I found it on Amazon...going to try to see if I can't find it cheaper.

For foreign language we're going to get Rosetta Stone Latin American Spanish. It's also pricey, but I have heard so many good things about it as well. They also have a payment plan on their website for the homeschool edition, which is a great perk. Studies also show that learning a language at a young age is better than trying to learn it later in life. Deacon wants to learn Spanish, so that's why we're going to do Spanish.

We're also going to enroll him in guitar lessons at the local Strings N' Things. They aren't expensive and I think he'll love it. (I'd rather him learn piano, but I don't think he'd agree.)

If he still wants to, he will take Hip Hop dance class again next year. We will also be looking in to another Cub Scout Pack if he still shows interest.

Spelling and penmanship will not be done with a curriculum. We have not enjoyed the current curriculum we have been using. It has a lot of busy work and just skims over other important areas. So we end up spending more time using supplements than we do using the textbook. The idea behind it is great, but the way it carries it out is lacking. I have spent the last month looking for and researching curriculum and I hope that this is the right choice for Deacon. I have taken into consideration how Deacon likes to learn and play in all of it. This next year will be focusing on having fun while learning and loving to learn.

This year we are also going to start informally homeschooling Calen, who I am proud to say is pretty darn potty-trained now. I am hoping to teach Calen how to read this year, as well as counting, colors, shapes, etc. He knows a lot of his colors and some numbers, but not much past that. I'm also curious if that "Your Baby Can Read" thing really works like they say it does. I think I will wait until I find someone who I know has used it with success.

That's everything that I can think of to update you for now. Hope you're enjoying your Friday!

What's new

Yeah, I stink at coming up with subjects. Anyways, We've been doing things a lot more casually lately. We haven't even opened up the textbook in weeks. Instead we've been doing things our way which I really like because it means I am getting more comfortable with homeschooling and learning what works best for us. Deacon does a definition and sentence, spelling practice, journal and penmanship, math, and reading(which implements history and geography) everyday. We play games on some days, either memory games or other educational games, or something on the XBOX 360 like Lego Indiana Jones or Band Hero. He also likes to do his own thing, like hole himself up in his room with his TV and DS, but I guess that isn't too surprising considering we didn't have cable for a good two years. His brothers get on his nerves and I know he wants to yell "Get out of my room!", but he doesn't. He's usually a pretty patient brother. Since things aren't as hectic and we've gotten into a good routine I can't think of anything else to say and updates may come less often. See you next time!