No more packing lunches! No more carpool! No more waking babies from naps to pick up kids from school! No more volunteering requests from school! We are homeschooling all the kids this year. I'm also homeschooling my niece that I watch during the day.
When we decided to keep Racer home this year, I was a little worried about his attitude and potential conflicts between him and I and between him and the other kids. He kind of likes to tease and he is in 6th grade where they start to become individuals and have things like opinions. I knew that it would be best for him to have independent work wherever possible and that we should try some online classes.
So here are our curriculum picks for the year.
Racer 6th grade:
Religion - For religion, we will all be studying the New Testament. Racer and Chicklette will be at a higher level of study. They will be doing Discover the Life of Christ and Discover the Acts of the Apostles.
Language Arts - BYU Online middle school 7th grade class, Rod and Staff Grammar - Following the Plan. If I think that they are not doing enough vocabulary work in the online class, I may add another resource also. DH felt that Racer's spelling still needs improvement so we decided to use All About Spelling 6.
Math - CTC Math online, Family Math: The Middle School Years. CTC Math is also online and was developed by an Australian father of 10. I bought a family membership so I can put all the kids on it if I want. Right now we are sticking with Math Mammoth for the other kids because I really like its format. Family Math: The Middle School Years is a great resource for understanding where algebra and algebraic reasoning fits in to real life. I'm planning on doing it with Racer on Fridays while Chicklette leads the younger kids through the younger edition of Family Math.
Latin - BYU Online Middle School Latin, part 1. I have high expectations for this and I really hope they will be fulfilled. I'm crossing my fingers big time on this.
Logic - The Art of Argument with the DVD. Yeah, I know. Why am I giving a middle schooler a book about how to argue? It's a very highly recommended book that covers informal logic. It goes through 28 different logical fallacies. I think the book looks to be written well and I think the DVD will help to expound on the different fallacies and provide an almost interactive experience since he is not doing it with a group. Racer and I will discuss various questions in the text and he will write out answers and definitions for other questions.
Science - Lest you think he is doing everything himself, we are doing science and history together with Chicklette and Turtle. We are continuing on with the Sassafras Twins and will be studying botany and earth science this year. The kids are all excited to be going along with Tracey and Blaine and learning more about science.
History - Story of the World 2. This is a great book for a kids overview of world history. The activity book has lots of activities to choose from and lots and lots of book suggestions to expand your learning. Racer will be doing more in-depth work here. He will be doing longer summaries and learning to outline information. He will also be required to make a Great Person page when we run across someone who should be remembered. We will also do all the mapwork associated with this subject.
Tech Class - My Tech High requires that we take a technology class through them as well. Racer chose to do the Google Ninja class and will be learning how to use Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs and other Google resources. I'm actually excited for this class too.
We are also continuing piano lessons and our co-op. I tell the kids they can be done with piano when they can play every song in the hymnbook. DH is considering giving Racer lessons on the trumpet to keep that up from last year.
Chicklette 4th Grade:
Religion - As noted, Chicklette is doing Discover the Life of Christ and Discover the Acts of the Apostles.
Language Arts - All About Spelling 4, First Language Lessons 4, All About Reading 4.
Math - Math Mammoth 4, Family Math on Fridays, Xtramath drill every day.
Latin - Prima Latina with the DVD. I really like this program and I'm hoping Chicklette and Turtle connect with it this year.
History - Story of the World 2. She will be doing shorter summaries that Racer and will not be starting outlining yet.
Science - Sassafras Twins Botany and Earth Science.
Tech class - Chicklette chose to do Snap Circuits for her tech class.
She is also continuing piano and co-op.
Turtle 2nd Grade:
Religion - Discover the New Testament
Language Arts - All About Spelling 2, All About Reading 2, First Language Lessons 2.
Math - Math Mammoth 2, Family Math on Fridays, Xtramath drill everyday.
Latin - Prima Latina with the DVD.
History - Story of the World 2 with narrations instead of written summaries.
Science - Sassafras Twins Botany and Earth Science.
Tech Class - Turtle is doing a Robotics class.
Also, piano and co-op.
Sunshine and Ladybug Kindergarten:
I shall have to think of a name for my niece for this blog. Okay, it is Ladybug. She and Sunshine are basically on the same level. She's having some trouble blending her sounds together to actually sound out words so I may have to do some one-on-one practice with her, but I'm hoping that she will pick it up as we keep practicing.
Religion - They will be doing a modified program of Discover the New Testament. They will be doing the questions orally and drawing pictures instead of writing. We all do our memorization together.
Language Arts - All About Reading 1 and pre-writing skills. We will eventually move to learning cursive writing but for now we just need to gain finger strength and dexterity and practice holding the pencils and crayons correctly. We will do cutting and tracing and lacing and finger-painting. Well, not so much finger-painting, but it sounded good. We will put paint in sealed bags and use those to practice writing. I'm also excited about using sand trays for writing practice. I've seen salt, sugar and cornmeal for those sensory trays too.
Math - Funnix Math. I think it is a great, gentle prep program for early math. It kind of sounds like clicker training sometimes, but it still is a good program in my opinion. If you watch, once a year they often offer the programs for free. I didn't really like their reading program, but I do like the math program. Even the three younger kids will sit and watch also.
Science - Intro to Science. I finally decided on Intro to Science for these two. It's a nice overview of all the scientific disciplines and the younger kids and join in also.
When we decided to keep Racer home this year, I was a little worried about his attitude and potential conflicts between him and I and between him and the other kids. He kind of likes to tease and he is in 6th grade where they start to become individuals and have things like opinions. I knew that it would be best for him to have independent work wherever possible and that we should try some online classes.
So here are our curriculum picks for the year.
Racer 6th grade:
Religion - For religion, we will all be studying the New Testament. Racer and Chicklette will be at a higher level of study. They will be doing Discover the Life of Christ and Discover the Acts of the Apostles.
Language Arts - BYU Online middle school 7th grade class, Rod and Staff Grammar - Following the Plan. If I think that they are not doing enough vocabulary work in the online class, I may add another resource also. DH felt that Racer's spelling still needs improvement so we decided to use All About Spelling 6.
Math - CTC Math online, Family Math: The Middle School Years. CTC Math is also online and was developed by an Australian father of 10. I bought a family membership so I can put all the kids on it if I want. Right now we are sticking with Math Mammoth for the other kids because I really like its format. Family Math: The Middle School Years is a great resource for understanding where algebra and algebraic reasoning fits in to real life. I'm planning on doing it with Racer on Fridays while Chicklette leads the younger kids through the younger edition of Family Math.
Latin - BYU Online Middle School Latin, part 1. I have high expectations for this and I really hope they will be fulfilled. I'm crossing my fingers big time on this.
Logic - The Art of Argument with the DVD. Yeah, I know. Why am I giving a middle schooler a book about how to argue? It's a very highly recommended book that covers informal logic. It goes through 28 different logical fallacies. I think the book looks to be written well and I think the DVD will help to expound on the different fallacies and provide an almost interactive experience since he is not doing it with a group. Racer and I will discuss various questions in the text and he will write out answers and definitions for other questions.
Science - Lest you think he is doing everything himself, we are doing science and history together with Chicklette and Turtle. We are continuing on with the Sassafras Twins and will be studying botany and earth science this year. The kids are all excited to be going along with Tracey and Blaine and learning more about science.
History - Story of the World 2. This is a great book for a kids overview of world history. The activity book has lots of activities to choose from and lots and lots of book suggestions to expand your learning. Racer will be doing more in-depth work here. He will be doing longer summaries and learning to outline information. He will also be required to make a Great Person page when we run across someone who should be remembered. We will also do all the mapwork associated with this subject.
Tech Class - My Tech High requires that we take a technology class through them as well. Racer chose to do the Google Ninja class and will be learning how to use Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs and other Google resources. I'm actually excited for this class too.
We are also continuing piano lessons and our co-op. I tell the kids they can be done with piano when they can play every song in the hymnbook. DH is considering giving Racer lessons on the trumpet to keep that up from last year.
Chicklette 4th Grade:
Religion - As noted, Chicklette is doing Discover the Life of Christ and Discover the Acts of the Apostles.
Language Arts - All About Spelling 4, First Language Lessons 4, All About Reading 4.
Math - Math Mammoth 4, Family Math on Fridays, Xtramath drill every day.
Latin - Prima Latina with the DVD. I really like this program and I'm hoping Chicklette and Turtle connect with it this year.
History - Story of the World 2. She will be doing shorter summaries that Racer and will not be starting outlining yet.
Science - Sassafras Twins Botany and Earth Science.
Tech class - Chicklette chose to do Snap Circuits for her tech class.
She is also continuing piano and co-op.
Turtle 2nd Grade:
Religion - Discover the New Testament
Language Arts - All About Spelling 2, All About Reading 2, First Language Lessons 2.
Math - Math Mammoth 2, Family Math on Fridays, Xtramath drill everyday.
Latin - Prima Latina with the DVD.
History - Story of the World 2 with narrations instead of written summaries.
Science - Sassafras Twins Botany and Earth Science.
Tech Class - Turtle is doing a Robotics class.
Also, piano and co-op.
Sunshine and Ladybug Kindergarten:
I shall have to think of a name for my niece for this blog. Okay, it is Ladybug. She and Sunshine are basically on the same level. She's having some trouble blending her sounds together to actually sound out words so I may have to do some one-on-one practice with her, but I'm hoping that she will pick it up as we keep practicing.
Religion - They will be doing a modified program of Discover the New Testament. They will be doing the questions orally and drawing pictures instead of writing. We all do our memorization together.
Language Arts - All About Reading 1 and pre-writing skills. We will eventually move to learning cursive writing but for now we just need to gain finger strength and dexterity and practice holding the pencils and crayons correctly. We will do cutting and tracing and lacing and finger-painting. Well, not so much finger-painting, but it sounded good. We will put paint in sealed bags and use those to practice writing. I'm also excited about using sand trays for writing practice. I've seen salt, sugar and cornmeal for those sensory trays too.
Math - Funnix Math. I think it is a great, gentle prep program for early math. It kind of sounds like clicker training sometimes, but it still is a good program in my opinion. If you watch, once a year they often offer the programs for free. I didn't really like their reading program, but I do like the math program. Even the three younger kids will sit and watch also.
Science - Intro to Science. I finally decided on Intro to Science for these two. It's a nice overview of all the scientific disciplines and the younger kids and join in also.