A new school year began yesterday! I’m so excited to begin a new year of learning and growing alongside my kids. I thought I’d share our curriculum choices for this year, because I’ve enjoyed other people’s posts along those lines (I’m a geek like that). I usually discover something I’ve never heard of before, and through such lists I actually came upon the science curriculum we’re using this year.
But first, my new desk area. My old desk was literally falling apart, so I got this very simple white desk from IKEA, kept the old green chair that went with the former desk, and spray painted a desktop organizer a glossy black. Tada! A lovely work area that is aesthetically pleasing–because after all–that’s pretty much the most important thing for me outside of storage.
And can I draw your attention to the most adorable book bunting? You can order it custom and mine is Pride and Prejudice. I ordered and gave Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre book bunting earlier this year to both of my sisters. It’s is such a fun and unique gift for the book enthusiast!
If you’re interested in any of the resources I will link to them below:
Desk: Linnmon/Adils from Ikea
Corkboard: Vaggis Noticeboards from Ikea
Mama print: Melissa Lyon West
Jane Austen print: PrintableDesignHouse on Etsy (similar)
Book Bunting: Rosealind Ashberrys on Etsy
Now onto more homeschooler-ish things.
Duncan and Owen are entering their 3rd grade year. So hard to believe! Here’s what we’ll be using this year:
Reading: We love the All About Reading resources and it has worked great for the boys. We started out trying to use The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading and after the first year it did not go well. I love how much more simply All About Reading is broken down and that it comes with its own readers! We will be finishing All About Reading Level 2.
Language Arts Loop (for more info on loop scheduling read this):
Spelling: For spelling we use the Spelling City website and I plug in words from their All About Reading lessons.
Grammar/Writing: We will be finishing First Language Lessons Level 2 and then I think we will be switching to English Lessons Through Literature. It is very similar to First Language Lessons in approach but is more integrated, a fact I love. It uses full-length books (instead of selections from literature) and also incorporates writing and spelling into the lessons. I will also be using this rather new program with Sophia in the future as well.
Penmanship: Zaner Bloser handwriting textbook for penmanship. Nothing fancy. It’s just penmanship and it works.
Math: We use Singapore Math and it’s been great for my kids, although I will be looking for something less “teacher intensive” once they are reading more fluently. Any suggestions?
History 2x weekly: We will be daily listening to the Classical Conversation audio CD and learning the history sentences and continue learning the timeline song. We also will be reading The Story of the World Vol. 1 along with a TON of library book reading. I will be incorporating geography and art study into history.
Science 2x weekly: My friend Nicole introduced me to Biology for the Grammar Stage from Elemental Science and I’m very excited to use it this year. Last year we were part of a Science co-op and this year we are not, so I’m excited to try something new. The kids will be learning about animals, plants, and the human body.
Sketchbooking: I’m going to be using sketchbooking as a way to incorporate writing, history, science, and drawing with the kids this year. Inspired by Kirsten Rickert (and since my kids love to draw) we will be using the Strathmore Kids Drawing Story Book to capture what we learn in short sentences, diagrams, and pictures. I love that it comes with space for drawing and is pre-lined for writing!
Physical Education: Soccer (fall) and PE once a week at our homeschool co-op.
Art: We will be studying art in the context of history and be sketchbooking but they also will have an applied art class each week at co-op.
Music: Co-op music class!
Sophia will be joining us as a Kindergartener this year and she’s is super enthusiastic about it! She will be tagging along for all of our studies as she has interest but for her we will be concentrating on reading, penmanship, and beginning math. She will be using All About Reading, Zaner Bloser handwriting, and Singapore math just like her brothers but at the Kindergarten level. She also will have a geography unit study, P.E., art, and music class at co-op every week.
I also thought I’d share some of the online resources and blogs I find inspiring as it pertains to homeschooling. Some of them I’ve talked about before and have interviewed their founders. Here’s some of my favorites!
Online Resources:
Wild & Free Conference, Bundles, and other resources (Interviewed founder Ainsley Arment here.)
Read-Aloud Revival podcast and membership site (Interviewed podcast founder and host Sarah Mackenzie here.)
Home | School | Life
Magazine, blog, or newsletter, this is a great resource!
Simple Homeschool
A practical site by various authors full of posts from the practical to the encouraging.
Blogs:
Mt. Hope Chronicles
I’ve been following this blog by Heidi Scovel for years, maybe even before I had children? I love her blog, especially her booklists! And she has three boys so I find her perspective valuable when it comes to resources for boys.
Ed Snapshots
A very practical blog which also has a podcast attached to it.
Cloistered Away
I love Bethany’s blog. I heard her speak about Intention at last year’s Wild + Free conference. She’s a writer, photographer, blogger, and homeschooler so I am inspired by her and our interests are similar.
Kirsten Rickert
Another inspirational mama who is a photographer and writer with heavy emphasis on the environment, I love subscribing to her blog and reading her thoughtful posts.
If you homeschool (or even if you don’t) what educational resources or sites do you love for your kids? That inspire you?
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