It’s that time of year already for our family! School starts back next week for us! We finish our school year in April and start back in July. This year, we’re starting a couple weeks earlier than normal because in September we’re going to be going to Alaska. So, we’re preparing early for our vacation. I’m so excited to start, now if I could just get my kids to be half as excited as I am. They do love school at home, but they don’t like the thought of their break being over.
The past few years, we’ve gone with Heart of Dakota. We loved it for a few years but after this past school year, my oldest asked if we could try something new. I’ll say this to new homeschoolers starting out their younger kids – Heart of Dakota is WONDERFUL for the younger ones. The idea of not having to do any lesson planning, and all your curriculum coming in one big bundle makes me so happy! However, my oldest was wanting more, so we made some changes this year.
Here is the homeschool curriculum we chose for this year. I’ll have a 3rd grader and Kindergartener.
Our Curriculum for 2014/2015 – 3rd Grade:
Math: Teaching Textbooks Math 3 . Why did we choose this for Math? Because my son loves working on the computer and really enjoys Math. Put the two together and you have a child who is asking constantly to do school work. It’s a glorious thing! He’s done a few lessons already and asks all the time if he can continue and do more. It’s that great!
History/Geography: LifePac from Alpha Omega. Why did we choose this for History/Geography? Because he loves to do work independently. I’ve heard wonderful things about LifePac and wanted to give it a shot. After talking with the Alpha Omega folks at Teach Them Diligently, I was hooked and thought he would enjoy this.
Bible: Apologia – Volume 1-4 of What We Believe Series. Why did we choose this for Bible? Because we love how Apologia teaches the essential beliefs of Christian faith. It doesn’t use a specific denomination or version of the Bible. It literally teaches the child to use the Bible as a lens through which to view the world around them.
Science: Apologia – Botany: Why did we choose this for Science? Again, because we love Apologia and what it teaches. Also because we want to teach our children about plants, gardening, what it takes to make a garden, etc. This fall we’ll be doing the book work and learning about seeds and different types of plants. In the Spring, we’ll begin our Garden. I’m really excited about this and really think they’ll love it too!
Spelling: A Reason for Spelling: Why did we choose this for Spelling? We have used it for 3 years now and LOVE it and the biblical connection it has as well. My son really finds it fun to learn to spell. It’s great!
English: Rod & Staff : Why did we choose this for English? Yes, it looks a little old fashioned, but it’s great. It definitely works on everything that grade level should be working on in English and has worksheets/tests/bookwork included. He loves a good worksheet and this gets that in.
Typing: Typing Instructor for Kids Platinum. We didn’t really know which typing curriculum to get and I honestly have to say that the reason we bought this particular one was that the lady in front of us in line at the Teach Them Diligently homeschool convention this year was buying it and I asked her about it. Turns out, it’s as great as she said!
This is a big year for us, my second son is beginning Kindergarten! He’s really excited to officially be “in school”, so we had to make this fun for him. I picked his curriculum this year, instead of going with Heart of Dakota like I did for Kindergarten for my oldest, simply because I was a little burned out on HOD. I’m excited and love watching his face light up when we talk about Kindergarten.
Our Curriculum for 2014/2015 – Kindergarten:
Math: Singapore Earlybird: I love everything about Singapore curriculum. This was a no brainer for me when trying to decide on a Math curriculum for him. We’ve already done a page or two and he loves it.
Language Arts: Alpha Omega LifePac. It focuses on the key components of phonics as well as basic language skills.
Bible: Grapevine Studies. When I first heard of this I was unsure. But the more I got to looking at it, I fell in love. How wonderful that the student has something to do (trace) while I’m reading the scripture to them for that day. We then can discuss together the meaning of the scripture, what we can take away from it, and also the memory verse.
Handwriting: A Reason for Handwriting. This is our favorite handwriting program! It keeps it fun for the student.
Reading: Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. We did this with my older son and loved it! We’re going to try it with my Kindergartener and see how it goes. I’m hoping he enjoys it too. (I’ll report back later on in the year)
Science: He’s going to join us in doing the Apologia Botany curriculum. (see above) & we’re going to do lost of Science experiments from Pinterest.
This year, I’m going to be documenting our school year on Instagram using the hashtag #TuckerHomeschool . Then, at the end of the year, I’m going to make a Shutterfly book. I hope you’ll follow along.
What homeschool curriculum are you using this year?
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