Our 2011-2012 Curriculum

It's that time of year again!  Homeschool moms all across the nation have been thumbing through mountainous stacks of curriculum catalogs, reading blog after blog after endless blog, and downing one cup of coffee after another while memorizing the Well-Trained Mind message boards, all in the name of finding that one curriculum that will not only make their children smart enough for a full scholarship to the college of their choice but will also give them a heart for Jesus and sharing His love with everyone they meet.  If only it were that simple!  I haven't found a curriculum that will do all of that yet, but I have found what works for our family.  Here it is.  :)

Hannah—3rd grade

My Father's World Exploring Countries and Cultures

We've used My Father's World from the start, and it has been a great fit for our family.  This year we'll be using Exploring Countries and Cultures, which includes Bible, world geography, science, music, and art.  As we travel around the world in geography this year, we'll not only learn how to find our target countries on a map but we'll also get to know about their cultures—how people in those countries live, what they eat, what they wear, what kind of music they listen to, and most importantly, what they believe about God.  In science, we'll learn about the ecosystems of each of the continents—what the climate is like in the different regions and what kinds of plants and animals we could expect to find there.  In Bible, we'll study the book of Matthew throughout the year.  And as we travel to each new continent, we'll learn about the sin-scarred people who live there who desperately need to hear about our loving God and how He provided a way for fellowship with Him to be restored.  We'll also read a biography of a missionary who traveled there to tell those people the good news.  In music and art, we'll sing songs and make crafts that are related to the area we're studying. 

My goal for this year is that my children will walk away understanding that the world is a much bigger place than what they see on a daily basis.  I want them to understand that God has created an amazingly diverse planet with all kinds of people, but those people all need to hear about Jesus.  I pray that they will be fascinated by the people that we study, that they will desire to pray for them, that their hearts will ache when they learn about some of the lies that people believe, that the Great Commission will come to life for them and they will understand the importance of supporting missions.  Lofty goals, I know, but that's my heart.

We'll also be reading aloud from Hillyer's A Child's Geography of the World and Missionary Stories with the Millers to supplement our studies.

Spelling

I thought long and hard about whether to stick with All About Spelling for another year or go ahead and switch to Spelling Power.  In the end, I decided that all of All About Spelling's rules and built-in review lays a good foundation that will help us when we do finally transition to Spelling Power.  One strike against All About Spelling is the tiles.  We can't stand the tiles!  So I made a pretty neat PowerPoint that accomplishes the same thing, only it does it more neatly and more quickly, both of which we like.  :)  We'll work our way through Levels 3 and 4 of All About Spelling this year.  If time allows, we'll do Level 5 as well, but we'll just have to play that one by ear.

Math

We're going to stick with Singapore Math again.  We're finishing up 2B right now, and hopefully we'll get through 3A and 3B this year, but again, we'll have to play it by ear.  We're also adding in some Life of Fred books (Did you know he now has an elementary series?!!) and the Singapore Intensive Practice books.  Hannah's not just real thrilled about the Intensive Practice books, but it really stretches her and makes her apply the math she's learning, and both Greg and I think that's a good thing.  Singapore is known for its mental math component, and I have to say ... it works!  However, Greg isn't quite as enamored with it as Hannah and I are.  As a high school math teacher, he wants to see the work so he can know where she's messing up when she misses a problem.  So he's requiring her to show a little more work than she would care to (and more than I would require), but I'm not complaining!  I love having his input since he's the resident expert in that field.  ;)

Grammar

This was one of Hannah's favorite subjects last year, so we're sticking with Rod & Staff.  I've heard this described as "rigorous," but I haven't found that to be true—at least not yet.  :)  It definitely gets the job done, but I would say it seems to be a good fit for the intended age.  We had a lot of success last year doing it orally, so we're going to do that again this year, with the exception of the worksheets, which she will complete and put in her notebook.

Writing

Ultimately, my goal is to use Institute for Excellence in Writing.  However, I have a child who hates the physical act of handwriting, so I want to kind of ease her into writing.  My friend Fawn showed me her daughter's Sonlight writing assignments (part of the Sonlight Language Arts program), and I knew it would be a great introduction to writing for Hannah.  The assignments are very fun and they allow the kids to use their imaginations, but they somehow manage to tackle some pretty hefty writing assignments.  By the time she's done, she will have written narrative essays, persuasive essays, poetry, and book reviews; and she will have covered topics that are normally covered in reading, such as alliteration, similes, metaphors, onomatopoeia, etc.  I'm really excited about adding this to our curriculum this year, but at the same time, I just don't know how she'll react to all the handwriting that goes along with creative writing.  Any prayer would be greatly appreciated!

Reading

There's a chance that we may possibly use CLE Reading this year, but I'm still not completely sure about this one.  I went ahead and purchased it, but once it came in, I began having second thoughts.  Between the reading we do for My Father's World and the language arts she's doing with Sonlight, it kind of felt like overkill.  It also seemed a little like busywork, which made me wonder if it would suck the love of reading right out from under her.  On the other hand, it has a fairly strong missions component to it (which kind of goes along with our theme for the year), it can only help her less-than-stellar handwriting and spelling to improve, and she just loves those good old-fashioned, wholesome stories.  I ended up showing her the materials and letting her decide, and she chose to do them.  So far she's enjoying it, but if it ends up becoming a chore, I think it will be an easy one to let go.

Cursive

For handwriting we'll be using Cheerful Cursive.  I was so excited when I found out about this book!  The lessons are short and fun, with various characters such as Bumps, Wags, and Loopy placing themselves on the letters to teach your child how to form them correctly.  The book includes practice for both print and cursive writing, as well as grammar reviews, and it also includes practice reading a variety of cursive handwriting styles since not everyone writes the same. 

Spanish

We're going to stick with The Learnables for Spanish this year.  I thought we'd end up switching to Rosetta Stone since they lowered the price to only an arm rather than an arm and a leg.  ;)  But The Learnables is working for us for now and Hannah enjoys it, so why fix it if it isn't broken, know what I mean?

Homemaking

And finally, I am determined to finish the Lessons in Responsibility book we started back in 1st grade!  (Anyone else have something like that that you just can't seem to get through for some reason?)  She seriously loves this book, so it shouldn't be hard to get through it, but for whatever reason we didn't make much progress last year.  Plus, I already own the Level 2 book, so I really need to get Level 1 finished!

Millie—Kindergarten

My Father's World Kindergarten

Millie will continue to use My Father's World Kindergarten this year.  She did the phonics and math portions of the program for Pre-K last year, but the Bible truths are so precious that I wanted her to be a little older so she would understand them more fully.  Marie Hazell (author of My Father's World) has done a masterful job of interweaving the Bible and science lessons and explaining them in a way that is perfect for young children to understand. 

We'll do the math portion of the program again this year to really reinforce our Base 10 system, counting to 100, and calendar skills.  The program also includes Bible, science, music, and art.  We've enjoyed all of our studies with My Father's World, but Kindergarten definitely has a soft spot in my heart.

Reading

We're going to continue using Hooked on Phonics for reading.  We started the Kindergarten level in Pre-K last year and have been working on it here and there throughout the summer.  We should definitely be able to get through the 1st grade level this year, but we'll have to see about the 2nd grade level.  It's amazing how much more relaxed you are with the second child!  ;)

Handwriting

We'll be using A Reason for Handwriting for Millie's handwriting.  We're not going to rearrange the order of the letters to match the My Father's World units because I love the way they're presented in a logical order based on the way the letters are formed. 

Bible

I picked up a copy of From Akebu to Zapotec when Hannah was in kindergarten, and it looks like it will be a perfect fit for our family this year.  In Millie's kindergarten, we focus on one letter every week.  This book contains 26 real stories of Bibleless peoples—one for each letter of the alphabet.  Millie will be tagging along with Hannah's Bible lessons anyway because we'll be doing them together as a family in the evenings, but it will be a great way for her to learn to pray for one group of people each week and still focus on her letter of the week.

So there you have it—the 2011-2012 curriculum line-up! 

This is the first year I'll have two "official" students, which makes me feel a little weak in the knees, to say the least. But I'm choosing to believe that my God is greater than my fears or my inadequacies, trusting completely that He doesn't call the equipped but equips the called.  To Him alone be the glory!

The Adventure of a Lifetime

It's hard to believe it, but on Monday Hannah will start 2nd grade. Can this really be our third year to homeschool?! Time flies when you're having fun!

I thought this week I'd give you a virtual peek at our bookshelves so you know what we'll be doing for the upcoming year.

Our main curriculum is My Father's World, which includes Bible, history/geography, science, art, and music. All we have to do is add our own math and language arts to the mix and we're ready to roll. This year we're using Adventures in My Father's World, which is basically American History and Geography for 2nd and 3rd graders. Ready to see our resources? Let's go browse the shelves!


Bible

We started reading Leading Little Ones to God at the breakfast table over the summer. We've all enjoyed it and Millie seems to be learning from it, so we'll stick with that until it's finished. For the MFW Bible lessons, we'll use either Hannah's new NIrV Bible or her NIV Bible we used last year. Honestly, I think she prefers using the NIV because it makes her feel grown-up, but she is pretty jazzed about this new Bible that came with her curriculum.


History/Geography

• Adventures in My Father's World Teacher's Manual
• The Story of the U.S.
• Student Sheets
• Map of the U.S./map of the world
• American Pioneers and Patriots by Caroline D. Emerson
• North American Indians by Marie and Douglas Gorsline
• Red, White, and Blue by John Herman
• The Thanksgiving Story by Alice Dalgliesh
• The 4th of July Story by Alice Dalgliesh
• Celebrate America CD
• Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims by Clyde Robert Bulla
• The Courage of Sarah Noble by Alice Dalgliesh
• On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Sarah Whitcher's Story by Elizabeth Yates
• In Grandma's Attic by Arleta Richardson
• Mountain Born by Elizabeth Yates
• Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Interactive 3-D Maps: American History by Donald M. Silver and Patricia J. Wynne (not included with MFW package)
• The American Dream CD (not included with MFW package)
• Little Hands Celebrate America! by Jill Frankel Hauser (not included with MFW package)
• Plus whatever great books we find on our topic at the library each week!

Science

• The Usborne Internet-Linked First Encyclopedia of Science
• Usborne Science with Air
• Usborne Science in the Kitchen
• Birds, Nests and Eggs by Mel Boring
• My First Magnet Kit
• The Magic School Bus: A Journey Into the Human Body science kit

English


We'll be using Preparing to Build, which is Rod & Staff's 2nd grade grammar and writing curriculum. This was the first curriculum I picked out when we decided to homeschool. Grammar nerd that I am, I love everything about it!


Spelling


We started All About Spelling in April of last year, and Hannah loved it! We still have five lessons left in Level 1, so we'll finish those lessons, then continue with Level 2. If we continue to work at last year's pace, we'll be able to finish Level 2 and Level 3 this year. ("Level" does not mean "grade level." It's just the next book in the series.)


Math


This year we're switching back to Singapore Math. I do not want to be a curriculum hopper, but Hannah absolutely hated CLE Math when we switched to it last year. Did I say she hated it? Good. Because when I say she hated it, I mean she hated it! The whole experience didn't exactly gel with my "teach them to love to learn" philosophy, so we tossed CLE aside and went back to Singapore.

Since our new books arrived, the child has been begging me to let her start her new math this week, but I keep telling her she has to wait until school starts on Monday. I have a feeling she's going to fly through 1A, slow down a little for 1B, and definitely work at a more normal pace for 2A, if we even get that far this year. We may use the Intensive Practice books and the Challenging Word Problem books over the summer break to keep her fresh and sharpen her skills, but we'll just have to wait and see.


Singapore Math is a great program, but it is lacking in basic math fact drills. After a year of CLE, I don't think Hannah ever wants to see another flash card in her life! (But I will say her facts through 10 are solid, and all thanks goes to CLE Math!) Anyway, I got several games we can play to memorize math facts in a fun way. Giggle Facts is a set of 50 games that helps reinforce addition and subtraction facts. RightStart Math games are not only good to help learn math facts but also for logic skills. Rainbow Rock is a computer game put out by Singapore math. And FlashMaster is an electronic version of flash cards. (But shhh! Don't tell Hannah that!)


Art


We're using I Can Do All Things, which is the art curriculum that came with our MFW package. I decided to go ahead and purchase the DVDs, as well, so Hannah can see and hear the artist/author as he teaches each lesson. The book is divided into four categories: Beginning Drawing, Colored Pencils, Colored Markers, and Beginning Painting.


Music


This year we'll do a composer study of Tchaikovsky, which is part of Adventures in My Father's World. We'll also use the Alfred's Piano series for piano lessons.

• The Story of Tchaikovsky in Words and Music CD
• Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker Highlights CD
• The Nutcracker Ballet retold by Deborah Hautzig
• Tchaikovsky Discovers America CD (not included in the MFW package)
• Alfred's Basic Piano Prep Course Lesson Book Level A
• Alfred's Basic Piano Prep Course Theory Book Level A
• Alfred's Basic Piano Prep Course Activity & Ear Training Book Level A
• Alfred's Basic Piano Prep Course Notespeller Book Level A
• Alfred's Basic Piano Prep Course Technic Book Level A
• Alfred's Basic Piano Prep Course Solo Book Level A
• Alfred's Basic Piano Prep Course Christmas Joy Book Level A
  

Foreign Language

We decided to follow the MFW recommendations and add a foreign language this year. And since we live in Southeast Texas and have family in Argentina, it only makes sense for that foreign language to be Spanish. We're going to use a program called The Learnables this year, and next year we'll probably sell everything we own so we can afford to buy Rosetta Stone.


Homemaking


And finally, we're definitely keeping Lessons in Responsibility for Girls in our schedule. Homemaking was Hannah's favorite subject in school last year! She has expressed a desire to start sewing lately, so we'll also use Sewing Machine Fun for Kids as long as there is an interest there.

So there you have it! Sounds like a very full, very fun year, and we can't wait to get started on our Adventures in My Father's World!