Summer is passing by us quickly. Before too long, it will be time to start the new school year. I have been looking at curriculum and brainstorming on what to use for this year. While I have nailed down a couple of choices for 2 of my children, I am still having doubts about what to do with my oldest daughter. My oldest son will be doing the majority of his school work through dual enrollment at the local community college. I just need to choose a couple of electives for him to do for his senior year of high school.
For my 2 youngest children, who will be 4 and 6 when we start the new school year, I will be using Sonlight Core K History. I was very blessed to have found this used at a book sale. I also plan to get the Grade K Readers for the 4 year old. Using Sonlight this year is something new to us. I wanted to give it a try, since my children love to read books so much. Sonlight has a wide array of books that I am hoping will open up a whole new world for us.
We will also be using Saxon Phonics for Samuel and Claire. I was also blessed by being able to find it at the same curriculum sale as the Sonlight. It looks very promising and the kids seem to be excited about it also. That is definitely a plus!
For science, I will be reading to them (as well as my oldest daughter) Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology. The kids will sit down with this book now and look at all the neat pictures that they have in it. I know we will have a blast once we start doing all the projects and activities that they have listed in the book.
Math curriculum for Samuel and Claire is what I am having trouble deciding on what to get. I have looked at Horizons Grade One for Samuel and Horizons Grade K for Claire. However, I just am not comfortable with that decision just yet. It will definitely take more prayer time to decide on what to use.
Most important to us is the Bible curriculum. We will definitely be using our Bible. We will read scripture out loud and then talk about what it means. I have found some awesome websites that has lesson plans to go along with a bible story. I will use those as a base to start with. I must say, one of my favorites is DLTK’s Bible Activities. Not only does it have the story and lesson plans, it also will suggest crafts and activities to go along with the story! Another website I used a lot with the preschool co-op in our homeschool group is First-School Preschool Activities and Crafts. They have a wonderful Bible section.
After writing everything out, it seems like a lot. However, I know that once I start writing daily lesson plans, it won’t seem as overwhelming. If, I feel like this is too much once we get started, we will pull something out. That is the wonderful thing about homeschooling. You can change or switch whatever is not working for you or your children.
I am just very thankful that God has blessed me with 4 wonderful children who love to learn.
