If you've been following my blog at all, you probably know that last years plan got blown out of the water. Being pregnant, having baby and adjusting to new baby, did not go as smoothly as I would have liked. Consequently we missed A LOT of school. And I struggled with feeling overwhelmed ever since. You can read more about it HERE and HERE.
However, I now have a plan for this year! We will be starting school on August 9th (yes, one week from today) and we will be 17, YES 17, weeks AHEAD. No more feeling guilty about being behind! No more feeling like we can't do something spontaneous because we can't miss anymore school! It's a very freeing feeling.
So, without further ado, here is what the plan is for this year:
So, without further ado, here is what the plan is for this year:
Cast of Characters:
Munchkin - 9yo - 3rd/4th grade
Peanut - 5yo - Preschool/Kindergarten
Little P - 2.5yo - Preschool
Little Bit - Baby/toddler
Our Spine:
We will continue to work our way through MFW ECC this year. We finished through week 17, so we will start school on week 18. I haven't fully decided what we will do if we finish ECC before the year is over. We may move right on to Creation to Greeks. Or we may do another unit study to finish out the year and start C2G at the beginning of next year. I'll make that decision if/when we get there.
With ECC we will all do Bible, Geography, Music/Art, Book Basket, Science & Read Aloud (these last two with dad) together.
For the other subjects:
Munchkin:
Language Arts - We will be doing the copywork & Vocab from ECC and will add Writing Strands 3 this year.
Spelling - We recently started Sequential Spelling 1, so we will continue to use that.
English - We will continue to use Language Lesson's for the Very Young (Queen Homeschool). If we finish, we will move into the next book.
Math - We will continue with MUS Beta. If we finish we will move on to MUS Gamma.
Reading - We hadn't been doing anything for this because she is such a good reader, but I started to wonder if she was really comprehending what she was reading. So we started back on the Pathways readers (we used them in 1st grade) at level 5. We will continue for this year.
Foreign Language - Will still have not decided on a foreign language. I've been considering Latin, using either Latin Christiana or Prima Latina. However, right now I just want to focus on the basics and get into a routine. Maybe sometime in January, I'll reconsider adding a foreign language.
Peanut:
She shows some signs of being ready for school, but she still has a very short attention span. My goal is to work with her using a combination of MFW Preschool and Kindergarten. She also really wants to learn to read, so I will try some lessons from Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons. I also want to do some lapbooking with her because she definitely appears to be a kinesthetic learner.
Little P:
He has moved somewhat beyond the "just keeping him occupied" stage. Plus, after listening to David Hazel's (author of MFW) lecture on Preschoolers, I no longer think that is a stage. However, I don't think he is completely ready for official "sit down" schooling. I will most likely be including him in what I do with Peanut and in everything he's willing to sit through with ECC. I will probably also throw in a few workbooks from the Dollar Store for the days he wants "to do school". (And, yes, even my children, who have never set foot in a public school classroom, think "doing school" is a worksheet! {sigh})
Little Bit:
OK, this one will most likely just be occupied {grin}. I'm hoping for the most part she'll just nap through most of our school time. But she has been difficult about getting on a schedule, so that may not happen. I may find myself assigning one kid to play with her while I work with another one. So I guess we'll just see how this goes as the year progresses.
So that's my plan in a nutshell. To see more curriculum plans and reviews, head over to the "Not Back-To-School" blog hop on Heart of the Matter. And stay tuned for next weeks edition, "School Rooms".
Blessings,
7 comments:
Thank you for posting!! Sweet family Glennda! I do pray that your homeschool has plenty of days to relax! LOL!! Last year was our first year and I was so glad we started early..I purposefully did that because I did not know what to expect at all!! Sure enough we had to take the whole month of Nov. off, some for Christmas break, and in March ( attend a funeral)--so in the end we finish later than expected, but it I didn't start early...we'd just be finishing up!! :) So, now we will start next Monday! Still a little early than the public school here, but not by much...oh well...I am not totally against year-around homeschooling!! God Bless!
Thank you for sharing on the NOT Back-to-School blog hop. I know how crazy adding a baby can make your school year go; I've done it three times since we started homeschooling. This next year should be much better for you.
At what age did you begin, Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons?
Hi Meredith! Are you guys considering homeschooling Caden? In answer to your question, it depends :) I started with my oldest when she was 5, but I really think she could have done it at 4. However, my current 5yo doesn't seem to be ready yet. I know some people who have started as early as 3 and others who have waited till 6 or 7. I would say it depends on whether the child can sit still for 15min, can remember the lessons from day-to-day and whether they are eager to learn. Let me know if you have any more questions. You can call too, Robyn and Allison have my number :)
Hi, Glennda! I just signed up to follow you, and we're doing ECC, too (though we're not ahead...and, by the way, I love that perspective!). Hope you can pop on by my place (#183 on the hop and my curriculum post is at http://tinahollenbeck.blogspot.com/2010/08/not-back-to-school-blog-hop-curriculum.html). :^)
Praying you have a great first day of school today!
Shanna
Hello! I found your site through the Blog Hop...I was looking for others using MFW! We are finishing up MFW Kindergarten this year and then will be moving on the 1st grade. We use "100 Easy Lessons" when we get a chance, too! :)
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