Our Curriculum

Well, practically everyone is posting about their curriculum for the next year, so I thought I'd join you all. We're starting school Tuesday. Here it is:

Rachel - 5 yrs

1. Have Rachel read at least one phonics book daily (Bob books, etc.).
   
2. Have her write her ABC’s and #’s (with you). Say or sing them with her when she is done.
   
3. Go over what the letters say:
   
4. Have her do one Spelling Workout A worksheet
   
5. Have her do one Abeka K5 Number Skills worksheet
   
6. Have her do one Abeka K5 Letters & Sounds worksheet
   
7. Have her do one Abeka K5 ABC-123 worksheet
   
8. Have her listen to sister read or listen to you read. Have her participate in her sister’s activities such as science or history as long as she is interested.
   

Natalie - 7 yrs

Daily

1. Saxon Math 2 (2-3 worksheets, one lesson)
2. Abeka Letters & Sounds 2
3. Abeka Cursive or Queens Cursive Worksheets
4. Copywork - have her write something out in cursive with punctuation and capitalization.
5. Science - God’s Design (Plants, Animals, or Human Body lesson) or Nature Study (look at something, read about it, and write about it - proper paragraphs) or a science experiment (have her write about it when done)
   
6. History - Victor Journey Through The Bible & Corresponding History from Kingfisher History Encyclopedia or other history source such as It Couldn’t Just Happen and History Box Set
   • Color map corresponding to what we are studying
   • Place drawing, date, and short description on timeline
7. One page out of English For The Thoughtful Child
8. Bible Reading (read aloud part of my Bible reading to her)
   
9. Practice Violin

1 Day A Week

1. Study a composer/artist & write about him/her & their art/music
2. Nature walk with an assignment
3. Practice a specific art project from Artistic Pursuits or Any Child Can Draw
4. Math Timed Test
5. Poetry
6. Creative Writing

Well, that's my plan anyhow. I'm attempting to do a combination of Classical Homeschooling and Charlotte Mason and these are my ideas. I know Charlotte Mason isn't textbook/worksheet oriented, but for math and phonics I want my children to have a good foundation.

I like Abeka for phonics. Their phonics work has been fun for my girls and they are very thorough. I don't like the rest of Abeka's materials as well, as they are so textbookish and they don't fit into the four year cycle for Classical Homeschooling. If you wanted a completely pre-done package, Abeka would be a great source.

I like Saxon for math. It is very, very thorough. It can be a bit repetitive. I looked into Math U See as my step-daughter is a very hands on type and I wanted to help her with her math. But, I really like math, and in my opinion Math U See can be a bit confusing to the child and isn't as thorough as Saxon. However, if you had a strictly tactile learner, you might really need a program like that. Even my step-daughter, who is mostly tactile, was confused by Math U See, and really felt she was making progress when she's done some Saxon (of course I'm comfortable tutoring her). I also like that Saxon takes you all the way through.

The God's Design For Life books are great. They fit right in with the four year cycle of Classical Homeschooling, yet they aren't too textbookish, they have lots of hands on activities, and they are a great starting point for more research.