2009-2010 Curriculum

We are going to make some changes in the way we homeschool this year! I decided even before my dad passed away that this year I needed to simplify things! I don’t mean less schooling, just more fun! We have been doing unit studies and I was stressing myself, trying to put everything together and find the books I needed. At first I thought it was fun, but by the end of the year, not so much fun was going on! A stressed out mommy is not conducive to a good learning environment. So this is what we will be doing this school year for Emily:

Math:

Math-U-See Alpha –We used the Primer program last year and really liked it.

Reading/Writing/Spelling:

Sing, Spell, Read and Write Level 1

History:

Winter Promise Hideaways in History – I am very excited about this program. Each week you travel to different stops all over the world, peeking in on some of the most interesting events in world history. Our core reading will be from The Story of the World (volumes 1 –4), and Usborne Encyclopedia of World History. What I love about this program is that each week you can create a learning hideaway to go with what you are learning about such as an Egyptian pyramid, medieval castle, western general store, WWII submarine, or colonial store. We won’t make a hideaway every week and some weeks we may do a doll size hideaway (lucky Barbie).

Science:

Winter Promise The World Around You

Art:

Discovering Great Artists – Winter Promise includes some art projects but I want Emily to continue learning about the styles, techniques and great artists.

Bible:

Hands on Bible Explorations – 52 Fun Activities for Christian Learning – This is what came with the Winter Promise curriculum and I haven’t had a chance to really look at it yet.

Life Skills:

This is an area that I haven’t put enough effort into and now I am paying for it. I have given Emily some simple chores but I fail to follow through and make sure she is completing them properly. It so much easier to do it myself than nag remind Emily how things need to be done. I am taking more of a Charlotte Mason approach this year so we will be focusing more on chores, cooking, and having a service attitude (Uh, this is something I also need to work on).

Music:

Piano Lessons – Thank you to my mom who taught piano for over 20 years. She is teaching Emily piano.

Workboxes:

We started using Sue Patrick’s Workbox system during the end of our school year and I plan on continuing to use it this year.

I think that covers all of the have to have subjects. We will probably include some foreign language later in the year. Like I said we are going to keep it simple. I love reading homeschool blogs and have to remind myself to stay on course and not add all of the wonderful ideas that I find.

I’ll post later on what I have planned for Aiden.

Cindy