So far, things are going well here. The Bean has been doing a fantastic job, and he has been vocal about how much he loves homeschooling. This warms my heart. One thing he said during our first week was, "I had fun diagramming sentences!"......WHAT?!?! This, I LOVE!
He's already about a fourth of the way through Saxon, we're doing 6/5, since the curriculum is still "newish" to us. He is thriving in this curriculum, and I'm so thankful for that.
We are finally trying Rod and Staff this year. GOODNESS, it is very advanced. But he's hanging in there! I plan on finishing level 5, and moving on to level 6 by February. (But we all know how plans go!) He's been two solid years ahead in English since we started homeschooling. He completed two level five English courses last year, and this new curriculum is clearly ahead. He's such a good writer, and I want to nurture that with an excellent language course. We'll keep working through. He's been doing great so far, and even seems to be enjoying it. (Again, I'm grateful for that!)
We are still doing Story of the World, hoping to finish level 2 by February or before, and move on to the next level. This history curriculum is so wonderful, he loves every chapter we do! I supplement most of the chapters with various books, so he can dive in a little deeper.
I hopped back and forth between two different ways to go for science. I liked R.E.A.L. Science Chemistry and Elemental Science. Finally, I decided on Elemental. We have a family who is going through this with us, so that will be very fun! I always supplement, so until we have the set in, we're doing various science things, and another science workbook. He also has a nature journal that he writes in throughout every year.
We're still working through a workbook on famous people/scientists throughout U.S. History, and will be starting the "A History of Us" series next week. I have big hopes for this set, and plan on spreading it out over a couple of years.
Up to this point, he's read three biographies, and written a report on each...Thomas Edison, President Barack Obama, and Mother Teresa. He's specifically asked for J.K. Rowling, since we've been reading the Potter series this year. : )
I still haven't found a solid Spanish curriculum, though I thought I had. We are just working through a workbook we have, and using a free online site I found in the meantime.
For art we are doing piano lessons and art lessons. We have a sweet friend who is bartering with me for his art lessons.
I try to plan field trips weekly, or ever other week. This week our little town is having a fair, so of course we'll be headed there for our outing.
Some day soon, I plan on posting some links of various websites I've used over the years. No idea when.......but that's the plan!
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
G.R.A.C.E. Academy 2014-2015
Quite obviously, I don't have enough time to blog as much as I'd like to.
Last year ended well, he did great in everything!
To kick off this school year, here's a list of what we'll be using. Hope this is helpful! These are only the main subjects, I supplement every subject. It's the overachiever in me. : ) I've never been one to purchase a box set. One of the perks of homeschooling is that I can read, review, and research...then I can pick what works best for us. For that, I am grateful.
Math:
Saxon 6/5 and 7/6
*Can't say enough good things about this curriculum! If you're looking for a great Math, GET IT!
English:
Rod and Staff 6th
*Two free online Language courses as supplemental work
Writing:
Writing with Ease, finishing 4
Writing with Skill 1
Reading:
Starting The Lord of the Rings, still putting together rest of list. May focus on biographies this year.
History:
Story of the World
Finishing last half of 2, Starting SOTW 3
Hakim's set of "A History of Us"
Science:
Physics for Grammer Stage and Chemistry for Grammar Stage
*Using these two for first semester. If goes well, moving him to Logic set for 2nd semester. I have HIGH hopes for this curriculum, I hope it goes well. I'd love to continue using this for many years.
*Always various science workbooks/projects/reading
Story of Science by Hakim
*If this goes well, we will also continue through the series for next few years
Handbook of Nature Study (Will be used for many years, incorporates art and journaling)
Art:
Draw to Learn, daily
Various art projects weaved throughout every subject
*Private art lessons
Music:
Piano lessons
Foreign Language:
Spanish (Still looking for a good curriculum)
Typing:
Online program (free)
The all-time favorite this year will be a unit study on "Doctor Who". I'm currently putting it all together. What better way to learn about science, physics, art, history, and awesomeness?!?!?
Here's to another year of living, loving, and learning together!
Last year ended well, he did great in everything!
To kick off this school year, here's a list of what we'll be using. Hope this is helpful! These are only the main subjects, I supplement every subject. It's the overachiever in me. : ) I've never been one to purchase a box set. One of the perks of homeschooling is that I can read, review, and research...then I can pick what works best for us. For that, I am grateful.
Math:
Saxon 6/5 and 7/6
*Can't say enough good things about this curriculum! If you're looking for a great Math, GET IT!
English:
Rod and Staff 6th
*Two free online Language courses as supplemental work
Writing:
Writing with Ease, finishing 4
Writing with Skill 1
Reading:
Starting The Lord of the Rings, still putting together rest of list. May focus on biographies this year.
History:
Story of the World
Finishing last half of 2, Starting SOTW 3
Hakim's set of "A History of Us"
Science:
Physics for Grammer Stage and Chemistry for Grammar Stage
*Using these two for first semester. If goes well, moving him to Logic set for 2nd semester. I have HIGH hopes for this curriculum, I hope it goes well. I'd love to continue using this for many years.
*Always various science workbooks/projects/reading
Story of Science by Hakim
*If this goes well, we will also continue through the series for next few years
Handbook of Nature Study (Will be used for many years, incorporates art and journaling)
Art:
Draw to Learn, daily
Various art projects weaved throughout every subject
*Private art lessons
Music:
Piano lessons
Foreign Language:
Spanish (Still looking for a good curriculum)
Typing:
Online program (free)
The all-time favorite this year will be a unit study on "Doctor Who". I'm currently putting it all together. What better way to learn about science, physics, art, history, and awesomeness?!?!?
Here's to another year of living, loving, and learning together!
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
It's the End of April!
Well, well! My experiment has proven that I do NOT have time to blog that often! However, I'll still be trying to get a post up in any spare seconds that I find. haha
We are moving along fine in our homeschool. I sprained my foot, had to be on crutches for over a month, so I really didn't have blogging on the brain.
We are in the homestretch. Although we plan on being done with his subjects for the school year by the end of May, we will still have summer school. It works well for him, so we are keeping that.
We are doing a big project, one that our family has never tackled. We'll be trying our hands at a garden this year. Starting small, only doing container gardening. We're still deciding what specific veggies to plant, and will be getting it all started very soon. Needless to say, we've been diving into all things pertaining to gardening. If it involves the earth, soil, planet, sun, food, farming, or anything like that, we've been researching. I also managed to weave in the "human body" unit throughout the entire school year, which fascinates me, so that's been fun. Reminds me of how much we all have to learn!
Again, Saxon math, y'all! It's been wonderful for us! : )
We are moving along fine in our homeschool. I sprained my foot, had to be on crutches for over a month, so I really didn't have blogging on the brain.
We are in the homestretch. Although we plan on being done with his subjects for the school year by the end of May, we will still have summer school. It works well for him, so we are keeping that.
We are doing a big project, one that our family has never tackled. We'll be trying our hands at a garden this year. Starting small, only doing container gardening. We're still deciding what specific veggies to plant, and will be getting it all started very soon. Needless to say, we've been diving into all things pertaining to gardening. If it involves the earth, soil, planet, sun, food, farming, or anything like that, we've been researching. I also managed to weave in the "human body" unit throughout the entire school year, which fascinates me, so that's been fun. Reminds me of how much we all have to learn!
Again, Saxon math, y'all! It's been wonderful for us! : )
Friday, January 31, 2014
This Week in Our Homeschool
Okay, I've apparently lost track of the weeks, but hey......at least I'm blogging! ; )
All is going very well. We are itchin' to start going outside more, it has been entirely too cold to do outdoor things. We miss the zoo!!! We will probably be going to Discovery Center soon, that will be a nice surprise for him. If we happen to get a nice day, we're at the zoo....period!
We've completed the free online English program. I'll be getting R&S in the mail next week, hoping it goes well. I've got high expectations for it. We also received Writing With Ease 4, starting that on Monday. I know he'll love that, as we experimented at the beginning of the year with the book. I just decided to order the workbook instead, which makes it easier on me. Math is still moving along. He's doing a great job there. He hardly needs my help, which kind of makes me sad!! : ( We are still doing the human body unit, which is very fun. Not only have we been diving in, I've found some great online resources that are FREE. So, we could spend the whole year on that. We'll see. He is now on the last book of the "Percy Jackson" series. He has loved them more than I thought he would! Trying to figure out what books will be next.......the child loves to read. He's read twenty already for this schoolyear.....which makes it hard for me to find new books that he will like that are not too mature for him. SOTW is going well, he's very glad we started that again, he always talks about how much he loves history.
Things are moving along well. We will be a little busier come Spring, because this Momma likes to be out and about!!!
All is going very well. We are itchin' to start going outside more, it has been entirely too cold to do outdoor things. We miss the zoo!!! We will probably be going to Discovery Center soon, that will be a nice surprise for him. If we happen to get a nice day, we're at the zoo....period!
We've completed the free online English program. I'll be getting R&S in the mail next week, hoping it goes well. I've got high expectations for it. We also received Writing With Ease 4, starting that on Monday. I know he'll love that, as we experimented at the beginning of the year with the book. I just decided to order the workbook instead, which makes it easier on me. Math is still moving along. He's doing a great job there. He hardly needs my help, which kind of makes me sad!! : ( We are still doing the human body unit, which is very fun. Not only have we been diving in, I've found some great online resources that are FREE. So, we could spend the whole year on that. We'll see. He is now on the last book of the "Percy Jackson" series. He has loved them more than I thought he would! Trying to figure out what books will be next.......the child loves to read. He's read twenty already for this schoolyear.....which makes it hard for me to find new books that he will like that are not too mature for him. SOTW is going well, he's very glad we started that again, he always talks about how much he loves history.
Things are moving along well. We will be a little busier come Spring, because this Momma likes to be out and about!!!
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Week Something. : )
Not sure what week we're in, but we're moving along nicely.
This past Monday, our son walked in the march for Martin Luther King, Jr. He had a great time, as he has mentioned that Dr. King is one of his all time heroes. (I love that!) After he marched, we all went to a theatre and sat through a program about his life. It was time well spent. I love having our boy take part in local activities, and even moreso, events that are this significant.
He is still doing well in math, we will probably finish before June. After a break, we will be going into the next year of math to ensure he doesn't lose what he's learned.
English is going well, only a couple more lessons to complete this easy curriculum we go through each year. We will be starting R & S soon, alongside Writing with Ease, level 4.
He is now on the third book in the Percy Jackson series, and loving them. Not sure what series we'll do next. He's read so much this year that I'm having a hard time finding new books for our booklist. (I guess maybe that's a good thing?)
We are still spending loads of time on the human body. We will probably wrap it up on studying the human brain/nervous system and move on to the next system after next week.
Still plugging along in Story of the World 2. He'd finish it in a week if I let him.
Had to take a break this week form lessons, but back to art and music next week.
**I have found a LOAD of useful websites with amazing printable worksheets on the human body, and they are FREE. That is what has made our science unit so long, and he's loving it. The sites also have loads of fun activities that make these things we're learning "stick"! Maybe sometime, when I can find some time, I will post a link page.
This past Monday, our son walked in the march for Martin Luther King, Jr. He had a great time, as he has mentioned that Dr. King is one of his all time heroes. (I love that!) After he marched, we all went to a theatre and sat through a program about his life. It was time well spent. I love having our boy take part in local activities, and even moreso, events that are this significant.
He is still doing well in math, we will probably finish before June. After a break, we will be going into the next year of math to ensure he doesn't lose what he's learned.
English is going well, only a couple more lessons to complete this easy curriculum we go through each year. We will be starting R & S soon, alongside Writing with Ease, level 4.
He is now on the third book in the Percy Jackson series, and loving them. Not sure what series we'll do next. He's read so much this year that I'm having a hard time finding new books for our booklist. (I guess maybe that's a good thing?)
We are still spending loads of time on the human body. We will probably wrap it up on studying the human brain/nervous system and move on to the next system after next week.
Still plugging along in Story of the World 2. He'd finish it in a week if I let him.
Had to take a break this week form lessons, but back to art and music next week.
**I have found a LOAD of useful websites with amazing printable worksheets on the human body, and they are FREE. That is what has made our science unit so long, and he's loving it. The sites also have loads of fun activities that make these things we're learning "stick"! Maybe sometime, when I can find some time, I will post a link page.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
First Semester Summary
Well, I'm glad I don't take myself too seriously, because I can't even keep up with doing a weekly blog! Oh well, such is the homeschooling life!
Things first semester went very well. For the most part, we're on schedule. Still moving along well in all subjects!
We've nearly completed one simple online English, which we do every year. That's why we're starting another soon. Starting the following in a couple of weeks:
Rod and Staff English
Writing With Ease Level 4
Story of Science (maybe)
Winter will NOT leave, so our town has had many snow days. We took a couple, but started back today for the semester. Our town was out again today, and may be out tomorrow! YUCK. We've both enjoyed today, I'm very thankful he still loves homeschooling. He has a hunger for learning more, and I don't want to squelch it.
We started Story of the World 2 today, and he was VERY excited about that. It's still one of his favorites. I've got a lot planned for this semester, and hoping to be able to do several field trips! More to come, hopefully I can blog a big more....but no promises!
Things first semester went very well. For the most part, we're on schedule. Still moving along well in all subjects!
We've nearly completed one simple online English, which we do every year. That's why we're starting another soon. Starting the following in a couple of weeks:
Rod and Staff English
Writing With Ease Level 4
Story of Science (maybe)
Winter will NOT leave, so our town has had many snow days. We took a couple, but started back today for the semester. Our town was out again today, and may be out tomorrow! YUCK. We've both enjoyed today, I'm very thankful he still loves homeschooling. He has a hunger for learning more, and I don't want to squelch it.
We started Story of the World 2 today, and he was VERY excited about that. It's still one of his favorites. I've got a lot planned for this semester, and hoping to be able to do several field trips! More to come, hopefully I can blog a big more....but no promises!
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Weeks 10-12
This year seems to be ZOOMING by!! : /
It is a good year, I am thankful for that. I'm very thankful this Sweet Bean loves homeschooling.
We have had a busy month, hence the lack of blog posts!
Math is still going well, we are more ahead than I thought we'd be. So, that's good. He seems to like working mostly independently with it so far.
English is going very well, he is doing a fantastic job. We are about three quarters done with the basic english curriculum we do online. It's printable lessons, and quite a bit of writing. The plan is to finish it by December, and then I'll be ordering R&S for January through the summer. I kind of wish we'd have started that sooner, but oh well. Hoping it's a good one.
History is still moving along, focusing on famous people and U.S. History. He is still excited about SOTW 2, I'll probably add that back in January.
Science is still going great. He's finished one of the 5th grade workbooks, always loves those. I have another one for next semester. We're also still focusing on the human body.
Spanish-still going through our books very loosely.
He's started a typing program online that he loves, it's very interactive and kid-friendly. He's been catching on nicely.
Music lessons are going well, another recital is coming up in December. Art is also going well, although we've had to reschedule a couple of lessons. Hopefully things will pick up soon, he loves them.
He's read quite a load of books this semester. Here's the assigned/completed list so far:
"The Prince and the Pauper"
"The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes"
"A Journey to the Center of the Earth"
"Helen Keller; The Story of My Life"
"Jackie Robinson"
"Oliver Twist"
"The Time Machine'
All the Narnia books, except the last one (Starting this week)
"The Hobbit"
***He has to do a book report after each book, at least two pages.
As much as that sounds, one of his favorite parts of school is all the reading and writing. Go figure!
*Still need to order Writing with Ease, Science Curriculum I've had my eye on, and R and S English
*Want to find a good online (free) Spanish curriculum for him by next semester
*Still need to incorporate the Draw to Learn daily lessons, and Handbook of Nature Study lessons
Of course, there are days that aren't as easy as others!! We're human, ya know! But so far, things are going well this year. We'll be having a break for Thanksgiving soon, so we're looking forward to that!
It is a good year, I am thankful for that. I'm very thankful this Sweet Bean loves homeschooling.
We have had a busy month, hence the lack of blog posts!
Math is still going well, we are more ahead than I thought we'd be. So, that's good. He seems to like working mostly independently with it so far.
English is going very well, he is doing a fantastic job. We are about three quarters done with the basic english curriculum we do online. It's printable lessons, and quite a bit of writing. The plan is to finish it by December, and then I'll be ordering R&S for January through the summer. I kind of wish we'd have started that sooner, but oh well. Hoping it's a good one.
History is still moving along, focusing on famous people and U.S. History. He is still excited about SOTW 2, I'll probably add that back in January.
Science is still going great. He's finished one of the 5th grade workbooks, always loves those. I have another one for next semester. We're also still focusing on the human body.
Spanish-still going through our books very loosely.
He's started a typing program online that he loves, it's very interactive and kid-friendly. He's been catching on nicely.
Music lessons are going well, another recital is coming up in December. Art is also going well, although we've had to reschedule a couple of lessons. Hopefully things will pick up soon, he loves them.
He's read quite a load of books this semester. Here's the assigned/completed list so far:
"The Prince and the Pauper"
"The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes"
"A Journey to the Center of the Earth"
"Helen Keller; The Story of My Life"
"Jackie Robinson"
"Oliver Twist"
"The Time Machine'
All the Narnia books, except the last one (Starting this week)
"The Hobbit"
***He has to do a book report after each book, at least two pages.
As much as that sounds, one of his favorite parts of school is all the reading and writing. Go figure!
*Still need to order Writing with Ease, Science Curriculum I've had my eye on, and R and S English
*Want to find a good online (free) Spanish curriculum for him by next semester
*Still need to incorporate the Draw to Learn daily lessons, and Handbook of Nature Study lessons
Of course, there are days that aren't as easy as others!! We're human, ya know! But so far, things are going well this year. We'll be having a break for Thanksgiving soon, so we're looking forward to that!
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