We attended the Midwest Parent Educators conference and curriculum expo this past spring and got all our supplies and curriculum for next school year. We purchase mostly from Rainbow Resource because they have the lowest prices but we got some things like our Math-U-See program direct from their booth at a show discount. It’s a great place to look at the different curriculum that are successful on the market. We are all set to go and we are spending any down time this summer finishing up the last few chapters in our 2012-2013 curriculum.
Zavien, 3rd Grade
- Grammar: First Language Lessons II… this is a short lesson that uses repetition in a constructive and non-monotonous way. We’ve both enjoyed it and he retains it.
- Writing: Writing with Ease II… this is also a short lesson but you have to be engaged the whole lesson to make sure the child is writing correctly. This is when I’m the most strict with writing. Cursive Without Tears… we did one lesson of cursive last year and it was a disaster so I decided to wait until 3rd grade. My son is young for this grade so we are a little behind in some subjects(cursive) and right on target with other subjects(math).
- Spelling: Phonics for Reading & Spelling (spelling)… this is a good program and works best with consistency. I’ve considered Explode the Code as an alternative as well.
- Literature: Classical House of Learning/Grammar Stage/Middle Ages.. my son loves to be read to and to draw. This is a great program that ties into our history lesson too.
- Reading: McGuffey Readers… great classic curriculum to reinforce reading skills. Christian Lighthouse Education Reading (readers and workbook)… I really like these readers as it teaches good character along with reading. I got the workbooks to help with comprehension but it’s been less about comprehension and more about reading skills.
- Math: Math-U-See Gamma… we love this program and the boys really thrived on it last year. It’s a very hands on program and teaches in sequence.
- History: Story of the World II… this is a great program that my son loves to listen to. He will sit and listen to the audio while coloring and I will ask him the workbook questions to make sure he was listening. Then we do map work and take the test. We don’t get into the projects much due to time but we try to do some of the literature suggestions and encyclopedia reading.
- Science: Apologia Zoology 1 & 2…. we did Zoology 3 last year and will be going back to do 1 & 2. The children really enjoying learning about the animals.
- Religion: Bible Stories… we read a chapter at bedtime and it’s been great for all of us. Mom included. Getting through the Old Testament is easy with these Children’s Bible Stories.
- Art & Art History: Artistic Pursuits… my son loved the few lessons we had time for last year. I’m going to try harder to do a lesson at least once a week this next school year. We do plenty of non directed arts and crafts at our house but this program teaches art history along with technique and I really need to buckle down and work it into our week better.
- Music & Music History: Lives of the Musicians… this book is so fun. We read a short bit on the musician, I will play the music over the month, and we read books from the library about the musician. Piano Lessons… we take lessons with Michelle Sherer and it’s been great. It’s so fun to see them at their recitals. Voice Lessons… we take lessons with Havilah Bruder and we saw a drastic improvement in our older son’s singing in church.
He also will be doing soccer in the fall & spring, DHA 1 day a week, and Trail Life.
Jaxon, 1st Grade
- Grammar: First Language Lessons I
- Writing: Writing with Ease I
- Spelling: Phonics for Reading & Spelling (phonograms, writing, & spelling)
- Literature: Classical House of Learning/Grammar Stage/Middle Ages
- Reading: McGuffey Readers & Christian Lighthouse Education Reading(readers)
- Math: Math-U-See Beta
- History: Story of the World II
- Science: Apologia Science Zoology 1 & 2
- Religion: Bible Stories
- Music: Piano lessons, Voice Lessons
He also will be doing soccer in the fall & spring, DHA 1 day a week, and Trail Life.
Tylea, Preschool
- Reading: Phonogram cards, Discover the Code series
- Math: Math-U-See Primer
- Writing: tracing over letters and numbers with dry erasers
- Enrichment: Busy Bags!
- Music: Piano lessons
She also takes ballet during the school year and loves that.
Vaylee, Toddlerdom
- Busy Bags! We have like 50 different busy bags that I can turn to and entertain my little one. I love it!
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Supplement Resources:
- DK Smithsonian, Animal, The Definitive Visual Guide
- 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language
- History of the World(White Cover)
- The Random House Book of Poetry
Weekly Enrichment Program: Discovery Homeschool Academy(DHA)- homeschool enrichment one day a week. All the fun classes that you liked in public school: PE, Art, Music, Spanish, Science, Social Studies. We have class parties, field day, grandparents day, field trips and other fun activities with the fellowship of other homeschool families. They also have homeschool 101 classes for parents that were great.
Annual Trip to Mini Town: My children loved this program. They got to experience being a consumer and Z also experienced being a producer. So much fun and great learning! I will be helping run the program this next year and I’m very excited!
Homeschool Support: I really enjoy The Well Trained Mind forum online and the book has been so helpful in navigating available curriculum. I also attend the Lee’s Summit Home Educators monthly meetings when I can and have found great information there.