Curriculum Choices

This page is a listing of the curriculum I used up to 4th grade, with earlier years' choices moved below as we progress through our homeschool years. Someday I may get around to updating it for 5th-12th grade!

2014-2015
Rebekah, 9 years old, 4th Grade
Reanna, 6-7 years old, 1st/2nd Grade
Ryan, 5-6 years old, kindergarten

Rebekah:
Bible, History, Language Arts:
   Sonlight Core D (4 day, advanced readers) - covers Bible, U.S. history, literature, language arts
   geography class (~1 hour/week class @ Clear Lake Academy)
   Evan-Moor Take It To Your Seat Geography Centers, Grades 4-5
   various handwriting workbooks, cursive and print
Math:
   Teaching Textbooks 4
   Singapore Challenging Word Problems 3
Science:
   Chemistry - using BFSU and a variety of other materials I compiled
   Mr. Little's Science Class (~1 hour/week class @ Clear Lake Academy)
Electives:
   art class (~1 hour/week class @ Clear Lake Academy)
   music lessons
   gym

Reanna:
Bible, History, Language Arts:
   Sonlight Core A - covers Bible, history, literature (slightly modified)
   geography class (~1 hour/week class @ Clear Lake Academy)
   Sonlight Grade 2 readers
   All About Reading 2 (finishing up this year)
   Language Smarts B, C (portions)
  Evan-Moor Take It To Your Seat Writing Centers, Grades 1-2
Science:
   Sonlight Core A (slightly modified), with some BFSU
   Mr. Little's Science Class (~1 hour/week class @ Clear Lake Academy)
Math:
Electives:
   Building Thinking Skills Level 1 Software
   A Beka Health 1
   art class (~1 hour/week class @ Clear Lake Academy)
   music
   gym

Ryan:
Bible, History, Language Arts:
   Sonlight Core A - covers Bible, history, literature (slightly modified)
   handwriting class (once a week @ Clear Lake Academy)
Science:
   Sonlight Core A (slightly modified), with some BFSU
Math:
   BJU Math K5 (portions)
   Starfall
Electives:
   A Beka Health 1
   enrichment class (1 morning/week @ Clear Lake Academy)
   music
   gym


2013-2014
Rebekah, 8 years old, 3rd Grade
Reanna, 5-6 years old, kindergarten/1st Grade
Ryan, 4-5 years old, preschool

Rebekah:
Bible:
   a few character study books from Keepers of the Faith
   Telling God's Story, book 2
Math:
   Life of Fred, books A-H
   Mathematical Reasoning, Book D
   IXL Math
Language Arts:
   Rod & Staff English, grade 3
   All About Spelling
   Sonlight Grade 3 readers
   CLE Grade 3 reader
   Comprehension Plus C
   a few other odds and ends for reading comprehension, plot, character, etc.
History:
   reading through second half of Hillyer's A Child's History of the World
   Beautiful Feet History of the Horse
   Sonlight Core C read-alouds (most of them, anyway)
   Maps, Charts, Graphs C
Science:
   Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding, Book 1
   a bunch of Magic School Bus science kits
   lots of documentaries and stuff in Discovery Education Science
Electives:
   A Beka health 3
   Atelier Art, level 2
   piano lessons
   ballet lessons

Reanna:
Bible:
   Rod & Staff preschool book Bible Stories to Read (and color)
Math:
   CLE Math, Grade 1 (partial)
   Mathematical Reasoning, Book B
   Miquon Math
   IXL Math
Language Arts:
   CLE Learning to Read
   CLE Reading, Grade 1
   CLE Language Arts, Grade 1
   some of Language Smarts, Book B
   All About Reading 2 (started this year)
History:
   BJU Heritage Studies 1 (just going through book)
   some Sonlight Core P4/5 read-alouds
Science:
   Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding, Book 1
   a bunch of Magic School Bus science kits
Electives:
   ballet lessons
   Atelier Art, level 2

Ryan:
   Preschool 3 mornings a week - loving it this year!
   Reading Eggs
   IXL Math
   Starfall


2012-2013
Rebekah, 7 years old, 2nd Grade
Reanna, 4-5 years old, preschool/kindergarten
Ryan, 3-4 years old, preschool

Rebekah:
Bible:
   Telling God's Story, book 1
   Leading Little Ones to God
Math:
   CLE Math 2
   DreamBox math
   some Math Mammoth
Language Arts:
   Foresman Grammar 2, mostly oral
   Writing With Ease 1
   CLE Readers (Grade 1 & 2), without LightUnits
   Sonlight Grade 2 Readers
   Click 'n' Read
   Sequential Spelling 1
   Wordly Wise 3000, Book 2 - online word lists and games only
   read-alouds from Sonlight Core B & Ambleside Online lists
History:
   reading through first half of Hillyer's A Child's History of the World
   Intellego K-2 Choices & Resources & American Government
   Evan-Moor Beginning Geography K-2
Science with little sister:
   NOEO Physics 1, then
   Intellego K-2: Astronomy, then
   CLE Science 2, units 204 & 205 (bird watching)
   Also, Christian Liberty Press Nature Readers K, 1, 2
A Beka Health 2
Electives:
   Building Thinking Skills Level 1 software
   ArtPak 2
   artist & composer studies, based on Ambleside Online
   FamilyTime Fitness
   piano lessons (Mom-taught)
   music co-op 1 day/week - choir, theory, general music

Reanna:
CLE Learning to Read (partial)
CLE Math 1 - first 40 lessons or so
Finishing up Rod & Staff G-H-I workbooks Developing the Early Learner workbooks
Science with big sister (see above)
Listening in on some of big sister's history classes
artist & composer studies, based on Ambleside Online
FamilyTime Fitness
music co-op 1 day/week - choir, theory, general music
Preschool a few mornings a week starting mid-year

Ryan:
Kumon beginner workbooks
Starfall and other preschool learning games
Science with big sisters - at least the experiments (see above)
FamilyTime Fitness
Preschool 3 mornings a week  - stopped mid-year



2011-2012
Rebekah, 6 years old, 1st Grade
Reanna, 3-4 years old, preschool/kindergarten
Ryan, 2-3 years old, toddler/preschool

Rebekah:
This is a revised list. My earlier list included many things which we tried out over the summer and then decided not to do after all. As this is still my first year of homeschooling, I am still in the middle of a learning curve of sorts. Well, hopefully, I'm now near the end of the learning curve!
 
Bible
    BJU Distance Learning Bible 1
Math
    BJU Distance Learning Math 1
    supplementing with Math Mammoth worksheets as needed
Science/Health
    Elemental Science: Intro to Science
    A Beka Health 1 (w/out teacher's guide - just reading through student book)
History
    U.S. States study (partially completed - rest saved for later)
    BJU Distance Learning Heritage Studies 1
    reading aloud portions of Sonlight Core A
Language Arts
    BJU Distance Learning English & Phonics 1 (covers phonics, reading, writing, grammar, handwriting)
    BJU Distance Learning Spelling 1
    Pathway Reading Grade 1 readers, Sonlight Core A read-alouds, as desired
Logic/Computer/Art/Music
    Critical Thinking Co. Mind Benders 1, Visual Perceptual Skill Building 1
    Discover Art 1, by Laura Chapman (original version, no longer in print)
    children's choir at church, lots of singing at home
    beginning computer skills, as needed

Reanna:
Reanna will turn 4 in November, which is when we'll start her BJU classes. I started her in kindergarten, since she had been ready to read for a while, and knew a lot of math already, but we went very slowly and only got about 1/3 of the way through.

Bible
    BJU Distance Learning Bible K5
Math
    BJU Distance Learning Math K5
Science
    participating in big sister's science lessons
History
    listening in to big sister's read-alouds from Sonlight Core A
Language Arts
     BJU Distance Learning Beginnings K5 (covers some history and science too)
     Starfall
     Click 'N' Read phonics
Art
    participating in big sister's art lessons
Other (extra workbooks as desired, since she loves worksheets)
    Mead preschool/preK workbook
    Developing the Early Learner workbooks
    Rod & Staff A-B-C workbooks
    Study Time Publishers preschool workbooks (sold with Rod & Staff material here)
    gymnastics

Ryan:
All these things will just be whenever he wants to do them - no pressure or requirements. 

educational toys and games
listening in to his big sisters' lessons
Starfall phonics
gymnastics

2010-2011
Rebekah, 5 years old, Kindergarten
Reanna, 2-3 years old, preschool
Ryan, 1-2 years old, toddler

For the first half of this year, Rebekah attended public school, and Reanna and Ryan attended preschool 2-3 mornings a week. We took Rebekah out of public school the beginning of January, Reanna out of preschool the end of January, and Ryan out of preschool the end of February.

Rebekah:
Lesson Pathways:  I developed weekly lesson plans covering math, language, science, and social studies using Lesson Pathways, with a variety of internet links and worksheet printouts - all free.
A Reason for Handwriting, Book A
Explode the Code Online: I got a nearly year-long subscription for half-price through http://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org.
Twin Sisters Phonics workbook with CD: I got this on sale for $5 from Mardel! Rebekah loves the songs on the CD, as does her younger sister.
Starfall: This site has great animated clips for learning letter sounds, blends, digraphs, etc.
Hubbard's Cupboard: This free site has lots of beginning reader booklets to print out.
We also used several free other free phonics and handwriting websites.
Saxon Math 1:  We started this in March, after completing all the lesson plans I had developed earlier.
Studying God's Word, Book A
Developing the Early Learner: I got all 4 books in this set more for Reanna, but she wasn't quite ready for all of it, so I'm doing it more with Rebekah instead for now. I'll start again with Reanna maybe in a few months, and then Ryan after that. They are probably best for a 4-year-old, though Rebekah is getting good use out of them too.
I'm sure we've used other things too, mostly free stuff we've found here and there, but I can't remember them all. We have a good selection of picture books, Little Jewel books, Bible story books, etc. We also like to watch "How It's Made" on the Science Channel.

Reanna and Ryan:
We purchased a lot of educational toys and games from Timberdoodle to keep the little ones occupied.  See my blog post here and here about all we have been using.
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