curriculum 2013

Well, we are off on a new year and a new adventure. Everyone is excited. I wish I could bottle the enthusiasm of the girls because I know we are going to need some of it in the days ahead. For now, it is bubbling!

I am linking up with the 4th Annual “Not” Back-to-School blog hop. After you have viewed our curriculum choices, use the link to go check out some other folks’ choices for their curriculum. Our curriculum to start the year is going to be fairly basic. We want to ease into all of the hopes and desires without overwhelming ourselves. So, here is what we have chosen.

J – 4 years old
J is excited about learning and exploring. She is wanting to read some so we will be working towards that, as well. We are going to be using ideas that I have gleaned from all over the internet for what we are going to call J’s Jewels. She is a girly-girl all the way so this works great for her. I’ll load it up each night with experiences for the next day that will focus on play, ABCs, numbers, sounds, and more.

I’ll be using a lot of resources from the following two blogs, in particular.

Other than play, we will be using this alphabet curriculum from This Reading Mama.

1+1+1=1 website is a place I visit often. She has tons of neat ideas that are right up our alley. There are lots of printable and good information on here.
L – 7 years old
E – 9 years old

I am not separating these two giggly girls in their curriculum. Not because they are on the same level but because we will be using the same resources for both of them, just different levels of the resources and differentiating to meet their needs.

Bible – We are starting the year off with ABC Bible verse memorization. We will probably work on two letters a week. Learning these will consist of singing a song of the verse and reference, writing the verse and reference (dry erase, paper, chalk, paint, etc), and drawing the verse. Any other way they want to do it will be acceptable as well. We will also read the verse directly from the Bible. Later in the year, after we are in the swing of things, we will begin working on the lessons from the Kids of Integrity website.

Math – We will be using Spectrum Math books and the TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills). We chose these books because they are based on working the math problems (worksheet style) rather than reading words and trying to decipher necessary and unnecessary information. The TEKS we are using as a scope and sequence to keep ourselves on track over the course of the year. We will be supplementing with Wrap-Ups. I love these because the girls really need to work on their basic fact recall and these are self-checking. We also have flash cards, Bingo-style games, and other games. We will be using a variety of internet sites for fun time practice and printing resources. Our focus at the beginning of the year will be to get the girls up to speed on their facts because that is something the current public school curriculum was truly missing.

Science – We have chosen to use Exploring Creation with Zoology 2: Swimming Creatures. There are several reasons for this choice. We really like the look of this program and it appears to be sound Bible-wise. Also, the girls are fascinated with the ocean and its inhabitants. The girls will be working through the text together and they each have a notebooking journal that they will be using. Their little sister will be joining us for a lot of this study but on a much lower.

History – The girls will be going through a variety of resources for this. We will be doing quite a few unit studies based on literature. I am looking forward to Laura Ingalls Wilder and the likes. We will be doing a US state study using workbooks, flashcards, and notebooking pages from Harrington Harmonies. We will also be using Kids’ Guide to American History, which has some Bible history in it and has a more Bible-based world view.

Language Arts/Writing/Spelling – These will all be combined in our home. We plan to have the girls doing a lot of writing. Partly because they like to write; partly because it is such a tremendous necessity in this world to need to be able to communicate through writing effectively. Their writing will be checked for spelling, punctuation, grammar, etc. and they will be working through the writing process, as well. (Lots of Pinterest ideas for this one.) Additionally, we were blessed to win some writing materials in a giveaway from Renee at Great Peace Academy and Write Shop. Another item that Renee included in our gift that she sent was Silly Starters Write-Abouts. I think the girls will really enjoy them. We will glean spelling lists from words they have problems with and we are looking at a Spelling Bee later in the year.

Additional Studies – Throughout the year, we will undertake other studies as the girls show interest. We are going to do fun units based on what delights their hearts, while making sure their basic foundations get stronger. Spanish will be one of those studies. We know they are interested so we bought a couple of books that we can work through as a family. We picked up Hide and Seek Spanish and Spanish – Elementary from Instructional Fair. I would like to find an art study for E, as she really likes to draw and has a talent for it that I would like to foster. (Any suggestions are appreciated!) Also, we have lots of unit studies, lapbooks, and unit studies that we have been gathering for when the desire to know more comes up.