Our curriculum for 2008-2009 (Read below)

Yeah...I know this pages is very outdated....I will update it before the school year is over!  ha ha Thanks for being patient! In the mean time, read about some of the curriculum we've enjoyed using in the past:


As I mentioned in an earlier post, our school year is going to start on Monday, August 4th. I am beside myself with excitement. Sweet-Pea decided tonight that she was going to share my joy, so she pulled out one of her books from last year and started doing a few pages. She cracks me up sometimes!

Since we use a large variety of curricula, I thought I'd post it all here to share with fellow homeschoolers. If you have questions about any of them, please feel free to post a message and leave your email address. I'll be glad to respond and help in any way I can. Here goes:

GEOGRAPHY:
We fell in love with Geomatters a few years ago. Their Trail Guides are the best! We always get the complete guide and CD-Rom that cover all 3 levels - Primary, Intermediate and Secondary. This way I can teach the same basic material to both my daughter (primary level) and son (secondary level). They each fill out their own geography notebook and fill in their own giant maps. We are very excited about studying about Bible Geography this year. We covered both U.S. and World Geography the previous 2 years, so this was a nice change.

The Trail Guide is for all levels, the Student Bible atlas is for Sweet-Pea (2nd grade) only since it's a simplified book. Lionel (9th grade) gets the Atlas of the Bible Lands. The Bible maps then and now book is just for fun, and the time line we will do together throughout the year. We have a great time line background for it on our wall all ready to go. With Geography Matters (also known as Geomatters), there are great books to read that go along with their curriculum. Sweet-Pea will read Heaven's Heroes, and Missionary Stories with the Millers. Lionel will read The Bronze Bow.



MATH:
Sweet-Pea will be once again using Horizons for Math. She did Horizons grade 1 last year and really enjoyed it. She likes the colorful books and Edward (who teaches the kids' math) enjoys the way it's taught. Lionel will be completing his Saxon Algebra from last year. They started it earlier than they needed to, so this year should be a breeze for them. If they finish it before the year is 2/3 of the way through, they'll just go ahead and begin geometry. Fun fun! I love watching Edward teach the kids, it's a great time of bonding for them and it helps Daddy really get involved in our homeschooling. That's huge!

HISTORY:
This is my absolute favorite subject of all time, and this year tops them all!!! We have always loved the Beautiful Feet curriculum for History. Learning with living books is so much more exciting if you ask me. No more memorizing those 'oh-so-boring' dates, names and places the hard way. You'd be surprised what kids pick up when reading books that bring the whole thing to life!! Lionel will be using the Medieval history senior high pack this year. He will be reviewing some of what he learned in the intermediate Medieval history 2 years ago, but this will get more advanced while using a lot of great classic books! Some of the books include: Joan of Arc, Ivanhoe, the Magna Charta, Scottish Chiefs, Luther, Canterbury Tales, Shakespeare's King John and Henry VIII and many more! The time line is fun to color and fill in, and the teacher's guide gives you lots to do besides read if you want. Sweet-Pea will also be using Beautiful Feet once again. Last year she studied Early American History, but this year we're venturing into a new territory...the History of Horses!! I'm SO happy to have found this for her since she loves horses. I was going to use another one of Beautiful Feet's literature packs, but this one grabbed my attention right away! Not only will she be reading some great classics, but she will watch great videos about horses, learn to draw them, and learn all about the animal - how to care for them, how they are bred, and more. She will learn about their blood lines from the 1700's to the 1900's. Pretty impressive huh? The books she got are simply wonderful. Some include: Album of Horses, The Black Stallion, Misty of Chincoteague, Draw 50 Horses, Justin Morgan Had a Horse, Handbook of Horses and more!

SCIENCE:
This is my 2nd favorite subject. Although it's getting a bit more challenging with Lionel, Sweet-Pea still is learning about the basics which is a lot of fun. This year for Sweet-Pea we are studying all about astronomy! We will be using the Jeannie Fulbright book put out by Apologia entitled "Exploring Creation with Astronomy" from the Young Explorer Series. I highly recommend all of the Young Explorer books. They are only $35. and they are filled with awesome photos, great information and all from a Biblical point of view - something that is important to us. I bought all 5 of Jeannie's books and put them aside for Sweet-Pea. There is one on Botany, 3 on Zoology and this Astronomy one. I only wish they were out when Lionel was doing science in the elementary grades. Lionel will also be using Apologia for his science. He has completed the General and Physical Science books, so now it's onto the big stuff...Biology! I'm a bit nervous about it, but it should be interesting. We have our microscope all set to go, and are anxiously awaiting for the chapter in the book where we get to dissect a few creatures...a frog, a crayfish, perch and an earthworm. Gag! I'm sure I'll be posting photos when the time comes. The great thing about Apologia's high school science books, are that they come with extras online for free, and for a small price ($15.) you can get a multimedia companion cd-rom, and/or the audio companion for the book. I also think they just came out with the whole book for the computer, but honestly I like reading it together, so I passed on that one.

WRITING/ENGLISH:
My least favorite subject to teach, simply because I'm not very good at it. I'm sure as you've read through my blog you have noticed I'm not the best with grammar and proper language. The poor kids will also suffer from it unless I work on this area with them a great deal. Lionel has used WriteShop in the past. We did not complete the 2nd book, so that is our goal for this year...to complete the last 10 weeks. It's a wonderful curriculum with a ton of online support if you need it. The books are a little difficult to understand at first, but once you get the hang of it, they're a breeze! You just need time to prepare ahead of time so when you go to teach it to your child, they'll understand it. Lionel caught on before I did in some areas. Smartie-pants! The instructions are pretty cut and dry though, so if you read through them, you too will understand how this curriculum works. I wish I had this when I was young so I was better prepared for college! I also purchased Wordly Wise 3000 for him as well as Word Roots...just for some extra practice. He's pretty good with vocabulary, but it never hurts to keep reviewing. Sweet-Pea will be doing a few different things. She will be doing Abeka's Writing with Phonics - cursive. She did cursive last year with Abeka and did quite well. After this year, we will stop with formal handwriting. I just want to polish it up a bit, plus they have her writing in a journal this year for handwriting, and that is a plus for me. She also will use Abeka's Language 2 and Letters & Sounds 2 books to help her with her phonics. She's learning to read better, but she does need work. It did not come naturally to her like it did with Lionel. He was reading before he was 4!! She is 7 and it's just clicking now. No matter...they always catch up. I think she'll be my avid book reader though. She loves being read to and she's always got some sort of book in her hands.


FOREIGN LANGUAGE:
A few years ago when we were looking for a good foreign language curriculum, we had already heard of Rosetta Stone, but we thought it was too expensive. So, we found something else and we actually grew to love it even more than RS. We use Learnables. It's put out by International Linguistics Corp. Lionel absolutely loves it. He finds that the drawing photos are a lot funnier to look at than real photos. Of course that's not what is important, but it does help. He has learned useful phrases and sentences, not simply words like you do in most foreign language classes. It's the type of learning an adult could relate to as well as a child, plus it's useful the way it's taught! This year, in the 3rd level, he will learn the grammatical side of it all, so it will flow and fit together better. By the end of the 3rd book, he should be able to read and understand the language fully without worrying about translation. I took 3 years of Spanish in high school and it got me no where. Lionel is learning so much more at his own pace. He does it all by himself on the computer and in his books. I only grade what he's written, and the answers are all in the back, so it's easy for me. Good thing!

BIBLE, ART, TYPING & SPELLING:
We haven't really studied art that much, but my kids know quite a bit from visiting several local art museums. I believe that learning is not just in the classroom, so we go out as much as possible so they can learn what's out there. When we are home and have 'extra' time, we like to use the How Great Thou Art books for our art classes. Recently Lionel took a career assessment test online and we found that one of his top areas of interest is graphic art...so...it looks like we may have to pursue art a bit more than we have in the past. I think we'll throw in a few good books on famous artists and use the How Great Thou Art books this year. Lionel will also be learning to type this year by using the Mavis Beacon Typing Instructor CD. We also will be reviewing some spelling with Spelling Power. That's a great book which is very user friendly.

We also have Bible studies together which is of the utmost importance in our home. During the school year, the kids and I sit at the dining room table for breakfast and they eat while I lead them in devotions. I have my coffee which is enough to get me going! ha ha We have used several different books in the past. Some include: Keys for Kids, Hymns for a Kid's Heart, Mission Adventures, Kay Arthur's Discover 4 Yourself devotional books, Four Paws from Heaven and The Thinking Toolbox (fun book!). Of course the Bible is our number one resource, especially when Lionel is doing quiz team at church. This year they'll be studying the book of Luke.

Well, besides music lessons and dance, that about covers it. Phew!! Lionel will continue with his violin lessons. He's in his 5th year already and we're so proud of him. Just last month he started in book 7 already - quite a feat for any violin player. He is now playing Spring from The Four Seasons. He loves it!!! Sweet-Pea is also going to continue with her ballet lessons, but that will probably take the back burner to her flute lessons. I will continue to teach her the flute since I've played for ages and used to teach it up until she was born. That will definitely save us some money. She is already practicing quite often and is getting pretty good for being only 7. I still enjoy watching her dance and hope that the new studio she attends will keep her love of dancing in her heart!

Sorry about the long post, but honestly there was no other way to post all the curriculum we're going to be using this year. I did leave out a few of the extras we throw in, but I've written enough and I'm tired. Have a great weekend and remember, pop me a message if you have questions about any of the curricula I've mentioned. I'd love to help if I can.