Category Archives: Curriculum

Day 131. Curriculum Plan for 2010/2011.

I can’t tell you how good it feels to have the basics for my curriculum, picked out for nest year! I started WAY too late last year and with baby #4 arriving in time for turkey dinner this fall…this mama better have my act together. Not too mention, I have things to do this summer, you know important things like going to the beach and sleeping in. I do not want to be working on school.

I wondered before I homeschooled how much it actually cost, so I’m gonna tell you. I have three orders written out ready to go and they look a little somethin’ like this.

Abeka $156.60

Sonlight $875.77

Teaching Textbooks $242.90

for a grand total of 1275.27 to fill in the core curriculum for the 3 kids for next year…(this does not include electives)

EMMA~ KINDERGARTEN

All core subjects~Abeka

Bible ~ Sonlight

TAYLOR (5TH GRADE)/  CAMERON (6TH GRADE)

Spelling~Abeka

Read & Thinks (reading comprehension quizzes)~ Abeka

Bible~ Sonlight (Almost went with Positive Action curriculum)

Language Arts~Sonlight

Science~Sonlight (Almost went with Abeka)

History~Sonlight

Math~Teaching Textbooks

ELECTIVES FOR ALL THREE KIDS~

Cooking (1x per week) ~ William Sonoma COOKING TOGETHER. Purchased at Borders for 40% off. I have seen lots of kids cookbooks, but this one is fantastic. Very basic ingredients and lots of pictures. We will be doing one recipe a week throughout the year.

Art (1x per week) ~ I am putting together my own gig for this. I wanted actual art projects, not art history etc. I will be sharing this with you when it is complete! I am excited about this one…love love art! Love getting messy and creating things! All three kids will be doing the same thing.

So, after much research, prayer, and thought….this is where it’s at! Of course this plan is always subject to change until the books are in my hands, but I am 99% sure this is where we are headed! Email me with any questions!!!!

Now there are just 39 school days left until summer.

Day 130. Curriculum Review, My Top Three.

It alone, was worth the price of admission to the convention, to have the ability to look at all these curriculum choices in person. I am quite visual and find that I really need to look through and touch these textbooks to figure it all out. If that wasn’t enough, we got to talk to reps too. Our basic line was walk up to a booth and say, “Go! Tell me everything wonderful about your curriculum”. Apparently by the look of shock, that wasn’t the usual question. Ha ha. We got TONS of information. A little overload on the brain, but worth it.

What is the best way to teach phonics and why was the Bob Jones rep dissin’ the Abeka Way to teach it? I have no clue. So, I walk into that exhibit hall expecting that all the “ways” to teach lead to the end result of learning. Are some better than others? I am sure they are, but as an upcoming second year homeschool mom with a background in event planning and nannying, I can not make an educated decision on this subject any more than I can decide the best course of treatment for someone who is ill. I literally didn’t even understand his words while he was explaining it. When it comes to textbook driven, literature driven, etc…THAT I can pick to the best of my knowledge for my child, but the rest I am leaving up to the experts. I am choosing to stick with well known, established, and well reviewed companies and trust that they have the “how to learn part” figured out for me.

After all the research, time, and conversations these three companies were my favorite…

I heart Abeka

~I LOVE the way Abeka’s text books are laid out. They are beautifully illustrated and easy to follow and understand. I really like their younger grade curriculum. It is engaging and adorable.

~I find their prices to be very competitive. They are a lot lower than at least what I have seen out there for traditional style learning.

~It is God integrated, truly. There are Bible verses everywhere and God is found in everything from word problems to science discoveries.

I do not heart Abeka’s…

~Bible program. It seems quite old fashioned to me, pretty pricey, and is not very interactive.

~Lesson plan books. Although they are all done for you and laid out day by day. My brain and their organizational method are not friends. They verge on enemy status and it’s pretty frustrating.

I heart Sonlight

~This company exists for the homeschooling family. You are not using a curriculum designed for the classroom yet adapted for home. It is designed for a home learning environment. It does make a difference.

~Curriculum is designed to teach multiple grade levels at a time. It is laid out by age range and grade range. So if you kids are within a three years or so of each other. ONE CURRICULUM LEVEL, not two!

~It’s very easy to understand and put together. You can buy a newcomer kit or customize your own.

~They offer several math programs and handwriting programs, so you can choose what’s best for you!

~Tons of gorgeous books and more books. No textbooks.

~Incredible customer service. That’s huge to me.

~ Lesson plans and I are already BFF. They are not bound, laid out by week, and each week is on it’s own page.

Sonlight kinda scares me…

~ Literature based learning. No textbooks. No quizzes. No tests.

I say…WHAT? “They” say it works. I’m more than willing to step out of the box and try it.

Check out their website. It’s great. It will explain everything far better than I. Make sure and check out 27 reasons why families love Sonlight and 27 reasons why NOT to buy Sonlight. These two articles seem to do a pretty thorough job of explaining Sonlight.

I HEART TEACHING TEXTBOOKS.

The end. Admittedly, I have not used it yet, but check out their website and tell me what is not to love. This is a math curriculum only. I am just a little excited about it.

My curriculum plan for 2010-2011 school year will be found in the next post. I have decided and it’s May, YAY ME!

Now there is just 40 school days left until summer.

Homeschool Curriculum Help?

O.k. hoping for lots of input from all you homeschool veterans out there.

I use primarily ABeka and am pretty happy with most of it. However, I really want to switch next year and use Math for sure and possibly language either in a dvd or computer format for my older two kids. They will be in 5th and 6th grade next year. I feel like I am not doing “enough” with those two subjects. The constant drilling and discipline are hard for me. I would feel better with them having a teacher explain it to them first!

A Beka offers a video option. The program is the same curriculum as what I am using, the only difference is that you get a classroom setting with a teacher presenting the daily lesson.  Sounds good to me but the problem is there is two “bundles” you can purchase it in. So, I have to buy science, math, and history, OR language spelling reading and all of that. I don’t want to pay the additional cost for all the subjects to be taught on video. I just want math and possibly language.

Anyone know of any other curriculums out there that offer a video or computer type option available to purchase by single subjects?

THANK YOU FOR ANY HELP YOU CAN GIVE ME!!!!!

Day 114. The Great Curriculum Hunt.

Curriculum catalogs are daily arriving in the mail. Registration forms for endless amounts of homeschool conventions are joining them. I hear the excitement in blog world about curriculum ordering time! It’s landing upon us. There are coupons, ads, and free shipping deals everywhere.

There are SO many choices. They all kind of scare me, honestly. There is a trap out there of endless planning and purchasing curriculum. I have seen it and don’t want it to become the focus of school for us. I love party planning and event planning. Believe me, sitting in that trap, would be quite comfortable for me. Looking through catalogs and living online for hours is not out of the question. Choosing from all the bright new shiny books, fun educational helps, charts, planners…and what about all the extras involved with electives, field trips and art? I’m hyperventilating just thinking about it.

The bottom line is this. The end result hopefully will be the same with whatever method or curriculum company you choose. Learning. So, how much does it REALLY matter? I have no answer for this, unfortunately.

I have read that if a curriculum isn’t working. Stop using it and try something new. I have to say, I am not sure I agree with that 100% of the time. Especially when you are new to homeschooling. Simply because it could usher you right into this trap of never really getting to the learning aspect. Maybe down the line if I had more years of experience behind me, I could see this being the case.

A big lesson I have learned after my extensive 113 days of homeschooling behind me is: Don’t forget to TEACH. After all this is homeSCHOOL. Don’t get caught up too much in the how, where, when, and why. If you do you may never actually get to looking at the “what” of it. Homeschooling is not simply about the curriculum. Learning how to balance both teacher and mom, how to integrate school into our home, help my children through the adjustment of being at home, and deal with the new found relationship dynamics in my home. These are at the top of my priority list, for now. The way I figure it, there are EXPERTS who are writing and producing all of these fab books and programs. They have sometimes hundreds of years behind them. I’m pretty sure they are all gonna work, right?

Curriculum is important, do not get me wrong. It just needs to be in the correct place on the priority list. It’s too easy to become consumed. Being overwhelmed will make me lose sight of all of the valuable things.

School days march on. Vacation is staring at me. I can hear it calling…

Now there is just 56 school days left until summer.

Day 94. A Pizza Party.

Now this is my kinda school. A Party? When my friend Kim sent me an email to this link, I was completely floored. For $7.95 you download 105 pages of this week long study. It is aimed at a broad age range of kids. Now while this study does cover math, history, geography, art, and other topics…It is not a complete curriculum. However, I can see many many more of these in our future. We are having a great time learning together! ALL of us on the same page….literally.

These studies would also be great for a family that does not homeschool. They really are FUN. They have links to videos, library book suggestions, family fun ideas, and more…

I printed 3 copies out on my computer at home. By the end of the week we will have put our first Lap book together. If you are new to homeschooling you may be asking what is a Lap book? You can see one here.

You can guess what was for lunch?!

One BIG HUGE lesson I am learning this year, is that things are only brand new for a short while. Because of this, we have taken this week “off’ of our normal studies. When something is NEW it takes longer, for everybody. This will allow us all to figure out the routine of this unit study and lap book thing, as well as get ready for our open house on Sunday. More pics to come this week of our quest for ultimate pizza knowledge…

THANKS KIM FOR THE TIP!!!!

Now there are just 76 school days left until summer.

Day 88. Diorama Day.

Today it was Diorama Day. The kids both finished independently reading The Secret Garden and Tom Sawyer. We aborted Abeka’s reading program within 6 weeks of school starting. Seriously none of us could deal with it well. It would have the kids read 5 pages at a time. It was very choppy and just not our gig. I found some excellent things for our reading now. First stop was these novels and diorama’s. Next week new books begin.

This morning we went to Target to acquire some empty shoeboxes to begin the diorama project. When we got home, the kids picked their scenes out, discussed the book, and went nuts. Emma completely missed that the older two, were making scenes from their books. The funny thing is that she just went for it. With really no instruction on what it was “supposed” to be. She didn’t care and was happily proclaiming her creativity for the world to hear.

I still have my diorama that I made in 5th grade. It was of the book Benji and the Flood. It is packed far away in the abyss that is my garage. I remember making it with my grandma and grandpa. She clipped the metal ends off her special sewing pins to allow me to use the pearl at the top to hang down as rain drops in my box. Funny the things we remember.

Well here are our finished products! I love these. We are going to do them again this year for sure cuz they are fun!

This is Emma’s…do you see she has a chandelier hanging. I LOVE my girl. I’m training her well!

This is Taylor’s Secret Garden with real tissue paper flowers. Cameron’s follows of Tom Sawyer. Give that boy something to build and he is on a mission.

It was a great morning. Very relaxed. I really could play with crafts all the live long day!

Now there are just 82 school days left until summer.

Bible.


Oddly enough, the night before school started, I realized despite my 9 boxes of curriculum from A Beka the Christian Curriculum experts…I had no Bible curriculum. I didn’t realize that when I checked those pretty little all inclusive and oh so attractive kit boxes, Bible was not a part of it. Strange.

I quickly called my two BCS teacher friends and found out that BCS uses Positive Action Curriculum. Done. So would I. Cameron was in a 4/5 combo class last year and didn’t use that specific curriculum because of it. So Yay for me! I ordered the 4th grade Bible curriculum for both Cameron and Taylor this year. $72 for the both of them and the teacher guide!
It’s entitled Building Life Castles. It studies the New Testament and the life of Christ. We are beginning it this week. Can’t wait.

Curriculum.


I am using primarily A Beka curriculum? Why? I am familiar with it and a lot of Christian schools use it. I love the fact that its Christ centered. Book titles are things like God’s Gift of Language, Understanding God’s World, etc.

I was able to order the grade level in a kit. I just checked 3 boxes: 4th grade, 5th grade, and k-4. I have heard its not the cheapest. I honestly did not price it out. I paid $1500 for all three kids. For the most part, I have been really happy with everything. It is broken down in to 170 days. All the lesson plans are done for you. Simply read and follow. In theory, it is fool proof.
Being completely new, I decided to go with this familiar system. The kids have learned with A Beka for years now. I thought about looking around, but honestly didn’t even know what to look for. I used the energy and time into getting ready to teach, instead.
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