We've been homeschooling about a month now, and I've been tweaking our curriculum a bit lately. I'll list what we've been doing so far and why I chose those, and then I'll list some of the changes and why I'm changing.
Before I begin, here's our pretty flexible schedule (with plenty of room to take off and explore):
7:30 Wake up and breakfast
8:00 Xtra Math
8:30 Chores
9:00-12:00 School Core (Math, Reading, Language Arts, Science, History or Geography)
12:00-1:00 lunch
1:00-3:00 Five in a Row and any other projects
Monday: Nature Study with homeschool group
Tuesday: Tennis
Friday: Volunteer with local animal shelter
Our 2012-2013 Curriculum Choices
Math: Singapore Math (1A and 1B) and www.xtramath.com and lots of math games
Overall I have been happy with Singapore Math. I started both boys at level 1 and I should have started at level 2 at least, but they are enjoying the "easy" math lessons, and this gives us time to work on math fact recall. I chose Singapore because, in my research in math programs, Singapore stood out as one of the best with teaching word problems and practical math. As with many ASD kids, my kids can get the concrete, but have a very hard time moving beyond the page and into real life. Singapore's weakness (so I've read), is that they don't spend much time of facts. Enter xtramath. It's free, it's fast, and it's easy. Anyone can join, check it out if you want a basic but good math fact review program! And of course, we play as many math-related fun games as possible.
Reading: Tons!
The boys read to me out loud, I read to them, they read to themselves, etc. etc every day. We have a daily reading time and try to read books that either go along with our lessons, seasonal, or are just fun.
Language Arts: Sandi Queen's Language Lessons for Little Ones 3
I love Language Lessons for my kids!!! Again, I started with an easier level to transition the boys into a different way of thinking. Unlike the math, I think I started on the right level. The lessons are short, which the boys still need at this point. I like that is has some dictation, reviews of spelling/phonics rules, has poetry appreciation, art study, and copy work. Most of all, it makes them think and communicate in different ways. We talk about feelings, facial expressions, the boys have to make up stories, give characters names, etc. It's been a wonderful fit, and we plan on sticking with it. The boys tolerate it (I think in part because of the short lessons!!), but Language Arts just isn't their favorite right now. Surprise though, they love the art appreciation lessons. :)
Handwriting: Sandi Queen's Handwriting Primer
Once again I went with Sandi Queen. Her short lessons that demand perfection have hit home with both boys. They are erasing mistakes (they used to just cross them out or try to write over it), and their handwriting has improved dramatically already! They hate handwriting, well, writing in general, but the short lessons make it okay for them. They love all the gushing praise they are getting about their handwriting now. Since they have fine motor delays, I'm holding off on cursive until next year for Andrew, and probably 2 years for Lucas.
Spelling: Purposeful Design
At first I chose Queen's Learning to Spell through Copywork, but I couldn't see any difference in the boys spelling, and the effectiveness of Queen's other products were losing their punch with the extra copywork involved. So, I decided to switch to Purposeful Design. It is more of a traditional program in that it has list words, but the boys do different things with the words like proofread, word finds, fill in the blanks, etc. They grumble, but I think it's working better, and they seem to like it better than Queens.
History: A happy mix of American History
Our first curriculum was Elemental History. I thought it would be great because it had a project with each event studied, but the lessons were long for my kids, and they were not retaining any of it. Nothing. It was frustrating for us all. I still think it's a good curriculum, but it just wasn't a good fit for where the boys are right now. Our new history curriculum is a happy mix of portions from My Father's World (an early version I was gifted), living books, History Pockets (Native Americans), and the Learn Our History video series. The boys like hearing the stories from some of the books, doing the hands-on activities, and they really like our timeline. We refer to it a lot. We decided on an overview of American History this year to complement our US Geography studies. That is also why we are studying Native Americans. As we learn about a US region, we learn about the Native Americans who used to live in the area. Andrew likes history better than Lucas, but they both like the mix of activities, and they seem to retain it a lot better now.
Geography: Road Trip USA, free state travel info, Internet, Scrambled States Game, and Which Way USA
This is a favorite of the year for both boys. I purchased Road Trip USA from www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com and we love it. There are projects, food, map making, etc that goes along with each state. It's a hit at our house! We do one or two states a week depending on our schedule. We also use the Internet to look up facts about the state, and I have tried to order free travel guides from the state we're studying (when I remember to order it in time). That is fun for the boys! They love getting state packages!! There are a lot of supplements out there (Target dollar bin, Dollar Store, etc), and it's hard to list all of the things I pull. We do a lot with the states.
Science: Elemental Science Biology for the Grammar Student, monthly science kit, lots of experiments from books we have at the house
Elemental Science is a good blend of hands-on projects with short reading assignments, animal studies, and on-going projects. At this stage, there is still the understanding that most written work will be narrated to the parents, which is great. It works on the boys communication, makes them think like a scientist, but doesn't let their fine motor delay hinder their learning. I plan on sticking with Elemental Science. Right now, we are doing an animal study. Lucas LOVES science, so we also have a monthly science kit delivered to our house which contains different experiments based on the monthly theme. We also do random experiments whenever the boys want to try something out. No, I'm not super science-y, but I have found if you can't beat 'em, join 'em...or they just may burn/flood/injure something or someone. :)
Last, but certainly not least, I have just ordered Five in a Row volume 1 for us to start next week. I can't wait! This will hopefully bring books to life for the boys and give us some time to really dig into a book, do a lot of fun projects together all revolving around the book, and make some great memories. I'll have to update you more on this after we get started, but I am SERIOUSLY EXCITED about Five in a Row!!!!!
That's it for the year! We really are having fun and learning a lot. More importantly, I feel the boys are learning "how" to learn. They are looking stuff up in books, on the Internet, using the library (a lot), and practicing focus and concentration. They LOVE to learn, and I LOVE that I get to be a part of it!
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