Today is our first day back at school! We've chosen to have our homeschool run from August to December then take off the whole month of January. (Due to the nature of Brian's job, he is off the first two months of the year so we like to take off and spend some quality time with him.) We are back to school from February to May. I'm not sure how it will all go with having a new baby in the house in October. We'll probably take a short amount of time off, and then give ourselves a few more weeks to ease back into the swing of things.
This year, Gavin will be in first grade! As promised, I'm sharing with you what we are planning to do this year. These are only our core subjects. I'll take another post to share what we do for art, music, nature study, and poetry, etc.
Bible-- We plan to continue using Bible Pictures to Color by Rod and Staff (a Mennonite company) to guide our Bible reading. Each page has a simple picture to color and a Bible passage reference. We started this last year so we plan to pick up where we left off. Their prices are SO reasonable, I bought Maddie a copy to color this year, too. We also plan to continue My ABC Bible Verses by Susan Hunt. This book includes a verse to memorize for each letter of the alphabet.
History-- We will be using TruthQuest History: American History For Young Students I. This program has you reading books (not a textbook!) chronologically through American history. It begins with the Vikings and continues on through Columbus, Colonial life, and the American Revolution. I love that there is an immense book list to choose from so you are bound to find something your library offers that fits your interest, comprehension level, and style.
Math-- Gavin will be starting Making Math Meaningful Level 2. He completed the Level K book last year. It lays such a foundation for math principles that by the end of the year, he took off and conquered so many math concepts on his own that we are skipping the Level 1 book and going straight into Level 2.
Phonics and Handwriting-- Gavin will be starting the Explode the Code series. I also plan to have him continue making the alphabet book he started last year. Each double-page spread concentrates on one letter. On the "D" page, for example, he has written a neat row of the letter in both uppercase and lowercase. Then he has drawn a picture of a dinosaur and copied a scripture that starts with D.
Table time (Bible, math, and phonics) should last about an hour and then we'll allow 30-60 minutes for reading (history).
Bible-- We plan to continue using Bible Pictures to Color by Rod and Staff (a Mennonite company) to guide our Bible reading. Each page has a simple picture to color and a Bible passage reference. We started this last year so we plan to pick up where we left off. Their prices are SO reasonable, I bought Maddie a copy to color this year, too. We also plan to continue My ABC Bible Verses by Susan Hunt. This book includes a verse to memorize for each letter of the alphabet.
History-- We will be using TruthQuest History: American History For Young Students I. This program has you reading books (not a textbook!) chronologically through American history. It begins with the Vikings and continues on through Columbus, Colonial life, and the American Revolution. I love that there is an immense book list to choose from so you are bound to find something your library offers that fits your interest, comprehension level, and style.
Math-- Gavin will be starting Making Math Meaningful Level 2. He completed the Level K book last year. It lays such a foundation for math principles that by the end of the year, he took off and conquered so many math concepts on his own that we are skipping the Level 1 book and going straight into Level 2.
Phonics and Handwriting-- Gavin will be starting the Explode the Code series. I also plan to have him continue making the alphabet book he started last year. Each double-page spread concentrates on one letter. On the "D" page, for example, he has written a neat row of the letter in both uppercase and lowercase. Then he has drawn a picture of a dinosaur and copied a scripture that starts with D.
Table time (Bible, math, and phonics) should last about an hour and then we'll allow 30-60 minutes for reading (history).
Looks wonderful. We used some stuff from Rod and Staff, but I'm gonna have to get those books to help with teaching Bubbie scripture. Great choices!
ReplyDeleteSo you only have to spend about two hours actually sitting down and working, and then you do interactive things? That doesn't sound bad at all.
ReplyDeleteI know this is 5 years old, but any chance you still have TruthQuest History: American History For Young Students I? Or maybe a list of the books you used for this part of American History? I'm looking for specifically Columbus and colonial life.
ReplyDelete