School Year 2014-2015

  Well, as I said last week, summer is quickly fading.  This is the first year we have taken a real "summer break".  We normally school year round.  However, this year with all 3 partcipating in 4-H, 2 in the Bible Bee, and the garden, we decided to take a few months off.  It was a very good decision too, it may be a new trend in our household ;) 
  Derek has actually been asking for 2 weeks now when we are going to start back up again.  Which, by the way, is incredible!!!  He's my child, who could normally careless about school!  He loves Geography and well.....that's about it.  He did come to me and ask if we could do a different math.  I have loved and praised Teaching Textbooks for the last 2 years, but I'm very much into child-led learning, so I've been looking at different math curriculums for the last couple of weeks and we are going to start with Singapore Math, which is what Heart of Dakota suggests using anyway.  He wanted a "math workbook".  He loves Rod & Staff (we use it for 1st grade) and they have a "worksheet book" for 3rd grade, but not for 4th.  We looked at a few other curriculums, but for now, we've settled on Singapore.  He has done Singapore before during summers as review, so it's not all completely new to him.  So here's the run-down for this year's curriculum lists.

 

 

 

Derek - 4th Grade

 

 

Heart of Dakota - Bigger Hearts for His Glory ~

We use this for Bible, History, Science, Dictation, Poetry, Handwriting, and Reading

(We are finishing up this guide.  He will start "Preparing" sometime around Thanksgiving)

 

 

 

 

 

Singapore Math 3B & 4A

 

 

(This is just a google picture of the ALL the workbooks.

He doesn't have to do all of these this year;)

 

 

 

 

BJU English 4

(He will be finishing this up and starting 5 around Thanksgiving also)

 

 

 

 

Galloping the Globe & Rand McNally Intermediate Geography & Maps

 

        

 

 

 

 

Bible-Based/Self-Paced Computer Typing Curriculum

 

 

 

 

 

Lindsay - 2nd Grade

 

Heart of Dakota - Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory ~

We use this for Bible, History, Science, Spelling, Poetry, Handwriting, & Reading

(She will be finishing up this guide and starting "Bigger" around Thanksgiving also.)

 

 

 

 

 

Teaching Textbooks 3

(She wants to stick with it for now :)

 

 

 

 

BJU English 3

(She will also be starting 4 sometime around Thanksgiving)

 

 

 

 

 

Galloping the Globe & Rand McNally Beginner Geography & Maps

 

      

 

 

 

Bible-Based/Self-Paced Computer Typing Curriculum

 

 

 

Leah - Preschool

 

Rod & Staff Preschool Workbooks

 

 

 

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons

 

 

 

 

Rod & Staff Math 1

 

 

 

 

 

Confessions of a Homeschoolers K-4 Curriculum

 

 

 

  Also, this year, we are going to start something new!  We sat down and talked about somethings the kids really want to work on or learn but just don't have time to work at them every day.  So, I'm so excited this is what we came up with!!  Every morning we will start out with a chapter from "The Miller Books".  We will be starting the school year with "Missonary Stories with the Millers". 

 



 

  After we have read our chapter, we are going to review and complete a day in our Calendar Book from Christian Light Education. 

 

 

  This is mainly for Leah, since the older 2 know their months and days, however, they wanted their own Calendar Books also.  :)  This books also reviews daily weather and seasons. 

  And then each day we will move onto learning that day's subject. 

 

Monday - Geography (Galloping the Globe)

Tuesday - Spanish

Wednesday - Sign Language

Thursday - Music Theory

 

 

  On Fridays, we have Music School in the morning and Co-op in the afternoon.  This first semester at Co-op Derek is taking Pencil Drawing and PE and Lindsay is taking Art (Acrylic Painting) and PE.  Leah will be in the preschool class.  They do all kinds of fun crafts, songs, centers, and work on their letters, sounds, and numbers.  I will be teaching Home Economics to the older girls and Ronnie will be teaching a mechanics class the first semester.  We are looking forward to a new school year!! 

 

  Also, my goal for this year for the blog is to do a review each week of our Heart of Dakota units and also one of our other curriculums each month!  I've had a lot of parents say to me, they would love to homeschool, but just don't think they could.  So my hope would be that I can share how rewarding and easy(most days;) homeschooling actually is!!

 

 

 

Proverbs 1:7 ~

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

School Year 2012-2013

  Well, it's almost that time of year again, for the most kids to be heading back to school.  So it's time to start getting lesson plans ready and picking out which curriculum to choose!  My favorite time of year (along with convention time, when I get to purchase new curriculum!) 

  This past year we decided to mainly homeschool year round.  This gives us the opportunity to take a week off here and there whenever we may need it.  We found out last year when I got sick, how quickly we can get behind!  This way we can stay on top of things and give a little leeway for life :) 

  For the most part, I use Heart of Dakota for everything, I kinda pitch in a few things here and there, but I use their manual as a guide.  So here's the run down of what we have been working on so far and what we will be doing for this first sememster.

Derek - 2nd Grade

Bible, History, Science - Heart of Dakota curriculum

(which includes:  Christian Liberty Press History and Science)

Math - Singapore Math 2A & 2B

Reading/Phonics - Heart of Dakota's Emerging Reader's Set

and Christian Liberty's Adventures in Phonics Level B & C

Handwriting - A Reason for Handwriting Book T

(I suggest this book for learning cursive, it has block print and then moves on to cursive)

Spelling - Heart of Dakota lists

English - BJU English 2

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Lindsay - Kindergarten

Bible, History, Science - Heart of Dakota curriculum

Math - Rod & Staff Math 1 Workbooks

Reading/Phonics - Finishing up Teach your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons

Adventures in Phonics Level B

Handwriting - A Reason for Handwriting Book A

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Leah - Preschool

Rod & Staff Preschool Set

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   Well, that about sums it up for the year!  I'm excited to see what God has in store for us this year!  And I hope you all have a wonderful school year also!!

What curriculum will you be using this year?  Do you use a complete set or a different variety of curriculums?  Are you struggling in a certain area?  Do also like Heart of Dakota?

I'm linked up to The Modest Mom " Not Back to School Blog" Hop

2011-2012 Curriculum Overview

So, we back to hitting the books!!!  And this year, I am so excited to get at it, because I have found a curriculum I have fallen in love with!!!  At least for this year anyway (I kinda have a weakness for curriculum).  Before I go into detail of what we will be using, let me give you our background.  When Derek was 4, I withdrew him from preschool and we tentatively made the decision to homeschool.  We started attending our local homeschool co-op and we all fell in love!!!  Now, at the time I had just recently ended my college career of majoring in Elementary Education and had stopped working at the local Elementary school.  We were still on the edge of whether or not we would be taking this leap full blown or if we would be doing this year by year.  So I decided to purchase Saxon Phonics and Math, mainly because that's what I was familiar teaching and if we ever did decide to send Derek to school, I definately wanted him to be able to slip right in without any major changes.  My best friend, Melisa, was using Abeka with her children in addition to the Saxon Phonics and Math, so I would spend hours pouring over her books and she gave me a lot of resources too.  So for the first year and half (we started halfway through the year when Derek was 4)  I used the Saxon, the Abeka for science, health, and social studies, and kinda just did bible on my own ideas.  
  Then this spring we went to the convention in Cincinnati......oh did that ever change my view!!!!!  Now, mind you, Melisa had taken me to Evansville and it was definately a good thing for my first convention, it was smaller and alot less to take in at one time.  We walked in at Cincinnati and I literally got weak in the knees!!!!  I almost cried, I just wanted to run in and tear the place apart and just soak it all in!!!  Our homeschool co-op has monthly Mom's Night Outs and we had just had a night where we all shared what we were using.  So I had written down lots of ideas to look for while in Cincy.  So with lots of prayer and lots of good speakers, I finally made some great choices for this year!!!!  I decided I really liked the idea of Heart of Dakota at least for the ages of my kids.  Now, I'm not saying I'll stick with it all the way through highschool.  But for now, it's a perfect fit for us!!!  It gives soo many choices, so I can pick and choos what I want to use.  And then to make it even better.  I didn't even have to buy it!!!  Another wonderful mom, Angela, from our co-op just finished the exact one I was looking at for my kids, so she's letting us use it this year!!!  How awesome is that?!?!?  And does God not provide the desires of our hearts when we hand it over to him?!?   
  So here goes.....

(Sorry for the indecency, we like to do school in our pj's!  And no, I don't keep a crib in our living room all the time, we've been redoing the girls' room:)

Derek: Age - 6  1st grade

Heart of Dakota ~ Bible, History, Science

Saxon ~ Math

(We also do lots of Math Workbooks from School Zone, the kids love them!!)

Finishing up - 100 Easy Lessons ~ Reading

Explode the Code Book 3 & Beyond the Code Book 1 ~ Reading & Spelling

A book I picked up at Goodwill for $.50 on grammar that is awesome!!!

(Silver Burdett &Ginn - World of Language 2)

A Reason for Handwriting Book A

A free typing tutor online to teach typing

Bastien ~ Piano

Lindsay:  Age - 4  Pre-K/K

Heart of Dakota ~ Bible, History, Science

School Zone workbooks ~ Math

100 Easy Lessons ~ Reading

(She actually learned all of her sounds and letters from Leap Frog's Letter Factory!!!)

Explode the Code Book 1

A Reason for Handwriting Book K

Bastien ~ Piano

Leah:  Thinks she's bigger than she is

(Because you know, she has to been included!!)

Lot of coloring books

bowls, spoons, cups, and rice or beans

egg carton and pennies

blocks

board books

learning to play the piano "gently"

  So, why do I love Heart of Dakota sooooo much!!!  Well because it ties the three subjects into one!!!  You have a weekly memory verse, so the kids are hitting the scripture hard!  And it starts them out in creation and ends with today and hits on the end times.  It goes all through out history and weaves in science.  And it doesn't just hit the biblical characters for history you also talk about great christian men like St. Valentine.  I am just absolutely in love with it!  (Can you tell?)  Well, if anyone is in doubt of what to use or thinking about using, I hope this is to some comfort to someone.  Otherwise, I hope you have a great school year this year!!!!  Praise God, we live in a country we can openly homeschool!!!!