So what I have found out with home school is...
That you can drown in the amount of info there is
Each child is different in what they like and what the need
You can spend a whole lot of money or not, depending on your likes and dislikes
And everyone home schools differently
I have struggled and prayed and prayed more and spent hours and hours searching thru reviews and blogs and talking to trusted and loved friends who are homeschooling their own children in order to make good decisions for our family.
So for any of you who are interested here is our plan
I am loosely following the Charlotte Mason philosophy.
English/Grammar/Spelling is accomplished thru dictation, copywork, and memorization of scripture and classical poems. I am using Milestones English Language Lessons for the LDS Child to accomplish this. Rachel is working on the Writing Road to Reading for Phonics and writing letters ( she is just learning the phonics cards, we aren't writing all the rules I'm not sure how in depth we'll get, but I like it.)Rachel is a game person so I have been making up games for her to play. I made flash cards for all the phonics (my book is borrowed so I needed to make my own set anyway) I plan to laminate them and then put magnets on the back so she can switch them around to make words (nonsense or real) on our white board. I have downloaded tons of phonics pdfs from K and 1st grade websites. Rachel is good to go after learning the rules once and I want her to have fun stuff she can do while I am working with Abby and Jacob.
We are using Math U See (which is a hands on planned math curriculum) Thanks Mindy for introducing this to me. Rachel has been doing the program for a little over a week. SHE LOVES IT and Jacob and Abby are itching to start!
We will be reading Classical books both individually and aloud.
We will be studying US History and Geography ( I have a book for that too that I will be borrowing and we will learn the states and capitals but not until this fall). And reading the Doctrine and Covenants for our morning Devotional. (again in the fall) for the Summer I have printed out all the Articles of Faith and we will be memorizing 1 each week. So each morning for devotional we will talk about what the A of F means and do lessons on them.
And I am looking into science programs, but we won't do that either until the fall (we are going to enjoy as much outside time as we can!) (I have a book I can borrow from a friend called All God's Creations so we may do that.) For the summer (for science) they will each have a journal and we are doing Square Foot Gardening. They will each be in charge of a box and will need to water it, tend it, and record the growth progress of their plants, and of course they'll help harvest it too! I hope to also take them on some hikes for nature.
We plan to do swim lessons and ride bikes to the park daily (in the morning!) for exercise. It sounds like a lot, but each child has a daily and weekly schedule that allows me individual time with each and some things we do all together. Oh... and all three are taking piano lessons. Whew!
The only program I have had to buy was Math U See. I am very impressed with their stuff, everything else I have borrowed (MELL I downloaded the file and they copy it into their own composition book.) So we'll see how it goes and switch things around as necessary!
Each child has a tote with all their individual stuff in it (just a small tote that easily fits into the book shelf. Remember I don't have a lot of extra room!)
For those of you who are super interested here is our summer schedule
(please note, for the summer "science" is just writing down their observations and drawing pictures of what their garden looks like, might take 15 minutes max!) Also note because we will be spending time with swimming lessons and at the park, these activities will not necessarily be all in one block of time. For example I plan to do scripture study in the morning before we play at the park, Then the first block of time may two blocks before lunch, then everything else later in the afternoon.
You may think I'm crazy, but I have to have a schedule so I don't feel overwhelmed. I may write up a totally new one in 2 weeks, but for now it helps me feel in control of my life. My kids do very well during the summer when they know what comes next. Having a schedule made all the difference for us. Plus I'm a control freak. LOL!
| Monday | Rachel | Abby | Jacob | |||||||||
| 15-20 minutes | Family Scripture Memorization and Scripture Reading | |||||||||||
| 20-30 minutes | Math & or WRTR | Copywork | Dictation | |||||||||
| 30-45 minutes | Reading & Comp Time | Math/English | Play with David | |||||||||
| 30-45 minutes | Handicraft/ Game or Flashcards | Play with David and Rachel | Math/ Grammar | |||||||||
| 30-45 minutes | Reading | Reading | ||||||||||
| 30-45 minutes | ||||||||||||
| Tuesday | Rachel | Abby | Jacob | |||||||||
| 15-20 minutes | Family Scripture Memorization and Scripture Reading | |||||||||||
| 20-30 minutes | Math & or WRTR | Copywork | Typing | |||||||||
| 30-45 minutes | Reading & Comp Time | Math/Read | Play with David | |||||||||
| 30-45 minutes | Free Play | Play with David and Rachel | Math | |||||||||
| 30-45 minutes | Science | Science | ||||||||||
| 30-45 minutes | Handicraft | Reading | ||||||||||
| Wednesday | Rachel | Abby | Jacob | |||||||||
| 15-20 minutes | Family Scripture Memorization and Scripture Reading | |||||||||||
| 20-30 minutes | Math & or WRTR | Copywork | Dictation | |||||||||
| 30-45 minutes | Reading & Comp Time | Math/Read | Play with David | |||||||||
| 30-45 minutes | Handicraft/ Game or Flashcards | Play with David and Rachel | Math | |||||||||
| 30-45 minutes | Reading | |||||||||||
| 30-45 minutes | ||||||||||||
| Thursday | Rachel | Abby | Jacob | |||||||||
| 15-20 minutes | Family Scripture Memorization and Scripture Reading | |||||||||||
| 20-30 minutes | Math & or WRTR | Copywork | Typing | |||||||||
| 30-45 minutes | Reading & Comp Time | Math/Read | Play with David | |||||||||
| 30-45 minutes | Free Play | Play with David and Rachel | Math/Grammar | |||||||||
| 30-45 minutes | Science | Science | ||||||||||
| 30-45 minutes | Reading | |||||||||||
| Friday | Rachel | Abby | Jacob | |||||||||
| 15-20 minutes | Family Scripture Memorization and Scripture Reading | |||||||||||
| 20-30 minutes | Math & or WRTR | Copywork | Reading | |||||||||
| 30-45 minutes | Reading & Comp Time | Math/Read | Play with David | |||||||||
| 30-45 minutes | Handicraft/ Game or Flashcards | Play with David and Rachel | Math/Grammar | |||||||||
| 30-45 minutes | ||||||||||||
| 30-45 minutes | ||||||||||||
