We have finished 3 weeks of homeschool for this new school year: my 14th year of homeschooling and I’m still a homeschool curriculum junkie. Have I really been homeschooling that long? Many of my homeschool curriculum choices this year are back to my old favorites.
My oldest son has started college and is living 3 hours away from home. He is doing great! And I am doing better than I expected. It’s definitely been an adjustment though. I took the leaf out of the table this week and can’t get used to how small it looks now.
Below are what I’ve chosen as our homeschool curriculum this year. Please note that I do use affiliate links to help pay for maintaing this blog.
11th grade
My oldest daughter, Anna, is in the 11th grade. This year we have loaded her up with classes outside the home. She is in 2 different co-ops: 1 meets twice per week and the other once per week. We found last year that outside deadlines and accountability to someone other than me are a great thing for her. So we loaded her up!
She’s taking:
Pre-calculus taught by an instructor, but using Teaching Textbooks.
US Government and Economics with the Notgrass materials
World Literature
Art
Health and Nutrition
Physics (Apologia Physics with labs done together in co-op)
So far, it’s going well for her. She has her driver’s license (or I would be going batty!)
8th grade
My son William is in 8th grade this year. He has been my struggling learner, but I am really encouraged with his progress this year. He remembered his math concepts over the summer which thrilled me!
He’s using:
Christian Light Math 7 – He has been using this program for several years. We finally found a math program with the right amount of review for him!
All About Spelling – He’s finishing up the last level of AAS this year! It has been a fantastic program for him.
Memorize Galatians – I really love the material from Brookdale House. He is doing great working through the book of Galatians. He will be memorizing the entire book using this program!
Story of the World 2 – ? – Yes, he’s a little old for this, but he does better with audiobooks, so I want to get him a good base for history before high school. He will listen through the series.
Around the World Geography – He is taking this class at a weekly co-op. There has been some homework and projects to do at home and present to the rest of the class.
General Science – I’m still not sure what I’m doing with this. He is taking a general science lab at a weekly co-op (his first experience and I’m happy to report it’s going well.) I pulled out the Apologia General Science book and I just can’t see him making it through the reading. He likes science though, so we may continue the way we have been and allow him to study science topics as he is interested.
5th grade
Lizzie is my 5th grader. She is a bright student and sometimes hard to keep occupied.
She’s learning from:
Singapore Math 5A and 5B – this has been my favorite elementary math program since I started it with my now college student. I love the emphasis on word problems and mathematical understanding.
Latin – She’s finishing up First Form Latin and will start Second Form Latin probably after Christmas.
Classical Composition Fable – I bought this for her last year, but we didn’t make time to do it. I pulled it out again this year and it’s going well. She loves to write and embellish the fables with her own details.
All About Spelling 5 – I love how simple this program is to use. Just pick up the book and go.
Considering God’s Creation and Apologia Elementary Science books – We’re using Considering God’s Creation loosely as a springboard into more in-depth study using the Apologia elementary books. I like the lapbooky aspects of Considering God’s Creation, but I wouldn’t recommend it as a stand alone science program.
Tapestry of Grace Year 2 – I am trying out Tapestry of Grace again. We used it for several years when my oldest 2 were upper elementary to middle school. I had to put it aside because the discussion aspect of the program just wasn’t working for us as a family. The reason I loved the program so much was to have the whole family on the same “page” in history. It was just not a good fit for my oldest. But I felt a nudging toward it again, so I decided to see if we can use it with my 2 younger children. So far we’ve completed the first 2 weeks and it’s going ok. I am feeling a little flustered trying to keep up with everything.
Kindergarten
My baby, Andrew, has started Kindergarten! We are keeping things really light for him and using some old favorites.
Alpha Phonics – This is just simple, no non-sense reading instruction
Handwriting without Tears – Seriously. No tears. He loves it!
Miquon Math – He’s starting with the orange book. He loves to use the Cuisenaire rods.
Verbal Math – This is something new that I’m trying. I like the way it teaches math without writing the problems down.
So far, everything is running relatively smoothly though I do constantly feel pulled in a thousand directions. I should be an expert by now, but I still make mistakes and struggle to get everything done!
By Kristen H.