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Happy summer friends! We have had the busiest summer filled with some of the most fun things, and I really don't even want to think about having Aaron go back to work, or getting ourselves back in a routine.
B u t i t ' s A u g u s t.
If you're a parent of a kid, you're probably starting to think about back to school shopping and getting your kids back into a better sleep routine. If you're a homeschooling parent, you're deep in planning and researching ALL the curriculum. This is by far one of my favorite parts of homeschooling. If I'm not careful I end up getting way too much, so I really try go through the things I already have, make detailed lists as to what we could use, read as much as I can about all the resources out there and not get too carried away. It's so hard though because you guys we are doing a study on ants in a couple of months and I really want to get an ant farm. Which is EXACTLY how I end up spending more than I plan to, because let me be clear...I'm going to buy the ant farm.
We finished up our second year of homeschooling in May and I felt really good about where we landed. Here's what we used this last year and what we thought about it:
Konos :: this continues to be the spine of our homeschool days and our very favorite resource we use. I've raved about it in many of my posts. If you missed those, and are interested, you can read about some of the units here and here. It's all about learning Godly character qualities in the most fun ways. It incorporates all subjects and can be used for all ages and whole families. We love it!
Explode the Code :: we continued with these workbooks for some extra phonics help. We don't use a ton of worksheet based curriculum, but about once a week we went through one of these lessons as extra practice to really enhance reading skills. As far as worksheets go, these aren't too bad. It's a nice option if you need something that doesn't take a lot of prep on your part. I plan on continuing to use them next year with both my 2nd grader and kindergartener.
Math Lessons for a Living Education :: I've been so happy with this math curriculum! This is our second year using it, and my oldest really loves it. It's written as an ongoing story, Charlotte Mason style, and it's just a really fun approach to math. There are a few concepts I felt we could have used more time in, so when those came up we just supplemented with something else, or played games that helped with the concepts. Overall, I love this math curriculum and plan on continuing with it as long as we can!
Subtraction Facts That Stick :: These books are GOLD! I listened to a podcast last fall with Kate Snow and knew right away that I wanted to use these resources. It's a quick 15 minutes a day, full of fun games instead of flash cards. If your child is having trouble with their math facts, do yourself a favor and try this series out!
Beautiful Feet Books-Early American History :: Everything that Beautiful Feet Books puts out is absolutely lovely. Learning early American history through rich literature has got to be the best idea ever. My kids love read alouds, so this curriculum fit our family perfectly. We read amazing books by the D'Aulaires, Alice Dalgliesh, Jean Fritz, and Marguerite Henry. We didn't make it through the entire guide, so we will be continuing with that in the coming school year. Can't recommend this enough!
Bravewriter-Arrow Guides :: I really loved these as well this year. Since we already incorporate a lot of read alouds I decided to pick a few throughout the year off of the Quiver of Arrows book list. Each arrow guide includes copy work, dictation, spelling words, and grammar, introducing all of these through reading the book aloud. We used arrow guides for The Wheel on the School, The House at Pooh Corner, and Charlotte's Web. Individually they are inexpensive and so much fun to use.
Magic School Bus Science Kits :: I added these subscription based science kits mid-way through the year and was really happy with them. They come with instruction and nearly all of the materials needed for 7 different experiments related to a particular topic. Topics include acids and bases, volcanoes, solids, liquids and gases, fossils, lights, rainbows and mirrors, water, the human body, bacteria and fungi, magnets, stars and planets, air and weather station. They are so much fun and a great way to learn about these topics in addition to just reading about them.
Hooked On Phonics :: When my oldest was learning how to read we went with How To Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons, which is a great curriculum. It worked really well for her and gave her a great foundation to build off of. However when I started my middle daughter on it, she wasn't impressed. She had been super excited to start learning to read, and a few lessons in decided she no longer wanted to. After researching a few others, I landed on Hooked on Phonics and it's been so great for her. It's flashier, with fun books and stories, stickers, and even some video lessons. One of the things I love most about homeschooling is being able to individualize how each of my kids learns if necessary, so I'm glad I wasn't scared to switch it up and try something new to fit her personality.
That's it! We only have a few precious weeks of summer left before we jump back into all the things. I'm going to read a little more, let the house be cluttered for a few more hours, hop in the pool a few more times, eat some shave ice, and stay up just a little bit later. I hope you do too!
