Homeschooling Plan and Curriculum Choices this Year...

My method of teaching and curriculum choices have been flexible over the years due to what season of life our family may be in...the freedom of homeschooling in Florida.   I enjoy and our children thrive on a thematic approach, however this has not always been doable over the years.  We try to instill a "delight for learning" and provide opportunities to further enrich their interests in addition to the learning schedules...such as time to pursue learning about things like the Civil War, military branches, government, Presidents, football, lawn-care, archery, etc.

We have used some core curriculum consistently such as Saxon, ABeka and Apologia as we have found these to be thorough and give a good foundation {however, there are certain years we utilize them...not every year for every child}.   For example, with ABeka, we have used the video curriculum option for K-2nd for the past 4 children as it lays a good reading/phonics foundation.   I usually begin using Saxon in the 6th grade through high school {with the exception of the Senior year being Math-U-See's Stewardship curriculum...great program for covering math skills/topics needed for being a good steward before leaving home...whenever that may be :-)}.   Apologia is typically used from 8th grade beyond, however this year we are using their Astronomy curriculum with our 11 year old son.

This year's plan is below and a notation has been made to the amount of time allotted for each subject, just in case it may be helpful to someone out there.  :-)

Austin working on his Apologia Biology for the day.  He will be taking out the microscope later to work on a science experiment.

Austin (15) ~

Bible/Worldview ~ Starting Points by David Quinine (will also incorporate Writing and Reading) {1 hour daily}

Math ~ Algebra 2 D.I.V.E. and Saxon Algebra 2 {1 hour 15 minutes daily}

Science ~ Apologia Biology (with supplemental lectures through Virtual Homeschool Group…Lord willing) {1 hour 15 minutes daily}

American Literature ~ S.O.S. (Switched on Schoolhouse) {45 minutes daily}

Spanish 1 ~ S.O.S. (Switched on Schoolhouse) {45 minutes daily}

Music ~ participation in our local youth orchestra twice per week plus daily practice (cello) {30 minutes of daily practice, plus 2 -4 hours twice per week at orchestra}

The rubber banded books are assigned reading materials for the Starting Points curriculum...grouped together by semester...I think there are 10-12 books he will do select readings from during this Biblical Worldview study.

An extra hour is allotted within our daily schedule for Austin to use to finish any assignments from the day, if he needed more time than he had allotted.   Otherwise, this time slot can be used for "Jobs for Hire", home-projects or entrepreneurship, or FREE-TIME.

Other topics will be learned using a natural approach through taking field trips, participating in local learning opportunities/classes/lectures and general life skills training through hands-on projects, working and living.  {Economics – managing his earnings, balancing his bank account, keeping within his budget, History – living history, reading good books, attending re-enactments/lectures, as well as the above subjects being complemented by this approach whenever possible.}

S.O.S. Elementary Spanish curriculum has gone well so far this year and Logan seems to enjoy this approach for learning another language.

Logan (11) ~

Bible/Character ~ The Narrow Way by Pearables {30 minutes daily with Mom}

Math ~ Saxon 7/6 {1 hour}

Science ~ Apologia’s Exploring Creation with Astronomy textbook and student notebooking journal {45 minutes Tuesdays-Friday}

Language Arts/Reading ~ Learning Language Arts through Literature tan book {will have a delayed start to using this curriculum…September, at which time 1 hour daily has been allotted}

Handwriting ~ A Reason for Handwriting book E {15 minutes daily}

Elementary Spanish ~ S.O.S. (Switched on Schoolhouse) {45 minutes daily}

Music ~ practicing the recorder and playing during family worship {on occasions during the year}

Other topics will be learned using a natural approach through taking field trips, participating in local learning opportunities/classes/lectures and general life skills training through hands-on projects, working and living.  {History – living history, reading good books, attending re-enactments/lectures, as well as the above subjects being complemented by this approach whenever possible.}

Kitchen table learning...I usually work with Logan & Alyssa a the kitchen table for Bible & Math, then they can move to other rooms for the remainder of the school work.

Alyssa (8) ~

Bible/Character ~ The Narrow Way by Pearables {30 minutes daily with Mom}

Math ~ ABeka Arithmetic 3 {30 minutes daily}

Science ~ ABeka Exploring God's World{15 minutes daily}

Reading ~ ABeka readers grade 3 {30 minutes daily, plus 45 minutes of additional quiet reading time daily}

Handwriting ~ A Reason for Handwriting book C {15 minutes daily}

Elementary Spanish ~ S.O.S. (Switched on Schoolhouse) {45 minutes daily}

Other topics will be learned using a natural approach through taking field trips, participating in local learning opportunities/classes/lectures and general life skills training through hands-on projects, working and living.  {Bright Lights Young Ladies Group – participation with other young ladies every other month using the Bright Lights’ curriculum to help develop godly character, Scripture memorization and hands-on activities, History – living history, reading good books, attending re-enactments/lectures, as well as the above subjects being complemented by this approach whenever possible.}

This little table was purchased from IKEA for the younger children to work at this year...$27 I think ~ a great deal!  The sweet bumble bee chairs I picked up from Lowe's last year on clearance for $4 each (now selling for $10).  The table and chairs are moved into our living room each morning and the three watch ABeka Bible video curriculum before Liz takes a morning nap, then the other two proceed with the rest of the video assignments (with my oversight & direction before/during the lessons).

Graham (5) & Kailynn (4) ~

This year I chose to use these clear plastic totes w/lids to store each child's school books and supplies.  I printed a name label for the front and they can easily be stored away after school work is completed {we do not have an "official" school room...our home is our learning room}.  See the next picture for a outside view of the tote and label.

Using ABeka Video curriculum for Kindergarten encompassing all the following areas: Bible, Reading Readiness, Phonics, Arithmetic/Numbers, Writing (Penmanship), Social Studies, Reading, Art and Enrichment Activities (learning songs, poems, motor skills development activities, etc.) {from about 8:30am until 12pm each day, with a snack break in the middle}

Although we have chosen to put the two children together using this curriculum, the focus is more on Graham than on Kailynn.  We believe she will glean just from regular participation, but some mornings will need to nap instead of doing “school” such was the case this morning after Bible time. 

Due to my season of life (which seems to be the same season of having children/nursing for the past several years), we have found the ABeka video curriculum works for us, providing consistency.  They have a great Phonics program which really helps the children learn to read early and our philosophy is if a child can read they can learn anything.  We desire to give them a good reading foundation, so have used ABeka video for K-2nd grades for the last 4 children {Logan, Alyssa, Graham & Kailynn}.  We began using the ABeka video curriculum when Austin entered the 2nd grade to help with his reading skills…8 years ago and only that year for him.  We also used ABeka English 1 & 2 video curriculum for our oldest {now in his senior year of college} during 9th & 10th grades, as a side note.

So, how have you chosen to pursue learning this year and what curriculum have you found to be a blessing to your family?  There is such a vast array of materials available, learning/teaching styles and opportunities we can all glean from, so please leave a comment and share a glimpse or link to a post about what you are doing.  May He bless your endeavors this year.

Blessings ~