I plan to start our school year on September 4th. I have done a lot of thinking and revamping over the summer. In some areas, I was being too gentle, meaning not pushing hard enough. We have worked very hard all summer to try to get everyone up to par in math and reading.
So here is my 2011-2012 general plan:
Bible: Hebrew Life and Times
This is a delightful book that I found free for my kindle. It goes through the Bible, looking at the culture behind the stories. At the end of each chapter, there are additional activities and study ideas. We will use the age appropriate ones.
Torah School
I contribute at Torah School and am very happy to be back after some maternity/babymoon time off. I have some ideas that I plan to add for the next cycle. Our main copywork will come from Torah School.
Math: Jones Geniuses
Naomi will be finishing up Matrix Math soon, and will then move into Math 3. We’ll see if we can get to Math 4.
Holly and Isaac will be in Matrix Math for awhile and will then move to Math 3.
History: A Child’s History of the World by Virgil Hillyer
We will be reading this out loud together three times a week and posting pictures on our wall timeline. We will be skipping the first few chapters due to some evolutionary thinking.
Science: A Child’s Geography
This book is much more science than geography, in my opinion. It covers everything from lava to atmospheric layers. We will also be studying geology with various resources that I have collected online. Some are from Currclick, like this little freebie. I hope to study astronomy later in the year, but I haven’t planned that out yet.
Reading: I have collected an assortment of readers for the kids to work through, to continue cementing their new skills.
McGuffey 1st reader
Christian Liberty Nature Reader 1
Reading to Learn Series “I Wonder”
Learn to Read Bible
Brandenburg Studies on Currclick also has some good literature designed for newer readers, that we will be using.
Nature Study:
We will be using a combination of The Outdoor Hour and Using Nature Study, Nature Journals and Poetry through the Year by Katie’s Homeschool Cottage
Looks great! I am always interested in what other materials poeple are using…thanks for sharing! xxx
Looks great, Heidi! I added Hebrew Life and Times to my wishlist (paperback). I didn't know Christian Light had a nature reader – I'm off to check it out. Thanks for sharing. =)
I feel the same way of not pushing to hard last school year. I have found my self working on lessons plans the last few days… in just child # 2…. anyway I am planning to start first of August!
Herbew Life and Times, Looks like a wonderful (New) resource for me. Thanks for sharing it. I bookmarked it to purchase.
I never got past Hilliers History book because of the firect couple chapters. Have you read through the whole things yet? I would love a review on the rest of it. I have heard it is a good book, but was just too "tired" to deal with weeding through it at that time a few years ago…but always wonderd if I was too rash in my judgement.