Our 2013-2014 Curriculum

For many, school is about to begin and thus the season of curriculum posts is upon us. But for my family, school has already begun. You may have wondered where I was for the last few weeks and now you know. We started school on July 22 so we are in our 3rd week already! 

Why start school in July?

Well this year, I have decided to shake things up a bit. The first change is that we are doing a different school calendar. We will go to school for 6 weeks and then take a week off. This week off will be used for all or some of the following- field trips, catch-up, my planning, rest and fun. 

The other change is to some of our curriculum, which will be following a somewhat revised Classical Education. Last spring, I read Susan Wise Bauer's The Well Trained Mind. As much as I thought I was NOT a Classical homeschooler, I was shocked to find out that most of my beliefs about education were indeed right in line with Classical Education!

All together:

History- Story of the World 2- Middle Ages

Geography- Expedition Earth from Confessions of a Homeschooler

Science- Elemental Science- Chemistry

Reading- books to go along with History and various novel studies

Art- World's Greatest Artist Vol 1 from Confessions of a Homeschooler (free right now!)

5th Grade:

Math- Math U See Epsilon and Math Mammoth, maybe even some Crewton Ramone videos.

Writing- Writing With Ease (4) and IEW Student Writing Intensive A

Grammar- Growing with Grammar

Spelling- Spelling Workout (6)

3rd Grade:

Math- Math U See Gamma and Math Mammoth, maybe even some Crewton Ramone videos.
Writing- Writing With Ease (3) and IEW Student Writing Intensive A

Grammar- First Language Lessons (3) and a wee bit of Growing with Grammar

Spelling- Spelling Workout (3)

Kindergarten/1st Grade: 

Math- finishing Math U See Primer and moving into Alpha by Halloween

Handwriting- Logic of English

Phonics- Plaid Phonics A (the last half of the book), Logic of English

Reading- All About Reading Level 1

Other- Moving Beyond the Page 5-7, and we are moving as fast or slow as she wants. No rush to finish the 9 week units in 9 weeks.

And there you have it! We are busy this year!

If you'd like some help planning out your year, here are some free printables that I find very helpful-

It's July! Time For Winning at Planning

I had every intention of beginning my planning long before this day, but as many of you can relate, life got in the way. If you've been with me for any length of time, you know that I am a planner. Flying by the seat of my pants is not the way I roll, so bare with me as I obsess about planning! After 30-something years (like how I skirted around an exact #), I have come to terms with my obsession. 

So, let the games begin! I have most of our curriculum picked out and purchased. As always, I am prepared to sideline anything that doesn't work and go on a hunt for a replacement.

Last year, I had a blog series called Winning at Planning. I have revamped the entire series to match up with my B.Y.O.B Build Your Own Binder Homeschool pages. I truly hope that this series continues to bless you and help you navigate your way through the early days of homeschool planning.