2014-2015 Curriculum Choices for Kindergarten, Grades 3 and 5

Right about this time of the summer, we start really getting the gears in motion for our upcoming school year. This week we decided to start back already, a couple of days a week, easing back into the routine. Since my husband and I are away at the beginning of September, there are some subjects the kids won’t be covering at their grandparents’, and when August hits, everyone seems to act like they’ve had enough of summer vacation (y’know what I mean, the kids aren’t really bored, just acting up and behaving like they do when we’ve been too long out of a routine).

These are our 2014-2015 Curriculum Choices!

Bible

We start each day with Bible at breakfast – typically some sort of a character study or family discussion. Currently we have been working through Clay and Sally Clarkson’s Our 24 Family Ways. When that is finished, I have Apologia’s Who Is God which we will be slowly working our way through.

Our other Bible time favourite is Grapevine Studies. I’m looking forward to digging into the Catechism this time around! PS There’s a huge sale on student and teacher bundles right now until August 31st. Go check it out!

History

This is a big one this year. We are FINALLY digging into our Mystery of History Volume 1 Creation to Resurrection. I have had this for at least 3 years, waiting until it would be easier to do with all 3 of the older kids. I’m super excited, slightly overwhelmed, and know we’ll be taking it slow and just absorbing as much as possible.

Bright Ideas Press has lots of extras to go along with MOH and we are looking forward to using some of them with our curriculum:

colouring pages, folderbooks, challenge cards and notebooking pages (these are available all in 1 easy download and on sale now too!)
reproducibles CD
MAYBE the audiobook version

We will also be using some of the recommended books on BiblioPlan for Cycle 1 to supplement our reading material. We have LOVED using Ambleside up until last year, but are needing a bit of a change. Though I’m sure I will still be using Ambleside as a reference point, I’m looking forward to digging into some new books with the kids this year.

Science

One of our favourite subjects! We are wrapping up Apologia’s Astronomy over the fall and diving into Anatomy next. We are always so excited about each book and the kids love getting into the details and going beyond with their reading from the library.

I will be using the Anatomy Notebooking Journal as well as a lapbook from Currclick. We’ve done with this Astronomy and the kids really enjoy putting it together.

Math

Kindergarten – finishing up Abeka K and starting (slowly) into RightStart Level A

Grade 3 – RightStart Level C

Grade 5 – finishing RightStart Level D and beginning E

Literature and Reading

After 5 years of teaching literature without a curriculum, we are shaking things up a bit going forward. With 3 almost full time students and a toddler in our home, my time is limited, and we’ve determined better used elsewhere than trying to plan a literature curriculum for 3 students over the year.

We are very excited to be using The Heart of Dakota’s literature program Drawn Into the Heart of Reading for Grades 3 and 5. It focuses on skills in reading, comprehension and narration, all while reading a variety of good literature.

For Keekers, in Kindergarten, she will keep using All ABout Reading Level 2 and the books that go with it, along with recommended reading from our history.

English Grammar

Thanks to my realization that nothing new is learned or taught in grammar from grade 1-6, and encouragement I’ve received from veteran homeschool moms, I have changed my whole grammar philosophy. I LOVE grammar. And to me, doing sentence structures, practicing verbs and parts of speech every day is fun! That would be my eldest, The Boy. He LOVES doing the grammar work.

But to some it’s quite tedious, and yes, even boring. That would be my 2nd born, JJ. And now that I’ve taught grammar for 5 years, I’m beginning to see his point of view.

So instead of beginning to teach grammar with First Language Lessons (which, after the 3rd cycle is starting to taste a bit stale :p), we are pulling back on the grammar instruction with Keekers until 2nd grade and just enjoying reading and learning to write.

For the boys, Grade 3 and Grade 5, they will be using Daily Grams (JUST the daily grams) for grammar practice only. We will then be focusing more on their writing skills with Writing Tales Level 1 and Level 2. The more I homeschool, the more I lean toward a classical approach! We will be doing indepth study of fairy tales and fables, learning to re-write the stories in our own words.