This year, we will start our 6th year of homeschooling. I gave up long ago assigning a grade level to my children because homeschooling affords me the opportunity to work with each child at their level. As I've learned through these years, success is defined by forward progress and I am delighted every year to see forward progress in each of my children as we complete another school year together.

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Here is what we will be learning this year:

Little Bug

Math

Christian Light Education Level 3

Language Arts

Little Bug is an avid, voracious reader. She consumes books quicker than I can keep them stocked in the house. When she runs out of library books, she turns to Epic, a $5/month app that is worth every penny. It gives her access to thousands of books when we can't make it to the library. This is an example of me teaching my children on their level. Little Bug did not learn to read when, according to our culture and society, she should have been reading. I believe in delayed academics, especially if the child is not interested. I put away the phonics curriculum in Kindergarten and brought it back out the next year, and it was literally like from one day to the next it all clicked for her. Right around the time she was 6.5 years old, she started fluently reading and hasn't stopped since. She delights in reading every single day! That is a gift to my child that could never have a price tag. I am convinced her love of reading came because I did not force her to learn to read on my time table. I waited until she showed me she was developmentally ready to learn to read. She can go far and wide in this world simply because she can read and devour information. And, most importantly, she can read the Word of God. This is my ultimate goal in teaching all of my children to read. One down, three to go!

All About Spelling Level 3

This is a very straight-forward approach to teaching and applying spelling rules. Little Bug’s spelling has improved with Levels 1 and 2, so we will continue on with All About Spelling Level 3 this year.

Explode the Code Books 7 & 8

I have found the Explode the Code series to be good reinforcement of phonics and spelling. Little Bug will complete the last two books in the series this year.

Classical Copywork

Classical Copywork includes Bible verse from Genesis for Little Bug to copy and practice her handwriting. Genesis will tie in well with our ancient history studies.

Classical Conversations English Grammar

Because we do Classical Conversations, I don’t have to do a Grammar curriculum because that starts when we start the Essentials program (next year). We are working on memorizing all of CC’s English Grammar memory work before we begin Essentials next year. Having this foundational information memorized will help Little Bug be able to apply this knowledge in Essentials.

Daily Grams Grade 4 & Usborne's Grammar and Punctuation

I came across Daily Grams and Usborne’s Grammar and Punctuation and for their price ($15 combined), I thought they were worth purchasing. The lessons are short and sweet and will give Little Bug a small dosage of English grammar before Essentials next year. We won’t do these every day, and we probably won’t finish either one this year, but we will use them to get our feet wet in English grammar!

Sweet Pea

Math

Christian Light Education Level 1

Language Arts

All About Reading Level 1

I started phonics with Sweet Pea last year, but she wasn't ready. Learning to read should be a fun, enticing adventure for a child. When there are tears, that is my first sign that the child is not developmentally ready. I put the phonics curriculum away for a while and then came across Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons this past Spring. We did the first 40 or so lessons and those lessons gave Sweet Pea confidence. She is chomping at the bit to start All About Reading Level 1 and I am looking forward to seeing it all click for her hopefully very soon!

Explode the Code ABC

Sweet Pea went through the Explode the Code ABC series last year and she will go through them a second time this year because they are an excellent reinforcement for letter sounds taught in All About Reading. There is also handwriting practice included.

Classical Copywork

Together

Morning Time

Bible & Scripture Memory

Read Aloud

Loop Schedule - Handwriting Without Tears Cursive & Progeny Press Study Guide

I am giving the loop schedule a try this year after reading Better Together by Pam Barnhill. I think this is the right time to give it a whirl and see if it fits into our homeschool. A loop schedule is for all those things that never seem to get done. For us, cursive is at the top of this list. Little Bug has begged me to teach her cursive for a while now, but I have put it off due to lack of time. We will use Handwriting Without Tear Cursive. I also want to work through Progeny Press Study guide Frog and Toad Together with both girls. Both of these subjects will be put in the loop schedule. They will not have a specific day assigned to do them. During morning time (probably the last 10-15 minutes), we will do one of them. So if we do cursive one day, the next time we do the loop subjects, we will do Progeny Press. A week could go by and the next time we do the loop schedule, we would pick up with cursive and then Progeny Press. The loop schedule assures each subject gets equal time, so that something is not left totally undone at the end of the year. We will see how this works for us this year! Anything else that comes along in the year that we want to do together can be added to this loop schedule.

Classical Conversations Cycle 1

History: Ancient History

I have collected many books that correlate with our History Memory Work. I didn't go so far as to match every single week; some weeks we have multiple titles to read and others we have none! We will just read through the books together as the year goes. I tried to find stories (instead of nonfiction) to make the History Memory Work come alive to us!

Science: Biology and Earth Science

All of my children love the Magic School Bus series and Little Bug received this Magic School Bus volcano kit for her birthday, so we will incorporate these into our science studies!

I also collected many books that correlate with our science topics. I tried to get a mix of stories and non-fiction. We are also going to to enjoy simple, no-prep activities that will correlate with our Memory Work but, most importantly, create memories along the way of these early elementary years. These activities include a trip to the zoo, planting a seed and watching it grow, a leaf scavenger hunt and playing with our rock collection.

Geography: Africa and the World

We will be studying Africa this year. These placemats are excellent for locating our Geography Memory Work on the map. We are going to give Draw Africa a try. It gives step-by-step instructions on how to draw the continent of Africa. I also have many African stories to read to the children.

Sarge & Beau

Morning Time

Read Aloud

ABCs

123s

Those are my well-laid plans for this year. Through these years, I've learned to keep things simple. Every year there is so much I want to do with my children, but every year, I have to step back and realize what is most important in these early years: relationships. My relationship with my husband and my children, their relationships with each other and, most importantly, our (my) relationship with God - the One who has brought us all together to be family. My life is everything I imagined it not to be! There are challenges I didn't see coming, obstacles that at times have seemed impossible, but God is showing me the way, step-by-step, as I trust in Him to provide for my every need as I march on in this journey called life.

- Elaine