First Day (of 2nd year) Success!

I put alot of thought into our 2nd year and really hoped it would go better than our first year. Don't get me wrong. Our first year was great but it was more about learning HOW to do it and building confidence. I've gone into this second year with so much more confidence. I don't have to worry about if I can do it or not. I know that I can now. With that being said......

This year has started off on the right foot! My slap bracelet system worked as I had anticipated. Number 1 says it really helps her since she knows what she's accomplished and how much is left. I think it kept the school time from feeling "unending" to her. And since she is able to remove a bracelet for every subject completed, she felt as if she were getting somewhere and reaching her goal for the day.

And because we dare not leave #2 out:

I think our favorite part of the day was history. Mystery of History is awesome. I'm suspecting that #1 is an audio learner so having the CD's "read" to her as she followed along in the book worked well. Draw and Write Through History was fun for her too since she likes art. Here's a pic of her during her history lesson. It's my fave pic of the day.

Number 1 was in tears last night. She was terrified of going into 4th grade. I would say the school day ended very well as everyone was happy and had smiles on their face. And #1 realized there was nothing at all to fear.

Gearing up for our 2nd year!

We made it through our first year! As I tried to convince my skeptical hubby to let me HS over a year ago, one of my arguments was that it didn't have to be a forever deal. We could try it and if it didn't work, no biggie. Put them back in public school. Thankfully it did work. Even hubby is convinced of the pros of HS and has no objection with continuing.
I will say that the first year was hard and a bit chaotic. I heard that it would be. So much of the first year is trying to figure out how to do it and what works best for the family. I started out with a strict traditional approach that just about killed it all for us. Once I realized that we do not have to recreate PS at home, it went much better. We are, after all, schooling at HOME.
Then I had to figure out the whole curriculum thing. Honestly, I think I'm still figuring it out. Could curriculum be one of those things that are never fully perfected? Time will tell what we settle into. Our first year was a whirlwind of curriculum swapping. I hope there will be much less of that this year. Thankfully the only thing we are behind on is Math (as I changed math programs more than any other).
I am looking forward to starting back in August. The plans were to school through the summer but that didn't work out. I don't think we have spent any time on schoolwork in the month of July.We have several new things to try as I narrow down the curriculum choices that seem to work best for us. We still haven't found the perfect math program though......
The biggest changes I'll be making for the upcoming school year is having an official "schedule" for the year. I read a great book that has given me lots of tips. The main tip I'll be implementing is a yearly schedule. Last year we sort of flew by the seat of our pants. This year I'll be trying the 3/1 schedule. As in, we'll do 3 weeks of school and take one week off. I think this will be a great schedule for us. Especially for the way hubby's work schedule is. The week off will give us time to breath, rethink anything that needs to be done different, and clean my HOUSE! Our schedule will allow a week off every month and still have the whole month of July off. We shall see how this works out.
Another thing I'll be trying is "subject bracelets." I got these slap bracelets ordered from Oriental Trading. My plan is to use a Sharpie marker and write one subject per bracelet. So we'll have a math bracelet, handwriting bracelet, spelling bracelet, etc. She has to put all the bracelets on when she gets up in the morning. As she completes a subject she can take the bracelet off. Hopefully this will help her to take some responsibility for her learning instead of depending on me to tell her what's next. She loves it when I get distracted so she can "forget" to get her schoolwork done. Then at 9pm we realize spelling (or whatever) was overlooked and it's now too late. That's got to stop!
I won't be using the subject bracelets for #2's Kindergarten work. I don't think she's quite old enough yet. But her day is coming ;-)

So far our 4th grade curriculum choices are looking like this:
Mcruffy Math (will be trying BJU math or Teaching Textbooks when we finish)
BJU English and continue with Winston Grammar
A Reason for Spelling (will probably switch to BJU when we finish)
BJU Handwriting
Mystery of History for the first 1/2 of the year (along with correlating History pockets, Draw and Write through History, and Drive Through History videos). I'm really excited about history this year!
Undecided on Science since we won't be starting it until mid year.

For Kindergarten:
BJU Phonics and Worktext
BJU handwriting
continue with Horizons math

I really hope this all works well for us so I don't have to make any more changes. I'm ready to settle into a program and keep it there.

The one thing I'm most concerned about for the upcoming year is teaching #2 reading. I've never done it before. It's so foundational to everything else so I've got to get it right! Number 2 is showing signs of reading readiness so hopefully this goes well.


I'll be back with updates as our 2nd year progresses! :-)

Summer "plans" update

I had high expectations for summer. That didn't go so well! My 16 year old sis in law decided to stay the summer with us. It's been great and the kids have loved having her here. It has, however, messed up the summer plans and our normal school routine. We have managed to fit in some math, handwriting, and grammar here and there but that's about it. So much for my grand plans! But that's ok. Relationship with family is more important in the long run.

Teaching Reading Makes Me NERVOUS!!

I've been thinking alot about teaching #2 how to read. It freaks me out a little! Reading is so foundational to everything else. It's one subject/skill that has to be done right. Number 1 went to public school until 2nd grade so she was already a good reader when we started HS. I've never had to teach reading.

I've been looking at all kinds of phonics/reading programs. How in the world does one know which one to pick? There are several different theories of which approach works best. Of course every approach declares that it is the best way to go. ~sigh~

I think I've decided to go with BJU Phonics program. I was able to look through it in person not too long ago and I liked what I saw. It's the K5 program. Number 2 will be 5 years old in November and I wonder if starting in August would be too soon.

Decisions, Decisions. I can do this. I can do this........

Shiller Math update

We've been using SM since January. So what do I think of it now that I have more experience with it?

For #1 (now 9 years old):
I haven't used it with her for a while. I think I had a hard time placing her within the program from the beginning. She got bored with it quickly because it mostly seemed like review. She hates math anyway and I got discouraged. That's when we switched to Time 4 Learning.
A few days ago I looked into the third book (the last of the first set) to see about doing a few pages with her. Again, I just wasn't sure where to place her. So I'll probably just sell the 3rd book to someone who is interested.
We still use the manipulatives.

For #2 (4 years old):
We started Horizons Math for her since I felt she needed something more workbook-y. I was surprised at how well she took to Horizons. I do give the credit to SM for a good beginning foundation. Horizons moves pretty fast and she's not faced any troubles yet.
We're almost to the end of the first book. I plan to continue with it as long as it seems to work. I'll be alternating back and forth between SM and Horizons.

Overall, I think it's great for little ones starting out with Math. It's gentle and fun. I'll use it with #3 when she's ready for Math. I wish #1 had started out with it. That's the only reason I don't think it has worked for her.

So nice to have friends.....

....that HS too. I know I could do it without them, but I certainly wouldn't want to! They offer ideas and encouragment. Not having to go at anything alone, especially HS, is truly a blessing.

For instance. I heard about a representative for a certain curriculum publisher coming to a nearby town. I planned to go with or without anyone I knew. But a fellow HS mom met me there. It was nice to be able to look through the books together. Our kids got to play (quietly) while we did so.

I do wish my HS friends lived locally but I'll take what I can get. At least the times we do get together is even more precious. The friendships that have developed between other HS moms and also between all our kids is another one of those rare and beautiful treasures.

Our Summer plans

It didn't take me long to decide that we would school year around. I don't want to lose ground by taking the whole summer off and then having to spend time in review once we start back. I also like the routine that schooling provides. It keeps everyone from getting bored and acting out.

So what are we planning to do during the summer? We are currently on a one week well deserved break (haven't had one of those since the beginning of March!) so I've had time to think this over. I don't think we're going to do a full work load like we usually do. My biggest concern is Math since we switched programs a couple times during the year trying to find the right match. We are a little behind and need to get caught up. Besides, Math is one of those subjects that if you don't use it you'll lose it pretty quick. At least, it is in our case.

So, our summer program will look more like this:
For 3rd/4th grade
Math: Continue on with Time4Learning. T4L is still working out great for #1. Math is still not her fave subject but at least we don't have as many tears. I also want to incorporate some workbooks to give her math time that's not on the computer. I haven't decided on which workbooks.
Language Arts: Continue on with T4L and Winston Grammar.
Art: Start Artistic Pursuits
Handwriting: We were doing Abeka's cursive worksheets earlier in the year. As we tried to adjust to homeschooling, handwriting was one of those unnecessary subjects that we quit. With a lighter summer schedule, I think it would be a good time to start it back. However, I will not be using Abeka. I'm looking at D'Nealian handwriting or BJU Press Handwriting.
*UPDATE: We started BJU Handwriting today (6/7/11). Thoughts on it to come later. 
Spanish: Grandma has actually been working with #1 on this!

Right now we are still using My Father's World ECC for Bible/Science/History/Geography. It's going well and we really like it. We'll be putting it aside for the summer though and start back in the Fall.

For Pre-k/K:
Not really going to be making any changes here. We already take things easy for #2. She's only 4!
Math: A combination of Shiller Math and Horizons Math
Early Phonics: Keep going with Get Ready for the Code series. We're about to start Book C of the series which is the last one!
Handwriting: We haven't been doing this as she just hasn't been ready. She's finally showing signs of readiness so I've been looking into what I'd like to start. Right now, I'm most interested in D'Nealian.
*UPDATE: Will be going with "Write Now" from BJU Press. I decided to wait until we start Kindy work in the late summer/early fall.

We'll see how this goes. I consider us to still be in the tedious learning stage of homeschool. Hopefully, summer school works for us. If not, I'll know better for next summer!