The countdown has begun.
Our 2010-2011 school year starts in exactly 3 weeks.
YIKES!
Some how our summer break has slipped quickly away. It happens every year, but somehow I’m always shocked.
With that being said, I am shaking off the stupor of lazy summer days. This week I have proclaimed as my “Get er’ done” week. Watch out school room here I come!
I will be organizing, filing, pitching and sorting. Not to mention putting things back in their proper places. Somehow this room gathers and stores items from all over the house.
When the school room is back in proper order I will tackle this~
New books!
I usually order our core curriculum from Sonlight, but this year I didn’t need to do that. My oldest and I are still working our way through Core 6-World History Part 1. There is so much to learn in this core, it is amazing. I do believe we will be able to finish this core before the end of the year. So, I ordered some literary classics to fill in, plus I am hoping to add in more writing assignments to strengthen his writing skills. I also purchased a book from The Critical Thinking Company, which he will use to strengthen his analytical thinking skills. Plus, he will continue learning Spanish using Rosetta Stone.
If you followed my homeschool blog in the past (which I have now merged into this one), you know that my middle son has dyslexia. This year once again I searched for a different phonics program. We have worked through several over the past couple of years and I needed to find another to help us build on the skills he has learned so far. Most curriculums only have phonics workbooks through the second grade so it is becoming increasingly difficult for me to find books that will work for him since he is going into the sixth grade.
I finally decided on Megawords 1 a book that will help him decode, spell and understand multisyllabic words. I am hoping this book will strengthen his ability to break down big words into manageable parts, so that he can sound them out more easily. Along with that we will be using The Spell of Words to strengthen his spelling even more. If reading is hard for him, spelling is a nightmare. This spelling curriculum is designed specifically for dyslexics, so I’m hoping it will be useful for us. I bought Language Smarts C from The Critical Thinking Company to use as a review of phonics rules. This is an area I just don’t feel we can slack off on. So, we continue to hit the phonics hard with workbooks and word lists that we make in a notebook. I also purchased Just Write which I will be using with both my younger boys to help strengthen their writing skills. He will also be continuing on with Explode the Code books 5, 5 1/2 and 6.
I will be using all the books above except for the Megawords 1 with my youngest son. I think it will help to alleviate some of the stress for me of trying to teach all three of them something different. He will also be using Explode the Code books but books 2 1/2, 3 and possibly 3 1/2.
Both my older boys will be using Teaching Textbooks for their math this year and my youngest son will continue in his A Beka Math. All other subjects will be covered using Sonlight Core 2 and Core 6.
As for the princess, we will be doing a laid back year of pre-school, filled with lots of reading, coloring, art, and some basic letter and number recognition. I will be using the Sonlight pre-K reading curriculum and A Beka Pre-K phonics and number book with her.
The time is come for me to get to business. I have books to read and subjects to figure out. Schedules need to be made and copies printed. Notebooks labeled and folders filled. Pencils sharpened and crayons sorted.
It may sound crazy, but I thrive on this. I love the organization and ordering of our school year. I am looking forward to the challenge and hoping to throw a bit of creativity into the school room itself this week.
If your a homeschooling family what plans do you have for your school year?
For more curriculum choices from other homeschoolers visit Heart of the Matter.
