School

I've had a lot of people ask what curriculum we are using this year, so I decided to make a blog post about it so it's all in one place.

I'd like to preface my list by saying that over the last several years we have tried so many different things.  I've had a really hard time finding our homeschooling "groove," but I think that this year we are finally (about) there.  

If you have any questions about what we use or how it works, please feel free to ask.  I love talking about it!

Reading:  Progressive Phonics (Megan); books from Ambleside (boys); Victory Drill (all)
Writing:  Getty & Dubay Italic (Megan); Writing with Ease (boys)
Grammar:  First Language Lessons (all)
Spelling:  Spelling Wisdom (boys)
Math:  Singapore (Megan); Teaching Textbooks (boys)
Science:  Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology w/ Journaling notebooks (all)
History:  Mystery of History (all)
Bible:  Catechism (all); God's Wisdom for Little Girls (Megan)
Other:  Picture Study Portfolios (all)

A few notes for those who care...  The handwriting book that I chose for MEgan is awful and I'm looking for something different.  I do not recommend Getty and Dubay Italic at ALL, but haven't made a decision about what to switch to so we are using it for now.

Singapore kindergarten math is not working either.  I don't love that you have to cut things out every single day, and it is way too easy.  I ordered Sunrise Math 1 for her, so I'll post a review of that once we receive it and have tried it out.

Progressive Phonics is a FREE program that is awesome.  We've been doing it on the computer, but I'll be printing off everything once our printer arrives.  This program is way better than the phonics I used for the boys (can't even remember the name of it), and Megan loves it.

I am using First Language Lessons Level One with all three kids, which might seem strange considering their different ages.  Last year we used Growing with Grammar for the boys and it didn't work for us at all.  They could get through the lessons, but they didn't retain anything.  I decided to start at level one with them so that they can get a firm grasp on the basics before moving on.  We are currently doing 2-3 lessons each day, and as soon as we finish the book we'll move to level 2.

We haven't started the Picture Study Portfolios or spelling yet because they haven't arrived, so I don't have a real review on those yet.  

Whew.  It looks like a lot when I type it all out like that, but it's really not.  We do science two days a week, and same with history.  Those also happen to be the subjects that take the longest, and that the kids enjoy the most.  Fridays are pretty light days this year, and I'm leaving them light so that we can do other activities on that day.

Okay. I have to go start school with the kids, so I'm going to close this insanely long post.  Feel free to ask any questions!!