A few weeks ago I wrote a massive post about our many and varied curriculum choices for this year, and the internet stole it. (It was very sad.) It's been four years since I last wrote about curriculum, though, so I'm going to try this again, albeit with significantly less commentary and fewer pictures (like none) than the first time around. If you have questions about anything, please don't hesitate to ask! For reference, I have (approximately) middle school, fifth grade, third grade, first grade, preschool, and a darling little girl who will be ONE YEAR OLD this week and just started taking 8-10 steps at a time!
MATH
Levi is using Elements of Mathematics: Foundations (an online course). He's been using this program for three years and it continues to be a perfect fit for him. The first course is free right now, thanks to COVID, so if you're in the market for prealgebra for a mathy kid, give it a try!
Owen will finish up level 5A of Beast Academy within the month. There are four levels per grade (A-D), so he's set for a few months at least. We have never used the online component, but I hear great things about it, and I believe there's a COVID-related discount for that as well.
Silas is going the traditional route with Saxon. He tends to need the spiral approach more than his big brothers, but we skip a lot of the problems that he doesn't need to review.
Toby just started the second grade book of Mathematical Reasoning from Critical Thinking Co. It's colorful and engaging and he likes it. I wish he was memorizing his math facts a little more, but not enough to switch to something else. Calvin was so jealous of Toby's book that he's (somewhat sporadically) doing the four-year-old level of the same program!
SCIENCE
Levi asked to do physics back in January, so I handed him a textbook someone had given me for free and let him at it. I'm so glad he can do this on his own. I only passed physics in college because I was dating a very patient engineering major. (True story.) After taking most of the summer off, this text should carry him through the spring.
Owen's science got lost in the shuffle in the early months of 2020, after we finished the previous year's biology course in December. He reads the science encyclopedias frequently just for fun, so I don't worry much about his intake of facts. So, for now, we're going the "computer science" route and letting him do half an hour of coding on Scratch every day. We're not comfortable with the community aspect of a website for a kid his age, so we downloaded the app onto the desktop computer and that's working out fine.
Silas and Toby are doing a world geography unit study approach this year, so they're studying animals and habitats, mainly through library picture books and our science encyclopedias (we have at least four). Also, we purchased a Curiosity Stream subscription in the spring and have really enjoyed watching documentaries about animals and places.
LANGUAGE ARTS
Writing
Levi: Writing with Skill
Owen and Silas: Writing with Ease (different levels)
Grammar
Levi: . . . actually I just realized he's not doing any right now. Oops. He's had a super thorough foundation with Michael Clay Thompson, though.
Owen and Silas: Michael Clay Thompson (together)
Toby: Nothing specific right now, though he often listens in to Owen and Silas's lessons. He was very engaged when we did MCT's new beginning grammar book, Poodle Knows What?. We love this program (at least through the first two levels).
Literature
Levi: various literature guides on novels connected with our history studies
Owen and Silas: the literature packages that correspond with their MCT grammar level
Toby: reads everything he can get his hands on, and is frequently mad at me that I won't let him read some of Levi's middle-grade novels
Spelling/Copywork/Vocab
Levi has vocab included in his literature guides.
Owen and Silas have copywork and dictation every week in Writing with Ease.
Toby: Spelling You See. As far as reading skills, it's way too easy, but it's been good for him to think through how to spell things. And his handwriting has improved dramatically over the past year!
And, Calvin has been asking to learn how to read, so we're doing a little of Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. He's twelve lessons in at the time of this writing, and it's just starting to click.
HISTORY
Levi and Owen: Mystery of History. We just hit quarter four of volume three! We love it. (See some memories from volume one, five years ago, here.)
Silas and Toby: various historical figures from the different places we're studying all year, again mainly through library picture books and a few easy chapter books.
BIBLE
Our family does after-dinner devotions six days a week. After several years, we're nearing the end of Old Story New (after having completed Long Story Short). We continue to sing one hymn a month as part of our devotions. Also, we're into our third year of having what I like to call a "hard stop" of Bible reading before we get into our afternoon schoolwork. This is our second year of working through this Bible reading plan, adjusted to fit a five-day week instead of six (basically, we're skipping the prophets for now). The four older boys read in their own Bibles, and I read to Calvin out of a story Bible.
LANGUAGES
Levi: Second Form Latin
Owen: Hebrew (Obviously, Isaac is overseeing this, not me!)
Silas and Toby: Spanish (mostly just vocab so far, but the next book gets into more phrases and such)
LOGIC
Levi and Owen: Logic Liftoff. Both really enjoyed the first book of the series, Logic Countdown, last year, so we're continuing on. We do this once a week at most, just out loud together.
Silas: Inference Jones. Silas has had some difficulty in reading comprehension and retention (but not decoding), and this two-book series works specifically on those skills. Surprisingly (to me, because he tends to be a bit of an Eeyore about everything), he likes it. I think maybe he likes that he's the only one to do it, so he gets me alone for a few minutes, but that's good enough reason for me. :)
FINE ARTS/EXTRACURRICULARS
Levi and I are in the process of choosing a new piano teacher, as his retired in the spring. Owen continues art lessons with his beloved art teacher, and Silas continues to excel at the violin. Toby recently switched from violin to piano lessons (with me), for a variety of reasons. We are hopeful that homeschool soccer will start up again next month!
We do a little bit of most things every day, a few things only once or twice a week, and choose busier days four days a week to keep Fridays open for other things. Even with this incredibly long list above, we never start before 9am, we're always done by 3:30pm, and that includes an hour of time outside before or after lunch. My mom takes Calvin for preschool two mornings a week, which is good for him and fantastic for me (he is a busy, busy boy!). When Tessa drops her morning nap, she'll get to go to Grandma's then, too!
. . . I think that's everything. Are you tired yet? I am. 😉 In all seriousness, though, we're two weeks into our school year and settling nicely into a rhythm. In this season of chaos, I admit I'm very grateful that little about our daily lives has changed. While not every day is a stroll in the park for sure, I do love our messy, creative, wonder-full days together as a family. If I can help you craft your own rhythms at home, please, please ask! I'd love to chat!
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