New School Year!

Wow! I have not been on here in a long time. There is no excuse; I simply forgot about it during our busy summer. :-)

We are back in the saddle again with Judah's second grade year. This year instead of purchasing a ready to use curriculum that covers all subjects (like Sonlight or Heart of Dakota). I decided to order separate curricula for each subject and schedule it out on my own so I could get the kinds of approaches I felt Judah would benefit the most from. I like tinkering with curriculum. I think it stems from my addiction to school supply shopping. I have to admit that I still get buying fever when I see those displays go up at Wal-Mart. What is it about pencils, notebooks, and folders that always brings a smile to my face?

Anyway, this year we are using Mystery of History 1, Saxon Math, Apologia Young Explorers (Anatomy), A Reason for Handwriting, Rod and Staff Grammar, Explode the Code, and Sonlight's Readers. I got our spelling lists an worksheets from Http://www.SuperTeacherWorksheets.com and am writing my own journal prompts. I also scheduled it out as a four-day schedule (Mon.-Thur.) since Mike is home on Fridays.

We have a hybrid home school schedule too this year. My sis-in-law and I are sharing the duties of homeschooling our two boys. Mondays, I teach both boys at Grandma's house (we set up a school room in the basement). Tuesdays, she teaches both boys at her house. Wednesdays, we each do our own thing. Thursdays, we alternate teaching at grandma's house.

It seems to be working really well so far. The boys are doing very well, and we are staying on track with the schedule. Yay!

Teach Me Joy Giveaway

I just heard about this fantastic giveaway of Teach Me Joy Curriculum packages. It would be fantastic for homeschooling mamas or mothers of preschoolers. Looks really fun!

Click here for the details at The Crafty Classroom!

More info from the Teach Me Joy website...
Teach me Joy is a self-published early learning homeschool curriculum that has been brought to you by a seasoned teacher and homeschooling mom.

After extensive searching for the right preschool curriculum, Joy Bryant, the author of Teach me Joy Curricula, developed a program that would be easy to teach and easy to learn. Joy's programs give some wonderful tools to teach your preschoolers from home in a way that is AFFORDABLE! Her goal is to instill a love of learning while developing a valuable educational foundation.

Animal Play Preschool Curriculum for 2 & 3 year olds
•Detailed lesson plans in an easy to read format that includes Bible, Phonics, Math, Animal study and Music each week.
•Activities and Crafts designed to encourage creativity, motor skills, and make learning fun and engaging.
•Worksheets highlighting skills learned.
•Tips and teaching helps.
•Extra activity ideas for eager learners.
•Lists of books used and suggested books for reading together.

Fruit for Tender Hearts for K3-K5

•Detailed Helps and Lesson Plans for each area of study.
•Bible verses and stories that teach different “fruit” and character qualities.
•Introduction to letters & their sounds using a vertical phonics approach.
•Math concepts cover counting, number recognition, colors and shapes, measurement, ordering, and more.
•Weekly science lessons explore the body, nutrition and healthy habits.
•Worksheets and activities to keep learning fun and engaging.
•“Bigger Step” options for students who are ready to do some book work and are ready to read.
•Lessons targeting different learning styles.
•Weekly life skill suggestions.

Joy of Handwriting - Handwriting Curriculum
•Handwriting tips and instructions for younger and older learners.
•Reproducible worksheets for lower case and capital letters.
•Flashcards showing the cursive letter on lines on one side and teaching helps on the other.
•Blank “Story Pages” that include a picture and a place to write a story or just practice.

Box Day!

Our pre-school curriculum from Sonlight arrived this week. It is awesome! We are going to officially start the schedule next week, but Judah was so excited, we have already started reading the books and doing the developmental workbooks. He is thrilled to be in "school."
I didn't even tell him that I had ordered it. When he saw the delivery man bring the box, he asked what was in it. I told him that it was his school stuff and that Mommy would be his teacher. He started hopping around excitedly. The box was really heavy (gotta love free shipping!) so we slipped on our shoes and went outside to play tag in the front yard while waiting for Daddy to come home and bring it inside for us.
As soon as Mike set the box down on the dining room table, Judah was right there with scissors. I slit the tape open and the first thing he saw was the brown paper packing material. Judah grinned up at me and gasped in joy!
"Mama, I got bags!"
He can make a game out of anything! ...and he has. That brown paper has floated all over our house. He mainly likes to play that it is a bunch of snakes attacking him. or his sister. or me. It is so cute to watch creativity at work.
By the way, he loves the other stuff in the box too.

Scrapbook page created using "Child's Play" by SAS Designs. Get it at bits2kits.com!