I know I haven't posted about the materials we are using. We are currently using Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons for reading. I started this with Mason earlier in the year and we are about three-fourths of the way through. He has really taken to reading and he seems to retain the material well as long as we stay consistent about working on it.
When he finishes this, we will start the other curriculum I purchased this year at the homeschool convention. I bought the My Father's World set, but after looking through the materials, I decided on the first grade curriculum rather than the kindergarten. I just wasn't impressed with the biblical content of the kindergarten set. I think Mason is ready for something more in-depth. I hope I haven't bitten off too much by doing this, but I really think Mason can do it, especially since he has taken to reading so well.
For math, we're using Saxon. I deliberated on this a lot and decided that it looked to be very comprehensive. I liked the scope and sequence the best of the other curriculums I looked at and the instructions make it very simple for someone to teach. Today was Mason's first experience with it and he really, really enjoyed it. He is definitely a hands-on learner, so all the materials in this curriculum seem to suit him.
The My Father's World curriculum includes science materials. After looking through the books, I was impressed by the topics covered and how they often tie into the Bible lesson. I am also using some ideas from Green Thumbs and 501 Science Experiments for additional hands-on activities. Today, we made milk-jug bird houses from the Green Thumbs book.
I also plan to incorporate some art and music appreciation with some of the optional materials I purchased from My Father's World. Read-aloud is still a big focus for us, too. I have posted here before about Jim Trelease's Read Aloud Handbook. I also have the kids do some copy work on our chalk board each day. It is usually a Bible verse for Mason and Addie practices tracing her name and shapes for now.
Another idea that I'm using to help things run more smoothly and to cut down on the arguing about what we're doing next is this visual schedule. I printed pictures of our materials onto 4"x6" Post-It photo paper. Each day, I can put the pictures of what we have planned to do in order. I let the kids pick which picture is last so they can have something they enjoy to work towards during the day. It may be a movie, a game, or some computer time. Just something that will keep them motivated to get their work done. As they complete each activity, they move a poker chip to the next picture. They seemed to enjoy using it today.
While Mason is busy, I am using the Tot Trays that I learned about from this homeschooling blogger with Addie. These are just some special activities that I reserve only for this time and work with her. She gets to pick which tray we use. Lately, she has been pretty interested in this puzzle. She was concentrating so hard here that her tongue was hanging out of her mouth! She does that a lot. It drives the speech pathologist in me crazy!
I have logged many, many hours trying to plan this school year which is one reason that my posting here has been so sparse. I was waiting until I had something concrete to post. I thought I would never decide on curriculum! I finally committed, though, and I'm feeling pretty excited about it. I know that today the kids were just amazed by the novelty of it all and that in a few weeks we may be looking for new ways to maintain their attention. But, for today, it was a great first day of school!
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