I’d put first grade but I’m not quite sure that Jr.’s all the way in first grade. Not that it really matters given that we can move him forward or backwards as we need. But still for any who happen by and actually find this interesting it might be important.
Math:
Singapore Primary Math 1
This is by far the easiest selection this year. We found Singapore last year and we are sticking with it this year. I’m am planning on getting the Home Educators Guide in the hopes that it will have easy to use hands-on ideas. I don’t mind coming up with them but gosh its sure nice just to flip a page open and have ideas pop out at me. Especially with math because this is where Jr. loves to spend time.
Language Arts (also known as the world of the written word)
Handwriting: Trying a new curriculum here and adding weekly copywork
Reading: Finishing Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading
Grammar: Growing with Grammar 1/2
Literature: Reading some great books. Titles List will be added later.
We will continue to work on Jr.’s handwriting in particular I’m hoping to get him to actually use small (lowercase) letters. He prefers the uppercase alphabet when writing. My plan here probably seems like a lot but much of it is simply exposure. Growing with Grammar is supposed to take two years but I’m thinking this may take us three. A lot of how we progress through this area will depend on Jr.’s continued reading development. He is reading! Really reading. (Yahoo!) So much of what I have planned here is all about continuing his incremental development of that skill.
History:
Story of the World Volume 1: The Ancients
I was pretty certain I liked this choice and after looking through the activity guide I’m happy with our choice. Jr.’s very much into the hands-on and this I think will compliment him. Much of the required reading is done by Mom which is his preference of the moment but its not so overwhelming that we can’t keep up. And the activities are ones that not only sound interesting to him but they sound fun and interesting to ME. I am not completely impressed with the Text though so I will supplement with A little History of the World which I dearly love. For any who are wondering why its mostly because I find the writing in SOTW to be slightly stilted when I read it and the wording of A little history flows more naturally for me (as the reader).
Science:
Pre-level Chemistry (Gravitas), Brown Bag Science Simple Machines, Sound & Light, and a unit on Magnets
It is all about the experiments! I’m planning units that will involve lots of hands-on activities. I’m hoping to grab Gramps when we get to the Magnets Unit as its one of those areas he loves to talk about. Otherwise you can bet Science this year will be read about it and then DO IT. Thank goodness we finally found safety glasses that fit the kids’ heads!!
Art
Monthly Art Co-op
Possibly paired with some structured Art at home versus our current fly bye the seat of our pants craft projects. I am also thinking of making sure we cover major holidays this year so that I am for certain Jr. has at least cursory knowledge of the ones we celebrate or acknowledge here in our house.
Music:
Piano Lessons
Jr. returns to Piano this fall and moves to Kinderkeyboard!
Foreign Language:
We’re going to have some exposure this year to see if the idea of learning a different language peaks Jr.’s interest. I’ve recently found Muzzy at the library so you could say this year will be a testing out of what we’ve got available here.
Tags: homeschooling, Jr., Lil'B
