Monday, May 2, 2011

That Time of Year

Ahh...Spring. Do you hear that? No it's not the sounds of birds chirping or children once again free to run in the yard. It's homeschooling mothers around the world worrying and fretting over next year's curriculum choice.

Was it the right fit last year?
Would something else work better?
Boxed? Unit study?
Reading, and writing, and math, oh my!

What do I do???

Just when the weather becomes bearable to be outside I end up spending my free time searching the internet reading reviews and comparing prices.

This past year was a wonderful year. Last year Ms. Q asked for a more structured school day instead of the student interest led unit studies and lapbooks we were doing. I readily agreed and after some research decided we would try Sonlight.

It was the most enjoyable year so far for both of us.  I didn't need to spend hours researching and preparing lessons and Ms. Q really enjoyed all the books scheduled.  So you're probably wondering why I would be stressed this year over curriculum?  Well because although we loved our year with Sonlight there were some thing that just didn't work for us.  Now, no curriculum is perfect.  I know that.  But I really think there might be something that could be an even better fit.  I may end up going with Sonlight again next year (or even go back after trying something else) but here is what I'm considering for next year:

History:

Pandia Press History Odyssey - Early Modern, Level 1






Science:

Noeo Science Biology II








Spelling and Grammar:

 JacKris Publishing 

Soaring with Spelling and Vocabulary - level 4
Growing with Grammar - level 4








Math:


Math U See - Gamma










Art:

ARTistic Pursuits - Grade 4-6 Book 1












I'm not sure what I want to use for Reading (literature) or writing.  I'm thinking of using Lesson Pathways Language Arts pathways to mix and match the reading books to create a curriculum to fit Ms. Q's needs.  Each of the literature selections they have has language arts and writing assignments you can choose.

Well, what do you think?  Any other suggestions I should consider?

11 comments:

XLMIC said...

Just super impressed with your thought and intention! I homeschooled one of my stepkids for about a half of a semester (when his mom decided she didn't want to do it anymore!) and it was brutal on me. All of the plans that you are looking at look great to me and I would have liked them when I was a kid... so I am no help!

Jess said...

Just the fact that someone else thinks these are interesting is a big help! Sometimes I choose things that I think the kids will love and it turns out a total flop!

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Mary Prather said...

We started off as Sonlighters in the beginning, but switched this past year to using Story of the World as our history spine. That has worked well for us ~ I've supplemented with lots of little unit studies and tangents that we go off on, too!

Thanks for stopping at my blog today!

Jess said...

We've used the Story of the World and really liked it - only recently did I come across the activity book for it. That seems interesting. Do you use that too?

Unknown said...

We're wrapping up our 7th year...and every year I make curriculum changes, sometimes mid-year! This year in particular had many changes, especially with my daughter (9). I checked out Growing with Grammar, but I think I'm going to still try Spectrum Language Arts instead. Thanks for stopping in from Weekly Wrap-up!

Jessy

Jess said...

We used Growing with Grammar this year and it worked out pretty well. I'm always looking for new finds though, so off I go to check out Spectrum Language Arts!

asliceofsmithlife said...

Hi Jess,
The beginning of this post could have been written by me since spring/summer is a time where I get overwhelmed and stressed about curriculum choices. If only someone could do this hard part for me. :) I'm using Shirley English Grammar with my son this year (grade 3) and it has its plus and minuses (one con is that it is very teacher intensive!) I have used the Well Trained Mind, First Language Lessons, and liked these as they were short lessons. So many curriculum choices which is good and bad all at the same time :) Thanks for sharing this post on NOBH :) Have a blessed Mother's Day!

Jess said...

Tracy,

I'm glad I'm not the only one! :) I'm going to check out your suggestions, I love it when I can use someone else's experiences to help with my decision making.

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