Curriculum Update

We're nearly settled on what we're using for 1st grade.

Math: Horizons Level 1

Language Arts:

• Rreading/comprehension - Sonlight Core 1 with level 2 intermediate readers
• Grammar - First Language Lessons for the Well Trained Mind
• Writing - Writing With Ease Level 1
• Spelling - Spelling Workout
• Handwriting - Still deciding.

Social Studies: Geography/Maps workbooks, Sonlight Core 1

Science: Usborne Science Experiments, Encyclopedia of Science, Science in Seconds for Kids

Bible: Lifepacs 1

Art: Usborne Complete Book of Art Ideas Usborne 365 Things to Make and Do

PE: Homeschoolers PE class 2x/wk, daily outside time. Seasonally: Soccer, Basketball, Tae Kwon Do...? Hip Hop/Gymnastics? Bug is still deciding what he's interested in trying out.

I think my head is spinning a little less, now that I have it all written down!

Daily Log

(I feel like saying "Stargate 6.1" or whatever they say on Star Trek here. Hee!)

Today, we:

• Didn't do much. On first thought, it's escaping me what we actually DID do... hrmmm...
• Ohhh yeah, I introduced Bug to calculators. He checked three pages of his own math work, and then I caught him using the calculator to move ahead. I explained that I would rather he use his brain to do the problems FIRST, then check them with the calculator. =)
• I am attending a moms' group on Tuesday mornings, so he spent some time with other homeschooled kids in the "study hall" they offer during - they played Zathura and he worked on some word searches and reading. I really didn't care what he took to work on, just wanted him to have some fun meeting and hanging out with the kids.
• We came home, had lunch, Bug and Monkey watched Power Rangers while Chickie took a nap and I cleaned, did laundry, etc.
• Bug putzed around on www.sheppardsoftware.com for about an hour before dinner. He did the first level of the states game, and LOVED the castle game.
• He spent some time helping Monkey with his take-homes from church last Sunday - "We need to put stickers on the places where God is with you, Elliott... is God with you in a tree? Is God with you at church?" SO sweet! I treasure those kinds of moments.
• He read a devotion on anger and told me how he tries not to be angry and to get along with others.
• Right now he's been in bed for over an hour and he's still up reading... I think it's currently Spiderman of some sort.
• Besides that he was his typical boisterous self, showing me how he could keep a balloon up in the air using only his head, hitting it repeatedly. I think his record was 5 times, not sure...

All in all, a relaxed and cozy day 2!

Tomorrow the big plan for the day is harvesting what's left of the garden and clearing out the flower beds. =)

Daily Log

I'm thinking I'll keep a daily log of what we're doing, learning-wise, just to keep myself encouraged, record successes and flops, and as a record to reflect upon as needed.

Today, we:

• Had devotions about sharing out of 5-minute devotions and Big Book of Devotions for Boys.
• Bug wrote a letter to mail to his best friend, Ben.
• Talked about time and clocks, doing 4 or 6 pages in a workbook (his lead, I shut it down to move on to something else). Bug learned that the short hand tells us the hour, and the long hand the minute. We also discussed the face of the clock, clockwise, and the numbers.
• 2 workbook pages of double digit subtraction, used quarters as manipulatives. (Again, I asked him to stop after 2 pages, not wanting him to do too much too soon.)
• Went to a homeschool meeting where Bug, Monkey and Chickie had some seriously fun playtime and I got some seriously needed ideas for interaction and field trips.
• Bubbles - Bug discovered to his delight that the little bit of solution left in his bottle worked just fine for bubblemaking when he filled it back up to the top with water.
• He is rereading Fantastic Mr.Fox and still working on The Horse and His Boy, most of his reading time is at bedtime, usually for at least an hour a day.

Day one in a nutshell. We're both so happy he's learning at home again!

"There's nothing half so pleasant as coming home again.”

Margaret Elizabeth Sangster must have loved homecomings. I know I do. There's something about the warmth and comfort of just being... at home. It's even more pleasant when the weather is blustery and gray, when you come inside to light and laughter, warmth and good smells. A fuzzy blanket, slippers, a fire... hot tea. Mmmm. I love to come home in the fall.

We've made the decision to homeschool again. After three short weeks of first grade for Bug at the immersion school, not a day going by without a sense of unease and discontent in my spirit... It wasn't the school itself - not even a little bit. By all measures, it is a remarkable public charter option. Our choice is no reflection on the teachers or school.

I'll just say that there's nothing like the peace that settles when you find yourself right where you should be. I feel like the boulder I've been dragging around has been cut off and I'm floating around with abandon. Not that I'm under any illusion that homeschooling is easy - it ISN'T! But we're certain it's right, right now.