Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

I'm looking into changing up a few things this year, and Aneliese says she's distraught that since PS held her back in kindergarten we never caught her up....so I've been looking.....
We've been doing a lot of CLE which is pretty good and I placement tested her in Teaching Textbooks....and would you believe, she can skip 6th grade?!?!
So....7th grade it is. (Is that a bad idea?)
Other than that, I think I just want a good science (I'm thinking of Apologia) and I really really want to add typing. :)
Maybe get her a laptop with a disabled wifi. :giggle

Anyone else shopping?

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

I'm all done shopping for next year. Have everything except I'm waiting on our math order to be shipped.

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

I'm shopping for next year already. :yes

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

:yes

I've been shopping. :heart I ordered Sonlight Core F for my oldest to do next year for 8th. I'd love to get her a laptop this summer, but not sure the funds will be there. I'm thinking of enrolling her in an English class this summer and next fall with out local one day academy. The class is one hour a week, and then they are given work to do at home. I feel like my homeschool is very lacking in language arts, so maybe this will be the answer.

I'm trying to figure out language arts for my younger kids. I have some Sonlight stuff coming that I am going to try over the summer. If that doesn't work out, I think I'm going to do something more traditional. :think I've had a hard time finding things that I enjoy teaching and my kids enjoy doing.

I still have to buy math for everyone. dd is starting pre-algebra next year. This will be our first year with math that I might have to actually read the textbook to know what's going on! :P~

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

I'm almost done for next year. For ds1 (2nd grade) we're doing real science 4 kids, Story of the World, Abeka for math and language arts, some hodge podge for art and I'll probably start cursive. I still need to go through my K stuff for dd since I plan on hsing her next year also.

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

I'm almost done, too. :grin I'll do a big book order in August to round out readers and such for history and science, but I'm pretty sure we're good for curriculum for next year.

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

So....tell me what you've decided on and why. :popcorn

Here's my list so far:
Aneliese: (7th grade)
History: BJU World Studies
Science: Exploring Physical Science (Apologia)
Math: Teaching Textbooks Math 7
Grammar: Easy Grammar 7
Literature and Writing: Outsourced to a co-op class
Typing: ?
+ guitar and soccer and maybe if I can afford a good Spanish curriculum, but I wouldn't know how to find that.

Breena: (4th grade)
History: BJU Heritage Studies
Science: ? Maybe Apologia...
Math: CLE
English: CLE
Writing: Writing with Ease
Handwriting: random copywork
+ guitar and a sport, though she wants to continue gymnastics and dh doesn't want her to....to be continued.

Caden: (K-1st)
He's hard to figure since he's not yet reading but what we've been using seems to be moving to slow for him. He learns quickly, but is not happy about doing a lot of bookwork.
I'm thinking Spectrum? Suggestions are wonderful.
I hate planning, hate curriculums that has a bunch of extra stuff to buy, and really want to have something that will keep his interest. Does that exist?
He knows all his letters and sounds, can count to a hundred and by 5's and 10's, knows his money and some clocks, patterns etc. and can add.
Hmmmm.:think

I'd love to hear everyone's choices!

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

I have almost everything picked out, but only some of it ordered.

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

I've gotten my list completed of the curriculum we need for next year. I'm going to buy it at the homeschool convention the first weekend in May.

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

Me me me! I decided to switch to Sonlight for dd1 next fall because, though I love the things I have cobbled together they are reuiring from me than I have been able to keep up with...and I'm fixing to have a baby. She's starting with Core B+C with 4/5 readers, TT4 for math, and BFSU for science. I believe I will start cursive with her too.

For ds and dd2, I am going to use Wee Folk Art's curriculum. I already have all the books ( www.betterworldbooks.com , y'all!) and will add ETC Phonics and Life of Fred Math for ds. I hope to start Sonlight K with them in the fall of 13.

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

If my baby is a sticky one (Please, God, Please!!! :pray4), we might homeschool through the summer and take a several-month-long winter vacation.

That being said, I still don't know what we're doing. Probably Singapore Math 3b since she's in 3A right now.

I better get a move on with this planning!

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

Thank you so much for that link! I LOVE deals!
Also, I completely forgot about Life of Fred, too! Thanks! Caden will love that!:heart

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

This is our lineup for next year.

Grade 1:
MFW grade 1 for Bible- I decided to not use all of the program...
All About Reading
Abeka math, history, science, health
Artistic Pursuits
study of our state

Grade 3:
Who Is God and Can I Really Know Him?
Abeka math, science, health
BJU Heritage Studies & reading (just readers w/TM for comprehension questions)
All About Spelling - Level 2
Artistic Pursuits
study of our state

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

Grade 2:
Math: Evan-Moor Workbook + Life of Fred + Sir Cumference (Math adventure series)
History: SOTW book 2 + Viking book (from AO yr 1) + biographies (hoping to use some by Diane Stanley, we'll see how ds likes them)
Literature: Selections from AO booklist (Yr 2)
Science: Burgess Animal Book + Mind Blowing Science (chemistry kit) + scientist biographies (Pasteur and Audubon)
Bible: Continue reading from ds' Bible
Phonics/Spelling: Spectrum workbook
Handwriting: need to figure this one out! Probably will just do copywork but need to decide to pursue cursive or print
Reading: Practice with graded readers

I have most of this already, though I may need to buy more LOF books mid-year if we finish the ones we have. I actually bought most of my curriculum for next year back in December with money from Christmas! I have a few random things for K for dd, although she will be a young K so I'm not planning much. I do have Phonics Pathways and Bob books that ds used, so will pull those out if she shows interest in reading. Also have a K math workbook that she likes to do when ds is doing math (and she listens to LOF and other math storybooks too).

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

I haven't bought anything but I know for sure we're doing Five In A Row again (I need to buy the books), Handwriting Without Tears Kindergarten level, Math-U-See, anddd some reading program that I dunno. I hate Teach Your Child To Read In 100 Easy Lessons, it's boring for us all. Not sure if I want MFW for a core curriculum or what.

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

For first grade:
Writing with Ease for narrations and copywork/handwriting
First Language Lessons
All About Spelling
Singapore Math
Miquon Math
Rightstart games
SotW V.1 including AG and extra reading list
Real Science Odyssey Life science in conjunction with Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding (This is a dream more than a plan at this time, but I'm hoping to work it out.)
Other things being considered: Song School Latin, Leading Little Ones to God and Lollipop Logic

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

Just ordered our first set... Starting K4 with Ethan this fall:nails Using Abeka.

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

Still just window shopping, but i have a (tentative!) Plan.
Notgrass draw to learn about jesus
notgrass walking in peace
writing with ease 2
First language lessons 2
Teaching textbooks 3 and 5
explode the code 2 (second grade)
Independent readers (fourth grade)

Looking at:
Guest hollow american history
Guest hollow physics or human body
real science 4 kids -chemistry

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

I've been contemplating for months...not really shopping, but browsing for sure.

We're finishing up Sonlight core B/C this year. I ended up picking & choosing and replacing a lot. So, I'm not sure if I'm going to do Sonlight again. I think I just want their read-aloud list & their reader list for next year. We're going to continue with Story of the World & Saxon math.

I have to decide if this is the year to invest in science curriculum. Mango is a science teacher, and our lives are filled with science constantly anyway. :shrug3

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

I'm working on it but I'm weird. I like to start a new year in the spring. Things feel new and exciting. Plus we've had a strange three months with a crying babe so we are due to start in again.

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

I'd love to hear more of your thoughts on Sonlight B+C. That is what I was going to do this year. What didn't you like about it? What did you replace/skip?

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

Well, it's kind of ridiculous...and a bit of a story, but I'll try to keep it brief & you can ask questions if you want!

We used Five in a Row (FIAR) for K-3. In 3rd grade we fizzled out a bit, and most of our weeks centered around Story of the World (SOTW), rather than FIAR. So, for 4th grade, I decided I was ready to make history w/living books the core of our curriculum, rather than FIAR. So, I purchased the Instructor's Guide (IG) for Sonlight B/C. I bought all the other materials used or borrowed from the library.

Briefly, Sonlight's IG for B/C has a schedule, which includes Bible readings & memorization, history readings, Read-Aloud schedule, poetry readings, readings from Usborne's history encyclopedia, readings from a book called Window on the World, selections from a geography songs CD, and readings from Aesop's Fables. I purchased the readers schedule separately. You can do this so that you can choose books according to your child's reading level.

So, from that list of included items, here's what I did:

- Bible readings...We kept pace with these until I decided I'd rather follow the Torah portions for the week.

- Bible Memorization - We've done some, but not all of this.

- History reading from A Child's History of the World - A month or two into the school year, I decided that I really preferred SOTW to the children's history book used by Sonlight. So, I replaced their history readings with SOTW.

- Usborne Encyclopedia - We coordinate our pages with SOTW instead.

- Read-Alouds - The first, most disappointing, thing that I discovered regarding Sonlight B/C, is that for this core, the Read-Alouds do NOT coordinate with the history core. It is my understanding that for the other cores (or maybe it's just for the older grades) the Read-Alouds and the Readers are somewhat coordinated with the history curriculum. HOWEVER, we LOVE the read-alouds, and I think Mane is learning a lot from them. She's learning about places and people and times in history...just not in sync with the history curriculum. So, we've followed the read-aloud schedule (minus a few books I could not find & did not want to order from Sonlight).

- Poetry Readings - We have our own poetry books that we read from. I don't like Sonlight's choice. BUT, having a schedule that tells me to read poetry encourages me to read poetry!! :giggle

- Window on the World - I looked at this book at a homeschool book sale and decided against it. It just isn't my favorite.

- Geography Songs - I'd probably like this. I just didn't purchase it.

- Aesop's Fables - No throwing tomatoes, but I think Aesop's Fables are weird. We read some & then moved on to other things.

Ok, so it looks like I don't used the IG at all, right?! The thing is, I'm a big fan of the Read-Alouds, and I think it might be worth buying the IG just to have a schedule for reading, along with their comprehension questions & suggested map & timeline activities (included in the IG). At the beginning of the school year, the IG schedule really prompted me to stay on track with Bible reading, memorization, history and poetry reading, too...even though we were using different materials. Now, I feel like I've got the rhythm, and I don't use the schedule as much. The schedule also has places to fill in things like Math, Language Arts & Science assignments for the week. Of course, I could draw up my own weekly schedule, but there was something about having it premade that made me really use a schedule this year! :O

I'm considering using Sonlight again, but I want a core with history, read-alouds & readers all integrated. I might hold off a year so that we can finish our first round of Story of the World first. I haven't decided yet.

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

Thank you. That was super helpful. I had purchased Trail Guide to World Geography because I wanted to kind of design my own curriculum around it, adding in literature and some history reading. However, I'm having another kiddo in the fall, and really feeling like my child needs the structure and consistent instruction that I have, thus far, failed to give her. She'll be 9 the weeks before the baby is born, and so far the only real schooling I have done is to teach her to read and get her going on Teaching Textbooks Math. Sonlight is appealing to me because at this point, I really feel like the *only* chance we have to have a "real school year" is if someone lays it out in black and white in front of me and tells me exactly when to do what. And that all of those resources are already in my house. BUT, I am really disappointed that the readings aren't really coordinated with the history/geography. And, while she is reading several years above grade level, her writing skills are grade level at best. So if I get the readers best suited to her from Sonlight (4/5, and I think they'll be pretty easy) I'm afraid the L.A will be over our head.

I just entered my 2nd tri, and I'm wondering if I cobble together my own curriculum (again) this summer, and make a detailed schedule this summer, if I'll be able to manage. I have enjoyed 1st language lessons...as well as writing with ease...agh. I don't know. I need to hire someone just to help me make the schedule. Someone posted a bible curriculum that looked really interesting to me too...

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

Definitely not! And we won't even be starting homeschooling for another three years! :giggle:giggle I am always reading this forum and checking out tons of different curriculum choices, I don't know how I'll ever pick one when the time comes!

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

I've started
I ordered Teaching Textbooks 4th grade which should be here tommorow though I'm not going to start her on it for a bit yet..

I'm going to stick to the Catholic Hertiage for her grammar,spelling,religion, literature,science and history and handwriting though so I'll be collecting those soon..

We are going to do time for Learning loosely over the summer

Deanna

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

I liked T4learning for my older kids. :yes

I LOVE Sonlight, and the concepts, but there is no way I could afford it plus all the extras. If you can do it, I'd say go for it!

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

Cores D and up have readers and read-alouds that coordinate with the history.

I did Cores B and C, and I thought the read-alouds went with the history quite nicely.

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

The Instructor Guide (IG) was about $70. I got everything else from thrift stores, used book sales & the library. The only other thing I bought new was the Usborne encyclopedia, which I purchased with a 40% off coupon at Borders before they closed.

You can buy science, math, language arts, handwriting, etc. from Sonlight also, but you don't have to, and those things are not included on the schedule in the IG anyway. They are considered separate curriculum components from the Core.

---------- Post added at 10:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:33 PM ----------

Yes, I just read that if you get B & C as single cores (rather than the combine B/C), the read-alouds correlate, but the B/C combined core doesn't integrate history with read-alouds.

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

Dh got a rebate in the form of a prepaid Amex, so I used it to order our books for biology on Amazon last week. (dd has kidnapped the human body encyclopedia already :D )

I think I am going to order SOTW 1 materials next and get it all in digital. Then I can print extra copies of the coloring pages/maps etc as needed and do the read aloud on my ipad. I might order the actual CD's though instead of mp3's because I am not so tech-savvy with digital audio stuff.

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

This is the first year I know just what works and what I want...almost. LOL
So, I'm almost done with shopping. We did Sonlight Core A this year, and I can't decide if I should move to B, or B/C with my soon to be 7 and 9yo.

Sonlight Core B or B/C
-Bible
-history
-readers

Creative writing/comprehension: Writing with Ease 2
Language arts: First Language Lessons 2
Handwriting: HWOT 2
Math: Singapore Math or Horizons with Life of Fred supplement
Science: co-op w/friend doing "The Magic Schoolbus Science Explorations" curriculum

I'm so excited about doing science with a friend!

I'm a little stuck on math. We have been doing Horizons Math since K, but this year it felt like it wasn't explaining stuff enough. So, I bought Singapore Math and have been doing both. I have a hard time understanding the way SM teaches and the kids don't appreciate the boring black and white pages. They like Horizons much better. So, not sure which one I'll stick with, but I'm leaning toward Horizons and hoping with the LOF supplement things will be better understood. Ack!

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

I'm slowly shopping and researching. My ds will be doing 2nd grade next year.

I already have SOTW Volume 2 and the AG, got them at a scratch and dent sale. We'll also move on to AAS 3, but haven't bought yet. If a sale crops up I will, otherwise I'll order this summer. I'll also be using FLL level 2 and WWE 2(have not bought either yet) and finish up OPGTTR if we don't over the summer. For the most part, I'll pick up these if I see a good deal, otherwise I'll order June or Julyish.

I also know I'm going to switch to Singapore math, but I'm waiting to give ds the placement test until we finish our current math curriculum so I can see better where he'll be at. Then I'll order.

I haven't figured out science yet. I have a hard time finding one I like. :( Hoping to do Biology or Chemistry at a young level. Maybe using the Christian Kids Explore series, but not sure yet.

Also going to teach him cursive because he's dying to learn. Probably HWOT, but not sure yet on that either.

Bible wise we're continuing with Telling God's Story, but I haven't bought it yet (is the second book even out?)

And I'm sure I'm forgetting something...

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

I have Telling God's Story, and I just haven't figured out how to do an organic devotion with the kids using a curriculum. I have hardly used it at all, and was getting ready to sell it on Amazon. I seriously have theology issues, and I don't know if I need to overcome, or just be real with my kids about where I am with it, and hope they will find Him in their own journey. :shrug3
I'm going to take one long last look at it, and decide whether to give it a second chance or not.
Honestly, I don't know what I believe right now, and I don't know if it's my place to tell my kids what to believe when I've been so misled that I'm not even sure for myself, KWIM?

Yeah...that was a rabbit trail, but if you want it I might let it go at a very deep discount. ;)

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

I am glad to know I am no the only one who haunts these so that I can get ideas about the curriculum to plan things years in advance.

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

I don't need to order until Sept/Oct (depending on how many breaks we take between now and then) but I already have everything I need to order in my cart on Heart of Dakota :)

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

Shopped, ordered, got it all in and already switched up our curriculum here.

However, I DARED suggest that they could take the summer off with their PS'd siblings and nearly caused a mutiny. They INSIST I must at least continue to do basics with them, as they cannot stand the idea of not doing homeschooling, even if their siblings are not schooling this summer.

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

Awesome, TTL.

I'm starting to plan...trying to use what we have, and make a minimal list...need the next level of MUS, probably social studies for 1st grader, maybe a few more items.

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

Really? :giggle

What am I doing wrong? Mine are SO MAD that I make them keep up with basics over the summer.

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

My kids complained a couple of weeks ago...ok, well, Jayden complained a couple of weeks ago.... when I made her do "homework" on a Saturday morning of work she was supposed to do on Friday and didn't, but told me she did. She said "We ALWAYS do school! We NEVER get a break! No one else did school yesterday (it was Good Friday) and NO ONE is doing school today, and everyone has spring break next week, but we'll still be doing school!!! We NEVER take a BREAK!"

So I said... "You are right. We NEVER take a break. We NEVER stop 'doing school' to go to Disney World, or on a cruise, or to the beach, or random other long weekends. Man, EVERY time we do something fun is always when EVERYONE ELSE is out of school too!! We ALWAYS take 9 hours (how long from bus run to bus run here) EVERY SINGLE DAY to do school! We NEVER get done in less than 2 hours of all of you doing school! We NEVER get done before your friends even wake up when they are on their breaks!"

Then I just looked at her. She said "ok, fine. You are right. I was just frustrated with myself for not doing the 10 minutes of English yesterday when I was supposed to. I much prefer our schedule."

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

I've had my list ready for a while, but we are starting week 6 of Dh's current unemployment stint, so I can't order for a while.

For next year with DD1 we plan:
Language arts: FLL Level 3, WWE Level 3, AAS Levels 5 & 6, A Reason for Handwriting Cursive (continuing)
Math: Probably RightStart Level D, but am still looking at all our options as we get into higher levels. The lower levels were a great fit for her. I'm just not sure how long we'll stay in this curriculum.
Science: Apologia Exploring Creation with Botany (her choice). I was really hoping to do this one starting this spring/summer as we are growing our garden.
History: SOTW Volume 3 with the activity book
Physical Ed: Ballet and Tap (continuing)

With DD2, who will be kindergarten age next year
Listen to SOTW and color the pictures (she has already been doing this). Start her on AAS Level 1, go as slow as she wants. Start RightStart Level B, go as slow as she wants. Continue using beginning readers. Perhaps some scripture copywork (depending on resistance- I won't push it). Continue ballet/tap or other sport of her choice.

DS1: Teach him how to say "sit" without the "sh" sound at the beginning... :giggle

Re: Am I the only one totally curriculum shopping yet?
 

:haha