Family Devotion: Bible
Currently working through The Truth About Man study by Paul Washer. We usually only get through a couple/few questions or points in our 30-40 minutes because we have so much discussion. But we are finally nearing completion and about to move on to The One True God. We'll see where we head after that. My husband likes to teach the kids as directly from the Word as possible.
Never thought I'd say this, but Saxon is actually working wonderfully for us this year. Due to bad experiences with it when first starting out --grade 1-2, I thought anyone using Saxon was out of their mind! :D But it's working very well for both my "math-hating" daughter and "math-loving" son. My current thinking on the subject is that we'll use hands-on natural learning (Beechick-style) with Math-U-See and/or Singapore for those early years up until they're ready for Saxon 54.
Learning Language Arts
Through Literature
Saxon Grammar & Writing
Current plans are to begin "official" language arts instruction in 3rd grade with LLATL Orange (the 4th grade level). LLATL seems to fit better if used a year advanced. After completing LLATL Green (the 7th grade level--in 6th grade), we'll begin Saxon Grammar & Writing. Due to Bug's appreciation of Saxon's method (of talking to the student, keeping to the point, constant review), we decided to try their Grammar course. It's very well-done and working very well for her. - - - Prior to 3rd grade, the kids learn phonics, get well-established in their reading and writing, and may get some simple language arts instruction using First Language Lessons.
Spelling: vocabulary words taken from studies
We tried Spelling Power and an assortment of other curricula for spelling with little success. What we've settled into now is to simply make a list of words from the current topic of study. I try to pick fairly difficult words because the kids need the challenge. On Monday, the list is copied from the board. On Tuesday, they have a "pretest". Wednesday and Thursday are for studying any missed words, and on Friday we test. Any still missed are added to the next week's list.
Geography: region of world connected to our unit study,
atlas, Geography Songs
One of our favorite subjects. We simply study whatever area of the world connects to our current topic in our unit study. I order library books and we use atlas, wall maps and Geography Songs. After a brief reading, we go to the computer and look up interesting animals or places or events on YouTube. Very fun, and we are all learning a lot this way.
Social Studies & Science:
The Weaver Curriculum
(image to come)
We began using the Weaver Curriculum this past summer, and will continue; we really like it. It solved all my problems about wanting to teach the kids all together but having such wide age-gaps, wanting a thorough approach that's not over the top in it's expectations, wanting a plan but wanting some autonomy as well. I believe that there's nothing more important that our kids need to learn than to love God and know His Word. This curriculum helps me emphasize that.
(That being said, I don't find the curriculum to be perfect. I don't care for the sometimes "Sunday-schoolish" tone. I think it could be way cleaned up to make it lighter and more accessible. The resources are out-dated. But most of all, I don't like it's promotion of education-ese. By this, I mean that homeschoolers have well-proven parents' abilities to teach their children. This curriculum was written on the early side of the homeschooling movement by someone who apparently loves the teaching profession. I don't want to learn to be a teacher in order to teach my kids. I don't need Bloom's Taxonomy to help me lovingly give my kids what they need. And I don't necessarily value the scope and sequence the education establishment has decided everyone must know. Maybe someday I will write my own to correct some of these things, and make this wonderful, and needed, Bible-based approach more accessible and usable.)
Each afternoon, we begin with our Bible lesson that I, so far, approach with a casual reading & discussion method. It continually amazes me the connections the kids make, the things I put together that I hadn't before. After a roughly 1/2 hour discussion time, the kids are sent to "expand" on the topic with either writing, a project, reading/research, or a mixture of all of these. I supervise according to kids' ages & needs, but it's wonderful to watch them come alive to a subject that may have not interested them before, or light up with some new-found knowledge.
Other Social Studies & Science Resources I use:
Just a general list of some resources I have found useful to have on hand with Weaver.
Library
We check out probably about 75-100 books every 4 weeks. The kids are allowed 10-12 for free reading; other than that we bring home piles of mostly non-fiction relating to our unit topic. I go through and sort according to my plan for our weeks, and to remove any I don't think will benefit us. The librarians love figuring out what we're studying based on the subject of all the books.
Wall Chart of World History
A resource recommended by Weaver that I really, really love. It is so much fun to lay out and look at the scope of time, and then get up close and read all the little notes. It's old, but I had no problem finding one on E-bay.
We also have available various history encyclopedias, the Story of the World series, and a couple of Genevieve Foster books. I also sometimes refer to All Through the Ages for book ideas, although generally find that it's just easier to search the library site.
God's Design for Science
Published by Answers in Genesis. This is a great series to accompany Weaver. Whatever our science topic, I can go to my books and find the perfect chapters for the kids to get exactly the info they need. Accompanied with the activities and experiments makes for a well-rounded science experience. My only hesitation with this curriculum is that it seems like it could have given the same information in a much more enjoyable way. In other words, it's a bit too text-booky for my taste. But still, it's a small thing to trade for getting good, solid science instruction from a Christian perspective, and when we can use it in bits and pieces to support our unit study, it works very well.
Library
We check out probably about 75-100 books every 4 weeks. The kids are allowed 10-12 for free reading; other than that we bring home piles of mostly non-fiction relating to our unit topic. I go through and sort according to my plan for our weeks, and to remove any I don't think will benefit us. The librarians love figuring out what we're studying based on the subject of all the books.
Wall Chart of World History
A resource recommended by Weaver that I really, really love. It is so much fun to lay out and look at the scope of time, and then get up close and read all the little notes. It's old, but I had no problem finding one on E-bay.
We also have available various history encyclopedias, the Story of the World series, and a couple of Genevieve Foster books. I also sometimes refer to All Through the Ages for book ideas, although generally find that it's just easier to search the library site.
God's Design for Science
Published by Answers in Genesis. This is a great series to accompany Weaver. Whatever our science topic, I can go to my books and find the perfect chapters for the kids to get exactly the info they need. Accompanied with the activities and experiments makes for a well-rounded science experience. My only hesitation with this curriculum is that it seems like it could have given the same information in a much more enjoyable way. In other words, it's a bit too text-booky for my taste. But still, it's a small thing to trade for getting good, solid science instruction from a Christian perspective, and when we can use it in bits and pieces to support our unit study, it works very well.
