Curriculum Plans for 2012-2013

In previous years, I’ve spent days sometimes months scouring the Internet to find just the right curriculum.  However, this year is different.  For the most part, I’ve already found and implemented just the right curriculum.  My fellow homeschool moms will know what a HUGE relief this is…curriculum choices can be sooo time consuming and often overwhelming.  There are just so many different options.  I’m thankful that the decisions have already been made…
Caleb – 4th Grade
Bible – We’ll be using the Instant Bible Lessons Series.  In particular, we’ll be using Talking to God, God’s Angels, Bible Truths, and Virtues and Values.  ***This is one of the NEW choices for us***
English – Since Caleb has been doing really well with it, we’re continuing with Accelerated Christian Education (ACE Paces). 
Vocabulary – For 4th grade, we’ll remove daily handwriting and focus on vocabulary.  We’ll be using 240 Vocabulary Words 4th Grade Kids Need to Know.  ***This is another new choice for us***
Spelling – Since it seems to be working, we’re going to continue our Spelling Power lessons. 
Math – Caleb has really improved in his math skills since we’ve been using Christian Light Education, so we’ll continue with the CLE Light Units.  We’ll move into the Level 300s in hopes to reach the 400s towards the end of the year.
FUN SCHOOL – Since this has been working extremely well, we’re going to continue with this for 4th grade.  However, Caleb and I did tweak/change a few areas.  Here’s the new two-week rotational schedule:

Week One

• Map It Monday – Timelines, story maps, graphic organizers, map skills, etc.
• Mathematical Monday – Games, notebooking, foldables, etc.
• Travel Somewhere Tuesday – Visit a different continent, country, state, or city using the Internet, books, and projects.
• Technology Tuesday – Educational shows, computer games, typing, etc.
• Working With Words Wednesday – Writing workshop, games, foldables, etc.
• Want To Know More Wednesday – Pick a topic and learn more using books, the Internet, etc. (student directed).
• Think It Through Thursday – Critical thinking, problem solving, brain games, etc.
• Turn the Page Thursday – Reading any type of book from any genre.
• Follow Through & Fun Friday – Finish up any projects and have FUN.

Week Two

• Meet the Press Monday – Research a given topic and present the facts.
• Make Something Monday – Arts/crafts, cooking, inventions/experiments, building/designing
• Teach Me More Tuesday – Learn about a specific topic using books, the Internet, etc. (teacher directed).  ***This will be new, and it’s a way for me to teach content/skills that I think Caleb needs to know (that he may not otherwise choose)***
• Take It To Your Seat Tuesday – File folder games, mini books, foldables, worksheets, etc.
• Worldwide Wonders Wednesday – Learn about famous and not-so-famous landmarks around the world.   ***This is something that Caleb wanted to add.  He has written down famous landmarks when studying places, and now he wants to learn more about them***
• Well Played Wednesday – Learning through games and hands-on activities.
• Think It Through Thursday – Cricitical thinking, problem solving, brain games, etc.  ***Caleb wanted more of this, so we added it in for the 2nd week***
• Turn the Page Thursday – Reading any type of book from any genre.
• Follow Through & Fun Friday – Finish up any projects and have FUN.

Classical Conversations – In addition to our regular schooling, Caleb and I will also be participating in a local Classical Conversations (CC) group.  This is something we considered for his 3rd grade year, but for various reasons, we decided to wait.  We feel that we’re ready this year, so we will begin in the fall.  The 24 weeks (12 in the Fall and 12 in the Winter) that we’re doing CC, we will opt to NOT do FUN SCHOOL.  Instead, we will spend time supplementing with books, projects, etc. that fall in line with what we’re studying in CC.  I truly believe that CC will be a GREAT addition to our schooling, and we’re both excited to begin.
Micah – K4
Micah is still really eager to join us for schooling, so I’ve stocked up on lots and lots of workbooks (this is what he asks to do) to keep him busy.  He also has access to lots of manipulatives and hands-on activities.  He’ll start preschool in August, and he’ll go on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 9-12.  He’s super excited, and I think he’ll do great.  So, on days when he’s not in preschool, I’ll work with him at home.  Like I’ve mentioned earlier, I’m not pushing him to do school…it’s still his choice.  Georgia law doesn’t mandate schooling until the age of 6, so until then…it’s all FUN and GAMES! 
There you have it…our plans for 2012-2013 are complete.

Third Grade Week 39 in Review

We’re finally finishing up week 39.  It took us a bit longer because Caleb had ITBS testing three mornings last week.  So, school was put to the side on those three days.  Here’s how week 39 went…
Bible – Our Bible lessons were on “What it Means to Pray” and “Praying in Jesus’ Name.”  We read Philippians 4:6-7 and Philippians 2:9-11.
Math – Caleb worked on number sentences with letters (pre-algebra really), more about number sentences, and parallel lines.
English – This week Caleb worked on writing friendly letters, writing letters of invitation, writing thank-you letters, and addressing envelopes.
FUN SCHOOL – Since Caleb was testing, we opted to skip FUN SCHOOL this week.  We’ll resume our schedule for week 40. 
I’m glad that we’re approaching the end of 3rd grade, but with that comes making plans for 4th grade.  I’ll be back at some point to share our plans for 4th grade…some things will stay the same, and others will change. 

Third Grade Week 38 in Review

We finished up another GREAT week of schooling today.  Here’s how it went for us…
Bible – Our lessons were on “Jesus Prays For Us” and “Angels Watch Over Us.”  We read John 17:9-15 and Acts 12:5-11.
Math – Caleb worked on quarter and fourth, finding the change, and borrowing twice.
English – This week Caleb worked on writing sentences in cursive, changing telling sentences to asking sentences, changing asking sentences into telling sentences, similes, and writing paragraphs.
FUN SCHOOL – We had another GREAT week of fun school activities…

• Map It Monday – We read The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf, and Caleb worked on a character map.  He completed a character map of Ferdinand.

• Mathematical Monday – We played a dice game.  We would take turns rolling, and then using multiplication, we had to fill out a section on graph paper.  We each took 10 turns, and the person who had covered the most ‘area’ at the end won.

• Travel Somewhere Tuesday – Caleb chose California this week.  So, using books from the library, he completed his notebooking fact sheet on California.

• Technology Tuesday – Caleb chose to watch Beakman’s World on Netflix.
• Working with Words Wednesday – This week we focused on synonyms.  Caleb completed a ‘Super Synonyms’ worksheet activity using a thesaurus.

• Want To Know More Wednesday – Caleb chose construction as his topic of choice for this week.  He read several books from the library on the subject.  Then, he completed a house grid activity and a tangram house building activity.

• Think It Through Thursday – We worked on some Brian Boosters today.
• Turn the Page Thursday – Caleb spent time reading from our home library.

We’re down to about 7 more weeks of school.  Then, we’ll take a quick break before resuming again for 4th grade.  We’re looking forward to the small break, too. 

Third Grade Week 37 in Review

This post is about a week old, but I’m just now getting to it.  We’ve been busy enjoying Spring Break, so I forgot to post.  Here’s how week 37 went for us…
Bible – Our lessons were on “The Father Will Help If We Ask Him” and “The Holy Spirit Helps Us.”  We read 1 John 5:12-15 and John 15:1-5.
English – Caleb finished up his ACE Pace by taking a test.  I decided to skip starting a new Pace because of the upcoming Spring Break.
Math – Caleb worked on reading below zero on the thermometer, writing story problem labels, carrying twice, and borrowing from zero.  He continues to do really well with the CLE math.  He has greatly improved in speed and accuracy for his subtraction/addition drills, too.  Multiplication seems to be an easy task for him. 
We opted to skip FUN SCHOOL this week.  We’ll start that again when we resume next week.  I hope you all are enjoying SPRING!

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