Updating our School Plans

I recently updated some of the links in my sidebar for resources that we use in our homeschool. Since the beginning of the schoolyear we have switched math programs, added a reading program, added a writing program, and added a grammar program into our school day. I know, that sounds like a lot of change, and it is, but it was definitely for the better. I really, really feel good about the resources that we are using right now ~ finally!

So here is a glimpse into our homeschool resource line-up for ds7 (2nd grade) for the upcoming term (Winter 2010):

Reading & Language Arts ~

• Pathway Readers ~ Ds7 and I read one chapter aloud per day (4 days/week), we take turns reading (I do this just to keep track of his reading skills, plus I love the stories in these readers).


• Christian Light Reading 2 ~ I love the Christian Light readers, and since I have a number of them sitting on my shelf (collected through PBSwap), I wanted to make use of them. These are books that ds7 reads silently ~ he then uses them to complete the Light Units.
  
• Spelling by Sound & Structure 2 (Rod & Staff) ~ I LOVE this simple spelling program.


• First Language Lessons Level 2 ~ We completed level 1 in the fall. This term we will work through level 2. I have been tweaking this program to fit our needs, for instance, ds7 does not complete any of the writing assignments.


• Writing With Ease Level 1 ~ This simple writing program has been working wonderfully for us. In level 1 we have been working on narrating (guided by questions) and copywork that is pulled from classic literature.


• Italic Handwriting: Book C ~ ds7 completes about 2 pages per week from this resource, he's really looking forward to transitioning to cursive this term :)

I know that this portion looks a bit overwhelming, but each component takes only about 10 minutes to complete.

Math

• Christian Light Math ~ I have been struggling to find a math program that I like and that works for ds7 since the beginning of our homeschool journey. I really wanted to like one particular program, so much so that I have attempted to use it two different times in our three years of homeschooling ~ but it just does not work for us. This past fall, I purchased CLE Math and I absolutely love it! It fits my teaching style, it fits ds7's learning style, and it is simple ~ yet challenging.

History

• Sonlight Core 1 ~ we have found that we don't use some of the resources in this program (Usborne history books), but we love others (Missionary Stories with the Millers, Akebu to Zapotec, A Child's History of the World). We use the read-alouds as our before bedtime read-aloud, and the readers have been incorporated into ds7's free reading list.

Science

• Sonlight Science 1 ~ We had been using Sonlight's Science 1 until we began our co-op class in the fall. At co-op the kids (dd5 & ds7) took "buggy science" (they completed an adorable lapbook in this class) ~ so I dropped science for the remainder of the fall term. We will probably pick SL Science back up ~ of course, tweaking it to fit our needs.


• Nature Study ~ I love the Handbook of Nature Study blog, I hope to incorporate some of the challenges into our schoolwork this term.

Circle Time ~ I have always wanted to add a circle-time into our homeschool day, and this time I typed up a detailed plan for 8 weeks of circle-time which includes Bible, Character-Training, Poetry, Hymns, Traditional Songs and Art Study (I was greatly inspired by Brandy's recent Circle Time Plan). Hopefully since I planned the work, I will work the plan!