Homeschool Plans 2014-2015

Yay! It's one of my favorite times of the year. Curriculum planning! This year my planning is somewhat more stressful, because my husband just began a new job and our cash flow is a little slow. Molasses slow.
So I'm a little crazier than usual. I had a dream in which a big box was delivered to our house and when I opened it, instead of books, it was full of pickles. Bess turned to me with a sad expression and said,"How will I get into college if I only learn about pickles?"
We have been making pickles this week, so it's not all curriculum anxiety, but I am a little worried I'll make the wrong choices on a budget that doesn't leave much room for mistakes.
However, I made pretty good decisions last year, so I should be pretty confident about this year's choices.

So here's the plan:

Bess is 7 and will be in second grade. She will be learning:

For History:
The second half of BookShark 1 History. We will order BookShark 2 History and Science in January.

For Reading:
We will continue using BookShark 2 Intermediate Readers, ordering the advanced readers later.

For Math:
Horizons Math 2
Mathtacular 2
Math in a Flash
Math Analogies Beginning

For Language Arts:
Evan-Moore Daily 6-Trait Writing, Grade 2
Critical Thinking Company's Editor in Chief

For Geography(besides what we learn with BookShark):
Evan-Moore Daily Geography Practice, Grade 2

For Handwriting:
Zaner-Bloser Handwriting, Grade 2

For Spelling:
Zaner-Bloser Spelling, Grade 2

For Typing:
Typing Instructor for Kids

For Art:
Discovering Great Artists
Great American Artists for Kids
Various Artist Biographies
Child Size Masterpieces
Art Projects

For Foreign Language:
Yes, You Can Speak Korean 1
All About Korea:Stories, Songs, Crafts, and More 
Dino Lingo-Korean 

Bess will also be receiving German instruction from her grandmother(a retired German Professor). We haven't made a decision on curriculum yet.

For Music(with lessons from our son, Ethan):
Piano Adventures Lesson Book, Primer Level
Piano Adventures Performance Book, Primer Level

Max is 6, and will be doing mostly kindergarten work, but is technically in 1st grade. He has some learning challenges from autism. He will be learning:

For Math:

Horizons Math K
Addition Songs

For Reading:
Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons(we're part way through this book)
Developing the Early Learner, Books 1-4

For Handwriting:
Zaner-Bloser Handwriting K

For Science:
Let's Read and Find Out Science Books(various titles)
Magic School Bus Science Kits

Max will also be listening in on any BookShark titles which interest him, and doing any art projects I plan for Bess.
We'll supplement with lots of read-alouds for both of them.

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If you've read this far(without dying of boredom),it might seem that I've over-scheduled Bess, and under-scheduled Max. However, I'm pretty sure I've planned out the right amount for each of them. Bess loves to learn, unless it's math, and is always asking for more to do. Learning Korean was her idea, probably inspired by my love of K-dramas. If we don't rush it, I'm sure learning two languages won't be too difficult for her. As for Max, he spends so much time having me read to him, I feel he's soaking up a lot of information. If I push school too much, he shuts down and refuses to do anything.

I'm excited about our curriculum selections, and as long as we don't receive a box of pickles, we should have a very fun and productive homeschool year.

Until Next Time!