Our New School Year is Here!

I just finished ordering the last of our school books yesterday and we are getting excited to be starting school again!  Last year was our "official" start of homeschooling, although we had completed a year of Pre-k  the year before that.

We chose My Father's World curriculum for Kindergarten last year and both Luke and Chloe loved it.  Luke was already reading a little at the start of Kindergarten but he just completely took off.  He is reading on at least a third to fourth grade level now!  It seems he is a sight reader, so he just memorizes the words and that's good enough for him.  The K curriculum wasn't really a challenge for him but he still had fun with it.  My goal was to give him a good phonics base and I was pleased.

Chloe learned her letters, their sounds, and how to write them so she had a great year!  She is starting to read very simple books and I'm sure she will continue to excel with practice.

We are using My Father's World again this year and both children will progress to the first grade.  The reading will not be a challenge for Luke at all but my main goal for him is to have a good foundation for phonics and that will continue this year.  I realize Chloe is young to start first grade but I feel repeating Kindergarten would not be the best thing for her, as she grasped the material quite well.  She is starting the K level for math this year.  We weren't happy with the math in MFW so we chose Math-U-See and love it.

I am completely drawn to the Charlotte Mason style of teaching which is one of the things that drew us to MFW to start with.  If you don't know much about this style I would encourage you to educate yourself.  I think you'll find it well-rounded and "gentle."  

So here's what our year looks like:

Luke (6)

• Math-U-See  (Alpha Level)
• My Father's World for  History, Reading, Phonics, Science, and Picture Study
• Copywork for Little Boys

Chloe (5)

• Math-U-See (Primer Level)
• My Father's World for History, Reading, Phonics, Science, and Picture Study
• Rod and Staff Preschool Set-This is considered Rod and Staff's kindergarten level.  We LOVE these books and the kids have had a blast doing the workbooks.  Plus they are super affordable.  We've bought several different things from this company and have been very pleased with everything.

I also adore Sonlight curriculum because they are all about reading.  I am being extra ambitious this year and plan to read their read-aloud recommendations for the K level.  That's roughly 25 books!  I also plan to have Luke read the Grade 3 readers as he breezed through the Grade 2 readers this year without any struggle whatsoever.  Chloe will be reading the Grade 1 readers  as soon as I feel she's ready.

I have found about half of my material needed on allofcraigs.com .  This is a website where you can search all of craigslist for whatever you're looking for.  It has been a huge money-saver.  There are tons of homeschoolers out there that are selling their used books for a fraction of the cost you would spend new.

I have also utilized Amazon.com a ton.  We are Prime members so we get free two-day shipping on anything that qualifies, which is most everything!  :)  And of course the library is priceless.  Love, love, love the library.  They are used to seeing me weekly there with my huge stack of books all crammed into my Publix reusable shopping bag.

So there you have it.  I hope your retinas are still attached after such a long post!  It's basically a two-in-one post because I didn't write about school last year.  Now we'll just be watching for those last boxes from the mailman, UPS, and Fed-Ex this week so we can begin our new school year!

Saturday Seven - Link Edition

I have so many blog posts or articles I've read that I would love to share with you, so I am going to occasionally use Saturday Seven to do just that!  I encourage you to read these, even if you may not be interested in the subject.  A little challenged thinking never hurt anyone!  :)

1) Large Family Myth Busters

2) I don't want my children to be happy

3) Woman performs abortion while pregnant (Mature Audience)

4)  The Pill:  Making Motherhood Better?

5)  Pros and Cons to Homeschooling

6)  Subtle Effects of the Birth Control Culture

7)  Top 5 Reasons Not to Send Your Kids to Govt. School

School Days

Homeschooling is not for the faint of heart! How I am finding that out! There are so many curriculum choices and ideas on different styles of teaching. The possibilities are endless. While this is exciting in some ways, it can also be very overwhelming! Especially for a girl who was not home schooled and hasn't had much exposure to what's out there.

This year, after much deliberation and hours spent reading and searching the Internet, we decided to go with the Pre-K curriculum from Rod and Staff. They have two levels of curriculum so we bought the About Three set for Chloe and the ABC Series for Luke. I also ordered an extra Bible coloring book for Chloe, which was part of Luke's set, and a memory verse coloring book for each of them.

Chloe coloring her Bible story picture

They were SO excited when the books came. They couldn't wait to get started! They have both already completed their first books and are working on the next level. Luke especially loves it. He wakes up every morning asking "When are we going to do school?"

We start by reading a Bible story and they color the corresponding page in their coloring book. Then we complete our workbook pages. It takes about thirty minutes of our time.

Luke carefully cutting-He sticks his tongue out when he's concentrating!

I also read aloud several books a day to the kids; something we all look forward to. I have found they enjoy a variety of books, even chapter books with no pictures; not just the "twaddle" books that we tend to offer our children.

We are having a lot of fun learning together and I am so thankful for this precious time with our children. So while our journey is just beginning, and there are many decisions to be made and ideas explored, I am very excited about our future in homeschooling!

"Children of Caesar"

For those of you who didn't know, we are going to homeschool our children. Given the state of our Godless society and education system, we feel as if there is no other choice. We are constantly having to defend or explain our decision and encounter opposition by many.

When I found this clip by Voddie Baucham tonight, I was compelled to share. It makes me want to jump up and shout "AMEN!" This sums up any explanation I could give anyone on the issue.