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Homeschool Curriculum Choices 2015

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Our homeschool curriculum choices for the year are chosen!

I had to laugh the other day when a friend of mine texted me asking when I was planning on posting my homeschool curriculum choices for this upcoming year. She said she always uses my list to hep her plan her own.  I was so happy to hear that. Sometimes I wonder how much these posts mean to anyone! This year I have a 5th grader, 3rd grader, a preschooler, and a toddler.

Homeschool Curriculum Choices 2015 from Teach Beside Me

I am changing things up a bit this year and trying out the Charlotte Mason Homeschool style! I am REALLY excited. I think the reason I have waited so long to share my plan is because I have still been formulating it in my mind.  (I still kind of am, honestly.) But, I will share what I have figured out so far! (Things always change.)  Coming soon, I will share a daily printable schedule that I am creating.

Homeschool History Choices:

We are studying American History this year. Last year we focused on the Pilgrims and the settling of America, so we will be moving on from that point. I love using historical literature and tying it in with geography and science.  I have not yet organized our exact schedule, but following are some of the books we’ll be using.

American History Literature List from Teach Beside Me

Of Courage Undaunted, The Matchlock Gun, The 4th of July Story, Poor Richard, The Witch of Blackbird Pond,   George Washington’s World, The World Of Captain John Smith, Abraham Lincoln’s World, Trouble for Lucy, Seaman, Guns for General Washington, Johnny Tremain, Toliver’s Secret, Phoebe the Spy, The Cabin Faced West, Rifles for Watie, This Country of Ours, Sarah Plain and Tall

Homeschool Math Choices:

This year I am trying out Teaching Textbooks. I really want something that just teaches it for me. I am not a fan of math.  I am hoping that T.T. will be the solution for our math woes.  We shall see…

I also have a couple of supplemental things that I like to add in:  Your Business Math, & Striker Jones

Homeschool Language Arts Choices:

We will be using Write from History, Early Modern -level 1 for my 3rd Grader  & Level 2 for my 5th grader.  These books are great & include copywork, dictation as well as fun historical stories.

All Things Fun and Fascinating  from IEW for Creative Writing.

Print to Proverbs from Simply Charlotte Mason will be used for handwriting for my 3rd grader.

Daily Grams for Grammar- these are just easy short daily grammar lessons.

We will be using All About Spelling again for spelling. We are on levels 3 & 5.  I love it!

English from the Roots Up to study word roots and Vocabulary Cartoons

Explode the Code for phonics- we have been using this for years!

We are studying Shakespeare- a few books I have picked up to help me out include: How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare by Ken Ludwig, Usborne Illustrated Stories from Shakespeare, Tales from Shakespeare by Charles Lamb, Shakespeare Can Be Fun books, and the Bard of Avon.

We are also adding in poetry. I am going to be working on a poet each month with the kids. In the past we have just done poetry memorization, or read through poetry collections. I came across these Poetry for Young People series that I really like. Since I want to really get to know different poets, we will try to learn about a new poet each month. We will be learning about Emily Dickinson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Jack Prelytsky, William Makepeace Thackeray, Lewis Carroll, Robert Louis Stevenson.

Homeschool Science Choices:

As our main science spine we’ll be using Apologia Exploring Creation with Chemistry & Physics (Young Explorer Series).  I am pretty excited about this. We have used many of the Exploring Creation books from Apologia and my kids really liked them a lot. Last year we took a break from Apologia.  We missed it.  This Chemistry one will be a fun one to try this year!

Nature & Science Study: Sketching Outdoors in Winter, 500 Things to Draw from Nature, Christian Nature Readers, Wild Animals I Have Known,  Jack’s Insects, Wonder book of Chemistry, School of the Woods, Fabre’s Book of Insects, Exploring the World of Chemistry, Exploring the World of Physics,

SOME of the Books on our Literature List:

The Princess and the Goblin, Black Beauty, Trumpet of the Swan, The Great Brain, The Borrowers, Caddie Woodlawn, Ballet Shoes, The Family Under the Bridge, Hatchet, Pollyanna, Little House on the Prairie, Red Badge of Courage, Oliver Twist, Homer Price, Little Pilgrim’s Progress, Treasure Island, Our Young Folks Plutarch, Captains Courageous…

Music & Art:

Since we are studying American history this year, I want to teach my kids some of the classic American Folk songs. I came across this American Folk Songs for Children book & CD and ordered it for our homeschool.  I haven’t used it yet, but can’t wait to start!

We LOVE the Enrichment Studies website for Composers & Artists! It is so easy to use & takes no planning on my part!  We typically study one artist and one composer each month.

We are also still reading through our Zeezok Music Book set. They are great stories!

Preschool:

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We used Mother Goose Time preschool last year & I loved it.  I know preschool is cheap & easy to prepare.  I have done it a LOT in the past. (If you want something like that, check out my Ultimate List of Free Preschool Curriculum post!)  This year, I just needed something that I didn’t have to plan on my own, though.  Mother Goose Time delivers a box of prepared lessons to my door. It has been so perfect for my little boy.  He feels so special having something that is all his own!

Mother Goose Time is a lot of fun, but it does not include any literature. So, I am planning on reading the Ambleside Online Year 0 book list with my son as well. .

Whew!  We made it through my great big list of homeschool curriculum choices!  🙂 I’d love your thoughts. 

Here is last year’s post on our homeschool curriculum choices, if you are interested.

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5 Comments

  1. Hi. Just a question please….
    From your experience can you change Math curricular from year to year. I know if something is not working rather find a better fit but should one be trying to stick to a curriculum for continuity?

    Many thanks
    New homeschool mom from SA

    1. Well, we have switched 5 times in 4 years. I am embarrassed to admit that. What I have seen is that mostly they cover the same things, just in different ways. Most people seem to say that it is better to stay with one, but switching has provided relief and variety to my children that they always welcomed. Each time they have been fine with it and I kind of think it has strengthened their math skills. I am DEFINITELY not an expert in this, though!

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