We are only a few weeks away from beginning our sixth year of homeschooling! I had no idea what was in store when we took on the great task of homeschooling our children, but I am so glad we did! I know with certainty that we are exactly where we are supposed to be, and I’m so thankful for the ability to continue schooling my children in the way that works best for them and our family.

I’ve made a few changes this year, including switching Angel’s math curriculum. I’ve loved Math Mammoth, but it took a lot of my time to teach her this past year. And she’s getting into territory that’s requiring me to re-learn math, which simply isn’t efficient. So in an effort to streamline, I’ve switched her to Teaching Textbooks this year. Reviews say that it’s less rigorous than other curriculum choices, so my plan will be for her to complete 1 1/2 years of curriculum this year, with the goal of completing 3 years worth of curriculum in two years’ time.

We’re also officially welcoming sweet Dumpling as a Kindergarten student this year! I cannot believe it’s that time already! I am planning for a hybrid of kindergarten and preschool skills for him, as he’s not quite ready for a full-on kindergarten curriculum. I am more thankful than ever for the ability to homeschool him, because I just don’t think a typical kindergarten classroom would be the best fit for him. I’ll let him lead as we move forward this year, and I can’t wait to see how much he learns!

Lovebug is keeping most of the same curriculum choices as he moves up, with the exception of graduating into the advanced grammar class at our community. It’ll really grow him this year, and I am so excited to see his writing skills explode!

Lastly, Sunshine is also continuing with her curriculum choices, but she has decided to give gymnastics a try. I’m not sure if she’ll stop Tae Kwon Do permanently, or if she’ll end up just taking a break as she decides if gymnastics is the right fit for her. Whatever her decision, I will support her wholeheartedly!

Angel (7th grade)

1. Language Arts: assignments from our local classical community day
2. Reading: Various assigned great books
3. Math: Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra and Algebra I
4. History/Social Studies: Current events discussion, Claritas Classical Academy, lots of reading
5. Geography: Map drawing
6. Science: Science World Magazine, Science Wise 2, various reading with the family
7. Logic: Fallacy Detective and Uncle Eric Talks About Personal, Career, and Financial Security
8. Health: Cooking skills, nutrition, Choices magazine
9. Art: Mapping the World with Art
10. Music: Private piano lessons
11. Foreign Language: Mandarin Chinese tutor and Henle Latin
12. Bible: Family Bible studies and Operation World Prayer
13. Physical Education: Tae Kwon Do
14. Typing: Typing Pal

Lovebug (4th grade)

1. Memory Work: Claritas Classical Academy and fun review games
2. Timeline: Classical Conversations
3. Handwriting: Zaner-Bloser Handwriting 4
4. Grammar: Grammar lessons from our local classical community day
5. Writing: IEW Rockets, Radar, and Robotics
6. Spelling: Spelling Plus
7. Reading: Various assigned great books
8. Math: Math Mammoth 4 and Xtramath website
9. History: Claritas Classical Academy, lots of reading
10. Geography: Claritas Classical Academy and map drawing
11. Science: Claritas Classical Academy, related studies and experiments, lots of reading
12. Health: Cooking skills, nutrition, MindUp Curriculum
13. Art: Community day lessons covering elements of art and artist studies
14. Music: Community day lessons covering music theory and composer studies, private guitar lessons
15. Foreign Language: Mandarin Chinese tutor
16. Bible: Family Bible studies and Claritas Classical Academy
17. Physical Education: Tae Kwon Do
18. Typing: Typing Pal

Sunshine (2nd grade)

1. Memory Work: Claritas Classical Academy and fun review games
2. Timeline: Classical Conversations
3. Handwriting: Zaner-Bloser Handwriting 2C
4. Grammar: Grammar lessons from our local community day
5. Writing: Copy work exercises
6. Spelling: Spelling Plus
7. Reading: All About Reading Level 3 (and finishing up Level 2)
8. Math: Math Mammoth 2 and Xtramath website
9. History: Claritas Classical Academy, lots of reading
10. Geography: Claritas Classical Academy and map drawing
11. Science: Claritas Classical Academy, related studies and experiments, lots of reading
12. Health: Cooking skills, nutrition, MindUp Curriculum
13. Art: Community day lessons covering elements of art and artist studies
14. Music: Community day lessons covering music theory and composer studies, private piano lessons
15. Foreign Language: Mandarin Chinese tutor
16. Bible: Family Bible studies and Claritas Classical Academy
17. Physical Education: Gymnastics

Dumpling (Kindergarten)

1. Memory Work: Claritas Classical Academy and fun review games
2. Timeline: Classical Conversations
3. Handwriting: Zaner-Bloser Handwriting K
4. Reading: All About Reading Pre-Reading Level
5. Pre-K Skills: Horizons Preschool Curriculum
6. Math: Math U See Primer
7. History: Claritas Classical Academy, lots of reading
8. Geography: Claritas Classical Academy and map drawing
9. Science: Claritas Classical Academy, related studies and experiments, lots of reading
10. Health: Cooking skills, nutrition, MindUp Curriculum
11. Art: Community day lessons covering elements of art and artist studies
12. Music: Community day lessons covering music theory and composer studies, private piano lessons
13. Foreign Language: Mandarin Chinese tutor
14. Bible: Family Bible studies and Claritas Classical Academy
15. Physical Education: Bike riding, running, jump roping