Before I go into what I've chosen for our homeschool curriculum this coming fall, let me briefly explain why we aren't using the same materials we used this year. First, although the MFW Exploration to 1850 is a great curriculum, it wasn't what I was anticipating. My plan was to use these last two years before Lael hits seventh grade (and more advanced work) to study American history in depth. The curriculum we used is a whole world overview, rather than just American history. We are also leaving Abeka behind. I feel like it teaches a lot of grammar rules but doesn't pair them well with real writing. And as for math, I did like Saxon but I'll get to that.
So for the 2012-2013 school year, the Card Homeschool Academy will use:
TruthQuest History for Young Students III - this study guide looks enjoyable for me mainly because it gives me, the homeschool mom, control over which topics we glance over, which we study and which we dive into head first. I love the idea that I will have the book lists for each girl (even my kindergartener!) to delve into apart from our organized history lesson. I plan on ordering the Binder Builder as well, for some hands on activities.
Apologia Astronomy for the first semester and Anatomy & Physiology for the second semester - We used the Apologia Botany during our second semester this year and absolutely loved it. It was easy to understand, thorough and fun. I've talked with several moms that have used these programs and I'm anticipating that we will love these two books just as much. We are doing two units for two reasons. One is because my parents surprised us this past Christmas with a telescope! The girls have had fun playing around with it but I'm looking forward to using it for school. And second, because Lael continues to express an interest in becoming a nurse. She and I have loosely mapped out her science requirements through high school. Originally we didn't have this elementary level physiology course on the list. But after looking through both books, I'm confident we can complete both courses in one year.
Bob Jones English and Spelling - After looking through pages and pages of homeschool catalogs, Bob Jones is the one we will be using for English, writing and spelling. Alyssa will be sticking with English, to review and learn the basic rules of grammar. Lael will be skipping ahead to writing and grammar rather than doing one year of basic grammar, just to switch formats again when she gets to seventh grade. I like that it seems a bit more approachable, while still thorough. I think this program will be a good fit for us.
Math - I'm still a bit undecided here for Lael but Alyssa will definitely be doing Bob Jones math. Although she did well with the Saxon books this year, the next level up changes formats. I know my Alyssa girl and that change in formats would be her undoing. Not a battle I need every morning. As for Lael, she has already done a year of Saxon math in the upper grade format. She did very well with it. The fact that a friend has already lent me the Saxon math 7/6 books (meaning it would cost me nothing to use it), is not helping Lael in her crusade to convince me she should switch to Bob Jones as well.
We will also be doing Apologia Bible this year. It looks likes a good program for the girls to start building their own foundations of faith.
Lauren will be a full-fledged kindergartener in the fall. She will be using Bob Jones phonics and math as well.
Did I forget anything?! What are you using for curriculum this fall?
So for the 2012-2013 school year, the Card Homeschool Academy will use:
TruthQuest History for Young Students III - this study guide looks enjoyable for me mainly because it gives me, the homeschool mom, control over which topics we glance over, which we study and which we dive into head first. I love the idea that I will have the book lists for each girl (even my kindergartener!) to delve into apart from our organized history lesson. I plan on ordering the Binder Builder as well, for some hands on activities.
Apologia Astronomy for the first semester and Anatomy & Physiology for the second semester - We used the Apologia Botany during our second semester this year and absolutely loved it. It was easy to understand, thorough and fun. I've talked with several moms that have used these programs and I'm anticipating that we will love these two books just as much. We are doing two units for two reasons. One is because my parents surprised us this past Christmas with a telescope! The girls have had fun playing around with it but I'm looking forward to using it for school. And second, because Lael continues to express an interest in becoming a nurse. She and I have loosely mapped out her science requirements through high school. Originally we didn't have this elementary level physiology course on the list. But after looking through both books, I'm confident we can complete both courses in one year.
Bob Jones English and Spelling - After looking through pages and pages of homeschool catalogs, Bob Jones is the one we will be using for English, writing and spelling. Alyssa will be sticking with English, to review and learn the basic rules of grammar. Lael will be skipping ahead to writing and grammar rather than doing one year of basic grammar, just to switch formats again when she gets to seventh grade. I like that it seems a bit more approachable, while still thorough. I think this program will be a good fit for us.
Math - I'm still a bit undecided here for Lael but Alyssa will definitely be doing Bob Jones math. Although she did well with the Saxon books this year, the next level up changes formats. I know my Alyssa girl and that change in formats would be her undoing. Not a battle I need every morning. As for Lael, she has already done a year of Saxon math in the upper grade format. She did very well with it. The fact that a friend has already lent me the Saxon math 7/6 books (meaning it would cost me nothing to use it), is not helping Lael in her crusade to convince me she should switch to Bob Jones as well.
We will also be doing Apologia Bible this year. It looks likes a good program for the girls to start building their own foundations of faith.
Lauren will be a full-fledged kindergartener in the fall. She will be using Bob Jones phonics and math as well.
Did I forget anything?! What are you using for curriculum this fall?
We will continue to use Time4Learning as our core curriculum in 7th grade 2012-13 school year. We have used it for 5 years now and it really fits the way my daughter learns. We will also be adding science from other sources since she has completed the T4L available science. We suppliment with lots of reading/literature and lots of additional materials that my daughter shows interest in, including small farm management, Spanish, and equine studies as electives. Thanks for sharing your list of curricula, it's always great to see what other people are using! Happy homeschooling!
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