Week-in-Review #1

We are finally getting back into the swing of things. I am sooo excited to see some signs of a "normal" routine around here again! Highlights:
1. Lala is growing up fast. She will be turning 4 soon and she has officially began joining the rest of us at the big table for school time!
2. I have been playing around will some new blog headers.
3. We all ♥ Ellie and are working hard on getting her trained!
4. Kaylee and I have been working on some new artwork for the schoolroom that I hope to post about soon
5. 1st Day of School photo shoot!
6. My elephant ears continue to grow out of control! The leaves are bigger than then kids and the plants are twice as tall as they were last year.
7. This sky means autumn is on it's way.
8. Kaylee has been studying Jamestown and Pocahontas for history and she came up with this outfit herself.
9. These kids ♥ to dress up - this was pirate day!
10. Major grocery shopping was done to refurnish the fridge and pantry after being gone for a month.
11. Major yard work was also done to recover from weeds taking over for a month.
12. (no picture) We went to the movies - Disney's Planes!

2013-2014 Curriculum

Now that I have 3 children gathered at the table for school time, I have tried to simplify our schedule as much as possible. This is what I intend to use this year for each child.

Matthew (K) and Brynlee (Pre-K):
They will be learning the alphabet and letter sounds together using Easy Peasy All In One Homeschool's Getting Ready 1. The resources are free and online, and after week 1 the kids are enjoying spending this one-on-one computer time with me.

Additional Resources:

• Alphabet Letter Mats found at 123 Homeschool 4 Me. Mainly these will be used with play dough as intended but she lists a variety of other uses for these mats. 

• We will be making alphabet books using these coloring pages. 

• And we will be reading through our personal library of children's books, and they have the option of listening in to most of their big sisters readings.

In addition to this Matthew will also soon be using Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, and Saxon Math K.

Kaylee (2nd Grade):
This year we will be following Higher Up and Further In (HUFI) curriculum. I found this free Charlotte Mason based curriculum about a year ago and started implementing it into 1st grade. Since we picked up this curriculum a term into 1st grade, our schedule for this year will look something like this:

Term 1 - Fall 2013: Year 1 Term 3 HUFI Schedule
Term 2 - Winter 2013: Year 2 Term 1 HUFI Schedule
Term 3 - Spring 2014: Year 2 Term 2 HUFI Schedule

I have not decided on all the family read-alouds yet, so I will post on them as we choose them.

Additional Resources:

• Mathematics - RightStart Math Level B (Finishing) and Level C

• Explode the Code Workbooks 3, 4, 5

• Whatever else I am forgetting at the moment...

I am so excited to start pulling out the new books and beginning this journey with the little ones!

First Day of School 2013!

It is my favorite time of year, the beginning of a new school season, and I am motivated to begin anew with this blog and at the very least try to keep up with a week-in-review post as a record of what we are accomplishing this school year and just in our home life in general. After taking the month of July off to visit family in Arizona and Colorado, the kids and I were ready to jump in to a new school year. We are excited to see what the future holds for us, what our favorite subjects and books will be, how we will learn and grow together!

This will be the first year that all 3 children will truly be participating in school time - Kaylee as a 2nd grader, Dutch in Kindergarten, and Lala in Preschool. It is sure to be an adventure!