I know I would never want to teach as a profession because going through the same curricula multiple times gets really boring for me; this year with Evie was where I hit a wall and determined that next year she is going to get to study some new things that will shake it up for both of us.
This year was fairly routine, with some adjustments for her unique interests and abilities.
This was what school looked like for her:
Bible-God's Great Covenant: New Testament 2 covers the book of Acts incorporating Paul's epistles. I love this series and appreciated the way reading Scripture, memory work, and reviewing the story of God's saving love in the world is simply, but deeply, presented. It is the final book of the series and I'm glad all of the kids were able to go through this series that is so foundational, and told God's story in such a winsome way.
Math-Horizons 6 For whatever reason, my kids never wanted to consider another math curriculum and I took heart that a mom whose sons went on to college degrees in math told me she had homeschooled using Horizons. Horizons is colorful and uses the spiral method, circling back to make sure a concept has been learned after time away. No regrets at using this, though grades 1-3 were the best years.
Grammar-Despite trying other grammar curricula, I knew by last year that Evie needed to use Rod and Staff. She likes things to be straightforward and she likes animals and Rod and Staff is seemingly composed by farmer's wives for all the farm animals involved, and avoids being repetitive. (There is a separate workbook for additional practice for kids who need more repetition.) She told me this year that she really liked using Rod and Staff and will continue next year.
Writing & Rhetoric-I continue to like this series as students practice writing fundamentals (using the classical principle of progymnasmata). Evie completed Commonplace and Encomium and Vituperation and progressed to be a much more confident writer this year. I always appreciate the content in this series that focuses on meaningful topics and exemplary (or not so) individuals.
History-Last year with Story of the World. We used Vol. 4.
Latin-I love the streaming teacher instruction as well as the fun videos and online games that accompany Latin for Children Primer B.
Spelling-We continued with Spelling Workout F, a series that I like for its simplicity, focus on roots and rules, but that also uses logic puzzles and games. This was a one-day a week class for us, but fits well with the grammar and writing we are already doing.
Physics-I had used Real Science 4 Kids with the older kids, but used other curriculum for the past few years. I returned to it for Evie this year, because we didn't have a lot of time for science and she was able to observe Ben and Kyrie's labs. She enjoyed a snap circuit board a lot. This covers the material well, keeping it interesting with colorful illustrations.
Music-Evie continued with piano lessons, and played in her first recital. In addition, we used a very old Usborne Intro to Music book, similar to this one and the Classical Music Sticker Book. This would have been best when she was a little younger but the information is still good and it is a beautiful book.
No comments:
Post a Comment