when it rains...

...I start thinking ahead! After all, we're finished with this school year. It's too damp to play in the gardens. The kids have been lost in playmobil and calico critter worlds in their bedrooms. The baby had a fever. Tell me: what else is a mom supposed to do on such occasions???

And honestly, I'd been thinking as we finished up this school year that I wanted to do as much planning as possible for next year while I'm still somewhat in Paperwork/School Mode-- rather than realizing on July 17th that I've forgotten we even homeschool and that I have four IHIPs (individualized home instruction plans) due in two days!

So while it's rained and we're stuck inside not doing any of the things that scream Summer! to me, planning I've done.

I tore out all the old planning and pages from my trusty 3-ring binder. I printed new calendar and planning pages for the coming school year and got it all freshly organized. And I started making lists.

[Confession: I love lists and planning. This is in no way a chore for me. But sometimes I do get ahead of myself. Like last week when I started googling rhubarb recipes because I was just so excited about the rhubarb I purchased a local nursery that should be producing for us in, oh, just two years!]

Our coming school year is shaping up, and I'm excited. I feel like I am slowly getting better and better at knowing how to streamline, focus, and prioritize. I stub my toe on this a bit each year, but I think I'm learning. Bit by bit, anyway. A good friend and I reminded each other the other day that curriculum is simply a tool and not the goal; but we also reminded each other that it is a tool and having the right tools sure does help get the job done more efficiently, painlessly, and successfully! I suppose in the same way my husband gets excited about a new weed whacker or jigsaw, I get excited about curriculum.

In 2013-2014 I'll have four kids officially enrolled (and requiring paperwork-- which is honestly only as difficult as remembering to turn it in, but don't get me started on how hard that is!) in 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade. What I'm thinking we'll do:

Math

Teaching Textbooks 3, 5, and 6 for the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. Need I say more? This will be our third year using Teaching Textbooks and I haven't looked back for a minute. It has been a terrific fit for both of my oldest two children (although they are very different learners when it comes to math). And with so many kids to continue shuffling through each grade, the cost doesn't even make me flinch!

Aubrey will use Bob Jones Math K5 (we started this last year, but I quickly realized she needed more basic practice with fine motor skills, so we shelved the book in favor of strengthening her foundation!). Bob Jones math is my favorite for the early grades. It's a simple, all-in-one workbook that has plenty of interest in the pages for young ones while not being too crowded a layout for this tired mama's eyes. I feel that it's thorough and systematic without being laborious or tiresome.

Handwriting

Getty-Dubay Italic Handwriting Series for all, books A - F accordingly! I have used GD since the very beginning and continue to be pleased. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Literature/Reading

This past year we were part of a collaborative literature study group with a few other homeschooling families once a week, working together through about 1 book every 6 weeks or so. My 3rd-5th graders will all be part of this again, which I am more enthusiastic about that I can even really say. It has been so good for them.

I also do daily read aloud as the first part of our school morning (after chores, that is!) each day. We usually read through a book that fits with what we are studying in literature class and history at home.

My 1st grader and I will be focusing on getting established in reading this year, in addition to continuing to enjoy our joint read aloud time. I will again use a terrific book by Ruth Beechick called A Home Start in Reading that teaches a method for learning to read that I have LOVED using with the other children. I dabbled in this proven method a bit with Aubrey last year, but I was not as faithful with her as I should have been. This will be a major priority for 2013-2014! (And it will be good for both of us to grow accordingly!)

History

Last year I quickly abandoned any formal curriculum in favor of taking advantage of all that we were reading and talking about through our collaborative literature group. If we were reading a book about the Titanic then we studied the Edwardian period, various social classes/distinctions, how travel and inventions were changing in the early 1900s, various significant figures on the Titanic and what they represented in their time, etc. If we were reading a book about an orphan in New York City in 1927, we took advantage of mentions of the Harlem Renaissance, various musicians and artists, immigration and how that was changing the face of cities in the USA, what was happening socially and economically and spiritually at that time, etc. as a springboard for further study. I loved doing history this way and I am looking forward to another year of history studied in similar fashion!

Grammar/Vocabulary/Spelling

Call me crazy and paint me purple, but I don't really systematically teach the mechanics of language until my kids are well established in a love of reading, writing, and the function/art of language. I've thought about getting started before now, but actually haven't done anything beyond helping them write letters and thank you notes, working together when it's time to do essays or reports or poems, and giving them full freedom to write creatively. Gabriel has been writing short stories and "newspaper articles" of all kinds for years that have some of the most comical phonetic spelling, awful punctuation, and unpolished format/storyline you may have ever come across, but he loves to write-- and he has improved dramatically without a lick of correction or nagging from me.

What's amazing is that despite not using a single page of something even as basic as Explode the Code, he's learned a great deal simply by being a voracious reader. On his standardized test this year, he actually scored far above his grade level in language mechanics, much to my shock and surprise. I mean, I've always known that being a reader is a huge key to being a learner, but I'm seeing this proven true right before my eyes.

That said, I've also known that whenever they are well established in their love of language, we would then begin to study the mechanics and rules of language, and I feel strongly that this is the year to start. I actually anticipate that it will be quite fun at this point because of this already-established appreciation and enjoyment of what language can do for us.

So, Gabriel and Bronwyn will both begin using A Beka Language A this year. And I'm really looking forward to it!

Science

In years past our science curriculum has been very simple and tremendously enjoyable: using ideas from Keeping A Nature Journal, we've all kept nature journals of our own. Even I got into this past year, despite being a terrible artist and a less than outdoorsy type. The kids will see things in the yard or on walks or when we're studying something and they draw it in their journal, jot down a few facts or observations about it, and we call it a day!

This year, though, we're transitioning into a "real" curriculum. I've had my eye on Apologia science for quite a few years, but before now didn't feel ready to get into something so formal. Looking more at the way Apologia lays out their elementary science, though, I'm realizing that it's just glorified nature journaling. Instead of simply focusing on what's nearby and around us in nature, we will get into some things that we may only ever see/explore through books and movies, but we will continue to sketch and journal our findings.

Perfect.

We're going to begin with Astronomy. For being one who never particularly liked science, I am surprising myself with my eagerness to get started on this!

Electives

Bible:
Personal devotions will continue for the three child with their age-appropriate Bible and the leather-bound prayer/study journals I gave them. Gabriel has a New King James genuine leather Bible with his name on it that was our Christmas gift to him this past year, and he'll continue reading in that. Bronwyn will continue working her way through the 10-volume Arthur Maxwell that my siblings and I read through as children. Jackson is soon finishing up The Children's Bible in 365 Stories and then he will begin the 10-volume AM series. My hope is that by the end of the year, Aubrey will be reading well enough to using The Early Reader's Bible, like her older brothers and sister began with.
In addition, we do a lot of Scripture memorization as a family (the kids have memorized almost all of Romans 5 in just the past 6 weeks and continue to amaze me at how much more they retain than I do!) and have [almost daily] devotions immediately after breakfast.

Music:
I want the three oldest to continue with private piano lessons. They have been invaluable and such a blessing in our home. I anticipate that this investment will one day prove to be a blessing outside the home, too. Gabriel has also been the beneficiary of my brother Jamie's generosity in weekly drum lessons and he will most likely continue with those, as well. And, of course, there's CFA Friday School choirs and family worship and just much music in our lives throughout the day (mostly thanks to Gabriel, who is famous for turning music on even when I feel beyond over-stimulated, and I just bite my tongue and let him listen and sing his heart out as he folds laundry or finishes handwriting or washes dishes).

Art:
In addition to the bits we get to study and dabble in thanks to our literature group, we will heavily rely on the art classes at Friday School, which have been wonderful and a highlight with all my children (and especially the two oldest). I am also planning on ordering The Children's Book of Art, just so that we can do a bit more learning about famous works of art and artists here at home.

Typing:
Gabriel and Bronwyn have both dabbled a bit in some online typing programs, but due to my own reticence about having them online any time I'm not sitting right next to them, it was very hit or miss. I'm ordering a typing program so that they can get more disciplined about learning to type, which is something both Daniel and I are thankful we were taught when we were young and, well, just seems to be a necessity in this day and age.

Throw in their daily chores and helping with younger siblings and learning to cook and garden and process food and that is, I think, a wrap! Of course this says nothing about the big picture things I am praying through for each of my children, but each of these areas of study will play a part in seeing the character growth and development in them that I am believing for.

I love choosing and buying and organizing and preparing the tools that we will use, but ultimately they are just that: tools. My goal is not to simply fill minds, but to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in awakening hearts.

“The question is not, -- how much does the youth know? when he has finished his education --
but how much does he care? and about how many orders of things does he care?
In fact, how large is the room in which he finds his feet set?
and, therefore, how full is the life he has before him?” -Charlotte Mason