Keeping it Simple for Back-to-School

We're still enjoying the outdoors for a couple more weeks before our CC group starts, spending restful days in a nearby canyon with our friends.

 

 

Everywhere you "turn" online, there are posts and articles from excited homeschool moms gearing up for a fabulous year.  I have seen a myriad of great resources and ideas for the coming year. 

 

But for the most part, I'm tuning it out. 

Five years of homeschooling has taught me how limited my time really is.  The days go fast and the more "rabbit trails" I can go down with our studies, the less time we have to really master the core stuff.  So, I will jot down an idea here or there that might work for us, but I also continually remind myself that I have more than enough to keep busy with in Foundations and Essentials this year without adding more to my life. 

 

When I had a teacher's manual that contained lots of fun activities, crafts, recipes, and extras to add to the lessons, I couldn't say no to all of the suggestions.  I felt like I had to do it all to be doing a good job at homeschooling.  I grew frustrated wtih my enormous workload and longed for simplicity.  I tried to cut back, but then when I did, I felt guilty.  Thankfully, God brought Classical Conversations to our attention and a group started in our town that fall.  Now, with my Foundations guide, I am thrilled with the simplicity of each week's work.  I don't want to "re-create" the stress of feeling like I need to do several crafts and activities each week.

 

So, I share my plan for the year here in the hopes that it will inspire you to keep things simple as you gear up for another year.  Your family is unique; you are unique; your kids are unique.  You may enjoy handling a full day of crafts, worksheets, and projects.  Your homeschool schedule may look a lot more impressive than mine.  That's okay, because we all have to do what works best for our own families.  This is what works for ours! 

 

 

Alathia - 4th Grade

 

AWANA Bible Memory work

Foundations grammar (which covers geography, science, history, math, Latin, presentations, etc.)

Essentials (English grammar program, which covers writing, vocab, and spelling too)

ACE Math paces (3 pages per day)

Prescripts Cursive Handwriting (American History)

Reading the Bible, historical novels, free reads, and reading together as a family

Daily practice with math flashcards and map tracing

 

Extracurriculars:  Missoula Children's Theater, Drama Club at the Library, Homeschool Swimming Lessons, AWANA, helping Mom cook and sew for practice in those areas

 

 

Jeremiah - 2nd Grade

 

AWANA Bible Memory work

 Foundations grammar

ACE Math paces (3 pages per day)

Prescripts Cursive Handwriting (World History)

Explode the Code 2.5 (2 pages per day)

First Language Lessons (1 lesson per day)

Reading aloud to mom and by himself each day, read-alouds with the family

Daily practice with math flashcards and map tracing

 

Extracurriculars:  Lego Club at the Library, Homeschool Swimming Lessons, AWANA, CC Lapbooking group with friends while his sister does Essentials class.

 

 

Justus - Kindergarten

 

Bible memory work - verses about kindness

Foundations grammar

ACE Math paces (1-2 pages a day)

Prescripts Cursive Handwriting (World History)

Daily lesson from The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading

First Language Lessons (1 lesson per day, with his brother)

Daily practice with math flashcards and map tracing

Read-alouds with the family

Playing with playdough, tracing letters in salt or shaving cream, putting puzzles together, coloring

 

 

Extracurriculars:  Lego Club at the Library, Homeschool Swimming Lessons

 

 

Katrielle - Preschool

 

Bible Memory work at home (with Justus)

Foundations (abecedarian group)

School Games for Preschoolers (a dry-erase book for tracing letters and numbers and doing preschool activities)

Read-alouds with the family

 

 

Read-Alouds

 

Adventures in Odyssey Devotional (daily at breakfast)

Story of the World (correlating to our history work for the week)

Little House on the Prairie series

Fictional stories about American History

(I've been making a pile from our bookshelves and will no doubt look for more at the library)

Non-Fiction books about different states, or about American History

Imagination Station Adventure Books (The kids LOVE these!)

 

 

Other

 

Song School Latin 1 (If we have extra time--a fun way to get some Latin learning in!)

 

Practicing Spanish a little bit at mealtimes (my brother's family is bilingual so the kids have picked up a lot from their cousin)

 

Nature Hikes (as many as we can squeeze in before it starts snowing)

 

Service Projects: Helping with our new church addition on workdays, filling backpacks for the school backpack program that provides food for needy kids, looking for ways to bless our neighbors, making Thanksgiving baskets, Operation Christmas Child, etc. etc. etc.

 

Biking - we love to bike as a family so we will be doing a lot of bike rides and going to the local skate park and dirt jump bike park to ride