Our school year is winding down, so I've been thinking about what's been great, and what I'd like to modify for next year. This is our second year of homeschooling. I just have to say, we love it! Yes, there are THOSE days when I almost pull all my hair out, but I still love it. Even before Kathryn was born, I was convicted that I would homeschool her. Later, there were some challenges to making that a reality, but thanks to the Lord, here we are! 
This year we began using the Ambleside Year One curriculum, and it's great. We love it, it's easily customizable, and fits our needs perfectly. For math, we've been using Saxon 2, and in the picture above, she's doing a lesson in Joseph the Canada Goose by Barry Stebbing, which is a kid's art program we like a lot. For handwriting, we read some great poetry, and copy a stanza of Kathryn's choosing. We start out each day with a chapter or two of Catherine Vos' Child's Story Bible at the breakfast table. We do also read out of the "real" Bible throughout the week, but I like this story Bible for how everything is tied together, and even in Old Testament readings, she points us forward to Christ so we never forget to always read the Old Testament through the eyes of the new testament. Some other additional things we do: map skills, US geography, thinking skills (mostly because Kathryn thought last year's workbook was so much fun!), Explode the Code 4 for reading/phonics, and more. We are taking off next week (spring break), and then we have six more weeks to go, so I am working on finalizing what all we'll be doing curriculum-wise for next year.
We also read great books. Of course, as part of the Ambleside curriculum, we do a lot of readings together (meaning I read them aloud) for history, science, even Shakespeare, and so on, but we have a lot of "free reading" books as well, which Kathryn reads on her own. Some of them are Ambleside's suggested readings, like the one she is reading now, The Railway Children by E. Nesbit. Others are just ones she picks out at the public library. We've also got a great library at our church. Thank God for both libraries because I'd go broke if I had to buy every book she reads; she is a very prolific and advanced reader, and that's a blessing. However, the challenge of it is finding books that challenge her AND that are age appropriate for a 7-year-old, so if I don't know much about them, I have to pre-read them before she can (fortunately I'm also a pretty prolific reader!). Kathryn has already read all the Little House books we have found so far, as well as most of the American Girls books. We've discovered a similar series called Sisters in Time, which she also enjoys. Some of the other "free reading" books she's read so far this school year are: Because of Winn Dixie by Kate Dicamillo, The Doll's House by Rumer Godden, Yonder Mountain by Millie Howard, Black Beauty (NOT the abridged version) by Anna Sewell, Out of Darkness (a great book about Louis Braille) by Russell Freedman, and The Borrowers by Mary Norton.
We chose a verse for our school before we began 1st grade. It is Proverbs 2:10, which says, "For wisdom will enter your mind, and knowledge will delight your heart." I want learning to be a source of delight for Kathryn's whole life long; it really should be for all of us! I believe children are born with a love of learning, and it is our job as parents to make sure that inborn love of learning is not squelched. God has layed it on my heart that the biggest goal in education is to encourage that love of learning, and through learning about this truly wonder-FULL world we live in, we can better love the One who created all these things we are learning about. I thank God every day for the opportunity He has given me to homeshoool, and for wisdom to do this the way He wants.
This year we began using the Ambleside Year One curriculum, and it's great. We love it, it's easily customizable, and fits our needs perfectly. For math, we've been using Saxon 2, and in the picture above, she's doing a lesson in Joseph the Canada Goose by Barry Stebbing, which is a kid's art program we like a lot. For handwriting, we read some great poetry, and copy a stanza of Kathryn's choosing. We start out each day with a chapter or two of Catherine Vos' Child's Story Bible at the breakfast table. We do also read out of the "real" Bible throughout the week, but I like this story Bible for how everything is tied together, and even in Old Testament readings, she points us forward to Christ so we never forget to always read the Old Testament through the eyes of the new testament. Some other additional things we do: map skills, US geography, thinking skills (mostly because Kathryn thought last year's workbook was so much fun!), Explode the Code 4 for reading/phonics, and more. We are taking off next week (spring break), and then we have six more weeks to go, so I am working on finalizing what all we'll be doing curriculum-wise for next year.We also read great books. Of course, as part of the Ambleside curriculum, we do a lot of readings together (meaning I read them aloud) for history, science, even Shakespeare, and so on, but we have a lot of "free reading" books as well, which Kathryn reads on her own. Some of them are Ambleside's suggested readings, like the one she is reading now, The Railway Children by E. Nesbit. Others are just ones she picks out at the public library. We've also got a great library at our church. Thank God for both libraries because I'd go broke if I had to buy every book she reads; she is a very prolific and advanced reader, and that's a blessing. However, the challenge of it is finding books that challenge her AND that are age appropriate for a 7-year-old, so if I don't know much about them, I have to pre-read them before she can (fortunately I'm also a pretty prolific reader!). Kathryn has already read all the Little House books we have found so far, as well as most of the American Girls books. We've discovered a similar series called Sisters in Time, which she also enjoys. Some of the other "free reading" books she's read so far this school year are: Because of Winn Dixie by Kate Dicamillo, The Doll's House by Rumer Godden, Yonder Mountain by Millie Howard, Black Beauty (NOT the abridged version) by Anna Sewell, Out of Darkness (a great book about Louis Braille) by Russell Freedman, and The Borrowers by Mary Norton.
We chose a verse for our school before we began 1st grade. It is Proverbs 2:10, which says, "For wisdom will enter your mind, and knowledge will delight your heart." I want learning to be a source of delight for Kathryn's whole life long; it really should be for all of us! I believe children are born with a love of learning, and it is our job as parents to make sure that inborn love of learning is not squelched. God has layed it on my heart that the biggest goal in education is to encourage that love of learning, and through learning about this truly wonder-FULL world we live in, we can better love the One who created all these things we are learning about. I thank God every day for the opportunity He has given me to homeshoool, and for wisdom to do this the way He wants.
