Homeschool Curriculum Changes

Back in July when I blogged about my curriculum plans for the school year, I put in a disclaimer. It basically said I may get part way through the school year and change my mind about certain curriculum. Well, we are officially 10 weeks into the school year and I've changed a few things up! Here are my blog posts from July where I detailed the companies/curriculum we would be using: Language Arts, Math, History, Science, and Miscellaneous. And here are the additions and changes we have made as of now! (Subject to change again. Ha!)

Language Arts

This is perhaps one of the biggest changes. We began with Masterbooks' Language Lessons for a Living Education for everyone. Lucas is enjoying it, so I'm sticking with it for him. Jenna is still working her way through their Foundations Phonics book, although we only do it twice a week. On the other days, we use The Primer K Language Arts from The Good and the Beautiful. Even though this company is Christian in nature, they do offer some curriculum that does not contain religious content. And that means I can order it using charter school funds! So I basically ordered everything from the "non-religious" list to try out risk-free. Jenna and I ended up really loving their Primer K book, so now we are using that along with Masterbooks. I went ahead and bought the Level K course book and reader from the Good and the Beautiful.....and it is absolutely beautiful! I anticipate she will continue with this company's language arts curriculum once she finishes her current level.

For Ryan, I just wasn't loving Masterbooks Language Lessons for a Living Education. It may be because I bought level 4 for him and it was just too simple. But honestly, both of us were getting bored with it. I chose it because it was known for being straightforward and to the point. I assumed that would serve him well, since he doesn't enjoy writing. But we just didn't love it and it felt very repetitive. Enter The Good and the Beautiful.....again. Every time I look at their language arts curriculum I am just drawn in. There's something about it that is SO wholesome and beautiful. So I printed out the first 10 lessons of Level 3 online and Ryan tested it out for a couple weeks. I was hoping he would like it.....and he did! I believe he is kind of in between level 3 and 4 (their levels don't necessarily correspond to grade level).....so when their Level 4 was updated and released last week, I jumped on the free shipping they were offering and bought it! And you guys.....it looks amazing. The coursebook comes with 2 amazing readers, as well as a spelling and writing workshop book. It incorporates art, geography, picture study, poetry, and of course a lot of reading, grammar and writing. I'm praying he really enjoys this program.

Math

I'm so grateful that my Dad comes over every day to do math with my boys. And so far Horizons math is working out really well for them! They're going through their lessons really quickly and everything seems to be "clicking". Jenna, on the other hand, isn't exactly loving Horizons Kindergarten math. To me, it just feels a little dry. I'm beginning to think she needs something more hands-on for her age. I'm open to trying different curriculums, and I'm considering a few different companies. For now, I went ahead and used charter school funds to buy the Math Activity Box and 2nd coursebook for The Good and the Beautiful Kindergarten math. We haven't started it yet, but it looks incredibly cute and fun.

History

We are still using Notgrass Our Star-Spangled Story for American History, and really enjoying it! However, I do find myself adding in a LOT of living book read-alouds to supplement. So while we love this book, we are going through it pretty slowly. We'll read a lesson, and then spend an entire week reading another book. For example, we are currently in the late 1700s, and we've spent the entire week reading The Sign of the Beaver. I feel like reading a "living book" or story, really brings the time period to life for us. Yes, we can read facts about what life was like for the early colonists, but when we read a story from that time period and we get connected to the characters, I feel like the information is more likely to stick. And just to be clear, this history curriculum is really amazing. There are just so many other amazing books out there, and I want to read them all!  

We've also got a pretty awesome historical timeline going, and I feel like this is great for my visual learners.

Science

For science, I decided to do unit studies from The Good and the Beautiful. We finished Marine Biology last week, and while we enjoyed it, we weren't in love with it. We absolutely enjoyed the hands-on experiments. But sometimes I felt like I was just reading off random information and it was hard for my kids to retain much of it. I have no idea if this was just marine biology, or if all their science curriculum is like this. We are anxiously waiting for their Space Science unit to come back in stock, and plan to use that in early 2021. In the meantime, I went ahead and got the Water and Our World science unit, and it looks pretty great. I'm hoping my kids enjoy it!

Just like history, we discovered that we love reading "living books" for science. We read this book for an entire month every morning and I feel like it really brought marine biology to life. (Along with an actual trip to the beach and a squid dissection!) So I just ordered this book by the same author and I'm excited to read this with the kids along with our water science unit. 

I got a few other supplemental water books, including this one that looks terrific.

And bonus!! I ordered a book using charter funds with the word "mammals" in the title. And they accidentally sent me their actual Mammals science unit!! So we now have our next science unit that we will likely do in the spring. (Although I was thinking botany or arthropods would be perfect for that time of year)

Miscellaneous

In addition to our core subjects, there are many other things we cover, although not on a daily basis. For example, Lucas does online piano lessons, Jenna does a lot of handwriting practice, both boys play soccer and baseball, and Jenna has done a few Outschool classes online. I appreciate having a variety of supplemental workbooks and activites available around the house. Sometimes I'm helping one child with a difficult subject, and I need something worthwhile to occupy another child. That's when I will often have them grab one of the following activities to do.

I recently picked up these map/geography books online for Ryan and Lucas, and they do a couple pages in them each week. I realized Lucas knows next to nothing about geography, so these have been a fun little supplement to introduce the subject. (We also have giant maps on our wall) 

Ryan and Lucas began doing Fix It! Grammar this week and so far I really love it! I also ordered the entire IEW writing program, but we haven't dived into that yet. This level of Fix It! Grammar is recommended for grades 3-5, so I'm having my boys do it together. Each day they have 1 sentence to fix and then rewrite in their notebooks. At the end of the book they will have corrected and written out an entire story! Just today Lucas told me that he's really liking this grammar program. Score!

Explode the Code is another language arts workbook that is very simple, fun, and requires basically no hands-on teacher attention. I'll have them grab their book and do a page or 2 once or twice a week.

Logic is another miscellaneous subject that I've added into our weeks. I love these Mind Benders books! Each child has their own level that they work on and all 3 of them really enjoy them.

Other topics we have added in are composer study (we've done Bach, and next up is Chopin) and art. I love using our Art Treasury book for Friday art time! We are also doing one Five in a Row mini unit per month, and that's a really fun addition.

And there you have it.....the additions and changes I've made to our homeschool curriculum. Are you using any of these books in your home?

Bodega Bay Day Trip

Back when we chose Marine Biology as our first homeschool science unit, I knew I wanted to plan a beach trip as a "family field trip". Unfortunately Adam doesn't have any vacation time right now, but I still wanted to plan a mini trip. My Dad offered to come along and help, so at the last minute we planned a day trip to Bodega Bay this week! We picked up cousins Bella and Lyla and loaded 6 kids 10 and under into the car. When we got to the Pinnacle Gulch Trail in Bodega Bay, we realized it was a 1 mile hike down to the beach. Quite an adventure!

 

The hike was worth it once we saw the ocean view.

The beach was virtually empty, and absolutely beautiful.

The beach is so much more fun with cousins!

Ryan found a ton of what looked like mini sand crabs down under the sand. They were the exact color of the sand, and ranged in size from a 1/4 inch to probably 2 inches. He spent hours capturing them inside my water bottle.

We've been reading this book all month, so I really wanted to find a tide pool with the kids. I was so excited when we finally did, once the tide went out!

Discovering all the starfish was probably the highlight of the beach day for me!

At one point we were both cold so Jenna and I huddled together.

And Lyla did a little sunbathing.

Many many rocks were climbed!

This girl may have gotten stuck on a high rock at one point, and cried until Grandpa climbed up and saved her.

Ryan was totally in his element all day.

And here is the only proof I have that Andrew was at the beach with us. Ha! 

We had to hike back uphill for 1 mile at the end of the day, and let's just say we were pretty tired afterwards! Andrew amazed me, and climbed by himself 90% of the way.

We said goodbye to the beach, and ever since Wednesday the kids have been asking me constantly when we can go back!

Recent Dinners - Quick and Easy

Ever since we added sports to our homeschool days a couple weeks ago, life feels busier than ever. I'm teaching the kids until about 1 or 2 every day, rushing around to clean up the house in the afternoon, throwing dinner together, and getting the boys to sports practices.  (They play 5 out of 7 nights a week). Add in evening Mops, Usborne book parties, and trying to have family time in the evening, and it's just not possible for me to spend hours in the kitchen. (Although I feel like I do!)

It's also officially the Fall season, and even though we've had temps in the high 90s, I'm tired of cooking "summer" food. I'm ready for soups, stews, and more comforting foods. So with all that said, here's what we ate over the past couple weeks.

This was a night when I intended to make green chicken chile enchiladas, but ran out of time. I did start pinto beans in the crockpot in the morning to turn into refried beans (SO good). But when dinnertime came, I decided a casserole would be easier than enchiladas. I basically layered corn tortillas, cheese, and seasoned chicken, with layers of green enchilada sauce in between. On the side I made white rice for picky kids.

Pioneer Woman's cajun chicken pasta! So delicious with tons of bell peppers (I think I doubled them). On the side I had carrots and dip.

This was a comfort food night of pot roast, potatoes, carrots, and a homemade cheddar biscuit. Plus some pineapple on the side.

On this night I had plans to make ribs in my instant pot. But when I opened up the package it was the worst smell I have ever smelled! So I made a quick switch and made breakfast. Bacon, crispy pan potatoes, smoothies.....and my first ever omelette! In my 38 years of life I have never made an omelette. But I'm a big fan now. They were so good! Mine had cheese, bell peppers, tomato and green onions.

I had some marinated salsa chicken in the freezer, so I dumped it in the crockpot in the morning, knowing it would be a busy day. I was right....I ate this taco at 8pm standing up in the kitchen. Chicken, cheese, tortilla and lettuce. Done.

Our favorite salmon is from Costco and it comes pre-seasoned. 5 out of 6 of us love it, so it's a big winner here. On the side I made quinoa topped with parmesan, and roasted veggies (asparagus, cherry tomatoes, and red onions).

I think this was another super busy night where I just needed a quick basic dinner. Rice, steamed broccoli/cauliflower, and pan-seared chicken breast. Dinners aren't fancy around here!

I really enjoyed this dinner! I cooked some ground turkey and made an asian bowl with steamed broccoli, edamame, and riced cauliflower stir-fry. I got this riced cauliflower from Costco and I'm a fan! You cook it in a pan for just a few minutes, and it's got a great mild asian seasoning on it. And it's cauliflower, not rice. Healthy and delicious, and I will be buying it again.

This was a friday night movie night at our house. I cooked chicken breast in the crockpot with BBQ sauce, shredded it and put it on delicious hamburger buns. On the side I made a little salad of cucumber and tomato topped with italian dressing. And finally, I scrounged around in the freezer and found some french fries/tater tots for a fun side.

What's been on your dinner menu lately?