Weekly Homeschool Wrap-Up: Next Year's Curriculum

I've been in full blown curriculum mode, watching this and that e-bay sale and checking homeschool classifieds frequently. Not everything has been purchased yet, but we're mostly there. Here are our final choices for the 2014-2015 school year.

We school year-round because of frequent appointments, and this year we are adding OCD therapy and phobia therapy that will occur once a week (probably Mondays with 3 back-to-back appointments for 3 children) starting in mid-August until the kids get better.

We will continue with AWANA for the 3 younger ones and Peter, now graduated from AWANA, will help out, along with my husband and myself. No other extras are planned, other than my working in the church nursery once a month, along with Peter. As you'll see below, we'll have our hands very full, and we want the kids to have plenty of down time either outside or inside doing art or whatever they wish.

Our Bible curriculum comes with the Sonlight Cores we purchase, along with AWANA verses.


Kindergarten

Beth, age 5

Description: Loves the performing arts, and art work, a wiggle worm who sits nicely for stories and 20 minute lessons. Not sure about learning style yet, but I'm watching closely. Very sensitive and easily embarrassed, but not shy at all. Can read and spell 3-letter words, can't write many lower-case letters yet.

Reading, Phonics, Spelling, Writing:  Sonlight Grade 1 Language Arts

Math: Saxon 1

Handwriting: Draw Write Now Series

Science: Sonlight Science B (paired with sister)

History & Literature: Sonlight Core B World History Part 1 (paired with sister)

Read-Alouds: Library books as she still loves picture books, and Sonlight Core B books

Second Grade

Mary: age 7

Description: loves nature and the outdoors, loves movement, dancing, music; special issues: mild dyslexia affecting numbers and reading and sequencing days of week and months of year, possibly ADHD--a wiggle worm, auditory-kinesthetic oriented, paper/pencil not ideal (40% of dyslexics also have either ADD or ADHD), anxiety/phobia disorder

Reading: All About Reading Level 2 (using Orton-Gillingham method recommended for dyslexics)

Language Arts & History: Sonlight Core B World History Part 1 and Sonlight Language Arts 1 with Grade 1 Readers (minus the I Can Read It primers, which she is beyond. She can read any decodable text, including compound words, and any consonant blends or consonant digraphs. She hasn't mastered vowel digraphs or r-controlled words, or some other concepts from Level B.) I don't anticipate All About Reading providing enough reading practice, thus the need for supplementing with Sonlight's Grade 1 Readers.

I am not buying Sonlight's entire Core B, but just the Instructor's Guide to build as much of the curriculum as I have time for. I anticipate the basics lasting 3 hours for Mary, and I won't have time for more than an hour beyond that.

Writing: Last year we were using Writing With Ease Level 1, but copywork is not beneficial for dyslexics, so we will use some of Sonlight's Language Arts 1 creative writing assignments and dictation assignments, along with some dictation assignments and narration assignments from the Writing With Ease Level 1 book.

Spelling: All About Spelling Level 1 (Orton-Gillingham method)

Science: Sonlight Science B (with Daddy helping on weekends and brothers helping on weekdays)

Math: Until February we will continue with Saxon Math 1, but supplement with online resources for dyslexics who struggle with math (math dyslexia is called dyscalculia). Starting in February we may switch to Right Start Math Level B, which is multisensory and mostly hands-on, and is good for wiggly kids or kids who need multisensory educational techniques (as dyslexics do).

Geography: A Child's Geography Vol. 1 by Ann Voskamp

5th and 7th Grade (two boys taught together)

Peter, age 12: loves nature and the outdoors and all things science, loves reading and it calms him considerably, special issues: ADHD and OCD, dysgraphia and dyscalculia (both forms of dyslexia)

Paul, age 10: loves math and picks it up effortlessly, very logical and creative, loves art and designing board games, is very left-brained, perfectionist in behavior and work habits; stubborn, special issues: possibly very mild dyslexia affecting letter order in words and word order in sentences, OCD/phobias, ADD (just trouble staying focused, not hyper or impulsive)

Language Arts & History: Sonlight Core G World History Part 1

Writing: Writing With Skill Level 1 (for non-fiction writing) and Write Shop Junior E (for fiction writing)

Math: Teaching Textbooks Level 7 (after finishing level 6)

Spelling: Avko Sequential Spelling (for dyslexics) Level 3 on DVD

Science: Sonlight Science G

Geography: A Child's Geography Vol. 1 by Ann Voskamp