Monday, August 2, 2010

Not Back to School Hop! Curriculum

Not Back to School Blog Hop

Today I am joining in with  Heart of the Matter for their Not Back to School Blog Hop!

The Week's Topic is Curriculum.
We don't have a lot of money to spend on curriculum, that's one reason why I love the Charlotte Mason approach. It doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg.

I'll start with my 16 year old who will be going into the "11th" grade.
She had been doing the Far Above Rubies Curriculum for the past 2 years and loves it.
It is all inclusive (except Math) and you definitely utilize the library A LOT! 
For Math she's been doing Business and Consumer Math from Abeka and she is doing a CD-ROM for Spanish.
She plays the guitar and she loves to sew and cook as well.
She is truly turning into a beautiful young woman!

The next in line is my 8 year old son.
He thrives in math. That is his strong point. Reading has been more of a struggle but he's moving forward in it so that's good. 

This year we are using:
Copy work: Leaves of Life Daily Copywork by Sheri Graham
Science and Nature Study: The Handbook of Nature Study paired up with this blog is wonderful.
Phonics and Reading: Hooked on Phonics 2nd grade
Art: ArtPac by Rod and Staff
We also do random Lapbooks. Last year we did one on the Moon, The Planets and the Weather.
I also got him a workbook for 3rd grade from Sam's Club to supplement some things.
For history I read different books to them and have them dictate back to me or sometimes act it out.

The last in line is our 5 year old.
He was a late talker and so we are just getting the phonics thing rolling.
He'll be using Hooked on Phonics for Kindergarten
Art: Artpac with the rest of us.
I got him a Kindergarten workbook from Sam's Club that we are using for the rest of the stuff. 
He has a very short attention span so less is more with him right now. But on the up side, he does think it's "fun" right now. We'll see how long that lasts.

For Bible time we all do a devotional together in the morning to start things out.

Well that's it for now.
Thanks for stopping by!



10 comments:

  1. Thanks for stopping by my blog! I just love all your curriculum choices ... it seems like a perfect mix and it is great to see that homeschooling can be done on a budget. I have heard wonderful things about Far Above Rubies.

    Have a great school year!

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  2. Isn't it wonderful how many free (or almost free) resources there are? Such a blessing to us as well! Happy Schooling!

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  3. Hi! I'm stopping by from the Not Back-to-School blog hop. :)

    You certainly have a wide range of ages and abilities! The fact that your 16 year old is already turning into a beautiful young woman is proof that whatever you're doing... works!

    I'd never heard of Math Mammoth before and I'd love to know more about how you like it.

    Have a great year!

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  4. We have similar aged children (except my middle child is 9.) Sounds like a great plan for your year. We have loved following the Outdoor Hour for nature studies, Barb's site is wonderful. Good luck with it all. :)

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  5. It does help when our little ones are actually EXCITED about school! Hopefully his enthusiasm will rub off on your olders?! :) A mom can dream, right? :D

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  6. Great plans and I love your blog. Beautiful!

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  7. First, I love your bright, beautiful, blog. The background is quite original and definitely eyecatching.

    Thank you for taking the time to share on the NOT Back-to-School blog hop. I found reading about your lower cost Charlotte Mason approach very interesting.

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  8. Hey stranger! :) Long time no "see!"

    Haven't been doing much "blog hopping" at all. I do have a blog now and plan to keep this one (just not write every.single.day!)

    I love the free resources, too! I also utilized Sam's Club to pick up several "workbooks" for my pre-k and Kindergartner. :)

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  9. I enjoyed your post and am a homeschool mom to 5 boys and have been looking into "Blessed is the man" study. I was wondering if you could kind of show me a planning page of sorts that you use with the "Far Above Rubies". I have not come full circle as to how this curr works, I also have not been able to find a support system for this curr. Blessings, Nikki

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  10. I was enjoying your blog. I noticed that your 16 year old is using FAR. I have been interested in the BITM unit. How much planning; ordering books, library, grading, discussion time do you put in each week using this curriculum?? I am really trying to wrap my head around it; but cannot seem to get it full circle. thanks for an insight and encouragement. Blessings, Nikki

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I'm glad you stopped by. It's always good to hear from you!