A New Year

Here in Missouri we define our own school year, and seeing as the girls finished their stint at La Petite Ecole in May, I decided to make a fresh start beginning June 1. So, what have we been doing?  Well, we have been continuing some of the programs that we started last year, such as Singapore Math, and have made some other changes and additions.

I read several positive reviews on the All About Spelling program and decided to give it a try.  I am very happy that I did.  It is very easy for me to use and keep track of.  I decided to start all 3 of the girls on the first level and that has worked rather well.  Much of this level has been review for Madeline, but it has filled in some gaps as well, and strengthened her skills as well. Isabella has also enjoyed the program, and it is very appropriate for her.  I did think that she would be particularly happy about the use of letter tile as opposed to having to write all of the time since she really does not like to write, but  I was surprised to find that she actually prefers writing to the tiles.  It has also been appropriate for Hailey.  It starts with letter sounds, which is exactly what I have been working on with her.  I do not expect that she will move very quickly through this level, but that's okay.  With this program she can progress at her own speed.  

I have found that the All About Spelling program somewhat overlaps with what is being taught in the ABeCeDarian Reading program, which we have been using during the past year.  I really like this program as well, and despite the repetition I am going to stick with this program.  I have found that level A is not progressing fast enough for Isabella, so I moved her to the level A short version which has less repetition.  Madeline is continuing in level B.  I am supplementing this with Bob Books and leveled readers from  Reading A-Z. 

As I said before, I am continuing with Singapore Math.  The kindergarten program just did not seem to be working well for Isabella, however, so I decided to move her into Primary Mathematics 1A.  This has been a good fit for her so far.  I am just hoping that it does not move too quickly for her.  I may have to use more hands-on activities for her than I had to with Madeline last year.

Social studies has been an issue because Madeline is so interested in learning about the world and yet I have had difficulty finding anything that I am happy with.  We are going to try History Odyssey.  It builds on what we have been learning about Ancient Egypt and I like the sequential nature of it.  I am somewhat concerned that it uses Story of the World as one of its major resources, but I am hoping to be able to work around the religious nature of some of the text.  I am also aware that there have been some reviews that were not so positive concerning the accuracy of the content.  I am hoping that by using several resources I will be able to catch any inaccuracies as well as teach the girls about the necessity of looking at more than one source for information.  I have been happy with the beginning of this program so far.

For science I am looking at R.E.A.L Science Odyssey.  I think since they provide some lessons for free I am going to give it a try and see how we like it.  I am trying to decide which topic to study this year.  We have done so much in the past with life science that I am tempted to choose a different science topic this year and then go back to life science again next year.  I have already told the girls that we will do monarchs again next year.  I think we may try the Earth and Space curriculum this year.  I do intent to continue with nature journaling as well. 

I am also trying out Writing Strands this year.  I have both level 1 and level 2.  I have started level 2 with Madeline and plan to use level 1 with the other 2.  I have read very positive reviews of Michael Clay Thompson's Language Arts curriculum, and would really like to try it, however it is not recommended until 3rd grade, so I have to wait at least until next year.

And then, there is Moving Beyond the Page curriculum, which we have enjoyed and I really like. I really like the creative aspects of it and I am looking forward to the literature units as the girls get older.  I think that we are going to continue to use it as well, although I am not real sure how it will fit.  

Finally (although I'm sure there are tons of little things that we do that I have forgotten... like say journaling), I am using several different programs to get in art, which I think is really so important.  I am using the Atelier Art curriculum and videos that we started last year.  I really love this program!  I am also using the GeeArt16 computer program, which we started last year.  Our subscription expires soon (tomorrow in fact), but I was happy to learn that it is now available on CD-Rom, with a new name, Creativity Express.  I have ordered that and hope that it arrives soon because Madeline has been using that as her free time activity.    There are a few other things I will be using for art this year, but I will save them for another post.

All in all, I think I have designed a pretty comprehensive and challenging curriculum, but one that the girls will enjoy.  Madeline has been especially eager to get to work everyday, which I take as a good sign.  Isabella is a little more reluctant, and would rather be playing princess, but she has been working hard.  Hailey was incredibly excited to begin school, and would much rather do her work than watch tv.  My hope is to nurture a love of learning in each of them and a feeling that learning does not happen at a set time during the day, but rather is a continuous process that is always happening.

Here is a picture of the girls working last week.  Hailey was insistent that she sit at the table with her sister to do her work, even though it would have been much easier for her to build with these blocks on the floor.  The boxes in the background are from the workboxes system, which is something we have been trying out.  I will write about that in another post soon.

A New Math Curriculum

We started our academic year (which we have chosen to begin June 1) with Everyday Mathematics, which I have used with Madeline for a few years, and before that taught in a couple of different schools. I have been pretty happy with it. It is a well researched program. Plus, since it was out of the University of Chicago, and I am partial to anything from Chicago, well, I was happy to be using it.

I found, this year, however, that it was just not moving fast enough for Madeline. We started the 1st grade curriculum back in March, actually, and she was just wizzing through it. She was not really needing to practice the skills past the initial introduction, and she was transfering the skills to new situations without any effort at all. So, I went in search of a new curriculum that would move faster and challenge her.

Well, after looking at several different curriculums we have settled on Singapore Math. I have had several other parents tell me about their successes with it, and I found some great reviews online of the program as well as information comparing it with other programs. It appears to be a solid program, and it seems to fit our needs. The research studies supporting it are impressive.

I ordered Primary Mathematics 1A for Madeline and Earlybird Kindergarten Mathematics A for Isabella. I actually debated on whether to start Madeline in 1 or 2. She was on the border when I gave her the placement test. I figured that any new program has its own quirks and new language to learn, so I decided on 1.

The Earlybird Kindergarten Mathematics A seems to be a really great fit for Isabella. The activities are definitely at the appropriate level for her, and move at an appropriate pace. I also ordered Essential Math Kindergarten A for her for some extra practice, and I am happy with that as well. She has enjoyed the activities from this program: coloring, cutting and pasting, some writing and drawing lines for matching. She even used a ruler (with some help) to draw straight lines.

Madeline has moved at quite a fast pace through Primary Mathematics 1A, but it has been appropriate for her. It has held her attention well, and she often wants to keep going, even after the lesson is finished (actually we have been completing more than one lesson in a sitting). The curriculum moves quickly, which is what we were hoping for, and there are some activities available in the curriculum that will provide review if we get to a topic for which she need extra practice. I suspect that we will be beginning Primary Mathematics 1B before the summer is out, however.

I will keep you updated on our progress.