Homeschool Curriculum Roundup

Most homeschool bloggers are talking about curriculum because this time of year we are tossing out the old and bringing in the new.

After 11 years, this will be my FIRST year without KONOS. Why?

1. Glenna has been using KONOS her entire life. She has literally done everything (some more than once).

2. Kelly will mostly dual enroll. No KONOS needed there.

3. Glenna remembers every stinkin' thing she reads and has since she was 4. After all the wonderful, foundational KONOS projects and discovery learning, she's ready to take that and move on to a more literature-based curriculum.

The other reason is that we want to get in as many high school credits as we can, since she'll need 4 years of a foreign language in order to pursue her desire to be a librarian. We wanted to get at least one credit in Spanish while in 8th grade. Her science, math, and Spanish will all be for high school credits and take most of her time.

I will be forever thankful to KONOS and the fabulous learning experiences we've had for 11 years! My children were pointed to a godly character trait every day and have learned so much about Him and themselves because of it. This also means we say goodbye to the wonderful co-ops and activities. Treasured memories indeed!

By the way, Jessica Hulcy was released from the hospital on June 23rd! She still has a lot of recovery to do, but she's home! Wade directly credits God and the prayers of many for her recovery. Check here for the whole story. Read the journal to see her healing process!

We will also be saying goodbye to Math-U-See, another amazing curriculum. Because of MUS, I have understood math for the first time! It figuratively saved my life. However, I have found that I'm unable to use it to teach Algebra. I've never learned Algebra, have a horrible time understanding it, and know I must go to outside sources for help in this area. (Hey, one academic subject out of many isn't so bad, huh?) I highly recommend it for all levels through Pre-Algebra, as well as for Geometry. Fabulous. Plus, if you "get" Algebra, go ahead and use it for that as well!

So, what are we using next year?

For the first time, I will be taking advantage of Florida Virtual School. I'm excited that the girls will be doing their classes at home, but they'll have the help of video lessons and teachers who will guide them over the rough spots. The teacher also calls once per week to check their progress, and they may call the teacher at any time if they are stuck on a problem.

As I mentioned, Glenna will be using a literature-based curriculum this year for social studies. This is how Glenna learns best! Rather than a boring textbook, she'll be reading literature and biographies with Beautiful Feet Books as her guide. She'll have writing assignments and activities through BF and will keep a journal. I'm SO excited about this, and so is Glenna! We have already received her first year and the books are . . . well . . . beautiful. :-)

Other sources include science again with Mrs. S, and this year she'll take English with Mrs. R! The whole reason I started teaching is because Mrs. R never knew from year to year whether she would continue teaching. I wanted to make sure Glenna had the same excellent instruction that Tyler and Kelly had, so I learned the IEW method myself. Now Glenna's old enough, and Mrs. R is still teaching!

So, here's the plan for next year:

Glenna
Bible - Discovering Christ-Like Habits by Deeper Roots
Algebra I - Florida Virtual School (FLVS)
English - Mrs R! (Glenna has waited so long for this!)
Science - Apologia Physical Science with Mrs. S
Social Studies - Early American and World History by Beautiful Feet Books
Spanish I - Florida Virtual School


Kelly will spend most of her time dual enrolled. She only needs US Government and another elective to graduate, so she can soak up as many of the "free" college classes as she can to earn both high school and college credit.


Kelly
ACT test every chance she gets!
Full-time hunting for scholarships and grants!
Driver's Ed - Florida Virtual School
Freshman Comp I - (Local community college)
Student Success - (Local community college)
US Government - (Local community college)
Algebra I - FLVS (shh . . . she doesn't know this yet)

And there you have it. The one of the beauties of home schooling is the ability to tailor the curriculum to meet the needs of the student. This eclectic approach has always worked well for us. I'm so excited about starting our 12th year!

BA remarked that while her homeschool duties have increased with the addition of her youngest into the mix this year (5th grade, 7th grade, and 9th grade), my duties have decreased remarkably.

Oh? You noticed!

:-D