Well, I’m busy getting planning done for this school year. Big Hugaboo will be in 1st/2nd grade combo depending on the subjects & his interest level. The Little Hugaboo will be in her first official year of preschool! As a quick rundown, here’s a little bit about what we’re doing and why…
Our family decided to homeschool for a number of reasons, the biggest factors are wanting to have the BEST possible education for our children in the best possible environment. Both my husband and I felt let down by our own educational experiences in public schools. And since we are fortunate enough for me to stay home during the day we felt homeschooling would be a great option. It also allows us to demonstrate our Christian values to our children though out the day and incorporate spiritual learning into their education.
For our teaching method, we are only very loosely following a curriculum at this point. We are not “unschoolers” but I do give the kids the flexibility (that only homeschooling allows) to pick and choose what they work on, when they work on it, and how long to do it. Generally speaking, after breakfast we go down to our schoolroom and work for a while in the morning, breaks as needed, and then have the afternoons free to learn through play.
We also spend a good deal (i.e. MOST) of time outside of the house visiting parks, playgrounds, the art museum, children’s museum, different libraries around town, dance lessons, swim lessons, theater productions, AWANA at church, art classes, physical education classes at the YMCA, visiting friends for playdates, at the drop-in daycare when I have photo sessions, and of course a number of activities & fieldtrips through our local homeschool group REACH.
In other words, very little of our homeschool education is actually done at home! This is how children learn best, through practical experiences. This is also the very best way to “socialize” children as they are able to interact in a multitude of situations and learn how to work with children and adults of various ages and ability levels. These real life experiences are what will prepare our children to be awesome adults!
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And now for the curriculum info!
Big Hugaboo (grade 1/2)
| History | Story of the World |
| Science | Alpha Omega LIFEPAC grade 1 |
| Math | Singapore Math 1A & 1B (equals grade2) AND Alpha Omega Horizons grade 1 |
| Social Studies | Alpha Omega LIFEPAC grade 2 |
| Phonics & Reading | Alpha Omega Horizons grade 1 |
| Grammar & Language | Prima Latina (elementary Latin) |
| Art | Start with Art @ YMCA |
| Religion | Alpha Omega LIFEPAC grade 1 |
| Penmanship | Handwriting without Tears |
Little Hugaboo (pre-school)
Still working on the details for her curriculum, but will be using the Preparatory level of Letter of the Week as a springboard. We will also be using lots of ideas from the blog Walking by the Way & http://www.homeschoolshare.com
For both kids, its also an objective of mine to try to get them to compile at least six lapbook projects throughout the year. Check out my older posts to see some samples!
To organize our workday we use workboxes. If you do a google search you can find more info about the concept. Basically it helps keep us on track, gives the kids expectations of what they need to do for the day, and helps me keep everything organized. Much more gets accomplished in less time with this system!
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