It's Getting Close!

I cannot believe it's almost August! I say it every year, but the summer has flown by and once again it's time to start thinking back to school! We're using sonlight again for our curriculum because we loved it so much last year. Thanks to my good friend Jenn who let me borrow her Core 1 program, I was able to cut back on a lot of the costs! Here's a list of what books I will be ordering next week - it's just a peek into the life of a homeschooler!!

Core 1 (already have from Jenn - these are all read alouds)

-Core 1 Instuctors Guide
-Archaeologists Dig For Clues
-From Abeku to Zapotec
-George Muller
-The Great Wall of China
-Missionary Stories with the Millers
-Time Line Figures-1
-Tut's Mummy Lost and Found
-The Usborne Time Traveler
-Peoples of the World
-Charlotte's Web
-Detectives In Togas
-Favorite Poems of Childhood
-Greek Myths for Young Children
-Henry Huggins
-Homer Price
-Little Pear
-Moutain Born
-Mr. Popper's Penguins
-Understood Betsy
-The Year of Miss Agnes
-Usborne World History
-Child's History of the World

Science Core 1 (borrowed from Jenn)

-Science 1 Instructors Guide
-Discover and Do Level 1 DVD for science projects
-The Magic School Bus at the Water Works
-What Makes You Ill?
-What's Inside You?
-Why Do People Eat?
-Science Activities, Volume 1
-First Encyclopedia of Animals (borrowed from Kerry)
-First Guide to the Universe
-Starting Point Science

Still Have to Order.....


Read Alouds

-Peoples of the World
-Follow My Leader
-The Greek News
-Gooney Bird Green
-Mrs. Piggle Wiggle
-The Wheel on the School
-Pasteur's Fight Against Microbes

Horizons Math Programs

-Math K - two workbooks and the instructors guide (Abby)
-Math 3 - two workbooks and the instructors guide (Ethan)

Handwriting Without Tears Programs

-My Printing Book & Teacher's Guide (Abby)
-Printing Power & Teacher's Guide (Ethan)

Other Workbooks

-Explode the Code 4.5.6 - phonics workbooks for Ethan
-Explode the Code 1,2,3 - phonics workbooks for Abby (already have these)
-Wordly Wise A - vocabulary lessons for Ethan
-The Complete Book of Starter Spanish PreK (Abby)
-The Complete Book of Spanish grades 1-3 (Ethan)
-Social Studies grade K & grade 3

Grade 1 Readers for Abby (we already have these)

-Readers 1 Schedule
-The Best Trick
-A Big Ball of String
-The Bravest Dog Ever
-The Cat In the Hat
-A Fly Went By
-Green Eggs and Ham
-I Can Read It - books 1-4
-Little Bear
-One Fish, Two Fish
-Put Me In the Zoo

Grade 2 Int Readers for Ethan

-Readers 2 Int Schedule
-The Chalk Box Kid
-Clara and the Bookwagon
-Cora Frear
-The House on Walenska Street
-Jake Drake Bully Buster
-Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie
-The Last Little Cat
-The Long Way to a New Land
-The Long Way Westward
-The Paint Brush Kid
-Prairie School
-A Question of Yams
-Riding the Pony Express
-The Secret Valley
-Third Grade Detectives #1 and #2
-Third Grade Detectives #4
-Third Grade Detectives #10
-Tippy Lemmey
-Tornado
-Viking Adventure

And finally.........

Leading Little Ones to God - our bible for the year!!


It sounds like a lot and I feel a little overwhelmed, but not as much as last year. I have one year under my belt, so I think this year I will feel a lot more comfortable with the schedule!! We usually start out with what we homeschoolers label "table time." The kids do their workbooks in the morning after breakfast. We break for a snack and they finish up after. They get some free time until lunch and then Olivia goes down for her nap. Then we get started with the read alouds - there are usually a couple. Then the kids do the reading out loud to me and whatever assignment they have to go with that for the day. Then we do the science read aloud and answer the worksheets questions or do the experiment. There's always a cool hands on experiment on Fridays. Then we do more free time!!! On Weds, there will be the group gym class - on Thurs, we usually do our art program from Usborne - on Fri, we'll be writing in our journals.....

So even though the summer has flown by, I am anxious to get back on schedule. The kids are getting there too. We have been doing lots of reading this summer and a few workbook lessons here and there, but nothing too major. And throughout the year, myself and the other homeschool moms have monthly meetings to plan group projects and field trips. Our first group project for August will be based on the Olympic Games!!! Very exciting!

Anyways, that's a little peak into what goes into homeschooling as far as what books are involved!! Hope I didn't bore you to tears!!! We're off to Walmart for some school supplies this afternoon - crayons, paper, binders, rulers, etc. I am hoping to be a bit more organized with the school room this year. My mom is laughing as she's reading this because she knows I am NOT organized. I will post pictures of the room and all of our little 'stations' once I get that tackled!!!! So stay tuned for more school talk!!!