I do want to keep up with this blog again, so here's a quick update on where we are:
Micah does math and Word Ladders on some days, other days he just plays. Which is fine. He's in a weird in-between preschool/kindergarten place, so we're still getting our bearings. I do have handwriting and Language Arts curriculum from The Good and The Beautiful to try with him later on. Some of it will be easy for him, some of it not.
As for Caleb, third grade has been challenging for both of us. Horizons Math is still great, but I do feel like they introduce some stuff too early, such as solve for n. He can do it if it's a simple problem, such as n+3=8, but lately they've gotten into some crazy pre-algebra stuff, like n+3=5 x 4, and I think that's a bit ridiculous for third grade. So for now we skip that. He was recently introduced to division, finding equivalent fractions (yay for cross-multiplying!), and more complicated multiplication problems.
We are exactly halfway through Language Arts (BJU Press English 3). He has struggled a bit with the writing chapters but overall he's doing better. In January we're finally going to work on cursive with him; I've been putting it off but I know it's a good skill he needs to learn.
We switched spelling curriculums AGAIN. This time we went with All About Spelling based on numerous recommendations from fellow homeschoolers. We started with Level 1 and just finished it, so we will start with Level 2 in January. I'm really hoping this will help everything click for Caleb; today he was doing a Word Ladder (we've been using them to bridge the gap between AAS levels since I didn't want to start a new level this close to Christmas break), and he spelled the word "more" this way: mroe. He just can't hear the letter sounds sometimes!
We just finished Volume 3 of Sassafras Science Adventures (Botany). I found this leg of their journey to be very interesting, but I slacked off on the scientific demonstrations and activities for each chapter toward the end there. Caleb still listened to the story and wrote down facts about the plants featured in each chapter, and he is very excited about the next book (Earth Science).
Caleb also enjoyed learning about the New World Explorers using Homeschool in the Woods' Time Travelers. It was nice that I could just print off what we needed and pick and choose which activities to do. However, I think I'm going to save the other units for when he's a little older. These history units are recommended for 3rd grade all the way up through 8th grade so maybe we can do more with it once he's more confident with his writing and creative skills. He does want to learn more history so in January we're going to learn out of American Pioneers and Patriots by Christian Liberty Press. It'll be a nice continuation of what we learned this semester, but not as intense.
Both kids love the Picture Smart Bible lessons we've been using. We didn't always get to it, so we are about halfway through their Old Testament study (just finished up Esther and Job).
They also enjoyed making their own Spanish dictionary notebooks. When they're older we'll learn more conversational Spanish but for now just learning some vocabulary has worked well.
As for piano, that's been rough. We're not consistent and Caleb struggles with the theory part, so I have looked into outsourcing the piano lessons. Sure, I was attempting the lessons myself and that was free, but I really want to give him a chance to love piano (or just music in general in case he's like I was and wants to try a different instrument eventually), so I feel like this is worth the investment. There is a local "arts academy" that is always taking on new students....they offer a trial lesson which is mostly a meet-and-greet and mini lesson to see where the student is at and what they want to work on. Plus the nice thing about homeschooling is we can try to schedule lessons in the early afternoon before public school lets out!
We've been way more consistent with read-alouds, too. We started with E.B. White's Trumpet of the Swan and we both enjoyed it! After that Caleb wanted me to read the Hardy Boys series aloud. We just finished the fifth one and borrowed the sixth book from the library, and he's still hooked. :)
So I feel like we're in a pretty good place for now. I'm going to use our Christmas break to rest and slowly prepare for the next semester. I like to go through history and science beforehand; my homeschool planner has monthly lists for materials, activities, library books, etc., so it's helpful in the long run to jot down what I'll need. I'm also going to plan a little more school for Micah for the days when he's asking to do something.
See you in January!
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