Our Curriculum 2008-2009

This was my first year homeschooling.  In the beginning of the year I had a 2nd grader a kindergartner and a 3 year old.  Two months into school, we would bring home a four year old and a six year old from Ethiopia.  When I met them I discovered that they only had five English words - Yes, No, Mom, Dad and toilet.  This was going to be a big year for us.

Since this was our first year homeschooling, and I was already going to have some hurdles to overcome, I wanted to do as much as a group as possible and keep it fun and enjoyable - all while learning.  The following is what we did - click on the words in Bold for more information.

History - Curriclum Connections for Tree House Travelers Grades K-4 - We had a great time learning about pirates, Egypt, dinosaurs and medieval times.  This book allowed my oldest to read on her own and participate in the group read alouds and they all did hands on multisensory projects.

Science - We did two things.  The first is Living Learning Books Level 1.  The second is My Body.  Of these two - We loved My Body. The other book is a great book too - we just prefered the latter.

Bible - Explorer's Bible Study - Beginnings 1 - We all enjoyed this very much.  Very affordable, easy to do and enjoyable.

Math - Horizon's Math - This was an excellent choice for us to start with and we stayed with it for a few years.

Language Arts/Reading - We used Hooked on Phonics and Explode the Code with our Kindergartner and 3 year old.  Our 2nd grader used Beyond the Code - she loved it!

English as a Second Language - We used four things to get our kids up to speed.  The first was Language for Learning - by Engelmann - This was an excellent tool for us.  We also used Rosetta Stone, and then Hooked on Phonics and Explode the Code as they were ready.  We also placed alot of posters around the school room - colors, shapes, emotions, basic words - some can be found here.