So this is the first true step we have in our simplifying (and making sustainable) our homeschool.
Now, if you haven't been reading my blog, you should go back and read at least the past one.
Do I have you back now? Ok.
So honestly, this journey started when I realized what price we would have to pay for 3 kids in the ACE PACE Program.. I love the PACEs, they are so simple for me as mom and the kid LOVE them.. but it's simply not sustainable for a big family on a very limited income.
So we sort of looked into making our homeschool more sustainable last year, but really hadn't found great solutions. When I did the figuring for how much things would cost for the coming school year, it just wasn't going to happen. So we looked for different solutions.
Now, I knew it was possible to homeschool for free-and not use the public school books and curricula to do so. But I didn't want every class online, I didn't want my kids sitting in front of a screen for hours on end to do their school. I know they will have to learn the computer, but I do think it's a skill they can master once they are older.
My original plans had me caving on that for more classes than I wanted.. Now, I'm still caving on that a bit, but not as much.
As I mentioned in my last post, I'm learning how to do the Robinson Curriculum correctly. It's not just reading and Saxon math, there's a method and it's a very sustainable and affordable way to homeschool.
But, since I spent 4 months searching, printing and binding, then we're going to use most of what I did.
So let's start with the oldest...and work our way down. Settle in with some coffee, this is going to be a long post.
My biggest worry with piecing together was grammar.. I can write well, but don't ask me to identify parts of speech. I've also come to the realization... WHEN have I EVER used parts of speech in real life? Now, honestly. Somebody tell me when, because I haven't. The next obstacle was math.. We were just going to put the oldest in Khan Academy, but since learning about Robinson, we're going back to Saxon.
Ok.. So onto Andrew's school. Andrew is going into 5th grade and like any boy his age is extremely interested in how things work.
Math-Saxon 5/4 and flashcards.. Part of the Robinson Curriculum is having ALL math facts memorized before they started Saxon 5/4... Now, I have been a horrible teacher and haven't required them to memorize math facts-so we're fixing that. Andrew is going to do both simultaneously because for some reason he's great at division and subtraction (somebody explain that to me). You don't see Saxon 5/4 because as of right now, I cannot afford the physical textbook, but I was able to get a PDF file for free, I do plan on buying the physical edition as soon as I'm financially able.
Grammar-this will come from a Scott Foresman Grammar book and reading.
Spelling-again, reading. Whatever words he doesn't know along with whatever words are the in the vocabulary list for the book he is currently on.. He will not only learn spelling, but how to use it and what it means.
Modern History (1900 to 2020)- This is coming from Write Bonnie Rose. She put some awesome work into her workbooks and I am grateful she puts the entire thing on freebies for her subscribers.
Geography- Again, coming from Write Bonnie Rose... It looks like fun. lol
Science- I made a workbook from the Institute For Creation Research books we purchased last year. These are great books, full of great information-but I would not recommend them for elementary science. But.... it's information Andrew needs and since we couldn't replace them as I wanted, he is using them.
Reading- Tuttle Twins, Rifles for Watie and Robinson Curriculum. My husband found the Tuttle Twins Books and purchased them. They came with a study guide.. I have yet to look through them, though I need to. They teach government through fun stories for children. Rifles for Watie is a book I read many times throughout my youth, it's about the Civil War so I thought Andrew would enjoy it. After he's done with these, he will start on the Robinson book list.
Writing- copy work, vocabulary, and essay writing. The essay writing we'll start with a paragraph, teach him sentence structure, then move onto paragraph structure and we'll move on from there... The topic? It's going to depend on the day.. Anything from what we learned during service at church....to something they see out the window or something from their imagination. The purpose is to get them writing to teach them HOW to write correctly.
One day out of the week he will do typing, one day he will do Spanish. Both of these are done online.
That's my plans, then I'm starting to incorporate Robinson Curriculum. 2 hours of math, then move on to everything else.. The end goal is going to be 2 hours of reading per day of school books. We'll work up to that.
Second oldest, Eva, is going into 4th. She struggles a bit with the English language, but we'll work on it.
Math-work pages and flashcards.. I had already printed off at least a semester worth of math for Eva, so we might as well use it. Other than that, it's flashcards. Once she's done with the worksheets, she goes into Saxon 5/4.
Grammar- another Scott Foreman book
World Geography-the same one Andrew has from Write Bonnie Rose.
Modern History-again, the same one Andrew has from Write Bonnie Rose.
History-state history... This is the one I wrote last year for Andrew, I tweaked a few things so it should be a bit better this year.
Anatomy-Eva REALLY wants to learn how the human body works, so I found I had a coloring book on my shelf-but it was partly colored... So then I found it online (sorry I went to find the link for you and it's gone). But it's close to this one. There's a simple explanation of what a few certain parts do, then you color the part. I took out the sections she's not old enough for.
Writing-copy work, essay and spelling words.
Spelling-just like Andrew, vocabulary words from books.
Reading- Eva is actually going to start with the Robinson list and then move on to the Tuttle Books once Andrew is done.
Eva also gets typing and Spanish on the computer
Grace-the third oldest, she is going into 2nd. Grace is still trying to find her place. I am starting Grace more in the Robinson than anyone else, simply because I didn't gather so much for her yet.
Math-I did print off a full year of math worksheets-though I wasn't too happy with what I did have. But she will do worksheets and flashcards.
Grammar-again, a Scott Foresman book
History-I believe my husband found the website called Miniature Masterminds, it has A LOT of great things on there. One of my friends has been using it to keep her 5 year old's mind busy while he anxiously awaits school this fall. But they had a history on there that was already planned out (day 1, day 2 etc). So I printed that off and that's what Grace is getting.
Geography-This is from Write Bonnie Rose, it's more of a copy work kind of book, but I think she'll have some fun with it.
Science-honestly, Grace's science is what I'm excited for (I'm a geek). Through a giveaway at one point, I received the workbook for Science Shepherd's Introductory Science. After looking through it, I realized it was not only young earth creation based, but I also needed the DVDs to be able to do it. This is the one thing we spent money on this year. So this is Grace's one class on the computer, she needs to get a bit older for typing and Spanish.
Reading-Grace is starting at the beginning of the Robinson list, will she blow through some of the books? I'm sure. But that's ok.
Spelling-again, anything she has to look up the meaning to and words from the Robinson books.
Writing-she's going to improve her cursive with copy work from books and from the Bible.
Elijah has some "coloring books" to keep him busy, along with a box of fun toys that he only gets during school. His coloring books are the collection of misprinted papers I gathered. Somebody might as well use them.
The baby, Dinah.. She's the wild card. We'll see what happens with Dinah. lol
Well, are you still awake? Told ya it was long!! Thanks for sticking with me, let me know if you have any questions.
~Tabitha
