I Have a Plan (for now)

This is going to be our first year homeschooling. We have always tried to create a "learning is fun" environment, but this is the first year I have a plan. And really, don't you find it a wee bit snarky when someone says, "We have been homeschooling since birth." I don't know, I just call that parenting.

I really want to avoid placing grade labels on my children, but I just don't know how to get around it. So this is the plan for Dylan and Kindergarten. Nathan and Logan are just going to tag along, nothing more than a learning rich environment.

We are going to use the following as tools. I refuse to be slave to curriculum or be fixated on finishing every page it the book. When we grasp a concept, we will move on and review using games and hands on activities. We are not going to be "school at home" homeschoolers!

Science, History, Language Arts, Practical Life, Arts and Crafts: KONOS....love it! The Fall semester will be studying Ears, Sound, Music, Nutrition, Exercise, Rest, Fun, Money, Talents, Careers and Kings and Queens. I am so excited! KONOS is a hands on, multilevel unit study approach based on character traits. You can't get much better than that! The author, Jessica Hulcy, is an amazing teacher and the mother of 4 boys so she knows her stuff!

Math: Math U See Primer. He is really ready for Alpha, but I am waiting for the new edition to come out. Also, our KONOS UNIT has a section on Money/Talents/Careers so we will use that time to learn about money. I love Math U See because of it's hands on, mastery approach.

Phonics: I think we will continue to go through The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading. We have never used the book as intended, instead we use it more like a checklist of what we have covered and what we need to work on. The Primary Phonics readers are very nice. They feel like a real book and the stories are substantial. We also have A BEKA and BOB books that I am sure we will use at some point. For Phonics workbooks, we will finish (and I use that work loosely) ETC 3 and Primary Phonics 2. I am not sure where we will go after that, but right now I am leaning towards A BEKA Letter and Sounds 1.

Writing: We will write in our journals observations about the real world, compose letters to friends and maybe some KONOS related copy work towards the end of the year.

Music: cello

Dylan will still take his art classes.


I think that is it. I am curious to see how much my "plan" will change over the year.