It’s that time of year again, Girl Scout cookies! Oh, wait, not that. Well I am eating Samoas as I type this, but what I really meant was it’s planning season. And I’m one of those crazy people who loves planning, researching, revising etc so I’ve been full swing into it for the last month. In the last post you can see I was starting to pull ideas together for next year, but of course that plan has already had some modifications. So here’s where we currently sit (in case anyone actually cares):
Math- Math Mammoth .pdf version has already been purchased and downloaded.
Grammar, Vocabulary, Writing and Poetry- Found an awesome deal on the full set of MCT Island level books used, $40 from a friend!
Spelling- A used copy of Spelling Power is on it’s way. Another can’t be beat find, $10- shipped!
Reading- I am going to find some great books and write comprehension questions based on Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. I know it sounds like so much fun and you’re all terribly jealous. So writing the questions may not be the highlight, but they’ll be real thinking questions- not “What is Gilderoy Lockhart’s favorite color?”. (Yeah, we’re reading Chamber of Secrets right now) I am open to suggestions of great books. Right now possibilities are Boxcar Children, Narnia, and A Little Princess.
Science- I have really been eyeballing REAL Science Odyssey Earth and Space. This is one of those subjects I plan to have Lars tag along with and I’m not sure what format would be best. There is a .pdf which would probably be best if I buy it myself. However there may be another option for this.*
History- We will be using Story of the World 2 with the Activity Guide and I just haven’t gotten around to picking it up yet. Possibly the same alternate option* as science. Hmmm.
Well that covers all the basics and brings us to our big OPTION. Columbia Virtual Academy. We are currently in the process of enrolling Brooklyn for the rest of this school year, part-time to keep our homeschooler status. Just to test it out 🙂 One of the things they can do for us is purchase curriculum materials, the catch being that we have to report in weekly and do a monthly progress summary for the subjects they provide. So I have to decide if following their schedule, reporting in, and having to return materials at the end of the year is worth it. Because I really kind of like being able to keep stuff and can get cranky about other people telling me when to do things. Last year we started August 1st and that worked well for us. We will most definitely sign up with them for 2 other major benefits though- fine arts/PE classes and end of the year testing. I had been stressing a little over what we were going to do for end of the year testing when Brooklyn turns 8 and it is required. Now we have an easy answer. You might also remember that Brooklyn is taking a very fun swim/gym class for homeschoolers at the YMCA. Unfortunately it sounds like that part of HCA is going to be discontinued 😦 We are hoping maybe they’ll still offer something she likes since she does enjoy the classes she takes on campus. HCA also doesn’t offer to cover part of piano lessons anymore, and CVA will. Bonus points to them.
Hockley Homeschool 