the plan
| August 19, 2008 | Posted by nancy under LEARN |
We’ve been reading to the kids from day one and as you’ve seen on the blog we’ve done lots of outdoor and indoor activities that work for their ages. We are now entering a new phase where Ian is old enough to try some sports and music lessons and read on his own.
I’ve been asked by a few of you what we are planning this year, so I’m going to try and attempt to answer that question here.
We are using a mix of things:
- The Bible, we’ve been using “The Picture Children’s Bible” and a devotion book and reading in a totally random way. I am going to try out “Egemeier’s Bible Story Book” that Sonlight recommends and Sing the Word From A to Z cd for scripture memory. Ian and Sean attend Bible Study Fellowship once a week, which gives them another source for bible study and some time for me to make a trip to the grocery store.
- Reading, “Reading Made Easy” by Valerie Bendt, we started this book last year and we’ve gotten to lesson 33 in 100 and Ian is reading. We will continue the book to get him where he will be able to sit and read on his own without me pushing him. I am giong to check out the Kindergarten read aloud book list from Sonlight as well as the Reader 2 list from the library.
- We will mix in some art and nature studies as we feel like it. I just bought 5 of Ed Emberley’s drawing books, all favorites of ours that we’ve checked out from the library many times.
- Math will be casual, so far we just talk about it and use it in the kitchen. Jay loves math, so he plans on working with the kids when they get to the hard stuff.
- Ian is signed up for a PE class at the YMCA which meets twice a week for an hour each time. This time is also good for me to hang out with the other homeschooling moms for some long awaited adult conversation.
- We signed Ian up for Fiddle lessons and he had his first lesson tonight. His favorite cd is Songs from the Mountain and he can be seen dancing around pretending to play the fiddle while the music is playing very loudly throughout the house. Jay plans on learning some bluegrass tunes on his guitar right alongside Ian.
- There will also be field trips and projects that will be inspired by the books we will read this year. Can’t wait for the inspiration to come…..
I will be trying out Sonlight Instructor’s Guide for the weekly lesson plan as a rough guide. I’ll let you know how that goes. So, for now that is our plan. I’m sure it will twist and turn as our days are lived out and we will learn what works and doesn’t work for our family.
We plan on spending a few more weeks easing into a new schedule of PE class and fiddle lessons and then we will start our “school” days after Labor Day.
Thanks to those who asked me what we are doing, it has helped me to write it all out to see that we have plenty to keep us busy.
What a wonderful plan, Nancy
How exciting to see Ian with the violin.
I can not wait to see Ian playing that fiddle! Too cute.