Homeschool - Preview

I started this a couple of days ago with my review of what we used last year... so here's our curriculum for this year:

Both Alex and Clara:

Sonlight Core 1 (with Grade 2 Readers for Alex) - Can't wait to start this! I loved the books in K last year, so I'm dying to dive into the books of this core.

Apologia Astronomy - we love science in our house (maybe that has something to do with my degree in biology... who knows... LOL)... so along with the spiral science program that comes with Core 1, we'll be doing a year long study of astronomy.

Spell to Write and Read - man, this program scares me just to look at it... but I really think it's what we need.

Also - the Atelier Art I mentioned in my other post and the Spanish we had last year as well. Oh and Maureen... you'll love the art, it's a fabulous program... let me know if you get it!!

Alex (2nd grade):

Math-U-See - continue the Beta book we've already started.

Horizons Math Level 1 - okay, I know this seems like an odd choice to add for a boy who is working in a book above his grade level... but here's my thought process... Alex loves math and does really well with Math-U-See. I love the fact that MUS is a mastery program, but because it's a mastery program, some topics are introduced much later than other programs. For example, I had Alex take the California Achievement Test this spring and although he tested very well... there were math questions on topics that we had not covered yet even though he had finished his first grade math book. Horizons is spiral and (so I've been told) runs about a half a grade above what it is advertised for... so I thought starting with Level 1 would give him the additional math that he craves and introduce some of those topics MUS is saving for later while not overwhelming him with difficulty. We'll see how it goes.

Start Write Handwriting Software - this was bought for Alex, but Clara will probably use it at some point as well. Alex basically forms his letters correctly, he just needs more practice. I thought this would be fun... especially since my plan is to use riddles and jokes as his writing assignments... something a little more enjoyable for him. Now I just need to remember to get a joke/riddle book!

Sonlight Level 2 Language Arts - We're going to give this a whirl this year. We will also do the Explode the Code books they recommend and the Wordly Wise workbook.

K'nex Simple Machines - Gears - Clara will probably be a part of this too... but this was purchased with Alex in mind. The boy LOVES to build and engineer things, so this was a perfect fit for him. He's absolutely dying to open the package... I finally had to put it out of sight so he could forget about it.

Clara (Kindergarten):

Math-U-See - continue with Primer.

Learning Language Arts through Literature Blue Book - I think this is a much better fit for Clara this year even though it is listed as first grade.

Handwriting Without Tears - I hope this works! Clara needs a little extra help with forming her letters... I'm hoping this is the answer.

I think that's it! I'm probably missing something though... if I figure out that I am, I'll come back and add it!