So, we're at the point when many homeschoolers start planning for the next year. We're nearing the end of the books we're currently using and on the hunt for what to use next year. I've been going through the kids books, taking stock of what we've liked and what we haven't and what works well enough that I'm not changing.
Math: Both boys use Math U See. It's not the most exciting program ever and I've never seen them jump up and down when I tell them to get their math books, but it works. It works probably because of constant repetition. I do mean constant. Sam's book this year, Alpha, only deals with single digit addition and subtraction. Harry's is only multiplication. They do enjoy the movies that "teach" the lesson--they think it's kind of funny that there are kids answering off camera. This really falls under the "if it's not broke, don't fix it" column.
The only problem I have is that the lesson books only have 30 weeks of lessons. So the boys only have about eight more weeks to go until...hmm, good question. I just don't think that letting them have that much time off of math is a good idea. So I've ordered a supplement for Harry, Singapore Brain Maths 1. It looks like logic problems, which Harry is very good at and enjoys. So he'll do this and both he and Sam will have to suffer through worksheets I print from the MUS site and other places around the web.
History: This is a tricky one for us. Both boys started the year off with Story of the World, volume 3. Up until around February, I read it out loud to them and they both did the same work. The only difference was in the supplementary books I had them read. Harry's were harder and Sam's a little bit easier, if not non-existent. Recently though, I decided that Sam should be doing something different for his history and I've been printing up pages from 50 Famous Stories for him. I'm trying to match the time period of his stories with the time period that Harry's reading about.
Our current plan is that Harry reads the SOTW text to himself. He then answers the questions I have for him and completes the map work. If there is a supplementary book, he reads that and we do any projects that come with the chapter. (Not all in one day, of course, I'm talking over the course of a week.)
Sam reads his Story and narrates it to me. I've had him draw pictures, write a sentence or two about it, or just tell me. Harry tells Sam what he's reading and he does the map work as well. Sam will read a book that relates to the subject in SOTW and joins in with the projects.
It sounds much more complicated than it really is. Remember, things are spread out and we've worked on a routine that seems to keep everyone happy. And happy is very important when you are dealing with kids who have a tendency to shut down.
Science: We are using Noeo Science Chemistry. I have to say that I do not like this science curriculum at all. Not at all. I was so excited because 'everyone' says that this is the science to use. That'll teach me to listen to 'everyone.'
There are things that I do like, I'll go into that first. I like that they schedule in biographies and that they don't use text books. And after that short list, I don't like how they have the readings broken up. There are four scheduled days each week and you might read one or two pages of a book each day and define or draw pictures of a few vocabulary works. It's very Charlotte Mason-y in the short readings, but these aren't difficult, Victorian-era books. They were written just a few years ago and they aren't that hard to understand.
Basically, it's really, really boring and we won't be using it again. But I'm stuck with it this year, so we've basically combined a week into a day or two and go about it that way. Since Jason is a scientist though, we tend to discuss scientific things anyway, so I'm not too worried that they aren't learning enough.
Spelling: Harry uses an old book that we found somewhere called Working Words in Spelling. There are newer versions of this, but I really like the old one that we have, so I don't let him write in the books, I copy them for him. (The link goes to a newer version. Ours is from 1980 so it's quite a bit different from the new ones.) Sam works with Spelling Workout. Sam says that he doesn't really like the lessons, but he does like the cover.) He does fine with it and becoming a good little speller, so I'm happy to keep with it. We do spelling every day, one day they will do the chapter and the next I quiz them on it. It seems to work well for them, they rarely forget a word and both boys, Harry especially, is really improving this year.
Grammar: We don't do grammar for either boy this year. If we did, we would use First Language Lessons, because I have them on the shelf just waiting. Maybe next year.
Writing: Harry is working on his cursive. Sam writes a lot in print. He has really nice printing.
For actually learning how to write well? Both boys use Writing With Ease by Susan Wise Bauer. Harry is in level 2 and Sam is in level 1. They both do fine with this program and like reading about new books. In fact, much of our free reading this year has been inspired by the books used in WWE. For that, I'm thankful.
On the other hand...I'm not thrilled with this program. When we were doing FLL and WWE together it was overkill. I'm happy with taking grammar (FLL) out of the equation, but I still find the basic structure of WWE kind of boring. The kids don't really enjoy it either, even though I know they are learning. This makes a tricky decision for next year. Do I stay with what they are currently doing or do I branch out and see what else is out there?
You'll have to tune in tomorrow night to find out what I plan to do. And what about Annika? Isn't she school-age soon? Hmmm....
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