Ready for a new year for learning
Our 2013-2014 School Curriculum
I can’t believe another school year is already here! Jackson turned six in May and finished his Kindergarten year. This year I have registered him as an official first grader even though last year I challenged him with a first grade curriculum. I am planning on taking the first four to six weeks to continue with some first grade Math skills. We will review our unit on time, money, and measurement of liquids before starting our second grade curriculum. I will also do the same in Reading, expecting him to work in second grade. I have the flexibility to tweak it as we go along because I just don’t feel as a six year old first grader, he is completely ready for the independence required for all second grade skills just yet.
As with Abigail, she will be an official Preschooler/Pre-K this year. She has mastered both identifying as well as writing all of her ABC’s…on most days. We will focus the year on improving her handwriting and continue to learn the sounds for each as well as blending into words. My goal is to have her reading by the end of the year…we’ll see. In her Math, she can count and write to 100 however from time to time, does forget how to write some of them and lacks a specific confidence I’d like to see. We will also work on patterns, comparing numbers, and simple addition and subtracting. Mostly I will continue to follow her lead. Some days she works very hard and is open to really trying to learn, other days the motivation seems to be lacking. She will also follow along in Science, Social Studies, and other areas with Jackson. I’m looking to expose her to the world of learning at this point rather than expecting complete mastery. With her, I am hoping to see the light click on and her feel the joy of learning something new.
Finally, Isabela is ALWAYS the one that wants school time with Jackson and Abigail. It is no pushing her to come sit with a pencil and paper or crayons. Se will continue to be exposed to life and hopefully love to learn about the world around her.
Our second journey of homeschooling awaits us!
SPELLING, daily
We will be finishing up ABEKA Grade 1, list 20-30
I will then combine list from Macmillan and All About Reading, as well as vocabulary words from other areas in our curriculum
READING, daily
We will be finishing in Grade 1 of Macmillan/McGraw-Hill before moving on to Grade 2
By Christmas I hope to be using All About Reading Level 3
PHONICS, daily
Steck-Vaugn Level C, Grade 2
ENGLISH, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
First Language Lessons of the Well Trained Mind, Level 2
I will also take from Houghton Mifflin and Macmillan/McGraw-Hill
DOL determined by me
MATH, daily
Harcourt Math Grade 2
SCIENCE, twice weekly (Abigail will be included)
Biology for the Grammar Stage, 1 and 2 where we will have 20 weeks of a study of animals, 10 weeks of studying the human body, and 6 weeks for studying plants
Harcourt Science Level 1
We will continue to observe the life around us where we live, in the vineyard, and in The Great Smoky Mountains National Park
SOCIAL STUDIES/GEOGRAPHY, twice weekly (Abigail will be included)
Houghton Mifflin 1, Schools and Neighborhoods as well as map skills
We will continue our exposure to naming and locating the fifty states in the USA
BIBLE, daily (Abigail will be included)
Jesus Storybook Bible, 45 story/Lessons from the Old and New Testament
100 Bible Stories by Stephen Elkins, story/verse/song from the Old and New Testament
We will also be completing our character study using We Choose Virtues. Lessons and Vocabulary will consist of learning…I am PERSEVERANT, PATIENT, SELF-CONTROLLED, OBEDIENT, CONTENT, FORGIVING, ATTENTIVE, DILIGENT, KIND, GENTLE, HELPFUL, and HONEST.
HANDWRITING, daily (Abigail will be included)
Determined by me including copy work, dictation, and creative writing
We will be working with Literature Pockets Folktales and Fairy Tales, Grade K-1
The stories and activities we will use are “The Little Red Hen, The Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Gingerbread Man, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, and Too Much Noise”
Also we will complete Draw-Write-Now, A Drawing and Handwriting Course for Kids, Book 1, On the Farm, Kids and Critters, and Storybook Characters
SPANISH (Abigail will be included)
Introduction to Spanish Latin America Level 1 using RosettaStone Homeschool
Wish us well on our exciting adventure!
So Much Fun
Sweet Isabela, we love your smile.
We felt great joy watching you have fun in the cold creek.
Boy were you brave, yet careless this year! You found a big slippery rock to slide off into the water.
You girls liked to collect the smooth rocks.
Future rock climber…doubt it.
Even though it was a hot day, the rushing water was freezing.
Thanks for a fun afternoon.
Summer means harvesting our fresh corn. Aunt Fran even came to help.
Summer evening skies!
Harvesting our yummy rasberries.
Born in the middle, you are a wonderful little and big sister!
Peek a boo, taking a break from the sprinkler, they had the truck turned on it’s side for repairing.
Seeking shade of the great trees.
Hooray, we just celebrated our dear friends Ras and Janice’s 50th wedding anniversary!
This cracks us up! The cause of their facial reactions were due to a huge crack of thunder. Fear from Isabela, confusion from Abigail, and frustration from Jackson that I was asking them to pose even in a threat of a storm.
Our little man lost tooth number three and four so we are singing, “All I Want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth”
Also, following his six year old well check at the pediatrician, there was concern from his vision screening. We followed up with a very long appointment with an optometrist. He did in fact require glasses to be used during school time. “Professor Jackson” as he calls himself now.
Early August
Daddy’s sweet innocent girls
It is hard to tell but Isabela has a black eye. She ran into a table at The Mast General Store.
Happy to play at the lake.
I turned my back and she was climbing on the step stool, our little monkey.
As you can see behind her, the heavy vines and heavy winds broke a couple of our post in the vineyard. We were trying to get the plants off of the grass and up on their wires.
Thank you for smiling at your sister.
A couple of cool afternoons for a picnic
Sitting on our favorite rock in the mountains
Jackson always acting silly…
Our three little birds happy, who could ask for more?
Healthy, happy, and loved!
Dollywood/Chuck E Cheese with Nana, Papaw, and the Cousins
Elijah, Abigail, and Jackson pictured with Papaw. The location is on the Dollywood Train. Jackson said a couple of months ago that he wasn’t going to ride the train until he turned seven. Papaw asked him if he would consider sitting with him. He thought about it and decided to do it for Papaw.
Never before, he also agreed to ride the swings with him.
Nana and Elijah are behind them.
Abigail even agreed to ride with Nana and Jayden
The boys on the scrambler. My mother told me later that my daddy said that the exact memory riding with them and watching their joy was one of the happiest moments of his life!
Keeping cool, enjoying our favorite popcorn and slushy.
After this photo heavy rains and thunder came closing down the rides and causing us to run frantically to the tram…they loved getting soaked!
We went back the next week on a much hotter but dryer day.
Oink, oink, little piggy
Jaydie and Jackson are in the front. So funny seeing Papaw crammed in this ride with Elijah.
Elijah and I on the flying elephants.
Nana with her four year olds, Elijah and Abigail
Papaw gave ALL five grandchildren and ALL of the parents season passes! We have really enjoyed this gift and their time to enjoy it with us. Great memories!
Chuck E Cheese for an early lunch.
Elijah on the steam engine.
Isabela wouldn’t go near this big mouse!
One of our favorites!
We had such a fun morning playing games, counting tickets, and riding rides!
Isabela absolutely did not want to sit for this quick photo!
Can you see the mischievousness in their eyes? These boys had a blast!
Too many silly faces and pizza. Thanks for treating us Nana and Papaw.
Favorites
For my children 