The 2014-15 School Year

Happy First Week of August!  For the Mobleys, the first week of August means it time to start thinking about school again.  There are many different educational philosophies out there.  If you had asked me before I started homeschooling what my philosophy was, you would have been met with a very long blank stare.  As I've tried different things over the years, some of which we have liked, others of which we have not, I believe myself at this point in time to be some eclectic mix of three philosophies: Classical, Montessori, and Charlotte Mason.  (Don't worry if you don't at all know what that means...I only learned these terms last year through an online Parent Certification Course offered by our charter school.)  I don't follow any one approach to a tee, but I take the parts I love from each and apply them as best I can. I also tend to be fairly traditional in the sense that I choose to use textbooks.  I have friends who don't and formulate lesson plans on their own.  Hats off to you!  Me?  I am lazy and am easily overwhelmed by choices, so I prefer to use curricula that are scripted for me.  And, let's face it, I have almost six kids.  I don't really have a lot of time to sit around and prep materials/lessons.

Now that you know more about me and where I come from, these are the resources I plan to use to teach my kids in the 2014-15 school year.

MATTHEW & JONATHAN--PRESCHOOL
Long Story Short--I love this devotional book!  It's really engaging for kids of all ages!

Before Five in a Row--The idea behind this is to read the same book to your child every day for a week, but each day emphasize a different aspect of the book.  On one day, you might examine the artwork and try to use that same medium; on another you might count the animals.  I really love this curriculum for preschool!

MAGGIE--GRADE 1
Devotions
Long Story Short

Math
Saxon Math 2--I love Saxon math because of its incremental approach.

Language Arts
Spell to Write and Read--It took me a while to get into the swing of this approach to spelling, but I now love it!  This approach makes the seemingly illogical English language actually logical after you have learned the basic phonograms and spelling rules.
First Language Lessons Level 1--I like that this book is very mom-intensive and very logical.
Writing With Ease Level 1--The theory behind this book is that asking young children to formulate an idea and remember that well enough to write it and write it correctly remembering to use proper grammar and punctuation is expecting too much.  Instead this book focuses on teaching children to copy excellent writing from the classics and to begin to practice the skills of narration and dictation.
McGuffey Readers--There are great moral/character building stories in this book.
Handwriting Without Tears My Printing Book--Before joining Spring Charter School, we used Zaner-Bloser, but this is the handwriting that is offered through our online bookstore.

History
Story of the World Volume 4--I love this history series.  It is so interesting and engaging for young children.  The Activity Book is full of lots of fun activities to reinforce the lesson and geography practice with each chapter.

Science
Apologia Science Human Anatomy and Physiology--I love this creation-based science curriculum written by authors that love God and his creation and really try to share that love with young children.

Special Interest
Maps Charts Graphs B
Steck-Vaughn Critical Thinking Level B
Atelier Art Level 2--I stink at art, but I have so much fun watching these DVDs and trying to improve at art alongside my kids!
Draw Write Now #4--My kids are teaching themselves to draw thanks to these workbooks!  I have fun trying, too!
Latin for Children Primer A--This is new for us this year.  I read really good reviews, so we're going to give it a go.
piano lessons, class to be determined

Life Skills

Life skills seem to happen pretty naturally around here, with all the cooking, cleaning, laundry, and gardening that needs to be done.  And, with a family this size, everyone has to help in order for it all to get done.  There's also soccer, running, biking, scootering, and just playing.  Aside from that:

Horizons Health Grade 2--I really like this curriculum because it comes from a Christian perspective and helps me to teach my kids health and safety lessons that I may otherwise just not think about or purposely try to avoid!

MARY--GRADE 3

Devotions
Long Story Short
Inductive Bible Studies

Math
Saxon Math Intermediate 5

Language Arts
Vocabulary from Classical Roots 5
First Language Lessons Level 4
Writing With Ease Level 3
Handwriting Without Tears Cursive Success
McCall Crabbs Standard Test Lessons in Reading Book C

History
Story of the World Volume 4

Science
Apologia Science Human Anatomy and Physiology

Special Interest
Maps Charts Graphs C

Steck-Vaughn Critical Thinking Level E

Atelier Art Level 2
Draw Write Now #4
Latin for Children Primer A

Rosetta Stone Spanish--Another item that will be brand new for us this year!
piano lessons, class to be determined

Life Skills
see above description plus Horizons Health Grade 2