Curriculum for Seven Kids 2012-2013

Each year I try to participate in the NOT Back to School Blog Hop.  This year it is hosted by iHN and week one is all about curriculum.  For those who are just hopping over let me give a tiny introduction to my family first:  I’m Tristan and have been married for 12 years to Jason, a wonderful man who is as dedicated to homeschooling our children as I am.  We homeschool because this is the path God set us on. It is a blessing!  Our children are:

• Makayla – Age 11, 6th grade.
• Joseph – Age 7, 2nd grade.
• Emma – Age 6, 1st grade.
• Daniel – Age 4, Early Kindergarten.
• Oliver – Age 3, Preschool.
• Caleb – Age 20 months, Toddler.
• Mason – Age 6 months, Baby.

We have always homeschooled, beginning with Unit studies and migrating to a Charlotte Mason flavored unit study approach.  We belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and love incorporating the Gospel in our studies.  Having homeschooled for 7 years I am comfortable trusting the process.  I know God created each of my children with different strengths, weaknesses, and talents and try to respect that when teaching each child.

The last 6 months have taught me to be even more relaxed in our schooling as we added Mason to our family.  He was born with Spina Bifida and other medical issues that necessitate physical therapy several times a day and many medical appointments.  We also get the random surgery thrown in, last week being brain surgery on Thursday that we realized he needed in the wee hours of the morning.  You can learn more about Mason’s life on his blog.

Seeing as I have several children in different grades I will begin with the oldest and work my way down.  Some things we do as a family, or in smaller groups of ages, other subjects are individual.  Makayla is 11 years old which makes her my guinea pig as the oldest.  Just like in parenting, homeschooling her has been a learning experience from day one for both of us.  She is a confident reader, adores science, tolerates writing, and survives math.  She loves music and playing the piano.  She would rather read than draw. 

Scripture Study

Makayla reads the scriptures daily on her own and loves the Psalms.  She joins in family scripture study as well.

Math

She is beginning Math U See Epsilon this year which is fractions-fractions-fractions!  We watch the dvd together first, then she works on the new concept until she’s confident she’s got it.  Then it’s test time.  She reads the Life of Fred elementary books for fun and occasionally works on a month of Your Business Math – Pet Shop from Simply Charlotte Mason.    

Literature and Language Arts
Much of Makayla’s writing is incorporated into other subjects.  She writes narrations in history and has assignments in her Progeny Press Literature Studies.  She’s doing Anne of Green Gables with Progeny Press currently – they’re on sale at Currclick right now if you’re interested in them.  She will read Grammar Tales and Punctuation Tales this year.  She may pick back up All About Spelling this fall, but her spelling is improving with age.  She reads anything and everything, always having at least a book or two going.

Science
While her passion is life science it is time to branch out.  She chose to use Christian Kids Explore Physics this year.  So far she’s having fun with it and it’s a great fit.  She is notebooking with the experiments as she goes.  She also does nature study with the family.

History
This year I’ve written a Church History Curriculum for our whole family to use.  We’re learning about the Restoration of the Gospel and events in the Church during the 1800’s.  We’re all excited about this study.  It weaves together living books, scriptures, geography, artwork, and notebooking.

Piano
Makayla has been teaching herself piano since pausing lessons after Mason was born.  Hopefully lessons will resume this fall but for now Makayla is making progress.  She actually saved up enough money to purchase her own keyboard so she can play any time she wants.  It has a headphone jack so she doesn’t disturb children’s naps or studies.  That is how much she loves piano!

Art
While Makayla isn’t terribly enthusiastic about art, she does find it relaxing.  I will sprinkle art days throughout the year, hopefully weekly.  We also will be studying artwork in history.

Home Ec
Living in a large family home ec lessons are a part of everyday living.  Makayla’s focus lately has been caring for little ones, cooking, and handicrafts like knitting, sewing, and bracelet making.  She’ll be doing some babysitting training this year! Joseph will turn 8 in the middle of October and is my second grader.  He has been quite different from his older sister as a learner.  He is still working on fine tuning his reading ability but he grasps math concepts quickly.  He loves building things and Legos are his medium of choice.

Scripture Study
Joseph is reading from the scripture readers put out by the Church.  Currently he is working through New Testament Stories.  He also participates in family scripture study.

Math
Math U See Beta is on the menu for him this year.  I watch the dvd and teach the concepts directly to him, then he does practice pages and takes the test when he is ready.  I hope to interest him in the first few Life of Fred elementary level books this year.

Literature and Language Arts
Joseph has begun writing stories of a few sentences over the summer.  This year the goal is to just keep encouraging him to write at least a few days per week.  He does notebooking in history and science but these are oral narrations for now, with Mom writing his words down on the page for him to illustrate.  He’ll be working with All About Spelling this year as needed. 

Joseph reads aloud daily from a variety of books and is pursuing fluency at his own pace.  He’s half fluent and half sounding out words.  At this point it’s just a matter of practice.  Literature is done through audio books and book club this year, with a variety of titles on the menu.

Science
The early years of elementary science at our house are kept simple by:

• Exploring nature. Asking questions. Finding answers.
• Playing with science kits to explore God’s natural laws.
• Reading living books about science topics of interest.
• Notebooking about all the above!

We’ll read from Christian Liberty Nature Readers, Magic School Bus books, and many nonfiction titles from our shelves.  There is no real agenda beyond exploring God’s creations.

History
This is our Church History study with the family.

Piano
Joseph is going to begin his piano adventures with the fun of Kinderbach with his younger siblings.  He’ll transition to lessons when he finishes Kinderbach.

Art
Art is never Joseph’s first choice, so I’ll offer but not require. 

Home Ec
Joseph does a variety of chores and this year he’ll learn some basic kitchen skills as well as more manly ‘repairman’ skills from daddy. Emma is 6 and my 1st grader.  She’s a bit ahead of schedule for her age and keeps up with Joseph (2nd grade) pretty well.  They do their schooling together for now.  She is my artist in residence and will draw, color, and paint as much as you will allow.  She isn’t thrilled with math but loves to write notes to others.  She’s a very stubborn child and I have to be careful not to push her into a corner.  If the battle of wills begins I’m probably going to lose.

Scripture Study
Emma is reading from the scripture readers put out by the Church. Currently she is working through Book of Mormon Stories. She also participates in family scripture study.

Math
Math U See Beta is on the menu for Emma this year. She does lessons with Joseph though I forsee separating at some point.  Math doesn’t come quite as easily to her and so when she needs to slow down we will. I hope to interest her in the first few Life of Fred elementary level books this year.

Literature and Language Arts
Emma loves to write notes, cards, and little stories. This year the goal is to just keep encouraging her to write. She does notebooking in history and science but these are oral narrations for now, with Mom writing her words down on the page for her to illustrate. She’ll be working with All About Spelling this year as needed.

Emma reads aloud daily from a variety of books and is pursuing fluency at her own pace. She’s pulled a tiny bit ahead of Joseph in fluency this summer. At this point it’s just a matter of practice. Literature is done through audio books and book club this year, with a variety of titles on the menu.

Science

Emma joins in science with Joseph.

History
This is our Church History study with the family.

Piano
Emma is going to begin her piano adventures with the fun of Kinderbach with her siblings. She will not begin formal lessons until age 8.

Art
This is Emma’s passion so while the other children may only actively create art once a week, she will create things daily.  I’ve invested in a variety of art supplies and she uses them at will.  Occasionally I offer to teach her an ‘artist secret’, which is just a fun way to say technique. 

Home Ec
Emma does a variety of chores and this year she’ll practice basic kitchen skills as well as learn childcare from her big sister.  Daniel is 4 and technically still a preschooler for another year.  However, don’t tell him that!  Daniel seems to be my academically gifted child and the struggle is to give him enough work on levels he is ready for when he asks, while also insisting he do lots of playing and just being little.  He’s the one who has begged to do school since about age 2.

Scripture Study
Daniel is reading from the scripture readers put out by the Church. At age 4.  It just boggles my mind.  Currently he is working through Old Testament Stories. He also participates in family scripture study.

Math
Finishing Math U See Primer in a few months and beginning Alpha is on the menu for him this year. I’m in no rush so if we linger in Primer all year that’s fine, but he already answers a lot of the math questions Joseph and Emma do if they say a problem out loud.  I’m trying to expand his math horizons with puzzles like Rush Hour Jr, pattern blocks, tangrams, and more.

Literature and Language Arts
Daniel has been reading since he was 3 and I didn’t do much teaching.  He just picked it up and excelled.  He reads as well as and better than Joseph and Emma.  There are a few things he still needs to learn, so we’ll work on introducing those rules this year for fun.  He reads often and everything.

Writing for Daniel is only copywork for no more than 5 minutes at a time.  He’s got the letter and number formations down so it’s just practice when he is interested.  Literature is done through audio books and book club this year, with a variety of titles on the menu.  He listens in when it interests him.

Science
Daniel joins in with his older siblings when he wants to, and usually he wants to.  He enjoys notebooking with them as well.

History
This is our Church History study with the family.

Piano
Daniel is going to begin his piano adventures with the fun of Kinderbach. 

Art
Daniel seems to be my second artistic child, though not yet to the degree that Emma thrives on it.  He is often found coloring and loves to paint.  I try to let him do it any time he asks.

Home Ec
Daniel is only focusing on chores this year.  He’s got several down and is learning new ones.Preschool and little learners are the simplest age to plan for.  My 3 younger children are 3 years, 20 mos, and 6 mos, so let me tell you more about them. 

Oliver is 3 years old and just beginning to ask to ‘do school’ when at the table.  He likes letters and wants someone else to write them for him over and over and over.  Then he’ll scribble next to them his own version.  It’s cute.  He’s active and on the move most of the time, but enjoys a good storytime snuggle.

Caleb is 20 months old and loves to be in the middle of the action.  He’ll play at the table or on the table, he colors more often than he eats the crayons now, and he likes cars.

Mason is 6 months old and loves to be with his older siblings.  He wants held, snuggled, read to, and played with.  He’s a precious gift.

These three are given materials to play with and explore.  They sing songs and learn letters and numbers through play.  They are invited to listen and join in any readings with their older siblings. The transition to formal lessons is made when they decide they’re ready - whether that is at age 2 or age 7.

So there you have it, a whirlwind introduction to my family and our curriculum plans for the 2012-2013 school year.  We began our year in July and will just keep going and taking breaks when we want to. 

If you’re new to Our Busy Homeschool I hope you’ll come back for a visit or sign up to receive posts through email.  I also hope you’ll leave a comment letting me know you were here.  If you have any questions then ask away!