Back to Homeschool Blog Hop-Day 4: 2015-2016 Homeschool Curriculum

There was a time that I wasn't sure what curriculum we were going to use. It looked like such a huge task to pick the curriculum that would work for us. Everyone has their favorites. For each of those favorites, someone else has reasons why it didn't work for them. We tried one curriculum and didn't like it, had another given to us and realized I wouldn't be able to make it work. For Tabitha's kindergarten year, I finally decided on My Father's World. I realized I found the curriculum that was meant for us. We used it for Kindergarten for Tabitha and Amelia, then we moved on to 1st grade. We are getting ready to start our new year with My Father's World, and I don't foresee changing what we use for our core curriculum any time soon.

Let's take a look at what our year is going to look like:

Core Curriculum

We will be using My Father's World Adventures in U.S. History for Tabitha (3rd grade) and Amelia (2nd grade). Additionally, Hannah is going to be starting My Father's World from A to Z (MFW's kindergarten curriculum). Harold will be tagging along doing letter of the week activities that correspond with the unit of the week in the Kindergarten curriculum. 

Core Curriculum: 2nd and 3rd Grade

Here is a look at what comes with the Basic Adventures package, onto which I added the art and magnets. This also shows part of the language arts selections. 

Our history will focus on American History, plus we will be learning basic U.S. geography. 

These are the science books we will be focusing on, along with the magnets.

I decided to go with the recommended art books (included in the Deluxe package), plus we will be doing some art appreciation with Enjoying Art Together. Technically, the Enjoying Art Together cards were a part of the 1st grade curriculum, but we never got to them.

Language Arts

Now that we have reached Adventures, we have to add in our own choice for Language Arts. I opted to use the recommended Language Lessons for Today for both girls (at the grade level). However, instead of the spelling that MFW recommends, I am going to use The Logic of English Essentials, which was a past review product. Plus, we are going to pick up Foundations where we left off after that review, which will be working on vocabulary development.

I also chose to use Language Lesson for Today with Amelia. However, she is using Horizons for spelling, seeing as we had the opportunity to review it this summer. In fact, the review will be live on the blog next week. 

Math

We also have to add a math curriculum. Originally, I went with the recommended Singapore. However, after I received it and looked through it, I realized it wasn't quite the right fit. So, I decided to go with Math Mammoth for both girls, at their level of course. We reviewed Math Mammoth a while ago, and I was quite happy with it, so we are going to stick with it for now. 

Supplements

I also found some great books and flashcards at Target to help supplement our year.

Core Curriculum: Kindergarten

I can't believe Hannah is ready for Kindergarten. Unfortunately, believe it or not, it is reality. We are pulling out the My Father's World Kindergarten curriculum, most of which has been packed away for over a year. I just had to buy new student sheets.

Reading Supplement

I plan to continue working with First Start Reading from Memoria Press. Hannah was doing quite well with this before we put it aside for the summer. Yes, it was another review product.

One more supplement, also a review product, that we will use, is The Reading Game. We reviewed this last year, during my Back to School Celebration. However, I ended up putting it aside as she wasn't quite ready. Recently, Hannah has shown quite a few signs that she is ready for us to pick up where we left off.

Harold will be tagging along, the same way Hannah did when her sisters were doing kindergarten. I will pull out my letter of the week ideas, plus some Montessori work. 

Music

When we went to the mall several weeks ago, we couldn't resist the temptation of wandering around the music store. My husband would love to get a decent piano; however, that is something for the future. Instead, the children, along with mom and dad, are going to be learning to play the recorder. 

We will also be doing some music appreciation with a new review product from a fellow Crew Mate.

Foreign Language

It is also recommended to start a foreign language with the MFW Adventures Year. So, it was perfect timing when a new review product became available just recently. Tabitha will be learning French with Middlebury Interactive Languages.

And that is a look at our 2015-2016 curriculum. Of course, things could change as review opportunities arise. What are you using this year?

It's a blog hop!

Don't forget to stop by to visit my fellow Crew Mates. We are all sharing Back to Homeschool from our own perspective, so enjoy the varied subjects and views this week. Below is a list of 11 of my friends with links to their blogs. Each day I will be sharing a different group of bloggers. If you would like to see the full list of participating blogs, I encourage you to check out my Back to Homeschool Blog Hop introduction post. 

Cristi @ Through the Calm and Through the Storm

Meg @ Adventures with Jude

Dawn @ Double O Farms

DaLynn @ For the Display of His Splendor

Monique @ Mountain of Grace Homeschooling

Steph @ Indy Homeschool

Kym @ Homeschool Coffee Break

Tawnee @ Adventures in homeschooling

Lisa @ Tales of a Homeschool Family

Jennifer @ Organized Home Organized School

Callie @ Mama's Coffee Shop

Let's Celebrate Back to Homeschool with some giveaways:

I happen to be hosting what I feel are some great back to homeschool giveaways. Each of these giveaways feature products related to school and learning. Just click on the link and you will be directed the the giveaway.

Enter to win:

A 3-month membership to A+ Interactive Math's Adaptive Placement Test w/ Individualized Lesson Plans 

A Classroom Friendly Supplies Pencil Sharpener

A copy of  The Reading Game