Homeschooling Plans

I am a self-confessed curriculum junkie. I love getting new curriculum. If you homeschool, you fully understand the excitement of your box arriving from Rainbow Resource--it's like Christmas morning!

I have been planning the upcoming school year for Princess E. You see, she will be officially homeschooled this year. I am so thankful that homeschooling is legal, and that we as parents have the right to determine what is best for our child. The public school where we live schools year-round. I like this concept, but it means that school starts here in July. July seems so soon when I think about having to get her up and send her off to school each day. My stomach turns at the very thought. All of a sudden she seems so young to me. Did I say how very thankful I am to be able to homeschool her? Well, I am.

I will be attending the Cincinnati Homeschool Convention in April. I am mainly going to hear a few speakers and drool over the thousands of curriculum choices. I have already decided on what I will be using with her this year though, so I'll probably be "shopping" the convention for ideas for next year. The other reason I am going is that a friend from church is pulling her 2 boys out of public school and will be homeschooling them. She's overwhelmed at the possibilities and needing some encouragement. I also believe that she is a curriculum junkie at heart, and it's always nice to hang out with like-minded people. :)

Here is what I plan to use with Princess E. She is technically going to be in Kindergarten, but she's already doing 1st grade work in many areas. Right now school is hit or miss around here. I haven't been hard-nosed about it since she's not even supposed to be in school yet. I've mainly been focusing on her reading. She is doing quite well, and it will be nice having this milestone under our belts when we start Kindergarten in July. And who knows, once I get all of my plans in place I'll probably start her earlier than that. Planning and digging through curriculum gets me excited, and it's always nice to start off in that place.

We are going to continue with** My Father's World (1st Grade) and Reading Made Easy. I am changing her math curriculum to RightStart Math. I am introducing some art instruction through Artistic Pursuits (once a week). We are going to continue supplementing with Five in a Row and unit studies on various animals (for our future veterinarian). It sounds packed, but it really only works out to a few hours a day.

I'm going to try to remember to post some of her work here on the blog. It will be like attending Open House from the comfort of your own home. Ah, the beauty of homeschooling.

**As a side note, the links I listed above are for the websites directly, but I buy from Rainbow Resource when possible.