preschool, 2nd grade, 5th grade

We will be start schooling again right after Labor Day. Just a few weeks away! For Elle that isn't soon enough, for Thomas it's too soon. :) I was kinda feeling like Thomas but now that all of our curriculum is here I'm getting excited to start again. We are doing some new things this year that I think we will all enjoy. I've been busy getting everything organized and ready. It was fun to pull out some of the preschool stuff for Ava and think back to when Elle was that age. I still have some work to do to get the room ready, including a fresh coat of paint and furniture rearranging.

For those of you who are curious, this is what we will be studying this year -

Bible - We will be reading aloud together Little Pilgrim's Progress and going through the study guide.

Math - Math-U-See again. We love this program. Thomas will be in Zeta and Elle in Gamma.

English - This year we are trying Shurley English.

Reading - Beyond Five in a Row

History - The Mystery of History, Vol. 1: Creation to the Resurrection. This is probably the subject I am most excited about! Thomas and Elle will be studying this course together and I will just adapt it accordingly.

Science - Exploring Creation with Astronomy. This is another subject we will all do together.

Geography - Both Thomas and Elle will be doing Daily Geography Practice. In addition, Thomas will be doing Beautiful Feet Book's Geography Through Literature and Elle will be learning about the United States using books recommended through Simply Stated.

Handwriting/Writing - Elle will be doing A Reason for Handwriting this year. In past years we've used Handwriting without Tears and have liked it. I still am planning to use the manipulatives in that course with Ava because I feel that it is such a great course to get them on the right track. Elle loves to write though and HWOT tears doesn't offer her enough practice in the workbook plus she was getting bored with it as it felt like she was doing the same workbook over and over. She also loves coloring and this new book combines both. At the end of each week she gets to pick a page to write her memory verse on for the week in her best handwriting and then color or paint it.

Thomas won't be doing a formal handwriting course this year. Instead he will be doing more creative writing and get plenty of practice with typing as well. I ordered Story Starters to help get the creative juices flowing!

Spelling - We are sticking with Sequential Spelling.

Art - I have had I Can Do All Things for a couple of years and just haven't been consistent with it. Elle really, really wants to do art this year though so I think we will give it another go. One of the goals for myself in schooling this year is to encourage my kids creativity. Even if it means messes and incovenience for me. That is another post, for another day.

As for preschool for Miss Ava I've already posted my plan here. The only thing that has changed from that plan is that we are going to wait till January, or even next year, for the math primer. She's not quite ready for that.