Homeschool Curriculum Choices

I've gotten a lot of questions about our curriculum choices for this year so I thought I would share what we are starting with. If there is one piece of advice I have been given over and over from mentor-veteran homeschoolers, it is to be willing to shift and adjust. Nothing has to be set in stone and there is no harm or loss in seeing that something isn't working and then finding another solution. After all, thats the beauty in flexibility of homeschool right?

Obviously we are just starting out in homeschool and so I do not consider myself an expert in curricula at all. I will say that I have put over a year’s worth of prayer, thought, and research into our choices. There are SO MANY OPTIONS out there. Many of them are really good options for many reasons. For our family, it was important that we have curriculum with a strong Christian-Biblical Worldview. We also wanted it to be academically challenging and prepare our girls for the next steps in their education whether that be returning to traditional school someday or college. Strong Christian values and academic rigor were a must, but we also wanted curriculum that our girls would enjoy and not dread. So, with that said, I will tell you what curricula we are starting with.

Elah's 6th grade curriculum

English, Literature, and Spelling are from BJU Press online + textbook courses. BJU Press is the curricula that our previous Christian school used and so I know it is academically rigorous and has a strong Christian Worldview. I know I can trust it to keep her on track academically and incorporate Biblical scripture and principles in every lesson. I also chose BJU Press because I felt it would make the transition from traditional school to homeschool a little easier since that is the curricula and format she is familiar with. Another reason I chose BJU Press is because each course offers online pre-recorded video lessons. So each lesson has a video taught by an engaging, certified instructor that students are able to watch at their own speed. So Elah can pause or rewind at any point as she needs. This will be a major beneficial tool for her AND me! It will help make her a more independent learner and will also take a lot of pressure off of me. We have already worked through a few lessons in each subject and I am very pleased with the quality of the videos.

Math for Elah will be Simply Good and Beautiful Math 6 by The Good and The Beautiful. I really love The Good and the Beautiful curricula. It really is so beautifully made with art, nature, literature, and Christian ideas incorporated into every subject and lesson. It is also a "gentler" curricula with less busy work and formatted for a 4-day school week. And, last but not least, TGTB Simply Math also offers online teaching videos for each lesson. For all these reasons, this is what we chose for Elah's Math. She is really into art and really not into Math so I wanted to make it as easy and enjoyable for her this year as possible.

I am adding Creative Writing from The Good and The Beautiful for Elah also. She loves writing and is really good at it. I thought this curriculum was so well done, beautifully illustrated and would really help develop her story writing skills. It also incorporates a lot of drawing and art which is perfect for Elah.

Handwriting will also be from The Good and The Beautiful for the same reasons as listed above for Creative Writing.

Evelyn's 2nd grade curriculum

English, Reading, Spelling, Handwriting, and Math for Evelyn will all be from BJU Press. 

Both Girls

Bible: Our Bible curriculum is from Positive Action. This is the same Bible curriculum our previous Christian school used and I have always liked it and my girls do too. It comes with a workbook and a teacher's guide for each respective grade level. It is colorful, fun, and easy to work through independently which was a bonus for me! I think it is a good addition to our curriculum choices to help encourage Bible reading and comprehension.

We are also incorporating The New City Catechism questions and answers into our morning devotion and bible time.

Russell and I have also selected 16 scripture verses that we will meditate on and memorize together as a family; 1 verse every 2 weeks.

Geography: We chose to do US Geography for both girls in a family-style learning format. We were excited to be able to do this family-style of learning with some of our subjects in homeschool. Since we will hopefully be doing some traveling while we're homeschooling, I thought it was a great time to cover some geography basics and talk more about the places we will be seeing. For geography we chose Our 50 States by Notgrass with its accompanying literature package. It is a Christian curriculum and was recommended by a trusted homeschool mentor of mine. I am excited to work through this curriculum with my girls and learn about how each state is unique in its own way.

Science: We will be going through 4 different units of The Good and The Beautiful science.

We chose "Motion and Simple Machines", "Weather and Water", "Kingdoms and Classifications", and "Health and the Physical Body". Science will also be taught as a family-style learning format.

We will also use The Good and The Beautiful Typing and Creative Arts & Crafts for both girls.

Russell and I are going to work together to teach: Spanish language basics and Home Living/Life Skills and Manners/Etiquette.

For Music both girls will be taking piano lessons from our beloved piano teacher, Jeanie High.