Showing posts with label Sonlight curriculum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sonlight curriculum. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Homeschool curriculums choices

There are so many curriculums to choose from. I know personally I use Sonlight curriculum which has a link featured on the right of the page. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I love it. It's literature based. There's usually some sort of report/essay due each week. Schedule included. The science we love...it's has an experiment each week. Hands on it what most children like. I can't imagine bothering to change curriculum because they flow so well from year to year. I'm starting 1st grade with my 3rd child this year and the curriculum is what I used for my now 7th grader. There are discounts for buying whole packages and other great amenities.

Christianbook has pretty much every curriculum listed on their website under the homeschool tab. Almost everyone I know who homeschools uses a different curriculum than the next. Most curriculum is geared towards different learning styles and/or teaching styles.

I hope your homeschooling inquiries can be answered. If I don't know the answer I can help find the answer. Blessings

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Back to the trenches!

My children and I are very excited to start school this year. We have cleaned up the school room that doubles as a playroom. It got out of hand in there since we had a lot of fun this summer.

We went to our local Black Moshannon State Park a few times and also to Delgrosso's. We went back to visit our favorite place with some of our favorite people in Va Beach, VA. We moved from there just over 4 years ago now and hadn't been back to visit for all this time.
We had a blast. Went to the beachfront one night. Two of my little ones enjoyed the waves for the first time and my son just didn't remember it at all, so it was like a first time for him. My oldest remembered the beach, but not a lot of the people. At church on Sunday she saw a lot of her friends and then she remembered them, but she was very shy towards them. Just a flourish of her personality that's popped out in the last 4 years.
We took time each day to dedicate to visiting old friends. Catching up after 4 years is hard. Thank goodness for Facebook otherwise we wouldn't have been in touch at all.
We saw our old house, it's being rented out now and drove by my childhood home. That was neat. I almost drove right past it for how tall the trees have grown. My dad and I planted them when I was 9 years old at 2 feet tall, now they're nigh on past 100ft.
Needless to say we had a lot of fun, made some memories to last a lifetime and took in all the nostalgia. We'll be doing that again.

Back to school! We just ordered my daughter's curriculum from Sonlight and we are excited to get our box in the mail. It's almost like Christmas to us. The children are up in the attic now taking it upon themselves to pull our the 1st and 5th grade curriculums. We turned in our affidavits of intent to homeschool. We have to part-time register my 2 oldest so they can take the testing with the school, play sports and music. Since we have to pay taxes we are utilizing the perks that would cost us extra money otherwise.

Tell us how your school year is gonna start and what about your summer adventures.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Homeschooling when the weather turns nice

Homeschooling when the weather turns nice is not all that easy. I am certainly not as interested in doing our homeschool when it's so beautiful outside. I want to get out and tend the garden, clean up the animals from the long, cold winter. I want to clean up the yard and explore.

My children are certainly more interested in their sports and being outside. So we get up a little earlier and get our work done faster, so we can get outside sooner. As long as their getting their work done it doesn't matter how short of a time it takes. Most homeschooling days with one child takes about 2 hours. I have 2 main homeschoolers so it takes us about 4 hours. Although somedays do take longer.

We are Sonlight curriculum homeschoolers. And Sonlight has the option for a 4 or 5-day schedule. We opt for the 4day schedule. The literature is not all that easy for us to keep up with and yet we love it. So we take that 5th day for catch up or a day off depending on how much we get done otherwise. I love homeschooling. If we can't finish something due to sickness or unforeseen circumstances (like having a baby), then we have the entire summer to finish that subject or project or book. In public schools they are penalized for poor attendance. Not in homeschooling.

We have to answer to the school system here in PA, but as far as their requirements we exceed them. Just because we do not finish a book, project or something doesn't mean we didn't school our children right.

My children get a richer schooling experience than some public school children because they get to experience in the context of life rather than being told they'll use it... one day.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Spring flings out of cabin fever

It's getting warm outside. The sun is shining more, the birds are singing, the flowers are coming up out of the ground. Time to take your homeschooler out for walks. Time to nature walk. Get a bird book. Each state has one. Barnes and Nobles has them. Not real cheap though. Usually you can find one cheaper through the Amazon link on Applemama. Get a book to help you identify flowers too. Lots of homeschool science curriculums have that included in your studies. In Sonlight Curriculum 3rd grade Science has them learning all about plants and animals. Great stuff.

I've been so ready for this nicer weather. Here in PA we've had a pretty bad winter. Although not as bad as others I've heard. We acquired another rabbit and duck today. Owning animals is a great opportunity to build your child's character in so many ways. They learn to care about another life other than their own and also learn to manage responsibilities.

Feel blessed and free that you have the right to homeschool. Germany and Sweden are fighting for their rights. They are being imprisoned for do so. We may have to answer to the public school system, we may have the ability to just write a letter of our intention to homeschool under religious exemption, but either way, we have the freedom to do so. There are no laws that say we cannot homeschool our children. I know Virginia is reviewing their laws of religious exemption. Pennsylvania is deliberating their laws on the same, but nothing is iron-clad that we can't claim it.

Call it a blessing to be able to homeschool. Our children are our legacies and we must do our best by them. If the public school system is not meeting the needs of your child then you have that option to homeschool. I know quite a few people who have wonderfully intelligent children who just aren't learning to their full potential in the public school. The public schools can only do but so much with the multiple learning styles they have in children. And not every teacher can cater to every learning style. A teacher is as good as their imagination. And who knows your child better than you do?

All about Applemama

I'm a homeschool mother of 4 wonderful children. My girls are 11, 4 and 2. My only son is 8 and full of energy. We live in rural PA, and have 8 chickens, 5 rabbits, 3 cats, 3 ducks, and one mouse.

We were married here 11 years ago and moved off to FL - then to VA - and now back here after my husband's job was uprooted and not transplanted. He found a job to work in his field (at least somewhat) and we are taking a wonderful opportunity to move back to where we met. We have old friends here and enjoy reconnecting with the church where we were married. We love it and are making many new friends.

Lookup a word or passage in the Bible

BibleGateway.com Include this form on your page

Applemama's Fan Box

Applemama on Facebook