I’m nearing the end of this curriculum update series-thankfully these updates serve you and I as research for next year will hopefully not send me into hysterics or prompt more grey hairs to sprout.
I digress. On to the goods- Science and Social Studies. Out of all the subjects, these two were the easiest to plan, prepare for and execute. That doesn’t mean I didn’t have to shift a bit.
As always, the post detailing all our curricula for these subjects is here and for your viewing pleasure, I have YouTube videos here.
While science was easy to plan, thanks to it all it being mapped out, complete with supplementary books and activities from Elemental science, the physical book reading just wasn’t for us. My kids, who will normally listen to me read anything were not feeling this. As a last shot, I decided to try the audiobook. Friends, this was the way to go! The story is so so great! In addition, my children and I have learned about so many animals and every continent. Pairing that with an animal encyclopedia, TV docuseries Secrets of the Zoo and Disney’s Animal Kingdom, YouTube and more books, James’ hunger to learn about animals is temporarily satisfied, just like his actual hunger, it keeps returning.
My hope is that we can come back to the physical book when they are older and get good use of it. If not, it is homeschool curriculum sale bound with no sweat off my back. I also purchased the digital download of the SCIDAT logbook. It was a bit much to introduce the first half of the year, but I think James would really enjoy it now.
For social studies, my plan was to study the culture, cuisine and contributions of the country discussed in the science readings. This didn’t work out and I’m glad about it. Here’s why: Honestly, I took the easy road in planning. In the midst of a pandemic, a civil rights insurgence, a historic election, holidays and so much to celebrate, I decided to let that guide us. Did we, in fact, learn about several cultures on just about every continent? Yes! Was it mundane so my kids can spit facts? No. They were able to sympathize and empathize. They were encouraged to serve and practice non-performative allyship. What’s more, they got watch their parents and friends do so too.
All in all, both of these subjects, from what we learned to how we learned it, laid a really good foundation for us to grow from and I am so excited to do so.
How is 2021 treating you so far? I surely hope you are well. If you can’t tell by the title, this is the first in a series of blog posts where I will be updating you on all of the curriculum we’ve used this year. If you need a refresher on what we are using for language arts (LA), check out this blog post.
I would also like to preface this with homeschool curriculum is an experiment. It just is… you honestly really never how well something will work until you try it.
Alright now to LA!
I’ll start with the All About Reading (AAR). This was the biggest investment for us, time wise and financially. After prepping both sets for each of my kids, I planned out the lessons. I’m not going to lie- I was intimidated. I was used to open-and-go, easy peasy instructions. Here’s what I’ve learned thus far.
This curriculum is exactly what my kids need. I honestly can’t express to you the gains my kids have made since September using this curriculum. Not only is James reading more fluently, he now loves reading. It excites and delights him. It’s opened up a new portal for us in all subjects. Jude started this year not being able to recognize any letters consistently or know any phonemes. Now we are at 20/26 with 95% accuracy. Even better-I’m learning and growing with them. The curriculum comes with letter tiles and syllable tags. However, we opted to purchase the app for $20. I know, that’s a crazy amount for an app. However, it’s a lifetime purchase that I can use for both children through their matriculation of this program.
I will also add this-once we got into a rhythm of homeschool the lessons became way easier to implement and much less intimidating.
So, basically AAR is a hit and both my kids are excited for me to purchase the next levels for them.
Our other LA picks for James were for grammar and spelling. Because I felt like AAR was going to need more times and reading is where I wanted the most focus, it was important to me that spelling and grammar were kinda bare-bones. I mean no frills, no videos, no manipulatives. Just simple lessons taught principle by principle. Growing With Grammar and Spelling You See are just that. I also like that there is plenty of time to practice previous lessons while learning new principles.
Same goes for spelling you see. It was also important to me to have some things that James could easily complete independently so I could work with his brother, Jude. The copy work, rhyming and rhythm practice is just what the teacher ordered.
Handwriting for both boys is Learning Without Tears (LWT). I honestly can’t say enough good things about this company. Even their price point is really good. For someone who never understood the schematics of teaching writing, let alone to children with a fine motor delay, LWT takes the cake, frosting, sprinkles and candles. Hands down.
Lastly, we introduced journals this year. While we are still trying to find our footing with using them daily, we use them as frequently as I can and I love seeing their creativity, fine motor skills and critical thinking skills improve.
All in all, language arts is a hit! I am still looking for good books to add to our library that challenge James and won’t be over Jude’s head… a tough one for this wanna be minimalist. Maybe I just need to cave and let us have a more expansive library? What do you think?
I’ll be back with all our other subjects in the coming weeks.
Continuing our chat on school supplies. Here, I discussed what was “needed”. Today we are talking desired things. Please know, I reigned this in as much as possible because, I mean, honestly, this could go on forever.
Last year, I slowly purchased items for a literacy bin (video here) and we got so busy, I didn’t use it to capacity. I’m definitely changing that this year as we won’t be busy. (Thanks for that, Mr. Rona.) when you watch the video you’ll see lots of the items I got from the Dollar Tree and Walmart. The goal? Make learning fun! Sitting, reciting, scribing can be useful but I say, if it can be fun, let’s do it that way.
Play-doh, fidgets, letters, illustration, dictation, stamp math equations, stamp spelling… the list can go on for a while. I say that to say play-doh, with a few accessories, can really round-out a lesson. It can also be a great transitional activity. I frequently leave out play doh in a tray and let them go to town.
Podcast and songs: Most of these are free with streaming services but I bet you aren’t taking full advantage of them with kids podcasts and learning songs. These are lifesavers for us. They introduce and reinforce lessons. We use them for just about every subject. I found one for Spanish lessons for kids. This may take some training for your kids to listen but the results are epic! My children now request them by name.
Learning Games: I know, more fun. You would think I was a “cool mom” or something. This really depends on your child’s development and your budget. I will say this, with inexpensive games like Uno and Connect 4, you can work on about 8 different skills in one game do you are definitely getting your monies worth.
Digital Learning Games- I know, screens! How dare I? Here’s the thing, this can be as much or as little as you want or you can scroll right past it. We occasionally use various learning apps. Our favorites are ABC mouse and Khan Academy Kids. My kids can go weeks without using them actually. I understand and totally get there are some families anti-any screens. That is not us. We are very vigilant with what we allow our kids to consume and the time they use it. We also believe training on this can never start too young. We are training them on how to take care of these devices and how to use them. We are also teaching them what is appropriate, problem-solving, etc.
Skill-set tools: I will be sharing more of this in another blog post but you have to meet your children where they are. My two have varying needs from emotional to transitional, to spacial to attention to fine motor so, we have various aids to assist.
Essential oil diffuser: I’m an oily girl with an oily family and diffusers make our minds and bodies happy!
Wireless music player: This is definitely straddling the “desired” and “over the top” line. We use ours very regularly for music, podcasts, timers and to ask questions of course because I don’t know everything.
Folders binders, clips, page protectors: I prep as much as I can for a smoother year so the office supplies helps me keep all that prep organized. I personally feel that the more prepared you are the more successful you’ll be.
Pens and Stationery: I’m sure these are things you always ready have but I wanted to share how I use them in our homeschool. To start, I use erasable pens in my planners and the pen color denotes a person or event. Yes, my planner is color-coded. For example, in my homeschool planner, my sons each have color and the thing we do together are in another color. A great notepad and some post-it are my go-to note-taking and list-making.
That’s all I can think of… that’s not true. I don’t want this post to get too long so I’ll wrap it up. Stay tuned for all things “sensory-friendly” for homeschooling.
Ok, I know the title is a little weird because most homeschool families can’t roll-up get a “supply list” from their local Wal-Mart, shop and be set for the year. I’m writing this mainly for all the new homeschool families. The one whose kids are old enough, or felt like it was “the right time” or their kids’ school thinks COVID-19 is normal and not changing anything to keep their kids safe. Or, a mom who has been homeschooling for some years and “wants a change up.” You could also have a serious case of #FOMO like me. Either way, let’s get after it.
I know we’ve all be there: Instagram, because that’s where all research properly starts, and we’ve scrolled across a page like any of these:
Chicken Eggs and The Land”: Here we meet “Tara” who homeschools her 3 kids, “Sage”, “Prism” and “Continuity” on a homestead somewhere in the middle of nowhere. She’s pregnant with her fourth, aptly named “Fin”, because this is her last birthed baby. They want to also adopt. She chronicles her day chasing chickens, her kids, and executing perfect baked goods while somehow educating her kids with all these artisan wooden manipulatives.
“Pink Bows and Purple Toes”: “Linds” (we never know if her name is actually “Lindsey”), has 2 daughters. They all love Starbucks and artisan coffee. All their accessories are from “this super cute Etsy shop”. She’s a super eclectic homeschooler and has so many resources for each subject you can’t keep up. Her house is perfectly designed. It looks like something out of a magazine and her “no make up face” is that of angel.
“Home Is as Home Does”: This is the page of Ashlee and her “unschooled kids”. It seems Ashley has time for every house project under the sun including fostering kittens. She currently has 12. Her house is immaculate and wonderfully organized.
That isn’t to make fun of pages like those at all. I truly admire all who are like those above, because, I think, at the end of every day we are all doing the best we can for our kids, ourselves, and family. My point in bringing those up is, and I’m including myself here, we see those pages and instantly think that’s the goal. That is what our days need to look like. That’s what our homeschool spaces need to look like. That is what we need to homeschool successfully and it just isn’t true.
What is true? What actually do you need to homeschool? I’ll do my best to answer.
Emotional Needs: You need to be able to meet your mental and emotional needs before you can meet those of your kid(s). It really won’t work otherwise. You have to find ways to continually fill up, and then re-fill, and then top yourself off. Additionally, you need to plan and prep in a way that works best for you. If you’ve never owned a planner and the thought of sends you to a hiding corner, maybe a homeschool planner isn’t for you. On the flip-side, if you’ve always been type-A, maybe “winging it” isn’t the key to success. There is going to be trial and error. There will be apologies. You’re gonna have to accept and extend grace.
Physically: Ok, now to the nitty-gritty. You’re going to need a place to learn. That could be a kitchen table, a portable lap desk, and/or a converted or shared space. (Read: You DO NOT need a fully stocked “room” specifically for learning.) Our first learning space was shared with our playroom. I separated the spaces (learning on one side, toys on another) and kept the toys with noise up high. The thing is, they rarely played there so when we moved I didn’t make a playroom. I converted a coat closet to a “toy closet” and it’s been great. This left space for a learning room. To be clear, we do lessons and activities all over the house. Especially now with my husband working from home. (I’m working a revamp for it all for the fall!)
Organization/storage- Don’t we all want a trip to IKEA with no budget??? I mean, that would be heavenly. It’s also not realistic soooooo I’ll say this: My goals for organization/storage are easy to access and responsibility-training. I want to find things easily, make sure everything has a place, and train my kids to be responsible for their curricula and supplies. Truth, I have two small bookshelves and a short 9-cube organizer. That’s it. My kids have these storage bins for their curricula. I show how I use them and why I love them here. They are very affordable and go on sale often. I purchased ours from Michael’s.
Supplies- I made a very detailed list for our “back to school” shopping. Yes, I narrowed it down to the number of crayons. Why? Because I know that’s what we need. I also knew these items were inexpensive and if they were needed again I could purchase them then. So here is what I think are the most needed.
If you plan on purchasing downloaded versions of curricula, you will need a printer. Printing at office supply places or print shops can get very pricey. Printers can be found as low as $40 and generally come with ink coupons or deals. Not-needed but helpful items I’ve come to depend on are a laminator and paper cutter.
Daily items:
Something artsy/craftsy: Crayons, markers, colored pencils, paint (tempera, acrylic, watercolor), construction, and/or watercolor paper. Do you need things actual artists use? Absolutely not. Can you make do with things from Dollar Tree? For sure! Full transparency, I really struggle with these types of activities for my kids. However, I know art is therapy. If one doesn’t express creativity, it comes out in other not-so-pleasant ways.
Writing utensils: Pencils. That’s one sentence because there are so many kinds. Here I really urge you to meet your child’s fine motor needs. They may need short pencils. They may need thick pencils. They may need triangular pencils and/or pencils grips. From there, I ask you to go with your preference. I prefer mechanical pencils because I don’t like sharpening pencils. I do have traditional pencils because I feel like sharpening pencils is a skill everyone needs. I have a blog post on all things “special needs learning” and some videos on school supplies here if that helps.
Something to write on/Learn with: I put these two together because of workbooks. Some curriculum comes with a workbook and the pupil will do activities and write the answer in the workbook. If you want to save curricula to sell or for the next child, you’ll need something else to write on. So, paper. Again, go with your child’s needs. For math, I like this large grid paper. For writing, this template is great. Both are free. I also like this composition notebook for writing. For older kids, a spiral notebook or composition book is great. Now for curriculum, I urge you to read this post. Find your child(ren)’s love language(s) and learning style(s), make goals and find things that fit those. As hard as it is, this isn’t the time to use what everyone else is using. Trust me, popularity won’t necessarily win.
Library Access- Books make the world go round and you can learn the world from books. Hopefully, your library is allowing for safe and distanced pick-up options.
Tissues and hand soap: Yup, you definitely need these items in your homeschool. I also love having a pack of baby wipes for quick clean-ups from paint too before they go wash their hands.
Honestly, that’s all I think you need. Is there more you can have? Of course. I’ll share that in another post.
So, we are finishing up this series with my favorite subject, Black History. In our house, Black History isn’t a month. It is not a banner. It is not something cute on a shirt. It is an anthem. It is a fabric interwoven through our lives, our being. It is our heritage. It is a lamp post that lights the path of our future.
Last year, I began creating my own black History curriculum and that is what we will use for this year as well. I hesitate to say curriculum because it is living and growing as we speak but for the sake of continuity… This curriculum is broken down by events (i.e. Bus Boycotts) or pioneers (inventors, explorers) or leaders ( athletes, civil rights) and explores an individual’s life, contributions, hurdles, and how they overcame said hurdles to improve life for us. From there we explore and learn how can continue to carry the torch. We will use this paired with tons of books from our home and local library, documentaries and podcasts. I will break this down in my stories on IG if you want to learn more, hop on over. Or you can get more deets in my YouTube video here.
If you are new here, I am raising allies. What does that mean? I am raising my children to learn, respect, empathize with and celebrate other cultures while teaching them, through action, to stand with them and help them fight for equality and against adversity. Part of that is equipping them with the knowledge of their own heritage.
Per usual, I am here for any questions. Comment, send a message or anything.
Thanks for keeping up and reading along for all of this. I really hope this helps.
