Today is the day. We start our 2016-2017 school year today. I am excited about this school year and hope that I can get my reluctant learners on board. We will have green eggs and ham for breakfast with Dad before the day gets started. I also have a few games to open to play after the school work is done. We will be using Get to Know You sheets to mark the beginning of a new school year. We have made our homeschool curriculum choices for 2016 – 2017. I have filled the crate for the first semester and I finished working on our daily routine. This post contains affiliate links, this doesn’t impact the price you pay for any product. You can find my full disclosure here.
Homeschool Curriculum Choices for 2016-2017 – 4th and 6th:
- All About Reading
- All About Spelling
- Writing
- Easy Grammar
- Handwriting without Tears
- Right Start Math
- Geography
- Social Studies
- Science
- Literature and Biographies (2oth century literature study with tutorial)
- Art : class
- Music: class
- PE: class and soccer
Preschool/Tot School for 2016-2017
This year we will also start to include the 2 year old in our lessons. She is always in the mix during school time, but this year she will have her own “work”. It has been a while since I have had a little in the house so I purchased the Homeschooling Your Preschooler book by Elizabeth at This Little Home of Mine.
Keep it Simple
Elizabeth says, In my mind,homeschool preschool is simply a more organized/structured approach to providing your little one(s) with focused activities (many of which you are probably already doing!) to reinforce all of the amazing things they are learning in their day-to-day experiences. With that in mind, Elizabeth really emphasizes simplicity in your preschool planning. She has examples of her lesson plans for 2, 3 & 4 year olds. There are ideas on units and links to her pinterest boards. She has a couple of chapters dedicated to organization, balance/priorities (including home management) and siblings, which would be especially helpful for the new homeschooler.
This book is a great resource and good alternative to trying to just cruise her sight for all of her nuggets of wisdom, but you will find yourself wanting to look at her beautiful site after reading this book. This is not a curriculum book, but she does give you some ideas on what types of things to do/ where to find activities. She provides lots of ideas for creating your own scope and sequence. This is more of a rhythm of the day type book.
The biggest negative for me was a lack of pictures, but for the price I wouldn’t let that hold you back. This book is also more geared toward beginning homeschoolers without older children, but as a 5 year veteran with a huge age gap (my kids are in their twenties, tweens, and a toddler) I found her book encouraging and a great way to remind myself to calm down and not take things too seriously. If you are interested in learning more, the book is called Homeschooling Your Preschooler and the link will give you lots more information.
Our Focus Areas of Pre/Tot School:
- shapes
- colors
- numbers (1-10)
- animal names and sounds
- nursery rhymes
- name recognition
- fine motor
- social development
You can find the types of activities we will be using for our tot school on my Pinterest board for 5 and under.
We are also continuing to follow the Summer Games and you can still get the flag study and extension activities, by clicking below.