2011-2012 Curriculum Choices for 2nd Grade

Bible:

Leading Little One’s to God, Bible reading, & Verse memorization.

• He seems to like the book & is talking about God like he’s understanding his relationship with Him.  Also, he’s getting the memory verses so I’m impressed with their program.  I think he got bored of hearing all the Bible stories; he likes to hear how it relates to his life.

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Social Studies/Language Arts:

Sonlight Core B with grade 3 readers.

• He seems to really be liking using this program.  I don’t think it has enough depth for him in the reading & comprehension, but I’m using the time to develop his narration skills & build his reading independence.  It is a good program, but I am considering going back to Ambleside Online next year.  I feel like I’ve got a better understanding of it now, & for some reason I just like them better.

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Math:

CLE Math 200.

• He is gaining a lot of confidence in his math abilities, & I have really liked their program.

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Science:

CLE Science 200.

• He is doing well with this one too.  I really like that the lessons are short.

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English:

Rod & Staff English 3.

• He already knows most of this, so I have to figure out how to skip ahead.  I don’t want to bore him.  Otherwise I’ve been very happy with this program too.  They do require a lot of writing which LB hates.  To get around this I have him dictate to me & I write.

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Handwriting:

A Reason for Handwriting T.

• He is doing much better with this one than he did with Handwriting Without Tears.

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And of course P.E., practical life skills, & character development.

  I can’t help but have high hopes that we can finish Pilgrim’s Progress, Our Island Story, & continue Plutarch.  I’m okay with whatever we are able to accomplish this year.  Praise the Lord for all He is teaching us!

Sonlight Core B & How I Set Mine Up

This is our 1st year using Sonlight, & after much consideration, we went with Core B with grade 3 readers. I think he is enjoying it although some of the reading is really too far below his level. He can read & comprehend at a 6th grade level. I'm just looking at it as an opportunity for him to practice getting more comfortable with doing more of the reading independantly.
I didn't like the binder thing at all, so I immediately altered my setup. First I set up a file jacket for each of the 4 quarters for the year. Then within each one is a file folder for each week number in that quarter. Finally, in each weeks file folder is where I placed the weekly study guides, etc. As we move through the weeks I willcarry forward any of the study guides that weren't finished. Also, as a week is in progress, it comes out of the folder & onto my clipboard. The empty weekly folder goes to the back in the quarters file jacket. Once we complete the weeks study guides & all, then they go in a binder for the year. So at the end of the year my working files should be empty, & my binder should be full of what we've accomplished. In theory it sounds great but we'll see how it works.
I use the weekly sheets to make a list for LB to plan his schedule. Still not sure how this will work out.

Our Homeschool Journey: Week #2

Week#2 is officially done. I let LB set his own schedule for the second half of the week & boy was that interesting. He did some stuff late in the afternoon, & even wanted to go to the library at 4pm one day. So we went; he had a great time. We sat down on Friday & scheduled out next week. He has pretty lite days except for Friday. I tried to explain that all this has to get done, & since he put it all off til Friday, he was gonna have to do it come Friday. We'll see how it goes.

Walk Through the Bible: Jeremiah 28-30

Today has been quite a challenge, & unfortunantly it was way better than yesterday & Monday. Monday was my anniversary but Little Buddy has already started butting heads on anything school. It made for a really bad anniversary (during school, anyways). I'm trying to stay focused on the Lord. It seems too early in the school year to be doubting why I'm even trying to homeschool. I've come to the conclusion that it's just me making things more difficult than they need to be. I copied something I saw on 1 of the yahoo groups I belong to, but I'm wondering if it was a mistake. She wrote out 3 sets of things for her child to make some decisions about. First, the subjects or things the parents wanted the child to learn in the year. She had the child seperate into "more important" & "less important" piles. Second, the possible ways to learn (like games, workbooks, etc.). She had the child seperate those into "like" or "don't like" piles. And finally, the different ways some people like to handle routines. She had the child pick 1 from each: a type of routine & a preffered time of day. Well I was surprised at some of the things LB picked. For example, he choose that he wanted to create his own routine & that he wanted to do them the evening before. Also, he picked that he wanted to do puzzles & games. So now I think he just picked things, not understanding what they meant. We will try it again for nect week, but I wouldn't be surprised if we go back to me doing the scheduling. I guess either way I have learned a little more about him.

Taking Care of House & Home

I just bought some new ceiling fans. It feels so good to do even little things to better your home. I can't wait til they go up. If I'm lucky it will be this weekend.

Walk Through the Bible: Jeremiah 18-21

 Mold Me & Make Me 

Image: The Spirit in Tone

 

 Today’s Reading:

 Jeremiah 18 – 21

 

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  It sure has been a while & it feels good to be back.  God brought to my remembrance that He wanted me to write about what He said & when He said, so my WTB posts will look a little different.  It’s been difficult because sometimes what God teaches me does not come from 1 particular scripture.  I think the Lord is teaching a different aspect of marriage, & motherhood right now.  It’s too soon to tell if it’s good or not.  I’m still struggling with outside influences on our marriage, etc.  Hopefully I’m handling them okay.  There have been a lot of indirect comments & I feel like they are surprised that hubby is actually happy being married to me.  As if he is settling with me.  I’m just trying to remind myself that he chose to marry me, not this other person.  Part of marriage is compromising with each other & dealing with differences.  At the same time, I want to make sure God is not wanting me to change in some way.

  We made it through our first week of 2nd grade last week.  I was able to tackle some of my piles (but not all).  When I can figure out how to get the pictures off my new cell phone I will post them=)  I can see how God has changed me (& Little Buddy) through this homeschool journey.  It’s pretty amazing!  But I also see that there is still a lot of work to be done with both of us.  I am hopeful though.