Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Back to Homeschool--Homeschool Curriculum

BacktoHomeschool
Another overwhelming choice which new homeschoolers face is: What curriculum will I use?

When I first started homeschooling (16 years ago), there wasn't as much to choose from as there is now. Now, it's almost beyond overwhelming how much is available.

As I mentioned yesterday, we use a literature-based unit/theme study program now: Five in a Row/Beyond Five in a Row. We've used Before Five in a Row, too, when the boys were younger. I plan for Botanist Boy to use Above and Beyond Five in a Row, too, soon.

Five in a Row uses outstanding picture books, around which to base lessons in Social Studies, Language Arts, Art, Science and Applied Math, focusing on one subject each day of the week.

Some of the picture books Mrs. Jane Lambert chose to use for these unit studies are: The Story About Ping; Make Way for Ducklings; Night of the Moonjellies; Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel; The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge; Madeline; The Tale of Peter Rabbit; and Snowflake Bentley, to name just a few.

Beyond Five in a Row uses chapter books, such as The Boxcar Children; Homer Price; Sarah, Plain and Tall and Skylark, as well as biographies about Thomas Edison, Helen Keller, George Washington Carver, Betsy Ross, and Neil Armstrong.

There are creative writing or essay projects with every lesson; social studies, including history, geography, and human relationships; science; vocabulary; career path studies; internet connections; and much more.

One of our favorite parts of using the Five in a Row/Beyond Five in a Row studies, is using the cookbook! We really enjoy making the meals, which enhance the study of each book.

Meal for Wee Gillis

Meal for Wild Horses of Sweetbriar

Meal for Sarah, Plain and Tall
Sometimes we take a break from Five in a Row, and use some of Amanda Bennett's unit studies or Download N Go units. Click here to visit Unit Studies by Amanda Bennett. 

Unit Study Adventures are 4 week unit studies, for grades K-12. Some of the topics included are: Dogs; Oceans; American Government; Elections 2012; and Olympics 2012. Cross-curricular in approach (include history, geography, science, etc.), these unit studies have been written in a simple, ready-to-use format. The research and preparation work have all been done—all you have to do is open the study and let the adventure begin!

Download N Go units are for grades K-4, and cover 1 week. Each unit is full of information, video clips to enhance that information, and lapbooking/notebooking elements. Topics include: Creatures; Foods; Outdoors; History; Seasons; Holidays; and geography Expeditions.

Some of our favorites are the Passport Geography units. These are one week units, covering grades K-12. So far, the countries available are: Germany, France, and United Kingdom. Because we have been through the UK unit, we are finding the Olympics quite intriguing! It's fun to see the sites that we have studied!

Be sure to come back tomorrow, when we'll discuss planning. Also, to make sure you don't miss a thing, like Life at Rossmont on Facebook.

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3 comments:

  1. The cookbook looks awesome. I'll have to put it on my wishlist.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, the cookbook IS awesome! And even though I am a vegetarian cook, most of the recipes can be tweaked, or substituted with a vegetarian alternative. :-)

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  2. We really have enjoyed our adventures with FIAR as well! I miss it...I knew I should've planned this in our school year this year!! LOL.

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