Our Curriculum for 2011-2012 School Year!

Better late than never, I'm telling myself :)  Don't get me wrong-we did start school about 1 month ago, it's just this post I've been delayed at getting to!!  So-in case anyone is interested, this is our lineup. Keep in mind this is what we have designed for our own family, not a post on what I think everyone should use! I don't know about you, but I'm always fascinated by other homeschooler's curriculum choices, and I often learn about a product or two I didn't know about!

Alyssa is enrolled in 11th grade at Open High School of Utah (OHSU), which is a virtual High School we are very pleased with so far!! She is attempting to get most core classes taken care of so next year she can take the community college dental hygienist program, which covers 4 electives. So far it's straight As! I'm also considering using the Dave Ramsey Foundations in Personal Finance program for teens. Here is a recent photo of my sweet girl, doing schoolwork while on vacation!!

 Chad is officially a 3rd grader, but is at a 1st-2nd grade level in most areas.  He's consistently stayed about 1-2 years delayed since he became ours at age 2, but this past summer we found out he has numerous learning disabilities, including Dyslexia and Dysgraphia.  You can read that post here.  So, armed with this information, we've tailored a curriculum to really focus on reading and writing much more than anything else.  We are also getting some special education assistance-speech therapy and reading/writing help as needed.

 I decided to go with a school district in Southern Utah (we are northern), for their state-wide K12 program, Washington Online School Utah (WOSU). We are using them for the special ed, Math, History, and Science.  This is a program we used in the past with my oldest two, and were very impressed.  Chad will have lots of opportunities for field trips and fun which he needs having no siblings at all close in age. Plus I get the special support I need to learn how to teach him effectively. They also have awesome online classes and teachers there when you need them.  Some homeschoolers have big issues with what I am doing, as the state school system gets money for our being enrolled.  I believe you do what you feel/know is best for your child, and reassess that each and every year for each and every child.  Even after homeschooling for 14 years, I know when I need help, and the private kind is way too pricey.  I love that I can still involve special ed. assistance and tailor my own curriculum! Our curriculum may change later in the year based on how he is progressing.  This year I decided to try out my own version of a workbox system.  This is getting long, so our workbox system will have to wait for another post.

K12 Math, Science, and History (all 2nd grade) through WOSU.
Reading Horizon's Discover Intensive Phonics (K-3 program on computer, Orton-Gillingham based)
Susan Barton's Reading and Spelling program
Writing With Ease
Handwriting Help for Kids (will be Handwriting without Tears next)
Building Christian Character/60 Day Wonder Devotional

Later in the year: Read, Write, and Type
Occasionally: First Language Lessons, All About Spelling (click button on right sidebar for more info)*

Plus, we have so many wonderful products we get to use and review through the The Old Schoolhouse Crew throughout the year.  And after homeschooling for so many years I have lots of good unit studies and crafts to do at a moment's notice!

*I love the All About Spelling Program, and Chad had completed level 1.  We decided to start back at the beginning, now knowing his diagnosis, with the Barton program and see how that goes.  I would like to eventually get back to AAS. 

Well, that about covers it!!  I really don't have a good enough feel yet for how these products are going to work out for us, so I'll check in again a month or two down the road.  Happy Homeschooling!!

Product Review: Big IQ Kids!

Let me just start off this review of BigIQkids by saying this program is a favorite in our home! Any educational product that my kids ASK to use during their free time is a favorite of mine!
Here is a description of BigIQkids from their website:

BigIQkids.com turns your computer into an online learning academy by providing daily academic lessons for young learners in an interactive, easy to follow format. 

BigIQkids is for kindergarten age-adult. Their spelling and vocabulary programs are completely free, and their math and geography have both free and premium versions.  There is also a premium spelling junior program. The cost on the premium programs run from $39.99-$49.99 per year for each program. For BigIQkids pricing, as well as the difference between the free and premium versions, go here.

Chad enjoyed all the different programs, but I think his favorite was math:

He liked that the drills were timed, and enjoyed trying to beat his best time.  What I liked about the math program was that I could customize it to what we are working on right now.  Chad also loved customizing his 'buddy':

By the way, this is not his buddy, just a representative one! Chad also really enjoyed playing the games he bought with his coins.  What I liked about the games was that he earned coins for doing his lessons (only 10-15 minutes each), and then he could spend his coins on quick games.

I was very impressed with the spelling and vocabulary program. I customized Chad's spelling lists myself with high-frequency words we have been studying. Then BigIQkids would create lessons around my words! Here is a description from the website:
With a over 40,000 word dictionary, BigIQkids spelling & vocabulary program comes pre-loaded with 40 lessons for K-adult appropriate word lists. Or, as a parent or teacher, you can easily enter your own word lists and the program will automatically create a week’s worth of lessons, quizzes and tests around your own list with the goal of achieving 100% on the Friday spelling and vocabulary tests. The program includes tracking and progress reports. You can build your own curriculum or use our default settings. The program is completely customizable and goes around a student's progress.

The bottom line:  I think BigIQkids is a great supplement to our homeschool.  If I'm having a bad pain day with my illness, I would feel completely comfortable having Chad work on BigIQkids on his math facts, spelling, vocabulary, and geography (states). BigIQkids sends me emails on Chad's progress, which is helpful. I'm impressed with all of their programs and plan to continue using BigIQkids.  The only negative in my opinion is the premium price.  Being a one-income family, we could not afford to pay for all of the premium programs.  I could see using the free programs, and possibly upgrading one of the programs to premium.  I'm also planning on trying out the SAT vocabulary prep program with Alyssa (11th grade). I will definitely continue using all of the free programs in our home. To find out more, click on any of the links highlighted above, or go to http://www.bigiqkids.com/.  To find out what other TOS reviewers thought of BigIQkids, click here.

Disclaimer: I received this product free in exchange for my honest review.

Six weeks down............

So, I've been busy the past six weeks. I've neglected lots of things, one of them being this blog. What was the big change six weeks ago? I started homeschooling my youngest, who is seven years old. Now, I have been homeschooling for 12 years so you would think I'm a pro at this by now. No. Every child is different. Also, my oldest two are much older-one has graduated and is in technical college and the other is a sophomore in High School. Technically I am still homeschooling the High Schooler. But her program is different-she has teachers for each class and live classes through the internet. I am basically a supervisor, or 'learning coach' as they call it in her school. I help her when I can (if my brain cells can recall the high school days, that is), but she is mostly independent. So, it has been several years since I have homeschooled a child who needs my one-on-one teaching all the time. Wow-I forgot how that is!

The other difference is that curriculum has changed-there are still the old tried-and-true curriculums out there, but also a lot of new stuff. I bought some new curriculum, and I must say I absolutely LOVE All About Spelling! I put a banner at the bottom of the blog if you want more information. Chad learned very little in public school last year, I think it was for several reasons, but he just seemed to get lost in the shuffle. So he is at a kindergarten/early 1st grade level in reading and math. This program is making a huge difference.

Thanks to my friend Amy at Life's Little Crazies for her help and direction with this newer curriculum, and also for heading me in the direction of Homeschool Creations. Jolanthe has great ideas, downloads, and is just amazing with all the information she puts out. I don't think she sleeps!

Back to being busy this past six weeks! As all of us Moms know, being a Mom itself is a full-time job. Taxi-driving for the teens is major, getting everyone to music, sports and church activities. Throw in a handful of chronic illnesses (some with fatigue), lots of meds daily including narcotics that make one sleepy, and then homeschool a seven-year-old. He is now with me 24/7. He is high-energy. It's not easy, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. He is halfway through some of our 1st grade curriculum, so it is obvious that he needed this one-on-one time to catch up. Aside from the academics, we are creating an even stronger bond than we had, one that I have treasured with my oldest two as well. I also noticed he is not coming home with the sassy-mouth remarks that he would learn in school. So, it's difficult at times, but totally worth it. I must add that I couldn't do it without my wonderful husband, who is willing to jump in and help out when he is home. Over the years, we have scrimped and stretched and gone without pretty much everything 'extra'(i.e. eating out, entertainment, new clothes, etc....) on a social worker's small salary to be able to homeschool, and it was and is worth it all. That topic is for another post though-I've been asked by several people to post how we do it on our income, so I am planning to post on that soon, promise.

I said at the beginning of the year that I would post our curriculum choices for the year, so here they are:
All About Spelling
First Language Lessons(Grammar)
Explode The Code(phonics)
Horizons Math
Abeka History and Abeka Health, Safety and Manners
Peterson Directed Handwriting
God's Wonderful Works(Science)
Writeshop Primary(Creative Writing)
Leading Little Ones To God (Bible)
He also is part of the Awana program, which I highly recommend!
Throw in some art and music, field trips, sports and that about covers it. Whew. Thank you Lord for your strength and grace!
Here's to the next six weeks and beyond!