Homeschool Curriculum Choices 2019-2020

With a curriculum shopping list firmly in hand, I scoured the shelves of my state homeschool convention determined to find great books at great prices! I'm fairly certain that I lugged home my body weight in GOOD READS...but that's between me and my chiropractor.

Our homeschool has always been defined by learning-a-la-carte. We are eclectic and refuse to be boxed in by any one method or mantra. Naturally, my curriculum choices for 2019-2020 reflect my pieced-together style.

In the upcoming school year, I'll have one child taking college classes for dual credit, two kids in junior high, and two in elementary.

My homeschool planner is heavy with my big plans! No doubt, it will be a full year.


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As in year's past, we will stick with a four-day-a-week schedule. So, you can assume that the following items will be used four days a week unless otherwise indicated. Items with asterisks are new-to-us this year.

We will do all of these content-rich subjects together. Core (skill-oriented) subjects like language arts and math will be done individually according to grade level. (I will be sure to share those in the coming days.) Technically, I don't homeschool with grade levels, so the following group subjects can easily be adjusted to meet the needs of a wide range of learners.)

Morning Time- every day

Our morning time is a non-negotiable in the schedule--an immovable anchor for the past 10 or so years that has helped to create calm in the daily chaos. While some moms pack their Morning Time full and overflowing, I like to keep it simple. I only include the things that will build our faith and our relationships with God and each other. I figure if I can start our day peacefully with this short but very intentional benchmark, I can count the entire day as a success -- even if the rest of it gets derailed.

Some of the items in our morning basket will be done daily this year, while others will be done in a "loop" (Not sure what a loop is? Be sure to check out The Quick-Start Guide to Brave Homeschool Schedules for more info).

To be done daily

• Call to worship- I'll use Spotify and play the entire audio of Anchor by Skillet.
• Practice the verse of the week from our Fighter Verse pack and review previously learned ones from the Fighter Verse list.
• Learn a new hymn each month and read about its writer from Then Sings My Soul, Book 2.

• Review one old hymn and/or praise and worship song from our homemade songbook.
• Go over one character quality in our Character Cards packs.*
• Review previously learned manners with 100 Manners to Teach Your Kids Before They Turn 18 list.

To be placed in a "loop"

Bible
The Book for Children- 2x a week

Theology/Christian Living

The Case for Christ Student Edition- 1x a week*



Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends- 1x a week



Missionary story
Billy Graham: America's Pastor- 1x a week for the 1st semester
Brother Andrew: God's Secret Agent- 1x a week for the 2nd semester

Science

For the fourth year in a row, my house will be divided for science.

• My daughter will be taking an online Environmental Science course/lab from the University of Northwestern for dual credit.*
• My oldest son will be doing Earth Science with BJU Press Distance Learning (every day).
• And my youngest three boys and I will be working our way through the last half of Noeo Science Biology 2 from Logos Press (2x a week). I appreciate the Charlotte Mason (living books and notebooking) approach to science that Noeo Science offers. As well as their open-n-go science project kits that accompany most of their levels.

History- 2x a week

History should never be studied using a dry-as-dust textbook, in my opinion. It should always be learned through living literature, field trips, videos, and conversations with the real, flesh-and-bone people who lived it.

My daughter will be taking a History of Civilization course from the University of Northwestern for dual credit.

For my sons, I will be using my trusty Truth Quest guides to create homespun history units for our second-year look at The Age of Revolution. (In theory, The Age of Revolution guides should take three years to complete, but we will probably stretch them out to four.) 

I'll also use the following resources:

• Productive Homeschooling- This is an absolutely excellent resource for Charlotte Mason notebooking. I highly recommend purchasing the lifetime membership!
• our homemade history notebooks- These are notebooks that we've been adding to since we began studying Ancient Egypt five years ago. 
• our family timeline
• Encyclopedia of World History- I'll use this as a spine to connect the dots from one Truth Quest living literature book to the next.

• Timelines of World History- This is a visual timeline that will help my kids see what was happening in other parts of the world during the same time as the event we're reading about in our Truth Quest books.* 

Extracurricular Subjects

Following our afternoon read-aloud time each day (which generally happens right after lunch clean-up), my sons and I will do one of three extracurricular activities together. I'll leave that time slot empty on Fridays so that we can finish up any project that didn't get done on its assigned day.

Creative Writing- Monday

Story Starters- This is a book we started last year and will no doubt be using for the next two years. It's gigantic and filled with half-finished short stories and illustrations. Each one leaves off at a cliff-hanger, allowing a child to complete the story arch in his/her own words. 

Logic/Reasoning- Tuesdays

The Fallacy Detective- We got halfway through this book of logic and reasoning skills last year and will finish it up in the 2019-2020 school year.

Chalk Pastels- Wednesdays

The kids and I love to do chalk pastel art. Pastels are so forgiving and allow even the most novice of artists to feel like a professional. Trouble is, I've run out of ideas for what to create. So, I've grabbed an annual membership to You Are An Artist Clubhouse* to not only give us great inspiration but also to weave in some cross-curricular learning. We'll be able to pair some of our chalk pastel lessons with our Morning Time hymn study, our Age of Revolution history lessons, and even our Noeo biology. In addition, it will provide lots of fun seasonal art instruction.

Cooperative Learning- 2-3x a month

After moving to a new city last February, I discovered that the nearest homeschool co-op was two towns away. That was a bit disheartening, to say the least. But as the Greek philosopher, Plato, once said, "Necessity is the mother of invention."

When I went looking for a co-op and came up wanting, I decided to start one of my own. Currently, we are 17 families strong and are all set to launch into the school year with a great line-up of classes. 

We'll meet the 1st and 3rd Thursday mornings of each month with an optional field trip offered on the 5th Thursdays. 

2019-2020 Curriculum by grade level

Stay tuned in the coming days. I'll be sharing the curriculum that I've chosen for the core-subjects for the following grades: 

11th grade

8th grade

7th grade

5th grade

2nd grade

Curriculum choices from years past

2018-2019 (10th, 7th, 6th, 4th, 1st)
2017-2018 (9th, 6th, 5th, 3rd, K-5)
2016-2017 (8th, 5th, 4th, 2nd, Preschool)

2015-2016 (7th, 4th, 3rd, 1st, gentle Pre-K)

2014-2015 (6th, 3rd, 2nd, K-5)

2013-2014 (5th, 2nd, 1st, Pre-K)

2012-2013 (4th, 1st, K-5, Gentle Pre-K)

2011-2012 (3rd, K-5, Pre-K)

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