Fall is for beginnings

I knew our big road trip would make for a busy season, but here it is August, and my hubby has only one more week off before he heads back to the classroom -- and we're back to the schoolyear routine. (No more breakfast in bed for Mommy!)

We've been working really hard to get the new play/schoolroom finished so we can surprise the big boys when they get home from camping with my dad. (And so I can share the results in next week's Not Back to School Blog Hop about homeschool rooms!)

Since I browsed the posts from last August's Not Back to School Blog Hop: Curriculum Week numerous times during the last year, I thought I should actually participate this time. I'm a little late, but you can find the rest of this year's curriculum posts at Heart of the Matter.

 I see my educator role mainly as setting an example and spreading a feast. So, these resources are as much for me as for my boys. We're unlikely to consume everything I've stocked in the pantry -- especially if I forget to cook it before it goes bad. Then again, these kids do seem to be always hungry! (Enough with the food metaphor, sheesh!)

Bible

We'll continue our study of the Old Testament using Christian Studies II and/or the free Journeys With God: Third Grade, and hopefully begin the New Testament by Christmas.

History

Our chronological history study will take us to Ancient Rome this year. We'll also do some American History through a co-op with friends once a month.

We used SOTW and Mystery of History last year, and we'll supplement with those as appropriate. We also have Streams of Civilization, which I like better than MoH, because it doesn't feel like someone else is trying to homeschool my kids.

Eldest (who's 9) and I are excited to start Lively Latin, which includes history from Famous Men of Rome alongside Latin grammar, vocab, picture study, and hands-on projects. Middlest (8 in Oct) is very interested in foreign language, so hopefully he'll want to follow along, too.

We'll use the commentary from TruthQuest to give our studies of Ancient Rome some Biblical perspective, and read about ancient Church history in "Peril and Peace". Also: “Jotham’s Journey," “Detectives in Togas,” and “Mystery of the Roman Ransom.”

Language Arts and Lit

Lively Latin
Simply Grammar
Startwrite 5.0 (found this used!)
Scribblenauts (for Christmas)
The Last Battle
The Bronze Bow (possibly, as it's pretty heavy material)
Lots and lots of books from our shelves and the library

Science 

Science is such a favorite subject around here that I simply could not narrow things down to one area of study. Instead, I just keep collecting resources that we can learn from whenever we want to, including...


Apologia: Exploring Creation with Astronomy
The Earth Science Book: Activities for Kids

Apologia: Exploring Creation with Botany
Handbook of Nature Study

The Periodic Table: Elements with Style
Library books gleaned from Noeo Chem I, including Super Science Concoctions

Geography

This gets its own heading, even though I think it also falls under earth science, because it's one of the few things I'm buying new this year, and I think it's worth some solid attention: A Child's Geography: Explore His Earth

Math

We're trying the Math Mammoth worktexts. Blue series, grades 3 and 4. We haven't done much formal math up to this point, but they're on grade level. I think they're ready for more, and I like how this program explains concepts with words, not much jargon, and not just pictures, for my verbal learners.

Foreign Language

Besides Latin, the boys have a long list of languages they want to learn to speak. We want to start with German this year, but I may just have to rely on the library and my own memory (which is not very reliable).

Music

Middlest is taking violin lessons, and I'm searching for a cello teacher for Eldest. I'd love to do some composer study, too, but we'll probably just listen to Pandora.

Pre-K

Littlest gets his own stuff, of course, mainly because I don't want to forget about him. He will happily occupy himself with Legos and Bionicles and his brothers for hours at a time, but he appreciates a half hour of focused attention from Mommy every once in a while. So, I'm going to get a used copy of My Father's World: Kindergarten A to Z, and use their wonderfully organized ideas for stories and Bible and science, etc.

Well, that's it. I hope we manage to follow through on some of this, because my budget is small, and I'm spending every penny. :)  Go see what everyone else is piling on their homeschool tables this year!