Even though adding a third kid to the roll is going to be a challenge, I’ve already got books purchased for the older kids. We missed the home school conference last year and I’m so glad we made the stormy trip last week to get it done for the upcoming school year. We had a large ‘workbook’ but it wasn’t the same. Working without any dedicated texts has been a challenge.
Books!
I really wanted B to have a spelling book this year we found some easier spelling books for her. K went along and picked out her own (6th grade!) spelling book from a different manufacturer. B’s have fun color and pictures, K’s, not so much. *shrug* I got a good look at the language books. They have graduated levels of teaching each topic. They can do any/all of these workbooks with little help should I be busy in the fall.
We got some large basic math books as well as a decimal and fraction combo book that both big kids can use. We go over both of those things yearly at an age appropriate level. B will probably continue learning about the times tables as well as an introduction to division. K has enjoyed the bit of algebra I’ve given to her, so I may track down a pre-algebra book to go along with what she has (assuming the new book doesn’t have a large enough section to keep her happy.)
Since C can’t read, I got a lot of materials we can pass down to M. They include dot to dot to practice numbers, alphabet, etc. She will do topics along with us, of course. As Kindergarten is more about learning to sit, count, and read than anything else, those can serve double duty!
Starting over again
We’re rolling around to repeat the learning cycle from where we began when K was 6! This means we’ll do a deeper dive for the older kids into the topics. The ‘old’ books we used will be good for C and B, and I’ll have to find some more challenging books for K. She reads at a nearly high school level. ‘The Foot Book’ just isn’t going to cut it for supplement to learning about the human body this time!
We had a model human body? torso? at the convention that had all the layers to put together. Somehow it didn’t get rung up and home with us. I’ll have to track one down, for the novelty if nothing else. We’ll meet our health requirements by talking about germs. We’ll learn community/social studies by talking about doctors and nurses. Goodness knows we’ll cover science with the unit on human body alone!
We added in items like the senses, nutrition and food group, gardening and plants and their life cycles into one large unit that first half year. We also learned about calendars, seasons and weather. That summer we learned about zoo animals and the ocean before going into a lighter year due to Mac’s birth! They learned about legos, cars, and different science things with dad. I think we’ll end up combining years 1/2 and full year one into a full year’s study as much as possible, given that we already know the younger kid’s stuff that simply needs ordered from the library or printed out.
Starting over again, again
I kept pretty good records and it’s not like I’m new at this still! We transitioned that second ‘year’ to learning about farms/farming and farm animals– a good extension of gardens and food groups. We learned about the fall season, fall fruits (like apples and pumpkins, again a good extension). Later it was colors and fashion, snowflakes and all to do with snow. Then, polar habitats, late winter and spring holidays. We learned self-care, fire, and community safety. Money $$, and Eggs rounded out the second half a year.
They can be easily combined into another year or the summer if we don’t quite make it, but again, it should go a lot more smoothly the second time around! The kids are ready to cook and garden. It will be a lot easier these several years later.
