Homeschool Update

School is going well so far this year. If all goes according to plan, we should be done by the time the baby is born. I use the word "done" loosely because we are never done learning. I've strayed a bit from my original weekly plans because Maeve wanted to do a lizard lapbook and because studying history does not hold Maeve's attention. Lately, the focus has been on reading, writing, math, and science. Maeve loves science and I am happy that we will spend the spring and summer exploring ponds and everything related to frogs. Frogs, dinosaurs, and the Titanic are her favorite things. Maeve is becoming a more confidant reader and her lower case handwriting continues to improve. We use Life of Fred for math and she likes the story format so much better than a text and workbook.

Finn has been more involved with our structured learning time lately. He and I are working through Singapore math together and he's almost finished with 1A. He's been working through Explode the Code and his handwriting has improved tremendously. I've started Progressive Phonics short vowels with Finn and he's already shown an understanding of short vowel "a" and has moved onto "e". Finn loves workbooks and is extremely motivated to learn.

Oren's language has exploded. He is finally saying more than one word sentences and can/will repeat just about anything. He is able to communicate all of his thoughts and will often come up to me, wrap his arms around my neck, and say, "Aw. Mama is so cute." Saying such things almost makes up for the entire bottle of maple syrup he dumped into my plant and all over the kitchen floor.

I have ordered all of our books for next year. I want to have a rough sketch in place of next year's plans before the baby arrives in April. If anyone is curious, here's what we're using:

History: Lesson Pathways (it's online and it's free). I'm combining year 1 and year 2 and filling gaps with a couple of Usborne books.

Science: Sonlight Science C. There's a dinosaur section I will revamp and might adjust a few other things once I look it all over. I wanted something directed and already organized so that I won't have to come up with experiments or lessons on my own.

Language Arts/Reading/Phonics: We'll continue with Progressive Phonics and Explode the Code. I'm adding Handwriting Without Tears. We'll continue to read lots of books.

Math: Life of Fred for Maeve and Singapore 1B for Finn. I also ordered Usborne math workbooks and plan to use those as needed and to give Maeve just a bit more practice with some of the concepts covered in Life of Fred.