Let’s talk about my “middle children” (a phrase which I realize is rather subjective since technically a dozen of my children are middle children…and those twelve range in age from 5 to 18)…
But for today, by middle, I mean Enoch, Kalina, Mordecai, and Jubilee.
I’m not going to re-link all of the books from yesterday because it would be tedious for me, boring for you, and my eyeballs may very well spontaneously combust if I attempt that. But I will link new books.
I have blogged extensively about Enoch and school because he is a steadfast believer that formal schooling is completely unnecessary. Read this post if you have a child who is by all outward appearances brilliant, but avoids schoolwork like the plague. Have a “late” reader? Read this post, then click over to this one to see how the story turns out several years later…The cool thing about this blog (which is essentially a family journal for me) is I have an actual record of progress of my children. I don’t have to rely on my hazy memory or sleep-deprived brain.
Kalina and Enoch both use Teaching Textbooks for math, Rosetta Stone for Spanish and Wordly Wise for vocabulary.
Kalina and Jubilee both use Daily Science. Daily Science is a basic read the information fill in the blank kind of workbook. Not at all my style of homeschooling. However, it does give a great overview of science, only takes a few minutes, and keeps the girls busy. It has also been wonderful for my Liberian children who were never taught even the basics of Science (seasons, germs, orbits, etc).
Enoch is using Just Write, another program that I love and he tolerates. He is also using Word Roots.
Mordecai, Jubilee, and Hezekiah all use Horizons for math. I don’t love the program, but it’s the best I’ve found for a straight math textbook.
I also reviewed Mathematical Reasoning, which Mordecai prefers over Horizons and I will probably use it for Hezekiah when he finishes his current book.
Another great resource is the Verbal Math Lesson books. They come in several different levels. My little ones love this, and it is painless for the older ones.
Hezekiah, Jubilee, and Mordecai also use Daily Geography, and a variety of unit studies we find online.
Kudos to you if you’ve made it this far. The next three posts will cover our favorite fun resources, the kids’ favorite books and I will answer your questions.
I really enjoy reading about your homeschool. I look forward to homeschooling my own children when I have them, and am constantly making and revising my plans and collecting materials that look exceptionally good.
Do you intend to continue using the whole series of Daily Geography, or just the first grade year?
Thanks for this post. You linked a couple of very useful things for me and it was exactly what I was hoping for! Thanks again 🙂
My husband will soon ask me to stop reading your blog. Every day I find books that look intriguing in this homeschooling series of yours, and I ask him, “Do we have any Paypal money? Can we get these on Ebay?” 😉
Some of these math resources look like they’re EXACTLY what I need right now, so I really appreciate you taking the time to write (and, yes, link!) about them! 🙂
I have really enjoyed reading about all your books. I look forward to hearing about your fun resources.
Blessings,
Dawn
I had the impression that Life of Fred is pretty thorough… I’d be interested in knowing why you use it only as a supplement.
I am completely loving these homeschooling series you are doing. I don’t even have kids yet, and you’ve pretty much convinced me. Thanks for sharing all these resources. Wonderful.
Hey, I’m not sure what your restrictions are for your children, but since they love the 39 clues series so much, I wanted to tell you about a book series that my 10 and 11 year olds are eating up. The books are by Margaret Peterson Haddix and they are called Missing, Sent, and Sabotaged. They are time travel books and I think she does a pretty good job of keeping you surprised (hard, in a juvenile book). The last two are both historically accurate books as well (one is in 15th century England, one is the lost colony at Roanoke.
She has another great series that starts with Among the Hidden. This one is the one I’m not sure what your opinion would be, because it’s about a third child who lives in a society that only allows parents to have two children. He lives a secret hidden life. It’s a great book, but of course, I always read things first to make sure they are appropriate.
I love that you haven’t put together a “this is how we do it” and just cut and pasted for each kid. True homeschooling is when you love and KNOW each child and do what it takes for THAT child to learn. You are my hero 🙂
Ditto what Karia said!