Weekly Wrap Up–First Week of 1st Grade!!

I would have loved to have posted a curriculum plan, like I did last year, but that just didn’t happen yet. Maybe it will in the future, who knows? This week has been a complete whirlwind, and I’m not sure that I survived it completely intact. Coming back from vacation, then doing a kid’s run the next day, followed by serving in Children’s ministry at church, followed by the first week of school. I wasn’t actually planning on starting 1st grade last week, either. I was planning to just start Nate and this awesome Tot School co-op idea that I have, and start Kahlen either this week or the week after. BUT after she heard that it was the first day of school, there was no stopping her :)

The plan is a bit more complicated since she is the oldest and I also have a 3 year old, 2 year old who I watch, and a 7 month old. I had to really sit down and plan out how we’re going to fit everything in. Then I have to remember that I don’t live in an ideal world, and sometimes most of the time things will not go according to plan. That said, though, I don’t think I’ll mind if we have some left to do over next summer. I’m remembering this week how much we thrive on routine. This week was, for the most part, much calmer from an emotional perspective than we’ve been all summer. With that said, here’s the ideal week that I’ve written down, fully knowing that most weeks, at least part of this won’t go to plan. 2012-09 Weekly Schedule

So, what are we up to? Here goes…

*We’re using a lovely set of books called Draw Write Now. They are thematic books where each one includes a drawing lesson, copy work, and coloring.

Kahlen doesn’t have a hard time wanting to write, like some kids at her age, but she definitely still needs practice. I didn’t get a picture of her finished lesson, but here’s her working on it

(Taken with my phone, sorry for the blurry quality)

*We’ve dropped handwriting as a specific subject and are just using our other subjects to practice handwriting practically. One of the resources we are using is ttp://www.k12reader.com/ which has spelling lists for grades 1-5 as well as printables for each week! We did week one, which has 4 sight words and 4 –at words.

*If you’ve never looked at Apologia’s science curriculums, I would highly suggest you do! They have a book for each grade, 1-12, and many resources to go with it! We’re starting with Human Anatomy and Physiology.

I gave her the choice between that and Astronomy, and she picked this one. We’re planning on working through this one for this semester at least, and evaluating if we want to switch in January to Astronomy or continue with Human Anatomy.

We worked on the first lesson, and she really enjoyed it. I need to get the materials ready for the projects before this week’s lesson though…hoping I remember!

*We’re continuing with Math-U-See. We are just finishing the Primer and will start Alpha probably next week.

*Going along with the Classical education model, we started First Language LessonsIt’s an introduction to different parts of speech, among other things: Copywork, narration, picture study, and other classical techniques to develop the student's language ability are thoroughly covered. Each step-by-step lesson leads parents through the simple oral and written projects that build reading, writing, spelling, storytelling, and comprehension skills.

So far, I like it a lot. I feel like language is a difficult thing to teach without some kind of guide, and this one fits the bill. At least for now.

*We will be continuing with Tapestry of Grace, but that won’t start until next week.

Right. More pictures next week. Maybe we’ll even get a bit more done…I doubt it, really. We’re easing back in. With Labor Day yesterday and my sister and brother-in-law are here from Oregon for the week, I’ll be lucky if we get anything done. Hey, that’s the beauty of homeschooling, right?

~S