Planning for Next Year - Part 3

 Hi! My name is Christi and I love planning.  I begin planning for school long before a new year is upon me. I love planning for school in general.  This is always a huge part of my looking ahead in the Spring and my gettin'-down-to-business-cause-it's-almost-time in the Summer.  I have four children, three of which are 'school age.'  So, I began with my resources and this will give you an idea of what I have planned for my Preschooler.  Now, it's on to my First Grader.

Plan:  Stay steady on the basics.  Everything else will happen.

I have never been one to stress that my young students get a full course load in the first few years.  I really emphasize getting the basics down.  When they have basic tools, the extras will come far more easily. 

These are the No Questions Asked, Gotta Be Done daily basics:

Math:  Abeka Math Text, lots of games (some printables from here as well as some I have made myself), and nothing can take the place of a deck of flashcards while carschooling to fill in the gaps!  We also use the Math-U-See blocks and methods to help reinforce, since I used it for quite a while.

Language Arts:  Abeka Phonics and Language, A Reason for Writing and lots of reading, reading and a smidge more reading (using Abeka readers).  These readers are perfect for this age and reinforce phonics.  Children love the colorful books and illustrations, too.  We just practice with these, nothing high stress. These are subject to being put aside in favor of audio books or group read-aloud time.  Narration is common (lots of CM tendencies here). This child needs a little practice on some of his letters so, we will have to be diligent on the writing efforts. I also have several manipulatives to help with sounding and spelling words.  Copywork could, at any time, replace a day's work in the writing workbook.  I don't feel bound by much of anything.  I go with my gut most of the time.

Extras

Science and History:  I have two very simple readers for these.  Both are from Christian Liberty Press and involve just reading to the child. These will probably be used for the older children to read to the 1st grader and nothing more.  Nature is the best teacher on this one and they pick up on so much that the other children are reading regarding history, so there is no concern at all there.

Art:  As a group, I will be using How to Teach Art to Children.  I have done several of the activities with them already and they were a hit.  He is also present for music that might be playing or be being played and can enjoy a little inspiration there.

He will also jump in and participate wherever and whenever things work out that way. 

He also has household chores and is involved in devotion discussions as a family.  He is asked to find Scriptures and read (where he is able) aloud, as appropriate with help. He has his own Bible journal and draws to go along with what we're discussing.