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First Week Back to Homeschool – 2016 (Our Curriculum)

We have successfully made it through our first week back to homeschool! I can’t believe that it went as great as it did. You’d think that I would know what I was doing after 10 years of doing this! This year we have a child in high school (11th), middle (6th), and elementary (4th).

First Week Back to Homeschool - 2016 (Our Curriculum)

I will share what we are using this year, but first I want to share what the nerdlings have been up to this Summer.

Summer Fun & Learning

The nerdlings weren’t so excited to start back to school. I decided to take the Summer off of “official” lessons and they used their free time to explore more of their interests.

The Teen really buried herself into her drawing and has even started commissioning them. I am so proud of her and how talented she is. She does truly amazing work. Here is her version of Sir Walter from the video game, Fable III:

First Week Back to Homeschool - 2016 (Our Curriculum)

The Son has actually picked up a few books and read them ON HIS OWN, y’all!! I almost fell out of my chair when I realized how quiet he was and found him on his bed with a book. His cousin noticed he had a Minecraft story book in his room while visiting us & mentioned that it was pretty good. That sparked his curiosity so he decided to check it out after his cousin left. Thank you, nephew! We were so proud of him that I bought the next 2 books in the series. It’s the Diary of a Minecraft Zombie series if interested.

Kid Baker was helping as much as she could in the kitchen, of course. She really loves being in there. She even had a nightmare & explained that the house looked different & then realized there was no kitchen in it. “That really was a nightmare!”

We ended the Summer with each of the nerdlings getting a hair cut. The Teen & The Son both opted for pretty much the sam cut but different styles. Kid Baker opted for a trim only since she plans to grow hers long enough to cut & donate.

First Week Back to Homeschool - 2016 (Our Curriculum)


First Week Back to Homeschool – 2016 (Our Curriculum)

Discovery K12 - FREE Online Curriculum

The main curriculum for all 3 nerdlings is Discovery K12. I have talked about them a few times on this site because we love it so much. Discovery K12 is a FREE online homeschool curriculum for grades PreK – 12. It can also be used by public school children over the summer for some fun reviewing. Each day that the child logs in, the day’s lessons are all displayed right there on one page. They simply read through each lesson – sometimes it’s reading, watching a video, slideshow, etc., for each subject.

Affordable Online Tutoring from Sofatutor

I was really hoping to be able to use SofaTutor as the main curriculum for all 3 nerdlings since we did receive a Lifetime subscription with them. As of now, they still only have Algebra on their site, so the teen is using that for her Math instead of the one offered on Discovery K12.

A+ Interactive Math

Kid Baker & The Son are also using a separate Math program. A+ Interactive Math uses audio, video, and text – ALL of the main learning styles! This is great since each nerdling has their own unique style. It has worked out so far, so good. We use the Family Plan. If you haven’t checked them out before, you can sign up for a FREE 1-Year Math Curriculum with Video Lessons!

Horizons 1st Grade Spelling & Vocabulary Set

Since Kid Baker is still struggling very hard with reading, Spelling is a nightmare for her. I seriously believe that she has dyslexia but can’t afford the hundreds of dollars for testing. I have been researching ways to help her with that. In the meantime, she is working on the Horizons 1st Grade Spelling & Vocabulary Set.

All About Reading Level 1

We are making much more progress through the All About Reading Level 1. Last year she had a really hard time comprehending anything. Over the Summer she was frustrated with not knowing how to read & really buckled down to get it. After putting All About Reading on hold for a while, I decided to pick it back up but backtrack a little. She is making great progress, slow, but it’s progress!


As for this first week, everything seems to be working great for all of us. I wouldn’t be surprised if we had to change anything since it always seems to work out that way. I have learned many years ago to not print out a bunch of stuff in advance (it rarely gets used) and to just go with the flow. If something doesn’t seem to be working after a while, just find an alternative. I try to keep as much consistency as possible, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

What is your child excited to learn about this year?

 

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Jess Benoit

Jess is a homeschooling mama of 3, wife, gamer, Whovian, Nerd

18 thoughts on “First Week Back to Homeschool – 2016 (Our Curriculum)

  • Dotty J Boucher

    Great curriculum for them and I love the hair cuts, I was actually thinking of having mine done..

    Reply
    • Thank you, Dotty! I really love the teen’s hair & she can really pull it off.

      Reply
  • Lauryn R

    My oldest in only 7, but she is excited to learn about the ocean this year! 🙂

    Reply
  • [ Smiles ] The nice part about home-schooling is that fact, that your children’s education are in your hands.

    Unfortunately, there are a lot of public schools that are way behind in subjects like Mathematics, English and Science.

    Reply
  • God Bless you for home schooling. I know this takes a lot of work.

    Reply
    • Thank you so much, Terry. It does take a lot of work, and patience, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. 🙂

      Reply
  • Deborah D

    I don’t know if I could home school three children. I think the curriculum you are using is great.

    Reply
    • Thanks so much, Deborah! Homeschooling is definitely trying sometimes, but totally worth it to us.

      Reply
  • I love that you decided to let the kids focus on their own interests over the summer instead of lessons. It sounds like they all had a fabulous and product summer! I love their new haircuts as well – they all look great!

    Reply
    • Thanks so much, Jaclyn! We figure they are old enough to decided what they want their hair to be. We are just there to make sure it is REALLY what they want. 😉

      Reply
  • Such great resources! I know who I need to contact for homeschooling questions now. 😉

    Reply
  • I adore All About Reading – I used this for my third child and WISH I had found it for my second — to this day she despises reading AND is a terrible speller!

    Reply
    • All About Reading is great! I also wish I had used it with our middle child. Both of them hate reading and have the hardest time while our oldest absolutely loves it.

      Reply

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