It’s now nearly December, and I think I’ve settled on what we are actually doing this year. Mind you, I did start planning for this year three years ago, when I first started Sonlight with Jackson and decided then that I wanted to switch to Tapestry of Grace for his 1st-grade year. I was doing more planning last fall when I decided to switch from Singapore to Miquon for math. But it is only now, after the school year has begun, that I can earnestly say I am happy with and settled in my choices. That is, until next year. Here’s what we are using:
Tapestry of Grace, Year 1. There really is way more here than we could ever possibly use. I LOVE the schedule, and the plan to work through all of history in 4 years 3 times over 12 years of school. I’m so glad to know we will do it all again because it frees me to do only what works for us now, knowing we’ll come back to it. I love that. What I don’t love is the layout. All the pieces seem to be a little here and a little there, and there’s no easy way to look at it all at a glance. Which is where the next part of the plan comes in.
Homeschool Tracker Plus. This program is a lifesaver! I put EVERYTHING in here. I posted last week about how I use the Reading Log to record and plan upcoming reading assignments, and that is working beautifully. I also input all of the math work the kids do, as well as their language arts. I have the Sonlight 4/5 for N and Z in there from when I entered it all for J, so it’s all ready to go. I just have to do the data entry for Tapestry, which is indeed time-consuming (remember where I said it’s not all together on one page? That’s why it takes so long). I’ll post more about this again, once I get a solid plan for inputting TOG into HST.
Sonlight Core 4/5. I’m reusing this from when I did it with J. I really love the program. There is so much to read and discover. It also forces me to spend time reading to my middle two, who really need a lot of mommy time lately.
Sonlight Language Arts K and 1. I’m continuing working with J and N on the programs they didn’t finish last year. There’s still a lot they can get from these, and I wasn’t ready to give them up when I switched J from Sonlight to Tapestry. In fact, I’m looking ahead to next year and thinking I’ll buy the Sonlight Language Arts 4 for J. I love the way they do spelling and grammar, and the readers are prescreened for age-appropriate content.
Miquon Math. I about fell off my chair when I realized this fabulous classic is now available as a PDF download from Currclick! I used these along with the Cuisenaire Rods
