Oh, Right. I Homeschool, Too.

This weekend I was brainstorming for post ideas.  Not usually necessary - there's plenty going on around here to write about - but last week our computer stopped recognizing external drives.  Which means I had to think about what I could post without the need for photos. 

So I thought I'd share what we're doing this year for homeschooling.  Akea is in second grade and Charlie, since he has a late birthday, is pre-K-ish.  This means I'll do as much with him as I can, but my focus is going to be Akea and getting her to the point where she can work a bit more independently.  That's the nice thing about homeschooling - you can be flexible!

Here's the rundown of what we're using:

Reading/Spelling: Explode the Code for both kids, All About Spelling for Akea.  Bob Books for Charlie and All About Spelling Readers as Akea progresses through the program.
Grammar: First Language Lessons (Well-Trained Mind)
Writing: Writing with Ease (Well-Trained Mind)
Math: Saxon (It kills me, but the girl can add and subtract in her head!  Gotta stick with it!)
Everything Else: We're in our third year of Classical Conversations, a classical program that meets once per week and covers history, geography, science, English, Latin, math, and Bible.

Classical Conversations is mainly memory work, though it also includes art, music, presentations, and science experiments.  And since I'm somewhat neurotic, I also try to expand on the science and history at home.  We use the Story of the World series for history, library books for science, and I recently decided that this is The Year of the Lapbook.  They're fun, artistic, and you can really tailor them to each child's level!  We just completed one on Jamestown and I helped Charlie make a small model of the fort. 

Well darn it, I guess I could have included photos in this post after all.

In the meantime, pray we find a good deal on a new computer!