McCullough Schoolhouse :: 3rd Grade + 2nd Grade

Today was our first day back to {home}school! Eli and Maddie are in 3rd Grade, and Aiden started 2nd Grade :)

Eli is ready to kick-off 3rd grade!

I have to brag on this sweet girl...her first day of school dress didn't arrive in time, but she had the best attitude about it. She's maturing so much!

Aiden is ready to crush 2nd grade! {We usually start school the day after his birthday, but because we are starting early this year, he's still 6. Which makes me realize how young he still is! But how proud I am of him for all the work he does}

We had our traditional pigs in a blanket "back to school" breakfast to kick off the year! :)

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Year 4! I am so thankful to be starting another homeschool year. The Lord has certainly done a work over the past 4 years. It's funny how something that I wasn't really wanting to do in the beginning is now something that I can't imagine not doing. 

We made it through Aiden's first year of proof of progress, and I am really thankful for our evaluator. She offers really great resources and has been an immense help to us. While I still don't have all the answers, I do know that we have found a good rhythm, and I am feeling more confident in my kids' learning styles. I look forward to this new year and all that we have planned!

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Here's a look at what we have in store for third and second grade:

Morning Time: This time will remain fairly consistent from last year and consists of multiple elements:

• Daily hymn- a selected hymn each week from Then Sings My Soul by Robert J. Morgan
• Catechism- we use The New City Catechism for Kids from The Gospel Coalition
• Character Cards- we use the Character Matters Cards from September and Co
• World Prayer- we pray for one country or people group a week from the Window on the World: An Operation World Prayer Resource book

Bible: I actually made a last-minute pivot on our Bible curriculum. We have been using the Bible Road Trip curriculum from Thinking Kids Press for the past few years. And it has been great. But I have felt like we needed more of an actual study curriculum that dives more into the historical context of the Bible. I was really excited when I found Foundations of the Bible by Driven by Grace. We will walk through Volume 1: Creation to Moses this year, and I plan to supplement with the Bible Road Trip {since it covers more actual Biblical text}. So it will be a little bit of a combination effort to get us through a broader scope of the Old Testament. But I am looking forward to it, and I think it will be a good shift for the kids.

Language Arts: 

• Spelling- Eli and Maddie will move to Modern Curriculum Press' Spelling Workout C, and Aiden will start with Spelling Workout B.
• Grammar- We will do grammar twice a week, and we will use First Language Lessons- Level Three from the Well Trained Mind. Aiden is still doing great keeping up with Eli and Maddie!
• Writing- We will continue our daily handwriting practice with Zaner-Bloser Handwriting workbooks. Eli and Maddie will continue practicing cursive, and Aiden will start cursive this year. We will also start Writing with Ease Level 3 for literature and writing skills. This is where Aiden splits off more from Eli and Maddie; I just tailor his writing work differently from theirs, though he is still learning the same literature.
• Reading- Eli and Maddie will continue practicing their reading with the appropriate level readers of their choosing, and continued practice in everyday work. This year, I will start them on more timed reading, instead of just counting books. Aiden will continue his lessons in The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading {OPG}, taking breaks to practice with BOB Books and to use the ABC See Hear Do books. He made some great strides over the summer, so we will continued our work into his 2nd grade year.

Family Read Alouds: Over the summer, we started The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson, and the kids have really enjoyed it! This year, we have some classics lined up:

• The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting
• A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
• The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
• Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter
• The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald
• Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
• The Railway Children by E. Nesbit
• The Green Ember by S.D. Smith

This may be more than we can read in a year, so it may bleed into next summer too, but we will see what we can get read! I have started getting the audiobooks to play at lunch time {or on the go for soccer practice!}, which helps ensure that we actually get through them. When I have to sit and read them, it's a bit tougher. But I am hoping that we get through them so that we are teed up to read through the Green Ember series next summer :)

Math: We will stick with our tried and true curriculum. Eli will be moving forward with Kate Snow's Third Grade Math with Confidence, and Maddie and Aiden will complete Second Grade Math with Confidence {which they started last spring}, hopefully starting Third Grade Math with Confidence next spring. Slowing them down last year was the right call, so we will just continue on our current schedule.

History: Since the kids love it so much, we will continue with the same spine, The Story of the World. They didn't love the Middle Ages as much as Ancient Times, so we will see what they think of Modern Times :)

This year we will use The Story of the World Volume 3: Early Modern Times, but we will also be using Our Star-Spangled Story from Notgrass History. I wanted a more robust American History covering, so we will be running these two concurrently. 

As always, we will be supplementing with the following:

• Usborne Book of World History
• The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia
• The Kingfisher Illustrated History of the World
• Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia of World History
• Relevant library books

We will also have a mixture of read alouds and narration, maps/coloring pages, and activities/crafts. 

Geography: Last year, the kids really wanted to add some geography, so we ended up adding a workbook in the spring semester, and it was perfect! It was a great introduction to reading/learning maps and geography. 

This year, I wanted them to have something more robust {and planned}. So we will be focusing on U.S. Geography {since we will be learning American history}, and we use:

• The Complete Book of Maps and Geography, Grades 3-6 - we will be able to use this beyond this year
• States and Capitals Worksheets from Arrows & Applesauce
• State coloring pages from 123 Homeschool 4 Me

Science: This year we will be learning Chemistry! Which basically means we will be doing a whole bunch of experiments. The experiments will come from Adventures with Atoms and Molecules Book I and Book II. For each experiment, we will have an Experiment Page, where we answer questions like "what did we use?" "what did we do?" "what happened?" and "what did we learn?"

We will also use the following texts to look up and write definitions for relevant definitions for each experiment:

• Usborne First Encyclopedia of Science- more for Aiden
• The Usborne Science Encyclopedia- more for Eli and Maddie

And as always, when applicable, we will check out books at the library, based on the topics we are covering that week. 

This year will require a little more work from the kids {more than just verbally give me some facts about what you learned and draw a picture}, so I will be curious to see how they do with it. But I'm hoping that the fun experiments will outweigh the "work" part of it and motivate them to dig in and learn.

Foreign Language- Latin: So we went from begging for Spanish, having fun with it, to absolutely hating it haha. I think part of it was the curriculum that I chose. It was no longer fun when it was less singing and dancing and more actual book work. But really, the curriculum was not laid out well {in my opinion}. And to actually learn the language, you have to actually speak it, not write words in a book. 

All that to say...we will be taking a break from Spanish. We will come back to it {I hope}. I'm not sure I am making the right move here switching them over to Latin, but I do want the kids to have some language. And since I have no background in French {Maddie's choice}, and everyone is burnt out on Spanish...we're forging ahead on Latin. Do I have background in Latin? Nope. Haha. But it is something I regret not taking in school. A ton of my friends did, and I know there is benefit in knowing the Latin words to understand the roots of English words {and even have a foundation for other languages....ahem, French, my dear Maddie!} So this could be a colossal failure, and I'm pretty sure my kids are going to hate it. But we're going to try it anyway!

So... we will be using Prima Latina from Memoria Press. Wish us luck! :)

Typing: This year, I will start Eli and Maddie on a typing program through Typing.com. They haven't had any exposure to a computer or typing {or really any kind of device}, so it will be a brand new thing for them. They watch movies and shows on our TV/phones, and we zoom with grandparents all the time, but we barely let them use the remote haha. The most exposure to technology they have had is using their Yoto players {which has simple buttons} or using the touchscreen to check out their own library books at the library. So this should be entertaining :)

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Every year that we have homeschooled has been a step of faith. Whether it was the initial step of faith to even start, or the steps of faith to balance homeschooling, work, and ministry, it has been a true walk of surrender to the Lord. This year has been no different.

When I lost my job in January, we weren't sure if we would be able to finish out the school year. But the Lord was faithful to provide, and we closed out the year. But we have been praying since January about this new year, and whether we would be able to continue homeschooling. We have depended on my income, so I wasn't sure if I would need to go back to work full time.

I had hoped that I would find another part time time and that we would continue as is. But that hasn't happened, and all this time, I keep hearing wait and trust Me. Which was easier to do in May, but much harder come July/August when final decisions had to be made. 

So here we are, taking another step of faith, trusting that the Lord is going to provide, just as He always has. And while I know that homeschooling is the right choice for our kids, I am still working on the wait and trust Me part when it comes to a job/income. He has been faithful, and I know He will continue to be faithful. 

From the beginning, we have decided to take our homeschooling journey year by year. Right now, I am just thankful that we are starting another year. It's an immense privilege, one that I don't take for granted. I'm thankful for a supportive husband and family. 

McCullough Schoolhouse :: 2nd Grade + 1st Grade

Today was our first day back to {home}school! Eli and Maddie are in 2nd Grade, and Aiden started 1st Grade :)

Eli is ready to crush 2nd Grade!

Aiden is "Nacho" average 1st grader ;)

We kicked off the day with our usual "back to school" breakfast. We decided to do pigs in a blanket again this year :)

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It's hard to believe this is already our third year homeschooling {fourth, if you count pre-K}! We made it through our first year of providing proof of progress, and it was comforting to have an outside opinion confirm that the kids were on track. So while I knew in my heart that they were doing well, it gives me that much more confidence moving into this new year. I can put some of those lingering doubts to rest and just focus on teaching to my kids' individual needs and having a good year!

So what's on deck for second and first grade?

Morning Time: This time consists of multiple elements:

• Daily hymn
• Catechism
• Character Cards
• World Prayer
• Etiquette Training

We will continue learning/singing a selected hymn each week from Then Sings My Soul by Robert J. Morgan. We will also continue learning our catechisms by walking through The New City Catechism for Kids from The Gospel Coalition. We will use the curriculum that goes with it, which we started last year. The extra activities/illustrations helped us go more in depth with each catechism. We also use the songs in the app, and it's honestly the best way the kids learn the catechisms. 

We will also continue using the Character Matters Cards from September and Co. I introduce one new character trait a week, read the Bible verse that connects, and then we talk about ways we can express the trait. At the kids' request, we will reintroduce our Window on the World: An Operation World Prayer Resource book, where we read about a country in the world and pray over the physical and spiritual needs of the country. We had kind of moved away from it last year because we just had so many things to do in the morning, but when your kids ask to pray for the world, you make time for that :)

Something new we will add this year is some etiquette training. I kind of got at my wits end with some bad manners that my children were exhibiting and decided we needed some extra training. So we will make it more formal and will walk through Connoisseur Kids: Etiquette, Manners, and Living Well for Parents and Their Little Ones. We'll see how it goes ;)

Bible:

For our formal Bible curriculum, we will be in the New Testament with the Bible Road Trip curriculum that we have used in the past. It's Year Three from Thinking Kids Press. We will continue reading through the ESV Big Picture Bible, which is what we transitioned to last year. Everyone will get to do some of the notebooking pages to help practice handwriting and narration skills, and I have also added in a few coloring pages from Lithos Kids, as that was a more requested activity last year. Plus, we received their New Testament and Parables of Jesus coloring pages when we purchased those Bible sets. I did also add in a few art prints that match our studies to help round out our Bible time this year.

Language Arts: 

• Spelling- Eli and Maddie will move to Modern Curriculum Press' Spelling Workout B, and Aiden will start with Spelling Workout A.
• Grammar- We will do grammar twice a week, and we will use First Language Lessons- Level Two from the Well Trained Mind. Aiden did great with Level One last year, so I have no doubt he will be able to stick with us with Level Two this year.
• Writing- We will continue our daily handwriting practice with Zaner-Bloser Handwriting workbooks. Eli and Maddie will start cursive this year, and Aiden will start the Grade 1 manuscript book. We will also start Writing with Ease Level 2 for literature and writing skills.
• Reading- Eli and Maddie will wrap up the final lessons in The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading {OPG}- we're in the home stretch! They have both made huge strides in their reading, and I am so proud of their progress. I want to cry just thinking about how far we have come. They still have a good bit of work to do to practice fluency, but they have the mechanics down and are doing great with their phonics rules. We will get in more practice by having them read more of their work in other subjects {less of Mommy doing it for them!} Aiden will continue his lessons in the same book, taking breaks to practice with BOB Books and to use the ABC See Hear Do books. He needed to take a few steps back in the book over the summer to get a better footing with his phonics, and I think he is making much better progress now.

Family Read Alouds: So for this year, we're going to walk through the wardrobe, and we are going to make our way through The Chronicles of Narnia! We are going to start the year off by reading about C.S. Lewis and how he came to write the beloved stories of Narnia. Then we will make our way through the series. And yes- we are going to read them in publication order ;)

• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
• Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
• The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis
• The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis
• The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis
• The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
• The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis

Math: We will continue our previous math curriculum, but will be making a few adjustments. Eli will be moving forward with Kate Snow's Second Grade Math with Confidence, and Maddie and Aiden will be reviewing First Grade Math with Confidence. I want to give them a little more time to build a good foundation with their math skills before pushing them forward, so we're going to see how this year {or even just this first semester goes}. As I was planning out the year, I already knew which concepts we would move through quicker, or could skip altogether, so we may finish faster than the end of the school year and be ready to move on sooner. But I will wait to see before making that final decision. I just know that moving them on right now is not the right answer. 

History: This is probably the kids' favorite subject! They LOVED The Story of the World, so we will continue with The Story of the World Volume 2: The Middle Ages, supplementing with the following:

• Usborne Book of World History
• The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia
• The Kingfisher Illustrated History of the World
• Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia of World History
• Relevant library books

We will have a mixture of read alouds and narration, maps/coloring pages, and activities/crafts. As with the Ancient Times, this will be a broad overview, but a good introduction to history for the kids. There will be a lot of knights and princesses, so they're going to eat it up :)

Science: We did much better with science last year, and the kids really enjoyed it {probably their second favorite subject!} So we will continue with the same format, but will move on to earth and space. 

We will use the following texts this year:

• Usborne First Encyclopedia of Our World
• Usborne First Encyclopedia of Space
• DK Mysteries of the Universe

And just like with history, we will check out relevant books at the library, based on the topics we are covering that week. We will do narration and keep a notebook of what we learn. I'm hoping to get a few field trips in as well.

Foreign Language- Spanish: Last year, the kids asked to learn Spanish, so I found a basic program that was perfect as an introduction to the language, to see how they would do with it. They loved it and want to continue learning the language, so I made the jump into a more formal curriculum this year. We will be using Song School Spanish Book 1 from Classical Academic Press. There are teaching videos, songs, activities, and a workbook, so I am hopeful we will begin seeing some more progress with our language skills! After reading Fancy Nancy and watching the Olympics, Maddie is already wanting to learn French, and I'm needing girlfriend to slow down and learn one language at a time haha!

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I have been reflecting a lot on our homeschooling journey. Praying a lot. I think back to those beginning days, when homeschooling wasn't even a thought in my mind. In fact, it was the exact opposite of what I wanted to do. The Lord was whispering to my heart that He wanted me to take a step of faith and homeschool my kids, and I was {basically} ignoring Him. I didn't want to do it. I wanted to send them to school. I wasn't qualified to teach them. I didn't have enough patience; I was convinced I would ruin my relationship with them. I knew I wouldn't be enough for them. I just couldn't do it. I fought with the Lord for a year. That whole pre-K year, as I homeschooled them, I was preparing them for school. And He patiently waited me out.

I did finally {obviously} come around, but I was definitely reluctant. I was doing it to be obedient to what the Lord was asking me to do, but I remember keeping in my back pocket the idea that I could go drop them off at school at any point. They had to take them. By law. And please hear me: I wasn't trying to escape my children. I just was trying to escape homeschooling them. Because that was what I was scared to do. But over time, the Lord has worked in my heart and it's not the scary thing I had once thought. Do I know everything that I am doing? Of course not. Is it still scary? Sometimes. But I have grown to {are you ready for it?} LOVE homeschooling my kids. 

Now, I am not the homeschool mom who rolls her own beeswax candles, forages for mushrooms, or dissects owl pellets. I tried the 1000 Hours Outside and learned very quickly that we won't come close. But that's ok, because we're not inside on screens, and that was kind of the whole purpose anyway, right, to replace screens? I do want my kids to spend time outside and have good adventures, but I don't like mud, so we won't be the family crawling around in the dirt or walking barefoot through the forest. But we will curl up with good books, go on trail hikes, go play at the park, and have dance parties in our living room. And that's ok. Because that's what works for us.

I love getting to tailor our kids' education to meet their interests and needs. I love that I can choose the educational philosophy that I resonate with and can offer my kids a feast of learning opportunities through good books, play, and hands-on activities/field trips. I love that we can get our studies done in an efficient amount of time, so that they can focus on things that interest them. I love watching their little minds work and getting a front row seat to their learning process. I love the freedom that homeschooling has given our family to rearrange our schedule in the way that best fits our family rhythms. I love that it has given us the gift of time as a family, that we can purposely slow down in the midst of this busy Northern Virginia culture, and choose to give our kids a different pace of life. To let them be kids and play and rest, and push back the stress and demands of the world just a little bit longer. I love that we can cultivate our family relationships more deeply and intentionally, along with those of our church family. 

It's not all sunshine and rainbows. I'm still not very patient. I want to pull my hair out when I have tried 50 ways to show them one concept and they stare at me with blank faces haha. My kids are probably missing out on something somewhere {because there is no one perfect way to educate a child}. But I have no doubt that this is where the Lord wants us for right now, and it has been a huge blessing for our family.

I am thankful for homeschooling and the chance to homeschool my kids for another year!

McCullough Schoolhouse :: 1st Grade + Kindergarten

We are back to {home}school! Eli and Maddie started 1st Grade, and Aiden started Kindergarten :)

We had our traditional "back to school" breakfast to kick off the day right. Mickey waffles were on the menu this morning :)

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It's our second year homeschooling! I am feeling a little more confident this year, but also a bit more pressure, as we have to provide proof of progress for Eli and Maddie. I know they're on track, but it can be a little nerve-wracking. There's always the question of whether or not I'm doing enough, if they're getting a "good" education, if I'm ruining them haha. But we have a solid plan in place, and I'm excited about what we have scheduled for this upcoming school year! 

Once again, it looks a little overwhelming at first glance. But I know now that each subject takes only a small amount of time each day, so it goes a lot quicker than you might think. One of the beauties of homeschool is that we can get SO much done in a short amount of time, which leaves lots of time for fun and play and non-school things. Each year will require more and more, but for now, we get to enjoy kinder and 1st grade with lots of play :)

Bible: This time is going to consist of multiple elements to help kickstart our days:

• Daily hymn
• Catechism
• Character Cards
• Bible Time

We will continue with learning/singing a selected hymn each week. After using several books last year, I have found that most of the ones we want to sing can be found in Then Sings My Soul by Robert J. Morgan. We will also continue learning our catechisms by walking through The New City Catechism for Kids from The Gospel Coalition. They have a curriculum that goes with it {mostly for Sunday School classes}, but I will use some of the activities/illustrations to help walk more in depth for each catechism. And we will use the songs in the app again too; the kids LOVE the songs and will often request them outside of school! It's honestly the best way they learn the catechisms.

About halfway through last year, we started using the Character Matters Cards from September and Co. They're an easy way to introduce character traits, without over-emphasizing moralism. Integrity and virtue are good and important, but we want to make sure that we are training to our kids' hearts, and not just trying to construct "good" behavior. With these cards, we can introduce a character trait, read a Bible verse that connects, and talk about ways we can express the trait. We'll continue working our way through these cards this year.

For our Bible curriculum this year, we will continue walking through the Bible Road Trip, but this year we will complete Year Two from Thinking Kids Press. The kids did really well with this curriculum last year, and we are excited to finish walking through the Old Testament. We will start reading through the ESV Big Picture Bible, as we transition away from storybook Bibles and to a full-text version. We will also add in some notebooking pages for Eli and Maddie, to help practice handwriting and start developing some narration skills, but otherwise the format will be the same.

Language Arts: 

• Spelling- Eli and Maddie will start Spelling this year! I have chosen Modern Curriculum Press' Spelling Workout A, and we will plan to do that daily. We will work on reinforcing sounds and letter recognition with Aiden during this time.
• Grammar- We will do grammar twice a week, and we will use First Language Lessons- Level One from the Well Trained Mind. Aiden will sit in on these lessons, and can do the narration portion with us, but otherwise won't be expected to engage fully quite yet. But as with everything else that is technically "first grade work," we'll include him and see how much he picks up!
• Writing- We will continue our daily handwriting practice with Zaner-Bloser Handwriting workbooks. They did well with these books last year {it was Maddie's favorite subject!}, so Eli and Maddie will move on to the Grade 1 book, and Aiden will start the Kindergarten book. We will also start Writing with Ease Level 1 to introduce literature and writing skills.
• Reading- Eli and Maddie made great progress last year in reading, but it wasn't without a learning curve. I learned pretty quickly that we were not going to make it straight through The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading {OPG}. So we took a few breaks here and there to practice with the BOB Books and to use the ABC See Hear Do books. It allowed me to stick to the phonics-based learning, by also providing breaks and opportunities to learn in different ways. So we didn't make it 100% through the OPG, but that's ok! We were flexible and found ways to keep the kids engaged and learning. It was also a great way to get Aiden engaged, before we started him on the OPG this summer. We will continue the same rhythm into the fall.

Family Read Alouds: We have the following books planned, and we will add {or subtract} as we have time:

• Homer Price by Robert McCloskey
• The Prairie Thief by Melisa Wiley
• Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Heidi by Johanna Spyri
• Mary Poppins by P.L. Travis
• Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

Math: We will continue our previous math curriculum, moving forward with Kate Snow's First Grade Math with Confidence. The kids did well with it last year, so I am looking forward to building on the progress we have already made. Aiden was even able to keep up with the concepts, so he will do the 1st grade work with us, and I will just reinforce concepts for him from the Kindergarten book when needed.

History: We are adding History this year, and I am really looking forward to this! We will use The Story of the World Volume 1: Ancient Times, supplementing with the following:

• Usborne Book of World History
• The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia
• The Kingfisher Illustrated History of the World
• Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia of World History
• Relevant library books

We will have a mixture of read alouds and narration, maps/coloring pages, and activities/crafts. This will be a broad overview, and hopefully a good introduction to history for the kids.

Science: I actually didn't love our Science curriculum last year. It was pretty informal, but it wasn't super engaging, and was a bit of a drudge {for all of us} to get through. But we're going to try again with something new! Our plan is to start introducing the animal kingdom, the human body, and plants. We will use the following texts this year:

• DK First Animal Encyclopedia
• Kingfisher First Human Body Encyclopedia
• Green Thumbs: A Kid's Activity Guide to Indoor and Outdoor Gardening 

And just like with history, we will check out relevant books at the library, based on the topics we are covering that week. We will do narration and keep a notebook of what we learn. It's meant to be a high-level introduction to get kids engaged in learning about varying animals, the human body, and plants. We have a good plan outlined, so I'm hopeful we'll all be more engaged this year.

Foreign Language- Spanish: The kids asked to learn Spanish, so I figured out a way to add it! We will be using Sing A Lingo, which is actually a preschool program, but is perfect for our needs. It provides a fun, engaging curriculum, with songs and activities; a good way to introduce Spanish and keep things simple for our first try!

Co-Op: We also joined a brand-new co-op with a few families in our church. We won't start until mid-September, but will be doing more of a Charlotte Mason riches study {artist and composer studies, hymns/folksongs, handicrafts} with field trips. We don't necessarily need these additional studies added to our curriculum, but we are looking forward to building relationships with more families in our church. The kids are in Sunday school with them, so it will be a good way for them to connect with friends.

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We have really enjoyed the freedom of homeschooling, and the time it has given us as a family. I love being able to tailor their education to each of them individually, and I love going at their pace.

It doesn't come without challenges; it's A LOT of behind-the-scenes and prep work for me, and it can be a challenge to manage everyone's individual needs. This year seems pretty packed, in terms of study, and I am not quite sure how we will fit it all in. But I also felt that way about last year, and somehow it all worked out. So we'll so how things go!

Here's to year 2 of homeschooling! 

McCullough Schoolhouse :: Kindergarten + Pre-K

Today was our first day of {home}school! Eli and Maddie started Kindergarten, and Aiden started Pre-K :)

We had a yummy breakfast to kick off the school year, and then we had to take the obligatory First Day Photos! I am not even sending them off to school, and my Mama-heart was still struggling with how quickly the last 5 years have gone...

My cutie Kindergarteners!

Love this crew so much!

Photo with the teacher {aka Mommy} :)

We even got a photo with the principal {aka Daddy} ;)

Last year, we did a more formal Pre-K curriculum, and I mapped out the whole year before we started. It was a big undertaking at the outset, but it really helped me to stay on task and have minimal prep as we faced each new week. So I decided to do that again this year. It also helped to spread out the cost of books and supplies. I was able to shop for deals and not have to pay full price for what we needed! #winning

The biggest changes for this year are that we will be doing school for 4 or 5 days {instead of the 3 we have been doing}, though we won't be doing every subject every day. I'm planning just for mornings, so it still gives us some flexibility if we need to miss days, rearrange lessons, play catch up, etc.

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Here's a look at what we will be learning this year! By default, Aiden is going to be doing {most} everything with Eli and Maddie. I have a few things that are specifically tailored for his age, but he hung in pretty well with Eli and Maddie last year, so I don't anticipate him needing too much adjustment. But that's the beauty of homeschool...we can figure it out as we go! :)

Morning Time/Bible: This time is going to consist of multiple elements to help kickstart our days:

• Prayer and a daily hymn
• Bible Time + catechism
• Morning Menus- where we will review calendars, seasons, feelings, letters/numbers, shapes

I have chosen a hymn to learn/sing for each week of the school year. We will sing our new hymn each morning, using the following books to dig a little deeper on the stories behind the hymns: Timeless Hymns for Family Worship by Joni Eareckson Tada & Bobbie Wolgemuth, Hymns, Volumes I and II by The Daily Grace Co, and Then Sings My Soul by Robert J. Morgan.

For our Bible curriculum this year, we will be walking through the Bible Road Trip, Year One from Thinking Kids Press. It's a 3-year Bible survey curriculum for preschool through high school. So the goal is to walk through this over the years that we choose to homeschool, with age appropriate study. I'm actually really excited about this curriculum. The preschool/kindergarten years are mostly reading Bible stories and doing crafts. But as the kids grow and learn to read and write, they introduce more intense Scripture memory, journaling, etc.

I dropped the ball with catechisms last year, but we picked it back up this summer, so we will continue with that this fall. We will work through The New City Catechism for Kids by The Gospel Coalition.

The Morning Menu is literally a restaurant menu cover filled with worksheets. The kids can use dry erase markers to fill out their pages, and we can switch it up throughout the week.

Reading: I started teaching the kids how to read over the summer. I have been using The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading by Jessie Wise and Sara Buffington, and practicing with the BOB Books Collections. It went well for the first part of the summer, but then everyone hit a wall and wasn't interested anymore, so I put it aside to pick back up now. 

Our reading time will also include family Read Aloud time {where I will read longer chapter books to the kids and start asking questions about the stories}. I started reading {short} chapter books to them last year in prep for this, in an effort to improve listening skills and expand their imaginations. I am looking forward to introducing them to more fun stories!

So far we have the following books planned, and we will add {or subtract} as we have time:

• The Bears of Hemlock Mountain by Alice Dalgliesh
• Raggedy Ann Stories by Johnny Gruelle
• Stuart Little by E.B. White
• Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard & Florence Atwater
• The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary
• A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum
• Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
• Poppy by Avi
• The Trumpet and the Swan by E.B. White
• The Adventures of South Pole Pig by Chris Kurtz
• The Jungle Books I and II by Rupyard Kipling

Writing: We will be tackling writing head-on this year, as it didn't quite get to where I wanted it last year. Which is totally fine, but I know we need to really focus on this for Kindergarten. We are going to be using the Zaner-Bloser Handwriting workbooks to practice. Aiden has his own pre-writing book to work through, as well.

Math: We will plan to do math 4 days a week {with a break or catch-up day, if needed}. We really did well with Kate Snow's preschool book, so I decided to move forward with her Kindergarten text: Kindergarten Math with Confidence. This year uses many of the same manipulatives, but we will also add workbooks. Eli will really enjoy more math; Maddie, probably not haha.

Science: Science isn't a Kindergarten requirement/expectation, but my kids really enjoyed science last year {especially Eli!}, so I decided to do a small curriculum this year to continue building interest. We will do science 3 days a week, and we will continue using Indescribable: 100 Devotions for Kids About God and Science by Louie Giglio {we started it this summer}. I want our kids to have a good foundation for how/why God created the world, before we start diving into the mechanics of science. For more hands on learning, we will use Mudpies to Magnets by Robert A. Williams and Everybody Has a Body by Robert E. Rockwell. I'm not 100% sold on these books yet {science is not my strong point}, so I will see how the kids respond and adjust as needed. We're basically focusing on fun experiments this year, so we'll see how it goes!

Music: We will be doing a hymn every day during our Morning Time, but we will also do a specific music focus once a week. We will be using the Early Childhood Cantiamo Tutti Seasonal Guide from Legends of the Staff, and we will be doing a composer study with some of the books in the Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers series.

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At first glance, it looks like a lot. But that's how it felt last year, and it actually wasn't that bad. It helped give me an idea of what the kids could/couldn't handle, and it really doesn't take as much time as it may seem. So I feel slightly more prepared for this year. It does feel a little scary, though, since I am technically homeschooling "for real" this time. Haha! While we did have to notify the superintendent of our intent to homeschool {Virginia law}, the kids won't have to test or have an evaluation until 1st grade. So we still have some time to find a good rhythm, and for me to identify the best ways the kids learn...at least before we have to have more formal accountability. 

So here we go! Our first {official} year of homeschooling! :)