Now, please keep in mind, this is simply day-dreaming and none of these are set in stone. :) I'm not at all set on combining Life of Fred with Math U See for middle and high school...but it's a potential option that I know can work because I've seen my sisters work well with it. If you have any suggestions of curriculum I should look into for the future--definitely let me know. ;)
Oh yes, having a place to record the ideas is very important for reducing that mental load (so that we're not thinking about curriculum in the wee hours of the morning...lol!). I have not yet graduated to a spreadsheet...just have lists in my physical planner. haha!
We are just finishing up First Language Lessons 3 for my 8 year old 3rd grader. It is designed perfectly for this stage and for boys who are working on handwriting, meaning they don't wear them out with written busywork. First Language Lessons 1 and 2 seems to aim to take advantage of the memory skills of young kids with respect to grammar definitions. I believe FLL 1 and 2 also has a CD with songs for this memory work. If your copy has 200 lessons, that means you have 2 years worth of work.
Great to hear from someone who's been using the program for a few years! My son has thrived so far with memory statements so that was an aspect of the program that I was drawn to.
I see a lot of hs videos that say they don’t really see the need to teach much grammar in the elementary years, and I completely agree. BUT it’s so much fun, though!
That's the thing--is it a NEED? Maybe not. But why not introduce subject areas that we find delightful instead of assuming kids will hate them? I love languages and the way they work. English, with all of its quirks, is one of my favorite things. Is playing an instrument a necessity? No, but many people find great joy in it.
I’m such a homeschool dreamer and planner too and my little hasn’t officially started kindergarten yet haha😂. For me it’s an exciting rabbit hole of amazing resources and growth and learning journey for me! I’m new to bible study in general, so I’m excited to check out yours and your mother’s resources! Thank you for all you do!
Oh my I love this!! I love nerding out on the possibilities of curriculums to use. I have a 2.5 year old and looking forward is soooo exciting!! (of course I am also enjoying where we are at in the present) I feel beyond blessed that we get to homeschool and that there are so many beautiful Christian resources too! I love Gentle Classical! :D
Yes--it's totally possible to enjoy everything special about the present stage...while also geeking out over all the fun possibilities of the future! :)
Day-dreaming is so fun! Math With Confidence and Life of Fred, IEW, Sonlight Science, and Playful Pioneers are all on my “maybe in the future” list. I love hearing about classics in homeschooling. Not classical education, but some of the old, tried and true, curriculum that isn’t tossed around in the more modern homeschool groups. Your suggestions and commentary is always so welcomed and appreciated.
Daydreaming about curriculum is fun, isn't it? I suspect my own homeschool will always be a blend of those "classics," like you mentioned, with a few newer resources woven in because I appreciate variety. :) Thanks so much for watching!
I love planning. I have plans, then I have plans in those plans, and there are even more plans within those plans. I'm always adjusting them to make sure they work for us. I'm even doing an adjustment right now! 😅
My favorite grammar curriculum is Well Ordered Language by Classical Academic Press, the same publishers of Writing & Rhetoric. It is thorough and fun, providing songs/chants for the memory work. It is meant to only be 4 years of grammar work and not drag on for the entirety of their elementary/middle school years. Depending on how deep you want to go with grammar, one could probably do just the first 2 years for a general introduction to parts of speech, labeling, and punctuation as, if my memory serves me correctly, the last 2 levels go more into diagramming and some people don’t want to go that deep into grammar. Even today my high schooler will sing the songs from WOL.
That's good to know! Grammar is one of the things that make my heart sing (I loved diagramming and all the grammar things back in the day)...but I know that not all kids agree with me. :P
My children our a newly 1 and newly 2, and I'm exactly the same. Have rough plans for all the way through high school. Glad to hear I'm not the only one looking further ahead. So many homeschoolers on RUclips tell us not to plan more than the year or even a few weeks ahead.
hahaha, that's awesome! Yeah...I think it can actually be very beneficial to have a roughly sketched out plan for the long term--it can give you purpose, direction, and peace. I need to plan at least a couple of years in advance because I don't live in a place that's easy to ship to.
Love to hear it! One special topic I am super excited to do sometime is a deep dive into Shakespeare! I grew up going to the Utah Shakepearian Festival every year. We no longer live in Utah, so I don't think we can go every year, but when my youngest is old enough to actually attend a play we will definitely learn all about a few plays and go!!
Daydreaming is so fun. I am a wonderful Charlotte Mason homeschool mom but the reality is I put it on my "try list" but haven't actually tried it. I struggle with history curriculum. Diving in is like unit study resources and we don't like to do that will every topic
Daydreaming is definitely fun! So far I don't find myself to be a 'unit study' type of teacher in general circumstances, although I'm open to adding in special topics if my kids are interested. For me, I tend to like studying history in a sequential way...being able to see how events all over the world line up on a timeline.
I love long term planning. I’ve thought about doing both Math with Confidence and adding Beast Academy at some point, then continuing with Art of Problem Solving (same company as beast academy but for middle and high, either text books or online classes) and maybe doing Life of Fred too at some point. I like choosing high school curriculum that allows students to study at very high levels and basically go as far as they want to go. So for math not automatically stopping at Trigonometry or Calculus, but having lots of options.
I’ve never heard of the grammar curriculum you mentioned, but it sounds similar to fix-it grammar in that you are labeling every word for part of speech, etc. My daughter is in her third year of fix-it grammar and it is her favorite! I love how it almost effortlessly teaches grammatical principles. She came home from our public school system in 6th grade and knew shockingly little of grammar. Now she can parse sentences like no other!!! 😂 It has been really neat to watch! And I find I’m learning things too about the different types of clauses and things that I don’t believe I was ever taught in my education! I plan for the future a lot like you do- just things I’m keeping my eye on and considering. I love watching curriculum flip through videos on here because I feel like I really need an in depth look at a curriculum before I will get a feel for whether it will work for our family or not. I love the research though and even when I find things we love, I still find myself researching allllll the things. I think it’s my new hobby. 😂
Winston Grammar IS very similar to Fix-It Grammar. Very similar! It even includes cards for each part of speech, too. I taught my youngest sister with Fix-It Grammar a few years ago, before they updated the program. There were some things about the Teacher's Guide that I found a bit annoying. I've heard that the updates they made were very positive, but based on my experience, I just like Winston Grammar better. And hey, it's a practical hobby. And yes, I also prefer to find in-depth flip throughs in order to really wrap my mind around a curriculum and decide it if would be a good fit.
That's a smart idea! Jotting down curriculums to look into for the future, because it's all too easy for the names to slip our minds over the months and years!
Having a child who is older than yours, I really enjoyed this video. One of my favorite points that you made is that companies don't always do a great job with the curriculum for younger and older children.
Yes! That's a real thing to consider! Some companies shine in the early years...others excel at higher levels...it's not always equal across the board.
This is exactly what I have been doing the last few days! My daughter has just started 7th grade and I am looking and planning the maybes for the next few years. I then can see what is on my shelves that we could use, and what I now realize we will never use and move it on. It will free up shelf space, mind space and finances. There is still some things I will hold on to just in case. I am not 100% sure which direction she will go. Will we work on the sciences intensely, or the social studies topics? She doesn't have a plan for a career at this point. All she knows is she won't be looking into a career that needs intense math!I know she loves writing and reading, and art so I suspect that is what we will be focusing on. BTW Berean Builders is brilliant (but you are right about it being a bit much for K). We learned so much from Science in the Beginning, and all the experiments worked, much to my doubting mind's surprise.
That's a great way to work on planning. It can be very helpful once teens start to have a few career options in mind, and you can try out a class or two that is specific to that line of work. And thanks for the comment on Berean Builders...it's always so handy when science experiments actually work!
We are kindred spirits! My kids are finishing 4th and 6th and I have everything tentatively planned through high school. My son will be doing Sonlight W for 7th then J for 8th. My daughter will also do them at that age, but I am splitting them up for history starting next year as she won’t be ready for W in 5th grade. My son will continue MUS and LOF through HS. I already have pre-algebra for next year. My daughter uses Horizons, so I will switch her at pre-algebra. As for science, we use SL through 4th then move to Apologia in 5th. For high school I’m considering BJU for science, but may stick with Apologia. We will use BJU for Spanish. I am going to look at your Bible curriculum right now. Great video. I loved it!!
That Sonlight J program looks so delightfully enticing...my kids have nearly a decade before they'll be ready for it but I look forward to reading the books myself someday! Glad you enjoyed the video!
Yes!!! Regarding FLL…The older edition contains both levels 1 and 2!!! In the updated version, the older edition was basically cut in half with the lessons remaining the same.
@@SevenInAll it really was!!! My copy is also the older edition and it is much smaller than the newer edition. Easier to tote around places, which is an added bonus as well!
Love long term planning! Planning fills my heart so much. You brought up some curriculum I’ve not heard of before so I’ll have to look into those 😊 thanks!
I definitely do this 😂 my son is not even 3 yet and I’ve been looking at a couple of different grade school curriculums although I am pretty sure I know what we are using for preschool
hahaha I'm not necessarily opposed to using 'trendy' or new curriculum but...I definitely don't look down my nose at old-school, black-and-white resources that have been around for a few decades. I feel like I often end up with a mix of some old and some new.
Winston grammar is a program I think I need to at least look into. I used first language lessons with my oldest during his first grade year. (He is currently in eighth grade) it had 100 lessons at that time for the first grade year. We did not continue to use it into second grade, but I remember looking at the second grade book and believe it also had 100 lessons in it.
I absolutely plan with the end in mind! Saxon math has been a surprising hit in our house. And I like that it’s tried and true, and can take them all the way through highschool. The rest is to be determined. Lol
I used Saxon in elementary and liked it! But I think the big heavy textbooks didn't make the cut in our family's initial move overseas all those years ago. One of my reasons for considering Math U See and Life of Fred is the very practical matter that my mom already owns all of Life of Fred and all the Math U See teacher guides...so...that would be a very budget-friendly route if we end up going in that direction... haha!
I love this type of video! I’m the same way, love to plan. I’m wondering if you might consider doing a video comparing Math U See and Math with Confidence. We recently finished Primer in Math U See but my “want to look ahead mind” is now wondering about Math with Confidence for the future. Thanks again for your videos! (I smiled when u mentioned using Life of Fred with Math U See bc that’s penciled into my list as well)
I love day-dreaming and planning for our homeschool future. I have a whole spreadsheet dedicated to it. Math and English Language Arts are pretty firmly set. I have general plan for history, geography and Science but those were the hardest subjects for me to decide on.
I like to think that I have catechism, math and the basics of ela figured out 😆 (Singapore Dimensions + Logic of English + our actual Bible and Catechism and church life). I still need to figure out …. everything else. 🙃 I have some time but I’m deep in research mode :)
I have a spreadsheet I love to tweak as I go. I have from JK to grade 12 with the programs I think I want to use all laid out. So far it's been great to use to track progress and what works and what didn't.
A science curriculum that I think you should look into is an old one, but extremely well done. It's called Considering God's Creation by Eagles Nest publishing. It was written by two homeschool moms in the 90s. It follows science topics based on the order of creation. The Student Book gives a lot of Hands-On activities, that do not seem to require very many supplies at all. (Think glue, crayons, markers, etc.) This was given to me by a mom that has already graduated her children and I absolutely love the looks of it. It can be used with children grades 2 through 7. Cathy Duffy has a good review on it.
So many things I am also thinking about! Have you looked at Noeo science? I’m very intrigued. Seems a bit like Sonlight Science. I’m looking at Math with Confidence. Do you have any commentary on that program vs. math mammoth?
I have looked at Noeo's website and the book selections look very intriguing...but I don't really know much about them. And I don't know enough about Math Mammoth to compare it with Math with Confidence, sorry. Again, I've looked at their website, but haven't seen it in action. I do think there are some Math Mammoth reviews bouncing around on RUclips, though.
My son is 1st grade and I’m already looking forward to grammar lessons. I love it too, still have a habit of correcting grammar 😬 I basically changed everything from kindergarten when we got to 1st and I’m still not happy with it. I don’t want to change every year, I’m hoping what I’m picking for 2nd grade will be a good fit for the long haul. I was looking into math with confidence, good to know it’s a solid choice. What age range do you suggest history of the Bible? The way you talk about it, I want to get it now lol
On my website, I say roughly 3rd to 8th grade for the Bible History unit. I have a friend who loved doing it with her oldest, a 2nd grader, but she is definitely an advanced and highly motivated student. Because the unit traces the history of the Bible from ancient times until today, I think it's helpful if a student already basically understands the idea of history and how society has changed over the millennia.
I love long term homeschooling planning but I know unless I find a curriculum doesn’t work for my kids I will probably use what I plan for!!! For science Idk what my youngest will use!!! My older kids who hate science use TGTB and masterbooks and it’s working for them!!! I may do the same my youngest is in kindergarten and not doing science yet!!! My older kids love sonlight!!! I just read books with my kindergartener!!! We don’t have equal language skills but I make sure my kids can speak German and they have to with my in laws even though they speak English and live locally!!! They’ve made it a requirement for me and my husband when we where kids upwards and now for my kids!!!
We are a Sonlight family as well, although only kindergarten so we are using All about reading for now. I am researching about language arts for the future and I’m so lost. I haven’t heard great things about Sonlight La but we love Sonlight HBL and science. I was under the impression that once kids hit level D that they should be doing Sonlight for La since it all ties in together. Is that not the case? Also, when do you actually add in formal grammar and creative writing?
Yes--Sonlight D is the level where the Sonlight LA ties in to what they're reading...but I think it's still up to you whether you want to use Sonlight LA or not. LA itself--grammar, spellling, vocab, writing skills--doesn't necessarily need to tie into history, although it can be neat if it works out that way. My sister is high school is getting all of her writing assignments from her Sonlight 200 program, so they tie into the literature she is reading. As far as when to add "formal" grammar...I guess it depends on what you mean by it. It's easy to introduce basic ideas like nouns, pronouns, verbs, sentences are a complete thought, etc. in early elementary (hence my plan for using First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind). For a grammar program like Winston Grammar, I think that's written for 4th grade and up, and I think it's pretty typical that more thorough grammar starts around 4 grade (once kids have gotten past the 'learning to read' stage). Some will start it even later...but as someone who finds grammar absolutely delightful I probably wouldn't choose to delay. Creative writing typically has to wait until the child has all the foundational skills of physically being able to write, as well as a fairly solid foundation in spelling (because not being able to spell too high of a percentage of the words they want to use could cause frustration). Of course, in the early years, we prep for future writing skills by scribing for our kids, writing down what they say, and slowly building confidence with being able to write a sentence, then a paragraph...probably by 4th/5th grade there should be some level of independent writing work as a part of the school routine, given typical circumstances. I can see LA being a hard one to choose! I have a few specific programs, that I mentioned in this video, that I've got noted down for the future, but in general I find that many 'all in one' type LA curriculums can cause frustrations.
I know this is not from this video but you mentioned once an in-depth biblical course you and your husband were going through. I think it was free and video based? Which one was this again? ❤
I’m definitely a planner but instead of planning for each kid way into the future I feel like I’ve gathered favorites along the way and then I just use what fits each child/season of homeschool along the way! So here are my favorites: Language: All About Reading / Logic of English (love these for foundational phonics/spelling) Masterbooks LA (love this for intro to grammar and sentence/paragraph writing using levels 2 and 3 only) Beowulf Grammar (using this for my daughter’s 5th grade yr and she is learning SO much) Fix It Grammar (7th grader has used this this year - short, simple, effective) Logic of English Essentials (using this with dyslexic upcoming 6th grader for spelling/grammar/vocabulary - we already started it though and we are loving it) IEW writing (using with reluctant dyslexic 5th grader this yr and loving it) Handwriting without Tears - honestly, I hate teaching handwriting haha. But this curriculum is good. A Reason for Handwriting - once they get letter formation down, I have them do this since it teaches writing on the three lines (vs two lines) Math: Masterbooks has been great for my older two Math with Confidence for my younger two though! (I might supplement with Masterbooks for extra practice pages) Also have my eye on Math U See for my younger two if needed - haven’t ever tried this but it looks like a good option for special needs learners. Science/history/geography Classical Conversations memory work with unit studies/reading books on topics of interest for interest-led learning from K to 6th grade. My upcoming 6th grader wants to do Elementary Zoology from Masterbooks next yr. HUGE emphasis on reading books to my children + outdoor play! Classical Conversations Challenge Program for 7th-12th grade!
That's a good way to do it, noting down favorite resources and coming back to them when a new student is ready. I really like Math U See for special needs learners - it's SO clear cut and to the point, and so repetitive that it cuts down on so many of the extras that other math includes.
@@SevenInAll this really makes me rethink maybe trying Math U See for my boys. I reaaaalllly liked what I saw of KMC though, but maybe I could do KMC and supplement with MUS instead of Masterbooks. I am attracted to the simplicity of MUS. One box of blocks? That sounds awesome and FUN for boys. The hands on aspects of KMC are fantastic though, but MUS seems a bit more straightforward and less distracting if that makes sense. Some times my son would get a bit distracted with the KMC games etc and want to play with the straws, etc. Often having two curriculums to bounce between is beneficial for the special needs learner I am realizing. Maybe I should have both at the ready for next year and just do what works at that time and have the other as back up for when we hit walls which is inevitable with special needs learners.
I have very independent learners. I have looked at Sonlight, but I can’t tell how independent it is or not. For example, I also looked at My Fathers World and as beautiful as it looks, I’ve learned the hard way that family style learning is not for us. We literally just do read alouds together. When I do a family Bible study they want to go back to their own Bible reading before long. They are only 8 and 11!!! Lol!
Sonlight can be very independent in middle and high school (the high school programs are designed to be used independently, the middle school programs aren't designed for that but that hasn't stopped us from using them that way...lol)
I know you didn’t specifically mention it in this video but I’m going to assume that you’ve had some experience here… do you feel like the Sonlight high school 200 (church history) can be used to the fullest by non-Calvinists??? And by “the fullest,” I mean where less than 50% of any doctrinal teaching (not to be confused with simply presenting history as it played out) would have a conflicting viewpoint to a non-Calvinist. I hope that makes sense and that you are familiar enough with that core to speak to that!
We're currently using Sonlight 200 - it's one of my favorite years. I would say it's very much about church history, much more so than a presentation of doctrine. I lean Arminian in my own faith (i.e. not Reformed/Calvinist)....but I also attended a Reformed college so I'm not opposed to listening to teachers/authors who are reformed even if I have a different conviction....so I can't say that bumping up into reformed ideas bothers me all that much, esp. at the high school level--mostly just making sure that teens know what they believe, why they believe it, and understanding that when others believe differently, that can impact what they teach. I hope that makes sense? There's more that non-Reformed and Reformed have in common than that we don't have in common... :) For example, you're using the Westminster Shorter Catechism...a very large part of that catechism, though it is from the Reformed tradition of faith, does not conflict with the Arminian faith tradition...but on some topics, of course, they will.
@@SevenInAll thank you! That’s exactly the kind of answer I was hoping for, and means even more knowing that you don’t consider yourself Reformed/a Calvinist. To each his own, and there is absolutely good to be found and plenty of common ground- agreed! Sometimes it’s just nice to know what you’re getting! 🙂💜
I would say that 4th grade is the earliest I would use the Elementary Exegesis curriculum--already having basic general ideas of basic grammatical and literary terms (i.e. pronouns, paragraphs, literary genres) will be helpful. I have a thorough flip-through video on the exegesis curriculum here: ruclips.net/video/nTXa7NMN2y8/видео.html
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Now, please keep in mind, this is simply day-dreaming and none of these are set in stone. :) I'm not at all set on combining Life of Fred with Math U See for middle and high school...but it's a potential option that I know can work because I've seen my sisters work well with it. If you have any suggestions of curriculum I should look into for the future--definitely let me know. ;)
I have an excel with curriculum ideas for each year through highschool. My kids are 6 and 4 😅
So do I! 😂
hahaha, I don't have the excel sheet, but I have a list of curriculum ideas to check out in the future in my planner.
So do I! My kids are 3 & 6. Sometimes things don't work out, but I try not to get bent out of shape about it. :)
My baby is still in the womb and yet I find myself looking at high school curriculum 😂
hahaha, nope, that's not excessive at all. :P High school subjects are fun!
I love this so much!! Im constantly doing the same thing, I have to keep an excel spreadsheet going otherwise all my ideas just swirl in my head 😂
Oh yes, having a place to record the ideas is very important for reducing that mental load (so that we're not thinking about curriculum in the wee hours of the morning...lol!). I have not yet graduated to a spreadsheet...just have lists in my physical planner. haha!
We are just finishing up First Language Lessons 3 for my 8 year old 3rd grader. It is designed perfectly for this stage and for boys who are working on handwriting, meaning they don't wear them out with written busywork. First Language Lessons 1 and 2 seems to aim to take advantage of the memory skills of young kids with respect to grammar definitions. I believe FLL 1 and 2 also has a CD with songs for this memory work. If your copy has 200 lessons, that means you have 2 years worth of work.
Great to hear from someone who's been using the program for a few years! My son has thrived so far with memory statements so that was an aspect of the program that I was drawn to.
Rachel, you are SUCH a blessing!!! Thank you for being that mentor that so many need :)
Oh, thank you so much for your encouragement!
and like a fellow homeschool geek friend too!!! :'D
I see a lot of hs videos that say they don’t really see the need to teach much grammar in the elementary years, and I completely agree.
BUT it’s so much fun, though!
That's the thing--is it a NEED? Maybe not. But why not introduce subject areas that we find delightful instead of assuming kids will hate them? I love languages and the way they work. English, with all of its quirks, is one of my favorite things. Is playing an instrument a necessity? No, but many people find great joy in it.
@@SevenInAll ¡estamos de acuerdo!
I’m such a homeschool dreamer and planner too and my little hasn’t officially started kindergarten yet haha😂. For me it’s an exciting rabbit hole of amazing resources and growth and learning journey for me! I’m new to bible study in general, so I’m excited to check out yours and your mother’s resources! Thank you for all you do!
It's a very fun rabbit hole with so many opportunities and learning adventures that lie ahead!
Oh my I love this!! I love nerding out on the possibilities of curriculums to use. I have a 2.5 year old and looking forward is soooo exciting!! (of course I am also enjoying where we are at in the present) I feel beyond blessed that we get to homeschool and that there are so many beautiful Christian resources too! I love Gentle Classical! :D
Yes--it's totally possible to enjoy everything special about the present stage...while also geeking out over all the fun possibilities of the future! :)
Day-dreaming is so fun! Math With Confidence and Life of Fred, IEW, Sonlight Science, and Playful Pioneers are all on my “maybe in the future” list.
I love hearing about classics in homeschooling. Not classical education, but some of the old, tried and true, curriculum that isn’t tossed around in the more modern homeschool groups. Your suggestions and commentary is always so welcomed and appreciated.
Daydreaming about curriculum is fun, isn't it? I suspect my own homeschool will always be a blend of those "classics," like you mentioned, with a few newer resources woven in because I appreciate variety. :) Thanks so much for watching!
I love planning. I have plans, then I have plans in those plans, and there are even more plans within those plans. I'm always adjusting them to make sure they work for us. I'm even doing an adjustment right now! 😅
hahaha--it's totally fine (and wise!) to have plans, as long as we're willing to adjust as we go!
My favorite grammar curriculum is Well Ordered Language by Classical Academic Press, the same publishers of Writing & Rhetoric. It is thorough and fun, providing songs/chants for the memory work. It is meant to only be 4 years of grammar work and not drag on for the entirety of their elementary/middle school years. Depending on how deep you want to go with grammar, one could probably do just the first 2 years for a general introduction to parts of speech, labeling, and punctuation as, if my memory serves me correctly, the last 2 levels go more into diagramming and some people don’t want to go that deep into grammar. Even today my high schooler will sing the songs from WOL.
That's good to know! Grammar is one of the things that make my heart sing (I loved diagramming and all the grammar things back in the day)...but I know that not all kids agree with me. :P
My children our a newly 1 and newly 2, and I'm exactly the same. Have rough plans for all the way through high school. Glad to hear I'm not the only one looking further ahead. So many homeschoolers on RUclips tell us not to plan more than the year or even a few weeks ahead.
hahaha, that's awesome! Yeah...I think it can actually be very beneficial to have a roughly sketched out plan for the long term--it can give you purpose, direction, and peace. I need to plan at least a couple of years in advance because I don't live in a place that's easy to ship to.
I used to love Abeka when they would give us a paragraph to label every word in the sentence. I was like, "Yes!" lol
I know, right? So fun! I realize that some people would disagree...but labeling words was always a delightful activity for me.
The best part of my education experience was labelling the parts of speech 😅. I took a Syntax course in university and I was in absolute bliss!!
Love to hear it! One special topic I am super excited to do sometime is a deep dive into Shakespeare! I grew up going to the Utah Shakepearian Festival every year. We no longer live in Utah, so I don't think we can go every year, but when my youngest is old enough to actually attend a play we will definitely learn all about a few plays and go!!
Oh, that would be a fun topic, especially with the opportunity to go to a festival or even to see a play in real life!
Ooooh very interested in the history of the Bible!!
Here's the History of the Bible unit: ruclips.net/video/QrYYBJXkpKA/видео.htmlsi=22YqPGbqGFUqSSEc
Daydreaming is so fun. I am a wonderful Charlotte Mason homeschool mom but the reality is I put it on my "try list" but haven't actually tried it. I struggle with history curriculum. Diving in is like unit study resources and we don't like to do that will every topic
Daydreaming is definitely fun! So far I don't find myself to be a 'unit study' type of teacher in general circumstances, although I'm open to adding in special topics if my kids are interested. For me, I tend to like studying history in a sequential way...being able to see how events all over the world line up on a timeline.
I love long term planning. I’ve thought about doing both Math with Confidence and adding Beast Academy at some point, then continuing with Art of Problem Solving (same company as beast academy but for middle and high, either text books or online classes) and maybe doing Life of Fred too at some point. I like choosing high school curriculum that allows students to study at very high levels and basically go as far as they want to go. So for math not automatically stopping at Trigonometry or Calculus, but having lots of options.
That sounds awesome!
I have a rising sixth p-grader. I am pretty well planning out math and science through high school right now.
That's a smart move!
Heck yes! I’m here to nerd out! Lol
Always a party here on Seven in All! That is...if your definitely of party is extremely nerdy conversations about the details of homeschooling... :P
The hardcover is the first 2 levels combined
Awesome!
Yes. That old, hard-cover Firestone Language Lessons is for both first and second grade.
Great!
I’ve never heard of the grammar curriculum you mentioned, but it sounds similar to fix-it grammar in that you are labeling every word for part of speech, etc. My daughter is in her third year of fix-it grammar and it is her favorite! I love how it almost effortlessly teaches grammatical principles. She came home from our public school system in 6th grade and knew shockingly little of grammar. Now she can parse sentences like no other!!! 😂 It has been really neat to watch! And I find I’m learning things too about the different types of clauses and things that I don’t believe I was ever taught in my education! I plan for the future a lot like you do- just things I’m keeping my eye on and considering. I love watching curriculum flip through videos on here because I feel like I really need an in depth look at a curriculum before I will get a feel for whether it will work for our family or not. I love the research though and even when I find things we love, I still find myself researching allllll the things. I think it’s my new hobby. 😂
Winston Grammar IS very similar to Fix-It Grammar. Very similar! It even includes cards for each part of speech, too. I taught my youngest sister with Fix-It Grammar a few years ago, before they updated the program. There were some things about the Teacher's Guide that I found a bit annoying. I've heard that the updates they made were very positive, but based on my experience, I just like Winston Grammar better. And hey, it's a practical hobby. And yes, I also prefer to find in-depth flip throughs in order to really wrap my mind around a curriculum and decide it if would be a good fit.
I love planning. I have a “rough plan” for the next 5 years. I have a list in my notes app of curriculums I want to check out or not forget about.
That's a smart idea! Jotting down curriculums to look into for the future, because it's all too easy for the names to slip our minds over the months and years!
Yep! I have loose plans for at least 6 years ahead :) lol
That sounds great to me! :)
Having a child who is older than yours, I really enjoyed this video. One of my favorite points that you made is that companies don't always do a great job with the curriculum for younger and older children.
Yes! That's a real thing to consider! Some companies shine in the early years...others excel at higher levels...it's not always equal across the board.
This is exactly what I have been doing the last few days! My daughter has just started 7th grade and I am looking and planning the maybes for the next few years. I then can see what is on my shelves that we could use, and what I now realize we will never use and move it on. It will free up shelf space, mind space and finances. There is still some things I will hold on to just in case. I am not 100% sure which direction she will go. Will we work on the sciences intensely, or the social studies topics? She doesn't have a plan for a career at this point. All she knows is she won't be looking into a career that needs intense math!I know she loves writing and reading, and art so I suspect that is what we will be focusing on. BTW Berean Builders is brilliant (but you are right about it being a bit much for K). We learned so much from Science in the Beginning, and all the experiments worked, much to my doubting mind's surprise.
That's a great way to work on planning. It can be very helpful once teens start to have a few career options in mind, and you can try out a class or two that is specific to that line of work. And thanks for the comment on Berean Builders...it's always so handy when science experiments actually work!
We are kindred spirits! My kids are finishing 4th and 6th and I have everything tentatively planned through high school. My son will be doing Sonlight W for 7th then J for 8th. My daughter will also do them at that age, but I am splitting them up for history starting next year as she won’t be ready for W in 5th grade. My son will continue MUS and LOF through HS. I already have pre-algebra for next year. My daughter uses Horizons, so I will switch her at pre-algebra. As for science, we use SL through 4th then move to Apologia in 5th. For high school I’m considering BJU for science, but may stick with Apologia. We will use BJU for Spanish. I am going to look at your Bible curriculum right now. Great video. I loved it!!
That Sonlight J program looks so delightfully enticing...my kids have nearly a decade before they'll be ready for it but I look forward to reading the books myself someday! Glad you enjoyed the video!
@@SevenInAll I agree. Some great literature selections that I don’t want my son to miss out on.
Yes!!! Regarding FLL…The older edition contains both levels 1 and 2!!! In the updated version, the older edition was basically cut in half with the lessons remaining the same.
Okay, great! That's the impression I had but wasn't 100% sure. Great! So I guess that really was a pretty good thrift store find. :)
@@SevenInAll it really was!!! My copy is also the older edition and it is much smaller than the newer edition. Easier to tote around places, which is an added bonus as well!
@@katrinalamphere5700 Plus, hardcover so the cover doesn't get bent!
@@SevenInAll absolutely!!!
Loved this video! Thanks for sharing all of your ideas!!
Thanks for watching! Glad it was an interesting video. :)
Love long term planning! Planning fills my heart so much. You brought up some curriculum I’ve not heard of before so I’ll have to look into those 😊 thanks!
I'm not sure if it's helpful or NOT helpful to widen the field of curriculum research. :P I lean toward helpful. haha!
I definitely do this 😂 my son is not even 3 yet and I’ve been looking at a couple of different grade school curriculums although I am pretty sure I know what we are using for preschool
It's both fun and practical to scout out potential future options. :) I very much understand!
So many of these I’ve never heard of! I love that you don’t use trendy curriculum 😂. Lots of great ideas!!!
hahaha I'm not necessarily opposed to using 'trendy' or new curriculum but...I definitely don't look down my nose at old-school, black-and-white resources that have been around for a few decades. I feel like I often end up with a mix of some old and some new.
@@SevenInAll I love the way you put this!
For grammar look at Rod and Staff English. Look into Generation for science. Look into Heart of Dakota.
Thanks for the suggestions!
Winston grammar is a program I think I need to at least look into. I used first language lessons with my oldest during his first grade year. (He is currently in eighth grade) it had 100 lessons at that time for the first grade year. We did not continue to use it into second grade, but I remember looking at the second grade book and believe it also had 100 lessons in it.
Winston Grammar is worth looking into! They have a basic level and an advanced level, if I remember right.
I absolutely plan with the end in mind! Saxon math has been a surprising hit in our house. And I like that it’s tried and true, and can take them all the way through highschool. The rest is to be determined. Lol
I used Saxon in elementary and liked it! But I think the big heavy textbooks didn't make the cut in our family's initial move overseas all those years ago. One of my reasons for considering Math U See and Life of Fred is the very practical matter that my mom already owns all of Life of Fred and all the Math U See teacher guides...so...that would be a very budget-friendly route if we end up going in that direction... haha!
I love this type of video! I’m the same way, love to plan. I’m wondering if you might consider doing a video comparing Math U See and Math with Confidence. We recently finished Primer in Math U See but my “want to look ahead mind” is now wondering about Math with Confidence for the future. Thanks again for your videos! (I smiled when u mentioned using Life of Fred with Math U See bc that’s penciled into my list as well)
I actually have already filmed a video with a side-by-side comparison of 1st Grade Math with Confidence and Math U See Alpha. :) Coming soon!
I love day-dreaming and planning for our homeschool future. I have a whole spreadsheet dedicated to it. Math and English Language Arts are pretty firmly set. I have general plan for history, geography and Science but those were the hardest subjects for me to decide on.
I also tend to find history/geography/science to be harder to settle on...I think there are more options that sound good...
I like to think that I have catechism, math and the basics of ela figured out 😆 (Singapore Dimensions + Logic of English + our actual Bible and Catechism and church life). I still need to figure out …. everything else. 🙃 I have some time but I’m deep in research mode :)
It's great that you have those basic foundations figured out...and now you still get all the research fun of figuring out the rest of the pieces. :)
I have a spreadsheet I love to tweak as I go. I have from JK to grade 12 with the programs I think I want to use all laid out. So far it's been great to use to track progress and what works and what didn't.
That's an awesome way to keep all the ideas organized, and also to have a record for future reference.
A science curriculum that I think you should look into is an old one, but extremely well done. It's called Considering God's Creation by Eagles Nest publishing. It was written by two homeschool moms in the 90s. It follows science topics based on the order of creation. The Student Book gives a lot of Hands-On activities, that do not seem to require very many supplies at all. (Think glue, crayons, markers, etc.) This was given to me by a mom that has already graduated her children and I absolutely love the looks of it. It can be used with children grades 2 through 7. Cathy Duffy has a good review on it.
Thanks for the suggestion, I'll look into it!
So many things I am also thinking about! Have you looked at Noeo science? I’m very intrigued. Seems a bit like Sonlight Science.
I’m looking at Math with Confidence. Do you have any commentary on that program vs. math mammoth?
I have looked at Noeo's website and the book selections look very intriguing...but I don't really know much about them. And I don't know enough about Math Mammoth to compare it with Math with Confidence, sorry. Again, I've looked at their website, but haven't seen it in action. I do think there are some Math Mammoth reviews bouncing around on RUclips, though.
My son is 1st grade and I’m already looking forward to grammar lessons. I love it too, still have a habit of correcting grammar 😬 I basically changed everything from kindergarten when we got to 1st and I’m still not happy with it. I don’t want to change every year, I’m hoping what I’m picking for 2nd grade will be a good fit for the long haul. I was looking into math with confidence, good to know it’s a solid choice. What age range do you suggest history of the Bible? The way you talk about it, I want to get it now lol
On my website, I say roughly 3rd to 8th grade for the Bible History unit. I have a friend who loved doing it with her oldest, a 2nd grader, but she is definitely an advanced and highly motivated student. Because the unit traces the history of the Bible from ancient times until today, I think it's helpful if a student already basically understands the idea of history and how society has changed over the millennia.
@@SevenInAll good to know, I probably will wait, at least til my youngest (who is prek) gets a little older so we can all learn from it.
Great video! Thank you!
Glad you liked it!
I love long term homeschooling planning but I know unless I find a curriculum doesn’t work for my kids I will probably use what I plan for!!! For science Idk what my youngest will use!!! My older kids who hate science use TGTB and masterbooks and it’s working for them!!! I may do the same my youngest is in kindergarten and not doing science yet!!! My older kids love sonlight!!! I just read books with my kindergartener!!! We don’t have equal language skills but I make sure my kids can speak German and they have to with my in laws even though they speak English and live locally!!! They’ve made it a requirement for me and my husband when we where kids upwards and now for my kids!!!
That's great to have the opportunity to speak German with extended family! Using a language is key to not losing it.
We are a Sonlight family as well, although only kindergarten so we are using All about reading for now. I am researching about language arts for the future and I’m so lost. I haven’t heard great things about Sonlight La but we love Sonlight HBL and science. I was under the impression that once kids hit level D that they should be doing Sonlight for La since it all ties in together. Is that not the case? Also, when do you actually add in formal grammar and creative writing?
Yes--Sonlight D is the level where the Sonlight LA ties in to what they're reading...but I think it's still up to you whether you want to use Sonlight LA or not. LA itself--grammar, spellling, vocab, writing skills--doesn't necessarily need to tie into history, although it can be neat if it works out that way. My sister is high school is getting all of her writing assignments from her Sonlight 200 program, so they tie into the literature she is reading.
As far as when to add "formal" grammar...I guess it depends on what you mean by it. It's easy to introduce basic ideas like nouns, pronouns, verbs, sentences are a complete thought, etc. in early elementary (hence my plan for using First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind). For a grammar program like Winston Grammar, I think that's written for 4th grade and up, and I think it's pretty typical that more thorough grammar starts around 4 grade (once kids have gotten past the 'learning to read' stage). Some will start it even later...but as someone who finds grammar absolutely delightful I probably wouldn't choose to delay.
Creative writing typically has to wait until the child has all the foundational skills of physically being able to write, as well as a fairly solid foundation in spelling (because not being able to spell too high of a percentage of the words they want to use could cause frustration). Of course, in the early years, we prep for future writing skills by scribing for our kids, writing down what they say, and slowly building confidence with being able to write a sentence, then a paragraph...probably by 4th/5th grade there should be some level of independent writing work as a part of the school routine, given typical circumstances.
I can see LA being a hard one to choose! I have a few specific programs, that I mentioned in this video, that I've got noted down for the future, but in general I find that many 'all in one' type LA curriculums can cause frustrations.
I know this is not from this video but you mentioned once an in-depth biblical course you and your husband were going through. I think it was free and video based? Which one was this again? ❤
Bible Project Classroom! they have multiple courses that they offer: bibleproject.com/classroom/
I’m definitely a planner but instead of planning for each kid way into the future I feel like I’ve gathered favorites along the way and then I just use what fits each child/season of homeschool along the way! So here are my favorites:
Language:
All About Reading / Logic of English (love these for foundational phonics/spelling)
Masterbooks LA (love this for intro to grammar and sentence/paragraph writing using levels 2 and 3 only)
Beowulf Grammar (using this for my daughter’s 5th grade yr and she is learning SO much)
Fix It Grammar (7th grader has used this this year - short, simple, effective)
Logic of English Essentials (using this with dyslexic upcoming 6th grader for spelling/grammar/vocabulary - we already started it though and we are loving it)
IEW writing (using with reluctant dyslexic 5th grader this yr and loving it)
Handwriting without Tears - honestly, I hate teaching handwriting haha. But this curriculum is good.
A Reason for Handwriting - once they get letter formation down, I have them do this since it teaches writing on the three lines (vs two lines)
Math:
Masterbooks has been great for my older two
Math with Confidence for my younger two though! (I might supplement with Masterbooks for extra practice pages)
Also have my eye on Math U See for my younger two if needed - haven’t ever tried this but it looks like a good option for special needs learners.
Science/history/geography
Classical Conversations memory work with unit studies/reading books on topics of interest for interest-led learning from K to 6th grade.
My upcoming 6th grader wants to do Elementary Zoology from Masterbooks next yr.
HUGE emphasis on reading books to my children + outdoor play!
Classical Conversations Challenge Program for 7th-12th grade!
That's a good way to do it, noting down favorite resources and coming back to them when a new student is ready. I really like Math U See for special needs learners - it's SO clear cut and to the point, and so repetitive that it cuts down on so many of the extras that other math includes.
@@SevenInAll this really makes me rethink maybe trying Math U See for my boys. I reaaaalllly liked what I saw of KMC though, but maybe I could do KMC and supplement with MUS instead of Masterbooks.
I am attracted to the simplicity of MUS. One box of blocks? That sounds awesome and FUN for boys. The hands on aspects of KMC are fantastic though, but MUS seems a bit more straightforward and less distracting if that makes sense. Some times my son would get a bit distracted with the KMC games etc and want to play with the straws, etc.
Often having two curriculums to bounce between is beneficial for the special needs learner I am realizing. Maybe I should have both at the ready for next year and just do what works at that time and have the other as back up for when we hit walls which is inevitable with special needs learners.
I have very independent learners. I have looked at Sonlight, but I can’t tell how independent it is or not. For example, I also looked at My Fathers World and as beautiful as it looks, I’ve learned the hard way that family style learning is not for us. We literally just do read alouds together. When I do a family Bible study they want to go back to their own Bible reading before long. They are only 8 and 11!!! Lol!
Sonlight can be very independent in middle and high school (the high school programs are designed to be used independently, the middle school programs aren't designed for that but that hasn't stopped us from using them that way...lol)
I know you didn’t specifically mention it in this video but I’m going to assume that you’ve had some experience here… do you feel like the Sonlight high school 200 (church history) can be used to the fullest by non-Calvinists??? And by “the fullest,” I mean where less than 50% of any doctrinal teaching (not to be confused with simply presenting history as it played out) would have a conflicting viewpoint to a non-Calvinist. I hope that makes sense and that you are familiar enough with that core to speak to that!
We're currently using Sonlight 200 - it's one of my favorite years. I would say it's very much about church history, much more so than a presentation of doctrine. I lean Arminian in my own faith (i.e. not Reformed/Calvinist)....but I also attended a Reformed college so I'm not opposed to listening to teachers/authors who are reformed even if I have a different conviction....so I can't say that bumping up into reformed ideas bothers me all that much, esp. at the high school level--mostly just making sure that teens know what they believe, why they believe it, and understanding that when others believe differently, that can impact what they teach. I hope that makes sense? There's more that non-Reformed and Reformed have in common than that we don't have in common... :) For example, you're using the Westminster Shorter Catechism...a very large part of that catechism, though it is from the Reformed tradition of faith, does not conflict with the Arminian faith tradition...but on some topics, of course, they will.
@@SevenInAll thank you! That’s exactly the kind of answer I was hoping for, and means even more knowing that you don’t consider yourself Reformed/a Calvinist. To each his own, and there is absolutely good to be found and plenty of common ground- agreed! Sometimes it’s just nice to know what you’re getting! 🙂💜
What age is your mom’s exegesis curriculum geared towards? That sounds very interesting and important.
I would say that 4th grade is the earliest I would use the Elementary Exegesis curriculum--already having basic general ideas of basic grammatical and literary terms (i.e. pronouns, paragraphs, literary genres) will be helpful. I have a thorough flip-through video on the exegesis curriculum here: ruclips.net/video/nTXa7NMN2y8/видео.html
🍿 😃
Of course! :)