Our Little School at Home: Beyond & World Geography

Okay, I am not saying it has been awhile since I last posted, but I could not figure out how to get into my blog account. Ha!!

Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory
Our school year is flying by. My littlest and I are in Unit 15 of Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory. I can not believe that this is my baby's first grade year...where does the time go? I am so thankful for the privilege of homeschooling, and especially thankful for the gift of Heart of Dakota. We are so blessed to have found a curriculum that keeps our days balanced, fun and most importantly Christ-centered. This week we are studying the Dutch Pilgrims, and how they brought livestock to America. Very fun! Our favorite activity has been making ice cream for Science as we learned about cows and cattle. What kid wouldn't want to make and eat ice cream? My little guy is already asking if we can do this again...and planning the next time!

Jacob finished his reading program and has officially moved on to the emerging readers. He is reading so fluently! I admit, I chose The Reading Lesson because it seemed the easiest to implement, but then kept second guessing whether or not it would be ENOUGH. I purchased some Explode the Code workbooks that I used with my oldest for reading, but only did the first few lessons of the first one with Jacob. So, yes, The Reading Lesson was enough and yes, he now reads so much better than I expected. Another huge "Thank You" to HOD for recommending it! :)

For math, we are using Singapore 1A, keeping up easily with the guide. My little guy loves it. The activities in the BLHFHG guide are easy to implement and have really added to his understanding of math concepts. He has figured out things not yet taught, like multiplication..seriously?? Yep. He comes up with math facts in the car, "Mommy, does 2 x 8 equal 16......and does 10 x 10 equal 100?" WHAT?? But, his math mind is constantly at work...even though we are no where near learning multiplication yet. And I am in no hurry.

Scripture memory is always made fun when it is mixed with some sort of physical activity...and the minute the guide has us doing jumping jacks or playing FREEZE, my little guy can recite the verse. Pretty amazing, especially when the verses are long. "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.Come and share your master's happiness." Matt 25:21 (NIV)

Wednesday we took the day off and Jacob had a friend over. It was so fun to watch the two boys play super heroes when neither of them have seen any of the movies. One ran around as Spiderman and the other ran around as Superman. At least they were not scaling the walls. :)

World Geography (for 10th grade)
Although we love HOD and are enjoying this guide, we are not completing everything as written this year. Joshua attends public school part-time, where he is studying to be an airplane technician. He loves it and (proud mama moment) is currently at the top of his class. Somehow, I feel like his success in college level classes gives validity to his homeschool experience and to the curriculum choices we have made - Yea! HOD!! Even so, this has been a tough year for Mama - letting go and realizing that he is quickly growing in to a man!

Anyway, we are doing the geography section of the guide, the world religions, writing, grammar and Bible study. We are plugging along and enjoying each activity. LOVE,LOVE,love the Essentials of Writing program. I do not know if it is because of the simplicity, the dvd or the complete package, but my goodness...my son can FINALLY write without any struggle...and his papers are good! (Insert Mama happy dance here) The Mapping the World Through Art has been excellent. My son's accuracy is amazing to me as I grade his work. Very encouraging! We are just finishing Unit 15.

The combination of 3 college credit hours and Heart of Dakota is ending up a perfect balance. We have added Saxon Algebra II for math and Apologia Chemistry for science. I am not sure these are entirely necessary as he is taking Physics and other higher level sciences at school...but he tends to be an overachiever. :)