Our Planned 2nd & 4th Grade Homeschool Curriculum, 2008-2009

I haven't written here because - well, it's not because nothing is going on, but because the one thing that's been off is my computer. I turn it on (okay, it stays on for a bit in the evening, while I get my scrabulous fix), check email, and turn it off. I MUST turn it off, and keep it off, or it becomes a wicked time suck for me. Some days, I dream about packing it up and storing it in the attic, or giving it away.

Except that I'd be lost without the internet, of course. So, the next best thing is to enforce an on/off sort of boundary - mostly off. Because then, I'm productive. :)

I have been doing research on the materials we'll use for next year's lessons. And most of those reading this will skip over this part, because it isn't applicable to you, but in case someone down the road googles ideas for 4th and 2nd grade homeschool curriculum ideas, here's what we have so far:

Math:

2nd grade - Singapore Primary Math 2A/2B (Kit)

4th grade - Singapore Primary Math 4A/4B (Kit)

I don't have anything specific for the preschooler, but she already can count to 20, do simple addition and subtraction, knows her shapes and colors, so we'll probably just continue to reinforce these things and take it from there - if she asks for more, then I'll give it to her.

Science:

for both 2nd and 4th grade -

ACS's The Best of WonderScience

We'll supplement with a life science unit study somewhere in there, and Science in a Nutshell kits

and for the preschooler, two more books from ACS:

Apples, Bubbles and Crystals and Sunlight, Skyscrapers, and Soda Pop

plus some activities from

Science Arts and Science is Simple

Oh! and this one: What Color is Newton's Apple?

Language Arts:

I love this book, Education Play: Language Arts and plan to use it for both (all three?) kids. And not just for Language Arts, but for most subjects, I really recommend any of Peggy Kaye's Games for (Reading, Math, Language, etc) books.

I have the terrific If I Were a Road, and plan to follow it with If I Were a Table. We also already have (and have used a bit) all three volumes of the Aesop's Fables: My Book about Reading, Writing and Thinking, and we'll use those (the 3yo liked those this year, too, though obviously she wasn't writing, although she tried). And finally, from that same vendor, I am considering Classic Words, and/or a study of Latin and Greek roots.

For the 4th grader's curriculum, I'll probably choose Brave Writer's The Writer's Jungle, along with the recommended (accompanying) digital ezine, The Arrow.

The 2nd grader won't have a defined curriculum, except for the items from the books already mentioned. Oh wait, she's been using and benefiting from the Explode the Code series, so we'll continue with those for as long as she needs them. And perhaps some dictation, too. The preschooler can keep working on the BOB books if she wants to. :)

Social Studies

Both will use Story of the World (and activities), and the Kingfisher History Encyclopedia. The 4th grader will need to read a bit about California history (missions and gold rush), so we'll toss in a few books on that later, and visit some of the missions in the spring of '09. We'll also be using the Trail Guide to World Geography.

I'm working on compiling Art and Music activities, and both kids are already enrolled in gymnastics for next school year (but also throughout the summer). M continues to take horse riding lessons, and she also want to take violin lessons, so we'll see about that.

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Tomorrow, we're off on some fun field trips, and I'll update about those when I return.