If  this sounds like you maybe you would be interested in what we use in our homeschool:

Our first subject of every day is Bible. It really helps to set the tone for the rest of the day. Of course the main book we use for that is..the Bible. We use different translations. I think each of us has a different one. Primarily we like the KJV. Sometimes it is a little harder for the little ones to understand and they will read us the verse out of their “easy reader” Bibles.  I came across a topical reference guide  a couple of years ago called For Instruction in Righteousness and it has been indispensable. This has been by far our favorite way to study the bible as a family. We can sit down with the kids and talk about maybe what we see them struggling with or with something the kids may see us struggling with. All the verses we need are just laid out for us. This week for us the topic was shifting blame…I didn’t mean to…Daddy did it….It’s not my fault…He spilled the fish food….she flooded the toilet..I forgot….you didn’t give me enough time…it’s not my fault.. This book gives lots of verses 50 topics of sin such as this. I will write the verses we are going to look at that day on a note card and then they will write them on note cards of their own(just the book, chapter, and verse number). Then we will look up the verses and talk about what God is telling us. The verses For Instruction in Righteousness outlines tell what the Bible says will, or should, happen to a person who sins in this way, what the Bible likens the person who sins in this way to and how God blesses the person who resists indulging in this sin. There are enough verses that you could visit the topic for well over a week if you wished. We usually work on memorizing one or two of our favorite verses from the topic during the week or sometimes just memory verses from Bible classes at church. The kids really look forward to this every morning and so do I. There is no better way than to start out the day in God’s word with my children.

For Math we are using Math-U-See. I used Abeka, Saxon, Math Mammoth all without much success. I want math to be fun and not some daunting task that we just have to suffer through. I was looking for a program that was visual, interesting, easy to understand with clear instruction. Not to mention that the material had to be presented in a logical progression. I was looking for something that based on the child’s previous knowledge and builds on it and didn’t skip all over the place. Oh, and actually working on memorizing the math fact families in the program was an absolute must. Math U See was it.

This is our first year using it and we absolutely love it. My kids went from suffering through math to actually looking forward to and enjoying the subject. My oldest daughter who always had a hard time with math is finally breezing through. She is no longer in tears because she is frustrated that she just “can’t get it” because she is getting it! You start out the week by watching an instruction video that shows you how to teach the lesson to your child. Or you could be like me and just watch the video with your kids. Then for the rest of the week they work on the one skill that they learned in the video and test at the end. Its just that easy. The lessons are fairly short so if you have a child that has a short attention span or would be overwhelmed with 50 problems on a page this is great for them. My son is in the Primer level and sometimes there may be only 3 problems on a page and that is all he wants to do that day. On another day he may do a weeks worth of work.

The manipulatives they have are a great visual help without becoming a crutch. It really helps them to see what they are doing in the problems. My older kids might only use them for the first couple of problems and then they put them to the side. If they have trouble they can just pick them back up and figure out where they are going wrong.

Math U See even has an online worksheet generator just in case your child needs a little extra practice and online drills to help solidify the memorization of the fact families.

Compared to many other math programs we have tried, Math U See is also much more affordable affordable. I bought 4 levels this year and 2 sets of the manipulative blocks plus a set of the fraction manipulatives (which are awesome by the way) and it didn’t break the bank. Especially considering I will be able to reuse the teacher’s manuals and videos for the next child.

For Language Arts we are using a couple of different things. I am teaching my 5 year old son how to read with The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading by Jessie Wise. It is very slow going because he has no interest whatsoever in reading. And that is OK! He loves to be read to and loves to look at books and visit the library so it makes perfect sense that eventually he will want to read. I am almost sure of it. He and I also do a lesson every now and then in First Language Lessons also by Jessie Wise. He likes this a lot because it is ryming/games/ stories. I like them both because they are idiot proof. Seriously. You can’t mess it up. And it is fun. Jessie tells you exactly what you need to do and say and there is little to no prep work required. You just sit and spend time with your kid. And you can use both of these books for all of your children without buying another thing. Inexpensive and cost effective.  There are also no worksheets!! Yeah!

For the girls in 2nd, 4th, and 6th, grades we use Rod and Staff English. We have been using it for 3 years now. In my opinion it is the best English curriculum you can get. *Rod and Staff teaches grammar and mechanics (capitalization and punctuation) in a traditional way. You know like how your grandparents learned and knew more in 5th grade than we did in college. It takes a conservative approach in matters of usage. The lessons carry a Biblical tone and promote Christian virtues. Exercise sentences deal with a broad range of topics—Bible stories and concepts, Christian living, family life, and historical and scientific facts. The lessons are such that they get good practice in handwriting as well. To me it looked a little “dry”. But my girls love it. They love the little drawings of the Mennonite children and the bible characters that they are familiar with being someplace outside of their bible. I think it is wonderful that sometimes it even asks that they use their bible to find the answer. How is that for applying bible knowledge to real life?! My oldest loves the fun facts they throw in. We do not do an additional writing program, there is no need.  Any other writing they may do is in History and Science and book reports, along with journaling and writing letters. Did I mention it is dirt cheap? Don’t let the price fool you. It is a fantastic program.

Later to come in part 2 is what we use for:

Latin

Logic

Science

and in part 3:

History

Handwriting

Spelling

Do any of you use these programs? How many of you use the prepackaged curriculum? Do you just piece together different things like I do?

* as descripted on RodandStaffBooks.com

The best way to teach a young child to love to read is to read to them often, starting very young. I read to my kids even if I think they are not paying attention. Toddlers will mimic everything you do (good and bad) and it is no different with reading. There are tons of “teach your baby to read” and learn to read quick type things out there but I have found the very best tool to be books. Don’t waste your money on those silly programs! They are usually quite expensive and you don’t need them anyway. Stock up on good books instead!

You can make or buy flashcards with the alphabet on them and start teaching them a few letter sounds at a time. I usually shoot for a goal of 1-2 per week. I plan all kinds of fun stuff pertaining to that letter. I find books that start with the letter of the week. I make foods that start with the letter. Make it fun! There are all kind of crafty things you can do with letters. For example- cut a piece of green construction paper into four squares. Write the upper case B on one and the lower case b on another. Give the kid some glue and some beans and let them glue the beans over the lines of the letters. Viola, green beans. Get it? ! Green beans…beans start with B…B….B  Also when teaching kids the letter sounds don’t add -uh to the end like as in B says buh, or D says duh. Because they really don’t. Its an extra sound tagging on the end. Just say hard letter sound. It makes it easier for kids to sound out words if they do not develop that bad habit . Think bat. b-a-t  not buh- a -tuh . It takes much longer in my experience to be able to understand how to put the sounds together if they are in that habit of adding -uh to their letter sound.

When they know them all grab one of those beginning reading books and show them how to sound out the words. We absolutely love the Animal Antics series. I have taught 3 of my 5 to read out of them almost exclusively. Be patient when you are teaching them to sound out words. It can be very frustrating to a parent and then it only serves as to frustrate them. Label things in your house such as doors, windows, cabinets. Even if the word is too hard for them to read, they see that words are important. And put their name on everything that they use a lot, their cups, clothing, books, bedroom door..Kids love to see their own name.

I don’t think you need and English curriculum until about the second or even third grade. Before that they just need to learn to read and then be able to understand what they are reading. Once they are reading for understanding then you are rolling.

So lets talk about what I use.

Language Arts:

1) We are currently using Rod and Staff Reading and English curricula- this may seem a little dry or boring to adults but it doesn’t seem to have any problem keeping my kids attention. It is very thorough. It is easy to teach. And its cheap. They love it. I love it.

2) We have also used and loved Switched on Schoolhouse

4)  We use Spelling City for spelling work. Spelling is not the most important subject to me. I feel like if they can read well they will be able to spell well also. But if I need a few minutes of “busy work” I will have them hit the computer. Its fun, its free. I build the lists based on what the kids are learning across their curricula. Hubby thinks its fun to think of crazy hard words and see them freak out when the see their list.

5) One very cool writing program is called Writing Strands. My kids like it far better than anything else because they can be creative. I would happily use it and nothing else if I were not required by law to have my children take standardized tests.

6) The library is your friend! Use it! Plan a weekly trip. Go to story time. I let my kids all choose their own books but encourage them to choose books from different sections. I also pick a required reading book for them that is generally a little above their reading level. Usually it will be a classic. And I will ask them to write a report on it.

7) Books on tape are awesome. We have lots and lots. Sometimes they can be expensive. Look for them on sale or make your own! You can record a story your computer and burn a disk or even video tape yourself. Great for nights you may not be at home. ITunes also has a good selection of kids books you can download.

To be continued…Part 3 will contain information for History and Geography