Week 1 & 2 of school done!

Whew!  This is going better than I hoped!

We made a lot of changes in curriculum this year...I have homeschooled for 10 years (this is my 11th) and I was ready for some changes.  And...my kiddos learning styles are quite different from each other and quite different from their older brother.  What worked for Z doesn't necessarily work for Sugar Bear and Luv Bug. :)

My Father's World- MFW - we are using Adventures for 2nd and 3rd graders.  It is a one year intro to American History and a journey through the states as they entered the union.  So far we've looked at maps, Vikings, and Columbus.  We made the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria out of tinfoil and even floated them in the sink.  Adventures also covers Bible - we are studying the names of Jesus this year and in Science - we are doing experienments with air right now and did our first lab report.  I'm going to try and post pics of those so you can see a bit of what we are up to.

Math - Luv Bug stayed with Math-U-See for second grade and it is a really good fit for her but she is jealous of Sugar Bear's math since I changed him to Teaching Textbooks.  It is a computer based program and it is changing my life.  I'll probably try her out on it next year. :)

Phonics - We switched from Explode the Code to Modern Curriculum Press Plaid books and it is a breath of fresh air. 

Grammar - Luv Bug is doing Growing With Grammar level 1&2 and Sugar Bear is doing Rod & Staff 3.  I can't believe how much we are liking Rod  & Staff.  I kinda always vowed I wouldn't use them...ha ha ha.  I should have known that would mean I'd end up using them.  Wait till you see what both kids are using for spelling.

Spelling - Yep, Rod & Staff 2nd and 3rd grade spelling is awesome.  Love it and the kids love it.  Most important - it is easy to implement and they are doing well.

Handwriting - Stayed with Handwriting without Tears but jumped Luv Bug a level so she is starting cursive with Sugar Bear.

Readers - Sonlight all the way - infact most of our read-alouds come from there too since you just can't beat their book choices. 

My favorite things this year - hubby bought me a giant white board and mounted it in our Homeschool area.  Actually it is a 4x8 piece of shower board but it only cost $12 at Home Depot!!  And we started a modified version of Workboxes...I'll take pics and post about that later.  It has really helped the kids to visualize how much school work is in a day and they strive to get it done in a timely manner.  SUCCESS!!