Year in review

Summer has officially started at our house!

Well, we aren't swimming yet, but soon we will be :)

Last Thursday was our final day of school for the year. We will continue free reading and will use BJ Vacation Stations throughout the summer, but more on our summer schedule later.

What I liked and didn't like from our school material...4th Grade Material

• BJ (Bob Jones) Reading - Great stories and wkbk, we will use 5th grade bks next year. B LOVES it!
  
• Saxon Math 5/4- Challenging, repetitive math program. I personally like the repetition. Helps B understand new concepts better. B is very good at Math. We will use 6/5 next year.
• Voyages in English - We used until November. I felt it was written in a very disorganized way for both the student and the teacher. VIE has a lot of excess work, flipping back and forth, and extra work for the teacher. I did not like it. B did not like it.
• Abeka Language A - We swtiched to Abeka in Nov. It is a very thorough Language program. Brain stretching, even for me! We will either use BJ Language 5 or Abeka B next year.
• Abeka Handwriting (cursive) - Good program, B really needs to work on neatness. Possibly will use again next year.
  
• BJ Heritage Studies - Great History program. B loves History thanks to BJ! We will use next year.
• Spelling Workout - This program worked well for us until this year. We are going to try a different learning approach next year. We will be using Megawords which divides multi-syllabic words down into syllables. Hopefully he will be able to retain correct spelling easier using this method.
  
• Science, various books from the library and A Child's Geography - I will use A Child's Geography in the winter as extra. We are going to try Abeka's Investigating God's World for our year long program.
• Bible - B is reading through Josh McDowell's One year Youth Devotions, as a family we are reading The Children's Story Bible, Jesus Wants all of Me, and Sticky Situations. Next year I plan to continue reading The Children's Story Bible to the children and I hope to find a program, specifically for 5th graders. Programs I am considering are: Verita Press Genesis through Joshua Series, Christian Liberty Press Studying God's Word, or BJ Bible Truths.
  

K Material

• Horizons Phonics Program - Very well written, challenging program. T did very well with it. We took it at a slower pace and completed 2 of the 4 books, started on the 3rd. We will finish up next year, and begin a reading 1 program.
  
• Saxon K Math - A waste of $ in my opinion. I ended up not using it and creating my own program. We will most likely use Saxon Math for 1st grade next year. T is very good at math and comprehends different concepts quickly.
  
• Abeka Handwriting - A good handbook. I will use again next year.
  
• Science -We will continue to do 'A Child's Geography' as a family in the winter and T will be involved in B's science experiments.
  
• Bible - We are reading 'The Children's Story Bible', 'Jesus Wants all of Me', and 'Sticky Situations'. Next year I plan to continue reading 'The Children's Story Bible' to the chidlren and I hope to find a program, specifically for 1st graders, that digs deeper into the Bible. Programs I am considering are: Veritas Press Genesis through Joshua Series, Christian Liberty Press Studying God's Word, or BJ Bible Truths.

2 year old

• G had to sit on my lap for 'quiet reading time' at the table during T bookwork time. (60-90 min) this worked well. It has helped her sit quietly in church. She can know make the entire 70-75 minutes! Yeah!!! We will continue with a quiet time as well as introduce a 2 year old preschool book for her to work on. She also worked on various projects such as noodle necklaces, stickers, stamping, and coloring. We will continue this.

Baby will add a new deminsion. We'll see how he/she changes my plans :)