I'm excited to participate in the Not Back to School Blog Hop for the first time! I'm Kristal and I've been married to my best-friend, encourager, and confidant for 11 years. He is extremely supportive and encourages me when I feel lost or overwhelmed. He trusts me 1000% with their education, he let's me plan away, and he quietly encourages me and patiently listens to me.


The name of our homeschool is The Heart of Wisdom Academy and we have 5 children enrolled. We follow a Charlotte Mason slightly Classical Approach to Education, using Ambleside Online and The Simply Charlotte Mason Curriculum Guide as a pattern:

Kyle:10 years and 9 months-5th Grade
Peyton:6 yearsand 11 months- 1st Grade
Kaden:6 years and 11 months- 1st Grade
Kason: 3 years and 9 months- Preschool
Kendal: 21 months-Toddler

Our Goal: Ephesians 4:12 To equip God's people for works of service...

The school year is 36 weeks long, appx. 180 days, and is divided into 3 semesters of 12 weeks each.

Our Family Studies-These subjects everyone studies together

Bible:each child has personal quiet time
Scripture memory:We focus on memorizing 1 chapter at a time altogether
Bible Study: Our 24 Family Ways and Instructions in Righteousness
Copywork and Dictation: Aesops fables or history and science reading
Geography:Geography Songs
Nature Study:nature walks, nature notebook, Virginia Living Musuem
Art Study:2 artists this year (Renoir, Caravaggio, and Civil War Art for 3rd Semester)
Composer Study:picking one composer per term from Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers. We'll read a about the composer and listen to the music.
Hymn Study: One Year Book of Hymns. 6 Hymns per year
Shakespeare: A Midsummer's Night Dream, The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet
Spanish: Rosetta Stone, Spanish Every Day: A Learning Adventure for Young Readers
Habit Training: Prayer, Accuracy, Attentiveness, Truthfulness, Orderliness, Reading
the Bible
Science Biography: Isaac Newton, Alexander Graham Bell, George Washington Carver
Science Demonstration: Science and the Bible

5th Grade Curriculum for Kyle:


Math:
Saxon 65
Daily Word Problems with Fractions

Science Semester 1:
The Wonder Book of Chemistry(free)
Christian Liberty Nature Book 5
Story of Inventions
Parables from Nature(free)
Science Semester 2:
The Storybook of Science(free)
Parables of Nature(free)
Among the Forest People(free)
Christian Liberty Nature Book 5
Story of Inventions
Science Semester 3:
Exploring Creation with Botany
The Green Kingdom
Parables of Nature(free)
Christian Liberty Nature Book 5
Story of Inventions

*Charlotte Mason's students read the same book for 2-3 years slowly. She advocates short lessons.

Literature Semester 1:
Stories of King Arthur(free)
The Macmillian Book of Gods and Heroes
Wild Animals I Have Known(free)
Literature Semester 2
Uncle Tom’s Cabin Told to the Children(free)
The Horse and His Boy
Literature Semester 3
Call of the Wild(free)
With Lee in Virginia(free)

English Grammar and Composition:
Rod and Staff 5
Writing with Skill
The Creative Writer
The Writing Road to Reading

Typing
Typingweb.com

History Semester 1:
American History Stories III(free)
Indian Boyhood(free)
Lewis and Clark
History Semester 2:
American History Stories III(free)
If You Grew Up with Abraham Lincoln
History Semester 3:
American History Stories IV(free)
Diary of Augustus Pelletier(library)
Theodore Rooselvelt(free)

*we're keeping a family Book of Centuries

Geography:
Missionary Stories with the Millers
Stories of the Gorilla Country(free)

Poetry:
Rudyard Kipling
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
John Greenleaf Whittier

Logic:
The Puzzle Book
Logic Games on ipod touch
Ingenious Lateral Thinking Puzzles(library)

Guitar:
Worship Guitar Volume I

Personal Development:
Thoughts for Young Men(free)
Almost 12

Preschool & /1st Grade Curriculum



The twins and Kason are able to work together are most things except writing.Kason's fine motor skills aren't there yet.

They're all using ABCmouse.com and starfall.com the twins will also use hearbuilder.com as part of their therapy for mixed receptive and expressive language disorder.

Math:
Math U See Alpha (using as a loose guide)

Science:
Chambers Elementary Science Reader (free)
Let's Read and Find Out Series (library)

Literature:
Abeka Readers
Rod and Staff Readers
Bob Books
Lots of read alouds

Language Arts:
First Language Lessons
Writing with Ease
The Writing Road to Reading
The Wilson System for Reading *An intensive reading system for differently abled learners.
Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons (Kason only)
Lots of readalouds using various free Kindle books!

Typing:
Dance Mat Typing (an introduction)

History:
We spending 2-3 weeks learning about a person in history

Poetry:
A Childs Garden of Verses
and free audio here.

Audio Books:
Burgess Animal Book for Children
Burgess Bird Book for Children
Fifty Famous Stories Retold
Our Island Story I
other librovox recordings of Ambleside Online readings

Logic:
Logic games on ipod touch
Mind Benders Book 1