Plans for Homeschooling 2011-12

After speaking with my homeschooling friend Kate, I got a burst of energy and decided to get our plans in order for the coming school year. So, I cleaned book shelves and went through bins of homeschooling curriculum and materials I have in the basement. I had ordered a few items already but had most of what I needed left over from homeschool years past.

Here are the plans for Haley this coming year:

Math: Finish up Saxon 76 (hopefully this summer but we may have a few chapters left) and get serious about Thinkwell Pre-Algebra. Not sure yet if we will do Saxon 87 or another Pre-Algebra program after.

Language Arts:
-I am planning a poetry study for the 1st half of the school year. We will use Best Poems from Hewitt Homeschool and then use what we learned to study poems of our choice from various poetry books we have around.

-Spelling Power
-Wordly Wise 6 and Word Roots Level B Book 1
-Selected activities from Writing Strands Level 4, Writing for 100 Days, and Writing Power
-Book Club with friends on Skype using Deconstructing Penguins

Science: Our spine will be PLATO Earth Science
Additional Materials:
DK Rocks and Minerals
Magnetism by Peter Riley
How the Earth Works by John Farndon
Just the Facts: Earth and Space Science by Jennifer Sinsel
Usbourne Rocks and Fossils
Science Experiments: Earth Science by Tammy Williams

History: Our spine will be History of US by Joy Hakim with the Study Guide (Books 3-10 We did books 1 and 2 this past year)
Additional Materials: (for the beginning part of the year)
American Revolution: National Park American History Series
Everyday Life: American Revolution
Struggle for a Continent
How Would You Survive in the American West
Daily Life in a Covered Wagon
Everyday Life: Civil War
Going Along with Lewis and Clark: Unit study
George Washington's World
Abraham Lincoln's World
Mutiny on the Amistad
Civil War

Geography and Art: Mapping the World with Art by Ellen McHenry
Artistic Pursuits Grades 4-6 Book 1 (Meant to do last year but didn't get to it)
Various art resources and project books

Foreign Language:
Rosetta Stone Spanish
Rosetta Stone Gaelic (if we get the laptop fixed)

Music: Violin/Fiddle lessons and orchestra
Piano at home

We'll see how it goes!