Elijah is heading into 2nd grade and we will be using Heart of Dakota again this year for our core curriculum. We really loved it this last year and are excited to continue using it! He will be working through the "Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory" level this year. It includes "American Pioneers and Patriots," "Stories of the Pilgrims," and "Boys and Girls of Colonial Days" for the history portion. It uses the "Early Reader's Bible," "Morning Bells Devotional," and the "Hide 'Em in Your Heart Volume II" to tie in the Bible throughout his lessons. It includes Christian Liberty Press's "God's Wonderful Works" for science. And we will be supplementing the science with a three prong Answers in Genesis curriculum. The Heart of Dakota core recommends Singapore Math and we used them this past year. We like it, but with Eli's special needs he needed a change of pace so we are using Math U See this year instead. He will be working in the "Alpha" level to start and will probably be in the "Beta" level by mid year. We'll see. Math U See is a great multi faceted, multi sensory program and has done wonders with lots of special needs kids as well as kids who are gifted. It gets rave reviews from every one I have asked about it. So we are excited to try it! The language arts portion is a combination of classic poetry with great classic read-alouds like "King of the Wind," "Charlotte's Web," "The Railway Children," "A Lion to Guard Us" and more. He is in the emerging reader category now and will be reading a number of books independently this year like, "Frog and Toad Are Friends," "Amelia Bedelia," Buffalo Bill and The Pony Express," "Tornado," and "The Christian Liberty Nature Reader" among many others. Elijah will have handwriting through the language arts portion of the curriculum obviously, but we are also incorporating some extra practice in this area. He needs extra fine motor skills practice. So we are also using "Handwriting Without Tears" this year. He used this program some when he was in occupational therapy and it was really effective. We tried some traditional handwriting practice this year and it literally created tears. So we are going to try this one and see how it goes. He will be in the "Printing Power" workbook for second grade.
Lydia will be working partly with pre-k material this year and also some kindergarten stuff as well. She will be using Heart of Dakota too and will be in the "Little Hands to Heaven" level with Hannah participating some this year! It includes a children's Bible, "The Singing Bible" by Focus on the Family which sets the stories to music, and "My ABC Bible Verses" again this year for the core. And then tied into all of that will be lessons on letters, early math, etc. She will also be starting a phonics program this year as well called "Reading Made Easy." The same phonics program that Elijah used. And I already see a strong interest in math with her so I am also using Math U See with Lydia alongside the Heart of Dakota lessons. She will be in the "Primer" level in that. I know beyond a doubt that she will either be really prepared for kindergarten by the end of the year (honestly I think she already is) or will be already partly through kindergarten by then. Maybe she will even be reading. She will be 4 after all and is showing signs that she is ready.
Lydia and Hannah will have most of their school time together (except for phonics) and Elijah will be doing more independent stuff this year except for Lydia sitting in on math some and of course she will be with us during some science and history stuff as well. Hannah will be napping or playing with her busy kits during this time. And Lord knows she will be in my lap through some of it too!
I will try to consistently post pictures of our projects and field trips as well as some every day school pics to keep everyone included and informed of our adventures! Most of the information and pics from this past school year ended up on the family web site instead so if you want to see those you will have to journey over and check it out.
I hope you will enjoy watching our children grow and learn as much as I love being here with them to participate in their learning and to see it all myself first hand! It is beyond wonderful to have been the one who taught my son to read and to be the one who gets to watch his eyes get wide as we learn something new in history or science. It's just so rewarding and so thrilling to be with my kids during this time of growth and change! I wouldn't trade it for the highest paying job or anything else in the world! God called me to this, when I wasn't all that willing, and He has equipped me for it and created a love for it that I never thought was possible! Heath and I really feel like we have been given the perfect opportunity to raise our children up in the way that they should go. They are our God-given responsibility and it is a privilege to raise them! And according to Luke 6:40 my students will become like the teacher when they are fully trained. So thankfully that teacher is one that loves them like no other and has their very best interest at heart. She also is doing her very best to create a love for the Almighty in their hearts, minds, and souls. That part of the job is of utmost importance and nothing can take precedence over it! And no offense, but Heath and I are very glad that someone else isn't doing our job for us in this area. It's just too important to allow that to happen!
I look forward to sharing with all of you as we give to God what belongs to God in the educating of our children (Mark 12:17) so that Godly children will be the result of our union (Malachi 2:15). As we teach our children "at home," as we "are on the road," when we are"going to bed," and when we are "getting up" as in Deuteronomy 6 we know God will continue to bless our efforts. Our current school system teaches that there is no God and God's word says that they are fools (Psalm 14:1-2). "Fear of the Lord is the FOUNDATION of TRUE knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline" (Proverbs 1:7). "Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble" (Proverbs 13:20). Romans 12:2 says, "Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you THINK. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." We have been called to be good stewards of our children's minds, hearts, and souls. And teaching our children at home is one of the biggest ways that we do that. The one on one education, the flexibility, the freedom to explore and be children, the opportunity to make friends of all ages, the chance to REALLY learn the things that matter to them individually, etc. All of those things are just icing on the cake! It's an awesome adventure that I never saw coming in my little dreams of mommyhood! I am SO glad that His plans aren't always our plans! We would be missing out on the time of our life if that was the case!
