By Janny Jackson
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This year will be our fourth year of homeschooling! As time has passed I have learned how to navigate the challenges that can come with homeschooling my young children together. It’s not easy or fast, especially with a toddler, but we are figuring it out together.
One thing I have learned with my kids is that even though I may have grand ideas and desires for their education I can’t push them to learn something they aren’t ready to learn, especially at a young age.
Our home education has pivoted and evolved to reflect that, and will continue to do so. I have tried some curriculums in the past that I realized my kiddos were not quite ready for. And that’s okay.
My goal with our homeschool is not to flood them with information, or even to make it fun, but to make sure the content we are studying is chosen and assigned specifically according to each child’s level and needs, and that they can receive it in a way that meets those needs, so that they can learn effectively.
My desire for their education is that they will develop a strong self-motivation to continue, with independence, on their learning journey as they get older. I want them to love learning!
With that being said, here are the different books and subjects we will be doing as a group this year. (This is not a complete list, as I’m sure we will be doing more science units throughout the year. This is just what I have planned at the moment.)
History
We have read a bit through Story of the World volume 1 and Vincent’s Starry Night history of art books, and we will pick up where we left off this upcoming year. I’ve heard great things about the Liberty’s Kids DVDs. I’m hoping the kids will enjoy learning history watching those.
Geography
We started Beautiful Feet Geography last school year and will finish it up this year.
Film Unit Study
I am SO excited to start our school year with this Film Unit Study! It’s only 7 lessons and covers a variety of subjects centered around the featured film. There are several films to choose from, my kiddos chose Snow White to do first. I definitely see us using these film studies as a tool for a rainy day or if we just need to take a break from some of the heavier homeschool work.
Science: The Fabulous Human Body
The Fabulous Human Body by Heron Books will be our first science unit study we do for the year. I have been wanting to do a human body unit study with the kids for awhile, but I couldn’t quite find one that fit our needs. I stumbled upon this one, and I love that it was beautifully created, is hands on, and has the option to be student led. Yay for independence!
This Anatomy Busy Book will accompany our human body unit study. I have purchased from the creator of this busy book before, and the content does not disappoint!
Science: Through the Eyes of a Zoologist
I’m so excited to try Campfire Curriculums this year! I’ve heard nothing but great reviews of their unit studies. This isn’t a topic that was studied by books and copied. The creators stepped into the world of a zoologist to create this beautiful unit, with the purpose of making you feel like you are a zoologist too! I love that I can use it digitally or print it out, and that it doesn’t require many additional supplies. This will be a fun one!
Read Alouds
Who is God? is book 1 of 4 in a series created by Apologia. Part of the description says “The What We Believe series helps children learn to discern the truth by using God’s Word as a lens through which to view the world around them — to see everything the way God sees it.”
There are accompanying student journals available as well, but we will just be using a composition notebook for any writing that needs to be done. We will be using it as a read aloud, and will slowly read it throughout the year. I’m looking forward to all of the questions and discussions we will have together.
I have LOTS of options for read alouds this year, and I haven’t quite narrowed down what we will read yet. We have already started Peter Nimble and his Fantastic Eyes, and will for sure read Ember Rising (my all time favorite series we have read so far!), but after that I don’t have any plans.
I would love to know what you think about any of these books if you’ve read them and which you would choose to read next!
If you haven’t already, check out what I’m doing with my fourth grader for this upcoming school year here, and what my second grader will be working on here.
Let me know if you want any updates on any of the curriculum and books we will be working through this year. As always, thank you for being here!
The film study seems really interesting! I’ve never heard of that one before, excited to see what you all do as you work through it. I gotta look into that Human Body unit! And we are definitely starting the Ember series this year after your recommendation.
Yes! The film study is going to be a great way to start the year off slow before we dive into the heavier topics. Can’t wait to hear your feedback about the Green Ember series, I can’t get enough of them!