by Janny Jackson
We are, as of today, only two days away from the start of our 2024-2025 school year and I have already made changes to my student’s curriculum lineup.
I know what you’re thinking and trust me I have those exact same thoughts when I see others making changes to their kid’s curriculum before the year even starts.
But how? Why? You haven’t even used what you have yet!
The changes I’ve made are not huge but are necessary for this upcoming year.
The Necessary
My third grader will still be using BJU English 3, but instead of me teaching it to her she will be doing the Online Distance Learning Program, where she will have access to online videos, be taught the lesson, and be able to do her assignments through the BJU portal.
My fifth grader’s math curriculum has changed. Instead of doing Math Mammoth with him he will also be utilizing the Online Distance Learning Program through BJU for Math 5. Both curriculums are comparable with a mastery approach, so I feel confident that with this switch my son will adjust well, with the exception of having to learn an online program which takes time.
There are a couple reasons for these changes.
Firstly, I have become increasingly aware of how dependent my kids have become on me while I teach and instruct them through their lessons. The need for more independence is not only necessary for them to learn in a way that allows them to use the critical thinking skills they have grown over the years, but also for me, as we navigate some BIG changes coming up this year.
Secondly, I decided over the summer to sign my 4, almost 5, year old up for a free preschool program offered through the state we live in. I had originally planned on continuing with Playing Preschool and then moving on to Playing Preschool 2. With this being a full week, full school year program for a couple hours a day, there is the added time constraint of my having to drop him off and pick him up, therefore the need for me to outsource at least one class for each of my big kids.
Thirdly, I have realized how much our school days are lacking the practice my kids should be having with computer skills compared to other kids their own age. I think it is important to get them slowly adjusted to learning online in small capacities, because as they get older I will be assigning them more online classes in which they can practice more independence and responsibility in their own education. Also, let’s be real, the older they get the harder their work gets, and even though they are homeschooled I still think it is important that they are learning from other teachers as well.
Lastly, we are expecting a new family member at the end of this year, which is why all of these changes have been implemented to begin with.
I don’t want my preschooler’s education to fall behind as a lot of my time and attention will be going towards the new baby.
I also am fully aware that I will not have the mental capacity to teach my older kids every single subject they will be doing this year. I have lofty goals for this year, while we will be experiencing some big (but exciting) changes, and my biggest goal is to make sure we are set up for success before the year begins, so that I am not fumbling around trying to figure out how to make everything work amidst adjusting to new life changes.
The Exciting
I have also added a few things to our daily, weekly, and monthly rotations.
Every week we will have a new manner of the week that will be discussed, on display, and put into practice throughout the school year. I found these cards from Memoria Press that I attached magnets to and will keep displayed on our whiteboard.
Once a month we will have Mail Mondays, when we will read a letter from either Writings from the Wild or Letters from Afar. We will learn facts about different animals as well as locations and cultures from around the world that are delivered straight to us in beautifully handmade/printed letters. I’m really excited about this!
We will also continue again with watching World Watch News daily. We used a free trial during our last school year. My kids and I really enjoyed the unique stories as well as the fact that it is news delivered for kids by Christian journalists.
All of these changes have required A LOT of mental energy and physical time into planning for this new year, amongst actually planning out the flow of our year. It, at times, has been all consuming and exhausting, but I am confident that with all of these changes we will have a successful and complete school year.
Have you made any changes to your school year so early on? Let me know below. And as always, thanks for being here!