1/2 Year Homeschool Evaluation & Update

Normally, by now we would have had at least one week of school completed for the new semester but we are going to be starting a week later then planned. Because Mom is evaluating our curriculum and beginning to look to the next year of schooling here at Rooster Hill Christian Academy.

I am in the process of reading a great book on Christian Homeschooling and I've read a good deal on line especially from Trivium Academy. I have mapped out what we have done in the past and what we may do in the future on an excel spread sheet. It's also a place for me to put notes about curriculum's to consider and review and ideas that I like. More importantly things that I tried and didn't work for us.

We are switching to 6 week periods and we will be schooling most of the year. We will take June off and a couple weeks in July. I am also incorporating a periodic review into our progress. Just a really quick assessment of where we have been and where we are progressing.
"Subject ........ starting lesson...... estimated ending lesson...... actual end....difference"

Kicked to the curb....

We are not going to continue with 'Steck Vaughn' Phonics that I choose for Peyton it is not a good fit for her. In fact I am going to add a book on teaching reading to my reading list for the year. Peyton reads above her grade level and Parker reads at Grade level (Bob Books) but Mom really wants to expand her knowledge in the teaching of reading. To me it is critically important that they are both strong readers. So for Peyton I am going to do some skills testing and proceed to locate a Phonics/Reading comprehension program that will meet her needs and we will HAVE TO add vocabulary. Autism is a big factor in this decision because although she can read above her reading level she has no idea what she is reading and seems to think she can skip 1,2 -4 words as she is reading. We are also going to have concentrated times of reading with Mom sitting and listening and correcting.

Back to Christian based Unit Studies....

I am going to put these sheets at the end of each of my six week periods. For the near future we will be using some Christian Cottage Unit Studies. We are currently doing a unit study on 'Oceanography' after which we will do a study on 'Explorers' purchased from Currclick. I love unit studies because we are all doing the same thing and I can add truck loads of living books from Ambleside to it! With Oceanography we will be reading Holling C. Holling's Pagoo & Keep the Lights Burning Abbie. Wayne will be leading our first official dissection of a fish! Then with Explorers we will read D'Aulaire's Columbus, Viking Tales by Jennie Hall & I am checking Sonlight for Readers for Peyton. Additionally, I will spend the next month reading all of the curriculum manuals that I have making sure I know the curriculum inside and out!

We hope to supplement with books from Little Giant Steps for Peyton as this is a curriculum developer that specializes in Special Needs Children. Finally, I am scheduling games and fun curriculum activities that are currently collecting dust!

A couple of things we love........Learnables Spanish, Sequential Spelling, Teach your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons & Explode the Code (for Parker)

We are also planning to schedule testing in even grades (K,2,4 etc....). Which means Peyton will take the CBEST (from Christian Liberty Press administered by parents and at a cost of $22)& Parks will have to take the Iowa Test.

RHCA