What we decided on

As of today everything for this school year has been ordered and is on it's way here.  Because it took us so long to make a decision about what were were going to do, we won't be starting school on Monday. I would rather start at the beginning of the week instead of the middle, but I am learning to be flexible. :)

Here is what we have decided on for curriculum.

Anna- 5th grade

     Switched on Schoolhouse

     ~"Switched-On Schoolhouse is a comprehensive, Christian homeschool curriculum that offers computer-based learning for grades 3-12. With animation, video clips, and other fascinating multimedia, Switched-On Schoolhouse is the perfect Christian homeschool curriculum for today's generation...Unlike traditional textbook curriculums with dry, one-dimensional lessons, Switched-On Schoolhouse (SOS) has a diverse, vibrant mix of entertaining lessons, assignments quizzes, and more! Fun-filled lessons are created to captivate students' attention and engage them in learning."

We ordered the subjects separately instead of getting the core package.  We decided to drop Bible (which is included in their core 5).  We are doing our own thing for Bible with the kids, so didn't feel it was necessary to spend an extra $89 for that program.

For Bible we are using Building on Firm foundations. Bill is using this with All the kids.  I am also looking into doing the Bright Lights curriculum with Anna.  It is a Bible study for mother's and daughters. 

Ryan- 2nd grade
     Usually I would do the same curriculum with both of the older kids but since the Switched on Schoolhouse doesn't start until 3rd grade that wasn't an option. We decided to go the route of an online academy. We enrolled him in the A Beka Academy.

"A Beka Academy is an accredited, comprehensive distance-learning program for Kindergarten through grade 12. This academically-challenging, college prepatory education features high quality video instruction and uses Christian character building textbooks from A Beka"

We chose the  streaming video option.

James- Kindergarten
Claire- preschool
     I have to say I am probably most excited about doing Kindergarten this year. We ordered My Father's World.  This is a description from their website of What My Father's World is all about,

• Recognizes the Bible, God's truth, to be the foundation of wisdom and education.
• Utilizes hands-on, unit studies with daily lesson plans that are easy-to-teach.
• Enables families and multi-age groups to learn together. Many of our programs may be taught to a range of ages simultaneously.
• Combines the best of Charlotte Mason's ideas and classical education with a Biblical worldview, an international focus, and our own observations of how children learn.
• Uses a comprehensive, sequenced learning program beginning with preschool learning toys to develop readiness skills. Our complete unit-based curriculum includes a phonics-based learning-to-read program and focuses on God's amazing creation (kindergarten), the world of the Bible (first grade), and U.S. history (second or third grade). Then a year of geography sets the foundation for four years of chronological world and U.S. history (through eighth grade). Our high school curriculum provides a Biblical framework for English, history, and other subjects.
• Provides easy-to-teach, integrated curriculum that is enjoyable, academically strong, and focused on character development.
• Is committed to the Lord of All, who tenderly searches for people from every tribe and language. A portion of our profits helps support missions work overseas, especially Bible translation projects. Our heart's desire is that someday soon all people would be able to read of God's love in their own language.

After talking to several friends who have used this and looking through the materials, I feel really confident that this will be really good for James and Claire.  I decided to teach James and Claire together this year. While Claire is a little young to be doing Kindergarten I think she will do really well in keeping up with James.  She is really motivated to learn and I actually think she could learn to read this year alongside James. I am not going to push it, just encourage her where she wants to learn and grow.  The same goes with James.  If I see that he is really not doing well this year, I am not going to push it.  I am a mom who believes it is okay to start your children later with school.  We did that with Ryan.  I started Kindergarten with him at age 5 and he just wasn't ready.  By the next year (when we repeated kindergarten) He did so well.

I did not order the complete Kindergarten package but instead  ordered the basic. Then I chose what extra things I wanted to go with it.  Here is a list of the extra things I ended up deciding on,
~Cuisenaire Rods
~ Cuisenaire Rods Alphabet Book (Ordered through My Father's World)
~a-z lowercase puzzle
~Number puzzle boards and Pegs
~Kid's puzzle (Ordered through MFW)

So there you have it. Our curriculum choices for the 2011-2012 school year.  Now that I finally have the burden of that decision off my shoulders I am looking forward to starting.  So much prayer has gone into all of this.  I know it is going to look a little different then what I am used to, but I have confidence that God will give us the grace we need.

So stay tuned to find out how it all goes and what we decide we like/dislike about what we are using.