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Mysteries, polka dots, California Rolls, TJ Maxx, cozy blankets, rainy days and getting the first spoonful of peanut butter out of the jar make me smile. Spiders, rude people, cold fingers and toes, baby leashes, people that don't wrap their packages before going to the Post Office, poison ivy and Math (pretty much all of it) make me want to scream. My perfect day would be spent with my wonderful husband and sweet girls- watching movies in our jammies! Of course, having the movie theater to ourselves would be great, too. Please pass the popcorn and M&M's.:) I am saved by the grace of God. He is my constant companion and hears my every prayer. What a blessing! I'd love to hear from you! Lori at toosillysisters@cox.net

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

And the Winners Are...

It's one of my favorite times of the year. You see, I
have a "thing" for books. And, yes, it even includes
curriculum. After much research I have chosen this year's
winners....

Writing with Ease came highly recommended. It helps
ease your child into writing. You read sections of literature
and your child repeats them (in their words) back to you.
This helps them to process how to write. There are also
questions that you go over and the reviews are amazing!

Apologia is amazing in many ways. Fabulously written
(with a focus on how and why we believe the Bible), colorful
pictures, fun activities, etc. I just need to order the
Notebooking journal and we will be on our way!

My first year using Horizons. I have high hopes.
I wanted to try Saxon sooooo badly, but I heard it was
extremely repetitious and expensive. Any thoughts on it?

Loved this series this year so we are sticking with it.
This year we are diving into cursive writing. I'm not sure
how often it will be used in the future what with the
popularity of computers, but I am going to teach it anyway.
Susan Wise Bauer is fabulous. She also wrote
Writing with Ease (top). The Story of the World is
exceptionally written. If I had been taught history
with this series I may have majored in it. Even if you
don't homeschool it is fascinating and entertaining!

Katie is not very happy with the book below. She
thinks everyone will think she is a baby. sigh.. The
lessons are wonderful, though! The book
covers almost everything and in short, simple lessons,
too. Sorry, Toots, this one is a keeper. (Mandy told her
to be glad that it was not called Language Lessons for
the Elderly.)
A Reason for Spelling. LOVE. There is a story at the
beginning of each week that has to do with God. It's
almost like Sunday School.:) The activities are fun and
educational and Katie really enjoys them. Winner!

I am using Accelerated Christian Education
(School of Tomorrow) with Mandy this year. I am really excited
about it! I had never heard of it before but was really
impressed with what I saw. Fingers crossed!:)

15 comments:

Tristan said...

how wonderful! I love that you GET to homeschool them...I so wish I could with Taylor-Austyn but the hubby is totally against it..makes me sad :(

BUT...I'm sure she will be just fine :)

Anonymous said...

language lessons for the elderly...out of the mouths of babes!!! love it :D

have a good school year!!!

~victoria~

Olenka said...

Great picks!! Saxon is very repetitive but also seemed a bit confusing at times as well!! Wishing you a wonderful new yr of homeschooling!!! I bet the girls are excited!

Amy Calhoun said...

Wow, we have a lot of the same choices! I'll be interested to hear how you like the writing.

We switched to MathUSee this year and we love it so far. Just wanted to put that bug in your ear!

joyfullness said...

That Mandy is a hoot!!! Great advce from a wise big sister!!
YES!!! I LOVED MY PACKAGE.....Wrote about it in your box...sorry..i am a lame-o!!.. i love you!

michelle edwards joy said...

Fun!!! I need to get on the ball with choosing our stuff but with the move I have been putting it of.

Darlene said...

Sounds like a great curriculum. Our schools use Saxon math and I'm not a huge fan of it.

jennykate77 said...

Sounds like you have a great curriculum for the year! I love homeschooling for this fact. I love that YOU get to pick what is right for your kiddos. I wish I could homeschool Isaiah, but it's just not doable right now. Hope you guys have a great school year!♥

Lindsay-ann said...

I can see that you are all going to be very busy there. Your choice of books to aid their learning looks great. Mandy is so funny.
Lindsay
x

val said...

I am so happy you get to home school your children. It is such a blessing to be able to do that.

Jerelene said...

Hi Lori!
I LOVE the apologia books. Sam is doing the Astronomy one right now!
We did the language lessons last yr. I really like their books:)
Sam's first couple of yrs of homeschooling we used the ACE workbooks. We really liked them, but if they are pretty smart they can guess the answers..Also, there is a LOT of Math problems. We always cut it down to even or odds:) I loved the memorizing the Bible verses..I think Sam still misses using them..We are doing A World of Adventure Unit Studies, pulling books out of the Sonlight list and also some workbooks from Barnes and Noble...and Life of Fred Math. I too was scared of the Saxon. My wish is for Teaching Textbooks..It's just SO expensive. I LOVE hearing about what other Moms are using for school:) Thanks for sharing.
Hugs, Jerelene

amy @ Life in Pink Hi-Tops said...

All those sound really great! Some people "swear" by Saxon math, but I thought it was too expensive.
Language Lessons for the Elderly--hilarious!!

Cranberry Morning said...

How fun to choose curriculum. That was always the really fun part about homeschooling! :-) I used all kinds of materials when homeschooling, pouring over all the books available and making up a curriculum I thought would fit each kid. What fun years those were!

Enjoy your school year! One word of advice: If you get into something, like ACE, and don't like it...leave it and use something else. Just as it is worth it to spend money on a curriculum you like, it's also worth putting something you don't like aside - and moving on.

Dawn Parsons Smith said...

Thank you for sharing these fantastic book recommendations!!! We are prepping for our homeschool year and these will be welcome additions!

Fran. said...

Oh Lori the world would be so blessed to have you as a teacher in the school system! Your girls are gonna grow up to be such wonderful ladies!! Sounds like you have a little comedian ther in Mandy!! Bot the girls are so adorable! I can't believe how much they have grown inthe short year I've been blogging! Your life and family are so fun!! Have a great school year!! XO Fran.