Homeschooling!

Some of you know that I have decided to homeschool Clara.  I toured a couple of schools and we felt that this was the best fit for our family at this time and will spare you all the factors involved.  Once committed, I had to determine which curriculum to use.  This was a super tough decision!  There are some other ladies looking at homeschooling here as well and we did a lot of discussing too.  Since we are located out here with very limited resources for homeschooling available, I opted to go with Calvert.

They were wonderful to deal with as I enrolled Clara.  I did two different diagnostic tests on Clara to make sure we were selecting the correct reading and math programs for her.  She was a trooper because it took quite a while!  It was also nice to see her strengths and weaknesses in those subjects.  Monday the kids and I went in to turn some stuff in at Charlie's work and he reported that the Calvert materials had arrived!  I am amazed at how quickly it arrived.  

In the box came the two lesson manuals that provide detailed daily lessons in all the subjects.  There is a book of activity pages and tests that we will submit to Calvert for scoring.  The activity pages are clearly labeled to go with the subject and lesson number.  The activity sheets are for phonics, composition (grammar and writing), social studies, geography, science, and spelling.  There are also computer skills activities as technology is a component of the curriculum.      

 Here are the reading materials.  She has the two volumes of the reading anthologies, reading word cards, poetry study, reader's library books to put together, and reading activity pages.

 In addition to the above, there is a spelling workbook and phonics workbook.

She will read the novel Smiling Hill Farm.  From the reviews I have read, it should be an enjoyable read.   The back of the book says:  "Calvert students have always enjoyed meeting the Wayne family of Smiling Hill Farm.  Set against the backdrop of American history-from pioneer days to the dawn of the Industrial Age-the book's vivid descriptions and illustrations will guide your student through the generations of the Wayne family."

She will also enjoy Tales from Far and Near and Tales of Long Ago..."History Stories of Other Lands".  The back of the books reads:  "This two-part, illustrated book introduces children to world history through 45 concise and engaging stories.  Both sections feature legendary and factual accounts, spanning from ancient times to the 19th century British Empire."

 She has a math text book that looks typical of a 3rd grade text, however it is paperback and she will be able to write in it.  In addition, there is a teacher's manual and more practice sheets.  The math text begins with a very in-depth diagnostic test.  There is a lot of online support for math as well.

 She will learn more critical thinking skills and mythology.

 The social studies text book is the same one I used this past year teaching 3rd grade, but with a Calvert cover.  It will be interesting to see if there are any differences as we work through it.  It focuses on communities and is a pretty decent text.  She also has a geography workbook and a book of famous Americans.  She will learn about some Revolutionary War figures, Presidents and leaders, scientists and inventors, humanitarians, writers, explorers, artists, and athletes.

 They also sent a science text book and some materials for science and math.  The science topics are typical third grade studies.  She will practice the scientific method.  Then there are units on living things, ecosystems, Earth and its resources, weather and space, matter, forces and energy.

 They sent some drawing paper (yes, art is a subject in the curriculum), writing paper, a notebook, etc plus a supply checklist for additional typical school supplies.

I feel very comfortable that Clara will receive a well-balanced third grade education.  In addition to these materials, I have an online parent portal and Clara has a student portal.  There are additional activities online, manuals, etc.  Clara has access to lots of support online.  There are reference sites (dictionary, thesaurus, etc), a Brain Pop subscription, and more.  There is a lot for me to be exploring now as I learn about all those resources.  I do know that there are daily online "check points" for the different subjects in addition to all the other practice.  Hopefully I will continue loving Calvert as we work through the year.