
Well, some years are just not your year. And that was the case for us this year. In our 9 years of homeschooling, I've learned that some years are just not as good as others. The other thing I've learned, which is so much more important, is not to worry about it. Life was life-ing real hard this year and school didn't get as much attention as it should have.
The great thing is that it didn't set us back at all because we've had so many good years that we were a little ahead of the game when the school year started. So while we didn't get as far as we had hoped, we also aren't "behind" (although y'all know there is no such thing as behind in homeschooling!).
All of that being said, we did make great progress this year. Overall, we did learn a lot. We do participate a co-op and that has been such a great thing. Learning might have not been going perfect at home, yet the kids were still getting in a ton of learning in at co-op. And not while not right on time, the learning train was still rolling at home as well.
I've broken our year down into three parts. My 8th grader, my 4th grader, and my Kindergarten & Pre-K together. So let's dive into what we got done this year.
8th Grade
We had some grand plans for my 8th grader this year. My hope was to start getting ready for a high school schedule that was a little more independent and setting her up to do more subjects in a year to start earning high school credit. It didn't really work out they was we wanted it too, but we did still work on getting her to be a little more independent.
Here are the subjects we did, what curriculum we used, and a brief explanation of how it went for us:
Subject | Curriculum | How It Went |
Math | Saxon/Nicole the Math Lady | Hated Saxson/Enjoyed Nicole the Math Lady. Unfortunately, she only uses Saxon |
Math | Khan Academy | Really like this. Easy to use and FREE! |
Literature | Brave Writer Literature Singles | Still working well for us |
Spelling | Spelling Connections | Did not go well |
Spelling | Sequential Spelling | Works good for us |
Spelling/Latin | Word Roots | Really love this workbook |
Grammar | Fix It! Grammar | Still really love this |
Writing | Layers of Learning | Didn't get to it much, but like it so far |
History | Big History Project | LOVE! Use on Khan Acadamy |
History | Curiosity Chronicles | Didn't get very far, but really enjoyed |
Science | Science Chunks/Big History Project | Really enjoyed both |
If you want to hear about how our year went in more detail, check out our video on YouTube:
4th Grade
While we didn't get as much extras in this year, 4th grade went pretty well. Here is what we used:
Subject | Curriculum | How It Went |
Math | Math U See Gamma | Finished it up. We like MUS a lot |
Math | Khan Academy | Really like the simplicity and the fact that it was free |
ELA | Micheal Clay Thompson | LOVED! |
Spelling | Spelling Connections | This works really well for us |
Spelling/Latin | Word Roots | Really love this workbook |
History | Curiosity Chronicles | Really like this |
History/Science | Big History Project | She came along with big sister for some lessons. |
Science | Science Chunks | Really enjoy this curriculum |
If you want to hear more about how our 4th grade year went, check out the video linked below:
Kindergarten and Pre-K
I grouped my younger two kiddos together this year. I don't usually homeschool for Pre-K. I like to use that time to get some solid learning through play in. I think that is very important. But my youngest was just so eager to do school, so I allowed her to join us.
My goal with her was to not worry about how much she was learning. Just letting her have fun along the way. And she really surprised me with how well she did! For my Kindergartener, we really made sure he was making progress since is was registered as a homeschooler and will have a portfolio review.
Here is what we used and how it went:
Subject | Curriculum | How It Went |
Math | Math with Confidence | Loved! Would have liked more practice sheets. |
Math | Math U See Primer | Really like this. Used for extra practice when needed. |
ELA | Pinwheels | Can't say enough great things about this program! |
ELA | Brave Writer Quill | We really enjoy this units. They are engage and a nice addition to our learning. |
Science | Science Chunks | They came along every once in a while for science lessons. They also got a lot of science at co-op |
You will notice that we keep the younger years quite simple around here. They are also doing lots of learning through play and imaginative play as well. We find this really valuable and like to make it a priority.
If you would like to learn more about our year, check out the YouTube video:
How did your 2023 - 2024 Homeschool year go? Please share done in the comments!
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