So after spending hours and hours and hours and hours and hours (you get the idea) researching home school curriculum, I decided to go with a company called Sonlight.  Sonlight Curriculum is a Christian, literature-based program.  The selling point for me was that it comes with Instruction Guides that tell you everything to do.  You get everything you need (pretty much) for the entire year in one box.  Last year, I used a wide variety of curriculum and hands-on activities, but I wanted something with more structure this year.  With my busy schedule, I needed something more planned out and “ready-to-go”.  It was a more expensive choice, but seemed worth it for everything you get.

Here’s a picture from our “box day” when it arrived in the mail.  I admit, opening the box and pulling out/sorting all the stuff was overwhelming.  After having used the curriculum for several weeks now, I will give a more in depth review of our experience (this far) sometime soon.

1st day of home school– Pancake breakfast!

I let them choose their outfits for some quick 1st day pictures on the front porch.  (It’s fun to not have a dress code to worry about!) They were sure to model their new backpacks!

Even though our routine is pretty flexible, it looks something like this-

(if time) Opening Activity on rug (shape blocks, sight word bingo, etc) with classical music playing

Play the Bible Verse of week on CD (Sing the Word: From A-Z)

 Here they are saying the Pledge of Allegiance.  They always want to stand on the table while they do it (they did last year, too).  Not sure why they do that, but whatever….

Our curriculum came with this prayer cube.  The kids each roll the cube and then tell us what they want to pray for.

Classroom Calendar on the wall

Folder activities- (calendar, 100 chart/patterns, graphing weather)

Handwriting (while I read aloud from our Sonlight bible, history, nursery rhyme/poetry, and literature books)

Math

Language Arts (journal, Sonlight LA activities, reading, spelling)

Science (sonlight)

We do not have a designated time for Social Studies/history, geography.  It is integrated into the Sonlight literature!

Here’s a few pictures from our first week-

Rea writing spelling words in shaving cream at Gran’s.  Emmy did letters, and well, Max just made a mess. ha

A field trip the first week of school?  Why  not!?  I took them to the Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies.  They loved it.  We had a fantastic time!

A stop by the Apple Barn afterwards….  (my fav!)  I enjoyed have a cheat meal….

Here’s Rea using our new white boards to do a spelling lesson (All About Spelling).

Emmy and her fashion ways….

They absolutely love using these shape blocks to build pictures…..

Getting Max involved a little bit….  I love the free dot letter printables available at Confessions of a Homeschooler!

Sorting meat-eaters and plant eaters…..

Max sorting by colors-

Here’s a video with some random clips from our first week of home school (bible verse, science experiments, field trip)-