Our Year in Review

I struggled this school year and I think it was largely due to the fact that we moved from PA to IL on July 29th, 2013. In the midst of educating my children, I was also dealing with setting up and making our new house a home, learning a new area, building relationships, diving into a new place of ministry, and handling the fact that my kids are not little anymore. When I went to college, I chose early childhood education as my major because I like teaching younger children and I found myself teaching 3rd, 5th, and 6th grades this year. Putting this year in review post together has helped me step back and see the large picture. We did have a full and wonderful year of learning and enjoyed some wonderful enrichment experiences as well.

Field Trips:

• Shedd Aquarium
• Cantigny War Museum

Fine Arts:

• Piano and drum lessons
• Signs Choir

Co-op Classes:

• Spanish
• Sewing
• LEGO Club
• Handy Skills
• P.E. 
• Art

History Timeline Covered:
1883-1953
Topics such as the railroad adopting standard time, the World's Fair in Chicago, Theodore Roosevelt, the Rough Riders, the Panama Canal, The Wright Brothers, WWI, The Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt,  WWII, The Cold War, and the Korean War were covered this year.

Books We Read (silently or aloud to coincide with our history lessons): 

• The Great Wheel by Robert Lawson
• The Wright Brothers by Quentin Reynolds
• Hero Over Here by Kathleen V. Kudlinski
• Little Britches by Ralph Moody
• All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor
• In the Year of the Bear and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord
• A Letter to Mrs. Roosevelt by C. Coco De Young
• Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth
• Snow Treasure by Andre LaBlanc
• Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

All three children also keep a reading log of all the books they choose to read on their own time and they are expanding their reading in various areas. Library day is still a highlight of our homeschool days.

Science Lessons Covered:

• Plant Science
• DNA and Punnet squares
• Anatomy
• Tyler set up an entire fish tank on his own and wrote an extensive paper on how to properly set up and care for a fresh water aquarium. 

Language Arts:

• Writing across most subject areas, weekly spelling tests, and Easy Grammar Lessons

Missions:

• Bruchko by Bruce Olson
• The children loved this book and it made an impact on their lives. My girls are also participating in a missions program held at our church. They are not just learning about missions, but also praying for missionaries, and helping to support missionaries. 
• Our family has helped with services at a nearby retirement village twice this year.
• My girls made rainbow loom bracelets for a friend to take with her to Cambodia. 
• This weekend our family will be joining our church to serve dinner at a local rescue mission. 

Math:

I used Teaching Textbooks for the older two children and my youngest used materials from Christian Light Publications.