Things to do

Need to re-plan social studies/National Education curriculum from scratch.

Need to look into making a list of mini-book ideas for lapbooking.

So that's what I'm currently into.

1st post of the New Year

OK OK.... I promised to blog weekly. So this is my first for 2011. Been too busy otherwise.

We're officially homeschooling this year. So far, the core subjects have been going pretty well. The time table needs some adjustment, but we're getting used to the routine, and learning what can and cannot be done in the time we have. Here's a run down for Sarah's curriculum:

English/Phonics

Rod and Staff is really easy to follow. It seems to be clear in explanation, and has an adequate amount of drill which can be done both orally and as written work.

We still do Christ Centered Curriculum Phonics, once a week. Sarah enjoys that and continues to learn a lot from that programme.

To supplement it all, she does some Cloze Passage exercises every now and then. (Must keep up with the Singapore curriculum, after all).

Maths

We are continuing with Right Start Math B. It's fun for Sarah, with a mix of arithmetic and geometry. She is very serious about Maths, which is great.

She also does some exercises from a local 'Assessment Book' to keep her up to date with the local stuff.

Chinese

She's on Book 1B already because we started 1A last year. She seems to be enjoying her Chinese, especially as she can learn the textbook material online. We're really trying so hard to speak to her in Chinese every night, but sometimes we forget.

I confess that I don't have much time for her to review what she learns at her enrichment classes apart from doing the 听写 (spelling) with her. Her Chinese is improving and she can actually speak in sentences now.

She also does pages from a revision book every week or so.

Science

Building Foundations for Scientific Understanding (BFSU) is really great! Fun, and simple, yet covering the basic concepts.

Apologia is going slower though, because the timeslot alloted to it has been constantly missed. I must re-adjust this, so that she can still read her Apologia Science.

Art

Sarah's art has never been her forte. With our Artistic Pursuits art programme, she has been enjoying doing art, and getting the idea of how to do art. So I would say it's quite successful. She looks forward to her art lessons every Monday afternoon.

Social Studies & Latin

Social Studies has been quite a disappointment. The Primary 1 textbook and workbook are so simplistic, it's a laugh! I think I have to plan my own curriculum when I have the time to.

We're on Lesson 3 for Latin. Sarah has a vocabulary of about 20 words, and has learnt about verbs, vowels, consonants, diphthongs. She can also recite the Sanctus.

Gymnastics

8 hours a week, 3x per week. New competition leotard cost $100. Mummy had to learn how to do her ultra-short hair neatly. Need I say more?

That's all for now.