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It’s starting to feel like it’s time to look ahead to second grade! Catalogs are showing up in the mailbox already. And, we will be finished with Math, some resources for Religion, and language lessons by the end of April.

That will free up some time to catch up on the outdoor learning that didn’t happen during this long, long winter.  I am looking forward to staying up late and studying the stars…

Even though the first year isn’t finished yet, there are some resources that are definite keepers for next year. Now there will be two boys in school: in kindergarten and second grade.

Here are our essential homeschool methods that I feel are high-quality, easy to use, and especially helpful for active boys with short attention spans:

Reading – Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading

Don’t waste your time, money, and effort on Phonics programs!! I started this book with our eldest son when he turned four. It starts out teaching letter recognition and the sounds of the letters, and by the end of the book, (which he finished before he turned six) he was reading chapter books for 2nd/3rd grade.  We just started our second son, who turned four in December,  and the 2 year old is chiming right in with all the letter sounds.  You really don’t have to get fancy with printables and CDs and computer programs to teach your child to read!  Each lesson is scripted, so there isn’t anything to plan, except to cut out/write the flash cards for some lessons.

Math – RightStart Mathematics

This is another scripted book (I rely on those because with all the interruptions from the little ones, at least I don’t have to worry about losing my train of thought when trying to explain something!) It is based on the abacus, and using hands-on activities with tiles, cubes, etc. to learn the concepts of Math.  NO MATH DRILLS!! You don’t have to have your child drone on and on “1 +1 = 2, 1+2=3, etc.” Math games and visualizing the problems based around 5’s and 10’s is what happens instead.

After using the abacus for almost all the lessons, our son has started to “see” the abacus in his mind, and he can now do problems like 89+27 in his head, as a first grader.  I find it all very amazing and fascinating.

The downside to this program is that it is highly one-on-one.  It will be interesting to see how it goes next year with one in Level C and the other in Level A.  I’ll let you know how it’s going next year!

Visit http://rightstartmath.com/resources to learn how this method was developed, and to see how using an abacus really helps children learn and understand math.

History – Connecting With History

There are many things I love about this program, and it’s hard to sum everything up that isn’t already on their website.  My absolutely favorite features of this history program are that it is Catholic, chronological and cyclic, and based on living books! I am enjoying learning everything myself so much that I’m sure the enthusiasm for history will be caught.  The boys have loved listening to the literature books tied to each chapter, and they have had fun building weapons like the Israelites, Egyptians, or Spartans. (Yes, boys will be boys.)

Just the fact that we aren’t reading a dry history book is a major plus for all of us.  Every book we do read stirs up the imagination and the boys are transported to another time and way of life, and that’s where real learning takes place.

I really love homeschooling!

What are the programs in your homeschool that you feel are the most helpful, enjoyable and inspiring?

P.S. If you’re interested in seeing everything we are studying this year, see my post First Grade Curriculum {2013-2014}!