Used Curriculum!

Our homeschool group had a used curriculum sale this morning. How is it our oldest came home with more money than I did? He wasn't even selling anything!!!!!!!!! Dang the luck! He watched a friend of mine's table for a bit. I sold two books for $0.50 a piece. Oh well. Guess I'll see if there is still time to set things up with the HEAV Convention and hope that a larger audience will lend itself to selling.

Home School Convention

If Christmas is for the kids, does that, possibly, make conventions for parents?

From the sounds of it (reading FIAR Forum and reading various web-sites) anyone weekend in June or July there is a Home School Convention somewhere. The idea of wandering isles of exhibitors, all wanting to sell you the latest and greatest. The first year we went to one, it was so over whelming. Last years HEAV Convention felt overwhelming as well, even with a year of Homeschooling under our belt.

This year, I'm hoping, will be easier. The kids will be with their grandparents and we'll be able to linger more; be able to walk the isles and browse; be able to really look through the used curriculum. It also helps that we know most of what we're looking for, with regards to curriculum, and have used most of it before. We'll be looking for deals on "fun" stuff.

Five In A Row

The kids and I have been working through Five in a Row (FIAR) this week.  It is a unit based curriculum, where, for five days, you read the same book.  Each day, you are discuss either Social Studies, Art, Geography, Math, or Science lesson's based from the book.  The boys have actually really enjoyed the work we've been doing.  The beauty of this curriculum, is that the even the most basic information is cover, you'll have touched on a wide variety of information.  It's been easy to pull extra's together; many folks, who've used this curriculum, have published extra read-a-louds, field trips, and other lists to tie into current reading. 

In the coming weeks, we'll settle on Math and Grammar curriculum to supplement what the boys are learning in FIAR.

HHMMMMM?

My oldest and I visited a used, homeschooling curriculum sale today.  Just couldn't pass it up, even not being a certain which curriculum we'll use this coming year.  Happily left, after spending only $3.00, with one curriculum I've been mulling over; it's Five in a Row.  I really like the concept of it and THINK it might work for my two next year.  The beauty of it, I can experiment in the coming days, before the HEAV Convention, to decide if we like it or not.  Being able to see other options, even if the wrong "grade level" was a good experience.  I've noticed, at least on-line, that the overall format doesn't change, from one grade to the next, in a given curriculum; at least if you are looking at, say 5th grade and you'll have a 3rd grader.  

We're all looking forward to a good summer vacation and awesome school year come fall.