planning for 1st grade....

Been doing a lot of looking and ordering the past few weeks and am slowing getting things that we need for the "new" school year.

So far we are looking at:

Math: Sticking with Singapore. She should finish up 1B by Sept (being conservative since we only have 2 units left and the money one she should fly through). So once she finishes 1B we will start 2A. Also purchased FlashMaster for her. We were just not getting the flash cards done enough and this is "fun." I like it because it keeps track of what she misses and we can set it up to just test the missed problems. It will cover math facts for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division so we will get many good years out of it!

History: Starting with Story of the World: Volume 1: Ancient Times. We have the text and the activity guide. I am still debating about buying the audio book as well even though we have the text. I am realizing how much Emma is loving audio books and ever since I asked her which Ramona book she had on audio, she replied "Ramona Age 8, by Beverly Clearly, read by Stocker Channing." I realized she picks things up very well from audio.

Science: We have not decided. We will be doing Animals, Human Body and Plants. I am just not sure which program we will use. I have a couple bookmarked and will look over them with Dave. There is a chance we will buy both and mix and match.

Music: Continue with violin. Experiment with her guitar, lap harp, recorder and ukulele. Possible composer study.

Art: Artistic Pursuits Book 1 for K-3. She will also continue with the art classes at the local art studio as long as she wants.

PE: Nothing specific right now. Skating and hockey are not possibilities since the rink closed down :( People are fighting to get it opened again but I am not holding my breath. She is enjoying tennis, disc golf and bike riding. Possibly swimming lessons. Lots of hiking once it cools off.

Language Arts: Left this for last because just thinking about it makes my head hurt! I feel like there is so much but most of it is 15 min lessons per part and not everyday.

1. Right Track Reading - Sticking with the phonics as needed.
2. Explode the Code - This might get dropped if it is not needed.
3. All About Spelling
4. Writing with Ease
5. First Language Lessons
6. Handwriting without Tears - Finish up the first grade printing book, continue with second grade and possibly add in cursive (her choice).
7. Typing - various programs
8. Lost of reading outloud, both her to us and us to her
9. Memorization - at least a poem a month.
10. Misc- writing emails, working on a "journal" (couple sentences/picture per page, not worrying about spelling, just getting her write)

Other: As if the above is not enough, we will continue with community service this year. I really would like to get her involved in the local "backpack" program, picking up trash and visiting senior citizens.