Not Back to School Blog Hop: Curriculum Week

While we aren't starting our "school year" until September, I have had our curriculum decided on, purchased and planned since May.  Every time I think about it, I'm all giddy to get started.  But I want Preston to have a nice summer break.  Last year, for Kindergarten, I used several workbooks, random worksheets and activities or lessons found online (I love my homeschool mom bloggers, you guys are amazing - and generous with your free printables, thank you!!!).  While I feel like we covered everything we needed to (or I wanted to anyway), it was rather disjointed and I would find myself taking a good chunk of Sunday evening to figure out what we were going to be doing the next week.  It just wasn't organized enough for me.  

So, for First Grade, I decided I wanted to look into some boxed curricula and see what I could do.  My mind was blown away at the realization of just how many options there are for homeschool curriculum.  Each had their own set of pros and cons, great reviews, terrible reviews and oh, the price tags on some of them!!!  Yikes!!!  The one I kept coming back to was My Father's World.  I liked what I read about.  I liked the samples I could see online.  I liked that it was affordable and complete.  I liked that it was Bible intensive.  I pretty much made up my mind, but I resolved to stay open to possibilities until after the Homeschool Bookfair in Arlington.  I told my husband what I was thinking, but didn't try to persuade him at all.  We sat in on a MFW session at the bookfair, where the woman talked about it and showed it off a bit, answered questions.  And after that, Michael told me he liked it and thought it was the right one.  I was so excited that we were on the same page!!!  We purchased the First Grade Deluxe set right then and there, and it arrived at our home within the week.

I have gone through about the first eight weeks of it, and really planned it out.  Yes, it is already pretty much planned for you, but I'm a little over-the-top... I need to see it, write it out and touch it for myself.  I also wanted to make sure I would be able to fit the lessons into workboxes and add in Hymns for the Kid's Heart and The Complete Book of Spanish.

And, as of now, it all looks like it's going to work out wonderfully.  On paper.  I know that my daydreams of how amazingly perfect it's going to be will probably be thrown out the window the minute we sit down and get started.  But, I'm hopeful and thinking positively about it... and praying that rubs off on Preston.  He is excited about being in First Grade, though I know he will be resistant to some of it.  My plan is to be gentle and fun, and go at a pace he can handle and will enjoy.  Plus, I have Callen to think about as well.  Last year when we were "doing school" he was great about eating breakfast, and then just playing in his high chair for a while, then nap... so he was occupied well.  This year, I have a feeling he's going to be fiesty - so I will definitely have to be coming up up with new things to keep him entertained or at least out of our hair - and hopefully do some fun "school" things with him too!  So, we'll see.  We start Thursday, September 8th!  (MFW suggests starting on a Thursday so that the child only has two days of the first week, and so that our "Exploration Days" fall on Wednesdays.)

Click here to see more of the fun "Curriculum Week" posts for the Not Back to School Blog Hop, hosted by Heart Of the Matter Online.

I am also linking up with Mishmash Maggie's MFW Blogroll 2011-2012.