Ending the Third Quarter

It's hard to believe it, but we're now 3/4 of the way done with first grade! Thankfully I have all but one of the books for second grade (and that last one I can borrow from the library if I'm inspired to go through it before the new one arrives), so I can do some concrete planning.

I'd say this year has been a success. One of the things I'm most happy about is that I've learned to go with the flow more. Both with giving Jasmine some freedom in planning her day/week, and in adjusting the curriculum as needed to work with our temperaments and strengths.


I've loved the Hideaways. Well, loved 'em and hated 'em. There are more boxes still sitting, waiting to be created, than we have projects left, because now that it's winter, our space is more limited. But we still do them some of the time:

My husband and I re-tackled that notorious igloo with the milk jugs we held onto after our first attempt. It was helpful to have thought it through the first time, so we could avoid the same mistakes. It was smaller, but it actually lasted a few days instead of a few minutes!

Gym class is more fun than I ever thought it could be...they love yoga, ballet and Irish Dancing.

I'm excited that we've made it this far, and that things are smoother and more enjoyable most days. I love my kids and am so very thankful that I get this time with them, and that I'm not sending them off for some other person to get to see that "aha!" moment. 

Second Grade planning

So....we're changing gears again.

Thankfully it's only January and we're not scheduled to finish first grade until sometime in April.

Jasmine had requested a science focus for next year.
No, that's not completely true. She asked that the only thing we do next year was science.

Thankfully, her favorite part of science is my reading to her. So though I am making plans for more activities and experiments, I know the primary requirement is good books. I can do books!

I've decided to go through history, starting with the Biblical account of creation, and through to modern history, and we'll cover things as they were discovered/invented. So we'll cover gravity when we learn about Isaac Newton.
It means making a lot of decisions...do we cover astonomy when we do ancient Greece, with Aristarchus, or do we wait until we get to Copernicus?? I haven't yet figured that part out, but I did find an awesome book that may help steer me:   I just got notification that it's been shipped. I can't wait to look through it and see how much it steers things.


Our main book is going to be the Usborne Internet-Linked Science Encyclopedia (Usborne Encyclopedia).

I've also found a couple books for next to nothing (love buying used books!!) with tons of fun child-friendly experiments. I think we should have a fun year!!