Cuckoo for Curriculum

Lately, I've been on a curriculum kick...trying to decide which curriculum we will be using during the next school year.  The way I figure, I better start trying to decide early...there are SO many choices!  Some things have been working really well for Tootsie, but her learning style is so different from TurkeyBoy.  I know I'm going to have to change things up a bit as he progresses with his schooling.

Here's what we've been doing this year:

Calendar Time - Each day we go over the day of the week, yesterday/today/tomorrow, and the weather.  TurkeyBoy is our official weatherman.  Sometimes I think his weather reports are wishful thinking.

Number of the Day - We have a chart to which we add a straw each day.  This is helping the T's to learn counting and place value.

Handwriting - Turkey has been working on his fine motor skills through tracing and cutting activities.  Tootsie has been working through "A Reason for Handwriting."

Phonics & Reading - The Explode the Code series.  Tootsie has done a great job learning to read with these books, and TurkeyBoy seems to enjoy casually going through the preschool set to learn the sounds of letters.  We've supplemented these books with BOB books, and other easy readers, and have had regular storytime every day, as well.

Math - Horizons Math for kindergarten.  At first I loved this math curriculum...then I detested it...now we've come to terms :)  Tootsie says that math is her favorite subject, so I guess it's working well for her.  I see no reason to switch her math curriculum at this point.  However, I think for TurkeyBoy, we may try out Math-U-See instead.  I think a more hands-on format will work better for his learning style.

We've been switching between science, history, and the arts throughout the year.  The T's have learned about outer space, our bodies, the food groups, the life cycle of butterflies, the first Thanksgiving, and Mozart.  The remainder of the year, we'll be learning about the water cycle, dinosaurs, rocks & minerals, matter (solid/liquid/gas), animal habitats, Monet & da Vinci, and a few presidents.

We are about halfway through our first year of homeschooling, now, and it's been such a great (and challenging!) experience.  It's wonderful to be the one to share in my children's excitement when they learn something new.  They are loving learning...and I love teaching them.