Everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. Matthew 7:24-25

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Reading, Writing, and 'Rithmetic

For the first time in my life, I am actually experiencing some positive excitement about the upcoming new school year.  Ty's new 1st grade curriculum arrived this week, and I have been browsing through the material trying to get a jump on things.  This year I have decided to use the aBeka curriculum.  I have a few reasons why I chose it.

1.  I'm familiar with it.  This is the same material that I used when I was in elementary.  Even though that was roughly 20 years ago (Eek!) I can still remember some about how this was taught to me.  Everything from letter formation, to phonics blends, to health and safety is coming back to me as I flip through Ty's new textbooks.

2.  Easier Preparation & Lesson Planning.  Rather than purchasing books for each subject individually, I ordered the parent and child kits from aBeka.  I think this is going to work out great, because the lesson plans are already written for me.  The lessons are broken down step-by-step, with a full list of all the supplies you will need each day.  The lessons even include exact phrases that the teacher should say, and they tell you how many minutes should be spent on each part of the lesson.  The material also comes with all the worksheets and tests that we will need each week, so I don't have to go running around trying to find or create those on my own.

3.  Bible-Based Curriculum.  My most important reason for choosing aBeka is its Christian foundation.  Moral and Christian concepts are incorporated into every part of the curriculum.  Handwriting practice includes copying Scripture.  Arithmetic word problems aren't just about apples and oranges, but speak of mothers and fathers and friends.  One of Ty's readers this year is a Bible primer, with a selection of well-loved Bible stories.  Health is explained in terms of why God created our bodies the way He did.  And the science textbook is entitled Discovering God's World.  I doubt we'll find anything about the big bang theory in there :)

I've already been working on laminating some pictures and flashcards, and I've got a short shopping list of things I'd like to pick up before we start school this year.  I want to get some kind of storage cabinet or drawers to keep all of Ty's school things in.  And I'd like to get him a desk that is all his own, just for his school work.  I think this is really important since we will be starting cursive writing this year.  I've just got to get him a good place to sit so he will be able to write properly.  I know I could probably just hop on over to Target and find something there, but wouldn't it be much more fun to browse Antique Alley looking for just the right pieces with just the right character?

Ty was so excited when his books arrived this week.  He really loved looking through his science and history books.  He was begging me to try some of the experiments at 11:00 the other night.  I just hope he will be as enthusiatic once school actually begins.  Maybe ya'll could pray about that for me :)

Sorry there are no pictures here today.  But, if you'd like to see some of Ty's school books you can look here on aBeka's website.  Then just click on any of the product numbers to view the books.

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