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I am SO looking forward to this upcoming school year! Y’all, this past year was just plain hard. We moved 1200 miles away from our entire extended family. We battled illness for months (and we rarely get sick). You can sum up our homeschool experience in one word: trudging.  But you know what? That’s okay. Life happens. God is in our midst whether good or bad. It makes us appreciate the year that awaits us, with new friends and book clubs and a beach to explore.

With 5 kids to teach, I like to do as much work together as possible. This looks a little different each year, depending on the books we use and what our yearly focus is going to be.  I choose a couple of subjects each year that need a little extra attention. Last year it was math & science; this year it is history and writing. Our focus subjects are the ones that we do no matter what! Our group work lineup for grades K, 4th, 6th, 10th, & 12th includes: Bible, History, Geography, Writing, & Nature Study. 

I took our hard year into account when planning this year because we all need a break from the trudging. Writing is one of those areas that can just be a beating for everyone involved, so I was determined to add it to our group playlist and have a bit of fun. Pinterest (once again) came to the rescue and I had a lightbulb moment when I found the Ultimate Guide to Creative Writing for Students. Creative Writing with the whole family for a full year? Well why not!?!

I’ve been organizing our morning times for the past few years using my Theme of the Day chart. (That post has tons of free resources!) In a nutshell, it takes all of the subjects that sometimes get pushed to the side – art, poetry, geography –  and assigns them to a day of the week. We would do morning time right after finishing breakfast and our Good Morning Guide, break up for individual subjects, and then come back together for group work in the afternoon. This year I am flipping our day. We will be spending the entire morning together and then splitting up in the afternoon. I am replacing our Theme of the Day with a new routine that I am calling Mornings with Mom. We will spend about 30 minutes each morning learning new words, watching interesting short videos, practicing math drills, memorizing scripture, and exploring whatever cool websites Mommy discovers that week. **I am almost done with a Mornings with Mom post that contains a big list of free & fun educational links. I’ll link it up here when I get it done.**

I still have a few details left to iron out, but here is what we’re running with for now:

~* Bible *~

• Bible Road Trip Year Two  (free)
• What’s in the Bible? DVD series 

~* History *~

• A History of Us  
• A History of Us Teaching Guides  (free)
• A History of Us Worksheets   (free)

~* Geography *~

• The Ultimate Geography and Timeline Guide
• Geography Living Literature  (free)
• Christmas Around the World  (haven’t created yet)

~* Creative Writing *~

• SmallWorld’s WordSmithery  (free)
• Creative Writing Class  (free)
• NaNoWriMo  (free)
• Writing Fix  (free)
• Always Write  (free)

~* Nature Study *~

• Nature Notebook Master List  (free)
• Just Beachy Activities  (free)

~ Science ~

• Exploring Creation with Zoology 1: Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day  K, 4th, 6th
• Flying Creature Activities  K, 4th, 6th  (free)
• Biology 101  10th

~ Handwriting ~

• A-Z Handwriting Worksheets  K
• Handwriting Without Tears Cursive Success  4th
• The Ultimate Guide to Free Copywork  6th, 10th, 12th (free)

~ Reading ~

• The Ordinary Parent’s Guide to Teaching Reading  K
• Get Ready for the Code  K
• Get Set for the Code  K
• Go for the Code  K
• Starfall  K
• Right into Reading  4th

~ Literature ~

• (undecided)

~ Spelling ~

• All About Spelling  4th
• Soaring with Spelling & Vocabulary Level 6  6th

 ~ Grammar ~

• First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind Level 2  4th
• Grammar Practice Workbook, Grade 6  6th  (free)
• Grammar Practice Workbook, Grade 10  10th  (free)
• Grammar Practice Workbook, Grade 12  12th  (free)

~Math ~

• Lesson Pathways Year K  K  (free) 
• Teaching Textbooks 4  4th
• Teaching Textbooks 6  6th
• Teaching Textbooks Algebra 2  10th
• Teaching Textbooks Geometry  12th

~ Government/Economics ~

• (Government undecided)
• Economics for Everybody  12th
• Whatever Happened to Penny Candy?  12th

~ High School Electives ~

• Instant Immersion French  12th
• Instant Immersion French Workbook  12th
• Duolingo App  12th  (free)
• Modern Calligraphy  10th
• Zentangle Basics  10th 

If this is your first visit to Are We There Yet?, my name is Amy and I share free educational resources. We are entering our thirteenth year of homeschooling. You might be interested in some of these posts:

• Homeschool for Free: free curriculum links
• Funschool: free seasonal lesson plans and activities  new post each week during the school year
• Through the Year with Pinterest: Homeschool Boards for Every Season
• FREE Month by Month Creative Planner
• 5 Days of Homeschooling Preschool for Free

Do you love FREEBIES?

Head on over to iHomeschool Network’s Curriculum Week to browse curriculum lists and link up your own. There will be several hundred by the end of the week!