New text books

Here are some of the text books I've ordered and received for Caleb's fourth grade homeschool in the fall.

For English this is our second year using the curriculum from Rod & Staff. We have enjoyed the foundation of Wise's phonics book The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading and grammar book First Language Lessons for the Well-Trained Mind for Caleb's kindergarten through 2nd grade, and Rod & Staff worked out for us last year for his 3rd grade so we are using it again this year. Though Caleb started reading at a very young age and is an avid reader, going through the basic grammar rules is still important. For the past year, he actually has even started writing stories and poems of his own. He is writing a series called The Adventures of Mary.

For math, we have been using Saxon math since kindergarten and he is on to fifth grade math this coming year. Though he loves science, Caleb is not as much of a lover of math as his parents are. Andy actually got a minor in math when he was in college since he loved it so much!

We have also enjoyed Bauer's The Story of the World series for history for a number of years now. I have learned so much reading with Caleb and have developed a better interest in the subject. We have gone from ancient times to the medieval period to the Renaissance and to the early modern period in a chronological order. We have finally arrived at American history this past year, after having built on a foundation of seeing history unfold not in a self-focused nor myopic way. The books are a joy to read!

For science, Caleb will be doing physics this coming year which includes experiments that we can do at home. Other subjects include spelling, writing (penmanship), art, music, plus a little Vietnamese and Chinese.

For the summer, I've only had Caleb work on some supplemental math practice and keeping up with piano. Other than that, he's just been enjoying seeing friends and family, going to the library, and just soaking up some California sunshine. I do very much look forward to starting the new school year, in a new home off campus in the same town. We have not yet seen the place we will be moving to except for pictures. But we trust this is the place the Lord has led us to and provided for us. And looking back at the past four years of homeschooling, I really saw God's goodness and faithfulness in it all. He has chosen the weak instrument to do His work.