So far I'm happy with the curriculum that we chose (HOD: Creation to Christ 5th and MFW: Adventures in US History 2nd.) The only complaint I have is trying to fit it all in. Sis's work load is very heavy, so I'm thinking about eliminating some parts of her curriculum so that we can fit it all in.
History: Sis' history started back at creation this year. Her first reaction was, "seriously does every school year start at creation?" I was sort of starting to feel this way too, but I assured her that this is the last year until high school that she will study creation. This year begins a chronological study of history that will end with modern times at the end of 8th grade. The history book we are reading is The Story of the Ancient World. This book is more in depth than what we've used in the past yet easy for her to understand. Sis also has a set of history CD's that she is enjoying listening to called "What in the World." 
Sis will continue to have a weekly History project like she did last year. The main difference between this year and last is that Sis will be doing a lot of the reading and listening to CD lessons on her own rather than having them read to her. The other new thing is a colorful History Notebook that she has to record everything she learned for the week. That part she loves! There is designated space in the notebook for the projects, written narrations, and even drawings when they're assigned.
Sis' first History project of the year was to make a flap book of the ten generations from Adam to Noah. Under each flap she wrote the names of those born in that generation. Her flap-book was then glued into her notebook.
We also have a daily read-aloud time, where I will read to her. After the reading she has an assignment to either give an oral or written narration of what she heard, or make a picture to go with the story, etc. This week we read Dinosaurs of Eden together. This book is from the Creation Museum and gives a biblical account of dinosaurs and how to answer difficult questions about them.Boo is learning US History this year. I have to admit it is hard teaching two totally different subject matters this year. This week Boo labeled a couple maps.She learned about her city, state, country, the continents and oceans. Her first history lesson about Leif Erickson and the Vikings. Boo and Baby Bear made viking masks and pretended to sail to the new land.
Bible: Boo is learning about the names of Jesus this year for Bible and memorizing verses.This week was just an intro to names in general and how they have meanings. My most favorite thing this week was a letter that I had to write to Boo telling her why I chose her name and what it means to me...yeah I cried.
Sis is studying Genesis and using a book called "Genesis Finding Our Roots." Ok I just can't get into this book. It's too technical and hard in my opinion. I think this might be one of the things I ditch and do our own devotional instead. Science: I'm so excited about science this year!!! I found a family curriculum that we can all do together! It's called "Science in the Beginning." Each girl has a notebook and there are end of the lesson reviews for older and younger students...perfect! Every lesson has a fun experiment, which they love, a discussion about the experiment and then an age appropriate review assignment. Wait it gets better. The entire school year goes through the 6 days of creation learning science about each of the days! The first 15 lessons are about Day 1 of creation: God created light. This week we learned that light reflects off objects to our eyes allowing us to see. We went into a dark bedroom and used a flashlight and mirror to reflect light.
Language and Spelling: Sis is using a new Christian Language program this year called "Building with Diligence 4," by Rod and Staff. The books are numbered one number below grade level, so you do book 4 in 5th, 5 in 6th etc. A lot of this year is review of things she's already learned in 4th grade, plus they add a few new things. So far it seems easy to use and I think I like it.
Sis is also beginning a formal writing program this year called "Writing Strands" where she will be learning how to properly write stories, paragraphs and put her thoughts on paper. For spelling Sis is starting Spelling Power. This is supposedly the last spelling book that I will ever have to buy for her because it's for ages 8 to adult! The difference between this program and others is that the student only study's words that they have missed or can't spell. This is good for Sis because she is a great speller. She normally does not miss more than one word on a 25 word spelling test. This was instead of wasting time with a weekly list of words she already knows how to spell. She will only have a short list of words she struggles with or can't spell.
Boo is also starting spelling for the first time this year. She is using Spelling by Sound and Structure and will have a 12 word weekly spelling list. This week we started out slowly and only practiced 6 of her words. I made her a bulletin board to hang her words up for practice plus she will do daily workbook practice with a test on Fridays.Poetry & Art: We all love this part of this years curriculum. Sis has weekly poetry/ art projects. We were so excited about this that we decided to make this a family project even though it is for Sis' assigned work. All year we are reading the poetry of Robert Frost. We read a weekly poem and then we do a watercolor painting that goes with the poem. Sis has to write a few lines of the poem to add to her finished painting. Sis loves art so this is her favorite thing this year. I bought her a palette, professional watercolor paints in tubes and nice brushes. She is using an art easel for her work space (this helps her feel like a real artist.) The rest of us do our work beside her at the table. I'm going to display their paintings in our dining room (our school room this year) for a week and then switch them out when they complete a new one. Our first poem was called A Late Walk and our painting is of a tree that just lost it's last leaf.
...and week one is in the books!
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