And So It Begins!

Well, the big day is finally here!  Today is our first day of THIRD GRADE!  As I mentioned in my previous post, it seems next to impossible that we are beginning our fourth year on this homeschool journey, but here we are!

 This year in the My Father's World curriculum set up is "Exploring Countries and Cultures."

The theme of ECC is missions and we will be learning map skills and also using geography to learn about other places in the world, mission work and the importance of sharing the message of salvation through Jesus with the whole world.

Science will involve studying biomes, habitats, and animals of the world in relation to the continent/countries being studied.

For Bible, we will be using a combination of the MFW program (which involves a study on the entire book of Matthew) and a program from Answers in Genesis, "Answers for Kids".  We will also include our own hymn study in keeping with the Charlotte Mason style of education.  We will be incorporating missionary biographies (provided in the MFW curriculum), the Kids of Courage series I have blogged about before (see post here and  here), and Window on the World (also included in our curriculum but can be purchased through Voice of the Martyrs) which is a break down of the 92 largely unevangelized countries in the world that together make up an area known as the 10/40 Window.  It shares interesting facts about each country, a brief story, beautiful photos, maps and ways to pray for that area.  While it needs a bit of updating, it is still a really good resource to use as a springboard into a heart for Bible translation, the need for missionaries and prayer for our persecuted brothers and sisters.

Language Arts will consist of the second half of Primary Language Lessons (a fabulous little book that was used to teach many of the founders of our country in the use of our language), Spelling Power, copywork, dictation, poetry, read alouds and individual reading time.

In Math, we will continue to use Singapore math, books 2B and 3A, math fact drills and games to solidify learning.

Music and Art will include listening to music from various areas of the world and participating in crafts that come from various cultures.  We will also continue using our art book from last year, "I Can Do All Things".

Lastly, we will be beginning our study of Spanish using Rosetta Stone...we are most excited about learning a new language together as a family and our prayer is that we will have opportunities to use this new knowledge in ways that will further the Kingdom of God!