Curriculum choices

After what seems like forever, Dad and I have chosen curriculum for the next year.  The job has always fallen on to me but this year I said, "You know, this is really a big job and I would like some help and input, not just a grunt or a sounds good here and there."

Math was easy, the next level of Singapore for Spark and Saxon for Dancer.  They don't use the same math program because they both learn so very differently and I don't think that either one of them would excel at the other's math program.  I don't know how a school chooses one program for a whole classroom or grade. 

The big change we are making this year is to have Spark do a complete curriculum instead of one that I pick and choose what I think is best.  The past couple of years the kids have done the same history, some science, bible study and a few other topics together but work at their own level.  Spark is very happy to sit back and let Dancer do the majority projects they do together and answer all the questions when we discuss things.  That needs to stop, first because he doesn't pay very good attention when he knows there is back up for him and second, it drives me crazy.  It also seems there is a much bigger difference between what I expect of  them as a 4th and 8th grader than say when they were 2nd and 6th grade.  I am a bit apprehensive about this complete curriculum thing because it is not my style at all.  I like to plan our days out by how we feel not what someone says we need to get done.  Spark on the other hand I think will do well with a book saying this and this and this needs to be done instead of it coming from me.  We looked over what seemed to be every boxed curriculum out there and chose Worlds of Adventure. 

Dancer still has some of her last years subjects to finish up so we didn't order too much for her.  She is in various stages of Latin and science.  We don't really go by what grade they are we just keep going on with more in depth study so our books really don't get started at the beginning  f or finished at the end of a typical school year.  We did get her a new reading unit study.  Last year we used Total Language Plus, which she loved and found challenging, but so she doesn't get bored with the same thing we chose one study by Trailblazers to see how she likes it.  The main thing she enjoys doing is word puzzles and Total Language Plus had a lot of those.  If this study doesn't have many I will just get her a puzzle book.  She is also getting a grammar book since when the test scores came back we could see that that was an area she needed to focus a little extra attention on.  The last thing we ordered for her was Traditional Logic.  I love logic so I hope she does too, if it doesn't seem like she does we will probably put it away and pull it out another year.

The rest of what we want for the year we will have to wait and order later as the total seems to add up fast.