Back to School Shopping

Since we homeschool, our back to school shopping list is a little bit different from the typical school supply list.  For one thing, we don't have to buy any folders with prongs (one each in blue, red, green, yellow and purple, and no one can ever find the purple prong folder, I know).  Also, we don't have school uniforms, or really, even school clothes.  My kids wear the same comfy clothes all the time, and we just buy them clothes when they need them. Same with new markers and crayons.  I will probably pick up some new notebooks and the like when they go on clearance after everyone else has finished their school supply shopping, but our supplies are pretty much stocked all the time.

No, this time of year, for us, means buying curriculum.  And I have finished the first draft of my list for the 2017-2018 school year!

Would you like a peek at what it looks like?

I don't buy a whole program.  I like certain parts of certain programs for certain subjects. So this list is a hodge-podge of curriculum that we like and that works for us.

Daily Fundamentals (Grade 3 for Lex, Grade 5 for Connor)
This is a new one.  It's cross-curricular math, reading, grammar, spelling and vocabulary practice aligned with the common core standards all in one!  I would say that it is too good to be true, but I have been using this publisher for years now, and they make great books.

Daily Geography (Grade 4 for Lex, Grade 6 for Connor)
This is their common core geography and maps workbook.

For their living geography text, we are going to start with Leagues & Legends East.  We get the story book and the workbook.  We did South last year, and it only took half a year.  After East we will do North, then West.

Daily Science (Grade 3 for Lex, Grade 5 for Connor)
This is their common core science workbook.  There are six main subjects for each grade, and I usually supplement this with books from the library about the topics they are working on.

For their living science text, we are going to do Sassafras Science Botany this year.  We have already completed Zoology and Biology in this series.  I buy the novel and the SCIDAT Logbook so they can enter what the learn along with the characters in the story.  I also bought the downloadable coloring book last year, and it goes along with the workbook very nicely.

Daily Math Word Problems (Grade 3 for Lex, Grade 6 for Connor)
This is their common core math workbook.  I always opt for the word problems version instead of the regular math one.

For their math textbooks, we use Life of Fred.  I already have all the novels that Lex will be using. This year Connor is going to start with Life of Fred: Decimals and Percents.  After that he will move into the Pre-Algebra series.

Last year we started using the Writing & Rhetoric series, and this year we will continue it, starting with book 3 for the first semester, and then doing book 4 for the second half of the year.  Since I liked this program so much, we are also going to try their Well-Ordered Language program for grammar.  We will start with book 1A, and then continue to book 1B for the second part of the year.

We are going to continue our study of Latin by using the Latin for Children Primer A set of materials.  I don't think we are ready to do a new year of Latin and a new year of Spanish, so we are going to re-do Spanish for Children Primer A again this year, and I already have all of that.  Probably later on in the school year I will buy some more Spanish reading materials for the kids.

For history, we are going to continue working on our living history text book, Pages of History 1: Secrets of the Ancients.  But, since I bought that last year, I already have it.  I do need to buy the next book in our bible history curriculum though, God's Great Covenant: Old Testament 2.  The boys really liked the bible and history flashcards that I bought last year that covered the first part of the Old Testament and Ancient Egypt, so this year I plan to order two more sets that cover the rest of the Old Testament:  Judges to Kings; and, Chronicles to Malachi.  These flash cards come with a catchy song that help you remember the events in order.

So, how much does all of that cost?  That's what everyone really wants to know.

The books and curriculum that I need at the beginning of the school year to get a proper start totals $344.  I bet I would spend that much just on school supply lists for two kids, and I know that I would definitely spend more on supplies, clothes, backpacks, shoes, lunchboxes and the works if they were going to school outside of our home.

The rest of it will be bought throughout the year as we finish the first books and move to the next, and that will cost another $100 to $200, depending on how far we get in our subjects this year.

And everything else will come from the library and the internet, which saves us a million dollars every school year, at least.