Several times recently, I've been asked about curriculum, philosophies, and day to day activities. So, here's my thought-out response to questions.
I would define ourselves as Eclectic Christian Classical homeschoolers. We loosely follow the Christian classical ideas; the difference is I select curriculum for each subject based on what I like/dislike and what's working. We are not a unit study family. Unit studies are when you select a topic and all subjects are taught based on that topic. We do however, teach all children together as much as possible meaning I don't teach history 7 times a day, I teach it ONCE to all younger children at the same time. Sometimes, we select topics to study - like the election - but it is a supplement not the main.
What does our average day look like? Chaos is probably the best description. Our schedules have changed over the years and depends on where everyone is and what they are doing. When everyone was home, my official start date was after Labor Day. However, as children have grown, joined co-op's and left for college, we have shifted our start date to the week co-op starts, after everyone has been moved in for college, and we've added a Spring Break so we can spend time with older siblings. As far as start time, there's no set time for getting up although I like to be up and around by 8:30. We have a homestead farm with goats and chickens. They are fed in the mornings and we usually cook breakfast, so Bible starts as we finish eating. I do create a schedule to everyone, but it's mainly for me to make sure I have everything covered and that resources, like computers, are available for everyone's use at some point or another. Overall, we work a little, we play a little, we eat sometimes, and we just have fun.
When did we decide to homeschool? When the oldest was about 18 months to 2 years. At that time, we already knew that we wanted to either homeschool or send the children to a private Christian school. Baby number 2 was due around #1's 2nd birthday. We talked with several local Christian preschools which fed into the local Christian schools and they all refused to admit dd#1 because her birthday was after the state deadline for that year. I spent the next 4 years researching philosophies and curriculum and the whole homeschool idea itself. By the time #1 was ready for 1st grade, I was pretty set on how we wanted to do it and we haven't looked back. I was fortunate to have the support of another mom who was also investigating homeschooling as well. We bounced ideas off each other and talked many hours about different methods and curriculum.
Even with all that research, not all curriculum is a perfect fit for a family, no matter what the reviews say. We do believe that if it's not working for a child, we need to scrap it and start over with a new one, even if it's the middle of the year. So, when you hear me say we are on our 3rd math program, it's not that we can't stick with something, it's just that the other 2 didn't work for one child or another.
Curriculum we use:
Bible - Bible Study Guide for All Ages, Lads to Leaders
Spelling - Phonetic Zoo
Phonics - "The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading"
Grammar - Analytical Grammer, Jr and Mechanics, IEW's Fix it! Grammar
Writing - Institute for Excellence in Writing - SWI-A/B, Elegant Essays, Speech, Literary Analysis, Poetry, Geography Studies, and History Studies
Handwriting - copy work and typing (usually from the Bible)
Latin - Visual Latin
Math - Rightstart levels A and B; Teaching Textbooks
History - The Mystery of History, Notgrass American and World History
Texas History - Copano Bay Press, Discovery Texas
Government - Exploring Government by Notgrass
Economics - Exploring Economics by Notgrass
Science - Apologia Science, Considering God's Creation,
Geography - History supplements and "A Child's Geography" Series, and Trail Guide to Geography
Music Appreciation - We select artists we like based on selections from Ambleside Online; Celtic Woman and Enya; piano, viola, and violin pieces
Art Appreciation - We select which artist we like based on selections from Ambleside Online
Drawing/Sketching - Astronomy and History Supplements; Mike's Inspiration Station, and See the Light Shine Art Class
Piano - weekly lessons
Violin - weekly lessons
Viola - weekly lessons
I would define ourselves as Eclectic Christian Classical homeschoolers. We loosely follow the Christian classical ideas; the difference is I select curriculum for each subject based on what I like/dislike and what's working. We are not a unit study family. Unit studies are when you select a topic and all subjects are taught based on that topic. We do however, teach all children together as much as possible meaning I don't teach history 7 times a day, I teach it ONCE to all younger children at the same time. Sometimes, we select topics to study - like the election - but it is a supplement not the main.
What does our average day look like? Chaos is probably the best description. Our schedules have changed over the years and depends on where everyone is and what they are doing. When everyone was home, my official start date was after Labor Day. However, as children have grown, joined co-op's and left for college, we have shifted our start date to the week co-op starts, after everyone has been moved in for college, and we've added a Spring Break so we can spend time with older siblings. As far as start time, there's no set time for getting up although I like to be up and around by 8:30. We have a homestead farm with goats and chickens. They are fed in the mornings and we usually cook breakfast, so Bible starts as we finish eating. I do create a schedule to everyone, but it's mainly for me to make sure I have everything covered and that resources, like computers, are available for everyone's use at some point or another. Overall, we work a little, we play a little, we eat sometimes, and we just have fun.
When did we decide to homeschool? When the oldest was about 18 months to 2 years. At that time, we already knew that we wanted to either homeschool or send the children to a private Christian school. Baby number 2 was due around #1's 2nd birthday. We talked with several local Christian preschools which fed into the local Christian schools and they all refused to admit dd#1 because her birthday was after the state deadline for that year. I spent the next 4 years researching philosophies and curriculum and the whole homeschool idea itself. By the time #1 was ready for 1st grade, I was pretty set on how we wanted to do it and we haven't looked back. I was fortunate to have the support of another mom who was also investigating homeschooling as well. We bounced ideas off each other and talked many hours about different methods and curriculum.
Even with all that research, not all curriculum is a perfect fit for a family, no matter what the reviews say. We do believe that if it's not working for a child, we need to scrap it and start over with a new one, even if it's the middle of the year. So, when you hear me say we are on our 3rd math program, it's not that we can't stick with something, it's just that the other 2 didn't work for one child or another.
Curriculum we use:
Bible - Bible Study Guide for All Ages, Lads to Leaders
Spelling - Phonetic Zoo
Phonics - "The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading"
Grammar - Analytical Grammer, Jr and Mechanics, IEW's Fix it! Grammar
Writing - Institute for Excellence in Writing - SWI-A/B, Elegant Essays, Speech, Literary Analysis, Poetry, Geography Studies, and History Studies
Handwriting - copy work and typing (usually from the Bible)
Latin - Visual Latin
Math - Rightstart levels A and B; Teaching Textbooks
History - The Mystery of History, Notgrass American and World History
Texas History - Copano Bay Press, Discovery Texas
Government - Exploring Government by Notgrass
Economics - Exploring Economics by Notgrass
Science - Apologia Science, Considering God's Creation,
Geography - History supplements and "A Child's Geography" Series, and Trail Guide to Geography
Music Appreciation - We select artists we like based on selections from Ambleside Online; Celtic Woman and Enya; piano, viola, and violin pieces
Art Appreciation - We select which artist we like based on selections from Ambleside Online
Drawing/Sketching - Astronomy and History Supplements; Mike's Inspiration Station, and See the Light Shine Art Class
Piano - weekly lessons
Violin - weekly lessons
Viola - weekly lessons
Voice - weekly lessons
Home Economics - Pearables, Keepers at Home/Contenders for the Faith, Needlework Skills Part 1, and letting them be creative with needle, thread, and sometimes a sewing machine.
PE - Wii, outside activities, Kid's Fitness DVD, and Family Time Fitness
Supplements - Trinity Co-op, and dual credit classes
Home Economics - Pearables, Keepers at Home/Contenders for the Faith, Needlework Skills Part 1, and letting them be creative with needle, thread, and sometimes a sewing machine.
PE - Wii, outside activities, Kid's Fitness DVD, and Family Time Fitness
Supplements - Trinity Co-op, and dual credit classes
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