As soon as people find out we homeschool, they want to know what curriculum we use and if we are in a co-op and how do I choose what to study and teach?!? My standard answer is that there are so many ways to homeschool. Each family has their own strengths and needs and each child learns in different ways. So explore what is out there and figure out what fits your family, your children, and your teaching style.
I am a strong type-A personality. I don't need help staying on track or being organized, that's where I excel! So for us, a classical education method makes perfect sense. It fits my strengths--and interest--as a teacher. I use The Well-Trained Mind as my "spine." It gives you an overview of education from kindergarten through 12th grade and covers all subjects: math, science, history, language arts (reading, writing, literature, spelling, and grammar), fine arts, languages, logic, and rhetoric. I like WTM because it narrows down my curriculum choices. (As in, here are five math curriculums we like, the learning style they cater to, what they cover, and their strengths and weaknesses.) Here are the books we are using this year:
Right Start Math
First Language Lessons (grammar)
Spelling Workout
Zaner-Bloser Handwriting
Story of the World (history)
Artistic Pursuits (art technique mixed with some art appreciation and art history)
I follow the literature suggestions from WTM. This year we are studying ancient history and the literature of the same time period. We do copywork and poem memorization, too. I am teaching Annie and Jacob piano using My First Piano Adventures. For art appreciation, I found an awesome book by DK called The Arts: A Visual Encyclopedia. It covers painting, sculpture, photography, music, and dance. We read a few pages each Friday, whatever goes along with out history from the week. For science, we are studying biology this year. We started with animals, then we will do the human body and plants in the spring. I have a set of children's science encyclopedias; we choose a topic for the week (penguins, bears, spiders, etc) and read about it in the encyclopedia. Then we get books from the library for further study. Then we try to do some kind of project (observe the tarantula at the library, see the bears at the zoo, watch March of the Penguins) or do a question and answer page about the animal.
Sophie is doing God's Creation from A to Z for 4K. I did this program with Annie and Jacob and it was a really sweet and fun introduction to "school." She already knows so much more than Annie and Jacob did at her age, because she plays alongside us while they do school. I bet when she gets to first grade she's going to say, "Mama, I already know this!"
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