Curriculum for 2013-2014

I think everything about homeschooling is a journey; nothing is static. Just about every aspect, especially curriculum will always be in motion depending on the ages and stages of your children as well as whatever life circumstances God chooses to bring to your life.

Every parent has a different teaching style, needs a different amount of aid in planning and teaching and desires a different amount of parental involvement. On the other end, each of our children has a different learning style, and requires different amounts of assistance.

There are dozens of different philosophies and as many curriculum choices to go along with them. I used to label myself as an academic type. This involved a comprehensive curriculum that included textbooks and workbooks. I actually felt a bit judged for adopting this philosophy when I first began homeschooling. Many were following an unschooling approach or doing unit studies. Some were going the Charlotte Mason route which involves learning through the reading of good literature. The thought of teaching in this latter way was overwhelming to me. I even had a friend tell me they didn't see me going in that direction. So begins my curriculum journey. . .

We went with Abeka in the beginning because it was familiar. I had taught with it as a classroom teacher. We didn't know if I would continue to homeschool J past kindergarten, so I figured if I used Abeka, he would transition better into first grade in the Christian school. Also, I already had some of Ellie's curriculum that she had used, so it saved us money. When Ellie came home for 3rd grade, I thought it might be wise to use what she was familiar with to help with the adjustment to being home.

I supplemented A LOT for Josh in the area of history and science with the Abeka curriculum because it was just too simple for him. He was capable of reading and understanding more. I bored my daughter by making her stick to the textbook and having her do all the worksheets, quizzes and tests. She didn't think it was fair that her brother got to do "fun" things. She was right. Math and language were overwhelming with 180 lessons. We do 175 days of school and we don't do lessons on field trip or Friday school days, so there is just no way to "finish" the curriculum. I also found that the Abeka readers were really below Josh's reading level and many weren't very interesting to him.

This year we stepped away from Abeka a bit with science for both kids and reading and history for Ellie. It was great. We loved the Apologia Astronomy and Ellie and I immersed ourselves in California History with historical fiction novels, maps, drawings, and a fun activity book. These two changes caused me to start looking into other curriculum choices. While praying about them, asking others, and doing lots of research on the Internet, and seeking my hubby's input on math and history, I have made the decision to step away from Abeka altogether. I think these changes will make for a great school year for us.

Here is our line-up. . .

We will be starting Bible with Kay Arthur's inductive study on Creation which covers Genesis 1 and 2. This will not take the whole year, but I am not sure at this time what we will do after this.

A last minute decision was to do Mystery of History with both kids. I am excited to be giving this curriculum a try. The first volume covers creation through the resurrection; mixing both biblical as well as historical information. There are a variety of activities which will allow the kids to create a notebook with sections for each continent. I really hope the kids will enjoy this as much as I think I will.



I was very excited when I came across the Learning Language Arts Through Literature Curriculum. Each grade-level book includes four book studies in addition to the practicing of language skills using excerpts from a variety of different reading materials. No more workbook pages of exercises after exercises. These lessons will teach concepts through real literary examples and give them practical applications.

I taught with Saxon Math in the classroom and always liked it. We are making the jump next year. Josh will be doing the Intermediate 3 book and Ellie will be doing the 6/5 one. Like Abeka, it practices math facts, concepts build on one another, and previous ones are practiced each day. The main reason for the switch is fewer lessons per book. We will actually complete the curriculum. But also, there are generally only 25 problems per lesson, which will help my daughter not be so overwhelmed.

Ellie requested Swimming Creatures for next year. My friend is loaning me her book, so I will just have to purchase the notebooking journals. I really like the Apologia format. The kids have enjoyed the notebooks as well as the experiments. Science was their favorite subject this past year. I love that they enjoy learning about the world around them and that we can do if from a Creation perspective - seeing the hand of God in everything.

Sequential Spelling seems to be working well for both kids. We'll pick up where we left off this year. I like that we can do it together. Less back and forth for me.

A friend told me the other day that you should "never say never". I am finding this true with curriculum. I never thought I'd be taking a more literature-based approach to teaching. I've already seen the benefits with the reading Ellie and I did this year. It was more interesting than textbook reading and workbooks. We got to snuggle up on the couch together and share a good story. She and I had some good discussions about the characters, their choices and the time period in which they lived. Both kids already love reading, but I think this will continue to grow that love as well as give them examples of good writing.

I do hope my expectations will come to pass; but if they don't then we'll re-evaluate. But I am looking forward to the next adventure in our homeschooling journey. . .