I love this part of homeschooling. The boys are off to a Harlem Globetrotters Exhibition and I am alone with a cup of coffee and my favorite school resources scattered around me. Now is the time to choose what we will learn next year and how. Which books will make the cut. It's like pulling a chair up to a buffet.

For those of you who don't homeschool, let me back up a bit. One of the great things about homeschooling is that you are free to teach what you want, how you want. Some states or cover schools give guidelines as to subjects that are required, but you can choose the curricula to teach from, and they are plentiful. Some are pre-packaged with all of the subjects together. It's all right there, ready to go, delivered to your door. A lot of people like those. But I, like many, prefer to choose the resources that I think are particularly compelling or that I know will really challenge my kids. I also love the idea that they can each learn from a different curriculum. For example, I have one math whiz and one that's, well, not. They use entirely different math programs, both with good results.

So here I sit with The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling by Debra Bell, The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise and a few other good resources laid out. I am preparing to make "The List". In a perfect world my children would learn everything on the list next year. In reality, we won't get to some of it, but I like to set my sights high. I start with the subjects to cover. Here's what they look like for 2008-09:

US History: colonization-civil war spelling
writing reading
keyboarding math
science geography
art/music Bible
PE Piano/Scouts

Obviously our focus will be on the history. That is our main goal. Many of our other subjects will relate to what we're studying in history. The art projects will be history related, we'll listen to music from composers of the time, learn about prominent scientists of the day and major discoveries of the time, etc. We'll write about what we're learning and study grammar through those writing exercises. And, lots and lots of reading.

Now that I have "The List", it's time to research and purchase the texts. Can't wait to see what's available!

Do you think a curriculum will be necessary on this sort of a trip?

Our cover school asks us to list our resources and does have a few "required" subjects. It's one of the more strict cover schools in the area, but I tend to like the accountability. I really look at the curriculum as more of a guide - it's a plan, but the plan has to remain fluid. We don't want to miss any of the educational opportunities on the road. It seems that the vast majority of people who "fulltime" with children are unschoolers - not following any particular curriculum. Maybe their experiences have taught them something we've yet to learn, but honestly it will take a lot for my type A personality to let go of the curriculum. It's like a safety net for me

That makes sense. We used curriculums for years with our kids until last year when we bought an old house. It NEEDED to be remodeled before we could move in for the winter. So we (kind of) unschooled by default and I was amazed at the amount they learned without what appeared to be any structure. However, I tend to agree with you that it is good to have a guide... some sort of base to work from.

So, did your kids get to take shop class last year? Landscaping 101? Those are some practical skills!

All of the above AND family 101. Working hard as a family pulled us closer together as one. Enduring a few trials and working through tough times seems to be full of great lessons and mind forming character development. Even the math improved with applications like "how many boards does Daddy need to build this wall... or redo this roof? now double that... triple that... and let me know how much it's going to cost". And Science: how can we get water from a well that has to run uphill a few feet before coming down to the house... without a pump? Syphons were a big deal all summer... I set up one, the kids set up hundreds! Funny thing is, I was working and they were playing, and yet listening to them now you would think I spent hours everyday in intense planned studies with them.

God has a way...