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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!
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