HOMESCHOOL | favorite curriculum

First let me just say, choosing a curriculum can be so overwhelming. I’ve been there. I get it.

But let’s just acknowledge how lucky we are that we live in a time when the choices for curriculum are abundant!

When we started homeschooling I decided to piece meal the curriculum, a little of this, a little of that. I thought, “It’s KINDERGARTEN. How hard can it be?” I picked up Five in a Row, Saxon K math, and a reading program and settled in to the school year.

The great thing about Five in a Row is that even my little, non-school age children, happily joined in to our “school”. The basic outline of suggested topics to discuss after reading each book was wonderful to have on hand and we ended up talking about things we wouldn’t have otherwise mentioned. More on this later…

Once I was schooling all three kids, I needed something streamlined, something that I could use for all of them simultaneously. I read somewhere in my research that I should teach to the oldest child and whatever the younger one absorbed, great.

As I began researching curriculum I knew I wanted to stick to the Charlotte Mason methodology. I love her approach to education, using living books and poetry to teach most subjects. My goal was to create an environment in which we absorb facts, grow in knowledge, build character, practice discipline, and love to learn.

At the same time, we also signed up for the Classical Conversations coop in our area which gave us community and accountability. I’ve heard that many people believe that the classical method and Charlotte Mason philosophy don’t mesh, but I disagree. It’s been my experience that CM and CC complimented each other well.

I landed on the Living Books Curriculum as my guide for the year. I loved the way the guide was laid out by week and the way the year was structured- eight weeks of learning and then a ninth week to review and rest. This gave us a good rhythm to schooling and I found by week seven I was so happy there was just one more week left before a good break.

Overall I loved the book lists for history, literature, poetry, logic, science and the arts. I did use a different program for reading and writing, especially as the kids were enrolled in the Essentials Program at CC.

Since Maggie is my oldest, I chose to teach to her grade level and just scale back for Poppy and Jack. They were usually very happy to listen to all the read alouds with Maggie because the book selections were entertaining and engaging.

“Children have a right to the best we possess; therefore their lesson books should be, as far as possible, our best books.” Charlotte Mason, A Philosophy of Education

I would start with Jack, the youngest, and ask him to narrate back to me what he heard from the reading selection. Next I would ask Poppy to tell me what she heard but ask her not to repeat anything Jack had just said. Finally I would ask Maggie to narrate back what she’d heard. This allowed me to evaluate their comprehension levels.

Another subject I appreciated in the Living Books Curriculum was their Nature Study section. Spending time outside exploring and documenting the experience really helped me make this a priority in our week. I would often plan the week around our Nature Study and invite friends to meet us in local parks or on hiking trails to collect samples and write in our nature journals.

Now that my people are big, we have little margin left in busy schedules to spend time in doing a structured nature study. These are some of my favorite memories from our early school days.