I'm down to the final three kids at home. It's my seventeenth year of homeschooling, and with two kids in high school and one in middle school, I feel nearly obsolete. They may all be fairly self-sufficient, but they still need me—just in less acute ways. And isn't that the goal? Homeschool mothers should always aim to work their way out of a job.
Here's a peek at how I'll still be involved in their day-to-day learning.
Here's a peek at how I'll still be involved in their day-to-day learning.
Please note: I am a firm believer that when teaching more than one child, a mother has to divide and combine. She has to remember that there are two different types of subjects: skills-based subjects (subjects that must be learned in a particular sequential order, like math) and content-based subjects (subjects that are rooted in broad information that can be learned at any time and in any order, like Bible and history).
So, with that in mind, be aware that this is only a list of our group subjects--resources that we'll do together. In the coming days, I'll be sharing the skills-based subjects, science, and passion projects that each of my children will be doing individually.
Our commitment to a four-day-a-week schedule remains unwavering. As you review our curriculum choices, keep in mind that most items will be used four days a week unless otherwise specified. An asterisk denotes a new addition to our curriculum this year. I don't strictly adhere to grade levels, and can easily adjust these subjects to suit a variety of learners.
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Morning Time- every day
Our morning time is a non-negotiable in the schedule--an immovable anchor for the past 15 or so years that has helped to create calm in the daily chaos. While some moms pack their Morning Time full and overflowing, I like to keep it simple, including only the things that will build our faith and our relationships with God and each other. I figure if I can start our day peacefully with this short but very intentional benchmark, I can count the entire day as a success even if the rest of it gets derailed.
Plus, Morning Time should only contain the most important things, in my humble opinion. If I jam a million activities into that time, then I'm basically saying that everything is equally as important, inadvertently making nothing important.
And like Charlotte Mason, I don't feel like kids should sit for hours doing lessons. I try to keep each part of our day short. Do I read aloud a fun fiction novel to my kids? Yes. Do we do content subjects like history and nature study as a group? Yes. But I place those activities in the day at other times. Because they are not the most important things. Bible/Faith building and pleasure reading are my TOP 2, and so I put them first and set them apart in our agenda.
Some of the resources in our morning basket will be done daily, while others will be done in a "loop." (Not sure what a loop is? Be sure to check out The Quick-Start Guide to Brave Homeschool Schedules for more info).
To be done daily
- Call to worship- I'll use Spotify to play the entire audio of Gratitude by Brandon Lake.
- Practice the verse of the week from Truth & Grace Memory Book 1 and review previously learned ones.
- Go over a few catechism questions from Truth & Grace Memory Book 1. (This is a protestant catechism book of basic theology and tenets of our faith.)
- Learn a new hymn each month. On the day that the hymn is introduced, we will read about its writer from Then Sings My Soul, Book 1, and then do a short MadLib just for fun.
- Review one old hymn and/or praise and worship song from our homemade songbook.
- Review previously learned manners with the 100 Manners to Teach Your Kids Before They Turn 18 list and read one section from Etiquette and Manners Made Plain & Simple*.
- Listen to one KidNuz podcast episode. (This is not a Christian podcast, but it is edited in kid-friendly sound bites, is only 5-6 minutes long, and gives us many talking points to explore regarding current events. Sometimes, we agree with the show, and sometimes, we don't, but we have good discussions either way.)
- Read for 15 minutes at the end of Morning Time. We will each grab the individual books we're currently reading for pleasure and read, even me!
To be placed in a "loop"
Bible
The Children's Bible in 365 Stories- 2x a week
The Children's Bible in 365 Stories- 2x a week
Christian Living
More to the Story*- 1x a week
Missionary Story
Bruchko*- 1x a week
Bruchko*- 1x a week
History- 2x a week
History should never be studied using a dry-as-dust textbook, in my opinion. It should always be learned through living literature, field trips, videos, and conversations with the real, flesh-and-bone people who lived it. After taking a two-year hiatus, my two youngest sons and I will be returning to our beloved Truth Quest guides to create homespun history units for our look at Ancient Egypt & Ancient Greece.
I'll also use the following resources to show my kids what was happening in other parts of the world during the same time as an event we're learning about in Ancient Egyptian History:
- our family timeline
Extracurricular Activities
Following our afternoon read-aloud time, which generally happens right after lunch clean-up, my three youngest sons and I will do one of three extracurricular activities together. These will be placed on a loop. We will do one activity each day and once we've rotated through all the activities, we'll start the loop all over again. Because I want to cover Civics more frequently than all the other extras, I will place it on every other loop slot.
Our loop will be as follows:
Our loop will be as follows:
- Civics
- Sign Language
- Civics
- Documentary
Civics
Since it is an election year and since we just finished two years of American History and one year of state history, I thought that now would be the perfect time to learn about our government, our election process, and key players in our current and eventual future administration.
Twice a week, we will read one chapter from The Land of Fair Play.*
Twice a week, we will read one chapter from The Land of Fair Play.*
(Please note: I have a 1998 edition of this book and can not account for any changes that have been made to the more recent version.)
Then, we will create a corresponding page in an interactive notebook (a plain spiral notebook that gets added to throughout the year) using this American Government & Civics Resource.
Sign Language
My three eldest sons took a sign language class at co-op last year and loved it. I hope to add to their knowledge using the free lessons from Start ASL and
American Sign Language Dictionary
American Sign Language Dictionary
Documentaries
Like in years past, once a week, we plan to watch a documentary or a How It's Made type show together, watching 30-minute increments for a couple of weeks until we've completed an entire video. Then we'll move on to another one the following week.
Cooperative Learning- 2-3x a month
We've been members of a local co-op for the past five years and will continue with that monthly enrichment throughout the coming school year. My kids will take two grade-level appropriate classes taught by other homeschooling parents each semester for a total of four classes each during the entire year.
2024-2025 Curriculum By Grade Level
Stay tuned in the coming days. I'll be sharing the curriculum that I've chosen for the individual core subjects like math, English/grammar, science, and electives for the following grades:
11th grade
I was curious if you have a list of documentaries that you watch?
ReplyDeleteI have never listed them out here on the blog, but will add that to my list of topics to cover.
DeleteI'm excited to check out that civics book! Looks like just what I needed! And in the morning loop- great idea.
ReplyDeleteActually, the Civics books won't be in our morning loop. I only include Bible and character resources then. We will do civics as an afternoon "extra."
DeleteGreat question! They read them on their own. Occasionally, we discuss them, but not often. I usually assign 2 pages a day in the Apologia books and the 1 section once a week of the body changes book. (Be sure to get the third edition or older of those particular books. The newer ones have agenda in them.)
ReplyDelete