So that brings us to now. After I planned out the rest of this school year I realized that I needed to figure out next years curriculum before the new baby is born. Because I'm afraid like the last two times that I will be too overwhelmed by everything. I plan on starting in Sept. That means we will have a newborn, a 2 year old, a 4 year old and a 7 year old ...& a (still very much a puppy) dog and a kitty. I get scared just thinking about it. =) Okay. Not really but it sure did give me the motivation I needed to figure things out before hand. I don't want to cram the whole year into a few months like the last two times. I want to be able to have a bit more wiggle room. Be able to plan some field trips around our lessons. And just relax a little while we go through the school year. And hopefully NOT MOVE! The moving really gets me. I'm tired of it. But I'm also tired of not living in our OWN house ... living somewhere that we can't make our own ... but that's another story. =)
So I got online and started planning out the curriculum for 2nd Grade and Pre-K (because Madie will be doing WAY more this year). I figured I would just use the same workbooks we had been using. So I worked out the numbers in excel, calculated it all out and showed Jake my plan. My plan consisted of:
For Delia:
Bible Quest for Bible
Horizons 2nd Grade - Math, Phonics & Reading, Spelling & Vocab., & Penmanship.
Lifepacs 1st Grade - History & Geography & Science (Units 6-10)
Lifepacs 2nd Grade - History & Geography & Science (the whole set)
Draw Write Now for Art
Teach Yourself Piano for Music
and a long list of books to read-aloud.
For Madie:
Bible Quest for Bible
Horizons Preschool Kit
Draw Write Now for Art
and the same list of read-aloud books as Delia.
It basically consisted of a bunch of workbooks. I was okay with this until one day not that long ago I received a catalog from Sonlight in the mail. This catalog changed EVERYTHING! Sonlight is a Christian homeschool company that specializes in literature-based curriculum programs. I had seen their catalog before, had clicked around their site a few times but didn't actually read the information. All I saw was the price and knew there was NO way we could EVER use them.
This time it was different though. I practically read the catalog from cover to cover. And something clicked. I began to realize that a bunch of workbooks just wasn't the route I wanted to take any longer. I mentioned it to Jake and he agreed. So I dove in head first and began making a spreadsheet in excel laying everything out. Sonlight isn't a cheap curriculum so if we were going to do this I wanted to make sure I did it the cheapest way possible. Being a literature-based curriculum there are a lot of books involved which is why it is understandably more expensive. So I looked into how much it would cost to just buy the Instructor's Guides and get as many of the books from the library. I looked into how much it would cost to buy the books used or from another book store like Amazon or Half.com. I looked at everything. And in the end the cheapest option was obviously using the library. But I quickly realized how hard that would be. I would have to make sure I requested any books needed at just the right time so that they were available when I would need them. Plus I'd have to pack us all up and go get them. That didn't sound very appealing to me. I know it's going to be hard for a few months after the baby is born to go anywhere with out Jake's help. I can do it ... I'm just not sure that I want to.
So the next option was to look at buying the books somewhere else and low and behold it was actually more expensive to do it that way. So after more talking with Jake and showing him all my
After all that time spent figuring it out (we're talking days and days of crunching numbers, etc) I was sad that my work was done. I wanted to figure something else out. I wanted to keep planning and working out numbers. I clearly was not ready to stop "learning". I requested a TON of homeschooling books from the library. I only wish they had come before I had put in my order through Sonlight. Especially this particular book by Susan Wise Bauer & Jessie Wise called The Well-Trained Mind A Guide to Classical Education at Home. I'm only on the third chapter and I'm so excited. My eyes have been opened and my heart and mind are ready to learn. I'm finally ready to absorb it. To learn and figure out this style of homeschooling. I just wish I had done it earlier.
While I'm sure Sonlight will be fine. I'm sort of wishing I had learned more about the classical approach before I jumped in and ordered it. I'm wondering now if I could have taken a more classical approach on my own. Sonlight isn't technically classical as they don't follow all of the rules of the Trivium but it is a lot closer to it than all those workbooks I was using. Which don't get me wrong, they worked and we did enjoy them. But I'm ready for a new approach.
We received our Sonlight box last week. It was exciting and fun. And I really liked most of what I saw. Some of our items were backordered so we are waiting on a few more things. Delia especially enjoyed seeing all the books. But I am not letting her read
There are a few things I don't agree with though. I'm fairly certain I will be returning the books they required for Bible and using a different curriculum for Bible time. I think we'll use the same curriculum we used this year. The kids all really enjoyed it.
I may also be returning the Science portion that I bought. There are a few things in it that I don't agree with and would rather find something I don't have to worry about. But I will look through it some more once we get the rest of our books and I can see it all laid out.
Once I've finished reading "The Well-Trained Mind", I'll return to the topic of homeschooling and share what I've learned. Until then this is the end of our Homeschool Journey ... the end of the stories up until now at least. Our journey through homeschooling is only just beginning and I can't wait to see where it takes us and to share it all with you (whoever you are!)
2 comments:
We use The Well-Trained Mind as well. I love it! I think it is really the best way to teach our kids. But I don't do it quite like she says. We don't spend an hour a day doing history or science. We just read the section for the day, write our narration, and do a project if I'm up to it. Her way is far too time consuming, esp if you are teaching more than one. But good job on doing your research and finding what works for you. I'm excited for you!
I am loving reading about your homeschooling journey! And if you are anything like me, it really does change from year to year.
I do think you can use Sonlight this year and tweak it in your own way to make it more classical. In the early years, I did science like the Well Trained Mind suggested, and we loved it.
You are going to do a great job, Leslie, and have the kind of year that God wants you to have. :-)
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