Greg and I were not even married yet when he informed me that our kids would never go to public shool. Private or Homeschool, those were the options. Money being an issue made me sure Homeschool would be the answer. I had never considered it before that time. I'm glad I was open to it. I don't know if we have ever made a decision with so much impact on me.
Let me put a little note in here for those who have not begun or are in the early stages of homeschooling. Before putting too much research into a curriculum, look into philosophies of homeschooling and then look for a curriculum that works with that philosophy. You will not be able to completely separate the two, but it helped me with my focus. I lean heavily toward Charlotte Mason, and Sonlight goes beautifully with that philosophy. But, I also like certain aspects of the Classical approach. For the first time I am looking at more unschooling aspects for the future. Do a google search on any of these ideas and you will find a wealth of information. Sign up for email loops on things you want more information about and see what problems people who are using the philosophy/curriculum are having.
Being extremely anxious to start, as many homeschoolers are with the first child, I tried three different curriculums before Henry was six. Not in vain, however, the third was Sonlight. We have used it exclusively for more than six years now. It is a literature based program which means we buy a lot of books, and we love to read. It is a curriculum that doesn’t hide the world, nor evil, but brings those things into the light that they may be examined. Our kids have rarely been confused about what is God’s truth and what is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. And, in reading about other beliefs, the children ask questions and thereby learn more about what they believe and why.
Notebooking is kind of like letting the kids keep a record of what they are learning in a way that is fun for them, and utilizes their own creativity. I’m not going to write much about it yet. We have just begun using it and my experience is limited, but I will let you know how it developes.
Singapore Math has been our math curriculum of choice. I came across it through the Sonlight forums and it suits us well. I am a firm believer in finding a curriculum that works for you. Even siblings often require different curriculums in specific subjects, math being a common one. I had actually considered doing something different for Louis in math this year, but in looking at other programs I just couldn’t let go of Sinapore. Instead I’ve decided to just help more when needed. I am too impressed with the depths the Singapore math program reaches. Far beyond what I learned in school. I never did the things Henry is doing now and he has just begun 7th grade. Of course, it could be that I just don’t remember. Singapore also has good online help forums which we have used on more than one occasion.
The Institute for Excellence in Writing is another program I recommend highly. In fact, I can’t recommend it highly enough. It has always been a concern for me that our children learn to write well and I just didn’t feel like I knew how to teach them. I had come across this program when Henry was still quite young. My hands were full at the time and I didn’t want to begin something new. Another good friend, Christi, brought it up at our Homeschool fellowship group and I was so glad to be reminded of it. Andrew Pudewa does an incredible job of taking the teaching of writing from being conceptual to being concrete, from being like teaching music to like teaching math. It is an amazing program I, again, would recommend to every homeschooling parent. Get the ‘Teaching Writing: Structure and Style’ DVDs and syllabus. It’s worth every penny.
Copywork has been a blessing of huge proportion. Once they begin writing well, they begin copywork out of the Bible. (I had at one time changed it to dictation, part of Sonlight’s language arts program and I not only enjoyed it, but it was beneficial. My reasons for changing are another story.) It is a way of practicing their writing, spelling and grammar. More importantly, they are studying scripture. Henry has written the book of James, Mark and is now in Matthew. I was reading a book to them about a missionary and there was a quote from the book of James and before I could read the reference, Henry said “that’s toward the end of James.” It was a beautiful, treasured moment for me.
I have made the often criticized choice of teaching our children Latin. I have always wanted to learn it myself and waited for years for them to be old enough to study it with me. We have not been working on it long, at a consistent pace anyway, but I am more and more happy with the choice every day. It is a good mental exercise (as is any language), and I am convinced it will give the kids an advantage in any sciences and future language study. The curriculum is called The Latin Road to English Grammar and we are indeed learning much about our native tongue, as well.
