I am not sure about you but i was so very overwhelmed when it came to all the different curriculums that were available, all the different styles of learning that needed to be thought of, the fact that not only did you need an overall curriculum or style but then a maths and english one to, then there was un-schooling, natural learning, child led learning and well the list went on and i felt so lost for a while there…
For about 3 or 4 months straight from the time that we decided we were definitely homeschooling i did non stop reading and researching, and although i loved all the research i ended up getting so exhausted from it. As i was researching i was also praying and i really felt like God just led me from one choice to the other and so our school style and curriculum choices filled out…
From the time we decided to the time we started home school was about 7 months and well i felt like that was no time at all, thats why i was frantically researching and burning the candle at both ends, the time seemed to be speeding by at lightning speed into the unknown that God had called us into and i felt like i had little to no time to prepare, but He came through and i was grateful. After God revealed which way we were going, and i had bought all our items i just stopped all the reading and research, and i basically watched movies for about 3 months straight after that to unwind hahaha no definitely not obsessive in any way, shape or form *Wink wink*!
So here is what we went with:
“Charlotte Mason” as our overall feel, style and philosophy of our home using the FREE Ambleside Online curriculum.
Why? The minute i laid eyes on her love for children to be outdoors, to love nature, to have great character and for that to be key, for them to learn from living books, to also do short lessons that are steeped in doing excellent work and for them to be fed a variety of knowledge that is not twaddle but strong in great ideas, my heart felt great peace that this is what God would want for our family, also given that i am an avid lover of books and so is Jordan whom we were bringing home to school well it just seemed right to go with this style, and we have two boys and being outdoors is just who they are at their core and Charlottes philosophy is that children should spend no less than 4 hours a day outside. Also i failed to mention that we do him study, art study, composer study and nature study as part of the curriculum as well as bible study which is so warming to my heart in this busy world, it helps us to slow down, take a step back in time and rest there a while. I chose Ambleside online as the curriculum because it is made by Charlotte mason moms that have been doing this for years and it was a love project from them to us to put this curriculum together.
Mind you i am only adding one thing in at a time as this year we are doing year 0 as Jordan is not 6 yet and it is a work in progress to get the right rhythm in the home and well i am 3 weeks in and no where near where i would like to be yet but i will have patience with the process.
For Math we are doing “The Life of Fred” and “Mathseeds”.
Why? Because i was never very good at math after my teacher in junior school in Africa slammed my head against the board and put my tooth through my lip because i could not do a sum properly on the blackboard, from then on maths has been quite a mentally blocked subject for me… So i wanted a curriculum that would be fun, and accurate and easy to understand and well it was recommended by a lovely Charlotte Mason dad that used to be a maths teacher, so i researched it and loved it and felt peace about it. And The boys absolutely love Math Seeds on the I Pad and voluntarily ask to use it many times a day.
For English and Phonics we are using “Reading Eggs”, both the worksheets and the I Pad App.
Why? Well Jordan was using that at school and lots of my homeschool friends said thats what the were using so i was familiar with it, the kids loved it already and so we went with that for now, as well as lots of reading and early readers etc… I also love using salt trays, sandpaper letters and visual and hands on tools for phonics.
We LOVE using “Mystery Science” for science. mysteryscience.com
Why? It is just AMAZING, well for us anyway, the lessons are done by ages and they are brilliant, easy to understand and really fun, and we got a free year of it last year, again a God thing i believe.
And i am about to purchase “Five In A Row” which I’m trying out this week from a friend and i am SUPER EXCITED about this program!
Why? I LOVE how we get to read the same beautiful living book for 5 days in a row and then glean lots of knowledge from it in a variety of subjects such as social studies, geography, maths, science and more. What i love the most is that i get to teach the boys about amazing places in the world and then put little story discs from the story about that country on the map and that way give them a connection with that place (Ill be telling you a lot more about this once we have started).
Anyway i think this is a long enough post for now, thanks for reading all the way to the end i LOVE hearing from you so lets connect and inspire each other.
A Twinkle In Their Eyes 