Finishing Our School Year 2026

 We're at the end of our school year for 2026.  We have one more week to wrap up Bible, Story of the World 2 and one of our literature selections.  My son and I have discussed taking the rest of the year off for a break or just continuing with our 2027 plans.  We decided to try to continue with 2027's plans, but it really would be ok if we took a break.

This is an 11 year-old boy who would've been in 5th grade the first half of 2026 and in 6th grade for the second half of 2026 (if he went to public school).

Here are some of the things we've accomplished in 2026:

California Achievement Test - this was a good experience

Bible

• The Action Bible
• The Action Bible Anytime Devotions
• My First Hymnal (Concordia) 

English

• Voyages in English 6 (January to May)
• Grammar Island (summer)
• Building Language (summer)
• Practice Island (summer)
• Spelling Workout D and F
• The Good and the Beautiful LA 6 (fall)

Literature

• My Side of the Mountain
• Dungeon Runners 3: Ocean Chase
• Bridge to Terabithia
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
• The Wild Robot
• Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
• Where the Red Fern Grows
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Stories of Beowulf Told to Children
• The Usborne Illustrated Tales of King Arthur
• Saint George and the Dragon
• The Whipping Boy
• The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn

History

• Story of the World 2
• Famous Figures from the Middle Ages and Renaissance

Math

• BJU Math 5 (1st half of the year)
• Saxon Math 6/5
• Life of Fred Fractions

Science

• Apologia Exploring Creation with Astronomy
• Apologia Exploring Creation with Earth Science
• Planet Earth III series
• Co-op Science for January-May semester was Physics and Technology w/ Labs
• Co-op Science for August-December is BJU Life Science w/ Labs

Health

• Guy Stuff: The Body Book for Boys
• Are You What You Eat
• Co-op Physical Fitness class for August-December

Foreign Language 

• DuoLingo German
• Minimus Latin I

Art & Music

• Composer Studies
• John Dunstable
• Guillaume Dufay
• Thomas Tallis
• de Palestrina
• Private violin lessons
• Artist Studies
• Cimabue
• Bosch
• Duerer
• Michelangelo
• The Stone Giant: Michelangelo's David and How It Came to Be
• The One Hundred Greatest Paintings
• The Good and the Beautiful Drawing I

Field Trips Included:

• Multiple camping trips with Boy Scouts
• Engineering merit badge at a local university
• Attended a professional ballet production
• Art museum
• Aviation museum
• Aquarium
• Zoo
• Island historical tour
• Beachcombing on an island
• Dolphin tour
• Airport observation area
• Botanical gardens
• Nature center
• Plumbing merit badge workshop at a local trade school

Planning for Winter 2027

 I'm flipping through the remainder of our books and curriculum.  By my calculations, we have about 4-5 weeks of schoolwork left, besides math and language arts (we've got plenty of that).  We are finishing Bible, Story of the World 2, literature, Earth Science, etc.  This is one of the dangers of schooling year-round.  You find yourself in mid-October wondering what you're going to do next.  And our "school year" is very off-kilter with everyone else's school year.  

Do I want to continue our current homeschool method?

Do we want to try something else?

Do we need a break?  With ADHD, we tend to get bored with breaks.  

Do we want to go back to Sonlight?  I do, but I don't think he does.

It's exciting when we finish our curriculum, but it's also stressful, because I don't like to plan.  I don't like record-keeping, planning, picking curriculum....  I do better with the actual teaching and working with my student.

It's time to look through things like Sonlight's website, Ambleside Online's website, The Well-Trained Mind and even reread The Brave Learner and some of Charlotte Mason's writings.  

Homeschool Day 9/24 + Making Some Adjustments

 After looking at some of his scores on the standardized test, I'm going to make some adjustments.  

Language Arts

• I think it would be ok if we took a break from spelling or worked on spelling during his writing
• I would like to add copywork, dictation and narration to his writing.  I don't feel like he's getting enough writing with The Good and the Beautiful
• I feel like we are doing too much language arts in general

Math

• Because of his math scores, I told him we can either bump him up into Saxon 7/6 or we could do Life of Fred Fractions, Decimals and Percents and then jump into Saxon 8/7 or Life of Fred Prealgebra.  He chose Life of Fred Fractions.  

What we finished today:

Reading

• Where the Red Fern Grows
• The Wild Robot

Language Arts

• The Good and the Beautiful LA 6
• The Good and the Beautiful Cursive 6 - this counts as copywork in my opinion

Math

• Life of Fred Fractions - we did the first lesson, which he says was too easy

Science

• Apologia Earth Science
• How tides work
• How the major five ocean currents work

Summer/Fall 2026 Curriculum Choices (6th Grade)

 We are almost finished with our big break - we always take April off from school.  We're getting ready to start back up again with our 6th grade curriculum.  Most of these things we have already started, since he was working on a 6th grade level in January.

We are continuing with the curriculum plan outlined in The Well-Trained Mind.  

Bible

• The Action Bible

English

• Spelling Workout F
• Michael Clay Thompson's Language Arts (Royal Fireworks Press)
• Writing with Ease 3

Math

• Saxon 6/5

History

• Story of the World 2
• Story of the World 2 Activity Guide
• Famous Figure of the Middle Ages
• Selections from The Well-Trained Mind history reading list, including:
• The Usborne Illustrated Tales of King Arthur
• The Adventures of Robin Hood
• St. George and the Dragon
• The Whipping Boy
• The Great and Terrible Quest
• Cathedral
• Castle 

Science

• Apologia Astronomy
• Apologia Earth Science with Notebooking Journal

Reading

• Continue reading literature that he chooses
• Read-Alouds including
• Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
• The Incredible Journey
• In the Moonlight Mist, A Korean Tale
• The Ghost of the Tokaido Inn

Artist and Composer Study

• Artist Studies
• Michelangelo
• Titian
• Raphael
• Giorgio Vasari
• Tintoretto
• Peter Brueghel
• Peter Paul Rubens
• Composer Studies
• Thomas Tallis
• de Palestrina
• Michael Praetorius
• Henry Purcell
• Antonio Vivaldi

Foreign Language

• He's been working on DuoLingo German

Currently Reading *Anyone Can Homeschool* by Nicki Truesdell

 I've never read the books written by Nicki Truesdell, but after listening to her podcast, "The Nicki Truesdell Podcast," I decided to read Anyone Can Homeschool.  It's available on Kindle Unlimited, to which I have a subscription.  Her other book, Home Sweet Homeschool: Gentle Moments of Encouragement for Christian Homeschooling Mothers is also available on Kindle Unlimited and is my next planned read.

Here's a link to her book: https://nickitruesdell.com/anyone-can-homeschool-the-book/

Here's a link to her podcast: https://nickitruesdell.com/podcast/

So far, I am enjoying her book Anyone Can Homeschool.  It's a good introduction to home education for new homeschoolers.

Our First Day Back + New Scheduling Strategy 1/5

 Our first day back was a big success.  The 10 year-old said his favorite subjects were "Latin and Beowulf" (history).  I'm using a new scheduling strategy that I used with one of my high schoolers.  Instead of using a daily schedule, I bought book bins for each subject, labeled the book bins and placed our schoolbooks for each subject in the book bins.  Today, I just let him choose which book bin to work from first, which one to work from next, etc, and we worked through all of them.

The book bins look like this.

Here's what we accomplished today:

Bible

• The Action Bible

Math

• BJU Math 5

English

• Voyages in English 6
• Spelling Workout D

Reading

• Independent reading
• My Side of the Mountain (read-aloud)

Latin

• We started Minimus 1, which he really liked

Medieval History

• Story of the World 2
• Mapwork from the Activity Guide
• Stories of Beowulf Told to Children

Science

• Exploring Creation with Astronomy

This was a hugely productive day.  Yay!  Book Bins!

New Semester's Curriculum (January 2026)

 He's 10 years old, but starting to operate on more of a 6th grade level, so these curriculum choices will reflect that.

Here's the plan for January.  My plans are loosely based on The Well-Trained Mind.

Bible

• continue The Action Bible
• continue The Action Bible Anytime Devotions
• finish My First Hymnal (CPH) on Easter Sunday

Reader/Read-Aloud

• Independent reading
• Wonders Literature Anthology 6 (McGraw Hill)
• Read-alouds

English

• Voyages in English 6
• Spelling Workout D

Math

• continue BJU Math 5

Medieval History/Geography

• Story of the World 2 
• Story of the World 2 Activity Guide
• History/literature selections from The Well-Trained Mind
• Famous Figures of the Middle Ages and Renaissance

Science

• Exploring Creation with Astronomy (Apologia)
• Exploring Creation with Earth Science (Apologia)

Latin

• Minimus 1

Art and Music

• Artist Study
• Giovanni Cimabue
• Hieronymus Bosch
• Albrecht Duerer
• Michelangelo Buonarroti
• Titian
• Raphael
• Giorgio Vasari
• Tintoretto
• Peter Brueghel
• Peter Paul Rubens
• Composer Study
• John Dunstable
• Guillaume Dufay
• Thomas Tallis
• Giovanni Pierluiga da Palestrina
• Michael Praetorius
• Henry Purcell
• Antonio Vivaldi

Logic

• The Great Chocolate Caper

Friday Co-op Classes

• Art
• Physics and Technology

Extracurriculars

• Intermediate Ballet
• Boy Scouts
• Karate
• Youth Group at church

Our Weekly Schedule of Subjects

 This weekly schedule has been working out well for us for quite a while.

Monday

• Literature
• Science
• Math
• Language Arts/Reading
• Ancient History
• Latin

Tuesday

• Bible
• Language Arts/Reading
• African Geography
• Music

Wednesday

• Literature
• Science
• Math
• Language Arts/Reading
• Ancient History
• Latin

Thursday

• Literature
• Shakespeare
• Bible
• Math
• Language Arts/Reading
• American Geography
• Art

Friday Co-op

• Physics
• Texas History

Our 5th Grade Daily Routine

 I chose our curriculum, bought it, organized it into our book basket and now I'm looking at daily routines/schedules for 5th grade.  

I'm not sure how all of this is going to work out, but this seems to be my best option.  

Weekly Schedule

Monday

• Book Basket
• Math
• Language Arts
• History
• Logic
• Latin

Tuesday

• Book Basket
• Language Arts
• Bible
• Geography
• Music

Wednesday

• Book Basket
• Math
• Language Arts
• History
• Latin
• Physics

Thursday

• Book Basket
• Math
• Language Arts
• Bible
• Art/Handicrafts

Friday

• Physics
• Texas History

Finalizing 5th Grade Plans/Preparing to Start

 Although our plans are generally the same, we've made a couple of small changes as we looked at samples, talked over what we want to do, etc.  I still haven't solidified a weekly schedule for ourselves.  I might just throw everything into a book basket and fly by the seat of our pants without a schedule.

We start the second week of June (after Vacation Bible School).

Here's what we have:

BIBLE

My First Hymnal (Concordia Publishing House)

The Action Bible

The Action Bible Devotional

MATH

Continue Life of Fred series

Math games

LANGUAGE ARTS

Language Lessons for the Elementary Child volume 1

All About Spelling 3, hopefully 4 also

Handwriting without Tears Cursive Success

LITERATURE

Choose as we go

Poetry

HISTORY (2 STREAMS: WORLD AND AMERICAN)

The Story of Civilization volume 1 (Spine)

Famous Figures of Ancient Times

Choose books as we go

GEOGRAPHY

Geography from A to Z

Countries of the World Coloring Book

Paddle to the Sea

Seabird

LOGIC

Cat Crimes Game

Mindbenders volume 3

Red Herring Mysteries Book 1

PHYSICS

Real Science 4 Kids Physics (spine)

Max Axiom comics series

Mark Rober's Crunch Labs year 2

Other labs as we go

Archimedes and the Door of Science

The Librarian Who Measured the Earth

LATIN

Minimus: Starting Out in Latin

Learn some of the church prayers in Latin (Prima Latina)

ART

Arts: A Visual Encyclopedia

MUSIC

Story of the Orchestra

HANDICRAFTS

Choose as we go

Interactive Notebooks Blog Post

We don't use Interactive Notebooks, but I was really fascinated by this blog post on how to make/use them with upper elementary students.

https://thriveingradefive.com/interactive-notebooks-how-to-get-started/#:~:text=I%20highly%20recommend%20using%20composition,work%20to%20pull%20them%20out.

Review of Ambleside Online's Composer and Artist Studies

 This is what we did this year for art and music appreciation: Ambleside Online's artist and composer studies.  These are free Charlotte Mason artist and composer studies online, grouped by school year and term.  

Artist Studies

Composer Studies

Ambleside Online has a rotation schedule for both artist and composer studies.  Each school year is divided into three terms, with one artist and one composer studied in each term.  For this school year, we studied the art of Duerer, Caravaggio and Delacroix.  For composers, we listened to the music of Beethoven, Vivaldi and Chopin.

What we did...

For composer study, I would just find the week and composer on Ambleside Online's website and click on the next song in the list.  If we were supposed to listen to Chopin's Nocturne in E-Flat, I would click the link (which leads to Youtube) and play the music for my student while he sketched or colored with markers.  We listened to one piece of music each week.  

For artist study, I did the same thing.  I went onto Ambleside's website, found the term and artist and clicked on the next painting.  I would usually magnify each painting and we would look at details like brushstrokes, how well the artist painted hands, how accurate the animals looked, etc.  My son decided that Caravaggio wasn't very good at painting horses, so we discussed that and other things he noticed.  We did an artist study maybe once a week.

Did we like AO's artist and composer studies?

YES!!  My son particularly enjoyed the artist studies.  Listening to Chopin and Vivaldi as he was sketching/drawing was also a very pleasant way to do art.  

Ambleside Online's artist and composer studies are simple, free and an enjoyable way to cover art and music appreciation. 

Abeka's Understanding God's World (4th Grade Science) Review

 Here's the textbook: https://www.christianbook.com/understanding-gods-world-grade-4/pd/339415?event=Homeschool%7C1000800

I bought this on a whim last summer at Mardel (a store here in Texas that carries homeschool curricula), because I couldn't decide on science.

We only used the textbook, but there is a STEM Activities Book, a Test Book, a Teacher's Guide, Flashcards, etc available from Abeka to make a more "complete" science program.  

I found the science textbook and the mini-labs/demonstrations in the textbook complete enough for a fourth grader, but I'm also used to teaching science.

The textbook is broken into three major sections:

• Science Foundations - scientific method and some basic physics
• Life Science- plants, animals, ecosystems
• Earth and Space Science - rocks, energy, weather, space

The textbook has a really nice, colorful Field Guide to Trees, Flowers, Birds and Insects in the back of the book.  There is also a glossary.  

After most of the lessons, there are mini science demonstrations and activities that you can easily do at home.  There was a star constellation activity, an ecosystem shadow box activity, multiple physics demonstrations, bird-watching activities, activities about the water cycle, etc. These activities always used everyday household items, were simple to do and not very time-consuming.  It's fourth grade.  Why overcomplicate science at that level...

I am embarrassed to say that I am actually sad that we finished this textbook.  My 9 year-old and I really enjoyed this book and the activities.  He especially liked the chapters on space, the Sun, ecosystems, and birds.  I think the section on birds was his favorite.  He enjoyed making the ecosystem shadow box.  We enjoyed using the Merlin Bird App in conjunction with the bird unit.  We took some nature walks at the park and used the Merlin app to listen to the bird calls.  The app can identify which species of bird is "singing."   

Curriculum Plans for 5th Grade 2025-2026

I originally planned to continue with Sonlight, but the fourth grader is asking to go back to Ancients again.   He's specifically fascinated with Ancient Greek history.  I looked at the next Sonlight level that starts with Ancient History and it's HBL G, which is way beyond his age range (he's only 9 and that level is written for late middle school/early high school).  

My Plan is to give The Well-Trained Mind a try again (we've used this before).

Here's my hopefully final plan (subject to change).

Also, the 12th grader graduates in May, so she will be in college with the older three.  I will only be homeschooling one for the first time ever.

Bible

• The Action Bible
• The Action Bible Devotional

Math

• Continue Life of Fred (he will finish the elementary series this year)
• Wild Math 4

Language Arts/Reading

• Readers based on interest
• All About Spelling 3
• Handwriting without Tears Cursive (the 5th grade book)
• Language Lessons for the Elementary Child Book 1

Literature, History and Geography

• The Story of Civilization, Book 1
• Ancients, myths, classics, etc - literature and history booklist from The Well-Trained Mind
• Geography from A to Z 
• Countries of the World Coloring Book
• Famous Figures of Ancient Times
• Memorize 3-5 poems, narrations, learn to do a 1-level outline

Logic

• Cat Crimes (board game)
• Mindbenders Book 3
• Red Herring Mysteries

Physics and Technology 

• Books and science kits suggested in The Well-Trained Mind
• Real Science 4 Kids Physics
• Max Axiom comics
• MIT's Scratch, Cubelets from the library
• Year 2 of Crunch Labs

French

• Continue French with Mr. Innes

Fine Arts

• Study ancient art with The Arts: A Visual Encyclopedia
• Drawing, clay modeling, painting
• Story of the Orchestra
• Continue piano
• Start ukulele

Planning for High School Graduation

I'm graduating my 17 year-old in May.  If she went to public school, she would be a high school junior this year.  Because we homeschool, she's been able to take dual enrollment classes at the college all year.  She has a large number of credits: 35.5.  It wouldn't be worth it to have a senior year of high school.  She has a 4.0 college GPA also.

Here's my graduation checklist:

• Finalize transcripts
• I make these for free on Word.
• I print, sign and date about 10 copies.  I place three copies in envelopes, seal them and sign/date the back of the envelopes.
• Graduation Packet
• This is also a Word document that's several pages long.  I include information she may need when filling out college applications like volunteer hours, dates, curriculum used, sports/activities, awards, etc.
• Graduation Folder
• I place all the transcripts, envelopes, the graduation packet and any other paperwork or awards into a folder.  I give her the folder at graduation.
• Diploma
• I'm ordering a diploma from www.homeschooldiploma.com.  I'm also ordering a tassel from them.
• Cap/Gown
• I bought one a couple of years ago from www.homeschooldiploma.com, so we will be using that for pictures.
• Graduation Pictures
• Scrapbook
• I'm making her a picture scrapbook on Snapfish.
• Gift Bag
• I'm putting a gift bag with some gifts together for her to give at graduation.

Mid-Year Curriculum Review (4th and 12th Grade), including Sonlight D

 Mid-Year Curriculum Review for 4th Grade

Sonlight D US History 1 with Readers 3

We are working through the new Sonlight D with some of the older books added in from the 2017 version.  We're also reading the regular readers + the advanced readers.  So, it is going to take a big chunk of time to get through this Sonlight level.  I'm expecting to be finished by the end of next summer.  I'm ok with that, because some of the books in this level are some of Sonlight's best selections.

I am not using Sonlight's Bible selections this year - I substituted 100 Bible Stories (Concordia Publishing House), My First Catechism (Lutheran) and The Apostles (Adventures in Faith).  We are almost finished with 100 Bible Stories and My First Catechism.  Both are excellent.

Some of my son's favorites from Sonlight D this year are:

• Explore Native American Cultures!
• Pocahontas and the Strangers (this is from the 2017 version)
• Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims
• The Corn Grows Ripe

Math

We switched from Wild Math to Beast Academy + IXL 4th Grade Math Workbook.  I should've stayed with Wild Math.  He enjoyed that program so much more.  We're using the online version of Beast Academy and the timers in the exercises stress him out.  He did learn a lot from the IXL workbook, but he doesn't like the repetitive exercises.  I've resorted to teaching math without a curriculum, adding in some project-based math (which he really likes) and using Beast Academy as a supplement.  In other words, I really messed up his math this year, but he is still making progress with it.

Language Arts

Early on, we dropped Masterbooks LA, because it was a terrible fit for him.  There's also no real support in their Facebook group for parents who are having difficulties with their curriculum due to dyslexia or learning issues.  I taught him the parts of speech without a curriculum.  We are also using Mad Libs for fun.  He's doing free writing, which he loves.

All About Spelling is a giant thumbs up.  Very dyslexia-friendly, also.

Handwriting without Tears = no complaints.  Super self-explanatory and simple to use.

I have stopped using Barton at level 4, because his reading has just taken off.  Barton got him reading when no other reading program could.

Science

We are using Abeka's 4th grade science textbook, Understanding God's World.  This is super simple to teach from.  I just have the textbook, which I understand there's a workbook and teacher's manual, but he is not going to want to fill out workbook pages.  I read the lesson with him and we do the short lab/demonstration at the end of each lesson.  We do the review questions out loud together.

I have really enjoyed teaching from this textbook.  My son loved the birds unit.  We took a rabbit trail from the animal unit to read a bunch of library books about animals, but we will return to the textbook afterwards.  

All of the labs/demonstrations have worked and they use simple objects from around the house.

French

We're watching the French with Mr. Innes series on Youtube and I think this is my son's favorite subject.  These videos are excellent for elementary-aged kids.  He has a more complete curriculum on his website that we intend to subscribe to when we finish the YouTube series.

Art

Artistic Pursuits Book 1 is going well.  Sometimes, he does not want to do the exercises in the book, but wants to do his own art, which is fine.  He's filled up an entire sketchbook this semester.

Mid-Year Curriculum Review for 12th Grade

My 12th grader is actually supposed to be an 11th grader (if she went to public school - she just turned 17 a couple of weeks ago).  But, she started taking college classes in August and is only doing three home made courses with me this year.  I'm graduating her in May.

Personal Finance

We use Mathusee Stewardship for this subject and it's also excellent.  No complaints.

Classical Literature

We put this list together ourselves and it's been a great list of books.  She's read almost the entire list at this point, so she will probably be finished in January.  Her list includes:

• The Epic of Gilgamesh
• Sophocles' The Three Theban Plays
• Beowulf
• Chaucer's Canterbury Tales
• Shakespeare's Poems and Sonnets
• Shakespeare's MacBeth --> she's currently here in the list
• Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream

Dual enrollment courses at the college

She's taking English 1301 (Composition 1) and Kinesiology 1164 (Intro to Health and Physical Fitness).  She has 100% in both classes.  Since it's almost time for finals, I'm assuming she will end the semester with a 4.0.  She's registered for English 1302 and US History 1 for the spring semester.

The one thing I would be wary of with dual enrollment classes is adult content in the classes.  My student is a minor, so that was a topic I was concerned with.  So far, we have not had any problems and she likes her professors.  

Documentary: The Homeschool Awakening

 I watched a documentary today produced by Kirk Cameron called The Homeschool Awakening.  It's free with ads on Youtube.  I had wanted to see this documentary since it was released, but couldn't find it on streaming.

Overall, it's a great introduction to homeschooling.  It's produced by Kirk Cameron, so it was obviously written from a religious point of view, which was fine for us.  It addresses all the usual concerns that parents new to homeschooling have like socialization, college, what a homeschool day looks like, how do parents work and homeschool, do you follow a curriculum, etc.  

One thing I noticed about the families interviewed in the film is that most of them seem pretty affluent.  This was mentioned in comments on YouTube also, so I wasn't the only one who noticed that.  I'm not sure what the reason for this was, but it would've been better if the film included families who are more working class/middle class or one income (like we are).  We know from experience that trying to support a family on one income can make homeschooling more challenging.

I liked the spot in the film where they interview an RV-travel family.  I suspect those kids got an incredible education.

I also liked the parts in the film where the dads also worked with the kids on schoolwork.

At one point, Kirk Cameron's wife (if my memory is correct) talks about how she comes up with a unique curriculum for each child based off their strengths and how they learn.  I agree with her and that's exactly what I've always done.    

I did enjoy the documentary and I think it would be interesting if they produced a second film that addressed some more advanced topics about homeschooling.  It would be interesting if they showed families who used different homeschooling methods or maybe families from more diverse backgrounds.  That would make for an interesting sequel.

This film definitely left me feeling very inspired (which is hard to do after 17 or so years of homeschooling).

Enjoying The Well-Trained Mind Podcast, Season 2

 I am really enjoying the second season of The Well-Trained Mind Podcast.

 https://welltrainedmind.com/the-well-trained-mind-podcast/

Season one did more of an overview and history of classical education, but season two went into more specifics about how to teach.  Season one was good, but I am very much enjoying season two.

I particularly liked these episodes:

• Episode 3 - "Different Approaches to Teaching Writing with Julie Bogart"
• Julie Bogart is the author of Brave Learner and the owner of the Bravewriter company.   
• Episode 6 - "Teaching Languages the Classical Way with Elizabeth Weber Edwards"
• Episode 10 - "Homeschooling: The Outside Gaze"
• Episode 11 - "Teaching Science the Classical Way with Courtney Staff"

I am in the middle of "Classical Education for College-Bound Students."

I hope she makes a season three and I hope she talks more about how to teach.

I am definitely getting a lot of cleaning done around the house while I listen to this podcast!

Answering a Question from Reddit: What are the Main Problems We Face as Homeschoolers?

 I don't post on the homeschool section of Reddit, but I happened to see a question that looked interesting and I thought I could answer it in a blog post.

Prospective homeschooling parent asking:

What are the main problems we face as homeschoolers?

I've experienced two.

1.  Judgement from others.

This starts right away when you announce to family or friends that you are planning to homeschool.  There's usually a list of automated responses that everyone seems to have like "how will they make friends?" and "don't they need to be around other kids?" and "you're not a teacher - you need to leave that to the professionals."

This judgement takes on different forms over the years.  It feels awful when your kid has learning issues that give others ammunition against homeschooling.  They will see your child's dyslexia or ADHD as a sure sign that homeschooling doesn't work, even though you know your child would not thrive in a public school environment.  Adults have made comments to my son (who is dyslexic) like "your mom needs to take you to the library" (um, we use Sonlight, which is literally reading all morning).

And the quizzing...  Everyone has that one relative who "quizzes" your child randomly in an attempt to test their knowledge (how that's even possible, I'm not sure).  

The judgement can also take on the form of shock at your curriculum or homeschool methods, especially if you lean towards interest-led learning or unschooling.  Even using a literature-based method (my youngest uses Sonlight) has been met with raised eyebrows from others.

2.  Overwhelming choices.

In the 80s and 90s, there were a handful of homeschool curriculum companies out there.  I can only think of a couple of homeschool books or guides that were written during that time period; Mary Pride and John Holt were a couple of authors from that time.  In the 2000s, The Well-Trained Mind appeared, as did some other well-known homeschool guides.  Some of the older homeschool companies made a name for themselves during the 90s: Konos, Sonlight, Beautiful Feet, Saxon, Abeka...

Now, homeschoolers are not only inundated with curricula, but we're bombarded with ads from these companies that are trying to produce computer-based "accredited" homeschool curricula.  Acellus, Power Homeschool, Time 4 Learning, MiaAcademy, etc into oblivion.

Homeschooling methods are almost as numerous as curriculum, also.  You can unschool, you could be classical homeschoolers/Waldorf homeschoolers/Charlotte Mason homeschoolers, etc, also into oblivion.

The choices are also overwhelming with in-person classes and activities in certain parts of the US (*ahem* Texas).  Here in Texas, there are homeschool PE classes, co-ops, hybrid programs, enrichment centers, homeschool sports, homeschool karate and theater.  The new trend I see coming is homeschool microschools.

Almost every new homeschooler I've seen here makes the mistake of overscheduling their family the first couple of years.  At that point, they realize that their child is not going to miss out on "socialization" if they pare down activities and classes.  They realize that you actually need time at home, too.  You need time to do your actual schoolwork.  You need time to play, rest, clean the house, get groceries, practice piano, cook, garden, ride bikes, etc.  You and your child can't just be in the car or at classes and sports every waking moment just so people don't judge how often your child is around other children.  

And I'm the worst hypocrite in that department, because I feel like we are always overscheduled.  I am learning to say "no" to things and be careful to consciously guard our time.  I am also learning that it's ok to say no so you can rest.    

The overwhelming choices with curriculum and activities can be paralyzing for newer homeschoolers.

One Month into our School Year Update (4th Grader)

 What's Going Well:

• Sonlight D
• He and I just really like these books!  It's a very enjoyable way to do history and literature.  My only concern is I don't see how we're going to get through level D in one school year.  I'm now planning to get through levels D and E in three years.  I feel ok about this, because that would put him around age 11-12 for level F and the books look very heavy for that level.  I think he would get more out of level F if he's older. 
• We are also adding in projects as we go from the Explore Native American Cultures! book. 
• Beast Academy
• He loves this.
• Mark Rober's Crunch Labs
• Expensive, but great quality materials and instructions. They put a lot of effort into these kits and they are excellent!
• French with Mr. Innes
• This channel is free on YouTube.  We're working through the French for Beginners playlist.  He loves this video course.  It's very understandable and not overwhelming.  I'm learning all the French words with him and it's pretty effortless.
• Lexile readers and Barton Reading Program
• Barton is very dry.  The readings are strange.  It's expensive.  It takes up a lot of space in our school room.  But, by golly, my son is reading and spelling.
• I started researching books by Lexile level and checking out books from the library for him based on where he seems to be.  This is going well, actually.
• Handwriting without Tears Cursive = super simple and he likes it
• BrainQuest Summer Workbook
• He can't do some of the exercises, because it's very public school-oriented, but he's able to manage with help.  He really likes this workbook.  We're about halfway finished.  He loves the map in the back with the stickers tracking his progress on the trails.
• Artistic Pursuits
• He was mad, because we couldn't do two lessons in one day (which is ridiculous).  Pace yourself, OK?

What We're Unsure Of/Seems Ok:

• IXL 4th Grade Math Workbook
• This is only a supplement, because I feel like he needs some extra arithmetic practice.
• He seems to be OK with this workbook, but it's not his favorite thing in the world
• Abeka 4th Grade Science
• The book is Understanding God's World
• I really like the book.  It's very easy to teach from.  We are not using the workbook, but we are going through the text and then doing the labs.  
• The labs are simple and work well.
• He seems OK with this textbook, but he was whining a bit about it.  I think it's the topic.  He doesn't seem to like physical science topics.  

What's Causing Tears:

• Masterbooks' Language Lessons for a Living Education 3
• I have removed it from his book basket for now until I figure out a plan
• He had an awful meltdown during this and I feel really bad.  I think this curriculum might be ok for students with mild dyslexia, but not severe dyslexia.