Curriculum

“What curriculum are you using?” That’s ALWAYS the question, right?

Most of us cringe a little because we know that there is nothing magical about curriculum. Any specific product will work for some and it really WON’T work for some. Some will love it, some will hate it. You can educate your child wonderfully with absolutely no curriculum. You can spend a ton of money, or get the same results while spending very little money.

And yet, we ask. I know I do! There are so many choices out there! Assuming you are a mom who is going to use some purchased curriculum, it can be pretty daunting. It’s intimidating to go out into the ocean-depths of curriculum choices, pick something to try, and hope you love it! So we ask… it’s fun to find someone who is trying the same curriculum you are, and see how they are liking it (or not). It’s fun to find someone who is using a curriculum that you’ve read about and are interested in, but have yet to get personal feedback about it. And, it’s fun to find someone who has a good recommendation about something that might meet a need, and they are using a product you’ve never heard of.

I’ve been to two homeschool conventions here in Washington, and while they were very useful, I’ve realized what a tiny percentage of companies are represented at the vendors hall.  Oh, it looks massive and it’s massively intimidating. Yet, there are SO many other choices out there that can’t be at every convention out there. And so, we ask… “What curriculum are you using?”

That being said, here is what we’re using this year:

2012-2013  Preschool (3 days/week)

Calendar time:

Bible: One of the reasons I am drawn to homeschooling is because you can incorporate a Biblical worldview and character training into everything, fully blended into the entire day. I’ve found that my kids ask faith-related questions all day. I love that I can answer their question whenever it comes up, regardless of what subject we’re studying. That being said, there is still a benefit in setting aside specific time to learn what the Bible actually says. To help do that, we attend a Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) class in our area.

Phonics: All About Reading, Pre-Reading

Math: Math-U-See, Primer level

Reading: We read stories from the Jesus Storybook Bible, poetry, and lots and lots of early readers.

Art (1x per week): Radom fun things I come up with to do as a special art project.

Science (1x per week): Projects (1-2 per week) from Janice VanCleave’s Big Book of Play and Find Out Science Projects

Geography (1x per week): Making up my own plan using maps on the wall, the books Where Do I Live, Me On The Map, Children Around the World, and National Geographic Kids Beginner’s World Atlas. We’ll be making our own maps of our rooms, house, town, state, country, etc., and learning about a few other areas of the world.

We’re anticipating using a Classical Education model as the kids get older, although I’m not sure if we should start the trivium in Kindergarten or 1st Grade. I LOVE the look of Tapestry of Grace, although I’ve never seen the materials in person or talked to someone who uses it. But, the current plan is that ToG will be the backbone of our schooling in years to come.

*Full Disclosure* – I have affiliate codes embedded within many of the above links. If you buy something after clicking on one of my links, it does help me out a bit. But, all of my reviews and opinions are 100% mine and truthful and I don’t endorse anything I don’t love.

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