Curriculum

I haven't written for some time about what we are doing in our homeschool.

The question I get asked the most is: Does someone tell you what to teach? The answer is no. In our state we commit to teaching our kids the same subjects that they teach in public school. But there is no suggestion (and no requirement) as to scope or sequence.

The most important thing I teach my children is how to love the Lord. So we talk about Him throughout our day, read our Bibles and have regular worship times together (I am working on playing the guitar).

Next most important is loving others. It is a constant challenge to teach the kids methods for getting along and loving each other. Most days we do see progress. Other days it feels like all was for naught!

The third most important thing I teach the kids is to read, and read well. For this I have used Phonics Pathways by DorBooks. Our oldest finished the book this year, which means he is reading at a 4th grade level. Our middle child is working through the book now. It's a great investment as you only need one book to teach as many children as you want.

Next I am teaching the kids to use math in their lives. They learn to tell time, make change, estimate, multiply and divide, and use fractions. Almost all these things we all do on a daily basis. We did Grocery Cart Math in the store. We cook a lot and measure. We double, triple and half recipes which already use fractions. The kids have some of their own money and are free to spend it as they please. We also play lots of Yahtzee, Monopoly and other games that involve counting, and adding and subtracting. We also use a book called Mental Math, one called Math Their Way, and a computer program called Quarter Mile Math. I do all of these in whatever order or amount seems right for each child that day. I don't try to follow any curriculum straight through (except Phonics Pathways for reading).

We are learning Spanish this year in anticipation of our trip (now in 2009) to Guatemala. Our friend will be teaching the kids once a week, in addition to using Rosetta Stone computer software.

For science, we study what the kids are interested in. The oldest found some Kitchen Chemistry and Slimy Chemistry sets at the Transfer Station (trash). He likes to conduct the experiments in the box. We slaughter chickens and talk about the various body parts. We notice the weather, the seasons, the temperature. We studied Astronomy last year, and find the stars and moon a constant topic of discussion.

History is the subject which probably gets the most time. It's really very fun studying history with kids. As I mentioned in an earlier post, we began this fall studying the American Revolution through the movies. Ask our boy anything about the revolution or founding fathers and he can tell you. He really soaked it in.

Next we studied Lewis and Clark, followed by Mark Twain. We have seen 7 different movies of Tom Sawyer; everything from animation with the characters as animals, to claymation, to live theater. We visited Mark Twain's house in Hartford.

Now we are beginning our study of the Gold Rush. After that I am thinking we will look into Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War, followed by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Any ideas?

My philosophy of teaching at this point is to let the kids learn. If they are working on a project and are engaged, I will serve as a resource to them. If they are getting into trouble and not focused, I have a backup plan of what to study. Our second-grader likes to make his own movies. He is learning a lot doing that.