School Plans

In case you didn't know, I'm really excited about starting school in earnest with A this fall. I've been reading some great books recommended by trusted friends who have been homeschooling for years, trying to wrap my head around the different philosophies, methodologies, programs and curricula available. It's quite overwhelming. I feel very blessed to have so many wise Christian sisters who are further down this path already and can shed light on potential hazards and helps.

Some helpful reading I've been doing:

Top 100 Picks for Homeschool Curriculum by Cathy Duffy - great section that explains the general philosophies of homeschooling as well as quizzes to help you understand which style might work best with your family's needs and goals; then a fabulous wealth of info on all manner of curriculum and how they rate on criteria that are important to you

The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise - we've definitely gotten on board with the philosophy of classical Christian education and this book is soooo helpful! Detailed recommendations by grade and subject that are realistic and attainable. I felt infinitely better about starting with a 4-year-old after reading the appropriate parts of this book.

Honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt - neat book about how to choose books for your children that will nurture their heart and mind; includes age-appropriate lists of titles to look for

So for this fall, my broad goals are learning to read and write. We're going to do one at a time, starting with reading. Then we'll start in on formal handwriting once she's comfortable with reading. For reading, I'm using The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading by Jessie Wise (available at my local library) and we invested in a set of BOB Books beginning readers. I'll get all our other easy readers at the library, cross-referencing the recommendations in The Well-Trained Mind and Honey for a Child's Heart. We're going to read, read, read, read. I'll read aloud to her, she'll read aloud to me, and she'll read on her own. We've already been ramping up our reading time and I love that our house is littered with books.

For handwriting, I went with Zaner-Bloser's handwriting style (mainly because the book seemed very thorough for the price). I think this will be fairly straightforward, but that could be my naivete talking.

I plan to pepper in some math and science in the form of everyday, household exploration. We'll also read lots of library books with math and science stories/concepts, thanks to the incredible lists in my reference books. I sprang for Family Math for Young Children because I do not just randomly generate great math ideas, and while my husband does, I'm betting he won't be around when I need to pull a math lesson out of my hat. I'm also hoping to have fun with art using Baby Lambs Book of Art. Both of these books will span multiple years and children.

Last, but certainly not least, we will read the Bible and lots of books about the Bible. I was gifted a beautiful story Bible when A was born and am just now realizing how highly recommended and wonderful it is. We've also got a great church library that I hope to work through repeatedly. Somehow, I want to gather the family together for this part of our education. I'm not sure how it's going to look yet, but J is working with me on ideas of how to merge our schedules for this all-important responsibility. We want to start on character training too, so I got Character Building for Families. Review said it was naturally scripted, concise and easy to do with little prep. Sounds like a good way to tackle the most important part of our children's training, doesn't it?!

As usual, I have probably bitten off more than we can chew. That's part of the excitement, I think. I'm going to maintain the broad goals for reading and writing, and establishing a family time for imparting biblical wisdom. Anything else we do will be gravy. Rich, exciting, calorie-dense gravy that will also probably be full of messy lumps. After all, I'm learning right along with her.