We are home schoolers. We had anticipated sending our oldest daughter to kindergarten in a public school, but opted against it, when we weren't happy with what we heard on parent orientation night. While it may seem as though we made a snap decision, it was truly just the final straw. We had talked about home school even before our oldest was born, and we are beyond grateful that life has worked out in such a way that we can do this.We home school:
- in hopes that our children will keep their innate love of learning.
- so we can give our children individualized education.
- so we can keep our values at the forefront of their education.
- to maintain a level of discipline that is not currently matched in public schools.
- so our children will be given a strong educational framework.
We have found that home school has many added benefits for our family:
- The kids all get to be together--the girls were both concerned about what the other would be doing with Kate away for school.
- We have added latitude in travel plans. We had found that Justin and Kate's schedule were so far off from each other that they would not be off at the same times for breaks except Christmas and summer.
- I know what she's doing every day. I can push her harder than her teacher could, while balancing several other students, and I can take it slow when she needs that too.
- We are able to share in her love of learning, because we both truly love eduction this is a wonderful joy for us.
- We get to play outside on sunny afternoons.
- The kids can stay in their pajamas until noon if they want to.
The 'Big' Questions:
SocializationWe aren't worried about socialization. Our kids have each other, church, gymnastics, and classes that we sign up for from time to time, and quite honestly, I was at a public school, despite our very best efforts there were some stinkers there and there were good kids doing rotten things.
Education
I have a BS in education and Justin has an PhD in chemistry, not that I think homeschooling parents need those degrees, but it doesn't hurt. I liked English and did well in school over all; he's a history and science buff. We feel pretty adequate in teaching just about everything aside from an oral foreign language (I took American Sign Language in college and he took Biblical Hebrew). We are working on Latin for now, because it is such a part of English. We have started with Song School Latin, but have plans to move to Visual Latin when the kids are older.
Curricula
Now:
Literature, Writing, History, Religion: We use Tapestry of Grace as our core curriculum. It incorporates history, English, arts, and religion/world view all from (or in some cases of historical fiction, based around) a period of time. Please note, this curriculum in Christian in nature. I would consider it Classical home schooling in style, and fairly teacher involved. There are four years of curriculum, every fourth year you return to the place you began, but your student will have moved into a higher level. The curriculum is made to grow (grades 1-12), and all children can be working on the same topic at the same time. We still love Story of the World, and TOG has it listed as a supplement, so we can see which chapters match our week.
Arithmetic: Ellie is using Singapore’s Primary Mathematics (where we started). Nate is switching to Horizon’s for 5th grade. Katie & Gabby us Khan Academy for math. We did Teaching Textbooks for awhile, but they prefer Khan, so we switched over.
Science: Katie is using Biology Matters and next year Chemistry Matters (published by Marshall Cavendish) for her science credits. We also used a lab intensive offered by a traveling educator for Biology lab. Justin intends to take over Chemistry lab. Gabby and Nate are going to cover physics with Noeo Physics, The Physics of Superheroes, and ABC’s of Physics Kit.
Foreign Language: Katie is doing American Sign Language with LifePrint. Gabby has kept Up Latin with translating a Harry Potter in Latin book. Next year she will cover Visual Latin with the high school supplements.
Other: For high school credits, Katie will be taking Personal Finance with Life of Fred: Financial Choices. And a half credit of Economics for Everybody. For PE, we kept a physical activity log, and she used Every Herb Bearing Seed for her health credit.
1st Grade, once upon a time:
I didn't buy a box. I didn't buy much that first year, though we purchase more these days.
Here's was 1st Grade for Kate (the oldest):
Reading: She reads from McGuffey Readers and the little book worm reads a lot of library books. I read to her...a lot. We read quite a bit during the day and Justin reads to the kids every night as well. Gabby is reading some from Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.
Writing: We are using Writing with Ease four days a week and copying from the first chapter of Luke on Friday's.
Arithmetic: We are working through Singapore’s Primary Math. We should finish Level 1B in February.
Social Studies: We're working our way through The Story of the World. She enjoys the stories and the coloring pages from the activity book. I had great intentions to do a host of the more involved activities, but we just haven't gotten to them--maybe the next time through!
Science: We are also making good use of our library for this subject. We're focusing on biology for this year. We have studied a host of animals. We're currently studying systems of the body, and we'll round out the year with some botany.
Arts: We're teaching very basic keyboard skills, listening to music, and practicing some graphic art. We draw, paint, and have made some weaving and sewing projects.
P.E.: The girls both are in gymnastics. We practice flips in the living room, running outside, and they never seem to stop moving.
General: We read a lot! We visit the library weekly: we've listened to audio books, read books about pioneer families and gladiators as well as children much like themselves. We also study a little etiquette and a touch of logic each week.
That's us, in a nutshell, for this year anyway!
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