We're starting fresh in January, after a big family conference, that ended up with M saying "I don't think they're learning enough", and The Boy saying "I don't think I'm learning enough", and me saying "I don't think they're learning enough"... you get the picture. Even The Girl says she would "like to learn more." And says she wants "real science."
Oops.
So I'm working my way through all the resources I own, trying to decide what will be best to remedy the situation. And believe me, I have a lot of resources on hands. One might even call me a curriculum junkie! For example, world history (the current and ongoing bane of my planning)--I own, and am trying to choose from:
K12's Human Odyssey Volume 1 (I like the fact that it covers ancient China, India, Africa, and Japan, along with classical Greece, Rome, etc. Fairly well written too)
Famous Men of... series (love the tone of these, but they are limited to Western cultures)
Builders of the Old World (again, love the tone, but very little mention of cultures outside Western civilization)
Several volumes of The World in Ancient Times (well-written, and they cover a lot of the world!)
And my latest acquisition, Journey Across Time: The Early Ages. I'm not sure about this one yet because I just ordered a used copy, but I figure the combination of Spielvogel and National Geographic has to be good!
Hmmmph. Hard to choose. One part of me wants to touch on many of the major civilizations (K12, or the World in Ancient Times, maybe Journey), another part knows that the kids would love the Famous Men series.
What I do know is that we are really going to give this schedule a try (with a few minor alterations, such as switching their Friday to our Sunday, and mythology/cultural studies instead of logic/philosophy), and due to The Boy's request for "real science", we're going to be using this. So to make it very simple for myself, I'm simply taking the schedule linked above, putting it into a table format in Word (Open Office really), and then plugging in resources to use. I am also still working on my "good books" list, and from that we can just pick and choose for the literature portion of the schedule.
I know it is a far cry from the more-or-less unschooling approach we've been using, but it is short (3 hours a day), so the kids will still have plenty of time for exploring their interests, and I think it will be a solid education. We'll probably school right with this new schedule/approach through June, at least through mid-June, then take July and August off for project-based learning/more of an unschooling approach.
As far as housework, etc., I'm also writing a plan for that. Yes, 2013 will be the year of organization. Flying by the seat of my pants just isn't cutting it anymore.
Do you have any big plans for the New Year?
The year of organization - I like that! I, too, need to be as organized as possible in 2013, mostly out of necessity. Otherwise, I may lose my mind between having a baby, homeschooling my son, moving back to the U.S., finding a house, and finding a job,, all in less than 6-month span. ;)
ReplyDeleteI actually write my housework and bills down in my datebook, so I won't forget things now. I already put a few things in my 2013 datebook.
Well, gosh, now you've inspired me to get into my 2013 datebook and finish filling those basic tasks in for their days. Better now than later, when I have arms full of baby!
But your topic is mostly homeschooling. LOL And I think it's great that you get feedback from the kids and M! It helps you figure out what they want and need. Wish my son was more vocal about that! He goes with the flow, which is fine and all... but if he wanted to give me input I'd certainly use that to help tailor his lessons and/or schedule too.