So after a long blog break here we are starting a new year...homeschooling! I thought I'd share something of what I intend to do with Katie, though because she's only kinder age there isn't going to be too much structure. My plan is to focus on lots of time for art/craft and going on walks (morning) and then once the other two are having afternoon naps concentrate on learning to read and write. I'm also going to make a list of good read-alouds and end off our kinder days with that. Probably the most important thing I want to start each day off with both Sam and Katie is devotional time right after breakfast. We are working our way through the Rhyme Bible at the moment.
In terms of what materials we will be using I have found a great source book which has had glowing reviews. It has also scared a lot of homeschooling parents including myself. It's The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer. When I read it I thought, wow this is the kind of education I wish I had! It is based on classical education which is very language-focused. The most interesting aspect I thought was having the 12 years of education consist of three repetitions of the same four-year pattern (such as in literature, history and science):
| Period | Years Covered | Scientific Subjects | Studied during grades... |
| Ancients | 5000 BC – AD 400 | Biology Classification Human Body | 1, 5, 9 |
| Medieval – early Renaissance | 400 - 1600 | Earth Science Astronomy | 2, 6, 10 |
| Late Renaissance – early modern | 1600 – 1850 | Chemistry | 3, 7, 11 |
| Modern | 1850 – Present | Physics Computer Science | 4, 8, 12 |
The four time periods are studied at varying levels – simple for grades 1-4, more difficult in grade 5-8 and taking a more complex approach in grades 9-12. It's a daunting book, all 814 pages of it, but I'm excited I've found a very detailed manual which really shows you how to do it and recommends a wide variety of sources to use. I just don't trust myself to make things up as I go along so for now this is my “guide book”. It's given me a good outline and I simply pick and choose which books I want to use and decide how far in depth I really want to go.
Currently for this kinder year I am using:
Slow and steady get me ready (weekly activities for newborns up to age 5)
Mudpies to magnets (a preschool science curriculum)
We are also supplementing with various workbook activities.
My one goal for Sam this year is to toilet-train him. He loves story-time so we'll just keep rea
ding and reading and maybe even start learning some letters soon. Annie is turning 1 in March – so it's a real challenge this year starting homeschooling. We also have number 4 on the way so I'm envisaging many future fun and games in our household :)
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