Color Me Classic

One of the things I love about homeschooling is choosing curriculum. When I saw a friend post about the not-back-to-school blog hop it got me to thinking about how we found ourselves on our current path.

We didn’t find what works for us until halfway through last year. I really didn’t expect to take any particular approach to homeschooling. I had initially decided to create our own path by pulling from many sources and changing direction as needed. This was fine but I felt adrift and the kids were confused. Last December I was blessed by a former homeschooling mother who asked if I had ever heard of The Well Trained Mind by Wise and Bauer.

I had, but I had dismissed the classical education method as too much writing, memorization and mundane work. She loaned me her copy for a week to see what I thought. As I read the book that week I was constantly running over to my husband to read passages aloud as he brushed his teeth or tried to work. I would catch myself actually saying out loud, “Yes!” as I read about her opinions of public education. I ordered my own copy along with the recommended history books before I saw my friend again the next week. When I told her how much I loved the book and that I planned to begin this curriculum as soon as possible, she gave me her entire set of books for the next three years! What a gift!
I am so excited to begin this year with these books. Homeschooling doesn’t have to be about schedules, workbooks, or any certain curriculum, this is just how our family works best. I still believe in using every teachable moment that presents itself, and regularly build in unschooling days so that we remain fresh and do not get burned out. Yet having a clear path lets me relax in the knowledge that I am not neglecting my duties as their teacher, while giving my children the confidence they need that they are still learning as much as all of the schooled children. Perhaps in the future I will need to re-evaluate our needs. If that happens, I will be happy to do so. Until then, we will be plodding along the classical path.
This is what we use:
Spelling Workout, Spelling Power, First Language Lessons, Writing with Ease, Singapore Math, The Story of the World, Prima Latina, Rosetta Stone, Geology(a mix of things for this), violin lessons, cub scouts, First Junior Lego League, Calligraphy classes, our public library, the internet, and lots, and lots of field trips!