A hefty weight has lifted from my chest since purchasing and going through our curriculum for next school year.
I had been praying about it for WEEKS and waiting for God’s leadership and peace in my decisions. That looked like a lot of comparison shopping, and placement assessments, and whatnot.
What finally gave me peace was praying through my goals and concerns and reading about each of the contenders on my curriculum picks list. What I eventually came to accept was that,
1) I am one mama. And my babies are young; we do not need to do ALL the subjects.
2) I do not have to force my children to constantly be at their peak threshhold of learning. It is ok to relax a little and enjoy learning rather than stretch them to the point of distress. Don’t get me wrong, I want to challenge them and honor their intellect, but it is ok to not be maxed out on capability and comprehension.
3) I run my homeschool- I have freedom to deviate from the lesson plans on occasion; I can take a day to read aloud from some classics, or field trip to an interesting place; I can be flexible AND consistent. There is room for both.
So, here’s what we’ve got slated for next school year:
Sonlight H/B/L + Math, Handwriting, Language Arts (5-6, 6-8)
All About Reading Level 3
Sonlight H/B/L PreK (3-4)
As “extra curriculars” we teach primer Latin, and I introduced piano a couple weeks ago, and we can really dig into piano this summer.
I plan to use the Castalia Junior Classics as part of our literature curriculum as well as family read alouds. They’ve been a lot of fun for us so far.
I’m still praying about fall sports because they typically fall on Sundays (which I refuse to schedule anything on) and Wednesday nights (also a church committed evening) so, I’m praying for guidance on that and frankly- I’m not convinced my 6 year old needs to pursue athletics to the extent many parents push their kids toward; sheer probability says he won’t be a professional athlete. But, I do want to give him the opportunity to pursue activities he loves, just not at the expense of family time or worship. So like I said, I’m still praying about it.
But overall, I feel really good about the direction we are heading this coming school year. Feel free to share your curriculum choices and experiences in home education in the comments below!
Wholly Holy Living 