Homeschool curriculum

As a home school mommy and teacher, I sometimes find myself doubting the education my children are receiving. Not because I think they are not learning enough or not getting enough "socialization" at home. But, mainly, I start to feel inadequate as a teacher when I hear of all the fun projects going on at school or with other "super home school mommies"! They sound so fun to me that I start to wish my kids could partake in more of the fun stuff without having to spend 5 days a week at school.

Recently, I read an article in Sonlight magazine that encouraged my home school heart! Here is a portion of the article giving reasons why to buy or not to buy Sonlight curriculum:

"Several programs on the market advertise their strong activity orientation. Sonlight has chosen a different route. We do encourage hands-on learning activities in early elementary Math programs. And our Science programs are loaded with experiments. But we don't schedule time consuming activities like making raccoon-skin caps, creating playground-sized maps of the world, creating Pilgrim-era Thanksgiving meals, and so forth.

Our experience shows that, as we read dynamic and engaging books to our children, we fill their minds with strong mental images and challenging ideas. They decide, on their own, which activities they want to do. And they prepare for those activities on their own with minimal (if any) guidance from us."

This is my kids! They love to create and play make-believe from the stories we read! I love literature-based learning and truly believe that my kids (and me!) learn a wealth of knowledge from our living books, but I have allowed doubt to creep into my heart because we don't "plan" creative activities every day of the week. We do enjoy creative days, but they are sometimes more spur of the moment rather than planned.


As I read the above article and evaluated my my own kids learning styles and tendencies, I realized that reading fun and exciting living books for our history and science curriculum IS the best option for our family. I can look back and remember that while reading The Sign of the Beaver, my kids went outside and tried to make rabbit traps and fishing spears. While reading Robinson Crusoe, they broke sticks and used yarn to tie them together to make a raft. They filled a pool with water to see if it would float or if tiny toy animals could stand on it and still float. They continually ask for pieces of fabric to make headdresses from our Bible stories or clothes for their dolls and animals after reading Peter Rabbit and other make-believe books. And just last week, while reading Daniel Boone, the four big kids took to the "road" leading through the property to go exploring and see if they could spy on some Indians or sneak up on any animals in the wild! Last night three of the big kids came to the dinner table with homemade Indian headbands with Q-tips and combs stuck in them!

So, while I hope to still plan some fun learning activities, I am now encouraged to continue reading with my children and letting them explore, create and imagine on their own!


Below are our picks for curriculum this school year:

Bible:Leading Little Ones to God: A Child's Book of Bible Teachings
Big Truths for Little Kids: Teaching Your Children to Live for God
Phonics/ Language: Abeka
Math: Saxon
History: The Mystery of History and Sonlight readers and read alouds
Science: Apologia and Sonlight readers and read alouds