Adventures in Homeschoool

This is my second year homeschooling. Unquestionably I love it more than anything I have ever done. This is what I was created for. It encompasses all of my passion in one rewarding struggle. (I say struggle because let's face it, we all, including my normally wonderful children, have off days!) On a daily basis I am a missionary, a teacher, a motivational speaker, a manager, basically a mom. It is my job to train my children in the ways of the Lord, prepare them for the ways of the world, instill in them a love of learning, and rear them up to be the best men of God possible.

However I have two complaints. First I am finding that in this endeavor I have yet to find a partner in a quality curriculum. Everything that I have looked at doesn't seem to meet the needs of my boys. I mean basically a math book is a math book, and since somehow (miraculously) neither of my boys struggle in math, we don't need much in that area. But as for science, art, history (both Biblical and modern), social studies, geography, and last but certainly not least literature I haven't found anything great. I don't think that learning should be mere repetition or regurgitation but rather exploration. We have five senses, a brain, a sprit, emotions, curiosities, and unique personality traits. I think a good education should utilize and stimulate all of that. I want something challenging and rewarding, something that covers both boys and can be customized to their level. I want a curriculum that really teaches them about God's world. Since I haven't found anything I really like I have written my curriculum for the past two years.

My second complaint are the standardized lists of what should be covered in every grade (and I have looked at the recommendations for Texas, as well as Connecticut and Massachusetts, which are supposed to have the best public schools, the curriculum provided by privates schools, homeschool websites that list the typical courses of study, I have looked at the homeschool curriculum choices out there, I recently read through What Your First Grader Needs to Know and What Your Third Grader Needs to Know.)

Recently, being the severely type A person that I am, I started researching what exactly Ezra and Elisha will need for next year. Since Elisha will be in 1st grade, which I have done before with Ezra, but Ezra will be in 3rd grade which is all new territory for me. I was excited to get in there and find out what he would need to learn for next year. I was incredibly disappointed to find that the 3rd grade list (with adjustments to math and grammar) was basically the same as 2nd grade, which was basically the same as 1st grade. While I understand the concept of building on certain topics, doing the same thing every year will not be fun for long.

We already do unit studies and focus on one topic or theme for a week but I think that I have decided to extend that concept next year. Plus it seems like once they really get interested in something it is time to move on to the next thing. Since we have covered most of the things that they need to learn about in the early grades we are going to spend next year learning about the things they (we) wanted to learn about.

We are going to take one subject and learn about it for a month. We will not be covering human anatomy or American symbols or Texas history for a third year in a row. Instead, next year, we are tackling:

September - The Revolutionary War (Elisha is obsessed with George Washington and pistols)

October -Amphibians (Ezra wants to raise frogs)

November - World Missions (I picked this topic because the boys love learning about other cultures but I would like them to know why it is important to know everything we can about other cultures and I think it is important to foster a Mark 16:15 spirit in all Christians, even children.),

December - Christmas Traditions of the World (Because all children love Christmas and since the know that Santa Claus is not real but merely a tradition that some people participate in they want to know what other people’s traditions are.)

January - China (We are tired of learning one or facts about a country and moving on to the next. So, when I asked the boys what country they wanted to know all about, China was both of their answer. This one was easier to decide than I expected.)

February - Knights and Castles (They are all boy, enough said.)

March - Wilderness Survival (Ezra wanted to know how to make a fire and Elisha and Brandon want to know how to fish with a spear. Should be an interesting month.)

April - Engineering and Constructions (They will be designing, drafting, and building something.)

May - Cinematography (Inspired by Brandon, the boys want to make a movie. There is so much more to this than I could have expected when I started researching. I did decide to save this one for last otherwise I think they might just work on this alone for the year.)

We are really excited about this! When I first started homeschooling I made a vow that my children would receive at least as good of an education as they would have if they were in a traditional school setting. So far they have exceeded my expectations and while the struggle in some areas they excel in other and never ceased to amaze me! I however am finished with the traditional approach to school. Why not do something different, something that motivates and excites us? I think for the first time I am thoroughly embracing the fact that my children’s education does NOT have to resemble what every other child is doing.