Southern Mama - Curriculum I've Used

Southern Mama

May. 8, 2008

Curriculum I've Used

Now that our school year is almost done it's time to think about curriculum for next year. This is really one of my favorite things about homeschooling. I am a curriculum junkie. I love going to curriculum fairs and pouring over catalogs. I imagine all the wonderful things we could learn, how easy school would be, and how smart my children would be "if I just had ONE MORE BOOK!"

Invariably my good sense returns, and I stick with what I know and have - most of the time.

Our homeschooling journey started out in kindergarten using A beka for everything. That year we used two different math programs: A beka and Math-U-See. (My engineering husband loved the MUS workshop we attended at the curriculum fair that year.) I chose A beka because I had no idea how to do what needed to be done. I was terrified of missing something and messing my child up for life. I wanted a script to tell me exactly what to say and how to do it. All that and more came with those A beka books. The "more" that came was the realization that it was not necessary to do every single problem or activity listed.

By third grade I was feeling slightly more confident. My son could read, write, and do all kinds of math problems. So we branched out a little. We switched to Rod & Staff for grammar and spelling and Sonlight for science and reading. For history we still used A beka.

When fourth and fifth grade came around our curriculum was set in stone. Rod & Staff for grammar and spelling, A beka for history and science, Math-U-See, and the public library for reading.

So now I'm looking at next year. Sixth grade will be a transitional year.

My son has now passed me in his knowledge of math. Thank goodness for his engineering dad and Steve Demme!
It's time to vamp up the writing skills. I see a co-op in our future.
Rod & Staff for grammar and spelling
Still considering the options for history and science.
Latina Christiania I (again)

What about those other two children coming up behind him? It was my plan that the second child use the same curriculum. It worked well for the first one. Shouldn't it work the same for the second? Light bulb moment here: the second child is not the same as the first child! So our curriculum choices are still a work in progress.