July 31, 2018
Our Curriculum
One of the most popular questions I get asked (in regard to my children and homeschooling) is “what curriculum do you use?”
So, here’s what our jumbled “organized chaotic” curriculum looks like for 2018:
Honestly, most of what I use depends on the style of the learner and what books I have. My core for the first few years has been A Beka Book Arithmetic (K5, 1, and 3) with A Beka Book Phonics (K5, 1, Phonics and Language 2, the first third or so of A Handbook for Reading) and A Beka Book writing (K4 manuscript, K5 cursive, 1, Cursive Writing Skillbook 3, and Penmanship I or II if needed for extra practice).
Beyond that, “traditional” style learners who get the most from reading a textbook and repetition of problems (my two oldest) like A Beka Book’s math program so mine goes (5th, 7th, Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, either personal or business mathematics).
A Beka Book’s language program actually starts in their “Phonics and Language 2” book (this is new last year and I LOVE IT since it combines phonics and language cohesively – instead of me doing the same thing by switching papers around from their previous first grade letters & sounds and language). So I usually go: Phonics & Language 2, Language B or C (I like B/5th best, but C has more practice writing formal documents), and then we move to any vocabulary book they choose (I’ve used A Beka, Hanson, Pearson, and even the vocabulary list in our 1960s dictionary!) while writing an essay, poem, or report daily (this is usually a paragraph or essay for a history, science, or literature assignment). You learn grammar, spelling, and vocabulary by reading and writing.
For more tactile learners, we’ve discovered that Teaching Textbooks works very well. Those who have mastered the basics (5th grade math or up to basic operations) can pick up with Teaching Textbooks’ Pre-Algebra and perfectly understand it. We’ve only used version 1.0, since I buy everything used, but am told 2.0 has the same content without trading out discs. I won’t use 3.0 because it’s all online and our internet access is spotty at best (according to Teaching Textbooks, it has the same educational content as 2.0 so for those with good internet and toddlers who like to play with the big kids’ CDs, 3.0 is probably the best option).
Basically, I make sure each core subject (Grammar/Language/Reading & Math) builds easily for the particular student who is using it. The girls choose their own textbooks for Science (the 3 “required” by me are by Apologia: high school Biology, Chemistry, and Physics), History (I have two “required” textbooks, one is by Eggleston originally published in 1884, and a high school level two-semester course on US History), Social Studies, and Electives based on their interests starting with 3rd grade (paragraph-writing level). I use those to reinforce grammar and writing skills. Three students can be (and often are) using the same history or science textbook but end up with varying levels of reports.
Thanks for reading!
Type at you next time…
~Nancy Tart