As I have been planning and gathering my curriculum for my 3rd grader, I had to laugh a little at how my philosophy for homeschooling has changed through the years, AND how I have tweaked it depending on which child I am teaching! What I did with our oldest, didn't necessarily work with our middle son, and now I am using a little of both with our youngest!!! But, it works for us, I guess!
Do you struggle with comparing yourself to other homeschool moms out there??!!!! It is so easy to do, but I would encourage you to try your hardest not to!! Easier said than done, but it will make your life much easier! I always kindof dreaded the days our co-op had "Favorite Curriculum" day....it was fun to see what others were doing, but often many of us, I'm sure, went away feeling like we weren't doing enough with our kids! We would think, "well, if I just would use that book, or if I would try that method, then my kids would be REALLY learning!"
I had to finally come to the realization that I was DOING THE BEST that I could, and that my children were learning!
Not to sound contradictory, I WILL share what I am currently using with our 3rd grader.....only because it helps me document it, and if you are looking for some curriculum ideas, you can see what has been good to work with for us! :)
Many of the ideas for curriculum come from recommendations in
The Well-Trained Mind
, by Susan Wise Bauer. She is the author of many books, including the
Story of the World
series for history. My boys and I have absolutely loved using those books and
activity guides
throughout the years. When I read her
Well-Trained Mind, I thought she and I shared a lot of what I had hoped to accomplish with my family. So, I chose SOME of the things that I thought I could implement with my own boys.
Here are some of the things she recommends (links provided so you can see what they look like...):
English and Grammar:
Rod and Staff English 3
Spelling:
Spelling Workout B
Math:
Singapore Primary Math 3
Science:
God's Design for Life, The World of Plants
Social Studies:
Trail Guide to U.S. Geography
Handwriting:
Handwriting Without Tears Cursive Handwriting
My social studies curriculum is still "in the works".....over the years we have used
Sonlight 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6. He was "tagging along" with his older brothers, so I need to figure out what I would like to highlight for him this year. I thought he might enjoy learning about all of the states, and I have the great
Trail Guide to U.S. Geography that could be our framework to do so.
****added 9/16/10----I almost forgot our favorite, Geography Songs
!! This CD has helped all of my boys (and me) learn where states, and countries are located! :)
This is what Works for Me today! For others' ideas, visit
Works For Me Wednesday.
What works for you? Are you an eclectic homeschooler like me? or do you use one curriculum?
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