This Homeschool Year: What’s Working
This is probably the smoothest year we’ve had as far as our rhythm and curriculum changes have gone. ICYMI earlier this summer I shared all our curriculum picks:
8th Grade Highlights
The girls curriculum picks have been solid and we’re not really changing much. I did add two things:
Digital Art Classes: They’re always anxious for more art and it’s something we are incorporating into our family studies this year, but that’ll be a little more sporadic so we added this as something they can work on during their free time.
They’ve also been hopping in and out of Art Makes Me Smart and following some of the nature drawing tutorials in there.
TGTB Spelling: I hadn’t planned on doing a formal spelling program with them this year because they have a full english class they’re in, but I noticed they could probably use a little extra support so we thought we’d try the new TGTB spelling and it’s been a great fit because it’s geared for older kids and just focused on commonly misspelled words. They’re working through the online platform a couple of times a week. This is for grades 4+ but there is a placement test if you have older kids.
I have been SO happy with Denison Algebra and so have the girls so I hope it’ll take them through high school. They’ve done 99% of the curriculum on their own and are just checking in with me on the tests or anything they don’t understand.
Storytellers Studio is going fantastic and I’d definitely recommend it if you have a child who would be interested in writing a book. I don’t want to put any pressure on my daughter to finish, but she’s about three chapters in and works on it nearly every day so we’ll see how it evolves. I am just happy both of my girls are writing a ton! (You can always use code HCL10 for 10% off Storytellers Studio).
Recently my girls have been making their way through the Childhood of Famous American Series and then I’ve got a bunch of Landmark Books I’d like them to turn toward next. We’re not formally studying US history right now so I’m not trying to coordinate every book they read with what they’re studying, but I do try to give them a buffet of good books to choose from or let their interests lead the way and right now they’re really into short biographies.
We did drop our involvement with 4H. I think the program is great, but it was a lot of time and we needed to prioritize some other areas in our lives right now. Instead, I got the girls this Bunny Bible and they’ve been working through to help train their bunny. It’s been a better fit all around for us.
4th & 2nd Grade Highlights
It was not working to use The Dangerous Book for Boys has part of our LA studies. I was worried about this, but I am just so busy and have my mind in so many places that I just didn’t take the time to try to be more intentional with using it as a LA study - though I am sure we could’ve if I’d been a bit more disciplined and I’m sure my boys would much prefer that, but I needed to be realistic. So, we’re JUST reading through it once and week and my boys have been happy with that!
For grammar I added these two units for my boys: Grammar Bundle and Grammar for the Year. They’re nothing fancy, but they’re doing the job. I am still working on phonics and reading separately with my boys, but I decided I could teach writing together. So, we’re using these Writing Process Units and we’re all LOVING this writing curriculum. We’ve tried a handful of writing curriculums over the years and this is, by far, is one of my favorites. The lessons are super short and digestible and it’s made writing for my boys VERY doable and it’s something they both really like. We just finished up Unit 2: Personal Narratives and they’re so proud of their writing. If you end up grabbing this - just know the lessons are on google slides so you’ll need a screen. You can work through the units in order or skip around….just know some of the lessons are holiday themed so just keep that in mind.
At first I wasn’t sure Math 4 was going to be a good fit for my son. We tried the videos and I wanted them to work so badly because I think they’re amazing, but my son just wasn’t into them. So, my husband took over teaching the lessons and it’s actually been going awesome! I chatted a bit more about this in my last post: Our Homeschool is Changing.
I’ve been using this Phonics Toolkit alongside some of TGTB LA and it’s been the perfect supplement for some extra phonics practice. I am also just hyper focused on having my boys read as much as possible independently and aloud to me. My 9 year old son is loving the Badger Hills Farm books and I am using a lot of TGTB readers with my 7 year old.
As we’ve settled into our study of the last half of the Old Testament I felt like I was loosing my boys a bit. As I was prayerful about what I could do to help reach their hearts, the Drawn In videos kept coming to mind. We tried these a few years ago, but they never really stuck. But, I decided to try them again and it has been the PERFECT fit this go around. My boys especially are really loving these and I think it’s helped so much now that we’re out of some of the more familiar stories in the OT.
We just wrapped up the more formal part of our first family unit study - wilderness survival. In a few days we have a day scheduled to go out with a survivalist through Making Tracks Earth Education which will be amazing! I’ll share a full Wilderness Survival review soon! Right now we’re transitioning into our next unit study: Music Appreciation. Our unit studies all feel pretty solid right now and I don’t think I’ll be switching those up this year.
Everything else is going really well for my 2nd & 4th grader.
WHY UNIT STUDIES WORK SO WELL FOR US
If you’re new around here, I always get asked about how I balance teaching so many subjects. But, really, I only teach one family unit study at a time for about 4-6 weeks. We’re in that study every day usually for about an hour and I also combine this time with our gospel studies. Then I teach math and language arts separately to each child. Like I mentioned - my girls are doing those subjects independently now so it’s really like my mind is only on math, reading, and a unit study.
This approach has saved me A LOT of mental energy over the years because I’m not constantly jumping back and forth between six different subjects and levels every day. I can really wrap my head around just a few things at a time and that has become increasingly important as my kids have gotten older.
I do integrate other subjects into our family studies whenever they naturally fit. For example, with wilderness survival, we added lessons about biomes and survivalists which gave us opportunities to incorporate more science and history. Our theme was the scripture, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” and we talked a lot about not only physical survival, but also spiritual. We didn’t do a ton of art or things like notebooking during this unit, but, for example, my kids did a simple art project while I read My Side of the Mountain aloud to them. It’s such an easy way to simplify our homeschool while still feeling like we’re moving forward in all the areas I want to cover.
ROOM TO EXPLORE INTERESTS
Last week I shared that our afternoons have some down time and I have chatted a little bit about this in other posts. But, in between a handful of out of the home classes and activities we have had some pockets of time at home where I can work and I am intentionally leaving open so the kids can pursue their own interests. And, I’ve REALLY come to love and value this part of our homeschool. It is definitely something - especially as we move into the teen years I am going to try to preserve.
In case you haven’t heard me talk about this before - as my kids are getting older I am realizing how valuable it is to still give them time to “play” by exploring, creating, building, and simply following their curiosity without me always directing what they should be doing next. We like structure and predictability and there are certainly foundational academics we need to prioritize, but I don’t want to be so rigid that we don’t have margin to pursue interests. So I like to try to think of this down time as “project time” where they can explore whatever they like. Sometimes it’s more formal, but not always. Sometimes it’s something they work on for serveral days and other times it’s just an afternoon spent doing something they enjoy. I think there are a lot of mental health benefits to this too and I’ve loved seeing what my kids come up with.
If this is something you want to incorporate into your days, here are a few examples of what this kind of open-ended time can look like. There really isn’t a right way to use this time-the point is just to have some space for interests.
Building & Creating: Cardboard, legos, art supplies, and other building materials can go a long way. Recently, my boys built a surprisingly complex RC track out of cardboard. They spent hours designing it and building it and changing things and testing it out. I love watching them and their projects evolve.
Art: I’ve noticed the kids do A LOT of art during this time. The girls are using what they’re learning in their digital art class and my son is also learning how to use Procreate. We have lots of sketching and watercoloring happening. The girls recently got into artist trading cards after seeing an older cousin work on them.
Books & Puzzles: We all listen to a lot of books and read quite a bit during this time. One thing that works especially well for us is listening to audiobooks while doing something hands on - like puzzles, legos, building, drawing, ect. It’s an easy way to combine a little downtime with good stories.
Time with Friends: We are fortunate to have several homeschool friends and family members nearby so this also gives us some flexibility for both planned and spontaneous playdates. Sometimes friends come over to work on art projects and sometimes the kids simply play. Recently, my girls have been using this time to practice hair and makeup with friends.
Outside: Of course being outside is also another way we spend a lot of this time. Sometimes this just means playing in the backyard and sometimes we go an adventure or even just head to the park.
The nice thing about having this open space in the afternoons is that I don’t have to decide ahead of time what it needs to become. There is room for interests to change and for friendships to develop and projects to evolve. I don’t feel the need for every afternoon to produce something impressive or educational. I just want the kids to have some unhurried time to wonder, make, practice, play, read, build and discover “what calls to them.” I think this kind of freedom is just as important as their formal academics.
If you’d like to see more about what our homeschool rhythm looks like right now, you can read: Our Homeschool is Changing.
That’s all for now! Happy homeschooling!