Our Current Math Curriculum

I'm really not fond of math, which is interesting considering my love of science. Consequently, my math skills are not as strong as they could be. For this reason, I wanted to make sure that Sam didn't end up with the same problem.

I ended up actually going a bit overboard. Sam is now doing math that is actually a few grades beyond what she should be doing. She's supposed to be in first grade, and she's actually doing third to fourth grade level work.

For example, today she did this:

Reading - Inspired by Penelope Trunk

My husband hates to read, and unfortunately, that apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Sam doesn't like reading much either. I'm the only weird one of the family, I love to read, but as a writer, that's kind of an occupational hazard!

So how do you get a kid who despises reading to actually read a book? 

This is one of the main reasons I let my daughter take my college level courses with me on Coursera because she loved to read all the quiz questions. At least she was reading, right?

One of my favorite bloggers, Penelope Trunk, also homeschools, more specifically, she unschools. She's not afraid to let her kids play video games all day and let them guide their own learning. Because of this, her kids are brilliant.

Combination Curriculum: Unschooling and Classical

Although I haven't been posting on this blog like I should be, we've still been homeschooling. We probably haven't made as much progress as I would have liked, but we've also been doing a combination of unschooling and our current curriculum.

I've recently been taking a number of different classes online at Coursera such as Human Physiology, and a course on the Upper Limb. Sam has become fascinated by my classes, which lead me to try a course of unschooling with her and let her take the class with me. She even started her own notebook.

Sam's notebook for our class "The Upper Limb"

Homeschooling Lesson Planners

I love to plan. Although, admittedly, I'm horrible at it. I find it to be one of the most calming things I can do when my anxiety is high, mainly because it gives me a sense of control, even if that sense is an illusion. But I still love to plan. I have a blog planner, a Home Management Binder, a Financial Binder and of course a homeschooling binder that keeps all of Sam's worksheets (both to do and finished) all in one place - on her "homeschooling shelf" on the book case next to my "office."

I, now, have a lesson planner!! Here's the thing about me and planners: the have to be pretty or I won't use them. They have to have some sort of aesthetic appeal or it will just sit and collect dust. I found several lesson planners online, and even made one of my own, which is the one I used the most:

 

I actually really liked this one. It had plenty of room for me to write stuff, but there was something just not right about it.

Our New Curriculum

As I said in my last post, I started reading a new book called The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise, and it discusses... well... a classical education curriculum.

 

It's an awesome book, and reminds me quite a bit of my Catholic school education, which isn't necessarily a good thing.  But, it was definitely classical!