About four years ago (when we switched to year-round schooling), I began planning and prepping for one year at a time. It has taken me a few years, but now I think I have finally found a system that works well. Now, I want to share it with others and help them to do the same. These little steps are not lesson planning in the traditional teacher's way of planning things. This planning allows things to run smoothly and for me to be organized enough to travel as we do each year.
Last month I introduced our Beyond Literature Program I am using with my girls this year. I am going beyond with out literature journey and touching on areas we have not yet touched in our homeschool. The first unit of this program is about the different types of literature and I am going to off it for FREE!
When we decided to home school, it was because we wanted to be able to travel with my husband and his job. We wanted to stay together as a family. To make our journey successful needed to follow the mantra for our homeschooling journey, and for our blog/website is “home schooling anywhere and everywhere”. Our home school need to be able to be able to be picked up and taken and done wherever we were. After nine years, I think we have finally found a groove and several things that make this happen for us. Each year it has gotten easier and easier to pack up and go this way and that. There have been five key things that has been consistent over the last nine years that keep us going.
I introduced the concept of Beyond Literature earlier this month in a blog post titled Beyond Literature: A New Adventure for Our Homeschool. But basically, it is a literature program. I’m creating for my girls, and I am also sharing it here as well. As of right now there are three main components: Elements of Literature, Book Lists, and Book Reports and Summaries. Today I would like to take a closer look at these three components and shed some light on what to look forward to.
In the spirit of National Reading Month, I thought I would introduce our new literature program that I’ve begun in our homeschool this year. I will also be releasing parts of it on our Homeschool Printables Page. I will also offer more details and information on our Beyond Literature page later this month and throughout the year.
So for those who don’t quite understand Tot School, a term within the homeschool community where parents educate their toddlers at home. This looks different in every family, and if you google the word, you will get many ideas and ways to do tot school. What it will look like in our homeschool. I need to explain why, then I’ll explain what it is and what it is not, and lastly, I will discuss how it will look in our home.
This week, I shared our curriculum choices for our Together Subjects for 2023 and 7th Grade Curriculum Choices. Today I am going to share our choices for our 3rd Grader Thumper. This year will be a growing year as she will get to start doing some subjects she hasn’t yet tackled as she advances in certain skills.
First, I will share the few staple subjects, that we have been using for several years now.
Yesterday, I shared our curriculum choices for our Together Subjects for 2023. Today I am going to share our choices for our 7th Grader Mouse. This year she is going to be more independent, with a lot of her work, which I’m both excited for and scared for, because it means she is growing up. My goal for her is to help her be primarily independent in her learning by 9th grade, and ultimately independent as a young adult.
First, I will share the few staple subjects, that we have been using for several years now.
Our school year will begin later this month, as we are putting back an official start date on hold anticipating moving to our first job location mid-January. However, we will start some staple subjects (Math and Reading) while we are in transition, so that we can keep moving along in those subjects. Just to remind some and introduce us to others. We are a traveling homeschooling family. I have three girls: Mouse (age 12, 7th Grade), Thumper (age 8, 3rd Grade) and Bird (age 2, Tot school).
This year I had a hard time deciding on some of our subjects together. Then, I made choices, purchased them, and then when they arrived, I was disappointed. So, I’m still deciding on some. What I know we are going to do this school year is our Science, Music, Bible, Poetry, and World Geography.
Oh, what a year it has been! (I might say this every year). Navigating our homeschool with a busy and vocal one-year-old is not for the faint of heart. However, I wouldn’t change it for the world because, as I have said, The Best Job I Never Knew, I Always Wanted. We have already begun our Christmas School this year (see what we are doing and purchase it HERE).
