Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.
— Oscar Wilde.
Every homeschool family schools differently. In that way – and probably only that way – we’re just like them.
Because we are not just a homeschooling family, but a ranch-living and home-business-running family, our schooling day looks different every day, but here’s what we aim for:
After breakfast is put away and morning chores are done, we start in on school. We usually start with a devotional. Right now we are using a Christmas family devotional that has given us wonderful ideas of how to pray for and serve others in this season of giving.
After our devotional time we usually move on to History. For the next two weeks we are studying the Industrial Revolution – which has been fascinating! If you think of it, ask the kids about an invention that came about during that time. The girls are each creating a poster of an invention from that era, and Kasen is researching Thomas Edison.
Science is taking on two forms right now. For History, Science, Geography and Art we use an excellent family based curriculum called Layers of Learning. That curriculum has us studying Energy right now – which is a perfect complement to the Industrial Revolution. We also use Exploring Nature with Children – which has us studying our feathered friends this week. However, as Clint points out, ranch living offers countless opportunities to observe and test God’s creation – and we try to take advantage of that!
In Geography we are studying the landscape of the United States. In fact, as I write this, the kids are perfecting their salt dough maps of the country – with special focus on the major ranges: the Rockies, the Cascades, the Sierra Nevadas, and the Appalachians.
In Art we are investigating the Romantic Period. All of the kids enjoy drawing, and we are looking forward to playing around with some watercolors to try to achieve some of the look of the Romantic Era pieces. Of course, then we’ll have to talk about what the Romantic Era was all about: feelings. Of course, this will be all new fodder for Kasen’s running comedy show during school – though I hope to circumvent that by spending most of this 2 week unit on the beautiful landscapes that came out of the Hudson River School during this time.
We discovered the Layers of Learning curriculum last summer when we came across their Writer’s Workshop. Language Arts has always been a mixed bag for us. One of the kids loved it. Another loathed it. And yet another was frustrated by it. Thankfully, we all love Writer’s Workshop and I am so grateful we found it. Right now our writing is centered around the History assignment mentioned above, as well as Spelling and some mini grammar lessons.
Throughout the day the kids have Math and Reading to work on independently. For years we have used Math-U-See. I love Math, and I love curricula that helps students understand what is going on when we are doing Math. Speaking of that, here’s a freebie for you. The “Golden Ratio” has always fascinated me. If you enjoy looking at the glory of God’s creation, check out this fun collection of photos of the Golden Ratio in creation! Our Reading curriculum is from Christian Light Publishers and we could not be happier about its emphasis on the character traits we seek to emphasize: integrity, a diligent work ethic, love, kindness, and gratitude.
When we finish school depends, of course, on when we actually got started and how many times we got distracted our delayed. We try to take a short break between subjects, but sometimes those breaks are no longer short by the time we get back to school work. But, that’s one of the beautiful things about homeschooling – school isn’t separate from life; it is life!
Thanks for joining us on this journey. We look forward to sharing with you what we’re learning.
A Life Well Learned 