We run a very informal homeschool ship around here (partly because Q is still of an age I think he should be playing more than studying and IL's compulsory schooling age is 7), leaning toward an unschooling approach (but don't tell the Doddites that, they'd never believe it!) You wouldn't know that we even try from our "curriculum" which is actually quite comprehensive! It's amazing what you do when you're not looking.
I also like the Charlotte Mason ideals of learning through "living books" rather than textbooks, and Quentin LOVES to be read to. Thus, I've kind of adopted (bastardized) that approach here. Most of the links below are Amazon affiliate links (meaning I get a small commission if you click and buy), but only because I HIGHLY recommend them all. Following are the "subjects" we cover and what materials we're using.
- Music/Piano
daily practice am/pm, 1 lesson per week with Miss Stephanie)
My First Piano Adventure for the Young Beginner (Lesson Book B Steps on the Staff)
and
My First Piano Adventure Writing Book B (Steps on the Staff)
- Math
1-2x per week for Q, daily for me
Rightstart Level A
(I'm re-memorizing multiplication tables and starting the "Life of Fred" books)
- Science
daily
(whenever) Bill Nye the Science Guy
(bedtime) George's Secret Key to the Universe/George's Cosmic Treasure Hunt (these are written by Stephen Hawking and his daughter and are Quentin's absolute FAVORITE BOOKS OF ALL TIME right now, even though they're geared for 10 year-olds)
and
Uncle Albert series books
- History
daily, afternoon
The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child: Volume 1
and
Magic Treehouse historical fiction (currently reading A Good Night for Ghosts, which ties into music education as well)
- Latin
one day per week for Q, daily for me
Song School Latin
I'm using the Dowling Method and Latinuum
- Independent Reading/Spelling
twice weekly or more as desired
Leapfrog Tag Books
Starfall and PBS Kids web sites
Step Into Reading series readers (we only have a couple of these but they're good readers, more interesting-and complicated than Bob Books)
- Literature & Poetry
daily, am
various books, currently reading
Peter Pan (literature)
and
Where the Sidewalk Ends (poetry)
- Mythology
1-2x/week
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths
D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths
and either
The Children's Illustrated Bible
or
Does God Have a Big Toe?: Stories About Stories in the Bible (thanks to Dale McGowan of PBB for the recommendation)
- Free Play!
And of course, this schedule leaves tons of time for unstructured play, as well as engineering (LEGOS! and train tracks!), phys-ed (playground!), health (eat your veggies, they'll help you be strong!), art (crayons!), technology (computers!), creative writing (Mommy, I dreamed...!), civics (voting!), economics (allowances and how to spend them!) and much more. (Can you hear me reading this list? It's funny)
The frequency is something I really want to make regular because I think it will be good for us all. For now, it's just a plan. But I thought some of you might be interested to see what it is we "do."
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