This is the time of year when you will find many posts about homeschooling. Bloggers are sharing their plans for the upcoming school year and getting excited about the newness of this next year of home education. New books and school supplies fill most homeschooling moms and their children with readiness to embark on another year of learning.

Technically we school year round. Our family does not follow any public school schedule. We keep it loosey-goosey in order to make time for new babies, illnesses, holidays and the like. Summertime is way too hot in Texas for the kids to be outside and so they are stuck indoors. Thus we do the bulk of our education in the summer and like to take breaks when the weather is better for outdoor play.

Still, because it is interesting to read what others will be using in their homeschool, I thought I’d share what we are utilizing in the Wisdom Begun household. We don’t put our children into grades, but if someone were asking I would say that I was homeschooling a 2nd grader, Kindergartner, and two preK kids. This is just to give people a better idea as to where my children are academically. Truth be told, my oldest excels in some subjects and so she is well above 2nd grade level and she is just at second grade level in others. Same for my other children. We teach subjects according to their comprehension and ability.

Core

Tapestry of Grace, Year 1

I have to admit that we gave up Tapestry of Grace this summer because I was overwhelmed with their Digital Edition. Give me paper in my hand any day. I thought that Mystery of History would better fit our family’s needs and would provide the education that my husband and I decided was best for our children.

In the end we are switching back to Tapestry of Grace and will be purchasing it in print format. While Mystery of History is a neat program it was not meaty enough for what we were trying to achieve. My children also meshed better with Tapestry of Grace and were much more excited about “doing school” when we were using it.

To be honest, we are only very loosely following Tapestry of Grace at this point because we are less about rigidly doing a curriculum and more about using these early years as a segue into more intense studies. Playing, character training, and fun learning are key. By reading the books for the Lower Grammar level and doing the suggested activities Mrs. Somerville provides we are able to begin learning as a family and will be familiar with Tapestry of Grace by the time they are older and fully using this curriculum.

*For more reasons while using Tapestry of Grace with little ones is a good idea, you can read my http://wisdombegun.com/2009/06/04/tapestry-of-grace-and-young-children-part-two-2/.*

Math

Still unsure at this point. We are finishing up Horizons Math with my oldest but she didn’t really mesh well. I am looking into Math U See for her. My Kindergartner will be using BJU K5 because it is very colorful and heavy on manipulatives and that is how she learns. The younger children will learn by counting things out with mommy.

Science

I will not be using a formal curriculum for this. Instead, we will meld together field trips, hands on experiments, books from the library, lapbooking, and nature journaling to broaden their understanding of what God has created.

Latin

My oldest is using Prima Latina for this. So far she really enjoys it and I appreciate the DVDs that go along with it.

Language Arts

We will continue All About Spelling, Level 2. As far as grammar, I am wanting to keep it very simple and just give my oldest an introduction. I am looking First Language Lessons but I may just point things out as she reads. Of course we will continue just plain reading. Boxcar Children books are her current favorites. For Handwriting she will continue using the Copybooks from Memoria Press.

Art and Music

Just like with science, we will just learn these two as we go about our days. We listen to classical music and do lots of coloring and I feel that is enough at this point.

Bible

We are not using a curriculum or book for this. Instead we do daily Family Worship that Daddy leads; also I read straight from the Scriptures to them often and we work a lot on practical applications – character training and discipline – every day.

Thank you for taking the time to read what we are using in school this year! What are you planning on using your own homes? Leave a comment letting me know what works for you!

If you enjoyed this post, you will want to read: Homeschool: PreK Edition – Education and Homeschool: PreK Edition – Training.

Books photo courtesy of svilen001