~The Curriculum~

Last year we decided to switch gears with our homeschool curriculum and try Simply Charlotte Mason. If you are unfamiliar with the different ways to homeschool or who Charlotte Mason is, feel free to pop over here and watch this short video that walks you through the 5 different ways you can teach your children at home. 

There were several reasons that I wanted to switch. The first was that I wanted something that used the Bible as the backbone of the curriculum. Bible as a subject wasn't enough for me, I want it to be a part of the actual curriculum, forming part of the daily structure itself. In our first year, we covered the first five books of the OT while studying Ancient Egypt. This year we will work through the rest of the OT and Ancient Greece. 

The second reason, is that I like the idea of reading real book, as opposed to textbooks, which are dry and boring. Who wouldn't rather read stories about missionaries and explorers and the cultures they encounter in Africa rather than some lifeless textbook, rambling on useless facts! Uh...me! 

The third reason is practical...I have a large family. I don't have time to teach multiple grades in all the various subjects, while watching preschoolers, toddlers and babies. Sorry, no superwoman here. I need to be able to teach everyone as many subjects as possible together, and with fairly quick lessons, so I still have time for those things they do have to do at their own grade levels. 

Which brings me to reason number four; Charlotte Mason believed children don't need long lessons, back to back. Simple 10-15 minute lessons in a wide variety of subjects give them the information they need without burying them or forcing them to sit idly while dragging on lessons that they won't remember anyway.

The final reason is that I love SCM is the idea of a feast of ideas. They get a chance to learn art, classical music, hymns, scripture memory, habit training, science, history, geography, social studies, math, handicrafts, poetry, language arts, spelling, even Shakespeare. It is truly a feast for the mind. You don't study every subject, everyday. But you do touch so many subjects over the course of the week, and it is amazing just what they remember about all those things. 

Anyway, I thought I would share this basic overview first. I will be posting more of the specifics for what we are doing, in future posts. Let me know if you have questions. I will be happy to help if I can!