Joyfully Overloaded

You might want to pop popcorn and grab a fun drink. It's going to be a long read. I decided to break this post into two parts. I’m going to start with the personal stories because I believe it is important to know that the best part of homeschooling is catering your children’s education to the needs and lifestyle of the family. Therefore there is no black and white, right or wrong way to homeschool. That’s the beauty of it. Find freedom in allowing your family to learn in your own way. After you see that we will move into the different curriculums and I’ll leave you with a million links to their websites. Here are some things you should know before we dig in: 1-Just because you bought it doesn’t mean you are married to it. I have twice now gotten halfway through the school year and chucked a program because it was making everybody miserable. It’s okay, it’s part why we homeschool, we get to choose what our children study and how they learn. 2-Don’t let the price scare you. I unde...

I almost skipped over this completely to go straight to curriculums but how we teach is personal to each family, child, parent, and even what life brings that year. For example this past year I was the most hands off I have ever been.  I personally hated it, my biggest was not in favor, and I think my middle boy was neutral about it. I was struggling with Lyme, and had a developmentally delayed toddler on top of teaching the two biggest.  I was exhausted, and they are at an age where they can learn on their own.  The test scores are in for the school year; they scored (at or above grade level ) at least grade level in everything or higher. That shows that even though the method wasn’t what I wanted the boys grasped the knowledge put before them.  There is no secret formula to homeschooling because every family is different.  One year we turned our dining room into the water system. You can see the water evaporating from the pond here. Below I’ve brie...