Nonconformity

Madeline "officially" missed her first day of kindergarten at the public school yesterday. While I don't think we ever truely considered sending her, it gave me a moment of pause to think that she was now doing something different than the majority of her peers. Then a good friend of mine called and talked about how she and her children (about the same age as mine) were doing, and the struggles and joys of raising very independent children. I was reminded of one of the many reasons we have chosen to homeschool. We do not want our independent daughters to have to conform to all of those things they must at school. We want them to learn to think for themselves, not follow the pack. We want them to develop their creativity, not get caught up in the monotony of conformity. When I think of Madeline in particular, I always think of a story I heard once about a teacher who told her student that her picture was incorrect because she drew the grass purple instead of green. I wonder how many teachers would tell her to stop coloring her grass purple instead of seeing the beauty of her creativity.  

We want them to love learning for the sake of learning.   Children are born with that great desire to seek out answers and information.  They are great observers and learners!  I always find advertisements this time of year so sad.  I hope that children are not as sad about having to go back to school as the ads make you think they are. New clothes and locker decorations should not be the excitement - learning should be. 

I think we will stick to being nonconformists!

Where are we going?

Well, it seems that the answer to the question, "What curriculum will we use?" is a map that is always changing. It seems like there is a never-ending quest to find materials that are a good fit for the girls' learning styles. My ideas for what we would use this year have changed several times this summer, but I think I have settled on some appropriate materials for the year (subject to change at any time, of course).

I ran across a curriculum that is designed for "gifted and creative" children, Moving Beyond the Page, that addresses that is based on the standards, and is very hands-on. I will be using the 5-7 curriculum materials for Isabella and the 6-8 curriculum materials for Madeline. The girls seem to like the lessons so far, and the material seems to be appropriately challenging for them.

In addition to this curriculum, we will be using ABeCeDarian Reading. This program is a nuts-and-bolts, how to read curriculum. To me, it seems, it is a combination of the best of every program I have used. It has "making words"-type activities; is very methodical in the teaching of phonics, like Sigfried Engelmann's work; and includes writing activities as well. I even like the handwriting portions as much as I like the Handwriting Without Tears curriculum. It is really the type of curriculum I would develop myself, if I was so inclined. We are all happy with it. The girls have seen success with it, and even Hailey asks to learn to read when she sees her sisters doing it. We will also be using LOTS of library books at their reading levels for independent reading, and probably some guided reading.

I think we will also continue to use the Write Source materials for writing. I like the direct instruction in the 6 Traits of Writing that the program provides, and Madeline enjoyed the kindergarten program last year. We will also continue with journaling, and we will encourage both Madeline and Isabella to continue to write down their wonderful stories.

As I posted previously, we are using Singapore Math, and we continue to really like that program. Isabella especially has made huge progress in the past month with it. We will continue with it.

We have experimented with a few art programs this summer, and have been happy with all of them, for what they offer. The Atelier Homeschool Art program has certainly held the girls' attention and lead to lots of spontaneous art being done in between the lessons. The geeArt program has also been enjoyed. They just do not seem to be a complete program, and since we are almost 1/2 finished with the Atelier program (Level 1), and we just started this summer, it will probably not get us through the whole year. I just heard about a program that is suppose to be fabulous, called Artistic Pursuits, which I think I am going to check out. I am also going to use ideas from Discovering Great Artists

and Great American Artists for Kids, both by MaryAnn F. Kohl and Kim Solga.

We are also planning to purchase a used piano or keyboard so that the girls can learn to play. If that doesn't pan out, we might go back to taking a music class, as we have in the past.

Physical education gets covered through the many classes that the girls are involved in. We have dance and gymnastics planned. Madeline would also like to take a karate class, and she and Isabella have played soccer in the past, so we will see what happens later this year.

Well, I think that is what is "mapped" for now. I'm sure it will be adjusted and changed as the year goes on, and I am sure the girls will add their own ideas to it as we progress through the year.