Thursday, July 28, 2011

If I Could Do It Over

I am in the midst of my annual curriculum collection before I go back to China. This means that one entire suitcase will be full of books (or in this case, probably one and a half).

I've been reading through The Well-Trained Mind this summer in an effort to transition more to a Classical Education philosophy (I figured I should really nail myself down a little more to something and this appeals to my structured self). In reading it, I've been realizing what I like about the curriculum and methods we've chosen so far.

So by way of retrospect and possibly encouragement to any potential new homeschool moms, here are my thoughts on "If I had to do it over again from the beginning" not only in curriculum but also in practice:

1. I would read to them even more than I did
2. I would start from the beginning using Math U See, Spell to Write and Read, Story of the World, Easy Grammar, and Considering God's Creation.
3. I would make reading, writing, and math the main things and do other things occasionally.
4. I would spend more time reading and memorizing poems and scripture. Thankfully AWANAs helped me out with that latter one.

Hmm . . . actually not as much I would change as I was thinking there was! That's good. Not that I was regretting anything, because I think that this is a process and God uses the turns and trials to shape us and help us understand how we learn and what we like. It's just good to write out since it helps me see more clearly where I want to go from here.