Just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Andrea, we have 3 children all about to have birthdays, this summer, they will be 7, 4 and 2. We are completing my daughters Kindergarten year of homeschooling. We've had a great year with typical ups and downs. This year we've used Winter Promise Animals and Their Worlds as our main theme with Explode the Code, Right Start level A, Draw Write Now. During the middle of the year we've added a composer, artist and hymn each moth, doing Nature Study here and there with a nature journal. We've read several of the read aloud books from Sonlights list. I really enjoy learning myself and like having a main theme to base our subjects around using creative hands on projects. However, as the year has progressed, I am recognizing that this type of learning is not going to be possible at the season of life we are in with little ones. As the baby has grown this year we've been able to do less and less hands on projects and I began to see that I was not addressing behavior issues in my middle child because I "didn't have time, I had school to do." I spent a 6 week period during the year pretty down just wondering how I could do life.
I attended the Memphis homeschool convention and went to all of Sonya's presentations. I loved the clear cut way she spoke, she was very easy to follow and I felt I gained many practical things to go home with. I left feeling much more peaceful and that I could school with little ones present. Short 15 minute lessons stood out as well as the importance of taking the time to train habits, especially the habit of obedience and attention.
All of this to say I am trying to figure out the best way to simplify next year and to find something that will work for our whole family, including the little guys. Since we've come home from the conference, she's been narrating Aesops Fables and she loves that. We've done a few picture studies that we enjoyed as well. There are so many great things out there I find it hard to not keep cramming stuff in, even great books. But I like something I read somewhere about really taking time to savor the books you read, which is difficult to do when I try to cram in every great book I can find. I always feel like we're "missing out" on something.
I have Sonya's "Planning Your Charlotte Mason Education" book and DVD, which I am not through with, but finding very helpful so far. I think I know what I want to do for each subject except History and Geography. Should I just read some great living books about history? If so, do they all need to be during the same time period or does that matter? I know so many who like Story of the World. I've looked at the SCM Module 1 and I love the idea of learning Bible right along with History, but I'm almost wondering if I should wait to do that until I have multiple learners.
Excuse the lengthy post, but basically my question is what advice would you have for First grade history for a family trying to keep things really simple. And I'm assuming geography will go along with whatever we decide for History.
Thank you!
