It’s that time of year again! The new school year has begun! Although we homeschool year round, we leave some wiggle room for “life”, you know, sickness, holidays, “boring” days/weeks as I like to say… so everything goes smoothly and we don't feel like we If we miss a bit, we are behind or need to “catch up” since we are in school year round! One thing that helps eliminate the feeling of being “left behind” is to remind us that all we need is to “do the next thing.” Take it one step at a time and pick up where you left off. Keep. move. forward. It’s such a relief when you stop and think about it, and it’s so simple! So, no matter where you are, if you need any kind of encouragement, remember: do the next thing.
2024-2025 Homeschool Curriculum Options
While we homeschool year-round, I do like to have a solid “start day” and “end day” to celebrate the beginning (and end!) of the new calendar school year, because everything is worth celebrating! So this week we officially begin the 2024-2025 family school year! We will have a 5th grader, a 3rd grader, and a kindergartner! What! I can't even believe it!
Last year (you can see my Course options here), we changed directions midway through and it was a hard choice at first, but then it felt so right to our family. We no longer offer any formal Language Arts courses and have dropped Fine Language Arts and Mathematics. It just didn’t work for us – but that doesn’t mean it’s bad and won’t work for your family!
Without further ado, let’s get started…
Kindergarten Program
We follow the Charlotte Mason philosophy of education at home, so although Ollie is technically in “kindergarten” it is a gentle approach to learning that is very play-based and child-led as he Still so small. Age 6 is when we really start formal lessons, but no matter what, my 5 year old will be in kindergarten! One day, he looked at me seriously and said seriously: “3+2=5… Do you think I should start taking math classes as soon as possible?” I just want to start when the child is ready. Who am I to refuse him when he makes a request? So we'll do some math, read a lot, and spend endless hours outdoors developing our attention and observation habits. In fact, this is what the study of nature (or “science” in your youth) entails. Hours of outdoor exploration and observation of the world around us. We already do this naturally, so I’m excited to be able to do it more intentionally!
My youngest is going to kindergarten Math with confidence And build number sense as well as the foundation of letters and writing! We will use some resources including handwriting without tears And this interesting one Lovevery Montessori Movable Alphabet from Persister Toy Set! They have game kits for ages 4+ which are great for word learning! Speaking of learning vocabulary, if he ever decides to start learning to read (with his guidance!), a friend is generously gifting these adorable Sprint to Learn Beginner's Reader books! we still have bob book We read that too, but Dash's is cuter and sweeter. 😉
I will do lots of fun activities from this this page, lots of great suggestions like baking cookies, observing backyard birds and animals, making leaf rubbings, and more. Make your own connections, sit with a good book while we read aloud as a family, and soak in what Charlotte Mason calls “quiet, growing time.” This is magic. This is enough.
third year plan
My 3rd grader and 5th grader will both be in 3rd grade ambleside online. It says “online,” but the only online information is that the entire course is available for free on the website. It's very offline. 😉 I love the comprehensive and wonderful education Ambleside provides. In addition to the core subjects we include a folk song and hymn each month, studying artists and composers each term (every trimester), and poetry (a simple reading of a poem by a designated poet each day, each term Change) as well as beautiful free reads that can become our family's bedtime read alouds and we will absolutely cherish them. 🙂 I recommend everyone incorporate these “wealths” into their homeschool, whether you choose Ambleside or not. They are a joy and truly add such beauty and kindness to our lives! Plus, it's super cute when your kids sing classic ballads all day long instead of (or in addition to!) Taylor Swift (just saying). 😉
A note on family education and autism:
My oldest son has nonverbal autism, so we have to be more creative with his learning. 😉 Lots of exercise and support to set him up for success. He has an AAC device (his “language”) and his communication skills are getting better, so that's how I have him narrate after reading. I would ask him what we talked about and sometimes his answers would shock me! It's been so neat and exciting to see him grow so much and I've had a front row seat to it. 🙂 I just received a new book that I'm excited to dig into, it's confusing to me about teaching him to read, but I believe everyone should have the chance to escape into the world of reading – it's such an important thing in life ! this book is Comprehensive literacy for all, I didn’t comment because I haven’t read it yet, but it’s there! I really believe he absorbs everything and I always assume he's capable and knows he's getting what he needs. It takes a lot of faith and it's been a great blessing in my life and it has multiplied my faith. How could it not be?
history:
We will read several books including our island story, our countryand A child's world history. This year's history will focus on the Renaissance and Reformation from the late 1400s to the 1600s, English monarchs, the Pilgrims, Da Vinci/Michelangelo, and keeping the timeline.
geography:
Map work, Marco Polo and China.
science:
Nature studies, marine life, forest animals. Nature study is simply spending as much time as possible outdoors observing and exploring. Take lots of nature walks around our homes, spend time in the backyard, watch the plants around us change with the seasons and take note of the changes we see, etc. nature study handbook, natural wonders and natural anatomy. The aim is to remind them to slow down and be observant – creating little naturalists! 🙂 We should all remember this.
math:
Math with confidence. All 3 children will use math with confidence. We switched from Good and Beautiful to Good and Beautiful midway through last year and absolutely loved it! No more tears, now everyone actually loves math! 🙌🏻 So glad we found what works best for us! Kids start with the basics because it lays such a solid foundation that it can't be skipped, so we move on to the next, one day at a time, without worrying about what grade level the book says it is!
related: Why we homeschool
the art of language:
Oral writing (simply telling what we read each time) and copywriting are the bulk of our language arts. There’s also memorization (reading poetry and Bible verses out loud) and lots of reading! I also bought Beautiful Handwriting 3 for Sophie because she will be learning cursive this year and we really love their handwriting books!
Bible:
We will read Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Matthew, and The Progress of the Little Pilgrim. we read The Little Pilgrim's Great Journey last year and loved it, so that was the next step. We will also have a daily catechism New Urban Catechism.
related: 2023-2024 Homeschool Curriculum Options
mother culture
An important component of Charlotte Mason’s educational philosophy is also the continuing education of mother teachers. If I want to instill a love of lifelong learning in my children, it starts with me setting an example for them. I always like to publish a non-fiction book and a fiction book at the same time, as well as a devotional style (or just the Bible itself). Always learn, always grow. Notebooks are also an important part of our homeschool – when we do nature learning we draw and write down what we observe and after reading sometimes they verbally narrate, but sometimes I also have them write about them Give them something they remember or are stuck on and/or draw it too! It was actually really fun and something I did with them. 🙂 We always have notebooks at home. I just caught 3 these notebooks This year, document each child’s progress, wins, and anything else I want to remember from my school year. They each have their own and I write them down and keep them for future use. It helps me understand how far they have come and what areas we still need to focus on.
related: 2022-2023 Homeschool Curriculum Options
Phew!! That’s a lot. But at the same time, it is so rich and fulfilling that we still have time to live it. Our fall schedule includes two days a week at the kids' enrichment center where they will take part in fun art classes and cooking classes, and Sam will take woodworking classes, which I'm super excited about! We've also started something new: a sweet Christian co-op one morning a week that Sophie will start American Heritage Girls! It’s going to be a great, fulfilling, and growing year for all of us—I just know it! Thank God for giving me the opportunity to love, pour into, and homeschool my children – something I will never take for granted!
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Any questions, as always, please leave a comment below!
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