Shifting Directions

Some of you have been following my other blog, Scones and Roses.  This is when my children were enrolled in school and I was "playing around" at home with baking, gardening, decorating and other signs of a Kept Woman.  LOL.  Last year, we made the decision to homeschool our two sons, ages 11 and 9 and my life has taken quite a different path.  I will still continue to occasionally write for my other "pretty blog", but my focus at this time is on our Amazing Homeschooling Journey.  It is as much my own pilgrimage as it is the kids'.  We are learning so much together and I feel, finally, that I am completing the education I never had.

There were many factors that went into our initial decision to homeschool.  Boredom at school, never being able to relay to us at home what they had learned that week, getting notes home about behavior (when upon further investigation, were revealed to be ridiculous), but most of all, it was the "mother's intuition" that something just wasn't right.  That something very important, something that was a large fraction of their childhood, their LEARNING, was being cheapened, watered-down and quite frankly, not valued.  Once we took the leap to un-enroll them from public school and started to embark on the roller coaster of curriculum choices, teaching styles, classroom setups and support groups, it was a ride we were ready to take!

We have centered our weeks around the Tapestry of Grace curriculum.  This, for those of you not familiar, is a 4-year classical curriculum based in history, but also including Bible History, Vocabulary, Writing, Government, Fine Arts, Philosophy and Literature.  It is extremely thorough and sometimes very challenging, but is meant to be a "buffet".  Well, I can say with certainty that we OVER-ATE this year.  We did alot of projects, models, lapbooks, etc. and the kids will tell you that they loved it!  However, I'm not sure that I can duplicate that whirlwind of a year for them this year.  Going forward, I am hoping that we can slow down and not feel tied to the 36 week schedule.  If something needs more time, I'd love for us to park there and enjoy it.

I will not attempt to recount everything that we've done this first year.  I have created posts for some of our Greatest Hits of 2010-2011, which were centered around Ancient Civilizations (Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, India, MesoAmerica, Persia, Greece and Rome) as well as Charlotte-Mason style Artist Study, a year in Apologia's Flying Creatures curriculum, and lots of other great projects.

I hope you'll visit with me often and share what you are doing in your homeschool classroom.....

Blessings,
Kimberly