Plans for a Rigorous Year

This will be our fourth official year of homeschooling.   

We have spent the past three years discovering our style, getting to know each other better, and learning SO MUCH.

Most of our curriculum centers around a Classical Education philosophy, with a few pieces reflecting a belief in Charlotte Mason and also Interest Led Learning.

I hesitate to call us "Eclectic" this year.... my goal is to move towards a more strictly classical homeschool.

We are believers in Interest Led learning at certain points, but I've found that in order to be sure my children are learning everything my husband and I deem important, a rigorous, classical approach works best.

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Ten Things To Consider When Choosing A Math Curriculum

Math is not my strong suit. 

I was a teacher and have a masters degree in education, but I was woefully unprepared to teach math to my own children.

I remember my dad saying "How are you going to teach them math?".   I was offended by his statement.  But you know what, I should have done better research in the beginning - I WAS unprepared to teach my children in this area! 

Over the summer I have THOROUGHLY researched many math curricula available to the homeschool market.   We have also had experience with two different math programs in our homeschool.   

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Overwhelmed With Planning?

During much of our "off" time this summer I have been thinking about and planning for the upcoming school year.The down side to immersing myself in homeschool reading (books, blogs, magazines, etc...) is the tendency to try and over schedule for next year.  On more than a couple occasions, I have had to take a deep breath and remind myself:  "Keep it simple." and "Less is more."

How, then, to keep from being overwhelmed with the planning and the myriad of curricular choices?

{To read the rest of this post, visit me today at The Homeschool Classroom, where I am now a contributing author!}