We’re not school-at-home. We’re not radical unschoolers. We’re pretty eclectic. I give Flipper quite a bit of freedom in choosing what sorts of things he wants to do, but I also insist on a few things myself. I work very hard, however, at finding materials that will be interesting and even fun for him to use. On a busy day, he might do as much as two hours of school work, but it’s usually much less than that. We don’t do every subject every day either, though some are done nearly every day and others… well, we get to them every once in awhile!

I should also clarify, that we don’t consider ourselves “Christian Homeschoolers” although we more or less subscribe to the Christian faith. I’ve drifted more towards agnosticism myself in the past few years, and I hope to instill a sense of religious understanding and freedom for my son as he grows and matures, to come to intelligent decisions regarding his faith. We do use some Christian materials when they are of good quality, and Flipper enjoys them. I do think there are useful lessons on character development in our Christian materials. But our educational philosophy is not religion-centered or dogmatic, religion is simply one part of our life… how large a part it plays varies widely from person to person within our family!

Anyway, here’s what’s currently on our homeschool shelf:

RightStart Math level E
NOEO Science Biology II
Daily Grams Grade 5
Reason for Handwriting level F
Natural Speller
Reading Detective A1
Usborne Seashore Sticker Book

He also does piano and guitar practice, as well as exercise and martial arts practice.

Here’s what’s on deck to come up next, as we finish things off we add in something else:

Draw & Write Through History: Greece and Rome
Mind Benders A3
RightStart Intermediate Geometry
Easy Grammar Grade 6
Canadian Government unit study
Le Francais Facile 1A
J’Aime Lire
Christian Virtues through Aesop’s Fables
Word Roots A1
100 Vocabulary Words Kids Need to Know for Grade 5
100 Vocabulary Words Kids Need to Know for Grade 6
How to Write Poetry
How to Write Stories

More detailed reviews and explorations of some of these materials will come in later posts. I’ll also talk in later posts about what we’re doing with Pomme, who is, of course, only almost 2 years old!

Tweet This Post  Plurk This Post  Buzz This Post  Digg This Post  Reddit This Post  Stumble This Post