Outside the "box".

Many have asked me why I don't use a "boxed" curriculum set. I agree that it would be easier...not necessarily less expensive but definitely easier.

Last year I used Bob Jones for kindergarten. While this is a fast moving , advanced curriculum, I didn't find it to be as thorough as I would of liked. I would prefer to spend more time on a concept and have the child master it, rather than throw a bunch of topics at my child and see what sticks.

This year I decided to use Math-u-See, (MUS), Logic of English, (LOE), Biblio Plan for History , (BP), and Apologia for Science.

Why separate curriculum's for each subject??
If you'll notice, each curriculum is a specialty for these companies.

For instance, I started 1st grade with Sarah this month, June. We school year round and had taken a few weeks off for me to prep for `1st grade. What i'm noticing is that with MUS we spend more time on each concept. A full week. If my child mastered the concept, then we can move on. What I mean by mastered is, She can teach it back...doesn't have to think about the answer but fully understands not only the concept but the answer. MUS is the ONLY curriculum this company created for many years. They recently came out with "Spelling U See" but i've not tried it. The owner and creator of this curriculum has a passion for math. His curriculum AND manipulatives were created for him to use with his children and he has put alot of time and passion into this curriculum. I'm noticing that although BJU did alot of different math in their curriculum, my daughter didn't really master much. I'm glad I made the switch.

Logic of English is another passionately created curriculum. The woman who created this curriculum has a passion for what she does and this is the ONLY curriculum...she doesn't have a full line to care for or sell. LOE is one of the best and most comprehensible Phonogram/Orton-Gillingham - type curriculums i've ever seen. Extremely teacher friendly. Even my 3 y/o is learning. it's multi-sensory approach is amazing and this is why both my 5 y/o AND my 3 y/o are learning.

Apologia...nothing has to be said here. Most home schoolers have heard of or used Apologia. Their creation based science is one of the best out there. I used their High school curriculum with my older children and most people can attest to the college level science our children have learned. I believe there is even a program where you can earn college credits with the Biology, chemistry, etc in High school. They have an excellent elementary program, and lets face it, most boxed curriculums don't have much for science in 1st grade. It's usually about brushing our teeth and how to keep ourselves clean and healthy. I've been teaching her that since birth.

My last find was Biblio Plan. This is literature based history program. This approach is very much like My Father's World and Son Light, where you cycle through the time periods , giving our children a full view of history and it's timeline. The difference..unlike MFW or SL, this is the ONLY curriculum she has created. Her time, efforts and research has been solely to offer the best history for our children. I love her different levels. It's a very afffordable curriculum , especially compared to SL and many of the books she recommends are available at your local library.

Each of these curriculums comes with a full schedule for me. The only think I don't have is ONE book where I have everything listed for the day. That's easy for me. I just look through my teachers guide as we go through each subject and I write down what we've done for the day. It's just as easy to take out the schedule for each subject as it is for me to retype everything onto one planner. 

As you can see, I like thinking "Outside" the box. After all, why wouldn't I? I'm a home schooler....that's really outside the box.

God Bless,
Laura