November 12, 2019

Our Homeschool 2019-2020

7th, 5th, and 2nd grades! This year looks different for our unschooling-ish family. The kids’ best friends (who were in public school) are homeschooling this year, and will be utilizing the alternative learning program that we left about a year and a half ago. Naturally, our kids want to be with their besties, so they begged to re-join the program.

I was initially hesitant because I was loving the complete freedom and flexibility we had as unschoolers. However, I know that I am just partnering with my kids in their education, and if this is what they want then this is what we’ll do!

We discussed all the pros and cons of being tied to such a program, and all three were willing to take the cons because they love their friends so much.

To be fair, there aren’t really many “cons”. We just have to commit to working steadily in a formal math and language arts curriculum, as well as report weekly to a teacher/consultant who assess their progress. We have to report on a specific number of at-home hours, which will be an adjustment, but one we have decided is worth the effort.

The pros are getting to take classes with their friends one day a week (which also means I get one whole day to myself!) and taking the classes themselves. They are excited about being able to do art, learn about science, run around in a P.E. class, fabricate stuff in woodworking, and more!

On This Year’s Learning Plan

Thankfully, the program was willing to work with our interest-led approach to learning, and we were able to select curriculum for math and language arts that support our homeschool ideals (which is heavily influenced by the philosophy and methodology of Leadership Education).

MATH

We are continuing with Math-U-See because it has just worked well for our family since we began homeschooling. We enjoy the mastery approach as well as having manipulatives to help “see” math concepts easier. Definitely a program to consider if you have right-brain learners!

LANGUAGE ARTS

We are also continuing our use of Brave Writer resources. We started using this language arts program several years ago and LOVE it. The gentle and integrated approach fosters a love for literature, language, and writing.

As unschoolers, we incorporated it into our rhythm very loosely but will now have to be more consistent and diligent.

HISTORY/SOCIAL STUDIES

This is not a subject required by the alternative learning program, however we do have to report on a minimum number of at-home learning hours. Therefore, the majority of those hours will be comprised of learning about the bigger story we are part of.

I personally value the importance of learning about history, and want to instill a love for it in my kids. I fully believe that in order to know where we are going, we need to know what has happened! In fact, after years of incorporating history/social studies into our rhythm, the kids have grown to love it. As they grow, so does their curiosity about the past, and about different countries and cultures.

I do not use specific curriculum for this subject. Instead, I use several resources as my guides. We incorporate activities and food, read from related chapter books, watch YouTube videos and movies, and go on field trips to round out our learning. We document our learning in our own version of a Book of Centuries.

We Are Wild + Free

This year, I also get to help manage our local Wild + Free group. We’ve already been on a number of fun outdoor excursions and plan to continue meeting consistently throughout the school year.

If you haven’t yet heard about Wild + Free, you need to check it out. It is both a philosophy and an amazing community of homeschool families who value preserving the wonder of childhood. The community is built primarily on Instagram, but also through local groups, podcasts, and conferences.

I’ve been to two conferences so far and have loved them so much that I am making it part of my own annual rhythm as a homeschool mama.