The Christian Curriculum

 "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6 Obviously, technology can be a great help to us today, but when it comes to teaching your kids, many homeschoolers are reluctant to use it.  Rightly so. There are many dangers presented through technology.  However, if you choose to use it to supplement your own teaching or even to teach the majority of your lessons, I can give you a hint of where to look. There are 2 types of technology aids for education. Subscription services covering a wide range of grades and subjects and websites or apps where you choose one activity at a time and they usually focus on one subject. I will cover the latter in future posts, today let's look at subscription services .  ***Note: none of these links are affiliate links. All my opinions are my own and all subscriptions I have used, I have paid for with my own money.***

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Philippians 4:13 This is the year to bet on yourself!  Who can teach your kids with more love, passion or understanding than you? I know it's a nerve-racking prospect. I know you probably don't feel good enough.  I know that, because I felt the same things and I am an experienced and certified teacher.  No one is good at everything, but you are the best person to teach your children. You will be able to get the most out of them and the evidence is in your favour.  Your children will not turn out weird and they may even turn out better.  No one is good at everything.  Teach what you know best and get help or outsource the things you aren't good at. My background is math and science. Reading and writing weren't as easy for me, but I managed to pick up some tricks along the way to get me by.  Then there are subjects like dance, drama and gym... I out source those. I've signed my kiddos up for re...

 "Prepare thy work with out, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house."  Proverbs 24:27 Once my year and units  have been planned, planning my day is easy. I usually break up my day into 7 parts. Let's talk about those parts and the reason behind each. The first part of the day, I do calendar work or morning work depending on the grade. Both get brains turned on and ready for a day of learning. Calendar work works well for the youngest learners or any really high-needs learners. We go through what day it is and the plans for that day. Morning work is a bit more independent and allows students to practice skills on their own, while you have a moment to set up the rest of the day. During this time they can practice things like spelling words or math problems.  After the morning routines are done we have some prime learning time. The goal for the next chunk of time is one-uninterrupted-hour of either language or math. Both are the bac...

"A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps." Proverbs 16:9 In my last post, I talked about how I plan my  school year and brainstorm to get inspired.  Here I'm going to talk about why I plan unit by unit, as well as how I get that done. 

 "The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want." Proverbs 21:5 "The trick is to line up expectations so they work well with each other, the season, and any siblings you are teaching as well." The goal here is plenteous amounts of learning, so the bible says to be diligent.  I want to be diligently planning for my children's education, so I plan in 3 stages; long-term, unit by unit, and day by day. This is the first in a series of homeschool planning posts, where I'll let you know how I plan. I'll start with how I plan my year in general. Let's take a look at what I mean. 

 "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 2 Timothy 2:15 The first place most homeschoolers start after they have decided to homeschool is choosing a curriculum.  As you can tell by my name, I have some experience with curriculum development and now I hope to pass a little of my experience on to you. There are three types of curriculum available to homeschooling parents. The first, I'll call 'easy, cheap and boring', the next, 'easy, engaging and expensive', and finally, 'a lot of work, but cheap and engaging' . Let me give you the rundown on each.

"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." Philippians 4:6