I am once again creating my own curriculum. As in years past, I am not happy with my options. It is getting better out there, but we are an odd bunch here and nothing seems to fit us just right. We are not unschoolers, but we are extremely relaxed most of the time. We are not curriculum junkies, but I have more books than the local public school. We are not religious homeschoolers, but I teach all religions as best I can. We homeschool for academic reasons, for family reasons, and because we simply love our children and love to watch them learn and grow. Finding resources that fit our style is tough. I am still discovering what my style is and it seems to be ever evolving. I don't have a label for it. I can't google it. There isn't a yahoo group for it.
This year is tougher for me than the others have been. I have added my 6 year old into the mix. She is bright, but likes to ask for help, even when she doesn't need it. She wants all of my attention.
I am finding that what I used with Meredith is not going to work with Matthew. I could try to force him to accept her learning style, but it would do more harm than good and in the end we would all suffer for it. Meredith read everything she could get her hands on. She took notes. She wrote reports and stories. Matthew is more hands on. He wants to touch things and do experiments. He wants to take things apart and see how they work. He does math in his head instead of writing it out like his sister did. He wants to be told what to write about instead of having freedom to write anything he wishes.
Meredith is continuing to read far above her grade level. Her understanding of what she reads is amazing and scary. She still doesn't want to read anything about boy/girl relationships, though. While she can read college level books at the age of 11, she is hesitant to grow up. She still wants to be a little girl. Finding reading material that will both stimulate while not offending her is tricky. She is doing great in math now, thanks to the Life of Fred books showing her that math can be fun and can be used in more than just cooking and shopping. Now if only the Life of Fred books incorporated more practice and math computation in their books, I would be happy.
I just can't imagine ever finding a set curriculum that would cover all of my children's needs and my desires. Our interests are a patchwork of who we are and what makes us tick. As we grow, our interests change and the way we learn also grows with us. If I were to buy a learning system for any one of my children for a year, we would end up deviating from that system before it was over with. It is in our nature to change and to need something more or different. My solution to this is to always have many books on hand., to always have something that can help us dive deeper into a subject.
I have ordered several books to supplement and work into my curriculum. Most of my curriculum ends up being a mix of unit studies and supplements. I am just having a hard time bringing it all together this year. I am reading blogs and am getting back to DJ and some other homeschool forums that I used to frequent. That is helping. I just need to come out of the fog I seem to be stuck in. Having a day away from the kids to work on this would help, but that would just be asking too much.
Feel free to leave any helpful hints or comments. I can use all the help I can get.
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