Today we kicked off the 2022-2023 school year in the Elliott household! Honestly I was super excited. Each year it gets more “fun” to homeschool my kiddos. Each year I feel a bit more secure in my choices for textbooks/curriculum. And… Each year I feel like I realize how small my homeschool world was the year before 😆… And that’s after being homeschooled myself (the whole way through!).
Mind you “each year” is relative… I’ve only been at this for 3-4 years…But still! I now have a 3rd grader, a 1st grader, and Shiloh (turns 4 in January) will probably do some things with us on and off, but not much. It’s so fun to look back and see what textbooks/curriculum we’ve used each year based on the needs and learning styles of my kiddos (and yes, sometimes we start one book and halfway through realize it isn’t serving us so we switch! I love it! One of the best parts about homeschooling is getting to *pick* curriculum you know is going to excite your kids and make light bulbs come on!
I’m a firm believer in “less is more”, “reading, writing, and arithmetic “, and all that stuff. Especially when they’re little. This year our lineup looks something like this …
- Morning Time – whatever our current reason aloud is (we’re working our way through the Little House series right now.)
- Devotions – currently going through Our 24 Family Ways by Sally Clarkson . I LOVE IT! The conversations it sparks for the kids and I have been priceless!
- Before any school is done the girls do their Gratitude Journals. I love starting my day with “thankfuls” and want them to learn to do the same.
- Math – both girls are using McRuffy Color math this year. Andrea was the guinea pig using it last year and she loved it so much we jumped in completely.
- Handwriting – The Good and The Beautiful. I love their setup for handwriting. And it doesn’t hurt that the books are just pretty! I set the timer for 10 minutes and they work until the timer goes off.
- Reading – Andrea is reading through Rod and Staff chapter books right now. Rhegan is still finishing up Funnix (can’t seem to find a link for this one… they may not sell it anymore, not sure). Both girls are also reading the the Rod and Staff Bible Readers but not doing the workbooks. They simply dictate to me what they read about.
- Spelling – Andrea is using Rod and Staff and Rhegan has a Rod and Staff book she’ll start when she finishes Funnix.
- Science happens once a week with my dad and the cousins. It’s lovingly called “Papa Science”.
That’s it! At this very early point in the year it takes us about 2 hours to finish the bulk of their schooling (not including morning time or devotions because those happen outside of school although they’re very much a part of the rhythm). 2 hours. The rest of the day is for living. I love it!
Some books I’d recommend for Mama…
My top favorite Homeschool Mama books are:
- Awaking Wonder, Sally Clarkson
- The 4-hr School Day, Durenda Wilson
- Teaching From Rest, Sarah Mckenzie
New or not to homeschooling these three books are UH-mazing. So helpful.
Questions?
If you have any questions I’d be happy to attempt to answer them or send you off in the right direction. Like I mentioned I was homeschooled the whole way through and I happen to know some *very* capable and seasoned homeschool mamas.
When it’s all said and done, no one knows your kiddos better than you. No one is more of an expert in “them”. No one is more qualified to teach them and disciple them than you are, mama. God has equipped you for this task. He will see it through.
