Last week, I talked about the 2 basic things to "go to" when making a decision...especially one regarding homeschooling. Remember, I mentioned that we prayed, asking God to guide us to the resources we should review, considering that I didn't have a lot of time to research a million things and I had no idea where to begin.
God answered our prayer for this resource by way of a referral from a couple of friends. They both mentioned the book Cathy Duffy's "Top 100 Picks for Homeschool Curriculum". I seriously should own this book, as often as I've referred to it when talking to friends lately. However, I actually just borrowed it from the library. What a resource! It takes the "overwhelming" feeling out of you and replaces it with a better handle on what you need.
It's more than a rundown on some lady's favorite picks, although that may be enough for some people. No, it starts off by asking you as parents to come up with your education philosophy. What are your goals for educating your children. She has a chart of questions to get you thinking about these things and shows you how to see what is the most weighty in your decision making.
She also considers your child's learning style and offers recommended learning "approaches" for the learning style. After you put this together with your family's philosophy, you can then start browsing through her "Top Picks". She matches up your preferences, the child's learning style, the appropriate "approach" (Classical, Traditional, Charlotte Mason, etc.) while also considering other issues that may be important to you. (Like for me...how much prep time is involved?) From there, you can see a good match among a few choices, rather than a storehouse of thousands of suggestions! You can get her review of the curriculum and an idea of their suitability.
I STRONGLY recommend checking out her link and the book. You will be amazed at the burden it helps to lift from your shoulders :) Even if you don't go with her "Top Picks" (we actually went with one of her suggestions that didn't make the top 100), the book still equips you with knowledge and know-how in making an appropriate decision for your family.
Hope it helps you as much as it did my family!
Come back next week! We'll talk about the curriculum I've fallen in love with :)
Ashlie
1 comment:
Lovely post, Ashlie!
Thank you for stopping by the carnival! :)
I was excited to read that you just finished your first year of homeschooling. I've been homeschooling for almost 10 years. If you want to talk shop let me know!
Post a Comment