I LOVE HOMESCHOOLING...

There is nothing better than spending time with the children God has blessed you with!! In our homeschool we do a lot of the scripted lessons. I know some people say it's just not the most productive way to homeschool, but for our family it's the BEST! When we're not homeschooling together we lose our communication. Homeschooling keeps a bond between us. I get to keep a reign on what my son is thinking, because I get to direct him. We have more to discuss & he opens up considerably more when we are "learning together". I do fall every once in awhile under what some may consider partly unschooling. I love to allow life (and God's direction of daily affairs) to teach. It's amazing how much learning takes place while when we're not officially doing school! But, I do believe discipline is VERY important. I've struggled tremendously in that I wasn't raised with self-discipline. I believe that just plain old work is the best way to learn this one though. Of course, my oldest is 7, so I'm at a different place now than I will be in a few years. At this point I think discipline is best taught doing and not so much sitting. I think if he is able to work the hard work with a good attitude when it comes to school discipline it will come fairly naturally. I'm of the opinion though, that God has a perfect plan for my children and that He will give them the drive to get where they need to go. If I just instill a good healthy work ethic and keep their hearts willing to learn and open to hear from the Most High, oh and train to obedience, they will be in a good place. Maybe I have to also mention that my son is able to read the king james bible and is doing just fine otherwise as well. I'm not depriving him of his education, just keeping perspective in the whole thing. :-D

Here's what we are currently doing for our homeschool:

Bible: Either he or I (or both together) will read around a chapter

Writing: He writes his memory verse from Sunday School

Math: We've struggled with this one. We've tried a few. As of now, while we borrow the Ray's arithmetic we're trying it out. So far it's working pretty well.

Read Aloud: Right now we're reading Pocket full of pinecones. I LOVE THIS BOOK! It's really encouraged us to be more mindful of God's creation and it's given some inspiration to get out in this spring weather to enjoy and watch it.

Science: Exploring God's Creation by Jeannie Fulbright (Apologia) - Astronomy. We've been working on this one forever, but we really enjoy it!

English: 1st Language Lessons by Jessie Wise. This is new for us, but so far we like it a lot.

Spelling: We're using a workbook I picked up for him when he was learning how to read, but it's good study in his spelling and penmanship. It's 100 Words Kids Need to Read by 1st Grade.

Reading: When we visit the library I always allow him to pick up one biography of someone he may be interested in. He always picks out some inventor of some kind. But, it's a great way to learn!

There's so much more though that we do ALL the time. For instance, he's learning to play the guitar with his dad. And, every afternoon when baby is asleep he is able to pick out some kind of "learning" activity to do. Usually he picks a science kit or an origami book or tanagrams.

Then there are days, all he does is keep the living room clean, take out the trash and invent something. He has these brilliant ideas sometimes so I like to let him experiment & try them out. :-D Regardless of whether we actually get out the text books or not, every day he is learning something. Just like me. :-D

What types of things do you do in your homeschool?