We thought we had our curriculum all picked out for next fall, we thought we were going to continue on with the 2nd grade My Father’s World curriculum. A couple years ago I was introduced to the Thomas Jefferson Education book and theory, the tje theory is based off of reading the classics and being mentored through reading. Reading Isaac Newton, George Washington, reading anything that sparks our interest and passions and gleaning from it. I can give you a first hand example, the last couple weeks I have been reading Isaac Newton with my kiddo’s. Through reading Maddie has practiced writing as she summarized the chapter we had just covered and drew a picture to go with it. We are discussing science in conversation, gaining vocabulary skills, as well as making water clocks, pendulums, sun dials, and discussing gravity as we drop various things at the same time to see which one drops first. We developed so many skills from reading one book! Awesome, right, I sure think so! This year we are studying American History and I did not just want to give Maddie another workbook. I wanted to choose biographies and autobiographies and allow the books to take us different directions.
We went to the annual Minnesota home schooling conference put on by the MACHE organization. We love going to hear all the different seminar speakers, we always walk away with an amazing amount of good new information and ideas. This year was no different. I wanted to go to a bunch of different speakers on reading, spelling, and handwriting, it turns out I ended up going to the same speaker on different topics. She is the founder of Logic of English and she came up with her book and information because she has a daughter who learns kinetically, in order to learn she has to be in motion. As the speaker was teaching I realized I am the kind of learner she was talking about. I also loved what she was presenting and I wanted to use what she was teaching to help teach my kiddo’s. I am also excited because I am also using the same curriculum with all three of my kid’s.
This year for math with Maddie we were going to branch away from My Father’s World anyways and had begun looking into what we wanted Math to look like for Maddie. We wanted it hands on, we wanted her to still do a bit of book work, and we found MathUSee. One of the speakers at the conference this year was the founder of MathUSee and we loved his teaching style, we loved his love of the Lord, and we loved that he was a home school dad. We also really liked that the curriculum does not function on grade level, rather it functions on the mastery of the subject. Mastering one skill before moving onto the next one!
For history we are reading, we will start with some books Mark’s mom had sent us to start with and branch out from there. Maddie is really loving the science biographies, so we may stick with them for a while, but I’m learning that I listen to what she is talking about and excited about and we read along those passions and excited she becomes a sponge who longs to soak in any information she can get on the subject.
Each year I home school I gain more and more confidence in teaching my kiddo’s. Thank goodness I have Mark to encourage 
and reassure me that we are on the right track and to keep going. I get to the edge of the cliff of decision making and freak out when we are about to jump. Thoughts flash through mind of what if they hate it, what if they get bored, and we spent all the money on it and have to find something else. I am excited for this next year! I am excited for all the learning that is going to take place and the passion it is instilling in my kiddo’s. A guide for our home schooling is I want it to be fun, I want it to be peaceful, and I want it to be a environment for learning.
The break down
Logic of Reading for all three covers:
reading, handwriting, and spelling
MathUSee for Maddie
I will keep working with the twins on numbers, patterns, etc.
History/Science:
Autobiographies, biographies, and fictional history stories such as Little House on the Prairie
After changing direction two or three times I am so excited to finally have direction and guidance! Let the learning begin!