We just finished up week 5 of the school year, and yep...I've already made curriculum changes. Funny thing is...these changes came about after the 2nd week of school. That's one of the biggest perks of homeschooling...if it's not working, you can change direction, curriculum, approach, etc. You are not confined and stuck to keep trudging through the dreaded choice all school year long.
WHY the change? Well, after an almost solid two weeks of frustration, from both Micah and myself, I knew something had to give. School was just not going well, and we had to sit and have several heart-to-hearts. He shared his thoughts, I shared mine, and together we came up with a solution.
Bible -- instead of using the chosen Bible curriculum I purchased, he expressed that he'd just rather sit and read/listen to the Bible each day. So, we now use the YouVersion app on his iPad and sit and listen to several chapters each day. He wanted to start in Genesis and read from the beginning. ***Caleb soon chose this same approach; however, he is spending 15 minutes reading his Bible daily.***
Math -- this was a tough one. While he loves math, it wasn't going so well using Time 4 Learning since he was still having to use paper/pencil to solve some of the problems. After looking at options, I decided to go with Horizons. Because I want to be sure he's on track and not going to struggle, we went back to the 2nd grade math...yes, it's super easy for him, but I don't think a solid review will hurt him at all. He'll catch up and be on track soon enough. I also think, and I've heard from others, that Horizons can be a bit more advanced, so I don't see the issue with him doing 2nd grade math in 3rd grade. I had to do the same thing with Caleb, and he's better off because of it.
History -- again, this one was going 'ok' with Time 4 Learning, but it just wasn't catching Micah's attention. I really wasn't sure which approach to take or what to try. After some careful thought and discussion with other homeschool friends, I ordered Beautiful Feet Early American Primer. This is a new approach for him and myself as we use real living books to learn about history. He's also completing a notebook to go along with his studies.
Now that we've implemented these changes, school is going so much better. Micah has a much better and more compliant attitude, and I'm not ending the day with headaches. So, it's a win-win for both of us.
Here's a compilation of some of both boys' work over the past three weeks.
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