A Day in the Life~A Middle Road - Joy in the Journey

This post is one in a series on homeschool methods. Scroll to the bottom to see links to the other posts in the series.

If you want to stir up a few homeschool moms, bring up the topic of homeschool methods. You’ll quickly find out where everyone stands on that issue.

So, I’ve taken a bit of a middle road.

Call me a peacekeeper I guess.

I consider myself to be an eclectic homeschooler.

This means that I don’t follow just one particular homeschool method.

Eclectic implies that my homeschool is composed of elements of each style of homeschooling.

I consider our homeschool to be a blend of classical, Charlotte Mason, and school at home methods. Here are the aspects that I’ve borrowed from each style:

Classical

In the past we have followed the 4 year history cycle which means we study ancient history, medieval history, early modern, and then modern history every 4 years. I also choose to teach Latin in our homeschool. I incorporate memory work into our homeschool as we learn Bible verses, poems, math facts, and a history timeline. As my kids get older, I introduce the study of logic as they learn to question and reason through the events of history or the laws of science.

Charlotte Mason

I love to add living books to our studies and I create extensive booklists of resources to supplement our history, science, and geography studies. Lately I’ve taken a more detailed look into this homeschool method and I’ve implemented the study of American history before tackling world history. I love the foundation that it gives my children. I’ve also incorporated a lot of copywork and dictation into our homeschool. I prefer to use these methods as a springboard to help teach my children how to write.

School at Home

I enjoy using textbooks as the spine of our studies or sometimes as the sole resource for a particular subject. I have found a well-written textbook to be a huge asset in my homeschool, and my kids prefer the simple and concise presentation of information. I also utilize workbooks because I’ve found my kids really enjoy them.

I actually consider my homeschool style to be eclectic/classical with a hint of Charlotte Mason (and just a touch of school at home).

My Homeschool Routine

My homeschool style might be a little complicated but my homeschool routine is fairly simple.

I begin the homeschool day at 6 a.m. with my 3 oldest children who are in 6^th, 4^th, and 3^rd grades. (And yes, you did read that correctly). We complete a lot of our basics – math, language arts, and foreign language.

Breakfast is at 8 a.m. and my 3 younger children (1^st grade, preschool, and a toddler) join us. As we sit around the table we practice memory work together.

After breakfast I spend some dedicated time working with my younger children – we cover math and reading and do preschool activities. During this time my 3 older kids take turns reading to each other.

Once my little people have enjoyed some focused school time with me, they have playtime together while I do some more individual work with my 3 oldest kids. I rotate through helping them with any school work that we did not complete in our morning time.

When it’s lunch time, we gather around the table to watch history together as we eat. We also work on memorizing our history timeline.

After lunch we all work together on a few chores and then we enjoy a group school time while the youngest one takes a nap.

During group school we do Bible lessons, history reading, science, and more foreign language studies. On Fridays we try to focus more on music and art studies.

We end our day with a read aloud. The kids sit on the floor and draw or color while I read aloud.

Then I enjoy some quiet time to myself while the kids practice their piano lessons and then play together.

My favorite resources

I don’t use boxed curriculum in my homeschool, but rather piece together an eclectic mix of resources from a variety of publishers.

Here are my favorite resources for our homeschool:

Bible Study Guide for All Ages
Classical Academic Press – God’s Great Covenant, Writing and Rhetoric, Song School Spanish, Song School Latin, and Latin for Children
Well Trained Mind Press – First Language Lessons, Writing with Ease, Story of the World, Writing with Style
All About Learning Press – All About Reading and All About Spelling
Bob Jones – Science with the online component
Veritas Press – online self-paced history program
Right Start Math
Math Mammoth
Prufrock Press – Lollipop Logic, Logic Countdown, Logic Safari, and One Hour Detectives
Critical Thinking Company – Mind Benders, Balance Math, Math Analogies
Nancy Larson Science
Real Science 4 Kids
Master Books – America’s Story and Wonders of Creation
Artistic Pursuits

Links to Blog:

The Joy of Classical Education

The Most Important Thing I’ve Done

Why I Love Our Early Morning Start Time

Want to learn more about homeschool methods? Take a look at the other posts in this series.

Bio:

Even though Lexi is a bit indecisive about her homeschool methods, she does know one thing – that she loves this homeschool life. As a mom of 6, she survives on chocolate and the few quiet moments when she can actually read a book – even if it’s just a page at a time. On any given day you’ll find her wearing yoga pants while teaching math and grammar in her basement homeschool room.

You can read all of her secrets to authentic homeschooling at her blog Lextin Eclectic.

*This post is one in a series on homeschool methods. Scroll to the bottom to see links to the other posts in the series. *