New Beginnings

Well, as I mentioned in my last post, we are changing curriculum.

We have been using several things to cover all the subjects; however then main one was KONOS. We have really enjoyed it, it just wasn't filling our needs right now.

We like the unit study approach where all the kids are learning the same things just on their level. It has been working well. Generally.

We have done some very interesting and fun activities with KONOS. I think the girls have learned a lot. (?)

Why am I changing curriculum, you ask?

Well...

1. Because I am a curriculum junkie. I admit it. I LOVE curriculum. Any of it. All of it. I love the look of it, the smell of it, the idea of it, and the thrill I get when I open it for the first time! My name is Renita and I am a curriculum junkie!

2. I got bored! Plain and simple. Sad but true.

3. The girls got bored. Really, really, true.

4. One of the biggies is that I was having to piece subjects together from the three volumes to study history chronologically. That was very time consuming and completely irritating.

5. I couldn't see us using this through the eighth grade and then buying their high school program.

6. I wanted a chronological study of history from a Christian point of view that had a world view in it. Clear as mud?!

7. Ideally, I wanted something that would work all the way through high school.

8. I wanted it to be literature based. I LOVE to read!

9. I wanted geography to be incorporated into it.

10. I wanted my dh to be able to be involved.

Are those enough reasons? I thought that it was and went on a search to find the perfect curriculum.

I listened to all the chatter on my email group and did searches on the Internet and asked everyone that didn't run away from me what they used.

I finally came across Tapestry of Grace.

I have been to their website countless times, printed off all that I could and asked my friend to borrow one of her year plans. I part of a year for sale and bought it. I have been reading every page of it for almost a month now.

I LOVE IT!!!

I think that it is the perfect fit that we were looking for. It is a chronological study of history, it teaches all ages at once, it will take them all the way through high school, it is a unit study approach with lots of hands on activities, it is from a Christian viewpoint, it has a world view mixed in, and it is very literature rich. Wow!

So, we put it into action to really test it before I invested in the whole year plan. We started almost three weeks ago and are going to repeat week 2! My oldest dd had ITBS testing last week and we got NO school done, at all!

However, we are really enjoying it and the girls are learning a great deal. I can't say enough about this curriculum. It is well written and enjoyable for the teacher to use.

The best part is that we are coming together to learn and having fun while we do it! It is getting my second oldest daughter reading. That is the best benefit of all. :)