Yeah, well, this week's home school topic is teaching style for the new year, and I feel like I covered that pretty thoroughly two weeks ago when I discussed our radical changes.
To recap, in case you missed that epic post (snort), we are moving towards a unit study/classical hybrid. With a good dose of traditional schooling. A Barefoot Hippie hybrid of magnificent proportions.
I love the big picture idea and I love history. I love connecting the dots and the idea of 6 degrees of separation. If you dig into history and geography and biographies you see that this is connected with this which is connected with this and it all comes back to this. And it is awesome!
Because there is one Sovereign Lord writing history. He is working our His story. So, even if the only common thread is God (though usually there are other common threads) it is amazing.
So, we are diving into unit studies based on historical periods. We will cover all of history in the next 7 years. This year we are focusing on 1600-1800. A short but full 200 years.
But being the traditional barefoot hippie that I am, I also feel that I need to hold on to traditional books for a while longer. We will be spending Mondays-Thursdays doing 5 lesson plans in math, spelling, and grammar. We are using the BJU curriculum as we already have a good foundation in that, and I like it.
We are getting our dose of classical education as we dive into reading lists. I have picked both classics written during 1600-1800, as well as novels and nonfiction set in or covering this period. We will do a lot of writing and discussions based on what we are reading.
I am really looking forward to this year. It is the culmination of many years of percolating in my mind. 2 weeks and counting...
Have you started school yet? What are you most looking forward to about this year?
For more great posts on teaching styles for the new year, check out...
Chareen
Julie
Savannah
Lucinda
Nicole
