Now that we are starting our homeschooling adventure (September 2023), I will share insights, resources, etc. here.
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January 20, 2023
"Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 1:10-11
"You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up." Deuteronomy 6:7
It is true. After much prayer, and seeking God's will for our life and for our family, this spring will be end of this chapter at FBCA for this Shuman Crew.
God has called us to focus on our family. And for us to live the life that we feel God is calling us into, I need to leave the workforce and the children will need to be homeschooled. We are thankful for our years at FBCA, the education and biblical foundation our children have been given, and the many friendships we have established these last 7 years.
We are excited to see what this new chapter will look like for us. Not every detail is known, but what we do know is this, God is faithful, He honors obedience, and when our will aligns with His, He is going to do a mighty work.
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Sold a Story - a podcast on why/how schools stopped teaching phonics, and the impact on students. Highly recommend all six episodes, worth the time.
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Here is the curriculum that we use.
First, a general "disclaimer." I live in Texas, which is an amazing state to homeschool in. Texas requires only that students be taught 5 things.
- Reading
- Spelling
- Grammar
- Mathematics
- Good Citizenship, which entails:
- Federal Holidays
- Pledge of Allegiance
- History
- Government
Anyone who lives in Texas and wants more details, I recommend visiting The Texas Homeschool Coalition website. An amazing resource. Every state is different, I highly recommend checking your state's requirement. Now some government schools will argue that you have to notify them officially that you are pulling your kids if they have been attending them. I would suggest if your state doesn't, get your child's academic records, and copies of test scores before they ever hear about you thinking of homeschooling. The schools can be very hostile.
Now we had our kids in private school, so all I did was opt out of automatic re-enrollment.
So here is how we homeschool, what we use, and what we do.
Curriculum
This took work. I researched for months before making decisions. I reached out to families that have homeschooled for years. Scoured websites and blog posts for reviews. I wasn't just going to be schooling one child, but 3, in different grades (5th, 3rd, and PK4). Here is what I ultimately decided on:
5th Grader & 3rd Grader
- Math, Christian Light Education
- Language Arts (Grammar, Reading, Spelling, Writing), Common Sense Press
- Bible, no curriculum. As a family reading the Bible chronologically, and doing scripture memory.
- History/Social Studies - NotGrass History - using their 50 states curriculum this year, additionally say the following pledges: Texas Pledge, Pledge to the American Flag, Pledge to the Christina Flag, Pledge to the Bible
- Science - The Good and The Beautiful - various unit studies
- Handwriting - 3rd grader only, Zaner-Bloser
PK4
- I found an amazing PK4 packet at kindergartenreadyskills.com. I formerly was a preschool director (licensed) and thought to make everything, but her workbook was chef's kiss!
- It includes: alphabet, letters, tracing, mini-month units on weather, hygiene, etc. But I did switch the order of the letter teaching to a phonetics system
Language Arts was the only curriculum that really gave me pause. I was also looking at IEW's curriculum but decided it wasn't for us.
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