Boxed curriculums are a mixed blessing. Those pre-assembled packages and lesson plans make it so easy to choose each year’s materials. But they also bring out the grade level monster. If a book is in the 4th grade package, and we use it in 6th grade, we assume our child is behind.
Here’s how we make Memoria Press for work us when it comes to homeschool grade levels!
homeschool curriculum
Combining Children in a Classical Homeschool
While combining children can be a homeschool necessity, I’ve learned that combining skill subjects rarely works out. Children really need to work at their own, unique levels for those subjects in order to prevent gaps and have a strong foundation in each skill.
But combining kids in content subjects can be a great fit!
Read moreHands-On Science Activities for Your Memoria Press Homeschool
While I love the philosophical reasons for Memoria’s approach, I’ve also found it to be highly practical. It means our ability to learn isn’t dependent on whether I remembered to buy experiment supplies. We can add hands-on science activities when we want to, but they’re a support to our learning rather than the means of learning.
It’s the best of both worlds.
But how do you add hands-on science activities without losing your mind? Here are some of the things we’ve done over the years — and a few from my “maybe someday” list!
How We Use Traditional Spelling from Memoria Press
We’ve used Traditional Spelling for almost three years and it’s been a perfect fit for both my natural speller and my struggling speller! I’ll admit I was tempted to switch my struggling speller to another popular program, but I decided to stick with Traditional Spelling from Memoria Press and I’m so glad I did!
Here’s how we use this phonics-based spelling program in our homeschool.
Homeschooling High School: Planning For a New Freshman!
Our third teenager will be homeschooling high school soon and it has me doing a lot of soul-searching! His older brothers will be rising seniors and I don’t want to repeat the mistakes I made with them. While our approach to high school hasn’t changed, I’ve learned some things that will make the journey smoother this time.
Here’s the then and now of how we planned — and our four-year plan for teen #3!