Another poll :) What subject do you consider to be the CORE subject in your HS?

[Halcyon]

I am curious-I know the WTM is history-centered, but people of course tweak it. What subject do you consider the CORE subject, or central subject, of your homeschool?

[Farrar]

I consider reading the core for us - reading aloud, reading for pleasure, reading for learning, and just learning to read, because my kids are so young. Reading permeates a lot of our day in different ways.

 

If we get nothing else done in a day, we get reading and math done.

 

We go in spurts as to whether we're really history or science focused. Neither one is winning.

[Halcyon]

Ack. I should have put reading. Sorry about that! Can't change a poll, right? Darn.

[Annie Laurie]

I consider reading the core for us - reading aloud, reading for pleasure, reading for learning, and just learning to read, because my kids are so young. Reading permeates a lot of our day in different ways.

 

If we get nothing else done in a day, we get reading and math done.

 

We go in spurts as to whether we're really history or science focused. Neither one is winning.

 

:iagree: I voted other because I would say it's reading/language based. Math is a close second.

[2_girls_mommy]

If I had to pick one it would be literature, which wasn't on the list!

[silliness7]

I voted other because I didn't see reading in there. We read more than we do anything else, even write. Though we do need to write more. So currently, reading is core. Even when we beef up the writing I would still say that language arts is the core.

[twoforjoy]

Right now, I'd say that math is probably the core of our formal homeschooling. If we could pick two, I'd say math and grammar, but if I had to pick one, math.

 

Mainly that's because DS doesn't have the natural facility with math that he has with language so I do make sure that we focus attention there, and because, being an English teacher, I'm far more comfortable teaching language arts stuff informally and seizing on opportunities to talk about it when it comes up in everyday experience than I am doing that with math, and because DS and I are both readers so we spend a good deal of time outside of school reading for pleasure. So we spend more time on language arts over the course of the day--more time reading, more time talking and thinking about language--but in terms of where the focus of our formal school time is, math gets top priority.

[veggiegal]

We do Language Arts and Math every morning, with a break for some kind of physical activity in between (I have young wiggly boys). As long as we do those 2 subjects I am happy, though of course most days we do far more. But in my view, if you can read, write, and use math concepts, you can teach yourself anything else.

[JessieC]

Reading/literature here. I think this was missed on the poll.

[daffodil]

Definitely reading/literature, followed by math.

[Halcyon]

Reading/literature here. I think this was missed on the poll.

 

 

Yep-let's just pretend I put Reading instead of Other :lol:

[alpidarkomama]

Torah! :)

[Carpe]

Well I'm with reading, but it wasn't a choice and it told me I had to pick one ;) so I picked science.

 

I think science is pretty central to everything we do. Life is one big experiment.

[wapiti]

I voted math, but it's really a math/language arts combo (with Latin as one aspect of our langage arts, along with grammar, vocab, reading and writing). History is definitely secondary to math/LA here, with other subjects being a distant third.

 

Let me put it another way: when we have a bad day, and nothing much gets done, we still do math.

[rhreinke]

I also would have selected Language arts/reading if that was available.

[nov05mama]

I voted math, but it's really a math/language arts combo (with Latin as one aspect of our langage arts, along with grammar, vocab, reading and writing). History is definitely secondary to math/LA here, with other subjects being a distant third.

 

Let me put it another way: when we have a bad day, and nothing much gets done, we still do math.

Ditto! Math/Language Arts rank at the top...Math probably slightly moreso than LA, but only SLIGHTLY, so that's why I voted Math.

[Aquinas Academy]

We're very language focused. I'd say that reading is definitely our core.

[Erika]

Reading tons of Living books then Math a close second.

[DaffodilDreams]

I asked Dd. She said the read-alouds, so I voted other. This is also her response when asked about her favorite subject. I get a lot of blank looks from people.

[desertmum]

I went for science because my son is crazy about science. I use it to encourage his reading skills and spelling and copywork. Also I use "science" to teach math (ds has a planet shop and sells them and buy according to size, colour, number of rings, etc.). You get the idea. BTW I use science and reading as a core but I didn't see this option.

[mazakaal]

I voted 'other' because I don't really focus on one core subject. History used to be the core, but I felt that science was being squeezed out, so I've tried to go for more balance the past couple of years.

[Soror]

I voted Math, it is his favorite and what he does the best at. We spend the longest time period on Math by far at this point anyway.

[Joyofsixreboot]

Math is probably our " core" because I want them firmly comfortable there. That said we spend nearly as much time with history and it is considered the fun subject here.

[MissKNG]

#1 Bible

#2 Math/Science and Reading/Read Alouds

 

We also do history and other things but my big girl is very math/science oriented so we have A LOT of those resources and materials.

[nono]

Ah, I had no problem with your poll, because I consider reading to be part of life, not part of school. School inspires what we read, but that's not part of our requirements. (If I did, then I guess we could say we do summer school).

 

So, given that, math is my answer. :)

[Dinsfamily]

I'd say math. However, reading and lit are a very important component for us.

[peacefully]

.

[....]

This sounds silly, but I just realized that MATH is our core subject. We spend an hour a day on just math. :blink: Also, we cover math everyday no matter what. Other stuff...well, you know...

[Five More Minutes]

Right now, all things language-based: reading, spelling, grammar, and writing. Those get done every day.

 

I suspect that next year, our core will become math, simply because reading will happen so naturally outside of our formal school time.

[Mommy2BeautifulGirls]

But in my view, if you can read, write, and use math concepts, you can teach yourself anything else.

:iagree:

[Haiku]

I voted other because, in striving for a liberal arts education, I don't emphasize any one subject over others. Math and English are foundational but only part of the larger picture I try to present to my kids.

 

Tara

[sagira]

I remember reading a while back about Homeschooling, and I discovered Charlotte Mason's writings. What struck with me is that she said there are three types of knowledge that were central in her schools:

 

Knowledge of God (Theology)

Knowledge of Man (History)

Knowledge of God's World (Science)

 

This made so much sense to me, especially as Literature does encompass these three areas.

 

The tools to discover and grapple with this knowledge, the core areas, are:

 

Reading

Writing

Mathematics

 

My short answer is History and Science, and our little school's name reflects that: Atheneum.

Edited June 16, 2011 by sagira

[boscopup]

I voted math, though in reality, it should probably be "other", because I don't really put a huge emphasis on one subject over others. We're definitely not history-centered, though my son loves history and we do it 3 days a week. We spend the most time on math, since DS loves math. It's probably the subject *I* spend the least time worrying about because we have materials we're happy with, and they're open and go, so no planning or worrying involved. If we are having a bad day, math still gets done.

 

Reading is also incredibly important, but DS naturally sits down and reads so much that again, I don't have to really focus on it for my homeschool. If DS couldn't read well, our focus would definitely shift over there.

 

For my preK'er, the focus is a good mix of reading and math. Some days we'll do one and not the other. Which one gets done depends on our moods. Overall, I am more focused on getting his reading going though, because if he can read, he can learn anything. Once he is reading well, the focus will shift more toward math.

 

My children are still young, so "writing" isn't as much a focus, except just getting the physical act of writing going. Writing is important to me though, and we write everyday. With a reluctant writer, I've had to work on building the muscles to write. That's going very well (at least until our break - we'll see what happens after 2 weeks of not writing :glare:). We also do a lot of oral narrations across our subjects, so it's an important part of our homeschool.

 

Basically, math, language arts (all components), history, and science are all done with relative importance around here. Art gets the shaft. I'm not artsy, and my son isn't artsy, so that is low on the importance list. :tongue_smilie:

[sagira]

I voted math, though in reality, it should probably be "other", because I don't really put a huge emphasis on one subject over others. We're definitely not history-centered, though my son loves history and we do it 3 days a week. We spend the most time on math, since DS loves math. It's probably the subject *I* spend the least time worrying about because we have materials we're happy with, and they're open and go, so no planning or worrying involved.:

 

Sorry to hijack a bit, but I did a double take on your signature - MM3 for your 6-year-old? Wow! Ds, who will be turning 8 in September and a rising third grader, is just finishing up MM2A. He has made a tremendous amount of progress, and he really understands the concepts now. I had him in the wrong program for his learning style (MCP). He, like me, needs to know the why behind the problems, not just the mechanics. Math Mammoth is perfect for this. He used to hate math, but now he enjoys it and does so well with it. I agree with you in that Math gets done every day, even on the slow days.

 

Okay, back to the Core Subjects thread now.;)

[Malenki]

Absolutely literature here... so I put "other".

[Paisley Hedgehog]

.

[Chris in VA]

It's funny, b/c I use history as an organizing principle, of sorts, but we make sure to do math every day. I guess I find the order of importance, based on the time we spend on it and time planning, to be:

 

History (which we use for reading and writing assignments, and projects)

Math

Grammar (includes some writing, as we used Rod and Staff)

Bible

Science (slackers here)

Art (lots done on her own)

 

Music is done by having dd participate in choir, liturgical dance and piano lessons, so I don't even include it.

[Embassy]

If I go by where we spend the most time our top three areas would be language arts, PE, and science.

[FairProspects]

I voted writing and a close second would be history. I tend to organize all the plans and learning goals around these two threads.

[usetoschool]

There is no one subject that gets more attention than any other really but if I define core as how I organize the work, then history, definitely. We do regular math but we also study the history and theories of math and the same with science. Lots of writing assignments and research papers in high school are historical topics.

[Mandy in TN]

In the poll I chose other. Over the course of our homeschool journey my oldest two boys found their own paths and I suppose that at some point so will my youngest. My focus is math and reading- alright more math than reading. I guess I am just a meat-and-potatoes gal. They are the basics and especially in the primary grades that is where I choose to put my time and energy.

 

History was definitely the core for my oldest (now in college)- by his choice not mine. It was simply what he gravitated towards and what he would do even if it wasn't assigned. He also did a lot of marine biology, reading science fiction/ fantasy, and reading/writing fan fiction. History, ocean life, and fan fiction were his pursuits. He was the poster child for living a learning life style. For this child, life was school.

 

For my middle ds (senior in high school 2011-2012), his studies have been more integrated, because he learns better if he is studying European history, literature, and art from 1450-1700 or physics and astronomy alongside modern history with a focus on aviation history. So, it really isn't a subject focus but an integrated focus (the more integrated the better). Integrated study is just what works for him. I would say that he is a math/science guy and probably spends more time on those subjects. He wants what he would call the school day to have an end. His outside pursuits are along the lines of taking apart things, collecting rocks, collecting coins, and online gaming. He does not consider these things to be school.

 

The little man has definite subjects and would do well in a traditional classroom. He just wants to get it done. The little man is only 8yo and so the majority of his day is still spent doing math and reading. He would rather spend his days playing and at 8yo this is probably appropriate.:)

 

HTH-

Mandy

[Mandy in TN]

I voted other because, in striving for a liberal arts education, I don't emphasize any one subject over others. Math and English are foundational but only part of the larger picture I try to present to my kids.

 

Tara

:iagree:This is what I should have written!

[Aurelia]

Another reading/English focused household here. Science is second.

[6packofun]

It depends on what is meant by "Core". What's at the heart of our homeschool? Each child is different, so while I would like it to be Literature and History, it's Math for another child, Science for another...

 

I think of the foundations of their education as the Core, but that would include all of those, except music, art (which is "core" for my artist dd, btw!), physical education, other elective or interest-led things.

 

History as the Core of classical education seems to me to mean that the study of other subjects flows OUT of it. Reading, writing, which science to study can relate to what's being learned in history at the moment. There aren't many other subjects, even literature, that can do quite the same. But History is still not our Core. LOL

 

Sorry, I'm probably overthinking your question!

[Dmmetler]

Reading/language/literature

[cjbeach]

All Language Arts (reading/writing/literature/grammar....)

then

Math

[HSMom2One]

I put other because I consider the Three R's to be the center of it all: Readin', 'Ritin' and Rithmatic! Reading, in our case, would include both literature and history, which is probably the strongest focus in our program.

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

[KrissiK]

Definitely History!

[Daisy]

I consider reading the core for us - reading aloud, reading for pleasure, reading for learning, and just learning to read, because my kids are so young. Reading permeates a lot of our day in different ways.

 

If we get nothing else done in a day, we get reading and math done.

 

We go in spurts as to whether we're really history or science focused. Neither one is winning.

 

:iagree: My kids are older but reading is still the focus. Writing is in there and increases yearly, but if nothing else we READ.

[Satori]

I voted Other, we love it all!

 

If I had to choose, it would still be Other, as we focus on all language arts, except for writing. (She does that on her own.) The past year I've been trying to give her the skills that will allow her to do what she loves, so we've focused on GRAMMAR, spelling, reading, handwriting...

 

This upcoming year I can see us focusing more on math and science.