What have you learned about your teaching style?

[profmom]

So...I've been thinking about what curricula and what methods have worked best for us over the years and why. Here are some of the things I've listed so far.

 

 

I prefer:

 

~ To research subjects individually (so all-in-one everything-on-one-page programs don't usually work for us -- there's always something I don't care for, such as MFW's science with CTG.)

 

~ To open and do the next lesson for math & LA.

 

~ To use a combined workbook or program for LA instead of individual books for grammar, spelling, & handwriting. (Like CLE LA -- any others I should consider?)

 

~ Some framework, but I don't like someone to tell me what to do each and every day in every book. (I also make a meal plan for the week, but I don't assign meals to specific days -- just choose one from the list each afternoon.)

 

~ Something "living" for history that is easy to implement. History texts: yawn! (One of my favorite years was The Story of the Ancient World + Victor's Journey Through the Bible -- basically the same order so bookmark both, open, and go. Extra reading for bonus, but not dependent on it.)

 

~ Curricula that doesn't depend on my studying every week so that I can teach or discuss with my child. I hate the pressure of everything being dependent on me, and I end up not having enough time some weeks.

 

 

Also, whatever I schedule first thing in the morning, right after Bible, gets done. Best to schedule something important but not necessarily essential. The "essential" subjects will get done later, but after Bible is the best time to include something like memorization, foreign language, etc.

 

Anyway.... What have you learned about yourself over the years and how does that affect your curricula choices? :bigear:

[Sharon H in IL]

That I *must* delve into history with my sons as deeply as they will tolerate. :D

 

That reading aloud is my favorite thing ever.

 

That maps are terrific and fascinating. I used to think they were unutterably boring. But seeing *where* something is in realtionship to other places makes history so much more clear.

 

That I prefer a scripted math program. I never trust my ability to explain a concept clearly, and with math more than any other subject a mistake in the first explanation can mess a kid up forever, because it all gets mixed up in their memory. Thus, RightStart was a good program for us.

 

That I can figure out a way to make almost anything into a game. One of my favorite homeschool memories was a game I made up for when we studied the Silk Road. First, a treasure hunt to find articles around the house that symbolized items traded (silk, jewels, spices, porcelain on the Chinese side and horses, amber, gold, and silver on the Western side). Then the boys had to sit down and trade. It was great. They were both happy with the deals they made. I took photos, and it was a blast.

[LillyMama]

Anyway.... What have you learned about yourself over the years and how does that affect your curricula choices? :bigear:

 

That I am almost the exact opposite of you! :lol:

 

* I do also like the math and LA to be "what's the next page say?" I chose Singapore and ETC because I like the order they use and the simplicity in moving on.

 

* I prefer LA to be lots of different books. Maybe it's the age of my kids, but I think they do better covering the same topics in lots of different ways. Not to mention they get review without noticing it. My opinions may change when they're more literate. But because of this, I choose cheap, short and simple curricula, lots of it, for LA. This is why I chose AAS, it gives my tactile son a nice change.

 

* I like weekly structure, like TOG or SOTW. But I do appreciate how Easy Classical Science told me to do the Reading and Log Work on Tuesday and the Experiment and more Log Work on Thursday. For some reason I needed permission to "do science" just twice a week. Most curricula I buy will be sequential and allow me to go at our own pace.

 

* My kids and I all love history texts. They'll be more likely to ask me to read from Encyclopedias than from the literature books I pick up on the same time period.

 

* And my favorite part of homeschooling is the studying and planning for what we're gonna do next. Yes, I'm a total nerd.:D

 

* I read my kids the Bible story for the day/week over breakfast, but whatever we do after that is the least absorbed. So I usually do the Bible Study and then maybe a narration about it- since we tend to re-read stories throughout the week I know that they will absorb something even if they aren't quite so focused every day. So we do a "throw-away," like a narration or drawing exercise after breakfast before we buckle down with calendar time and then into phonics.

 

* I'm having to teach myself to remember to have fun. I never expected I'd have to plan crafts and outings and games- I thought those would come more naturally. I get too absorbed in the checklists and have to make the fun stuff more intentional. I did not expect that about myself. So I do have to find curricula like TOG and SOTW that have crafts and projects built in.