Archive for January 8th, 2009
Combine and Conquer
By MamaArcher on 8th January, 2009 | 4 Comments
People often wonder how I cover every subject on every level with each and every child. When you stop to think about it, it does become a bit overwhelming. I have found something over my years of homeschooling that works extremely well for our large family. In fact, I wish I had come upon this idea earlier in our homeschooling life. I would have applied it even when we only had a few children.
Our homeschool utilizes the Classical Christian method. This in itself can be very overwhelming but I have learned how to adapt this homeschooling method to best fit us. I am not a die hard Classical Christian homeschooler, meaning that we do not follow the method exactly. I do not incorporate ever aspect of the teaching method. I just do not have the time or the energy.
One thing that I absolutely love about this method is the idea of teaching history chronologically. This is what sent me on the quest to discover more about this method of homeschooloing. It just makes so much sense that I wonder why so many have not realized this benefit. I also LOVE the fact that Biblical history, church history, art history, music history, science history, geography, reading, and even writing, grammar, and spelling can all be incorporated. This method also utilizes real books and not just the textbook format for learning.
The Classical method uses cycles. This means that every four years you repeat the cycles. For example the first year would be studying ancient history and creation. After you have gone through all of the cycles you would once again be studying ancient history and creation only at a higher and more in depth level than before. This is one aspect of the method that makes it easy to combine grade levels. I am able to combine children together while we study and simply adjust reading assignments, activities, the amount of information and understand required to pass the appropriate grade level.
The curriculum that we use the most is Veritas Press. It is not necessarily designed to be combined but it is easy to do. There are other programs that I also enjoy. One of these is Tapestry of Grace. It is designed to be used with your early elementary all the way through high school. Another curriculum that I have recently looked at and am planning on incorporating this year also uses the Veritas Press curriculum. It is called Classical Conversations. Another way to combine your studies is to add in your catechism studies and memorization during your family devotional time.
By combining subjects the children recieve a fuller understanding and comprehension of things. This occurs because children are taught in context and there is an overlap rather than continual division. For example, it is just easier to understand what Joseph endured in Egypt by studying at the same time about the pharoahs and Egyptian culture; and what better time is there to learn the geography of the area and the art of that time period? By combining grade levels the children can learn from each other and glean things above their grade level causing them to excel. Another benefit is that the older can read to the younger; participating in and learning how to mentor. It also frees up time in our day to accomplish other things.
Even if you do not have a large family such as mine, if you are feeling discouraged by the amount of time needed for schooling each subject, I would encourage you to check into some of these curriculums or see if there is a way to adjust what you are currently using.
