A New Realization

I found that I have changed my thinking, without really knowing it. I was recently asked how I manage to do all of the "extras" that I teach, such as my Ancient Greece Unit (thank you homeschoolshare.com) and my new science curriculum, Junior Master Gardeners (thank you Homeschool Den) or my state history curriculum, Hiking Through Colorado History. The friend who asked is working on the same Literature curriculum as I, in fact, she introduced me to it. I thought about that and said "Honestly, because we are still on The Horse and His Boy."

You have to understand. The literature study is on the Chronicles of Narnia series and there are 7 books in this series. We are on book 3. It is May. She is on book 6. She is on track. I, on the other hand, am not. This series does include science, history, social studies, grammar, life skills and more in the curriculum. But I feel it's lacking in those. The vocabulary, critical thinking and more is AWESOME don't get me wrong. I would (and probably will) do it again for future children. But I think it just needs more. For us. For me. So we do the extras.

My change in thinking is that I suddenly realized that I don't HAVE to finish this curriculum in one year since I am doing so many other things. It is a Unit study designed for 4th through 8th grade. I can take my time with it and do many other things. THAT is the beauty of homeschooling. I want to make extra sure that they understand what we are doing.

Yes we are learning through the summer. We are going to take a few weeks off to move at the beginning of June (on the condition that our inspection goes well, we close on our new house May 27. YAY), and another few weeks in July/August to see family in the Northwest and go to Girl Scout Camp. We aren't taking off the entire 3 months though.

I am excited. My new realization opens up a WORLD of possibilities for geography projects, field trips and more literature. The world awaits the girls and I want them to savor every detail.