Finally, the promised post in response to the numerous messages received recently asking what we use to homeschool. There is so much I want to say that one post could go on forever. I will spare you that misery and try to divide up “all the things” in several posts. Starting here with the curriculum we used.
Before we begin, a little disclaimer that all of our curriculum is secular. This simply means it is not written from a religious worldview. This does not mean it’s anti-christian, anti-faith or anti-anything related to religion. In fact, many families prefer to infuse faith on their own terms, so secular curriculum is often desired over others (or they do a combination of curriculum, keeping specific subjects of their choosing secular). It is important for us to keep our science and history secular, which is why it is a must criteria in our selections. If it is important to you as well, take note that “faith neutral” or “neutral” curriculums are not the same as secular and will contain or leave out certain topics based on a religious viewpoint.
One other note, and I cannot emphasize this enough, curriculum is very subjective. What we love someone else will hate. There is absolutely no perfect for everyone/every situation curriculum. If you find something you are drawn to and think will work for your child, let your heart and mind lead the way (preferably over an aggressively negative post in a FB Group, they are a dime a dozen and out there for every single curriculum on the market).
What we mainly use:
Blossom & Root checked all of the boxes from the moment we landed on their site and read Creative | Nature-Based | Secular Homeschooling. Initially we were only going to use pieces of B&R (an option when purchasing, simply buying the subjects you desire), but after evaluating all of our options we decided to go full speed ahead with B&R. This covered both kids’ Language Arts, Science, Nature, Art and a light Geo/Hist (we did K & Year 3).
B&R is for the hands on homeschooler who is looking for guidance but not a lot of rigorous structure. A gentle, adaptable program full of rabbit hole falling possibilities. While it is considered “open and go”, it is not as open and go as “do this workbook page on this day and then do the next on this day.” It has far more prep and plan to it. You will need books (physical or digital, your preference) and art/craft supplies (much of which you will have on hand if you have kids). You will be spending a lot of time with your child reading, creating and discovering. There is a weekly schedule for every subject that can be followed, or not. The beauty of this curriculum is just how much you can make it your own, and even more importantly your child’s. Being able to curate our homeschooling with beautiful and creative curriculum guidance is exactly the way we like to homeschool.
You will need a Math to go along with B&R (I will discuss more later). If your child struggles with reading/writing or simply wants A LOT of LA in their lives, you will want to add accordingly to their needs. B&R’s LA by itself was more than enough for both of my kids last year. For those who are short term Covid Homeschoolers, a Math that lines up with your public school and some sort of Spelling/Phonics would be what I would add for a more seamless return to public school.
B&R’s Science is very popular and often purchased separately to be used with several children in the family, as opposed to doing individual Sciences at once for each child. I didn’t think this could work and yet we were doing it a few months in… it happened very naturally and took away the feeling of being a ping pong ball switching between 2 different Sciences. While I have not experienced their latest History release, I will note that many say it is setup the same way. Different pathways for different ages so you can experience History together.
This would not be curriculum for someone who wants the following:
- a daily structured (or rigorous) plan
- all in one lesson/supply packages
- e-learning (there are video links but it is not an online focused curriculum)
- mostly child independent learning
- workbook lessons over hands on lessons
- if you are not creative and/or adaptable – you need to have at least one of these traits in your personality to utilize this type of learning. I could see confusion, boredom and frustration seeping in to someone who prefers more structure and content.
B&R also boasts one of the most supportive FB groups I have ever had the pleasure being a member of (and very inclusive to those of various religions which I realize some secular groups are not, and vice versa). Blossom and Root Families will answer any and all questions, including the ones that have been asked a million times. (That said, it’s always awesome to utilize that search box in the group. It’ll save you a ton of time.)
Was there anything we didn’t love about B&R?
Yes, and I think this is important to note. The initial idea of planning B&R can be overwhelming, particularly for the levels past K as there are several guides and paths. I honestly did not know where to start and became slightly discouraged (which I think had a lot to do with the deschooling process that I talk about more later in this post). I would have also preferred to see more diversity in authors/composers/artists, specifically in the K curriculum (although it has been addressed that these changes are in the works, starting with the Early Years Volumes this fall). Not every book selection was loved and some activities we skipped, specifically the optional ones as we were already spending plenty of time on the other activities. Bingham had a hard time getting into the K classical literature selections for his nature study. We adapted with books from the library and prescreened youtube videos. Jettie actually loved all of her books except Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. It was painful honestly, and we moved on with our lives given she gave it a good hard effort. Obviously none of this was a make or break for us as I already have next year’s curriculum from B&R purchased. (The Level 4, their latest release, looks AMAZING.)
And speaking of…. they are having their HUGE END OF SUMMER SALE! Now until 09/15/20, 30% off EVERYTHING with code sunflower30. This is a digital PDF purchase program that you will need to print yourself (you can also use the parent guide’s digitally if you prefer). Popular and affordable printing services are HardcopyHQ, The Homeschool Printing Company, Staples, Office Depot, Family Nest Printing and Barnes & Noble. Many also print at home and bind or coil themselves. (Again, lots of advice on this can be found at Blossom and Root Families.) You can also try a “BOOK SEED” from B&R which is basically a unit study based off a piece of literature that you will read with your child/children. It is a small taste of what B&R has to offer in terms of engagement and activities. There is a free Sunflower Book Seed available on their site, perfect for an end of summer study.
Let’s talk about MATH:
B&R, like many curriculums, does not include a full scale Math. I think this is common because Math is a monster of it’s own kind, but the good news is there are MANY different ways to learn and understand math concepts in homeschooling.
For both kids we chose Wild Math as it pairs with B&R beautifully. I love the philosophy behind doing math outside, it brings another element into learning Math that I feel is often undervalued. This is not a set “scheduled” type program (although the creator has lots of advice and yes there’s a fab FB group for this one too) but it is a wonderful guide for all the Math things outdoors.
We decided to gameschool for the rest of Bingham’s Math curriculum. We really love Math for Love Tiny Polka Dot and any other game where counting is involved. 
Jettie took quite a few sample “tests” from different Math programs and ended up enjoying Beast Academy the most. It is often touted as “Math for mathy kids” which frankly I had no idea Jettie was. What I do know is that it has a fun comic strip type guide with a challenging, problem solving workbook. I love doing Math with her, this is totally up my alley as much as hers (maybe I’m mathy, who knew?!). There is an online program that we do not use – but definitely a good option to look into for those who prefer online work.
What other curriculum did we use?
The intention was to do all sorts of Brave Writer Arrows with Jettie (creative writing). We did one, and it was great, but I realized early on it was not needed our first year of homeschooling. (Side note: Julie Bogart of Brave Writer has the most incredible take and philosophy in regards to homeschooling. I will talk more about her in another post, but for now checkout her book The Brave Learner: Finding Everyday Magic in Homeschool, Learning, and Life
I also used the apps Teach My Monster to Read and Kahn Academy Kids for those times when I needed to focus on Jettie without Bingham being right on top of us. (Legos were also a great distraction, but in general he was right on top of everything his sister was doing A LOT. We made it work though.)
Here’s the thing about homeschoolers – some are curriculum hoarders and can seriously get a lot of things done in one day. Some use no curriculum at all, and have the most ravenous learners you’ll ever meet. That is not us, right now. Bing’s K Space Science for instance…. other’s in the FB Group were zooming through with some saying it wasn’t nearly enough for their child. We were spending a lot time checking out more books and looking for more info via youtube or the web. It is a simple Science curriculum (more similar to a unit study) that I did beef up for Jettie (to tag along with us), but regardless of that, we fell down a major space rabbit hole with just a nudge. There is no right or wrong way to approaching a topic. Learning is learning and whichever method your child uses is how they will learn and absorb the most. And you know what’s great? You get a front row seat to seeing all those educational sparks fly. (It really is the best.)
Anything you would change or strive for this coming year?
I want to be better at planning, relaxing and enjoying this time. I flew by the seat of my pants too much my first year. Partly because I had to do some MAJOR deschooling of the brain those first few, let’s be honest, SIX months. (And am probably still continuing to do and always will be on some level.) It was HARD to undo all those thoughts and feelings of what “school” is supposed to look like. But when it happened, it was like a giant weight lifted from my shoulders and the preconceived ideas were no longer keeping me from being the unschooling badass parent I always wanted to be (okay, maybe I am no that cool). We did find and are currently in a groove that allows the curriculum we chose to work the way it is intended. Gentle and child led, with the freedom to dig deeper when that’s what the heart and soul desire. We couldn’t ask for more at this time in our homeschooling journey.
I have loads more to say including resources for parents/guardians/care takers/loved ones specifically looking into homeschooling. As well as supplies I love and also all the free materials out there for homeschooling (yes, some people use free curriculum for IT ALL… what??!!). I intend to include this info in separate posts this upcoming week. For now, I hope this post answers so many of those messages I have received in regards to what we use. Whatever you chose, please keep in mind that it doesn’t have to look, feel or flow anywhere near perfect in the beginning… or even months later frankly. Homeschooling is about discovery, and it’s meant to look nothing like school, specifically the “school” so many of us only know. Short term or not, my hope for those taking the homeschool plunge unexpectedly this year is that you experience the joy and connection that homeschool has to offer.
As uncertain as these times are (I promise to try and not say that line again in 2020), I know that you are doing the best you can. Whatever decision you make for your child’s education this coming year, I, and probably most other parents reading this, support you. Being thrown into this new world of having to decide between in-class, virtual, homeschooling or some other type of learning is not easy. You may make a choice you will have to change, and that’s okay. As long as what we do comes from love, the child will benefit from that alone. To feel and know love is incredibly powerful.
Best of wishes to you all! I will be posting more soon (and feel free to let me know if there is anything in particular you would like to know).
