Planning Stage

I thought actually deciding to homeschool was a chore, now I know that was only the beginning! We have a general idea, such as, a history based curriculum filled with the classics. We were leaning toward using Ambleside Online, which is an awesome and FREE curriculum based on Charlotte Mason's approach to education. However, we don't want to start with British History. We want the children to learn history chronologically, from Creation forward. But finding a program appropriate for their ages (9 & 6) was proving to be a challenge.

In trying to compare the history cycles I made a grid of the 4 curricula that caught our eye. I have pulled out things we liked about each one and described them in the paragraphs below.

I actually found Simply Charlotte Mason (SCM) and purchased their older version of "Genesis through Deuteronomy & Ancient Egypt" guide. I like the fact they gear their plans toward teaching everyone together. I certainly don't want 2 different sets of curriculum going at the same time. Their format is familiar and I thought I liked having Bible, History, and Geography all combined. After reviewing the plan though it just didn't feel right.

There isn't a whole lot of narration or guidance for the parent and not a lot of book options for the my two. After talking to my husband we decided to hang onto it for a later time. We plan on doing a six year history cycle so we will have a chance to revisit it later.

Our next choice was TruthQuest. Let me just say I absolutely LOVE TruthQuest. We briefly used this guide a couple of years ago when we first visited the idea of homeschooling. (This year will be our actual full year though.) Michelle Miller does a wonderful job giving introductions to the appropriate sections of history. She begins with a lighter version of American History for children through the 5th grade. One can use her guides chronologically because she gives book choices for all grades but we found her narrations to be geared toward older students. So, this too, ended up not being a viable option.

I think we will still use her booklists but I need a plan to guide me. So I continued on the search.

As I was reading a blog someone mentioned GreenLeaf Press, so I Googled them. I was afraid to hope! I reviewed their scope and sequence, I listened to their .mp3 recordings, and then I shared with my husband. GreenLeaf is chronological and they start with Old Testament and Ancient Israel. The description states for children in grades 1-6, and although their guide doesn't list books outside of the Bible, their website lists a few.

I actually found an older copy listed here for FREE! So, I downloaded and printed it out. The newer guides have been revised to include 180 lessons instead of 196 to fit the typical school calendar. Each lesson lists background information, age appropriate questions, and even suggestions for deeper review. Our plan is to incorporate TruthQuest's book suggestions in combination with this guide.


I will reorganize our 36 week grid (from Ambleside) and post shortly!