Just breathe....

     Okay, so I'm really going out on a limb here.  I'm taking the plunge and sending back our Sonlight curriculum.

     I love Sonlight.  The years using it have been great to us.  I used it for Motormouth for 2nd-4th grade.  We used it during those first years where I was terrified to not have something in front of me that I could just open and go, and it would tell me what to do.  We have a terrific home library as a result of the cores we have purchased.  We will still use it some in the years to come with the Tweebs.

     Now I'm a little more comfortable in my own skin though, and know the learning styles of my kids well enough to feel more confident in my ability to put together my own set of stuff for us to use.  The Sonlight instructor's guide that used to help me so much has become stressful, because, with my tendency to over worry about "checking all the boxes", when I don't complete every activity in a given week all I can think about the next week is what we are "behind" on.  In reality, it is definitely not necessary to complete every activity....there are tons of things there to complete.  I've begun letting the IG rule me instead of letting it guide me.  Some people can just pull what they want from it, and leave the rest.  I am not one of those people...if it's there, I feel like I MUST do it.  Another problem is that the Language Arts curriculum is not my favorite, and Motormouth really doesn't like it.  Unfortunately, the history, reading and LA are all a part of the core, so I'm spending money (a LOT of it), and not everything I'm buying is useful to me.  I do however, love their reading suggestions, and their history books.  I'm very much for the living book approach to education.  So, for now at least, I am going to say see you later to Sonlight.  That doesn't mean I'll never go back, but we need a change of pace.  I may still pick and choose things from them to purchase at different times...we'll just see.

     I'm not going to buy curriculum from a box this time.  I'm going to piece together something to work for us, following a classical approach.  I'm using some suggestions from the book I'm reading, The Latin-Centered Curriculum, but as I use it, I'm going to continue using what works, and pitch what doesn't.

     We're starting Monday with our new history study, Famous Men of the Middle Ages.  Our first lesson talks about Odin, Thor and Loki.

Think I can get away with using Chris Hemsworth as a lesson in mythology?  

     Wish me luck as we dive in to our new adventure!