Our homeschool uses a pretty eclectic approach to education. We don't rely on one die hard approach to school or one educational philosophy. We have an array of different curriculums and programs. Not to mention, much of what I use for one child does not always work so well for another. However, I do use and read lots of classical educational products and philosophies. I have enjoyed the Charlotte Mason approach to education with my early readers in the primary years. If I had to lable myself I would say I educate my children classically (for the most part), but that isn't really saying anything since classical means different things to different people.
So, what to we use for curriculum around here? In a nutshell, we use a little here and a little there.
I do use some textbooks like Rod and Staff Grammar, Horizon's Math 1-3, and Saxon Math 54 - Calculus (we've yet to reach Calculus, but this is my current plan). We use a mixture of living books and reading guides for History. Apologia and Christian Liberty Science Readers are our Science staples. Suffer the Little Ones, Show Me Thy Ways, The Children's Story Bible by Katherine Vos, and the Westminster Shorter Catechism are the core of our Christian Studies curriculum. We are looking at starting logic and foreign language studies next year. Language arts is a hodge podge with me. I love language arts and fall into the trap of wanting to use everyting to find the "best" there is. I always end up returning to McGuffey readers and SWR/WRTR methods for the little ones with lots of reading from good books. McGuffey Eclectic Readers have great pictures and have inspired beautiful copybooks and improved drawing skills in my home. The lack of color in the pictures allows the kiddos to focus on drawing the lines and shapes they see rather than focusing on bright colors. I love the poetry in them. I use them for my enjoyment as much as for the kids.
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