Reading and Reading Again

In January or February of each year, I try to re-read a few homeschooling books. I like the reminder of why we're doing this, and reading about different approaches and solutions can be helpful. Sometimes I find an answer that wouldn't have been the answer for us the last time I read the books. I do try to consistently re-read both The Well-Trained Mind and The Latin-Centered Curriculum, even if other books vary.

Yesterday, I read The Latin-Centered Curriculum once more. Poor approach - it's our runner-up. The bridesmaid, never the bride. If you told me that I could not follow the framework of The Well-Trained Mind any longer, then we would probably go with an LCC approach... but only then. This reading brought me to no different conclusion.

Reading Campbell's reasons for studying Latin does help to remind me why we study Latin (important, since we're setting our courses for next year), but it never does convince me to give Latin primacy in our homeschool. It does make me want to include ancient Greek, but not at the expense of studying a modern foreign language. In our very math and writing centric homeschool, other language arts and science fall into the slots as of secondary importance, leaving most else to be tertiary or even quaternary. I simply won't give Latin (or Greek) a place beside math or writing, and I have yet to be convinced that writing can be enhanced through Latin study versus direct instruction.

The Latin-Centered Curriculum can be a good reminder not to clutter up our schedule with too many subjects, and I think it's an important message especially for kindergarten and first grade. For EG, though, I am not sure that paring back wouldn't do her a disservice. It's about 12:45 right now, and she's completed penmanship, spelling, Classical Writing, memory work, poetry study, Latin, algebra, math drill, literature reading, and logic work; she's currently reading about science and will likely finish before 1 pm. She's also had about an hour, total, to play with her siblings, time to practice piano, and time for both breakfast and lunch. She's not overworked or overchallenged; this amount of work actually seems to be just about right for her. Yes, if we pared back, she would spend more time on Latin, but not a huge amount more.

In short - what we are doing is working for us, and working well. Sometimes reading about a slightly different way reminds me, though, just how well it is working.

January Itch

It usually starts a bit before January, but it's easy to push it aside in the hustle of the holidays. In January, though, as grey, dreary, and routine replace lights, frivolity, and get-togethers, it returns, with a vengeance. I think it tends to continue onwards into February, as well. Even though planning for school never really stops, it seems like the desire to revamp, toss, discover, and plot reaches its zenith in January, and therefore its moniker - the January Itch.

For us, the end of the first semester represents the halfway mark for our year. It's a good time to assess what has worked and what has not. Since we've been using the materials for half a year, though, it's also easy to be a bit tired of some. It's easy to start wondering about the topics that will be covered in the next year.

This time around, it's not set in so badly with regards to history, because EG is deep in the throes of learning about the twentieth century, and I adore twentieth century history. It's no big deal for me to ignore the upcoming return to the ancients. There's still about eighty action-packed years to go until she reaches the present.

There's still plenty to discover and plan, though, especially as FB will officially be kindergarten age next year - plus I feel that I've neglected him shamefully so far this year. He is, thankfully, only four, so he will survive and prosper nonetheless, but it's a bit bad when the four year old is asking for more school. He's asked for a new, different approach to phonics, as well, which is definitely an area I will have to research.

What am I looking for, this January Itch? Finalizing science plans for next year, and possibly for a couple of years. Planning out a significant portion of the history syllabus. Starting a new approach to grammar and vocabulary for EG. Reworking our approach to Latin. Getting a good handle on Classical Writing: Homer as well as Poetry for Beginners.

And, of course, continuing to pack, followed by selling our house, buying our new house, and moving. Piece of cake, right? Just to be safe, I think I'll start a few hours early... GO!