Shopping Curriculum

Like any homeschool family, it has been a journey. When we began, I didn’t know where to start or if we would like homeschooling, so I was reluctant to commit to a curriculum that costs hundreds. Also, we are not religious, and most of the packaged, complete curriculums I found had religious undertones, at the very least. When we started I was working full time, overnight, as an RN. Full time in nurse-world is three twelve-hour shifts a week, and we self-scheduled, so I had some flexibility. We got in the habit of spreading out my shifts, trying to avoid two or more nights in a row because I didn’t really have to sleep after a shift if I didn’t have to go back to work the next night. It was about as awful and unhealthy as it sounds. Aaron and I joked that I had found a way to work full time without it affecting my family. It really wasn’t all that funny… When I did have to work back to back, usually because we needed to travel to an event over the weekend and I needed to cram all of my shifts in, the boys were expected to kinda auto-pilot through assignments I would make from a variety of workbooks. I told myself that we made up for those days when I was awake and present, but the truth is, I always felt vaguely crappy and that was reflected in my teaching and parenting overall. Not sleeping, like truly not sleeping, feels like a hangover; nausea, headaches, brain fog, and a general dullness. I was often short-fused and kinda a bitch, mostly to Aaron. I was the definition of spread too thin and was quickly burning out; as tends to happen when a candle is burned at both ends. This pace was a major factor in the decision to sell it all and take off. This was the first part in our homeschool anthology.

Part deux. As we were packing and preparing for life in 140 square feet, and ultimately a sailboat, we had to get creative with our space. My boys are avid readers, but there was just no room for all of the books, so everyone got a Kindle. We were working out of IXL workbooks for school so I switched to an online subscription. I really didn’t like the boys just working from a screen, but I couldn’t find a way around it. I did like that IXL gave me a clear record of the material they were moving through, aligned with the standards of course. That was a comfort, the check marks something to point to on the days I felt I had totally failed them. IXL is also user-friendly and visually straightforward. I wrote down the weeks’ assignments in a notebook, picking off the lists of skills and concepts for each subject. I never made assignments in IXL, though that may just have been my resistance to technology, and generally favoring pen and paper. I really like IXL for Math and Language Arts. A student is not limited to just their grade level so we could personalize. For example, Brecken could work at grade level in Language Arts, but a grade up for Math. We also tried IXL History and Science and it completely fell flat. There were no lessons to teach the information ahead of time so I still had to go digging for digital resources that lined up. Essentially IXL acted as the test and I had to find the materials that supported the test. In the ‘23/’24 school year, everyone had finished their grade level Math and Language Arts by Spring and had started dabbling in the next grade level curriculum. From where we are standing today, I see that IXL is not the most rigorous program, but it is probably in keeping with the public school level.

Long drives are a great time to break out the workbooks.

My boys drew the short straw and got a mean teacher who makes them work through the summer. At least that is how I explain it to their non-homeschool friends, while winking. I really hate the whole concept of ‘school’s out for the summer’ and therefore no learning is happening. Of course I know that learning happens outside of the classroom and through play, but I think in hyping this break from school, the implication is that school and learning are negative. In my quest to raise curious kids, our school does not break for summer. However, summer is busy with bike travel so we are flexible and there are weeks that we take it easy on structured school. Last summer we were back on land with no plan set in stone, but I knew we would be doing something different for the curriculum so I did not renew our IXL subscription. Instead I ordered a set of workbooks for each kid in the next year’s grade level-ish. The goal was simply to finish them by the time the public schools went back. Again, I used IXL and Spectrum workbooks. I think they are both fine; user-friendly and great for introducing concepts I plan to get into more deeply in the fall. 

By the time the ‘24/’25 school year was upon us, it was clear we would be spending the majority of our time in Bellingham. I had caught wind of a homeschool program that was run through the school district after talking to several bike team families who were a part of it. It sounded pretty ideal, so we signed up for a tour to learn more. We all went and loved the teachers, principal, and the physical space. The Partnership Program is run out of an old elementary school chockfulof character. We have access to the library, gym, playground, and curriculum room. Each family is assigned a teacher who is responsible for checking in and securing the appropriate materials for you. They offer optional enrichment classes and clubs determined by teacher and student interests, but each family does their own core. A perfect happy medium for us; a school community and support, but the freedom to travel and learn our way! 

One of the many cool manipulative kits found in the curriculum room.

The curriculum room houses dozens of different curricula and I’ve thumbed through many of them. I got turned onto Beast Academy for math right away. It is a logic and puzzle-heavy program for ages 8-13 that requires critical thinking; no regurgitating math facts here! They offer workbooks, puzzle books and an online program. We enjoy working through the puzzle and workbooks all together, kind of like a game night. This program is perfect for someone like Brecken, whose idea of a good time is cracking open a math workbook. Aside from that, I still needed to cover all of the other subjects. After looking at and not loving a program called Edgenuity, one of the teachers suggested Khan. I have used Khan over the years and love him; his voice a comfort in the face of academic frustration. For those who have not yet met Mr. Khan, he offers a wide array of courses for all ages, in every subject you can think of; so a complete curriculum to say the least. His site is also free, though they graciously accept donations. I had tried to use Khan with the boys when we were first striking out on our own, but struggled with re-finding lessons when it was time to. It turns out that the key is making a teacher account, which was also free, easy, and available to anyone. It was pretty easy to figure out the navigation and organization from there, and we were up and running in a couple of hours. I’ve worked out rhythm and I now make assignments for the boys in two week blocks, in Khan so I have a running record on their accounts. That is where we are today and plan to continue on this path, pulling in supplements where we can. I’m always looking for new stuff so I’ll keep you posted on what I find. Stay tuned!