Ever been to that all you can eat place,...and ate more than you should have. While you feel you got your moneys worth and satisfied your every craving was it worth walking out with your shirt un-tucked over your un-buttoned pants. Or better yet wearing your stretchy yoga suit for all the wrong reasons.
I feel this way about our collection of school materials. I have collected hundreds of pdf's on a little black box. Lap books, unit studies, copy work ect; I have purchased bits and pieces of this and that and years worth of other stuff like apologia and sonlight science. I have enough to get them through middle school and we are still in primary. In my quest to find the right history program, (hands on sequential that can be cycled back through a few times) I have found myself collecting pieces for hands on research and have become so overwhelmed in a descion for just one. Same thing with geography several great programs a lot are similar and some are even used as companions.
This may have been stemmed from a long period of starvation. We did the box curriculum Abeka, calvert and even dipped our toes in k12. We were suffocating under the scheduling and structure and feeling as though all the things I wanted to escape from on a brick and mortar school I had only invited in my once magical abode.
Now here I am busting at the seams with books and ideas, projects and places so many things to see and do. Trying to figure how to combine all my favorites in an order that can be cycled through so that each of my children can be working under the same theme, but getting what they need as they are all about 4 years apart. Reminding myself that I can visit the buffet on another day an trying to choose that healthy satisfying plate to serve my family today,..and keep note of what to try next go round.
What a task organizing materials on the book self,(of which I just bought four floor to ceiling units) my magical black box of pdf's,lists of websites, and don't forget those pinterest boards! http://pinterest.com/mahinajewel/boards/ I think I may have spent the last 18 months going through teachers resource's curriculum catalogs and online providers. Shopping things out on ebay and rainbow resource center. Mom blogs, contest and numerous facebook chats.I have found some real treasures. https://www.facebook.com/hiphomeschoolmoms
I would love to hear more about how you choose. Do you cycle through the same themes with varied ages? How far out do you plan and how often does that change?
Ready to get back in a planned routine as we have been on an un schooling path for about a year, allowing the children to choose studies and me secretly persuading ideas by planting books and materials. I have done my best to keep the wheels spinning while I took the time to look at many options and evaluate the best paths for my sons and adjust to baby 3! I must admit that left to their own they do tend to go stray. The kids do best with a captain at the wheel I have had to slowly reassert myself as such. ...20 days in counting to our official start date!
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