At Least They Still Need Me---for Now

Last week, during our first-though-unofficial week of school, my eldest two [ungrateful] children decided they no longer dug the novelty of doing most of our subjects together.  Nope, they were feeling held back and not quite as challenged nor as "in charge" of their own schedules.  They had the nerve to ask me to reconsider our newish approach and give them books to read.


Shocking!

Yeah, I have all kinds of time on my hands to research and revamp a school year.  Like tons...

Touche'

So I've been researching stuff . . . okay, just books.  And in all of my Google-searching one company was stalking me like crazy: Heritage History.  Seriously, like every out-of-print book I wanted to use this term, Heritage History has it and in many formats.  Finally, after not being able to find a partic book anywhere else--this how it always starts for me--I clicked the link and took a li'l look-see.

Whoa.

If we weren't made for one another, I don't know who else in this world could be my soulmate: completely Charlotte Mason in philosophy, old and trusty books by authors whom I adore, independence in learning my kids are totally behind, and a price tag that doesn't cause me to weep (unlike Tapestry of Grace).

If you didn't already guess, we're gonna jump the family-integrated-home-school ship and try it out.  It seems to provide the CMason kind of home school I need and want without stuffing us into different time periods (like Ambleside Online), and this I like, like, like!

To offer you just a taste of our new year: according to my [meany-weany] seed, these are the only books I'm allowed to read aloud to them this term:

• Poetry: Beowulf; Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (one-at-a-time, thrice weekly)
• History: The Story of the Middle Ages, Guerber/Miller (four days/week)
• History: Discovery of New Worlds, Synge (once/week)
• History: Children of Odin, The Life of Saint Patrick (World Landmark), The Story of Rolf and the Viking's Bow, Door to the North, and The Dragon and the Raven (one-at-a-time, daily)

I'll post the rest of the plans next week, once I get my grubby paws more on Heritage History: British Middle Ages and my butt in a seat for several consecutive minutes.

I'm actually feeling really good about this, since it will give them greater independence over and responsibility for their educations and me even more time on my hands.  Like mega-tons.