Homeschoolers, is 'The Well-Trained Mind' book the best homeschool curriculum?

Parenting and Education (Other) Homeschooling
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Is there a reason why when I click into the first grade one it’s all in Spanish? I’d love the English link for this book.
Thanks!

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This is a direct link to the PDF: http://www.coreknowledge.org/mimik/mimik_uploads/documents/480/CKFSequence_Rev.pdf

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Thank you!

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I acknowledge that there is no best program - it very much relies upon both on your kid and on you. I think that publication is a bestseller to buy and study, but there are limitless other options each with their own advantages and disadvantages.

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Thanks wardjacke. That I have discovered: there is no best program.

In addition to the classical education model, I am currently reading the Charlotte Mason series, first the modern English paraphrases of all her 6 volumes, followed by her original writings. Both are FREE on http://www.amblesideonline.org. (Huge thanks to sonya_post for suggesting Charlotte Mason and the Ambleside website).

I have found Charlotte Mason’s writings very insightful and have already applied a lot of her recommendations in teaching the child.

Any other suggestions or ideas?

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nee1,

If you spend much time thinking through Classical Education, you will find that Charlotte Mason is classical. While I home schooled my oldest, now 16, using the classical model, I do truly wish we’d spent a lot less time in class. We were hung up on math and it consumed a large portion of our day and was the source of much friction - thank you Khan Academy for resolving that for us. For me, this second time around, a huge incentive for pursuing early education is so that some of the tediousness of elementary education can be gotten out of the way with very little frustration. My toddler loves to learn. We will be well past learning letters and basic arithmetic by kindergarten - it frees up so much time later on for what I believe to be the heart of a good education - the pursuit of the good, the true and beautiful.

Charlotte’s focus on narration is very much in line with teaching the progymnasmata http://grammar.about.com/od/qaaboutrhetoric/f/fqprogymnasmata.htm, and the focus on imitation as the way to learning good writing. Her focus on living, real books truly frees you from being curriculum dependent - which is one of the hallmarks of classical education. There are great helps out there but they aren’t necessary. We use a curriculum for math and science and the Omnibus series for Literature/History/Religion primarily as a guide. In our house, we read lots of books.

I would recommend the following to you as you make your way through the mess of modern education -

Dorothy Sayers - The Lost Tools Of Learning http://www.gbt.org/text/sayers.html
Norms and Nobility by David Hicks who acknowledges his debt to Charlotte Mason
Tending the Heart of Virtue - How Classic Stories Awaken a Child’s Moral Imagination by Vigen Guroian - It is my firm belief that fairy tales are one of the most humanizing activities you can do for yourself and your children (translate - character development). You can listen to a lecture he gave here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/60668524/guroian051598.mp3
Leisure: The Basis of Culture by Josef Pieper - a great treatise on why we work/educate - it helps define the end goal
Poetic Knowledge by James Taylor
Six Great Ideas by Mortimer Adler

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Hi nee1, we are also in the UK, just started thinking of homeschooling our little ones (3 and 1). We are considering Ambleside Online as our friends are recommending it. It is said to be a good Christian homeschooling curriculum and also free of charge.

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Hi sonya_post and luke6v38,

Thank you so much for your responses. I am very grateful.

@sonya_post:
1). Based on your recommendations, I have ordered the following books: Tending the Heart of Virtue; Leisure: the Basis of Culture; and Six Great Ideas. I will get the other 2 books soonest. (I had already read Sayers’ Lost Tools of Learning). Thank you so much for the recommendations. Any other excellent recommendations?

@luke6v38:

  1. Yes, the Ambleside curriculum is really good. But I strongly recommend you read Mason’s six volumes. You will learn a lot. Further, I have discovered that if one understands the underlying theory/principles behind a curriculum or product, one will be able to make more effective use of the curriculum or product.

  2. Mason’s six volumes are FREE on the Ambleside website. If you struggle with her Victorian English, you may start with the Modern English Paraphrase of her writings at http://amblesideonline.org/CMM/ModernEnglish.html. From there, move on to her original writings at http://amblesideonline.org/CM/toc.html. If you do not want read this on the computer screen, you may print them out or buy them used from Amazon, etc.

Once again, thank you so much sonya_post and luke6v38 for your responses. I await further excellent recommendations and insights. Thank you.