Laid Back Homeschooling

"Every homeschool is unique!" I've said this many, many times in the past, but this year I'm reminded that our homeschool is more unique than most. We are very, very laid back in our homeschooling. I would say we are closer to unschooling than traditional school. Although I can't quite bring myself to let go of choosing curriculum & having a plan for the year. 

I think if Hubby had a regular job with a consistent schedule then our homeschooling would have a consistent schedule. Instead Hubby travels a lot & had different work schedule every week. I could stick to a consistent schedule & fit family time in around it but that kind of defeats the whole purpose of homeschooling for us. So, this means our school schedule has to be very flexible. 

Due to our flexible schedule, we decided to mix & match our curriculum rather than pick an all in one. We use a lot of Critical Thinking Company books for our language arts. We are using Analytical Grammar & Saxon phonics also. For math we use Math-U-See. For science we are using God's Design for Science which I love & for history we use The Mystery of History. For Bible, we use a devotional called "Sword Fighting". We have a weekly verse to memorize & scripture passages each day that build on that verse. We also do Word of Life Quiet Times.

For reading, we read lots of library books as well as our own collection of books. I try to have 1 or 2 books that we are reading aloud as a family. If kids can read, they can learn anything! I want to teach my kids how to research. If they can do research, then they can find out anything they need to know. 

I also try to incorporate basic living skills into our school. We learn how to cook, do laundry, clean house, plant a garden, use a computer & other skills that are useful in every day life. We try to give the kids lots of time with their grandparents so they can learn from them. I truly believe kids learn more from being around adults, as well as younger & older kids, than just being with kids their own age.

Since hubby travels a lot, we try to go with him when we are able. We've been able to see places we would never see. We've been to the ocean, Washington D.C. & other places. I try to do unit studies about the places we visit & we make notebooks that are great reminders of where we've been. 

Today we had a fairly normal type school day. We sat at the table & did our language arts, math & writing. Last week we did more reading & less of everything else. Next week will probably be heavily normal schoolwork but following week will be very laid back. So you never know what our day will look like.

What does your day look like? Is it consistent from day to day or is it constantly changing like our day?? I'd love to hear about it!