All inclusive, holistic curriculum?

[iloveaidan&finley]

I know this has been asked a million times, but here I go again.  We've been homeschooling for 2 years now, but I can't seem to get the curriculum thing down.  I have two children, 3 years apart (one kindy, one 2nd grader).  I've tried to cobble my own stuff together, but it isn't working out so well.  We end up doing a lesson from Singapore Math and a few pages out of Explode the Code and that's about it.  I want a strong curriculum that lays everything out, that is strong in social studies and science, has a good literature list that ties into writing exercises and grammar lessons, incorporates seasons and holidays as well as projects and crafts for what is being studied at the time.  I'd like global and cultural awareness to be a part of it as well.  We'll probably continue on with Singapore Math, it seems to be working fine so far.  

Honestly, I'm just starting to become overwhelmed now that my daughter has insisted on doing "school".  They both need my attention at the same time and I don't know how I'm going to divide my time to give each of them what they need.  Anything that can be used for multiple age children would be great as well.  

[spruce]

We've used Moving Beyond the Page for years.  I also have a K and a 2nd grader (and more!).  We still use "Get Ready, Set, Go for the Code" for the K kid, and "Explode the Code Book 4" is where my 2nd grader is at. 

Math is covered a bit in the daily work in MBtP, their science history, and literature are excellent.  We use other math to supplement.  :)   Very often multiple kids work on the same project, just at a different level depending on their abilities. :)   I'd say the 5-7 and 6-8 sound like good fits for your family. 

Good luck!

Penelope

[iloveaidan&finley]

I have been looking at that one.  What is the science portion like?  Are there experiments/hands on projects that coordinate with it?  Are there seasonal/holiday activities built in?  

[spruce]

The science is integrated into the literature and every day lessons.  I am not sure what you mean about "seasonal stuff," but yes, there are lessons that have to do with changing leaves, types of precipitation, aquatic life, etc.  My 10yo just started a unit on weather and after that he moves on to changing climate.  There are little lessons on festivals in different cultures, and how things are celebrated, foods eaten, etc. 

p

[Fillyjonk]

I wonder if one of the Intellego unit studies could be a good fit for you? http://intellegounitstudies.com/

their unit studies are great, good value for money and cross disciplinary. They are strong on science and context (history, social science), Everything is laid out for you, tbh you could do it with almost no planning at all (for science you'd need to put together the kit for the experiement, but they give you a shopping list). We;ve only just started using them but I think what we will do is do one unit study after another, so covering a range of science and history over a year. They also suggest extension activities and ways to give stuff a different slant eg history social science etc

there is one big issue with them, I think, which is that they are quite computer dependant and need constant web access. This is proving to be an issue for us but we quite strictly limit screen time anyway, if you are happy with web based learning it wouldn't be an issue at all. What we'd like to do is spend 2-3 hours just concentrating on the unit study and we can't, because that's too long for my kids on the computer, so we are having to supplement eg with chemistry kits, books. That works fine for me, just giving you the heads up.

Edited by Fillyjonk - 9/18/11 at 2:04am