If you’ve read my About Lacy page, you probably know I’m homeschooled. 
I have always been homeschooled, and never attended a public or private school in my life.
We have went through a lot of different curriculums whilst homeschooling, the first being Abeka and the last used being Christian Light Education with a mixture of Rod and Staff. We’ve also done Paces and Switched-On-Schoolhouse (SOS). SOS was a computer based one.
According to grade level, I am in the 9th grade. I know the basics of math (subtraction, division, addition, multiplication, fractions, etc) English, Reading, Writing, and a bit of Science. I also have computer knowledge, and I know how to operate ‘The GIMP’ which is a image program.
In the schoolbooks, you basically kept repeating and doing over most of the same things you learned last year. Every morning we’d be hoping.. “Maybe Mom will forget about school for today!” As you can well imagine, that didn’t happen. 
The books called it “Review” I believe, but you did the review year after year of some of the stuff you learned years ago. How often do you diagram a sentence a day? Other than in school, how often do you use Algebra?
But now, our ’school’ will be different. Mom had finally found something that will work for us, and it’s called Unschooling (which you may have heard me reference to in my posts). Which is basically unstructured, freeform, daily experience, interest based learning. There will be no more waking up in the morning, dreading the upcoming ’school hours’, or begging Mom to let us have the day ‘off’. We will learn from our daily life experiences. Math, from playing Monopoly to counting money for allowance (or babysitting jobs!), and, well, just about everything can be put into a category.. LOL.
Or if there is some specific subject we’re curious about, we’ll look it up, and actually learn from it because we wanted to learn it! Somehow Levi and I have just never really learned anything from school books. If we need to learn something to complete a project or just to do something in life, we will learn it in our own way, and probably remember it a lot better than learning it from books.
So, I guess my highest ‘grade’ education will stop at 9th grade!!! That doesn’t bother me though, as I never could figure out that when you told someone you were in 9th grade or so, they automatically figured you had learned this, this, and this. Or, it was haven’t you ever done this yet? No? And you’re in 9th grade!? Or, “You’re in 9th grade? Neat, you only have a few more years of school left!”
Now people will ask what we do, since we don’t use textbooks or workbooks anymore. What do I do? Every day is full of different things and surprises. Mainly I am being trained by my mother on how to take care of the house, being a keeper at home, obedient, sewing, cooking, cleaning. I can learn these by watching her, helping her, and asking her. When I’m not inside helping, I can be outside managing the barnyard, making sure all the animals have food and water, letting some animals out, playing with my new roosters, taking the dog out for a walk. And if I’m not doing that, I can be riding my bike with my brother, reading books, or practicing my psaltery! The days are too different to be able to say what we do every day!
Shouldn’t I be more worried about studying the Word of God and hiding it in my heart, then trying to remember the formulas of algebra, nouns, adverbs, verbs, diagrams, and history dates?
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.
1 Corinthians 3:19
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Proverbs 3:6
Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
Proverbs 3:7
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You sound like a very well-educated person without all that extra junk that folks *think* you need to know.
My parents and I decided to homeschool the last two years of highschool. I loved it! After three years of private school and the remainder in public, I was finally able to learn at my own pace.
~Anna
BTW, you have a very nifty banner graphic. Did you create that yourself?
Abeka is really great for reading. In my opinion, it’s one of the best that I’ve seen used in any situation. It’s what I was taught on. When I moved to a public school I was years ahead of my peers. My siblings also didn’t learn as fast as I did, though they are just as bright.
I love diagramming sentences! Of course, that’s because it comes in handing for foreign languages. They don’t teach it anymore, which is sad. My sisters don’t know how to do it. Diagramming was beyond helpful to me with Greek and now with Latin. The second book of Peter’s grammar is pretty atrocious and being able to diagram helped me slowly (and painfully) get through the book.
You will be surprised how much Algebra you’re going to need (and learn) in cooking! The estimations and subtractions and exchanges your mother will teach you when you are working with recipes will revolve around “algebra.” Of course, we call it common sense. I should mention I’m bad at algebra and I’m bad at baking in a metric kitchen.
That’s great that you’ve found a way to learn that your family is excited about. I love formal education, but Christ has called me to teach academics. I’m rarely happier than when I’m writing an essay or researching some random medieval theologian. You have a different goal and your education is going to focus on that splendidly.
I really believe that education isn’t just in books, education is simply the wisdom and knowledge you need to live your life most gloriously for Christ. For some it can be in text, for some it can be in molecules, and for some it can be in learning a straight stitch
Anna ~ I love learning at my own pace! It’s so much easier. My ‘lesson time’ used to be after breakfast until whenever I got done the work for that day, which was usually around 12 PM.
And yes, I did create my banner, in the GIMP. I actually cropped myself out of a picture that was taken of me and Levi, so I could put myself on the side.
Amber ~ Thank you for commenting.
Mom uses fractions and stuff in cooking, but not algebra. 
She tried doing algebra with me and I just completely failed. I could not grasp the formulas whatsoever, it was terrible!!
And I know education isn’t just in books!!
I have heard of unschooling before. Good luck with it
I think it will help you and your brother learn better as now the things you do will be hands on, know what mean?
I took Algebra once in high school but dropped out after 2 weeks because I was failing. Have I needed it since then? Nope!
That goes for most of the subjects I was taught. I really don’t use biology, earth & space science, world history, geography, in my everyday life, but it was neat to learn it all. Too bad I don’t remember any of it now…lol.
This is going to be an exciting time for you and your brother.
I have heard of well, how to put it lightly, ’secular’, or non Christian families you could say, Unschooling and the children sit in front of the video game box all day while mom and dad are working.
Life is a learning process all it’s own.
God Bless!
I switched from Abeka to Christian Light this year for my son’s second grade language arts. Abeka was just too intense so I understand not wanting textbooks anymore. We’re going to use historical fiction and other literature for history and as many other subjects as we can. Real books are so much better than textbooks. I hope you enjoy reading. I’m glad you’ve come to understand that learning and education isn’t just about textbooks, although they have their place too.
Dawn ~ Yes, I know exactly what you mean by hands on. I learn a lot of things around the house by doing it, and I sure remember it a lot better.
Not like we would want to anyway, when there’s lots of other interesting things we could be doing!!
We don’t have a video game console in the house, so sitting in front of that would be impossible.
akhomeschoolfun ~ Abeka was our first thing we did, and after a few years Mom moved us on to something else because it got too hard for us to comprehend, and we rarely completed all the work in it. Christian Light is easier, but if I had to do textbooks again, I’d pick Paces. I just liked them a lot better than anything else.
I’ve done the paces too, and I think I liked those better than the computer, but they made my hand hurt.
I guess I don’t write enough. I would like to do what you do, it sounds really cool!! Have you ever seen this smiley? :p I love doing smileys. (a) They’re so cute
Paces seemed to be a whole lot easier than anything else we did, even the computer work!
Any writing makes my hand hurt now, but that’s only because I don’t write enough either!
Have I see which smiley?? This one :p ?
Yeah that one. Where do you live? I live in Alabama. I am also getting into chickens. The chicks are so cute!!! Especially the baby lavender keets!!
My parents don’t want me to give out the information of where I live, so I can only say within the U.S.A
lacy,
I wish more young people were as discerning about not giving out personal information as you. You give just what basics are needed but not enough to get you into trouble. Just goes to show there’s more to learning than just the 3 R’s.
Good for you! I agree, training for being a homemaker — that’s the highest calling. Being a homemaker & stay at home mom is so under valued today, even in christian circles.