The Need to Simplify

I am a self-proclaimed curriculum junkie. I love looking things up and researching various resources, approaches, and philosophies in education. Thankfully, I do not have the budget to allow me to purchase all of the wonderful things out there. But that does not stop me from reading up on it. Consequentially, I have made a sort of name for myself as someone to go to for questions regarding curricula. I must talk to much. I tend to do so when I am excited about something and education and homeschooling excite me.

Anyway, A few weeks ago I was asked what my bare bones curriculum selections would be. What would I use if I was homeschooling on the road, (or in a sailboat sailing around the world) or what I would like to have in an emergency type situation without any outside resources. I had not really considered this idea before and being the nerd that I am, I had to come up with an answer; it was a new challenge. I finally compiled a list and added it here. I really enjoyed the process.

I really am a want to be minimalist. I love the idea of getting rid of stuff and having an empty house. My brain would then be free from having to care for all that stuff that I only use on occasion if at all. So why do I have so much stuff? Yes all the extra is fun, but I don't need it. With education, it is that "school I want to have someday." I tell myself that "even if my children do not use it, someone will. I should keep it for then." Whatever!!! So my problem is that I am also a collector. I also love self-reliance and collect items that would be helpful in an emergency or back-to-basics type lifestyle. All this extra just-in-case just gets in the way of my purging.

But going through the process of analyzing my options, deciding what I would really need, I realized how little it was. I now feel free to let more of that stuff go. I do not need to complicate my life so much. Now I just need the time to de-clutter my junk.

So recently I have become a recovering curriculum junkie. On to recovery and the end of the eternal search for the "perfect curriculum".

Naya Nuki

I have been wanting to do some reading on survival skills in our schooling. Things like weather, map and compass, finding water, and making shelters, that sort of thing. It finally occurred to me to compile a list of "survival classics" of not just how to books, but of literature that talks about such skills.
We finished reading Naya Nuki: Shoshoni Girl Who Ran. We loved this story. Naya Nuki was a friend of Sacagawea, they were kidnapped by another tribe together. Naya Nuki was determined to escape and return home. This book tells of her kidnapping, escape, and 1000 mile journey to freedom. The kid was 11! I was so impressed with her detailed planning, her courage, and how well she relied on her instincts. Steven couldn't wait to get to the end and the other boys actually paid attention a bit. A wonderful little story.