Revisiting The Plan

When I first posted about The Plan I noted that catalog-browsing and curriculum-perusing can be a pleasant little hobby, but I don't have to actually follow up on all that browsing with whopping purchases of stuff I won't use. The Plan included ...

Sorting through our books:

Check.

Giving away or selling what we don't need:

Check.
(Stop looking at me like that. Just because I haven't given away or sold anything doesn't mean I failed in My Plan. It just means that we needed everything. Or, that we might need it. Maybe. One of these days.)

Reorganizing the books:

Check. This has been the most fun (funnest? Mostest funnest? Mostus Funnus?) part of it. My books are lovingly, obsessively grouped by type (or as close to type as a rebel who doesn't like "subjects" can get.) I have two new bookshelves in the dining room that hold some of the most frequently used stuff, as well as some things just for Ramona (more on that later.)

Using only materials we already own:

Check.

Ummm, well, sort of "check." "Check" with a caveat.

In July, when I updated you on how The Plan was going I was happy to say that I had not yet purchased anything new.

I can no longer say that. (Stop looking at me like that. I may have broken down and bought some stuff but I was incredibly frugal. Really.)

I am still able to say that we don't need to buy anything for the following areas because we own enough curriculum to cover them: Language Arts, Math, Science, Health.

(Huzzahs, and other celebratory sounds inserted here. Chocolate may be added.)

I did buy some books for Faith studies and History (please don't scoff at the quantitative "some"):


*Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry
*The Borrowed House, by Hilda van Stockum
*Edith Stein (Encounter the Saints series)
*Maximilian Kolbe (Encounter the Saints)
*Young Life of John Paul II, by Claire Jordan Mohan
*Vision Books on saints:
Our Lady of Fatima
St. Dominic
St. Francis and St. Clare
St. Joan of Arc
St. Elizabeth of Hungary
St. Thomas Aquinas
*King Arthur, Tales of the Round Table, by Andrew Lang
*Big John's Secret, by Eleanor M. Jewett
*Twelve Bright Trumpets, by Margaret Leighton
*The Holy Twins, by Tomie de Paola
Stories of the Saints, Volume II by Elaine Woodfield
Catechism of Church History, by Fr. Robert Fox
Catechism Catcher Kit (like a "cootie catcher" but with Catechism facts), from Emmanual Books
A Catholic How-to-Draw, by Andrea Helen Smith

As you can see, there's a lot of overlap between "History" and "Faith Studies." (It's that "you-can't-separate-life-into-subjects" thing again.) I plan to tie the biographies of saints into our history reading, and all of it will tie very nicely into the Geography club we plan to do with my pal Linda (of American Girl Club fame.)

Oh ... and, I guess I should confess that as long as I was ordering a couple of things from Dover Publications, I picked up a few more extremely frugal books from their Evergreen classics line.

Final report on the plan?

Mission accomplished.

I didn't buy unnecessary stuff (well ... okay, no one really needs a Catechism Cootie Catcher, but it's such a fun idea ....) So, maybe the mission wasn't fully accomplished, but I have a streamlined dining room, organized books, lots of good literature for us to read and share, I have our faith studies prioritized at the top of the list.

It's close enough to "accomplished" for me.

More huzzahs, more celebratory sounds, and -- of course -- bring on the chocolate. Go ahead. Make it Godiva. It's not necessary, but it's such a fun idea.

Tags: homeschooling,
curriculum, home education,
planning