Curriculum I'm Excited to Start | Secular Collab

[@rootsandwings8012]

We are doing doing a combo of Oh Freedom and BYL 5. I did Oh Freedom a couple years ago with my older kids and it was wonderful.

[@michellegf]

Great! It’s awesome to hear feedback from someone who has used the curriculum

[@WildRootsLearning]

Oh man ! You can intro Philosophy with some clips from the Good Place. Lol. The tv show.

[@numbersandstars]

Oh my goodness!!! I LOVE OH Freedom! I already did for years but I am getting a much better look with your video. One enough reason for me to prefer Oh Freedom and not River of Voices is STRUCTURE. Look how amazingly neat and organized a week looks! It isn't overwhelming in anyway but so neat! I love it so much. We are just not ready as we are only going to do Middle Ages next but I can't wait and I feel like buying it since now :D We will buy the Christian version. Thank you so so much for sharing!

[@michellegf]

I thought I was the only one that geeked out over well structured and laid out material! It was definitely a selling point for me 😄 simple layout, quality resources and deep conversation.

[@МиссВи-к3у]

I am so glad I've found your channel because I feel that your homeschooling philosophy resembles mine so much)))

[@michellegf]

I’m glad your finding my channel and content relatable 😃

[@leebug8568]

This was a good review, thank you! I've been looking at Oh Freedom and River of Voices, and I completely agree on what you said about the text heaviness and craft projects. While I like Charlotte Mason style, most curriculum following this method lacks diversity. The only Black History I had in school was during Black History month that was it. Being told that the people that look like you were only slaves really hurts as a kid.I don't want that for my family.

[@michellegf]

Thats definitely one of the issues I have run into when looking at any homeschooling curriculum that takes a more classical approach. It tends to lack diversity and inclusivity.

[@lillahigdon771]

😊

[@Homeschoolology]

We tried Oh Freedom a few years back. We really loved the story books but couldn't get into the spine books. I think my kiddos where just a little to young for it. But I'm keeping it on my shelf for now and we may revisit it later. I'll be watching to see how you guys end up using it and liking it. Thanks for sharing.

[@michellegf]

Thanks for sharing your experience with it. I will definitely update as we go thru it.

[@TheLearningLadder]

We have been using Philosophy for kids this year and are really enjoying it.

[@michellegf]

Thanks for sharing your experience with it! I look forward to starting it in a couple months.

[@goingtheextramile0]

OMG, I was just thinking about philosophy as a subject for my kids going into 1st and 4th.

[@michellegf]

I’m excited to start it!

[@schultesweeties]

This is so helpful to see Oh Freedom. I’ve been interested in it!

[@michellegf]

I’m glad you found it helpful!

[@WhimsicalFamilyLife]

Oh Freedom sounds amazing! Oh my, there are so many wonderful things to study! Is this curriculum secular?

[@michellegf]

Yes it is secular.

[@diannaannette6956]

I wish there was a Canadian version. Definitely a great way to learn history

[@michellegf]

I love the layout of it and the resources used! I imagine it can be quite difficult to find Canadian history curriculum options.

[@livingworthyco]

I’m really loving this flip through! Seriously appreciate you walking us through this. I’m planning on getting the K-2 version instead of doing Core Knowledge history…do you think doing both together would be too much?

[@michellegf]

I’m glad you found the video helpful! I don’t think doing both would be too much. The K-2nd is primarily picture books with an optional activity. I like to use both as I believe bringing in multiple perspectives in history is beneficial.

[@JustAnotherViewer10]

Thank you for the preview, and it seems in your later videos that you're still really liking this curriculum. I know you scrutinize the authors of curricula (as well you should!), but I don't see anything in Delina Pryce McPhaull's credentials that would lead me to "trust" her for a history curriculum. I see that she has a BA in journalism, but that doesn't feel like enough for me. What led you to feel that she was enough of an expert to decide to purchase this curriculum? Is it because she just relies on other authors' books to really do the heavy lifting? I'm not questioning your judgment, I'm just hoping to get some clarity about how you weighed this info and made this decision. Thank you!

[@michellegf]

Great question! Yes she doesn’t have the credentials that I normally would look for. I chose this for 3 main reasons. First, the books suggested for the curriculum are very high quality and resources that I feel very comfortable using. Nothing in the curriculum is really coming straight front the author, outside the book suggestions and discussion questions. Both of which I have found no issues with as far as bias or agendas. Second, there isn’t a U.S. history curriculum aimed at homeschoolers that take the minority perspective fully into account. She specifically pulls resources from the groups being discussed. I think when you look at history and even the history of education in general these perspectives are often left out of the narrative. Honestly I don’t think there is much drive within the homeschooling community to teach about real history let alone history told exclusively from the minority perspective. Third reason is we will be doing another year of U.S. History next year. Next year we will be using Core Knowledge which has the credentials behind it but the minority perspective is just a back drop in that curriculum and is not the focus. I wanted my kids first run through of U.S. History to be from the minority perspective to further facilitate ongoing discussion later on.

[@erinharrison6968]

I am currently reading Rethinking Columbus and I would recommend it for any parent homeschooling or otherwise. Highly recommended

[@michellegf]

Thanks for sharing your experience with it! I’m excited to learn right along with my kids.

[@WednesdayMorgendorffer]

Thanks for sharing!

[@MrsPerdueArt]

Wow, Oh Freedom looks wonderful!! I always thought they were not secular, so I’m so excited to look into it more!! And Philosophy for Kids looks awesome!! I’m excited for you guys to use these resources!! ❤ Question for you- are you planning to continue with Curiosity Chronicles/Torchlight during or afterwards? We were right behind you- were in CC medieval history, so I appreciate hearing how your doing American history! Thanks!!

[@michellegf]

Yes I plan to continue with Torchlight and Curiosity Chronicles after we finish U.S. History. I love both programs and I’m a little sad we won’t be using Torchlight next year. I just read that Curiosity Chronicles is releasing Modern History on April 7th so I’m excited to get back to it in a couple years. Here is my general outline for history 5th grade- Oh Freedom U.S History 6th-Core Knowledge U.S. History 7th-Curiosity Chronicles Modern 8th-Core Knowledge World History

[@fancyflamingo123]

Oh Freedom has a secular version!

[@TheMommaLibrarian]

It was nice to see inside Oh Freedom. It’s been on my “interested” list for awhile.

[@BaileyAcademy]

Philosophy for kids looks awesome

[@michellegf]

Im excited to try it out!

[@TheMommaLibrarian]

The book Big Ideas for Curious Minds might pair well with the Philosophy for Kids.

[@michellegf]

Thanks for the suggestion! I will have to check it out 😄

[@cccccccccccc242]

When following the lesson plan for the day, do you read both parts (the discover & storytelling)? Thank you btw for this flip through and review! Very helpful!!

[@michellegf]

Yes I do both parts. Discover is your spine books. They’re more focused on information, facts, non fiction material. Storytelling is your read aloud. Usually a chapter or 2 a day depending on the book. It provides more of a narrative for the information your learning about.

[@cccccccccccc242]

@@michellegf Thank you!!

[@ShardaeRenee]

All of these make me excited! I'm interested in your review once you guys get started with them. I'm going to look into Oh Freedom. Once we're done with our study on Africa, I really don't know what I'm going to do next. I have specific things I'm looking for in a History curriculum and one of them is being from the perspective of black and brown people. Off the topic question: How long does it take you guys to homeschool? It's usually 2-3 hours for us. We take breaks because of the twins and my 3 year old but once it's all said and done 2-3 hours seems to be the norm.

[@michellegf]

I will definitely update as we go! M-Th we average about 3 hrs. Friday is probably closer to 2hrs. We start at 9:30 am break at 11 and usually finish between 1 and 2 pm.