So you’ve got some spare time, or it’s the hour you previously set aside for learning. You look at your list of chosen subjects, decide on one to study . . . and then what?
Up until my disastrous, nonexistent seventh grade, we used A Beka Books curriculum for everything. I really liked their textbooks and workbooks, which contributed to my current obsession with the same.
Before we get into the nitty-gritty of planning your own curriculum and teaching yourself new subjects, it’s important to figure out your motivations and make a handy list of things you’d like to learn about. Figuring out these things early on will help prevent frustration, burnout, and aimless wandering.
I was homeschooled by my dad until the end of the sixth grade. He did a decent job; I learned to read early and was average in arithmetic. But around the time I was supposed to enter seventh grade, both my parents started online businesses and were forced to devote nearly all their time to building and maintaining their future internet empires. As a starry-eyed consolation typical of the late nineties, they offered their AOL connection several times a day (plus weekly trips to the library) to continue my education on my own.
