We've Got it Figured Out (I Think) for 2013

I really believe that I've got the 2013 homeschool method figured out--at least it looks that way, sitting here at the end of 2012.

We're going to do a very relaxed form of homeschooling that borders on the edge of unschooling, with strong tendencies toward the Charlotte Mason method and classical.  Partly cloudy in the east.

Seriously, I've tried a "preview" here in December of a slightly new way of doing things (for us), and it seems to be working like gangbusters with my highly-gifted, quirky, brilliant, and somewhat behaviorally-challenged child.

(Note: Georgie's birthday is at the very end of December, so I like to start our school year the first of January to fit her age. With that said, we're not doing "grades," since she's all over the map.)

But here's a summary of what we're going to do:

• Read lots of books. Lots. Fun library books on every subject, poetry, and chapter books of every kind. This year, in 2012, she's listened to nearly 30 chapter books (we just read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass in 2 days). Every morning, or the night before, I select the books we will read that day. If she wants any extras, I usually read them too.
• Do one copy-word every morning. I write down a word for her to copy, and she does. That teaches her handwriting, phonics, and spelling at once.  As the year progresses, we can move up to sentences.
• Follow Life of Fred for Math.
• Keep going with The Story of the World for History.
• The human body and plants for Biology, then go on to Earth Science later in the year.
• Write down her thoughts on stories, but without her knowing it. She doesn't like to perform for the notebook.
• No tests.
• No desks.
• Lots of field trips and great teaching moments with real people. 
• Lots of playtime. She is a natural inventor, and she often creates games based on our history or science lessons. 

Through her narrations and games, I have no doubt that Georgie is absorbing everything I read to her, and retaining it with an awesome memory.

The main challenge is reading her all those books (which she ravenously demands I constantly do) while my two-year-old bangs me over the head wanting attention! But that's another issue for another day.