Where are we going?

So much for Thursday! :D We had family over for Easter and, well, things got busy.

I've decided to take this week as a brake. I feel behind on everything. I haven't posted a weekly report in ages and Green Hour #5 needs to be written about. Most of all I need to decided what I want for my children in an education.
Before Mariah, Laura, James, David and Douglas joined the family I had no trouble with our cycles. Before I began nature study I had no doubt about what to do in science. Before I began teaching with more curricula I knew just what I wanted to do. Now, I'm at a loss.

Here are the ideas that have benn tearing through my brain recently:

History

My options, as far as I can see are:

1. Continue what I'm doing, teaching Canadian history and SOTW 3. Next year teach SOTW 1 and SOTW 4 so that we can stick to the cycles. OR continue with SOTW 3 and Canadian history. In the summer do a highly condensed version of SOTW 4 and start SOTW 1 in the fall. OR continue SOTW 3 and Canadian history and next year do only SOTW 4.
I don't like any of these ideas. I'm finding getting everything organized for two history lessons tiring and I find it splits up our family into the adopted kids and the non adopted kids which I'm trying to get away from.
If I continue with two cycles now I don't want to do that next year. That would mean doing either SOTW 4 which I don't want to do because we had a catastrophe with it this year or doing SOTW 1 which would mean that Mariah, David and Laura would have skipped a year.

2. Drop SOTW 3 and do only Canadian history. Start SOTW 1 next year.
I don't like this idea either. We've been enjoying our study of Canada but I'm very worried about April and May. I'm planning on covering the first European explorers to Canada to the present day in two months. There is no way we can get a rich, fun and informative study in such a short amount of time. I could spread it out into June but Chelsea is so eager to study government and I don't know where we'd fit that in.

3. Drop Canadian history and do only SOTW 3 but read Canadian books. Next year do SOTW 4 or do SOTW 4 in the summer and SOTW 1 next year.
I like the idea of dropping Canadian history. We have Canadian history books coming out our ears which we could ready without the formality of it being school work. All the kids would be studying the same period which would mean less stress on me and more of a family feeling for the kids. The only trouble is tha Chelsea did SOTW 3 last year and she might find it boring. I asked her and she said it was one of her favourite times in history and she wants to do it again but still wants to read all those great Canada books.
Then there's next year. I really don't want to do SOTW 4, I'll have an 8th grader, 6th, grader, 5th grader, 3rd, grader, two 1st graders, a 4yo who really wants to be a big kid and a toddler who is desperate for his mothers attention. I'm sure the 8th, 6th and 5th graders could cope but I sense chaos, tears and the words "I hate history." with the younger ones.
So, that means doing modern history over the summer and starting SOTW 1 in the fall. I'm compiling a list of "must read" modern history books which I'll post soon. This seems to be the best decision.

I just realised we could drop Canadian history now and do it next year but I'm eager to get back to our history cycles. The winter will be an excellent time to watch the Canada a People's History DVDs and sit by the fire and learn about our history. I've got veracious readers who amaze me with what they have learnt through books everyday. If supplied with the right resources they will be able to discover their history and that of Canada.

Science

Never, right from the start of homeschooling, have I thought that RS4K wasn't an excellent curriculum, the perfect one for us. I've been so content with them and recommended them to everyone. Now, they've been moved off our curriculum shelf.
They aren't he perfect curriculum, they aren't the one for us. I've discovered the beauty of nature study and child led science.
Since we began our nature study science has been the most popular subject at Morning Glory Academy. Our nature journals our stuffed and it seems someone needs a new one daily. My kids our outside in all weather, observing all things and have decided that they'd rather study birds than flowers. They're noses are always in some science book, whether its on marine biology or engineering, inventors or pansies. Chelsea has been writing reports of her own free will on every interesting scientific fact she learns about and Laura has been doing narrations on ever science book in the house.
More than anything else science is driving our homeschool.
But will it stay like this?
I'm not sure but I do now that I just can't teach from a science curriculum. I feel as though I've looked through everything and it all has something "wrong". The curricula I previously thought were for unschoolers only now seem to structured.
What am I going to do? Where is this going? I've been asking this question about science, Bible, spelling, grammar, writing, memory work, copy work, handwriting, literature and logic. The only things I feel in control over are math and history, which I'm not totally in control of.

Coming tomorrow, "Where are we going? 2"