Our school day doesn't start until 10:00 AM. We spend weeks studying "Pet Adoption" or "Bigfoot." Last week, we delayed our planned pioneer unit to remodel a bathroom together.

This isn't a compromise. It's Open Education—and it's completely intentional.

I've worked in schools. I've seen gifted teachers work their magic. But I've also seen the waste—the busy work, the shallow skimming of subjects, the "learn it for the test and forget it forever" cycle.

I wanted something different for my 9-year-old daughter, Snow. I wanted deep dives, real skills, and a parent/child relationship that survives the school year. Here is exactly how we make that happen, from our slow mornings to our personalized curriculum.

The 10:00 AM Start (Why We Don't Do "Morning Battles")

Let's get the controversial part out of the way: My daughter is not a morning person.

In a traditional system, this would be a character flaw. It would mean fights, alarms, rushing, and tears. It would mean starting every single day with conflict. This was our experience the last two years, and every day began with regret. Not anymore.

We chose peace instead.

We sleep in. We stay in our jammies for the first few hours. We start our day at 10 AM (9 if we have a fun Open Ed class at 9). Most days start with tea, snuggling, and reading for our unit study.

The Secret Weapon: Meaningful Personalized Unit Studies

I despise busy work. If we are going to learn something, we are going to go deep and it is going to be meaningful.

Instead of a generic textbook for science or history, we do Unit Studies. We are using a couple of different sources for this. My primary source is creating my own unit studies using an AI called Perplexity. I start with a topical prompt with minimal parameters, then add the particulars. We had the fun idea of studying and celebrating a ton of holidays this year, so we started with that. Then, we went to my child's current interests and topics that I felt were important for her to learn.

How it works: Snow loves animals. So, instead of just buying a biology textbook or curriculum box set, I went to Perplexity and typed:

"Create a 4-day-a-week unit study for a 4th grader who loves animals. Focus on Pet Adoption. Give me book lists, movie suggestions, vocabulary/spelling words, and hands-on activities."

This gave me a roadmap. I liked most of what it produced (dog treat recipe, field trip idea to a shelter, and a movie suggestion), so I continued on, "Give me links to a specific dog treat recipe and 4th grade math lessons to incorporate." Then, "Add some thoughtful movie and book reflection questions." The movie the AI suggested ended up being the highlight of this unit study, as it highlighted homeschooling and out-of-the-box education!

We ended up adding in an impromptu unit because during our Spanish class (Ready for Spanish: Homeschool Program), we learned about Selena Quintanilla and we watched the movie. Snow became very interested in her, so we paused other things to go deeper. We learned Cumbia dancing, cooked Hispanic food, discussed the judicial system (Selena's murderer was up for parole last year), and had a very special moment when she realized that she shared a birthday with Selena!

Embracing the flexibility to pause and go deeper has made homeschooling a truly magical experience.

In addition to the AI-powered unit studies, we use the open-and-go Campfire Curriculum. I go through the catalog with my daughter and let her choose several studies that she is interested in. They are thematic and cover literature, history, social studies, and more (bonus: science, math, and language arts are included) and last about 6 weeks. I plug those in my annual plan based on where they fit the best (gardening in the early spring, volcanology when we can take a trip to a real volcano, etc.). They are so beautifully written that we don't incorporate other reading materials during those weeks.

The power of choice is the secret ingredient that makes homeschooling a meaningful experience for my child.

The Tech Stack & The "Village"

I can't teach everything. I am terrible at science experiments (they always fail), and I don't want to be the only voice she hears all day.

This is where OpenEd changes the game. The financial support lets me say "Yes" to the things I can't do myself.

• Math: We tried Teaching Textbooks (great, cheap, and no effort for parent, but got boring) and Beast Academy (Snow hated the videos, I hated the workbooks). Now, we use Synthesis for the basics, which she enjoys because they truly harness the power of choice. We play math games (such as pet adoption), do oral quizzes in the car, and reinforce with the occasional lesson from Math-U-See and Khan Academy when there is a topic she is struggling with.
• Writing: We are using Write Shop curriculum this year. It has helped me to have a flow: learn skills through activities and games, prewriting skills, writing and editing process that is a collaborative effort, leaning into my skills as a writer without me seeming too critical.
• The "Village": Snow takes two art classes, a cooking class, and homeschool co-op classes in person as well as Open Ed cooking, art, science, and writing classes and clubs online. Learning from experts that aren't mom benefits us both.
• Standards: I keep a printout of the common core standards handy to know if there is a recommended topic I have missed, but so far, in both math and language arts, all the topics have been covered naturally. I don't use it as a guide per se, but it is a comfort to know that our eclectic model easily exceeds the expectations without even trying!

The "Master Plan" + "Life Happens" Curriculum

I map out the entire year in a spreadsheet with seasonal themes, holidays, planned trips, then plug in our chosen topics and resources to create an annual map. It helps to plan ahead and have a lot of the thinking and creative work already done when the week comes. However, sometimes, the spreadsheet goes out the window.

Next week, we were "supposed" to start a Pioneer Unit Study. But our bathroom needs an emergency remodel. So? We're pausing the pioneers.

For the next three days, Snow is going to learn how to demo, how to measure, and how to use tools. She is going to help me apply math lessons she has learned in the real world (multiplying, dividing, estimating, calculating area/perimeter, budgeting, etc.). The concepts won't be new, but the application will be memorable and give meaning to the math lessons she has been learning so far this year.

That's the beauty of this life. We don't have to fit the child to the schedule. We fit the education to the child.

(And yes, some days we do it all in our pajamas.)

Brettani's OpenEd Inventory

Planning & AI Tools

• Perplexity AI: The engine for creating custom Unit Studies (book lists, schedules, project ideas).
• Google Sheets/Calendar: The central nervous system. Used to map out the year, track OpenEd funding/classes, and visualize "blackout dates" for dance/travel.

Core Curriculum

• Math:
  • Synthesis: For mental math and math facts (Gamified, high-agency).
  • Life of Fred: Narrative-based math books.
  • Teaching Textbooks: (Used previously, loved the independence but got repetitive).
  • Rescue Me: Math game focused on teaching division.
• Language Arts:
  • Write Shop: Writing curriculum (Parent-guided).
  • Keyboarding Without Tears: Typing practice (Free resources available).
• Spanish:
  • Ready for Spanish: Homeschool-specific Spanish program (video lessons, cultural activities).

Unit Studies (Science/History/Culture)

• Campfire Curriculums: Pre-made topical unit studies (open-and-go, multi-subject, beautifully written, family style).
• Custom AI Units: Created via Perplexity (Topics: Pet Adoption, Selena/Hispanic Heritage, Veterans Day).

Enrichment & "The Village"

• OpenEd Classes: Uses funding for:
  • In-person Art/Science Classes
  • In-person Cooking Classes
  • Open Ed Classes and Clubs (free: e.g., Cake Decorating, World Travelers).
• Local Resources:
  • Children's Museum (Cooking/Clay studio).
  • Homeschool Co-op (Classes and Field trips).

Media & Inspiration

• Movies: Uses film to anchor unit studies (e.g., Rescued by Ruby, Selena, Christmas Pageant).