Shannon is hosting a backwards edition of what-works-for-me Wednesday, where you can ask for advice/ or suggestions instead of giving them. Yeah! I need some advice.
David and I are really praying and considering homeschooling our boys, K4 and grades 2 and 6 —beginning this fall.
Can anybody recommend a curriculum, either as a whole or as a subject, that you are crazy about that doesn’t make you crazy?
Secondly, if you could give one tip for “survival” what would that be?
Comments
I try to incorporate a lot of fun things into our schooling and will be blogging about them on my new blog that is dedicated to homeschooling. So, if you want some ideas of how to keep it fun, you might visit my homeschooling blog from time to time between now and then. There isn't much on there yet but I'll be adding to it daily.
Anyways, we are currently flying by the seat of our pants and expect to continue doing so in these first months, and I appreciate the comment above about transitioning or 'de-schooling'.
The decision, now that it has become a reality, is a HUGE relief. I fully expect that my son in kindergarten will finish up the year and that will be it for school for him. I'm not sure that 3 year old will set foot in school...
Involve the kids in curriculum choices. Show them options (once you know). My personal faves are Math U See, School of Tomorrow English and Word Building, Considering God's Creation, Galloping the Globe, How Great Thou Art, but I'm open to changing those in the future. I hope this helps. God bless you as you make this huge decision.
Spelling Power is a great tool also for 3rd grade and up. My advice would be to simply be relaxed and know that your biggest curriculum is life...the things you teach your children about loving the Father throughout everyday life.
I did NOT pay what it costs if you go to their website. Most of the expense is from books that you can find used, for free at PaperBack Swap, or at the library. I had to spend a great deal of time working on gathering my items, but I saved hundreds (repeat: HUNDREDS) of dollars.
I have not checked it out yet (will be doing that in the coming months), but have had this site recommended to me, to help save even more in the coming years: www.amblesideonline.org
We basically do the reading for Sonlight. we don't use their questions - I just sit with my kids and we all talk about what we read. If there's a question I can't answer, I have my laptop right there (like the day our book kept talking about when llamas hum ... and we were like, "What?" ... and a quick YouTube search showed us some humming llamas!).
I use Handwriting Without Tears, just about ten minutes a day. It is VERY inexpensive and is just a simple and fun way to reinforce handwriting.
I use a different math program than Sonlight suggests. We use LifePacs, and are about to use Teaching Textbooks when the kids hit 5th grade.
I will warn you: you can go to a store that supplies curriculum, or a homeschool fair, and see just about everything that is available to you. However, it's like going into a shoe store on 75% off day. You may end up buying way too much that you really don't need, just because it looks so appealing. It is fun to check everything out, but we (homeschoolers) love reading and we love education, and we DROOL over anything in the form of a book! So, prepare yourself to stand strong! ha!
You will have the most difficult time doing what everyone else has suggested, and just relaxing and deschooling. It's weird to think that it would be tough, but you'll occasionally question how well you are doing as their teacher, and be tempted to start checking off lists and filling in blanks and giving yourself some black-and-white "guide" to their education.
When you fall into that rut, you tend to miss the fact that learning never stops, and when you are with your kids all day, you are reinforcing everything - all the time - just through life. Take a deep breath, be confident that you are doing great, and go cuddle on the couch with your kids and a great book!
Both boys use Rod & Staff. I like it because the reader is bible stories. It is wonderful.
We use math-u-see for math; Considering God's creation for science; The story of the world for history.
There are lots of curriculum out there that have unit studies so that you don't have to buy different stuff.
I also like Abeka and my friend enjoys Alpha Omaga life pac series.
You can find them used on the internet or Christian book has some good prices.
Rainbow Resources also has a big catalog or on the internet as well that you can find lots of good stuff.
I know this is long, but I hope it's useful.
Many Blessings
That said, I have 2nd grade, 1st grade, Kindergarten and PreK. I love Montessori for the littles. We use The Story of the World for Social studies. My spellers come from another publisher, our math is Miquon Math (Saxon just didn't work for us). Mix it up and use what works. YOU are the principal, you don't have to limit yourself to one publisher if you don't want to!
I love unit studies, too, BTW., so I use Story of the World as an outline for a sequence of unit studies.
We're on year #3 and curriculum choice #3. We've done a mix of private school/basic curriculum, then A Beka DVD, and now traditional A Beka. I love the fact that the A Beka stuff is a complete curriculum as I have no real interest in researching all the different curriculums in different subjects. Some of my friends *live* for that; I just don't and I've stopped beating myself up over it. The A Beka stuff is very structured, fast-paced, and works perfectly for my daughters and I right now. We do add in a lot of outside activities, field trips, and other fun stuff to break up the strict academics of A Beka.
Th important thing is that I'm enjoying it, my daughters are enjoying it, and they're learning so much more than they would in a traditional school setting.
I like Konos for the younger kids. It is also easy to adjust for different grade levels and you can do a lot together.
My son loved Math-U-See. My daughter likes Right Start math.
Have fun!
Read Cathy Duffy's "100 Top Homeschool Curriculum Picks" first. GREAT information.
Good luck!!!!!!
Oh, and if possible, examine in-person (not on-line) any curriculum before you buy.
This year, I decided to do the "cop-out" schooling too: Abeka DVD, since we have a new baby, etc. etc. etc. My kids HATE IT, and we will not continue with it. Many people LOVE it, as you can see. We will most likely revert to a curriculum you can look over at www.k12.com
This is a VERY rich curriculum, strong in science, language arts and CLASSIC literature, and History, especially. It is designed to foster a love for LEARNING in kids. We have used it in the past, and will be returning to it next year. Please note, this is not a Christian curriculum, but it is not anti-Christian either. Our take on that is that it is our job as parents anyway to instill biblical training. You can quickly become overwhelmed to the point of craziness when it comes to curriculum shopping. And I was shocked to find out what a "second language" there is to homeschoolers. They have all this lingo and info, and stuff! Try to just follow the path that best fits your own family, and RELAX!
Enough bloviating from me now. Happy New Year!
I am printing all of your responses and reading and re-reading each one...and then giving them to my husband--who would prefer a literature based program. However, what will work for my oldest son, I don't think would appeal as much to my middle son.
I wish I had asked how many of you have sons and how different your approach is for homeschooling boys.
I am terrified to go to curriculum convention. I am so scared right now that I think that would send me over the edge! :-)
I am not sure how many of you will come back here so I'll be trying to visit each of your blogs to say thank-you for your advice.
One more thing, as I just remembered something. Especially with your comment on preferring something literature based. You should pick up a book called, "The Well Trained Mind" by Susan Wise Bauer. This is the classical approach to education...so rich...and very literature based. Sounds like something you all would do marvelously with.
Blessings!
Just thought I would add my 2 cents worth....we have been doing the K12 cirriculum that Tara referred to for 5 years. We love it and in our state, it is the curriculum for our state's on-line charter school, so all of the materials are provided (even ISP reinbursement). It is a very rich study and the history is amazing. You may want to check with your state to see if it is a charter school in Georgia. We are subjected to state testing, but I rather like that. I was a First Grade teacher and really like the accountablity that comes with being in the charter school (attendance, progress ect.)In addition, I really did not trust myself in picking and choosing curriculum for fear there would be holes in their learning, but I know many people love to do that and it seems to work when you have children with different needs.
We now have 3 in school...K, 2nd and 4th. Life is full but good..."sweet chaos"!
Best wishes for your journey!
When we homeschooled we used MathUSee for all 4 of our kids math. It is a great program and I have only good things to say about it. For our two older kids we used Switched on Schoolhouse for all the other subjects and they really liked it. Good Luck!
We just started this year and do Sonlight now that I'm the mommy. www.sonlight.com It truly is the way I wish I'd been taught (per their motto). Sonlight wasn't around when I was growing up. From what I hear, the preschool and Kindergarten years are not quite the same as future years, but as I look ahead at the wonderful rich "living" books, I can't wait to read them to and with the children! www.amblesideonline.com has a free program that tells you which books to get. It reminds me a little of Sonlight too. They both have a lot of Charlotte Mason style learning.