Hello my name is Bekki I'm new here :) i have 3 kids (2 older boys and 1 lil girl) 10,8,2 the older and currently in public school until the end of this year, (20days left ,not that I'm counting) then i will start homeschooling them next fall. i have been looking at different curriculum's and i am having a hard time picking one. how do you narrow down to just just one? ive looked at abeka, lifepac, ,sonlight, saxon, horizon, sos, monarch... i am leaning towards sonlight because there literature seems more like something my older boys would enjoy. i guess any advice on how to take the plunge on a curriculum would be greatly appreciated :)
thanks
Bekki
The best way for me is figuring my child's learning style. She loves hands on stuff. That helps narrow down a lot of choices. Also, you could pull what you want from different curriculum. Next year I am doing Rod and Staff math because I already have it, but I'm doing Abeka language arts. History and science are also each from other different sources. Don't be afraid to mix and match. If you know your sons will do great with one thing get that.
For second grade,we are using horizons math, all about spelling level 2, handwriting without tears cursive, story of the world for history, r.e.a.l. Science odyssey for history.
My point is, I wasn't able to find a boxed curriculum that interested us in every subject area, so instead of buying, say, my fathers world entire 2nd grade set, we looked at subjects individually and chose what would work best for her learning style, as well as my teaching style.
My first step, after looking up my states laws on hslda.org was to find out what "method" we leaned towards. (I wish I could remember the site I figured this out from!) and I found us to lean towards the classical method, as well as the Charlotte mason method. We mainly pull from these two, but really justo with whatever works. It was just nice to have a starting point to narrow down the curriculum choices.
I'm the exact opposite of the pp, I tried piecing things together on my own, and I didn't like it. It felt like there was no "flow" to our day. Nothing tied together. I have 10 and 8 year old boys, and I am currently using Bigger Hearts for His Glory from Heart of Dakota with them. I LOVE it. I have them doing History, Science, Geography, Bible, Art, Music, Read-Alouds, Vocabulary, etc. all together. My 10 year old does the History extensions, but otherwise the only things they do seperately are Math, English, and Dictation/Spelling. It is a Charlotte Mason based curriculum and I love how there is a theme to each unit, and all the subjects (loosely) tie together. Also, it's completely open-and-go. I do absolutely NO lesson planning---a HUGE plus for me, as I also have two smaller children. I guess my advice would be to find a boxed curriculum, at least while you are getting your feet wet and are ready to venture out on your own into different sources for different subjects. And, like I said, my advice is totally opposite of the PP, so the best advice is probably to do what works best for you, because everyone is so different!! LOL
Wow! I cound't give better advice than what is already posted here. The only thing I might suggest is this....
Be ready for anything, anything at all, that could happen and go with the flow. You may find that no matter how good a curriculum may be, there are going to be days when you all will want and need to take a break from schooling. Do it. And never feel guilty for it either. I could really go on but I think I shall let other moms/teachers give out some more advice. Good Luck to You and Your Family. :)
No matter what you pick, remeber to ease into it. Don't try 8 subjects and Greek, the first week. Take a month and add to it everyday.
Oh, my personal motto: When in doubt, pick the cheapest. LOL
State Home School Association Conventions are happening now. I recommend not buying any curriculum until attending one if at all possible At these conventions, you can see free demonstrations, purchase at a discount, and attend workshops that can help you tremendously. There are other advantages to connecting with YOUR STATE HOME SCHOOL ASSOCIATION as well. They help you with your State Laws.
Home School is not the class room...it is much better. Studies show children learn best when their body, mind and senses are involved. This article explains how to create your own lesson plans free using this approach, and helps you find curriculum that uses this method as well. HOW TO HOME SCHOOL This article also provides you with information about figuring out your children's learning styles which is highly important, as Dawn07 says.
Almost finished with first year of homeschool!
- B_Zuck
on May. 3, 2012 at 12:38 PM