Hi there,
My name is Katie and I've got two daughters (6 & 3) that I have JUST started homeschooling this week. So far, so good, but we are really flying through our curriculum. I know that most of it is review from last year, so my first grader is done quickly and ready to move onto the next subject. Although this is my preschooler's first year, she already knows most of what is being covered. I wondered if this is normal? warming up with old concepts and breezing through, and expecting challenges later?
What curriculum do you use with your kids? Pros and Cons? We went with Calvert school this year because it is so structured and I needed something I could easily execute and supplement as I pleased. I am finishing up my Master's and I also work 25 hrs per week from home for a local company (usually after they go to bed into the wee hrs of the morning), so life is pretty busy. I am keeping my options open for next year, depending how this first year goes.
Any advice, insight, etc. is greatly appreciated!
Using every day activities as a teaching tool is a big time saver, and the children love learning in this hands on, common sense manner. I involved my kids in my home based business, and they are now both entrepreneurs themselves.
But cooking can become a lesson in measuring, math and reading. They can learn much from helping you balance the check book, or accounting procedures related to your home business. We also used curriculum where I felt the need to do so, but I tried to make that hands on as well.
I always write an objective for the lesson so that I am not missing things.
It sounds very normal. Homeschoolers can work at the pace of their child so everything does seem to go by much more quickly. There might be a bit of an overlap between last year's curriculum and this one and once you get past that, she may slow down a bit. It's just as possible that right now, she is learning in her optimum environment, and will continue to speed through it.
I make my own curriculum so I don't have any advice for you on that. Feel free to add a challenge question to the end of each lesson if you want to give a little oomph to what they are doing. Heck, add a language on. 8) Whatever you want. Just don't be too hard on yourself when you run into your first wall, because we all find them.
We use k12 for my older girls and when it is to easy I find a suppliment or twist online to give it a little more depth so they are learning something new.
As for preschoolers being ahead I just moved at thier pace. For example if they know thier letters I teach letter sounds, if they know letter sounds I teach combining 2 sounds then adding a 3rd.
All of this helps when you run into a wall because then you know where to go for extra practice.
Hi kthunn. Welcome to the group! :) Sounds to me like you have things under control and in hand. Yes, it is normal for this, especially with homeschooling families. If your children are learning rather quickly, then let them. That just means they haven't hit their speed yet and are enjoying the learning process. I have 1 out of 7 that can and will take a weeks worth of schoolwork and do it in 2 hours. He is the biggest sponge I have ever seen. He's only 13 yet and I still haven't found his stopping point.
As for what the other posts are saying, they are giving you some really great advice. As long as everyone is enjoying themselves while learning/teaching, then you are doing a great job. : )
yep katie that sounds normal with curr, review and then it gets more challenging! but i dont know about calvert never used it!
when they were preschool we didnt use any curr and as they got older i just continues to make up unit studies for most of the subjects, for math we started with rod and staff and around 3-4th grade went to saxon and later added rod and staff language arts and when older abeka
have fun katie with the kids!! learning is fun! dont wear yourself out with so much going on!
We do the same here. It's really helpful for if you do hit an area where they may need a little more time. When I think they're moving too fast I just remind myself; he's the only third grader I have. We don't have to do busy work, we just master it and move on. Given that he doesn't have to wait while I teach 30 other kids, he can easily do a weeks worth of work in two hours.
I've used Calvert, loved it for my Roguey, not so much for Kaiden and Sarea. Rogue does great with the workbook style approach in things like Language Arts, but Sarea and Kaid needed a more natural, environment based approach. My 1st grader Jaelyn is also a workbook kid. But she's more of a tell me what to do, and then leave me alone.
I did really like the mycalvert site and the technology classes they offered for even Kindergarten. My only complaint is that their math was mastery not spiral based (which it was a great program nonetheless) and that their history was not chronologically based. I preferred SOTW and History Odyssey instead.
Good luck, sounds like you guys are doing awesome!
Thanks ladies!
I just spent a few hours preparing for this week and realized we are definently going to start digging deeper and spend more time on it.
I think the first thing I've learned, as the teacher, is how much "fluff" time, as I like to call it, there is at traditional schools. 15 mins here and there to line up for group bathroom breaks, to walk to a different room, etc. When you cut that time out, things do move more quickly. As a kid I remember feeling frustrated because I would catch on to a concept early on and just have to sit and wait, and wait, and wait. I appreciate that they can master it and move on.
Thanks again for all the advice, and I'll keep those curriculums in mind at the end of the year if we need to change things up next year!
NEED HELP WITH HOMESCHOOLING INFO. WHERE I LIVE IS NOT HOMESCHOOLING FRIENDLY.
- kthunn
on Aug. 3, 2012 at 8:09 PM