I have a friend who is having a hard time getting started with homeschooling. Her son is 6 and she has 3 other small children. Her husband wants them to homeschool but she has NO clue how to start. She don't like any of the curriculum she has seen and her child is a hands on learner. She just got the internet and I told her about the enchanted learning sight. Also she is nervous because she learned English as a second language. She knows that this is what she wants to do but she don't know how to get motivated to do it. How can I help her?? I'm new and I'm JUST now getting the hang of it. I don't feel qualified to give her good sound advice. Is there some websites out there where she can go to get a break down of what her child should know and how to go about doing it?? Thanks for the help Angela
try checking out donnayoung.com, also Scholastics.com they have more than one site, one is a store and one has things to learn and do... also Magraw Hill has a great site with stuff for kids at ages, and grades... http://www.accountwizard.com/client...455e45Q045QId5d45A045jSite7E57M357j&header=55 that one is for Homeschoolsupercenter I hope it works
Would your friend be interested in dropping in on us and asking some questions? We would be glad to have her.
Since you're listed in Texas, I'm assuming she is as well? If so, this site should be very helpful: http://www.texashomeeducators.com/ I also found going to the annual homeschool book fair in my area very helpful. I could see a large variety of curricula available and look through it hands-on as well as ask questions person-to-person. Arlington has a huge one every Mother's Day weekend. I know other major cities in Texas have large ones annually as well.
Here are my words of encouragement for your friend - you can do this!!!! It is ok if it is crazy at first. And it is ok if it takes a while to get the hang of it. She's not going to mess her kids up forever in the course of a few months trying to get started homeschooling. The hardest part for her may be the 3 little ones - I only have one toddler at the moment and he can be very demanding when we're trying to work. As far as curriculum, have her check out the worldbook.com site. Click on 'student activities' and then 'typical course of study'. This shows a general list of things kids learn at different grade levels. I referenced it a bit when I was starting out and using my own made-up/internet stuff until I bought some books. For math, I went to the Horizons site and looked at the scope and sequence for the 1st grade and just started teaching the concepts with my own materials. (Does that make sense?) Almost all of the big curiculum names have scope and sequence listed on their websites. I could probably come up with some other ideas - even specific ones - if you or your friend needs them. Please post again or pm me if you want some more ideas. Also - where at in Texas are you? I'm in Ft. Worth and would be glad to help if I can! Jennifer
Is there any way she can go to a conference? I think they really help. There are usually classes for beginners. Make sure she has someone with her in the vendor hall, though. They can be overwhelming. As far as hands on- I would recommend My Fathers World, Weaver or Konos. There's also lapbooking but that's a whole other thread
I'll be going over to her house tomorrow. I'm going to get some things together to try and help her. The curriculum fairs are probably too far for her. Although another homeschool mom and I were planning on traveling to Dallas to the one in May. Maybe she'll come with us. The Worldbook sight came to mind. I also have the Core Knowledge book for Kindergarten that I pulled out for her to look at. I'm going to tell her about this site tomorrow. She's such an awesome person. And her kids are so SWEET. Hopefully you'll get to hear from her soon. Thanks for the help. Angela
I just remembered "Five in a Row." It's a good hands on / literature study. It's pretty easy to get in to. I didn't feel it was threatening at all. They all have a website and discussion forums.
Hands on learners can be a handful for a new homeschooling mom. However, Math U See is a good hands on math program. Singapore has worked well for my hands on learner as well. She may want to start out with some unit studies to get her son interested in learning. I have heard great things about Five in a Row but never used it. I think that it would be great if she got on here or if she gave you specific questions. Hands on learning can be fun...just takes some creativity. I don't think having English as a second language will be a hinderance at all. Does her son speak her native language? If not, she can teach him that also.
I forgot about five in a row. I was looking at that for my daughter. My kids are hands on learners and they LOVE the Math u See. She is overwhelmed with ALL the subjects so for now I think what I was thinking of suggesting to her is focus on teaching to her child to read. Starting with letters recognition. I believe he can say his ABC's. I believe that reading is the foundation for everything else. Am I wrong?? And then when she gets used to the routine that she uses to teach reading (letter recognition) she can slowly add other things into it?? I don't want to give her bad advice but this is what I think would work for her. I hope she comes to this website. I'll definately give her the heads up on it. This has been one of the best things I have ever come across on the internet. Everyone here is so nice and helpful. Thanks again
If she is only going to "teach" reading, then a natural step would be to read "a lot" to them. If she is reading to them daily, conversations about various subjects will happen naturally and before she knows it she is "teaching" the other subjects.
