Have you ever, after spending a bunch of money, and planning ahead, ever thought of dumping it all and going a completely different direction? I would love for all our math to be living math, I would love all of our learning to come from fun and games and what ever life throws at us. I almost think if I hadn't spend a small fortune on curriculum for Ry and Reagan that we would sooooo be going this route completely! Ugggg... why do I do this to my poor brain?
At 5 and 4 you can sooo put curriculum on the shelf for later use! What did you buy? Would it do to save it for a year then revisit it?
I bought McRuffy Press Math, Phonics and Science. They are all fun, and the kids do like them and ask to do them... but well... I think I'm more unschooler than they are..lol.
Did that this year....Bought all the books for Abeka Math...but changed my mind to Saxon...for the year..Thankfully I bought on ebay and have been able to resell, but what a mess
So many times I bought things only to realize I wanted to switch everything around. It sure is hard making the decision on what to buy and use, or what not to buy!
I have done that and then feel guilty about it. Usually it is part way through the year and I feel obligated to finish. So don't feel alone. I think it is part of being a homeschool mom. LOL
I do love everything I bought and have and plan to use for all the kids... but I think I still dream of being an unschooler way too much. I can't allow that to happen because I know for a fact my oldest would do nothing but play videogames and legos all day... and while I have seen him learn some amazing things from some of his games (18 Wheels of Steel, a truck driving game, litterally taught him how to read a road map, the locations of the states, predominate goods for different areas of our country, loads of math skills and soooo much more), I just don't think he would/could learn everything he needs from them.
Well our original plan was to homeschool for free (still is) but I gathered lots of resources and did buy a few things for <$5 and just had a talk with hubby yesterday and pretty much threw everything out the window cause he gave me the go ahead to (mostly) unschool! (Which I didn't think he'd do!) He wants me to do formal phonics (but is okay if Ephram still isn't really reading by the end of 1st grade) spelling and math. What about computer games? Does he like them or is it only video games? Are there any educational games for your game console? Can you get him into an online educational game? Or do an online based curriculum with him? My 6 year old LOVES him some video/computer games, so we're doing clicknkids for phonics/spelling. He doesn't see anything he does on the computer as school or learning. (but then there is a diff in ages here, yours is old enough to recognize an educational game when he sees it-so it might not work as well LOL) But still he might prefer it over textbooks and workbooks.
Oh Sommer, we all have those days and times. Just put them up for awhile and use them if you want if not sell them you should most of your money back out of them. Are you going to homeschool your oldest next year too?
Well...come up with your unschooling plan and then decide. I say keep it all on hand..and use it when needed. You may find that unschooling doesn't work for your kids and if so you may want the back up. Will the new route you are thinking be costly?
Kris.. so far that is the plan We haven't sent in our papers and won't until August because I don't want to have it backfire on me at all, but we are starting July 12th when he gets home from camp. Ava, all the fun ways I dream of learning could cost us a fortune.. have you ever looked through the RR gift cataloge?? OMG.. I could easily spend 5 grand between that and the homescienctools.com cataloge and still want more fun things..lol. BUT, I do have sooo many educational games and am forever picking up more when I see them, that I wouldn't need to buy much to get going in a play to learn type plan... which I think is the direction I would go... I just really dont' think Garrett would do ANYTHING if I let him lead the way completely. I guess I'm just trying really to find a way that makes homeschooling work for us (more specifically Garrett and I), and the only way I can see it working is if it incorporates loads of fun and games in it.
I have done that with workbooks. At one point I had over 25. I kept the stuff and used it as enrichment and for our light summer HSing.(we are year around) Or on those days that I just didn't feel like school. Like now, even though we agreed to just keep going as usual threw the summer this year, DS is asking for July off. Workbook time! I am glad I kept all that stuff.
Been there and done that. Even now I am questioning my choices for next year. If everything works, I will be happy. If not, time to put it in the g-can and try again. Have you thought about having structured learning for two days and then have unschooling learning for two days? You may need "unschooling" all the time for it to work. I have never unschooled so I don't know how it all works. I have always done child-guided learning. That worked great for my daughter but not so well for my son. So many choices. If there was only one way to learn, then we as moms would not stress so much about it all.
We aren't going to unschool or even go back to a CM method either - both of which I loved! My main thing is that I need it planned for me. I'm at a point with 5 kids that I just cannot spend the time it was taking me to plan the week (even if it was a list of stuff to do and I just had to plug in days!).... From what I see of Kolbe so far it's what we need - every DAY is planned out for every subject.... and I can go with that
uh.. not really because I am too frugal, to the point of rediculous! I will force us to use something at least most of thhe way through the lessons just because we have it! I saved ds19s old high school abeka and BJU english books and history ones becuase they barely wrote in them but... I don't know ifI will use them, just have them incase I want to! Chances are ds12 will be doing online schools by the time he would have used it but who knows? I hord my stuff, I have only started putting together stuff,but I also don't have the money to spend and not use something...
I have changed my mind so many times--I can't really count. I have a LOT of curriculum that will probably not ever be used. I have two complete (or close) Biology sets and I don't know if I even want to use them. I bought AOP lifepacs last year and changed my mind (lost about half my money). I had purchased A Beka math and English and sent them back (lost about 20%). I bought (used) A Beka geography and used it for about a week or two. I bought Trail Guide to World Geography and used it a little. Oh lets see, there were so many changes I don't know if I can recall it all. One day, I feel fine with the way we are doing things. The next, I feel in a panic. I want to do relaxed homeschooling, but I am not a relaxed type person. I want to do something between unschooling and school-at-home. I have a perfect picture in my mind, but somehow it doesn't seem to work that way. My son must have a different picture.
ok wow! That last paragraph that is me, I want to be more relaxed but when I am I stress about it, then when I Get too orderly I feel like I am too stiff in his lessons, so then I am trying to get relaxed again and bo back and foth, I want to have organised relaxed home schooling?
