I am looking to use materials from various grades and possibly even curriculums next year when I venture into all this on my own without the VA. Dd won't be missing important info or anything by tailoring everything to her will she? I'm just getting mixed reviews from my family as I am looking into this and looking to order some things on ebay now for next year since they are great prices right now and I know will go up as people start to buy for next year or next semester. Mainly I'm looking at like reading getting both the 3rd and 4th grade books from Abeka, she will be 3rd grader but reads really well. Also math I'm considering waiting until I can look hands on at some things because I know where she is and seeing just one or 2 sample pages online doesn't really help me figure out if it should be 3rd or 4th grade. LA I'm looking somewhere between 3rd and 5th grade, again I am wanting to be hands on with this as well. Science will likely be 3rd grade as will history/social studies, possibly even 2nd grade or one that isn't by grades but rather I can start at the beginning and be chronological. I guess what I'm wondering is I know others do this and I will be fine and she will be fine too right?
Ooooooooooo.....my yes works!!!!! YES!!!! Trust YOUR instincts! She's YOUR child and YOU know her best!!!!
Yes this!!! Seriously, what is there to miss out on, and who is this almighty person who says what it is?? Trust yourself and your daughter, you will do just fine. As long as she can read, write and do math by the time she needs to make her way in the world, she can learn and accomplish anything she sets out for.
Yes! I piece it together for my kids. Heck each week I evaluate where my oldest is, I determined that he needed more practice with contractions and hunted down a free contractions work page for him. Same with adjectives. As far as subjects outside of the 3R's we learn interest based. That goes for science and history and geography and what not. There is some structure to the actual learning but the topics are all interest led. I'm all for doing what works for your child.
I absolutely piece ours together! Multiple publishers and multiple grade levels for both kids. Definitely!
Yes you're crazy. But it's okay, we all are Will she be missing anything? Yes. But she'd be missing things in PS too. You simply can't teach someone everything they will need to know, especially at the rate our world and technology is changing. Give her a good base of the basics and teach her how to find answers for herself and the rest is gravy, baby! Seriously, piecing together what works for her is the best way to go, IMHO. We piece together based on my kids' skill level, what I can find for free or cheap and their interests.
Thanks. I think mostly I just needed reassured I was going to be fine. Setting out to do everything on my own is scarier than having someone tell me what needs done. I'm not sure why, because I know my child and I know what and how she learns best but it's still scary sometimes for me. I figure if I can get 2 full years of readers for under $20 then I am defintly going to do it. We've used a beka in the past for supplementing and over the summer and she did well with them and the 3rd and 4th grade ones look like they start being more stories than readers, as in the book is one story rather than a lot of super short stories. She doesn't like that other than for poetry. I don't like everything A beka though and can't afford everything A beka so we are going to check out some displays where I can actually see the books and keep an eye out for extras in areas of difficulty. Plus dd is dying to learn cursive so I am going to keep an eye out for that as well. I like the interest based science and history.
Okay, I can suggest Considering God's creation Science, it is hands on and fun. Multiple grades in one. I say go for it1
I prefer the "piece together" approach better. My first year homeschooling (last year) I used Switched on Schoolhouse for all subjects. It was convenient, but it got boring to have the same format for all subjects. This year, I am piecing things together. I have a 6th grader and 4th grader and I knew they were close enough in age to share some things. So, they share Sonlight for History and part of the Language Arts, Apologia Science they share as well. My 6th grader is doing Saxon Math 65 (which is really more of a 5th grade level, but he struggles with math so this fits him) and my 4th grader is doing Saxon Math 54. We are using Spelling Power for both kids, which is a course that is made for about 2nd grade through 12th grade. And for grammar / language arts I actually picked up used public school text books at a used book store, I have no idea what grade level they are for! My son's is from 2011, but my daughter's is from 1982!! LOL! I may have used that book as a kid! Anyway, it's working so much better this way than the SOS box curriculum last year! You'll find what works best!!
