I am looking into this. Anyone here do this? I like the idea of DVD school but it is so much more expensive. I didn't relize how much until I looked it up a little bit ago. I need all teh help I can get. DD starts school next year and I am trying to decide if we are going to HS or PS. I went ahead and enrolled her in PS but it is killing me. I can't come to peace with HS or PS. I am so confused.
I think you need to list the reasons you want to HS and the reasons you don't or are confused on. Then think of the benefits of PS and the downside. Don't allow confusion on the right curriculum or socialization make this decision though. Those reasons are easily dealt with and not a problem at all. I know someone who uses the BJU DVDs and likes it. I have used BJU workbooks in the past for english and spelling and thought they were great. Is there a reason you are interested in using a DVD program? What age is your dd? There are plenty of options out there and the first year you may not make the right choice. We all have wasted money on things that didn't quite fit our family. That is normal and not the mark of failure. It will also not mean the child is not learning. Now, if you are in need of a dvd system because you work or whatever....you can also try Abeka. Or you can do a virtual school....many are free. Not sure what your needs are so neither may work.
The reason I am looking in dvd school is because I feel better that I am not the only one teaching. The teacher on the dvd is the main one. Of course I would still still with dd and learn along with her. I just feel she owuld get a better education rather than just me teachuing her. does that make sense?
Here are a couple of books that helped us a LOT when we started thinking about homeschooling... Mary Pride's Complete Guide to Getting Started in Homeschooling: http://www.home-school.com/catalog/pages/mpguide.php3 We checked this out of the library and it was fantastic! It starts at the very beginning - why people homeschool, what homeschooling "looks" like, which kinds of kids (and moms!) do best with which kinds of curriculum, etc etc.. If you can't find it at your library with this title, look for The Big Book of Home Learning, Volume 1. It's the older edition of the same book. Mary Pride also has a website: http://www.home-school.com/ I haven't hung out a lot on the website, so I don't know if it is as helpful as her book. Cathy Duffy wrote 100 Top Picks For Homeschool Curriculum: Choosing The Right Curriculum And Approach For Your Child's Learning Style. We bought it at a Half-Price Books, but you could check at your library for it, too. It goes through a long list of curricula and discusses the strengths and weaknesses of each of them. There are SO many curricula out there, and sorting them out gets very confusing and overwhelming! She talks about whole "box" curriculum programs, which include practically everything you need for the whole year; as well as individual products (different math curricula, or language arts, or whatever), so it's helpful whether you want to go with just one company's stuff or mix and match. I think most people mix and match to some degree. Cathy Duffy also has a website: http://www.cathyduffyreviews.com/ I hope that helps!!
Check out your intro thread and I posted some things from our K year this year. Sheila has mentioned some great books. I've read A TON of homeschooling books and I always glean a bit of new info in everyone....even if I don't always agree with the "style" used by the author. For example, we aren't unschoolers but I've read some books by and for unschoolers. Although we don't unschool, I've still learned a lot that has helped some of my kiddos in specific areas of interest to them. If you have a decent library or interlibrary loan program...read, read, read........and take a deep breath :lol:. You can do it!
Something I was wondering about the BJU or any other school is do they grade the work and keep up with it? I would really like something like that as well since it will help keep her more accountable. I did HS in high school and didn't get graded by anyone but my mom and I guessed alot. I don't want that for her. Also DD knows all of her abc's, all the sounds, her numbers, counting to 100, counting by 10's to 100, she is adding and subtracting numbers 1-10 and sometimes in the low teens. With her knowing this what else will she learn in K? I don't want her to be board and have to do all her letters and things all over again.
Abeka is fairly advanced and they have a dvd program. I believe they also keep track of scores and such. You may want to check them out online. My dd knew all that stuff when she started the K5 program with Abeka. Some of it will be repeated of course..but that is ok. I did not do the abeka dvd program so I am not sure how it works.
I decided to go to the convention and also signed my kids up for the local HS coop for next year. Deep breath. I am nervous and excited. I have been really praying about it and just feel like this is right so at the moment I am at peace with it. That is one reason I went ahead and enrolled for coop because I just felt like it was right. Now I have to call the school and un enroll DD. I figured what could be so hard with kindergarden? After that hopefully I will just get better and better. I will need lots of advice and help though.
BJU has three ways of doing this stuff, they sent me two catalogues so I have studied them a lot. I would love to do that type of lessons but will read this tread and see what it says too! Justme I am seeking peace for one or the other of private or home myself!
I just think that my kids would get a better education from the DVD since like I said before it is not all on me. It is a teacher that knows what she is doing. I don't. I am thinking for K we will not do the DVD's though. Since DD knows alot of her stuff I am thinking the biggest hurdle would be teaching her to read. She is starting to do some words but we have a LONG way to go.
We used the traditional hs curriculum from Abeka for K-8 and for 9--12 we use Abeka Academy. I preferred to do the trad. hs curr. for the elem. grades because I wanted to be the one doing the actual teaching instead of having my kids sit in front of the tv to learn. Once they got into high school the dvd program was a good fit for us as my kids were maturing.
Sounds like she is doing well in math....Teaching reading isn't easy, but read TO her alot so she enjoys it and wants to learn. When my daughter was in PS kindergarten they never counted past 20, so she was REALLY bored...just one of many reasons we started homeschooling.
