You just have different subjects like they do in ps. Now sometimes you get overlap which is wonderful and you are studying about the Inuit Indians and where the artic is and what other animals live there etc... The one that I personally think is even better is when you are teaching something and they say "yeh just like the ______ that we learned about before". Now...my feeling is that as long as you are concerned about getting everything in you will do fine. I have come across homeschoolers that are too busy being in Drama (because they are full of it) and 4H and don't do any academics. So...like everything else in life....moderation.
Hi SandMom, welcome! It can be pretty scary starting out. here's my perspective.... When our kids begin their education we think we are making decisions for the next 12-13 years. What if we send them to the wrong school? What is this school is right for now, but not later? What if one of my kids has needs different to the others? If they were at a school that turned out to be all wrong you would simply change schools. It is rare to make a decision that lasts for that period of time. We started out at christian school, after agonising over the decision. Next came public school, then steiner school, then home school. All have had their ups and downs. Some were great at the time, others a disaster from the very begining. We love hs now. What does the future hold? I don't know. I have given up trying to figure it out. Hs is working for us now, we are all happy, the kids are learning. If that chnages, then we will get a new plan. Will we continue into high school? I don't know, but we will figure it out as we get closer. Here's my 2 cents worth: make the best decision you can for your family now. If it doesn't work out, make a new plan. If you find you love hs, you will grow with it. High school is such a long way away. And each day has enough troubles without adding the ones from next decade! Kids change school all the time. They move into different areas, where schools teach things in different orders. Sometimes they miss stuff, other times they get it twice. I could go on and on....but that's probably way too much already. Good luck with your decision making. The ladies here are great, very supportive. Again, welcome.
I had some of the same hestitancies before pulling our 6yo dd. But after looking at what she WASN'T learning in ps, well that was enough to get rid of all of those questions lol. I have basically sat down and looked at what she is interested in, looked at what she really needs to know for when and gone from there. I don't worry about leaving anything out anymore because she has already learned sooooo much since we pulled her in Dec. It's amazing really. I saw what they are doing in school here a couple weeks ago and had to call my dad and tell him "dad, they are JUST NOW working on measuring. We covered that 2 months ago" My dad is supportive of us but questioned if we were leaving anything out. With hsing I don't have to stay on something if she's already mastered it like they would in ps. I don't have to wait for the rest of the class to catch up. So if we only spend 2 days on measuring because that's all that's needed, than that's all we do. Yes, we come back and review and I throw things in there from time to time to make sure she has retained it all. But really, with the curriculum I've already got, and the history curriculum I'll be ordering soon, I have no worries of leaving anything out. For us it was a matter of education. Do we leave her in ps where she's bored out of her mind and doing things all year that she mastered at 3 years old? Or do we pull her and teach her at HER level at home? The latter one obviously. Good luck in your decision and it's always good to do the research ahead of time. We didn't have much time as our dd was very unhappy and things were effecting her self esteem at school. The highlight of her school day was me picking her up. Pretty sad for a Kindergartner! Now the highlight of her day is piano lessons and science projects with me!
What ARE "the right subjects"? What they do in ps? Why are those "the right subjects"? Actually it can be very scary when you first decide to homeschool! You're still in the "School at Home" mode, so you feel you have to follow what the school does, and start school at the same time that ps startes, etc. BUT YOU DON'T! Homeschoolers get one-on-one attention that psers don't get. They can move through subjects more quickly because they get the help they need and can move on to tackle the next thing. You may be doing a different subject, but that doesn't matter! They are learning in an environment that encourages learning, and are taught by a teacher (you) that loves them dearly---can't get much better than that! And believe me, that makes a huge difference! My feeling is that some people got together many years ago and said, "what shall we teach in first grade?" How about this? That sounds about first grade level. Okay, now what about 2nd grade....." Who says that what they teach in each grade is what SHOULD be taught in that grade? What if they move on when your child is very interested in something and wants to study it more in depth? What if they already know a lot about it, and want to move on to something else? I hope I'm not confusing you too much here. My point is that when you homeschool, your child learns well. You speed up on things they understand, you take more time on things they don't understand, and work on it until they do. Then you move on again. In ps, they just run through whatever is in the book, and can't slow down or speed up, because there are 30 kids, all at different levels, so they just plow through, whether kids get it or not. So in all actuality, your child is getting a LOT more understanding, a lot more depth in their learning! If they learn something else than ps, it's okay! They're learning to learn well, and will be able to catch on well if they do go back to school! Well, I better stop! Hope you can wade through this okay!
Well said Aussiemom, All I say is keep your head high and plan for today and see what happens after that.
I for the most part make my own science units. At the same time I want to teach the learning objectives that are typically covered in our current grade. I have a book with curriculum check lists in it. Once a week or so I take it out and check off a few more items and scan over the remaining and work a few into the lesson. This approach could also work with unit studies that you purchase or other curr.s in the form of textbooks etc. Some times we just sit down and discuss an item in the list directly. I then ask questions about it, and then review a few times in upcoming checklist sessions. I dont exactly "teach the test" but at times Its hard to work an idea into a lesson or it is just an oversimplification of a more complext concept and its hard to teach it, so I just "teach the test". Its humorous sometimes. Predicts the results of water evaporation. or Understand the use for common househould appliances. I did not work that into a unit study. Instead I asked dd, "what is the dishwasher for?", "what is the clothesdryer for?, We had some laughs about this, and decided to give them government or lawyer names to obscure the useful function of these devices. LOL
I can understand your concerns. Being responsible for your child's complete education can be a daunting task. I recommened getting a guideline, scope and sequence of what your child should be doing at his or her grade level. Use that as your guide and build from there. If you are unsure how to incorporate unit studies without "missing" something...try looking into curriculums that focus on unit studies. It is hard to jump right in and do your own thing. I think it is easier to use a curriculum as a guide or as a standard for the first year or so. JMO.
I had a great conversation with one of the mom's at our homeschool park day today. She has 3 children who are teens and another mom and I were talking about curriculum. I had mentioned that I was torn on whether I should order a phonics curriculum or not. The mom with the teens said "is she reading? Is she spelling?" and I told her both and she said "don't buy a phonics curriculum, save your money. Whatever your doing is working so why change it?" So very true! Another point she made, "how many times do they actually FINISH their text books in a public school and how much time do they actually spend on things? Really opened my eyes to the endless learning possibilities we have in homeschooling.
My fil is a retired school teacher. He said they never finish books...then the next year they spend half the year reviewing. A friend of mine had her kids going to a Christian school in the area. They use ABEKA as their curriculum. She said they only finished about 3/4ths the book in a year. She even had workbooks of her kids that she gave away to hsers using abeka because so little was done.
interesting isn't it? My mom teachers 2nd grade in a public school back home. I should ask her. Course knowing her she won't tell me anything lol. Considering when we pulled dd from ps back in Dec. and they had been working on patterns since the 1st week of school, I'd say they won't make it through their math books either lol.
The comment about checking out all the books over time sounds like my dd this morning! She came out of the library commenting on the fact that she needs to remember what aisle she was looking on because it had so many books that she wants to read. Reading is something that has dramatically increased since hsing. Fiction and non-fiction books alike she picks on her own. I love when she comes and tells me something that she learned and the neat part is that she is not being "forced", she is just enjoying it.
We tell our newbies that if you can get something laid out your first year. It really sets a nice standard and pace for you to either branch off from or copy for years to come. Not sure if there is a STW group near you but...you could find out www.smoothingtheway.com its a support group to help you through the first year. Wonderful program! At the Arlington book fair, be sure to go, the first stop you make is to the STW booth because we can point you in the specific direction of all the vast amount of vendors and make it so it isn't so overwhelming. Don't sweat the small stuff because you look back and think "geez why was I so stressed over it?" lol Just make sure you make some time for mom. Units come and units go....blah blah blah...Indians, butterflies, rainforest those are fun extra's and not to be stressed over. Honest! Just slow and steady your first year, then branch out over time. HTH
I am new to homeschooling also. I'm planning on going to the book fair in Arlington in May, and hitting that smoothing the way booth (on my way to the Math U See one. ha). For this year we have just been doing things as he is interested. About.com has kind of a virtual science fair thing and I signed him up for that so we are going to pick a project together. Next year we will be using Christian Cottage Unit Studies - if he wants to get more in depth in something we can. Woops, I meant to say we'll be using CCUS for Bible, Science and History stuff. I choose Math U See and Explode the Code for math & phonics. aisling
yeah - I know what you mean. Every time I plan a unit study on one topic I find great resources for another, or ideas. The list of amzing exciting things that I want to share with my kids seems endless....I am begining to wonder how i will ever fit it all in:wink: I DO spend time in the library checking out the nonfiction shelves - that's what I do when the kids are choosing new books - it's not as crazy as you might think. No one knows your child like you do. If indians was her passion - you are much more likely to discover that, and to do something about it, than any other teacher anywhere, no matter what qualifications or resources or ideas they might have.
Definitely stop by. You will also want to hit the workshop "Which Way Do I Go? by Mary James 9:30a- 10:30 and I'd recommend getting there early. Looks like she will be in M-5 but, I don't remember how large that room is. The smaller rooms fill up, FAST! Yes, I'm insane...I drive 3 hours, pay for hotel out of my pocket to work the STW for free. ROFL All the counseling at the STW booth is free of charge and we give a better map to the layout that actually has the vendor names vs the number and look below to match it. If you haven't been to this fair before they have a nice cafeteria area with decent food and not Disneyland prices. Bring a light sweater to put on for some of the workshops as sometimes those rooms can be quite chilly. Bring your shopping list and questions. Just because you think you want one thing doesn't mean you won't leave with something else after comparing the two. HTH
You have received lots of great input here, but I wanted to add a couple of thoughts. First, I noticed that you were hs'ing in TX. Please check the THSC.org website. They are wonderful advocates for homeschooling and have lots of info to share. Also, if you think you may only HS for a couple of years, I must strongly recommend that you refer to the Texas Education Agency's website and look at the curriculum link that will then take you to the TEKS info for grade levels. If you plan on putting your kids back in PS at any time, check the state standards to make sure that your kids have covered everything that the state expects for their grade levels. This will help keep them from having to fill in gaps while trying to acclimate to PS. I hope you are able to HS for a long time, but if you can't, please know that it is essential to stick to your state's schedule of what needs to be taught and when to teach it more closely than you would were you to hs long-term.
There are sooo many homeschooling sites! And if you forgot about the indians... someone would surely remind you! You will do wonderful!
