Hi, I've just found this board and what a relief! I'm a sahm to twin boys who are three and a 6 month old baby girl. I'm seriously considering homeschooling for my kids, my only concern is (and I hope this doesn't sound bad) will I be up for it? I have a degree in Early Childhood Education so I'm pretty comfortable with the curriculum side of things, but sometimes I feel like I'd love to have a break from kids all day. Teaching in a school setting is so different from being home with my kids. I always loved teaching but I wonder how effective I can be with my own children. KWIM???? Did anyone else face this when they were starting out? And if so how did you get past it? Thanks in advance for your input and sorry to ramble
Hi Heather I am also a "retired teacher" and just started homeschooling my kids this year. I questioned lots of things, but I have always "schooled" my kids at home (for preschool) so I figured this would be no different. My dd (who is in 1st) attended a private school for prek4 and kindergarten. I loved it but the cost of tuition was just too high for both of my kids. So, I decided to homeschool. I have had a wonderful year too. As far as having some time to yourself, you need to make time. I have wonderful in-laws who take the kids for one day a week (Usually Saturday). The kids love to go there and I love the time to clean, shop or just relax. If you have a good friend or family member who can take them once in a while then it is a little easier. Some mothers need more than that. I don't. My dh will stay with the kids sometimes as well if he's not working as well. Also, when the kids get a little bigger they tend to play better alone or with their siblings. My children have really become close this year and learned how to entertain themselves while Mommy needs some adult quiet time. Good luck with your decision. It is a wonderful thing to teach children but when you teach your own it's heaven! Missy
Thanks Missy I really do need to make the time and ask for help, I'm horrible about that When you homeschooled for PreK did you keep it unstructured? I use the "teachable moments" with my guys right now. We took a trip to the farmer's market yesterday and had some great conversation about plants, fruits and veggies. We don't have any kind of learning schedule and to be honest I've used PBS as a babysitter on more than one occasion I've thought about setting up a schedule like I did for my preK class but would that work in the home environment? They have a huge playroom and I thought doing some small centers in there would be fun. Yikes I'm rambling again, sorry I do that a lot:haha: Thanks again!
Heather, If you have been working with your twins at all....then you'll manage. I do agree that you need to make sure that mom gets some mom time. Otherwise... yes, you might go crazy. Especially with the twins as the approach 4 -- ugh!!!! None of the books warn you for the 4 year old. You also have the baby to tend with, who I'm guessing will be about 18 months when the twins turn 4. Oh you poor dear!!!! I have a 5 ds and an 18month ds. We belong to a gym that has a great nursery. Mom gets some mom time and gets some exercise while the boys have fun playing with other kids. It's a great fit for us. We don't have ANY family nearby. I think I have a great aunt that lives a couple of hours away but...never socialize with her. Our parents & siblings are ALL out of state. So...I'm always jealous of those with family nearby who can watch the kids overnight now and then. It really isn't that hard teaching them. I was really surprised how much I was already doing before I knew it. Ds#1 & I do school while brother naps in the afternoon. Not sure how we will surf the wave when ds#2 gives up that afternoon nap but...somehow we will manage. I mean really if you have the knowledge to teach a classroom full...COME ON!!! It's a fun ride.
LOL......good point Sheila! For the life of me I don't know why I question my ability. Just being a twin mom is a feat all it's own....LOL
I bow to you!!! My 18 month old is driving me looney. He is "Taz"!!! Man oh man! The funny thing is the gals at the gym nursery think he's just this sweet quiet little guy. If they only knew the half of it. Have you read the WTM? The first book it starts on page 33...Jessie talks about how she use to be a school teacher of 38 second graders blah blah blah and talks about when she sat HER kids down in the little desks to homeschool them she was scared. It's a fun read - if you haven't read it. I'm sure she has it in the new book as well. Too good of a story to leave out.
I'll have to check that out, haven't read any homeschool books yet. Any recomendations of books to get is much appreciated
I preschooled my dd when she was little and it was very unstructured. We did "school work" just about all the time that I played with her. She loved workbooks, writing, and reading books. She also had tons of educational toys. I just used what I had and she learned so, so much. Now, I am teaching prek to my ds who is 3 and I am a little more structured I guess (only because I hs my dd who is 7 ). If I didn't have to I would probably do what I did before and make it more "learning play time". With that said, I love to have structure, lol. I like having a classroom in our playroom. Next school year, my ds will be in prek3 if you will. I am going to do one-on-one time with him each day for about 30-45 minutes. The other time will be free centers, storytime(both kids), journal, science/art/music/spanish (both kids) and anything else. Preston actually did very well playing or working while Avery did her work this year. I will use all of my files and teacher resources as needed and I also found a preschool workbook that looks great for him. It covers everything I want him to learn/review for prek3. What curriculum did you find that you are going to use? I once used Brighter Vision kits. They are excellent because they come with workbooks, tapes/cds, manipulatives, and a hardbound childrens book. I used them for years with dd and on and off w/ ds. My son didn't seem quite as enthusiastic about them so I backed away from it. I already had all the books and tapes and things anyway. Next year I am going to use a McGraw Hill preschool workbook. Happy to have you join us here. Hope you will post more and let us know how your hs experience goes! Missy
Heather, As far as homeschooling books....woooooooooooow! There are at least 10 MILLION to choose from. I'd start by hitting the library and seeing what they have to offer. You will find yourself being drawn in a certain direction based on *gut* of which type of homeschooling you are headed for. WTM is a classical approach and mostly lays out a curriculum guideline for each subject and grade. Even if you don't choose that path. The first part is fun to read and for me...it was like yep this will fit us. When I first started reading homeschooling books I noticed pretty quickly that most of them seemed to have about the same info just a few tid bits here and there that were different in each book. So...I learned real fast to skim most of the books that I picked up at the library until I found one that I felt was a good fit for where I was. Remember timing is everything. At one point you might not need a certain book and then a year later when you understand your child more...that book might fit. Make sense? If your library has an online reserve system you might want to check there for books. Seems like the *good* books are always out and you need to get in line for it.
Missy-- Right now I plan to use a whole language approach with some phonics. I was trained in Developmental Appropriate Practices and Whole Language, so for now I'm going with what I know. I like the "learning through play" concept and thematic units that cover multiple disciplines at once. I have a schedule set out for us but it's really more so to keep me on task than them. I like to be able to glance at a lesson plan and know what books to have ready, materials, etc. But as far as how much time we spend on things, I'll leave that up to the kids. I do plan to start off with a 5 minute "circle time" in the morning to talk about what day it is, what the weathers like today,etc. As they get older I will add more structure but they just turned three so we are all about having fun Sheila--I'm going to check online and see about reserving some. Thanks for the suggestion since time is precious around here and it would be much easier to pop in and pick them up at the desk as opposed to searching for them
I did whole language as well when I taught kindergarten. I do that now and teach themes each week with the kids. As a matter of fact, I am STILL GOING THROUGH FILES from a million years back and trying to pull out the things I will use with my kids at home. I obviously liked teaching in a whole language way since I incorporate that into my teachings as well. I also use traditional textbooks/workbooks. I like the combination of everything...it works for us! Have fun!!!
Heather.. Welcome! Of course you can do it! When I started, I had one child I was trying to teach letters to/one toddler and one newborn. YIKES! I tell you whats so funny is that the public school teachers that I know that come to homeschooling come with some degree of apprenhension. I feel it is because it IS different when its their own kids. They want it done right! You are the PERFECT choice! With each child, I also did themes that I prepared and taught at *teachable moments*. I still do! I think as they get older, and you can *breathe*(not chasing the *creature* as we called them in our house)you will be able to tell what style of learning/teaching suits you. The beauty of homeschooling is that your not teaching 30 just 3! So you can adjust immediately to that child's level or style. You don't have to keep running records. My ps teacher friends ask my *how do you know where they are at* (academically speaking). I tell them I don't have 30 just 3. I also have mine tested. I think so many newbies try to adjust exactly to the child's learning style. While I do agree that its very important, don't forget the *home educator* (poor mom ). Do what works for you too. This year it maybe a little unstructured, next year you might want or need more laid out for you.The ole saying goes *if momma aint happy then nobody is* I know when I started I did prepare my units. Then I needed something laid out a little more as I was exhausted,(nursing,chasing and teaching). I used Calvert. It uses both whole language and phonics. Some people don't like that about it. Some do. I DO! I think we need both when we learn to read. I always thought of the example: Do you chew or swallow when we eat? Yep, both. Now...that I taught one how to read,write,etc. have the second almost there and am working on the letters,etc. with my next one that just turned 4 yo I like to put together a lot of it myself.I have always been a firm believe in *why invent the wheel*. I like to use part put together and part made up. I can always tweak. I too follow the book called The Well Trained Mind written by mother/daughter team. Jessie was a ps teacher turned homeschooler. She lays out a curriculum from Prek to 12th. Even if you don't use all of it, the suggestions are wonderful. I agree with Missy, keep all your options over. Unlike ps, where the teacher may teach the same grade year after year, in hs (homeschool)each year changes, just like real life. Wait..that is REAL LIFE. (LOL) I know I shared with a prek ps teacher friend of mine ( she taught prek, k and 1st) that I like to use part basal readers. She commented that she *NEVER likes to use them as part of her guided reading program*. Well YEAH..she teaches ONE grade! The curriculum can be and is totally different for each grade. I DON"T make basal readers my TOTAL reading program, I treat them as the anthologies they are. Its nice to pick a story out of there and have the questions used from the back of the book when you have been up all night nursing a sick baby. Of course, it all depends on the basal readers too. I told her that basal readers have come a long way, and are just used as ONE tool in my *tool pouch*. I always like to strike a balance when it comes to literature. Here again the beauty of homeschooling is that you can set it up exactly to suit you. The choices from teaching science to history to latin are endless. There is sooooo much wonderful stuff out there that it does behooves a newbie to check them out. Something else, homeschoolers are always looking for certified teachers to test their children. They want someone who understands and respects the homeschooling moms position in education. I know that a lot of states require testing. Homeschooling moms prefer another homeschooling mom that is a certified teacher to testing than to take their child to an unknown tester or place. This may be a thought for you for side income. Also a lot of homeschool groups have co-ops. This is where a homeschooling mom or dad will teach a subject/skill they are versed in to a a group of homeschooling students for x number of weeks. Also personal tutoring is always a need. Oh well, blah, blah, blah I'm a rambler too.. I'm Tina, I have homeschooled for almost 5 years! I have a soon to be 4th grader, soon to be 2nd grader and a 4yo. A BIG WELCOME to you and hope you stick around! Blessings TinaTx
Tina-- I've found a local homeschool group close to me but before I can join I need to read one book on homeschooling so that is a goal for this week. It's funny that you mention Basal readers, when I was in college my professors where like "Oh no those are horrible" but honestly after working in the field I really believe you have to be open to many tools and there is no one right way that works for everybody. I hadn't considered testing yet. Here in NC you don't have to report to the state until the child is 7yrs. I plan to use portfolio assessment for right now, I need to break out my old assessment textbooks though b/c it's been a while I'm so glad I found this site and you guys are full of awesome suggestions and advice!!!!! Thanks bunches, I'm feeling MUCH better about this now
