Hi! I am going to be homeschooling my children, though they are a little young for doing any programs like Abeka or anything. My daughter is 4 and my son is 20mos. My dd will be going to preschool 5 days a week in the morning time this year (she gets really bored at home). I wanted to start working with her on her handwriting, letter recognition, and eventually reading when she gets home from preschool (My ds naps from around 12 - 3). Hopefully next year we'll be living in Liverpool, England. My husband wants to get his Masters over there, so we'll be there for a year. So I'll have to start homeschooling in earnest while we're over there. I'd like to spend this year researching the different curriculums available to see which would fit into our lives the best. I'd rather not start a curriculum with dd this year, as she'll be going to preschool quite a bit. I did have a couple of questions for all of you "experienced homeschoolers": Which curriculum are you using (if you are using a curriculum)? Are there any "year-round" curriculums? Is anyone on here located overseas? Thanks in advance! I've already read some great advice from you ladies! Jen
First of all I would like to say welcome to the Board Jen and Hope you enjoy it. Come in and ask alot of question there are alot of wonderful ladies here wth wonderful advice. My name is Kris and I homeschool my two dd's who are 10 and 12 it is alot of fun. There are alot of good things out and web site to down load for your daughter to get some free worksheets for this year. One is AtoZ they have alot of neat things go over there and look. Another one was just put on here and I think it's neat is Jan Brett's Home Page very colorful page I think your daugther would love them. Welcome and Good Luck in England I have a wonderful friend whom I have been friends with for over twenty years who lived in England but is in the state now but wanting to go back in a year or two.
Welcome! I am going into my second consecutive year of homeschooling. I have a 9yo son and 6yo daughter. We use various texts and lots of read-alouds. I like Math-U-See a lot. It is worth checking into since you are starting at the very beginning. It teaches math in a way that we process it better rather than just memorizing facts. www.mathusee.com. I know we have had overseas homeschoolers on this board before. It seems like one or two servicemen's wives have posted as well as at least a family or two in Australia. And hopefully some more will come out of hiding since you posted asking for them. Hope you find the support you need here!
Hi, Jen! Welcome! We're overseas, but nowhere near England, in eastern Europe. It's good you are researching now, because your options may be more limited in England. Nice thing is, your libraries and bookstores will be full of books in English!!! ;-) We use Bob Jones University Press. I didn't care for the phonics in K5 (actually, it didn't fit my son's learning style), but I've been happy with the 1st and 2nd grade materials. A boxed curriculum is practical when you live overseas, because you have "everything" you need. You can still tweak it, but without ready access to other materials and/or libraries, it's nice to have a complete curriculum. Of course, you can always find good free printables on the internet. I believe any curriculum can be used "year-round", just space it out with breaks every so often and you can do year around school, if you want to. I know several ladies on this board do this. Best wishes as you prepare for your time in England! Blessings,
Thanks to you all for all your welcomes! I really do appreciate it! You ladies give such wonderful advise, I really look forward to spending more time here and getting to know you all better! Jen
Welcome, Jen! I love your online name, BTW! I've three kids 11, 9, and 5 1/2. We are starting our 7th year. There are days when I'm totally exhausted, etc., but wouldn't do it any differently!
Welcome! I'm not to hsing, too. This is our first year to hs our 5yo ds and 4yo dd and they're both doing Kindergarten. What an awesome experience it's been so far (and we're just getting started)! As far as curriculum, my main source is Sonlight. They have a real user-friendly instructor's guide that helps you plan all the materials each day and reminder of fun things to do outside the curriculum. It comes with a 4-day or 5-day guide and the customer support has been awesome. We school year round, and take off the last week of each month (great for scheduling appointments, trips, etc.) and a little extra time around the holidays. Welcome aboard! You'll get some great advice and ideas here, and we always welcome new insight!
Welcome to Homeschool Spot! I envy you that trip to England next year- I've always wanted to go, and we have wonderful friends over there that we'd love to see! So, good luck with that! As for homeschooling, I have 2 daughters, ages 11 and 5, that I homeschool. This year, we've branched out and gone with several different things (curriculum-wise). I've become more relaxed, having a few years behind us now, and I really wanted to find what suited each girls' learning style the best. But, I do want to "second" what Settlers said about Abeka's reading curriculum.......I think it is far and above the best phonics/reading program that I have seen. I used it with my oldest daughter and was very impressed. My youngest didn't like the phonics approach, which was new to me- she just wanted to teach herself to read with no help from mom! But, we are still using the Abeka Letters & Sounds and Language books with her this year (1st grade). I would highly recommend it. Good luck! And I'm sure you'll get lots more good advice from the wise ladies on this board!
I recently went to an A Beka hotel thingy (please forgive my horrible grammar, it's been a long day) and I was very impressed. My husband and I had already signed our dd up for a 5-day preschool and I'm going to try to get it down to 3 days. If I can do that, I'll be able to put the money I would have spent on preschool into A Beka's K4 curriculum for this next year. Plus, I'll be able to sit with her on the days she doesn't have school to work on school. When she gets home from school on the other days, we'll play it by ear. She may be exhausted, but she may not be - it's hard to tell with her sometimes. Anyway, sorry for the long post. Thanks again for your warm welcomes! Jen
I'm really quite excited to get started! And yet, when I told my MIL about our decision to homeschool (she's a retired ps elementary teacher) she was anything but supportive. My husband said he would talk to her from now on. I know, especially after lurking here for a while, that I'll get those kinds of reactions from the least expected places. Oh well, I'm doing what I know to be the absolute best decision for my children. Jen
GOOD FOR YOUR HUBBY, JEN!!! He's exactly right, and you should be so proud of him for realizing it!!! Let HIM take the heat for the decision, especially when it comes to his parents! Former teachers are either the WORST or the BEST. The either take it very personal that you feel it's not "good enough" for your baby and who do you think you are, that you can do "as good" without ANY education at all!!! Or they can honestly sit back and see what the majority of public schools have become, and admire you for being willing to sacrifice for your child.
My MIL, bless her heart, has a very limited idea of what is acceptable and what is not. I know I won't be able to change her mind by talking to her, and neither will my husband. He'll be able to ask her not to make disparaging remarks in front of me or the kids, though. I just hope she'll become more accepting as the years go by and she sees her grandchildren thriving and becoming the kind of people we all hope and want them to be.
Jen, my aunt was the same way. She is also a retired teacher. My mom, who would be a HS'er herself if she was doing it over, is my number one supporter. When my oldest was going into kindergarten, Mom went to a family reunion. She asked mom, "Jackie isn't REALLY going to keep that little girl home from school, is she?" So Mom went on and on about how great it was going to be with me homeschooling, etc. Well, two years later my COUSIN is homeschooling!!! To give my aunt credit, she's never said anything negative about her daughter homeschooling that I've heard. It's always been positive, even if it's a questioning, "I'm not so sure about this" attitude. She knows it's not HER choice, and she has to accept her daughter's decision, whether she agrees or not. And her daughter is doing an excellent job (no surprise there!), so the attitude is changing a little. (Though, of course, not EVERYONE would be doing it as well and as diligently as her daughter and I do, nor are all kids just as naturally smart like my kids and her grandkids. You have to take all that into consideration!!!) If he can let her know that negative comments to you and the kids will not be tolerated, that's a major thing!
That is great that your husband is so supportive and take care of his mom rather than you dealing with her. I second what Jackie says-wonderful!
Hi Jen, I'm a Jen as well. I am in the same boat when it comes to having young ones. I only have 1, a little boy who is 3, but I run a preschool out of my home as well so I have 5 little 3-year-olds running around all week. Welcome and stick around.
Hi! This is our second year hs. My son is now in kindergarten. I also use the ABEKA program and I love it. I couldn't afford the DVD program or the Academy one. Although I wish I could. I just use the straight curriculum. I love it and so does my son. He did great in K4. ABEKA is so easy to use. Because of the price I had to buy alot of the books second hand which I got at 60% off for most of the books. I did buy the actual workbooks new though. But I found that the workbooks are actually the cheapest part. The only thing that I found is that the list they give you in the catalog (the kits) are not nearly enough at least not for me. I also bought all the visuals, teaching aids, all the recommended and optional items also. I guess that's why it's so expensive. Without these extra items I felt it was hard to make it fun, but with them they're great fun. Maybe with more experience I will be able to make my own stuff in the future. Well I hope this has been helpful. Charlie
Charlie, We'll be using the straight curriculum as well. I definitely would not mind finding books second hand. I know of a couple stores around that sell second hand books. Are there specific places where teachers (public and non) go to buy second hand schooling books? I'll be purchasing all of the optional stuff too. I want to make learning as much fun as possible for my kids. I know as I become more experienced I'll also become more creative and will be able to spend less (hopefully!), but I need all the help I can get right now You've all been very helpful! Thanks! Jen
Jenny, I am lucky that my local library has lots of books I can check out and "try" to see if they "fit" my kids. Right now, I am using a spelling book that costs $40 to see how I like it. There have been several programs that others strongly suggested that I got from the library and HATED, while others I went out and bought after using it for a month or so. Also, ask HS'ing friends to borrow books they are no longer using. Again, I have ended up buying a copy of something because I borrowed it from a friend first and decided it was what I needed. Also, if you're looking for something in particular, you might want to ask here. One of us might have a used copy we'd be willing to sell you! One of the best places for used books online: www.homeschoolclassifieds.com (I think that's right; if it doesn't connect, take the "s" off of "classifieds" and try it. I've bought a lot of stuff from there, and a friend has used it to sell some of her stuff.)
Hi Jen, I got alot of my stuff on ebay. It's very time consuming to go this route but I needed to do it to save. Plus you really have to watch what you buy because alot of ebayers will buy items over the price for new which didn't make sense to me. To make sure I got a good price I made a list of items I needed and looked through the catalog and put the price on there that way I know I'm getting a good price. I hope this helps.
