I am organizing a Curriculum Fair. My original idea was to have a sharing table for different people to answer the usual questions... Why do you Homeschool? What about Socialization? What curriculum do you use? Why? Going beyond the books: What is your favorite non-traditional lesson? Some of our association members thought it would be better to make posters with all the info on them...and while it was a great idea--I am having a hard time getting anyone to answer the questions...and now we're down to the wire. So I am hoping that some of you will help me PLEASE! If you feel led to help a woman at her wits end, with young boys, and a deployed husband--please answer some of these questions. I will post them anonymously on posters to decorate the walls of our meager Curriculum Share--this weekend. I am tired of begging our members. I know I probably should let this ball fall...but I don't want my project to go badly...I've put in too much time and effort for it to look like I half-did it. Thank you! Stacie
Since I'm assuming you're a military family, our reasons for beginning to homeschool 13 months ago may be similar to those of your group. My hubby was in the Middle East (Saudi and Iraq x2) for 35 of 54 months. When he returned safely and we moved from KY to VA, we decided to homeschool (after many successful years at their DoD school). We wanted more family time. We didn't want to be subject to the strict attendance policy of the local public schools just so the kids could be taught to pass the VA Standards of Learning. The local school district doesn't have the best track record and our kids would be shuffled off to different schools because the neighborhood school ships out the gifted kids at a certain age (but they bus kids in from poorer neighborhoods). We had decided to homeschool no matter where we were assigned but the local school situation definitely reinforces our decision. Our kids are finishing K, 2nd and 4th grades. It has been a wonderful experience. Everyday isn't a picnic but everyday we're learning something and are a much closer family than ever before. Our kids see Daddy much more...partly because of homeschooling and partly because of his current assignment. We've gotten to take advantage of so many opportunities this past year that they would not have been able to do had they been attending the local schools. My oldest who previously disliked reading now inhales books so fast I can hardly keep up :lol: As for socialization, our kids participate in a small co-op at church, are active in AWANA, play soccer, take swimming lessons, our girl are in Girls Scouts and our son will start Cub Scouts next year. We also attend local homeschool park days, have playdates with other homeschoolers, and the local museums have homeschool open houses regularly. My girls have also taken a homeschool art class for 2 sessions. Our girls also took a summer session last year for gifted learners at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg. I don't think they're going to do it this summer due to several other trips but I'm sure they'll do it again in the future. We don't have a lot of kids in our neighborhood that they play with but they have lots of friends and we get together with them often. Actually we're headed to the zoo this morning with another friend and her daughter. We are very eclectic in our curriculum. I'll mention a few things that we used this year and a few we're going to use next year: Hooked on Phonics, Explode the Code, Horizons Math, A Reason for Handwriting, All About Spelling, Spelling Power, Wordly Wise, Get a Clue (online vocab for my oldest), Sonlight Core 3 & 4 (oldest kiddo), Abeka History (middle kiddo), Apologia Zoology 2, SOS Science, Rod & Staff English, IEW for Writing, A Child's Geography Vol. 1, and a million other supplements. I can't think of a fav non-traditional lesson right at this moment but our favorite activity this year was probably the 5 days we spent at Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown. We're stationed at Ft. Monroe and live so close. They have great homeschool programs and although it was COLD at their Feb homeschool days, it wasn't crowded and the kids got to ask a zillion questions if they wanted too. My middle kiddo doesn't really like history but since we visited Col. W'burg, she's been LOTS more interested and talks about the things she learned all the time. Hope that helps!
Stacie, you are so kind to do all this. I am sorry your members are not more involved. All the best to you and the curriculum fair. -Cheryl dd-14(school of the arts) homeschooling ds-12 and ds-11
Ok, Ill try and help a little We are Australians who have relocated to the United Arab Emirates. We have DS 10 (Yr5), DD 9 (Yr4), and DD 20 months. The 2 older children have been to school before (in Oz) and loved it. The 1st time we moved here, we did Distance Eduction. When we returned to Oz, they went back to school. When it was decided that we would be returning here, I took them out of school, as we needed that time to readjust to all being home again together. Schooling is not an option for us over here....WAY too expensive. Generally we enjoy homeschooling, but like everyone, we have our off days too. The biggest benefit for homeschooling over here, is the fact that the children get to travel a lot, so the work comes with us, or we work at "catching up" at our own pace. The kids play with other kids from the neighbourhood everyday, and also interact with their friends parents etc. There are no co-ops or support groups here, so being with other kids only happens outside of "normal' school hrs. Summer is the hardest time here, as most people leave for 2-3 months, back to their home countries, to escape the heat (does make the roads and malls more bearable though !!) We use a mixture of curriculums here: Learning Language Arts through Literature (LLAL), Math-U-See, Story of the World, Gods Design, plus books books for spelling, creative writing, comprehension, art, geography etc. Some of these were recommended by others and seem to be working for us. Probably the kids favourite non-traditional subject has been religion (was only done for 1st grade in old school). We have studied Christianity, Sikhism,Hinduism and Islam. My daughter loves religion, and has really embraced Islam. Kids also have Arabic lessons. We have been very blessed to have been able to travel a little with the kids, and every 2 months, we head off to Oman, and explore. The culture/religion of this area of the world is fascinating and has opened all of our eyes to a different way of life. This has been the best lesson by far. Hope this helps a little Cheers
Why do you Homeschool? We wanted to provide an education beyond that of what the public schools could provide. We could not afford the only private school that suited our needs, educational expectations and our style. So, we decided to spend one year homeschooling to see how it would go. Well, we have been homeschooling now ever since. We enjoy learning together and developing ourselves and creativity together. I love really knowing my kids and being a such a huge part of thier lives. What about Socialization? Socialization is not really an issue. THis should not even be a concern unless you live in complete solitude on a desert island. lol. My kids have plenty of kids in the neighborhood to play with. They are active in sports and church. They have learned how to comfortably interact with kids and adults of all ages due to their exposure. They have also learned how to apprieciate each other. When we think of socialization we need to consider quality socialization not just sitting in a classroom with 20 other kids being told not to interact. How many times have I heard in school the teacher say, "this is not a social club!" Kids learn to socialize first by their parents. Then they learn to stand on their own but not in school. They learn through outside activities. There are plenty of outside activities for homeschoolers much are involved in the local schools. What curriculum do you use? Why? Over the years I have used Abeka, Bob Jones, Singapore, and various workbooks. I have spent plenty of time in the trial and error phase. I have not used a boxed set but tried to pick the best that fit my kids and best of what was out there. I think choosing a curriculum that suits your child or children's learning style will yeild the best results. yet, it may take time to find the right fit. In fact, next year we are changing things up completely to suit more of a literature based and tactile based approach to learning. Something we seem to have found over the years suit students and teacher alike. It is important to study different methods and approaches to find what suits your family. Going beyond the books: What is your favorite non-traditional lesson? We love exploring so we found letterboxing to be a new favorite activity. We also enjoy gardening. My kids love to eat so now they are learning to love to bake and cook. We also enjoy spending time at parks, playing board games, playing kickball and a host of other fun activities. My son enjoys sports so he indulges in that area. My daughter loves crafts so she involves herself in a variety of art projects and craft projects. I hope this is what you are looking for! Have fun at your fair and I hope it goes smoothly.
Why do you Homeschool? We chose homeschooling before we were even married! We had a close couple friend who had 3 kids they homeschooled. They were bright, articulate, respectful, fun, etc. We loved them and wanted to recreate the same in our children! What about Socialization? Well, we attend a weekly bible study where they have a class for the homeschoolers. Also, we are part of a loose co-op that does field trips, book clubs, PE days, service projects, etc together. What curriculum do you use? I use an ecclectic mix. Some Alpha Omega Lifepacs...I like them for the structure and reinforcing of our values. We use First Language Lessons for my one child...because it is engageing for him and feeds his style. Math U See for the same reason. What is your favorite non-traditional lesson? How to be in a family and cooperation, etc. How to keep a home a home. not always perfect...but we're working on it! I hope it goes amazingly well for you!!!!!
Why do you Homeschool? We knew we wanted to homeschool well before we had children, too. As it turns out, it's also the best situation for our daughter. She is PDD-NOS (on the autism spectrum), and needs a lot of structure and very little chaos. She LOVES homeschool! And I love teaching her and spending lots of time with her, too. My little one is in our public school's excellent pre-k program right now, but she'll hopefully be home, too, after next year. What about Socialization? Like someone else said, "socialization" is only a problem if you live on a desert island or way out in the boonies. (Having said that... I WISH we lived way out in the boonies!!) They go to Sunday school and children's church on Sunday morning, children's choir Sunday night, Bible study on Tuesday, Pioneer Girls on Wednesday, and often have stuff on other days, too. They talk to adults, play with children their own age, and other ages, and are learning to be kind, polite, fair, cooperative, patient, respectful etc etc... Obviously we are still working on all of that (I really need to get my older daughter to stop asking elderly Southern women how old they are!!! ), but it's coming along nicely. What curriculum do you use? Why? Right now we're using My Father's World for history and Bible (since our church's weekday ladies' Bible study is over for the year.. they have a homeschool class, so Joy was just doing that for her Bible before), and the Usborne books that come with it for science. We're doing Learning Language Arts through Literature for language arts (writing and grammar, mostly). We're going to start Singapore Math next week (switching from Saxon) because I like the mental math it teaches and Joy doesn't need as much review as Saxon provides. We're doing Flip Flop Spanish, reading books and magazines for reading... ummm... what am I missing? Daddy's in charge of art since I have trouble making realistic stick figures. LOL Going beyond the books: What is your favorite non-traditional lesson? Hmm.. Since Joy is autistic, she has a hard time picking up social cues and dealing with changes in schedule/chaos/anything unexpected. So we do lots of social coaching. I'm not sure that's my favorite non-traditional lesson, but it has been our most valuable one. I hope that helps! I suspect you're going to need to shorten my/our responses to get them on your poster... sorry for being so verbose!
Why do you Homeschool? My son was in the ps for 3 years. They were not meeting his needs academically, including not letting him check out any books except "those with a yellow dot" in the first grade, when he was reading on at least a middle school level. They were not meeting his needs nor my expectations SOCIALLY. They do not teach children how to interact with one another nor about what is and is not appropriate. If a child acts up, they are punished or sent away... or ignored. Labels are placed on children without investigating the reasons behind behaviors, and appropriate help cannot be given this way. We grew tired of the system. What about Socialization? We are very active with our local homeschooling group; in fact, I started the group myself. We have a book club that meets every other Monday. Our cub scouting group (which we also started recently, but have been active in scouts since ds9 was 4yo) meets on the opposite Mondays, plus two Thursday evenings and a Tuesday evening each month. (Some of those are planning, but the kids play while parents plan.) We have a park day with other homeschoolers on Tuesdays, a science co-op and a karate lesson at a church on Wednesdays, and a regular play date on Fridays. In the fall, we will begin AWANA classes on Sundays. There are different people at EACH of these activities, different genders, different ages, different backgrounds, different beliefs and cultures. I can tell you that my kiddos are MUCH more exposed to what's out there than I was at their age! What curriculum do you use? Why? We use an eclectic mix. Part of the reason we do this is budget; I use what is given to me or I can find for cheap. Part of it has to do with finding what works for my kids. I've purchased things (never pay retail!! that's my motto...) that I knew would be perfect for what it is each of my children needs. SO, we use a different curriculum for each subject, and sometimes a mix of more than one curriculum or title within a single subject. See my sig line for a generalized list of what my 9yo uses. Going beyond the books: What is your favorite non-traditional lesson? Things come up over dinner, usually, that lead to a conversation with my 9yo about this subject or that subject. Sometimes it will spark enough interest that we'll get some books at the library, or even do a lapbook or project. We also use our cub scouting program to its fullest extent; my son earns a lot of the "extras" that not everyone earns, and it sparks an interest in learning for this or that to know he's working towards an award of some sort. For my younger ones, they often see something either outside (Look Mom! An airplane! Look, a snail? Look, a roly poly bug! I can't put him back... the ants will eat him! I have to RESCUE him!!) or on the tv (what, exactly, IS a Tiger Shark like Diego rescued today?) that sparks an interest in learning about that for a few days.
You are ALL AWESOME!!!! I think I have MORE than enough! I am so grateful! We are stationed in Japan--so if you ever do a culture unit on Japan, I would be happy to send recipes, origami, folktales...or if there is anything I can do to return the favor, plz pm me! Stacie
