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TWTM for Low Income Families


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Okay, so I have been doing a lot of thinking lately. I have tended to move away from TWTM during my worst periods of poverty, and been drawn to other things.

 

This is the first time I have had so little, but am looking at TWTM as the easiest method to follow right now. I'm trying to figure out why.

 

I don't really have a question or focus for this thread. I am a write to learn person. Even with zero feedback, I figure things out by writing. So I'm writing.

 

And opening the thread up to others to share or "write to learn" themselves.

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I wonder whether times of poverty are too distracting to make TWTM feel possible?  School in a box lets people just open the books and follow them.  In many ways that frees up mental space to focus on getting out of poverty or whatever.  TWTM is always pieced together by the parent, and that is exhausting at times (and, I should add, deeply satisfying and exhilarating at times as well.)

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I liked WTM when we were low income because it was so flexible. I felt like I was given all the tools for educating my children well without having to buy all the sparkly curricula out there. Singapore Math is cheap and the library met most of our other needs, if we had a library. I think having Internet access at home, if at all possible, makes big difference too.

 

It was really difficult to homeschool well when we didn't have a library or much money or decent Internet access.

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I wonder whether times of poverty are too distracting to make TWTM feel possible? School in a box lets people just open the books and follow them. In many ways that frees up mental space to focus on getting out of poverty or whatever. TWTM is always pieced together by the parent, and that is exhausting at times (and, I should add, deeply satisfying and exhilarating at times as well.)

Definitely. For me at least, poverty makes me think differently. I'm trying to think if the particular challenges I'm facing right now, are affecting my brain differently.

 

I think this may be the first time I have been in poverty as an adult without being married or romantically involved with anyone.

 

There are all sorts of tasks beside educating that must take place when joined to a significant other, that I am not responsible for. Maybe my brain is less cluttered and distracted and not orbitting around someone else's schedule.

 

I have been thinking about this. Thanks so much for bringing it up!

 

Have we ever discussed this topic, here???! I don't think we have.

 

I know so many people complain about TWTM science. It is my absolutely favorite part right now. I just have to worry about one branch of science for the entire year, and dont have to worry about the others.

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I liked WTM when we were low income because it was so flexible. I felt like I was given all the tools for educating my children well without having to buy all the sparkly curricula out there. Singapore Math is cheap and the library met most of our other needs, if we had a library. I think having Internet access at home, if at all possible, makes big difference too.

 

It was really difficult to homeschool well when we didn't have a library or much money or decent Internet access.

Yes, it feels very flexible to me right now. I feel like I can use whatever resources I have available, as long as I stick to the year's topics.

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When we went through a period of really scarey poverty, I already had WTM up and running, and it was easy and economical and very satisfying.  But if that had happened during the initial homeschooling years, I'm sure I would have either opted for school in a box or brick and mortar school.  WTM was reasonably easy and doable.  Getting WTM going was not.

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I liked WTM when we were low income because it was so flexible. I felt like I was given all the tools for educating my children well without having to buy all the sparkly curricula out there. Singapore Math is cheap and the library met most of our other needs, if we had a library. I think having Internet access at home, if at all possible, makes big difference too.

 

Same here. Since there are so many different resources listed for everything, we could generally find something that worked one way or another.

 

But we never tried to follow it super-strictly, either.

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Yes, it feels very flexible to me right now. I feel like I can use whatever resources I have available, as long as I stick to the year's topics.

 

^^ THIS is why I have been (mostly) following WTM history/science rotations for years.  Especially the People/Topics to Cover lists that are given in WTM.  I plug what resources I have access to into that plan and keep moving forward at whatever pace my time or finances allow. Seeing the big picture, and knowing the next step in the plan is very stress relieving for me.

 

Using the audio lectures by SWB has been another way to save costs.   Using the guidelines in the lectures, you discuss, analyze, and write using the books available to you. 

 

Taking 1 1/2 to 2 years to go through each volume of SOTW has been dollar stretching as well. 

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During the '30s, my grandfather said that he could always tell a well educated man because he was never bored, no matter how little money he had.

 

According to Dmitri Orlov, night watchman and furnace stoker were favorite

jobs among the highly educated, who got all their pleasure from their friends, from their reading, or from nature during the collapse of the former Soviet Union.

 

http://www.camse.org/andy/oil/Soviet_Advice.pdf

 

This is what I mean by "education" when I say that I wish that my descendants will be "well educated" during generations of downward mobility.

 

TWTM is just a guide, but a rich inner life and appreciation of literature, history, music, and art can make difficult times more bearable and leave lower income families less vulnerable to exploitation by the entertainment industry, drugs/alcohol, gambling, prostitution, "get rich quick" schemes, etc.

 

The bar isn't "lower" for low income families because their kids will be working jobs that require obeying orders and using their muscles rather than college educations for white collar careers, it is actually higher because there won't be college professors to fill in the gap or a childhood that extends past physical maturity into the mid-twenties.

 

I am probably not expressing myself well and I'm not sure I want to come back to see this post ridiculed, but I do not believe that education is something that can or should be bought and sold or that civilization benefits in any way, shape, or form by artificially creating an ignorant underclass.

 

Baby up. Too much internet time lately. HTH, Hunter, and best of luck to you in this new chapter of your life.

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During the '30s, my grandfather said that he could always tell a well educated man because he was never bored, no matter how little money he had.

 

According to Dmitri Orlov, night watchman and furnace stoker were favorite

jobs among the highly educated, who got all their pleasure from their friends, from their reading, or from nature during the collapse of the former Soviet Union.

 

http://www.camse.org/andy/oil/Soviet_Advice.pdf

 

This is what I mean by "education" when I say that I wish that my descendants will be "well educated" during generations of downward mobility.

 

TWTM is just a guide, but a rich inner life and appreciation of literature, history, music, and art can make difficult times more bearable and leave lower income families less vulnerable to exploitation by the entertainment industry, drugs/alcohol, gambling, prostitution, "get rich quick" schemes, etc.

 

The bar isn't "lower" for low income families because their kids will be working jobs that require obeying orders and using their muscles rather than college educations for white collar careers, it is actually higher because there won't be college professors to fill in the gap or a childhood that extends past physical maturity into the mid-twenties.

 

I am probably not expressing myself well and I'm not sure I want to come back to see this post ridiculed, but I do not believe that education is something that can or should be bought and sold or that civilization benefits in any way, shape, or form by artificially creating an ignorant underclass.

 

Baby up. Too much internet time lately. HTH, Hunter, and best of luck to you in this new chapter of your life.

 

What an amazing post!  Love that definition of well-educated.

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When we went through a period of really scarey poverty, I already had WTM up and running, and it was easy and economical and very satisfying. But if that had happened during the initial homeschooling years, I'm sure I would have either opted for school in a box or brick and mortar school. WTM was reasonably easy and doable. Getting WTM going was not.

I was just thinking about this as I walking to the farmers market. I am looking at year 3, which is a year I have never really truly done. I think I got a better understanding of the big picture by reading year 3 that will make doing year 1 in the future easier.

 

But also, I'm wondering if year 3 is more attractive to poverty mindset. And it is easier to find history and literature resources. The chem might be hard for others but my library is adequate and willing to buy chem ebooks. They bought all 4 chem books I requested.

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Same here. Since there are so many different resources listed for everything, we could generally find something that worked one way or another.

 

But we never tried to follow it super-strictly, either.

I think I am a more creative and grounded instructor than I have sometimes been in the past. I'm not trying to follow it closely and don't feel confused or overwhelmed by anything I am reading for the year. Yes, there is lots there that is too rigorous and expensive, but I feel confident about what I want to do as written, skip, and add.

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^^ THIS is why I have been (mostly) following WTM history/science rotations for years. Especially the People/Topics to Cover lists that are given in WTM. I plug what resources I have access to into that plan and keep moving forward at whatever pace my time or finances allow. Seeing the big picture, and knowing the next step in the plan is very stress relieving for me.

 

Using the audio lectures by SWB has been another way to save costs. Using the guidelines in the lectures, you discuss, analyze, and write using the books available to you.

 

Taking 1 1/2 to 2 years to go through each volume of SOTW has been dollar stretching as well.

Do you spend as long on the science as you do SOTW?

 

Thank you for suggesting the lectures. I have never listened to any, and right now, that sounds attractive to me. I'm usually not a good listener, but my eyes are tired. This will be good.

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During the '30s, my grandfather said that he could always tell a well educated man because he was never bored, no matter how little money he had.

 

According to Dmitri Orlov, night watchman and furnace stoker were favorite

jobs among the highly educated, who got all their pleasure from their friends, from their reading, or from nature during the collapse of the former Soviet Union.

 

http://www.camse.org/andy/oil/Soviet_Advice.pdf

 

This is what I mean by "education" when I say that I wish that my descendants will be "well educated" during generations of downward mobility.

 

TWTM is just a guide, but a rich inner life and appreciation of literature, history, music, and art can make difficult times more bearable and leave lower income families less vulnerable to exploitation by the entertainment industry, drugs/alcohol, gambling, prostitution, "get rich quick" schemes, etc.

 

The bar isn't "lower" for low income families because their kids will be working jobs that require obeying orders and using their muscles rather than college educations for white collar careers, it is actually higher because there won't be college professors to fill in the gap or a childhood that extends past physical maturity into the mid-twenties.

 

I am probably not expressing myself well and I'm not sure I want to come back to see this post ridiculed, but I do not believe that education is something that can or should be bought and sold or that civilization benefits in any way, shape, or form by artificially creating an ignorant underclass.

 

Baby up. Too much internet time lately. HTH, Hunter, and best of luck to you in this new chapter of your life.

Your posts are always fascinating. Please keep posting. I'm not the only one listening.

 

I really don't think we have ever directly discussed this topic before. We have danced around it, sure.

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TWTM helped me save money this year. I spent time this summer reviewing all of the writing process in the TWTM and was able to implement it with books I already had.

Yes, I don't have much at all for composition, but I feel like the skeleton is in place, and that I know what I want to prioritize.

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I think TWTM can be really hit-or-miss for those in poverty. It really depends on whether you're in survival mode and need to have as practical an education as possible vs. you're broke but aspire to an excellent education. Latin isn't something needed to get into trade school, an apprenticeship, or community college, KWIM?

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I think TWTM can be really hit-or-miss for those in poverty. It really depends on whether you're in survival mode and need to have as practical an education as possible vs. you're broke but aspire to an excellent education. Latin isn't something needed to get into trade school, an apprenticeship, or community college, KWIM?

I do know what you mean. I think sometimes in the past, I had trouble prioritizing which parts were needed for US right NOW. And I was left feeling inadequate and ashamed. I'm trying to figure out how I'm in a different place, now, that I can pick and choose so confidently. I'm wondering again if there is something critically different about year 3 compared to year 1.

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I just wanted to say thanks for this thread, because I had forgotten that there's a list of topics to cover in it. That should help me focus my search for science resources a bit more. (I can list important topics and names from the Middle Ages without much effort, but science is so not my thing.)

 

Homeschooling, IME, requires currency of some sort: usually money or time. Sometimes your own expertise can stand in. Sometimes I have more money than time, and sometimes it's the other way around. I can take the time to find free/library resources on my own to do ancient history a la WTM, or I can watch for a cheap copy of SOTW1/AG (I paid $5 for the two of them from a local mom, and they're on their second round) and a sale on Pandia Press's Ancients 2, and I can follow those recommendations for projects, chapters, supplements, etc. and save myself a ton of time. Otoh, I want a different approach for science, so I'm spending the time to read sites, read WTM, and collect stuff myself. A science trained mom might be able to do all of that without spending a lot of time OR money.

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When we went through a period of really scarey poverty, I already had WTM up and running, and it was easy and economical and very satisfying.  But if that had happened during the initial homeschooling years, I'm sure I would have either opted for school in a box or brick and mortar school.  WTM was reasonably easy and doable.  Getting WTM going was not.

 

I agree with this. At this point, we've got enough resources on hand that we could teach through 12th simply by pulling stuff off our bookshelves. DH would have to help the kids with physics and advanced math, but we could do it if we needed to. It would rely more heavily on anthologies of excerpts than I would prefer with regards to literature and history. But it's better to read a selection from a longer work than not to read any of it, KWIM?

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I live in Africa (I know it is not a country - I live there :)) and these posts about poverty always make me wonder what posters consider poverty to be. For many people here poverty means you cannot get food on the table, you have no electricity at all ever (and certainly no access to the internet), water supply can be difficult and you go to town to find a job and land up with asthma from sleeping too close to a fire (because you used loaned money to get to town and cannot afford to get a trip home so you had to sleep outside in the cold) and then getting smoke inhalation from the fire and then you cannot get transport to a hospital and you have to hope you stop at the right place where someone can give you an asthma pump and a mug of water or else you may genuinely die. (Yes, I have seen this happen - luckily he did not die and got some help at least that day.)

 

So if this was the definition of poverty then TWTM would be very very far from my thoughts. I would hope to learn how to get help, I would rely on people to teach me how to survive. I know they did an experiment with people who were well off - they told them they had to survive on food using only $2.30 for 3 days. The people who were wealthy did not understand how to do this - the things they bought would not have allowed them to survive and they also could not eat 3 meals a day which is how people in poverty live here anyway. People in poverty would not even have access to the library for loans that requires that you prove where you live and that you have a job so that you can pay fines if you take out books though you might be able to enter it and read there.

 

If you look at Maslow's triangle then physiological needs (food, water, shelter) are what counts when in poverty, then safety, then love and belonging, then esteem (where eduction can play some role) and finally self actualisation. 

 

Are there ways to do TWTM more cheaply - yes of course there are. Is there a way to do it in true poverty - no because other needs will be too great and must be seen to first.

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Do you spend as long on the science as you do SOTW?

 

 

 

Yes and no.  Depends on the child's interest or ability level, how involved *I* need to be, and how much money I have to play with at the time.  There have been times when that year's topic ( I'm looking at you, 3rd grade chemistry...) got very light coverage (a light reading through appropriate pages in Usborne Science Encyclopedia,) and we spent more time watching NOVA, doing nature study, and reading scientist bios from the library.  We still got lots of science in, made great pages for the science notebook (using questions/guidelines from the grammar stage science section of the WTM), it just wasn't so heavily weighted towards that year's topic. 

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I do know what you mean. I think sometimes in the past, I had trouble prioritizing which parts were needed for US right NOW. And I was left feeling inadequate and ashamed. I'm trying to figure out how I'm in a different place, now, that I can pick and choose so confidently. I'm wondering again if there is something critically different about year 3 compared to year 1.

 

 

I tend to prefer to use SOTW with 3rd graders. I'm wondering if in general, for me, when I not doing the rotations family style, if I should start grade 1 with year 3.

 

I think year 3 could be easier because libraries would have more books for this time period.  I also think it could make sense to start grade 1 with year 3.  There are a number of curriculum guides that favor American history for the early years and cycle back to ancients afterwards.  One caveat is that SOTW 4 might not be a good resource for a grade 2 student - but certainly a study of 1850 to present could be done with friendlier resources. 

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People in poverty would not even have access to the library for loans that requires that you prove where you live and that you have a job so that you can pay fines if you take out books though you might be able to enter it and read there.

.

This is different here:

Every child under age 12 who has a name can have a free library card.

Every one 12+, unless you are refuge, lost your papers and entered the country the last 14-21 days has some kind of ID (we have many temporary ID's) and can have therefore a library card.

 

But, and that is is the other side, I don't see how to homeschool a la WTM with our libraries.

It seems to be impossible...

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I keep wondering if it's worth getting. As you know, it's available from used book sites in the US. As you also know, shipping and taxes (you have those too, right?) would make it cost an awful lot, even if the actual cost of the book isn't that bad.

 

I like what I hear about it a lot, so it may be worth the hassle and cost.

What are the differences from 1st edition to 3rd?

 

ETA: sorry if too off topic. Just curious what might make the first better in some scenarios.

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I just wanted to say thanks for this thread, because I had forgotten that there's a list of topics to cover in it. That should help me focus my search for science resources a bit more. (I can list important topics and names from the Middle Ages without much effort, but science is so not my thing.)

 

Homeschooling, IME, requires currency of some sort: usually money or time. Sometimes your own expertise can stand in. Sometimes I have more money than time, and sometimes it's the other way around. I can take the time to find free/library resources on my own to do ancient history a la WTM, or I can watch for a cheap copy of SOTW1/AG (I paid $5 for the two of them from a local mom, and they're on their second round) and a sale on Pandia Press's Ancients 2, and I can follow those recommendations for projects, chapters, supplements, etc. and save myself a ton of time. Otoh, I want a different approach for science, so I'm spending the time to read sites, read WTM, and collect stuff myself. A science trained mom might be able to do all of that without spending a lot of time OR money.

Yes, this was one of the things I was noticing as I was evaluating TWTM again, as useful for low income. Because the scope and sequence doesn't skip around so much, a mom has a bit more flexibility to buy or not buy prepared resources. She could wing biology, but buy a text for chemistry, and still stay on plan.

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I agree with this. At this point, we've got enough resources on hand that we could teach through 12th simply by pulling stuff off our bookshelves. DH would have to help the kids with physics and advanced math, but we could do it if we needed to. It would rely more heavily on anthologies of excerpts than I would prefer with regards to literature and history. But it's better to read a selection from a longer work than not to read any of it, KWIM?

I had a lot on hand. But now I don't. :lol:

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I agree with this. At this point, we've got enough resources on hand that we could teach through 12th simply by pulling stuff off our bookshelves. DH would have to help the kids with physics and advanced math, but we could do it if we needed to. It would rely more heavily on anthologies of excerpts than I would prefer with regards to literature and history. But it's better to read a selection from a longer work than not to read any of it, KWIM?

Right.

For instance, I couldn't pull off Classical Writing, which I badly wanted to do, and which would have been great for my daughter, but I did teach writing to her anyway, very, very well. 

Compromise is better than failure.

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I live in Africa (I know it is not a country - I live there :)) and these posts about poverty always make me wonder what posters consider poverty to be. For many people here poverty means you cannot get food on the table, you have no electricity at all ever (and certainly no access to the internet), water supply can be difficult and you go to town to find a job and land up with asthma from sleeping too close to a fire (because you used loaned money to get to town and cannot afford to get a trip home so you had to sleep outside in the cold) and then getting smoke inhalation from the fire and then you cannot get transport to a hospital and you have to hope you stop at the right place where someone can give you an asthma pump and a mug of water or else you may genuinely die. (Yes, I have seen this happen - luckily he did not die and got some help at least that day.)

 

So if this was the definition of poverty then TWTM would be very very far from my thoughts. I would hope to learn how to get help, I would rely on people to teach me how to survive. I know they did an experiment with people who were well off - they told them they had to survive on food using only $2.30 for 3 days. The people who were wealthy did not understand how to do this - the things they bought would not have allowed them to survive and they also could not eat 3 meals a day which is how people in poverty live here anyway. People in poverty would not even have access to the library for loans that requires that you prove where you live and that you have a job so that you can pay fines if you take out books though you might be able to enter it and read there.

 

If you look at Maslow's triangle then physiological needs (food, water, shelter) are what counts when in poverty, then safety, then love and belonging, then esteem (where eduction can play some role) and finally self actualisation.

 

Are there ways to do TWTM more cheaply - yes of course there are. Is there a way to do it in true poverty - no because other needs will be too great and must be seen to first.

Tanikit, I have lived in the type of poverty you are describing. And I have also lived in the type of poverty where my lack of resources isolated and excluded me from the local community. Isolation and exlusion are critical aspects of poverty.

 

There are people that narrowly define domestic abuse as a closed fist to the face or a vital organ and discount squeezing, pinching, etc, and absolutely refuse to recognize things like emotional and financial abuse.

 

Narrow definitions of abuse and poverty are not fair. They discount the damage done to people.

 

Humans are social animals and we are not able to thrive without inclusion.

 

Some of my worst poverty and abuse did not fit into the narrow definitions but did the most damage. Honestly when I was bleeding and hungry, but included in the group, it was sometimes easier, than some of the times I have been shamed for crumbling in.

 

I am sorry for the struggles of some people in Africa, but that doesn't discount what some of the lovely ladies at this forum have experienced. There are some real warriors here that are incredibly special to me. Some of them suffered the narrow and some the wider definitions, but I refuse to choose between the two as which one is worse.

 

Everyone here gets to define for themselves whether they have been abused or have lived in poverty. They get to do that without having to experience "secondary wounding".

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Yes and no. Depends on the child's interest or ability level, how involved *I* need to be, and how much money I have to play with at the time. There have been times when that year's topic ( I'm looking at you, 3rd grade chemistry...) got very light coverage (a light reading through appropriate pages in Usborne Science Encyclopedia,) and we spent more time watching NOVA, doing nature study, and reading scientist bios from the library. We still got lots of science in, made great pages for the science notebook (using questions/guidelines from the grammar stage science section of the WTM), it just wasn't so heavily weighted towards that year's topic.

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences!

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I live in Africa (I know it is not a country - I live there :)) and these posts about poverty always make me wonder what posters consider poverty to be.

 

. Is there a way to do it in true poverty - no because other needs will be too great and must be seen to first.

My husband lost his job.

He refused to apply for unemployment.

We have one rental house.  The renter's breadwinner lost his job--actually, he went to work and found his building padlocked, had had no inkling that it was about to fail.

We had no income.  None.

 

OK, so.  We had a rental.  We could sell it.  At a loss, and paying a huge tax hit.  And eaten out our own insides.

 

So we didn't have poverty exactly.  What we had was absolutely no income.

 

What I did:

I applied for a HELOC while DH was in the waiting period for the lay off.  Hence we still had income at that point with which to qualify.  It's still eating your own insides, but it's possibly recoverable.

I applied for a job.

I helped DH not feel like I was blaming him.

I kept homeschooling.

My friends stepped in when I got that job, and helped get through the remainder of the school year.  One of them hired DH two days a week.  Not enough, but something.  He networked and got little jobs here and there.

I worked 55 hour weeks, and homeschooled at the same time.  It was pure hell.  Most of the fun of it was gone.  The drudgery of it was worse than ever.

Luckily I had my subsistence systems up and running--bulk food, thrift store clothes, etc.  So we could batten down the hatches and live on very little.

I had to look like I was happy in order to succeed at my job.  And in order to support DH and give DD some stability.  That was probably the hardest part.

 

We went through 17 months of pure suspense.  Then DH got a fulltime job offer, right before we would have lost our COBRA health insurance.

 

It wasn't poverty by world standards, but it was something that, if it had gone on much longer, we probably never would have been able to weather.

 

I am blessed, we are blessed, to have gotten through it.  Subsistence skills work.  Working hard and scrambling works.  But we had a lot of grace, too, and this was not just a 'hard work pays off' story by any means.  We had our health.  We had community.  We had the grace of God.  Oh, and BTW, we extended grace to our renters, and let them stay until they figured out what to do--6-7 months?  I can't remember exactly.  It was much harder that way, but it seemed like the right thing to do.  And eventually they even paid us back, which I didn't necessarily expect.  Grace. 

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I think year 3 could be easier because libraries would have more books for this time period. I also think it could make sense to start grade 1 with year 3. There are a number of curriculum guides that favor American history for the early years and cycle back to ancients afterwards. One caveat is that SOTW 4 might not be a good resource for a grade 2 student - but certainly a study of 1850 to present could be done with friendlier resources.

I would save SOTW for 6th grade, or 8th grade if using Zookeepers schedule of a book every 1 and 1/2 years.

 

I was thinking of using other resources for modern history for grades 1 and 2, and then starting SOTW in 3rd and following it as written. I don't have the AG for book 4. It covers grade 8 outlining skills, does it not?

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This is different here:

Every child under age 12 who has a name can have a free library card.

Every one 12+, unless you are refuge, lost your papers and entered the country the last 14-21 days has some kind of ID (we have many temporary ID's) and can have therefore a library card.

 

But, and that is is the other side, I don't see how to homeschool a la WTM with our libraries.

It seems to be impossible...

What is internet like where you are? Can you stream videos.

 

Do you use ebooks?

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Hunter, you're talking about the first edition here, aren't you? I wonder just how much it differs from the third, which I have.

I would have no trouble using the third, but it has been nice to read the 1st. It's kind of the same as WRTR; using the 6th is easier if you read the 4th.

 

After the situation here is cleaned up, I will just buy the 3rd, rather than track down a 1st. There are some things better about the 3rd.

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I keep wondering if it's worth getting. As you know, it's available from used book sites in the US. As you also know, shipping and taxes (you have those too, right?) would make it cost an awful lot, even if the actual cost of the book isn't that bad.

 

I like what I hear about it a lot, so it may be worth the hassle and cost.

I am really hoping 4th edition puts back some of the grammar stage language arts.

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My husband lost his job.

He refused to apply for unemployment.

We have one rental house. The renter's breadwinner lost his job--actually, he went to work and found his building padlocked, had had no inkling that it was about to fail.

We had no income. None.

 

OK, so. We had a rental. We could sell it. At a loss, and paying a huge tax hit. And eaten out our own insides.

 

So we didn't have poverty exactly. What we had was absolutely no income.

 

What I did:

I applied for a HELOC while DH was in the waiting period for the lay off. Hence we still had income at that point with which to qualify. It's still eating your own insides, but it's possibly recoverable.

I applied for a job.

I helped DH not feel like I was blaming him.

I kept homeschooling.

My friends stepped in when I got that job, and helped get through the remainder of the school year. One of them hired DH two days a week. Not enough, but something. He networked and got little jobs here and there.

I worked 55 hour weeks, and homeschooled at the same time. It was pure hell. Most of the fun of it was gone. The drudgery of it was worse than ever.

Luckily I had my subsistence systems up and running--bulk food, thrift store clothes, etc. So we could batten down the hatches and live on very little.

I had to look like I was happy in order to succeed at my job. And in order to support DH and give DD some stability. That was probably the hardest part.

 

We went through 17 months of pure suspense. Then DH got a fulltime job offer, right before we would have lost our COBRA health insurance.

 

It wasn't poverty by world standards, but it was something that, if it had gone on much longer, we probably never would have been able to weather.

 

I am blessed, we are blessed, to have gotten through it. Subsistence skills work. Working hard and scrambling works. But we had a lot of grace, too, and this was not just a 'hard work pays off' story by any means. We had our health. We had community. We had the grace of God. Oh, and BTW, we extended grace to our renters, and let them stay until they figured out what to do--6-7 months? I can't remember exactly. It was much harder that way, but it seemed like the right thing to do. And eventually they even paid us back, which I didn't necessarily expect. Grace.

Carol :grouphug:

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If it helps, here is a post I wrote giving my walk through of elementary history; you could leave off the Eastern hemisphere year, or leave off the separate American History track.  It could be just SOTW and CHOW, and anything else is gravy.  ;)

 

The AG for Vol. 4 does teach outlining very nicely--BUT you could just use the steps for teaching outlining given in the WTM.  My oldest learned outlining this way.  The AG's are nice, but not necessary for vol. 1-3.  I do like what the AG adds in for Vol. 4--the maps, outlining pages, and review questions are what is making this book meatier for my 7th grader this year.  He is also using the white Kingfisher for additional outlining, and spending time on the National Archives site (which is sooo cool...)

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If it helps, here is a post I wrote giving my walk through of elementary history; you could leave off the Eastern hemisphere year, or leave off the separate American History track. It could be just SOTW and CHOW, and anything else is gravy. ;)

 

The AG for Vol. 4 does teach outlining very nicely--BUT you could just use the steps for teaching outlining given in the WTM. My oldest learned outlining this way. The AG's are nice, but not necessary for vol. 1-3. I do like what the AG adds in for Vol. 4--the maps, outlining pages, and review questions are what is making this book meatier for my 7th grader this year. He is also using the white Kingfisher for additional outlining, and spending time on the National Archives site (which is sooo cool...)

Thank you!

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Are there ways to do TWTM more cheaply - yes of course there are. Is there a way to do it in true poverty - no because other needs will be too great and must be seen to first.

 

Thank you for that perspective.  I think we Americans tend to only think in terms of how our government defines poverty and low income.  When we fell into both, I kept insisting to family that we weren't poor because we could choose what kind of food to buy at the store (and I still had a car to get there!).  And we're so wasteful.  Or I am.  Maybe I'm the only one!  I catch myself wasting time, money, resources.  

 

But I will say that every privilege comes at a cost, and eventually, if we are not careful, it costs us not only all our money, but all of our time and relationships, too.  Even the internet is such a double-edged sword.  Sometimes I wonder what's really necessary to live a meaningful life.  Whole other thread, though.  ;)

 

 

As for the OP, I started our first year with $400 for any and all materials and resources, but I already had a copier, and internet and library access.  Boxed anything was out of the question, though.  That little chunk got me all the things I needed to do that first year and we're still using those same resources.  The money wasn't what prevented us from being successful that first year; it was a time and energy deficit on my part.  We could probably implement the core WTM method with a scheduling shift (now that 3.5 people can clean and do laundry instead of 1!).  I like our relaxed way, though.

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Hunter, I am aware of severe pain - I know that many people have gone through it and appreciate hearing about it - isolation and loneliness is a form of poverty that I myself have been through. Financial poverty some of you here describe is also something our family went through (my DH was without a job for 20 months and I also had to pick up for the family). I do undertstand the pain. I also understand the pain when one's spouse is withdrawn and highly neglectful of his family and I know people who have been abused by their husbands physically. I also know that it is grace that  got us through, grace that gets anyone in difficult circumstances through them and I know that as human beings it is our job to help those in need - either by helping financially, or by giving company or even just a smile to someone in the street.

 

You are right - however there are dictionary definitions of poverty: the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor. 

and this is not the first time this word has been used on here. I guess what poverty of any form (not just the dictionary definition of it) teaches us - it teaches us that we have need of community, it teaches us that we need relationships and that we are not a law unto ourselves and it also teaches us to be grateful and to make a plan and to ask for help. It teaches us that we can survive on very little and it teaches us that grace abounds. It is good that the question has been asked about what can be done when in poverty to educate your children - it shows a good sense of priorities. It is just that in the various forms of poverty you described the priorities will differ. I hope you do find a way to educate those children in the way you know works with limited resources. Without understanding what resources you have access to (because I do not live there) it is very hard to make suggestions.

 

 

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What is internet like where you are? Can you stream videos.

 

Do you use ebooks?

Not in the way it seems possible in the USA.

Good internet is expensive here.

We have, but if we would have less money, I would change to a lower quality pack.

IF we would be able to afford it.

Poor families in Belgium don't have internetaccess at home.

They use the library for that.

 

There are no free e-books in Dutch available so far as I know

And the E-Book we have are still at least 10 euro's per item, (or much more) and you can't loan them at a Library.

 

A really poor family send a child to school here.

 

You can homeschool on a small budget during Elementary,

But secondary level would be more difficult, although they are reorganizing the examprograms that way, you can do it with internet and a library.

(State exams are not only used by hhomeschoolers but also by adult people without higschooldiploma and by highschool dropouts)

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Tanikit, I am just being a narcissist right now, rather than looking for advice or help in tutoring and self-education. I noticed my thinking was different. I was just a little too fascinated in how that had taken place. :lol:

 

Everyone, I think I figured out the key difference. I think tackling year 3 instead of year 1 is the reason I feel empowered and confident. I think it is the best gateway in with the resources I currently have available to ME right NOW.

 

Looking ahead I feel equally confident about year 4.

 

And I think that by the time I get to ancients in 2 or 3 years, I will be better prepared for it.

 

Ancients covers such a long and complex and controversial period. We are so used to curricula starting there. I'm really starting to understand why some curricula writers start with American history first.

 

I'm not pro American first, and got distracted by the American emphasis, and the supposed benefit to the student, and did not evaluate the potentials for ME, as a teacher to start in the middle, before starting over and doing it "right" with some experience under my belt.

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Thank you for that perspective. I think we Americans tend to only think in terms of how our government defines poverty and low income. When we fell into both, I kept insisting to family that we weren't poor because we could choose what kind of food to buy at the store (and I still had a car to get there!). And we're so wasteful. Or I am. Maybe I'm the only one! I catch myself wasting time, money, resources.

 

But I will say that every privilege comes at a cost, and eventually, if we are not careful, it costs us not only all our money, but all of our time and relationships, too. Even the internet is such a double-edged sword. Sometimes I wonder what's really necessary to live a meaningful life. Whole other thread, though. ;)

 

 

As for the OP, I started our first year with $400 for any and all materials and resources, but I already had a copier, and internet and library access. Boxed anything was out of the question, though. That little chunk got me all the things I needed to do that first year and we're still using those same resources. The money wasn't what prevented us from being successful that first year; it was a time and energy deficit on my part. We could probably implement the core WTM method with a scheduling shift (now that 3.5 people can clean and do laundry instead of 1!). I like our relaxed way, though.

My first year homeschooling was back in the 90s with $100.00. I have several years under my belt when TWTM came out. I read it and tried it and failed. We had a bunch of empty binders. And I somehow missed that I should be looking at all 3 levels when jumping in with a older student. I was too focused on the high school years and didn't read most of the grammar chapters at all. I wonder what would have happened differently if I could send a note back saying, "Read the grammar chapters, and start in year 3".

 

Back then, we had no printer or internet or ebooks. The library used a paper card catalog when we first started. :lol:

 

That was a different time and place and different students. I have a 4G phablet with a 6 inch screen. Who could even have imagined such a thing? But I had things then, I don't have now.

 

So after my last nasty little crisis, I'm taking stock of what I do have. I'm going to give year 3 a stab.

 

And thank you everyone for taking this little narcissist ride with me, as I used the " write to learn" process to figure out how my brain works. :lol:

 

And as always I am fascinated to hear the thoughts and experiences of others.

 

CES2005, I too find that it is not always the money that is the problem when I am in crisis, but how my brain works differently. Like right now, I have a good reading list for a literature based ebook curriculum, and even though just reading is usually easier for me, I just cannot tolerate so much humanness right now, and need to spend more time studying things like electrons and protons, or I'm going to...I don't know what.

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I mentioned above that my most challenging year of homeschooling was the year we had barely any Internet access, no library, and very little money (not that there was much of anything to spend it on in the town we lived in). The only reason I was able to homeschool at all was because we'd created a lot of ebooks before we went and we had reliable electricity to charge our devices.

 

The lack of physical resources wasn't the real problem though. The biggest problem was that my life was sucked up with so much work. I was lucky enough to have a gas furnace and a washing machine- if I'd been washing clothes by hand and dealing with a coal furnace, I don't think I'd have made it. As it was, I was spending hours a day on shopping, cleaning, and oh so much food prep in a very basic kitchen. I just didn't have the time and energy to do a great job with school that year and we ended up moving to another city for the next school year where we had access to some activities for the boys, an apartment with running water, much closer access to groceries, and Internet access fast enough to download CNN student news.

 

I wasn't really living in poverty, obviously, and I chose to be where I was. I chose to move away. I definitely had options. I am generally inclined to think that, for many people, even being able to consider homeschooling is a rather privilidged position to be in because it usually (certainly not always though) means that you have at least the mental energy to do it. That's really hard to pull off when you're in crisis/survival mode which is usually what poverty means in the US, or when you're living in a place where daily life is hard work, even if you're not in crisis mode most of the time.

 

I do think discussions about poverty are relative. That doesn't mean someone who is very low income in the US isn't struggling mightily, it just means that there are so many different ways of being low income and how we are affected by it can often be influenced by the prevailing attributes about wealth and income around us.

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Hunter,

 

I also have to write to learn :-)  So I come on here and write out all my crazy thoughts even if they make sense to no one else, because at the end of it I have clarity even if I was talking to a screen :-)

 

I wrote down the bottom of the Rainbow Curriculum because that is the part I need.  Why have you shelved that?  Maybe I missed a post somewhere explaining that?  Couldn't you do that with just a few books and the library?

 

I know that if I were to use WTM I would ditch all the curriculum and just use the methods and the library.  It is still great guidance for showing kids what level of writing is good for them.  I may even need to go back and read that part myself as I guide my kiddos in how to get the most out of the books we check out.  They can take my writing advice or leave it, but I want to show them anyhow.  Usually when I show my kids those kinds of things and back off they end up wanting to do it sometimes, which is cool to see.

 

Cycles are comforting, which is why I divided my books up that way.  You don't have to stress when you know you are going to come back to something in a few years.  

 

I probably have more to say but I have to read to my 2 year old......

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I have done low income and crisis so many different ways. The only constant in my life has been constant change and crisis. :lol:

 

Amira, no running water is tough! BTDT and really don't like doing that! I still sometimes start crying in the shower because I am SO thankful for not just running water, but hot running water.

 

Low income and crisis do change what you can accomplish even when you have tons of books and resources.

 

I'm not going to have full use of a kitchen for months. But I have a 4G phablet, and lots of kindle books and a library card that lets me download ebooks. What an odd mix of crisis and luxury. But that is often the way in the USA.

 

The rigor of TWTM is NOT what I am looking at. It's the rhythm of the 4 year cycle to organize the delivery of content. I really crave rhythm right now.

 

Stm4him, I just cannot tolerate a lot of literature right now. I NEED to spend a good amount of time on less emotional books, or I am just going to overload. I really want to do chemistry this year. And early modern history and literature includes some practical and primitive topics that are appealing.

 

Part of the reason for this thread was for me to figure out why I'm dropping a more literature based method for a more rigid one. You didn't miss a post explaining why, because for the entire thread I'm trying to figure that out. :) It is a work in progress.

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