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dahmdr

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  1. Hey, just want to say hi! I live in SA, homeschooling kinder and second grade this year so not quite ready for formal Texas history. But, I can think of some great field trips within a few hours of us aside from the obvious missions here in SA: State Capitol San Jacinto Battleground (3 hours but maybe pair with a Houston museum?) Witte often has something roughly "historical" on exhibit Maybe check out this site: Free Fun Texas History – A simple, free, Texas History curriculum she has units with book suggestions after each brief lesson.
  2. I am using FSR with my daughter this year. It seems to be working very well. This is my second year homeschooling. Last year I used Sonlight first grade level with my son and it also seemed to work well for him but once I found MP I was eager to try it bc I was drawn to so many of their other subjects. My daughter has flourished and she loves the short stories included in FSR as well as those in the readers. Her ability to blend and decode is coming along well. I will say she LOVES the workbook aspect of MP--she likes doing the Alphabet Book (MP schedules in their preK but I knew she would like it), Cut and Paste, Morning Work, etc. I have found the flashcards useful for sight words, primarily. My son (second grader) is using their Traditional Spelling I and Literature this year--we do a lot of the lit guides orally which works well. Once I got the hang of teaching spelling--the teacher guide is great but you do have to do the daily activities for reinforcement!--TS I is working very well for him.
  3. COVID homeschooler, so excited to take the plunge for next year with kinder and second grader! Transitioning from Sonlight Core K for preK and first this year to Sonlight/MP/other. Math: Saxon 2 (I see others doing Saxon 3 so I guess we'll see how it goes? We did Math Mammoth this year and some Singapore, did not love either of those.) LA: Sonlight LA 2 with grade 2 readers/ETC/Read alouds that I didn't want to skip from Core A, MP: copywork, Traditional Spelling and FSR E, NAC for handwriting. We're going to try Storytime Treasures as a transition to MP mainly b/c I already have a few of those books and I want to see how he does with this format. History: SOTW Book 1 (with kinder age sister) Science: Berean Science in the Ancient World vs Real Science 4 Kids vs lots of books/interest led science. Why is it impossible to choose? haha Bible: Christian studies with MP/Story Bible Music: piano and choir, MP music enrichment Art: Enrichment with MP and Art posters PE: gymnastics and soccer I initially started looking at MP for Latin, so if all goes well may add that in the Spring.
  4. Thank you to everyone for the thoughtful comments. Really, I should have posted this topic as "Looking for Discussion Group on 'Rethinking School!'" I blame S. W. Bauer for challenging all of my preconceived notions about public vs. home education! My husband and I are products of moderately good public schools and have always been big advocates for public school. We choose to live in a small, old run-down house in a school district renowned for being one of the "best" so that we could send our kids there. I really believed the best way I could raise my kids was to work hard, read to them a lot, set a good example for being a lifelong learner, and earn enough money to send them to college. I always trusted that with "good enough" public schools and our efforts at home to read to them and enhance education on weekends they would do quite well (and maybe they will?) What I am discovering, however, is that even the best of the public schools are constrained by testing requirements, No Child Left Behind, etc. We live in Texas, which calls for testing quite a bit throughout the school years. As SWB noted in her book, so many school days are devoted to test prep and practice, test administration, retakes, etc. and the teachers feel so much pressure to teach to the test. In addition, what we have seen with our older boys is that there is a significant amount of pressure to "pass" students in the name of No Child Left Behind. It is very difficult to hold kids accountable. Our children have come to expect that each of their tests is but a first try--they always have the option to retest, often until they get a passing grade. I think this is good for students with test anxiety, and I think it's good that they review material they clearly didn't understand, but for one of my sons it has led him to expend the minimal amount of effort required in school and it seems like often the teachers end up lowering the requirements so that all of their students will pass. I could go on an on with other examples from my family and my teacher friends, but essentially it has been very eye-opening to read her book and have a lot of my previously nebulous concerns articulated so well. It's tough at this stage to reconfigure or reconsider career plans, child care arrangements, etc. I wondered if there were others out there engaged in this process as well. I really appreciate the ideas about private schools (yes we have a well-regarded classical charter in our area), hybrid schools, etc. I have been brainstorming about how to adjust my work schedule as well. For now, I am enjoying the opportunity to teach my kids whenever I can and be more directly involved with their learning processes. I'm glad this forum is available for questions, comments and sharing of experiences.
  5. Hello! Just wondering if others are in the same boat as my family and what your thoughts/considerations are for next year. We are new to homeschooling our 6 year old this year due to the difficulties with virtual learning last year. We all love it and I feel like I have discovered so many wonderful programs and ideas to enhance his education that I never would have known about if not for homeschooling this year. I think in an ideal world we would keep homeschooling and add my 4 year old girl into the mix when she's ready. But, my husband and I work in professional careers (me 75% time, he works full time). We spent so much time and effort preparing for these careers it doesn't really seem viable for one of us to stay at home. It has only worked out this year b/c we still have a 4 year old that's home most of the time so our nanny has been able to care for her and then teach my son at home while she's at preschool three mornings a week. It doesn't make any financial sense at all to keep homeschooling. My husband has been looking forward to next year when we can enroll her in kinder and him in 2nd grade and reduce our child care expenses for the first time in many years (we have 4 kids total). But, I have read so much over the last few months that really confirms a lot of the problems I have seen with public school. I've also seen how well various home education approaches address or alleviate so many of those concerns. So, I am looking into different ideas for afterschooling/enrichment but that seems tough b/c basically we'd be using school for child care and then trying to pack in the "good stuff" after school when he's already tired and worn out. I wondered if anyone out there is in a similar situation and has come up with a novel solution? If you afterschool, what subjects do you focus on? I really like the classical tradition so I thought maybe read more history in these early years, incorporate Latin, grammar, logic as he grows up? I know there is an after schooling group and I will look there for ideas on that, but also just wanted to see if any current home schoolers have come up innovative ways to make homeschooling feasible when both parents work typical 8 a-6 p schedules, so we can't do the shift thing like nurses, police officers, firefighters, etc! Thank you for any suggestions.
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