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MiddleCourt

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Everything posted by MiddleCourt

  1. I leave my 12 yr old at home often when I go run errands. This week I had an appointment and left him with a stack of work. He doesn’t get through the whole thing but will work through the things he can easily do himself and then waits for me to come home and help him with other things.
  2. Can you start a nature group? Even if you could just find two or three other families to do it with, it’s worthwhile. We were in one when my kids were younger and we’d go two or three Fridays a month on a hike or even just to a park. It requires very little planning and you don’t have the headache of finding a place to rent, teaching the class, etc. that you do in a co-op. And it’s fun!
  3. The people I know who homeschooled pre-covid typically seem more interested in piecing together curriculum that best works for each child- they’re much more traditional in their homeschooling approach. They *chose* homeschooling, for whatever reason, but the reasons tend to be based on interest in homeschooling and the belief they can give their child a superior education. Post covid homeschoolers I know tend to be very different. I’m painting with a broad brush here, but most don’t seem interested in the actual homeschooling part. They just don’t want their kids in public schools. A PP said it perfectly- they’re public school refugees. But they haven’t adopted a homeschooling mindset. They drop their kids off at every program they can find and are out of the house most days of the week. These tend to be, but not limited to, parents of young kids who weren’t in school yet when COVID hit.
  4. This isn’t for my own kids, but for a friend’s situation. I’m curious if you have ever seen phonics done well in a co-op or hybrid/university model setting school. What curriculum have you seen that can be successfully used in a classroom 2 days a week and at home the rest of the week? Most curricula that is written for the classroom feels clunky at home, and vice versa for homeschool curricula. I’m wondering if Explode the Code may be an option? Anyone tried it in a group setting?
  5. My oldest was an early and intuitive reader. I was given the good advice to fill in phonics gaps with spelling. I think that’s perfectly acceptable! Like PP said, read good books and do spelling and I think that will be perfectly fine for a 7 yr old.
  6. From your previous posts, you seem to be searching for different curricula and methodologies to be a sort of panacea to your homeschool struggles. From a different perspective, have you considered that you may have a *systems* issue? My kids are very similar ages to your kids, and we went through a very stressful few years early on in our homeschooling (mainly due to outside issues, but it really impacted our homeschool and it often felt chaotic). I also switched curricula many times to find some relief. I finally realized that life felt unmanageable and stressful because I didn’t have effective systems in place that would help us succeed. And while there are of course struggles that come with the nature of homeschooling multiple children, our days have more peace and also, importantly, I have much more peace about the effectiveness of our schooling. When I say systems, I mean routines and expectations. My kids know what they can do when they first wake up (no devices of any kind AT ALL, our day will be ruined if I allow them prior to school). Do you have an early riser or an eager learner? Work 1:1 with them while the other kids are still waking up or getting ready. We also have a morning time system, where we all gather together to start our morning off. Do you do this already? You can set the tone for your day and get group learning in. If your kids are all close in age, you can do Bible, history, nature, science, etc. together during this time. You can always have the older kids do some more reading in their individual work. Then we have a system in place where my kids then complete their checklist for their individual work (I do still work with them on most subjects, but they can look at their checklist and know what they can do alone and what they need me for). The kids cannot do XYZ until they’ve finished their checklists. This is school and they have a responsibility to finish it before running off or getting on a device. (It doesn’t have to be every subject every single day, I make it manageable for them to complete). It has made our days much smoother. There is also a place for tweaking curriculum. If you are trying to be a CM purist, that can be difficult if you have many kids or your kids can’t do a lot alone. And it’s ok to not do it like the purists say to. You like read alouds and living books? Great- do that part. You’d rather do more structured writing than you’re currently doing with CM methods? Then switch that part to something that serves your child better. If Memoria press was too dry but you like their geography, just do that part from MP. Also- I think it would be helpful for you to figure out what you want for your son’s education in the few years he has left until high school and go from there. Do you want him to be a strong writer? Focus on writing in 7th and 8th grade. Or whatever your goal is for him to know before high school, work on that. Make it manageable. And finally, leave margin for you and your kids. It’s ok to say no to extracurriculars. You have posted about them and they are obviously a high priority for you, so you will have to decide what is worth giving up so that you have time for them because you cannot do it all. It’s simply not possible. My family’s “system” when it comes to sports is that we won’t do club sports or anything with a huge time and money commitment when they’re young and in elementary school. It’s worth the peace it brings to our life. Best of luck, I hope you find peace in your decisions.
  7. That’s good to know about SCM! It sounds like a perfect option for making it as simple as you want, or adding other things to make it more involved. I originally thought it looked kind of boring but it may be what I want for next year.
  8. Your style sounds very similar to mine. I love HoD! We used Creation to Christ last year but we did skip a lot that I didn’t think it was worth it to buy RtR. I’d like something with more novels in it. (I know I can add but I'm feeling tired and just want it scheduled) But I will keep it on my list.
  9. This is what I have always done; I have a hard time sticking to a guide because I feel like we’re missing out on other good stuff. The downside is sometimes we then get bogged down. Maybe I just need to realize that there’s no way we can get to all the good books. We love history here so we dedicate probably an unbalanced amount of time to it. I think the February blahs are having me feel tired and burnt out and so a guide where everything is done appeals to me. I’m also thinking a guide will help keep me on track to make more room for other things I want to incorporate, like logic for my oldest and more nature studies.
  10. We’ll be studying the Middle Ages next school year and I’m trying to narrow down my choices. The problem is there are so many different curricula out there for this time period and I’m having FOMO 😜. Kids will be in 3rd, 5th and 7th. I’m directing the search for the older 2. Here are my options so far, if you have used any or have any that you loved please chime in! -Beautiful Feet Medieval History for the Intermediate Grades: I already own the updated version released last summer. Tons of beautiful literature. But it doesn’t necessarily have a clear progression (imho) and I always kind of lose vision on whether it’s a history or lit course. My middle loves stories but absolutely hates reading to herself and won’t do it, so I’ll have to read all the books to them. (Which I love doing and we spend hours reading daily but it leaves little time for other things I’d like to do) MFW Rome to Reformation: looks so thorough and has both literature and hands on activities. I love the inclusion of biblical history and the early church. In our homeschool, we typically will take our time to study a time period or topic and read a lot of books. It’s been pretty relaxed and RtR seems to kind of race through the Middle Ages because there’s so much to cover. We most likely wouldn’t do their science or Bible though. Simply Charlotte Mason Middle Ages: inexpensive and well laid out. I am a book junkie and feel like we may be missing out on lots of the good historical lit bc it seems to go slowly through the lit recommendations. But it might be nice to have the room to explore other subjects more in depth. So, please let me know if you have used any of these and what you think! Thanks!
  11. It is not weird to notice beauty in the world, including people. It’s weirder not to notice. I also wouldn’t find it creepy, strange, or leacherous if a man had noticed a woman’s beauty. You are normal.
  12. Would they listen while you read aloud to them? You could read while they’re researching on their laptops. There are so many different dog novels, but you could easily read any fun middle grade novel. My kids are similar ages and I still read aloud to them daily. Maybe you and your oldest can listen to the Blurry Creatures podcast together. The early episodes are mostly about cryptids- they later get into theology of cryptids, nephilim, etc, which is also super interesting. It’s a really popular podcast and is geared toward adults so it wouldn’t be a chore for you to listen to with him. 😉
  13. I think that’s just because if playdates happen during school hours, all the kids have to come. Who’s going to watch the uninvited kids? I don’t think it’s specifically a homeschool thing. If someone invites one of my kids over to play, I’m happy for them to go by themselves. But if mom wants to hang out with me too, all my kids are coming.
  14. Oh, and to address the issue of having to stay on track and that’s why you pulled him to begin with….this is an inevitable negative to the hybrid model. You can’t get around it if you decide to pursue this school. However, I think the teachers at these places are more understanding (in general) and have more freedom to be flexible with expectations because they’re not a public school beholden to state standards and testing. So while the pacing and expectations are there, it could not be as impactful as at a typical al school.
  15. I used to work at a hybrid school. Ultimately I left and my children didn’t return because it’s not the way I wanted to homeschool. I value choosing my own curriculum and topics based on my children’s needs, so this was not the educational setting for me. However, that being said, I do think these schools meet a need and appeal to a certain niche of people- mainly, those who work but don’t want their child in a traditional 5 day a week classroom setting. The biggest hurdle is shifting your paradigm about what homeschooling is and accepting that this can be a valid form of it. Homeschooling purists (of which I was one) would call it not really homeschooling but I have come to realize- THAT’S OK! Sometimes it works out that mom isn’t a SAHM who can dedicate all her time to homeschooling but the child still needs to be out of a traditional school. If it meets the needs of your family today and works for you now, do it and reevaluate at the end of the year for the fall.
  16. It’s specifically “Netflix and chill.” Telling someone to chill out or saying you’re chilling with friends isn’t the same.
  17. It just said “it’s considered to be vulgar.” The words clearly are, but I never considered the acronym to be and I wouldn’t bat an eye if someone used it in conversation. And I consider myself to be fairly genteel 😉.
  18. Oh, and I always understood it to stand for bum f*ck Egypt. ETA I just read it’s considered vulgar and I had no idea. 🙊 I’m now wondering how many times I’ve dropped this word in polite conversation.
  19. I’m from California and BFE is common to say. Although now that I think of it, I don’t hear many people outside my family say it. 🤷🏻‍♀️My mom used a lot of colloquialisms growing up that none of my peers seemed to know. I use it to mean something way out of the way or in the middle of nowhere.
  20. Thank you! He will definitely be ready for pre algebra; in looking at other pre algebra programs, what he is doing currently is pretty much pre algebra. (This is why I reached out to the teacher because I couldn’t tell much of a difference between Math 7 and pre algebra). We wouldn’t be using Saxon as a supplement; he would be doing either of their pre algebra programs in full OR MM7 (in MM7, I would be comfortable skipping or skimming some topics that he has already mastered). I have the luxury of time since he’s a year “ahead” in math currently and am in no rush to get him to algebra prior to 8th grade, so I’m just wondering what the best course for his 7th grade math year is. He definitely will not be continuing math with the learning center; it is expensive, time consuming, and I’m having a hard time fitting in all the things I want him to do because of all the assignments.
  21. Oh and to be clear, I do not mind helping him at all! In fact, I like to explain it in a way he can understand and keep up with the class to ensure he is progressing. But I’d like to have him do something where he can feel confident doing work on his own.
  22. Thanks for your response. Yes, he is capable of taking an online class. The class he is taking now is online videos/assignments most of the week, and going to class once a week. He still likes the reassurance from me that he’s understanding it correctly, but maybe with one more year to mature he’ll be more independent in this area.
  23. I’m thinking ahead to next year’s math for my oldest and would appreciate any advice! I know it’s only December and next school year is a long way away, but it’s on my mind. I’m trying to include pertinent math background without writing a novel. My 12 yo son is in 6th grade. He currently takes Math 7 at a learning center. TBH, I don’t really know what the difference between Math 7 and pre algebra is, but I asked the teacher what comes next and she said pre algebra. She said they’re very similar but not exactly the same. I’ve looked at different pre algebra curricula online and it looks like many cover the same topics he’s covering currently in Math 7. For various reasons he won’t be taking math at this learning center next year. This year’s math has been very intense and time consuming for him and for me to help him. He does not struggle in math, but is not a math whiz either. He has some confidence issues with math, so he likes me to sit with him while he completes his lessons which kind of defeats the purpose of him being in this math class and freeing up some of my time for his younger siblings. Which brings me to my question. Since Math 7 and pre algebra seem so similar I’m hoping to use next year as a review and confidence boosting year. Im interested in a pre algebra course that he can do mostly independently and will boost his confidence in math. Im looking at math mammoth 7 and having him do the units that he needs practice in, or Saxon 8/7 or algebra ½. I know MM and Saxon are very different, but both offer something I want (MM- doing the units he needs extra practice . Saxon- video lessons from Nicole the Math Lady to shore up pre algebra skills before going to Algebra in 8th). If you got through all this, thank you. What would you do if this was your child?
  24. I do think I am over complicating it. Maybe there’s no premade history only study of this because most people do what you do! My problem is that I work from home. While it’s extremely flexible, it’s still a responsibility and very hard to make a consistent routine like you mentioned. So I spend all this time planning and may actually have very little time to execute it week to week. But I am praying to be able to quit.
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