Jump to content

Menu

Don't you hate it when....


TracyR
 Share

Recommended Posts

When you have your curriculum planned out for the year and all of a sudden you rethink on a subject?

I have pretty much all of the Homeschool in the Woods Time Travelers for American history which I thought I would do with my 11 and 9yr old this year. My oldest did do the 1st part of American history where we talked about the Explorers but we didn't finish the rest of it.

 

Anyways, I just got our K12 boxes in for my 1st grader and she will be studying world history. So it got me thinking.. Wouldn't it be easier to have everyone learning the same thing? I did CHOW with my 9yr old but she didn't get much out of it so it wouldn't matter if I retaught World History over with her again this year.

 

I hate when that happens. :glare:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been thinking the same thing all day today. I had my preK all planned out for my dd ... and after reading more today, I'm thinking of changing the wholet thing! Ugh ... we're supposed to start in a week and a half. I know it's not that crucial at her age, but is this a sign of things to come in the future? I'm glad it's not just me, though! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Same thing happening here! I thought we'd continue with Heart of Dakota since I really love the programs and it seemed to work well this past year. I was getting so excited about all the books. However, while ds 9 didn't come out and say he didn't want to do it, he's been begging me to do KONOS again like we used to. Plus, when I realized that he could pretty much tell me tons of things that he learned during 1st and 2nd grade when we used KONOS and not a whole lot about what he learned last year. . .. .well, that cinched the deal! KONOS it will be!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just dumped everything because I was getting too much resistence because it was boring.

 

So now we are doing a lot of notebooking and the Time Traveler CD for the early 19th Century since that is where we left off in World History.

 

Good luck in your decisions. We are starting to have a lot more fun here.:001_smile:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
Same thing happening here! I thought we'd continue with Heart of Dakota since I really love the programs and it seemed to work well this past year. I was getting so excited about all the books. However, while ds 9 didn't come out and say he didn't want to do it, he's been begging me to do KONOS again like we used to. Plus, when I realized that he could pretty much tell me tons of things that he learned during 1st and 2nd grade when we used KONOS and not a whole lot about what he learned last year. . .. .well, that cinched the deal! KONOS it will be!

 

I've changed curriculum also. How do you do KONOS with one child? I really like it because my dd is hyperactive.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We started on the 17th. I could have chosen things that would be easier and/or less time-consuming (both for me in prep. time and for the kids in actual school time). I have my reasons for what I chose, so I'm hanging in there. I met alot of resistance from my older ds & have had a hard time getting the basics done b/c his attitude drags out subjects far longer than they need to take. That's when I find myself going "why oh why didn't I just go w/ LLATL?".

So, we've got LA & Math taking up the whole entire day, afternoon, evening... we've done exactly 1 day of our new WP American Story 1 over the course of a week b/c of it. WP is taking alot longer per session that SOTW, which had me thinking the same thing - "why oh why didn't I just do SOTW 2?".

 

Sometimes change is genuinely needed. Sometimes we just have "grass is greener elsewhere, anywhere but here" syndrome. Don't get the two confused. I'm hanging in there w/ my original choices b/c I had good reasons that are hard to let go of for choosing what I did. If by mid-Oct. or Nov. something still just isn't right, then I'd feel OK switching. I wouldn't switch so early in the game though - I'd feel like I didn't even give things a chance. There are alot of variables at play other than the curriculum. We're only on our 2nd week here and I've had dayS where I really needed a glass of wine. Perservere. Try to make wise decisions. There will always be a newer, more appealing curriculum coming out - but we can't ask ourselves (for our own sanity), our budgets, and our children to constantly switch gears because of it.

 

For those of you just starting out, it may take some playing around w/ different things to find what works. Just remember you can always tweak things to fit you - you don't have to try to squish your kids into the curriculum's mold - make it fit them. Also, if all fails in a content subject, you can always fall back on the tried & true WTM method of spine + extra books + narrations & notebooking without breaking the bank for an all new curriculum.

 

Anyhow, sorry for rambling on so. Just trying to prevent someone from running into the headaches I went through. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

:iagree: Great post articmom!

 

I love everything we are doing this year, it's going great and I feel no need to change, but yet yesterday I found myself looking over my Sonlight catty with longing. Write out your reasons/goals for the curriculum you have and refer to them everytime you doubt your choices. Don't be so hasty to want to switch, after all you chose it for a reason ;)!

 

BTW-As a recovering research/curriculum junkie, this post is basically a reminder to myself :D.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anyways, I just got our K12 boxes in for my 1st grader and she will be studying world history. So it got me thinking.. Wouldn't it be easier to have everyone learning the same thing?

 

I'm not sure I understand. Are you wanting to make sure all 3 girls are studying the same topic because you think it will be easier? Will you expect to use one resource? What about the age difference between the 6 year old and the 11 year old?

 

I tried combining my kids more than once and never figured out how to do it successfully. Even if they were studying the same topic, I was having to go over the material twice, once for each level. I have heard of some people reading aloud one thing and having the kids go off and do grade-level appropriate work but it just wasn't easy for me.

 

I can't believe I tried combining them yet again recently. Big surprise that it's not working. So yes, I'm revamping our schedule. And DH is not happy that we are locked into our K12 contract until February. The history and science were great for a while but now they've moved on and the next levels are not working. So on top of the monthly payments for K12, I'm spending extra money to buy new materials. Don't get me wrong, I really like K12, but it's not great if we reach a point where we don't like the material.

 

Dd11 wants World History. K12's elementary world history is much too simplistic and the upper world history is much too difficult. The Hakim series used in American History went over her head too because some kids are just not ready for that series until they are older.

 

Ds13 is going to repeat K12 American History using the Hakim series. He hated the world history book. I don't mind him going through the Hakim series again but I don't want to follow K12's plan because I'd like to change the program a bit to flesh it out so he can get more out of the second time around than the first.

 

Ugh! Yes, it is maddening!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd have it mastered. HA!

 

Two major curricula changes in AUGUST!

 

 

 

I was just thinking the same thing - that after 7 years of homeschooling I should have this down pat by now, but I'm doing a last minute rethink on ds7's history and science. I was trying some new things this year, but am now wishing I had just stuck with what I used for ds12. I don't like the new curricula as well as I thought I would.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...