crl Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 Can someone point me to a place that helps a person figure out what their style of schooling is so that they can find curriculum that matches their style the best? I've had some up-coming homeschoolers asking me about this and since I'm still floundering myself, I haven't been able to help them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyAberlin Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 Cathy Duffy's 100 top pick books is really good for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
specialmama Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 Cathy Duffy's book, 100 Top Picks. Here is her website with additional reviews, but you really need the book to go through the analysis of your teaching style, the child's learning style, philosophy of education, financial and time considerations, goals, etc. It will sort it all out for you based on your answers. It is truly worth buying! I refer to mine frequently and have never regretted a purchase I've made based on the suggested materials to suit our family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeanestMomInMidwest Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 I think you just spend a lot of money on one style of curriculum and then grit your teeth through it for the first year. Put up with the headaches and whines (not all from the kids, either) and then research a little more. Find something that seems to "click" with you, try it out. Notice how relaxed you are, notice the kids' excitement. Decide, okay, I guess this is our family style. Step 1 may have to be repeated a number of times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgia Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 Here's a link to a site that was of use to me. Just click on the links in the left sidebar under How To Choose. http://www.home-school-curriculum-advisor.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2agang Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 It also depends on your children.My 1st & 3rd born are WTM children and love it. My 2nd born child cried every day and now I am doing a charlotte mason appoarch and she is MUCH happier. But a lot of stuff I thaught was great was a train wreck, The ladies at Rainbow resource center (curriculum advisors) are a wonderful help. You can call and ask them questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hopeallgoeswell Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 Cathy Duffy's book, 100 Top Picks. Here is her website with additional reviews, but you really need the book to go through the analysis of your teaching style, the child's learning style, philosophy of education, financial and time considerations, goals, etc. It will sort it all out for you based on your answers. It is truly worth buying! I refer to mine frequently and have never regretted a purchase I've made based on the suggested materials to suit our family. :iagree: This book was a tremendous help when I was getting started! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atozmom Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 Our library carries Cathy Duffy's book. I used this a lot when we first started with dd. Ds is totally different. I am starting all over again with researching curriculum for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crl Posted November 17, 2009 Author Share Posted November 17, 2009 I'll have to try to get my hands on the Cathy Duffy book. Or library is terrible for homeschoolers, or anyone who wants children's books that aren't full of tv characters. It's the type of library that was willing to sell me books such as the classic Pooh stories and any easy readers that didn't have tv characters in them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenL Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 I'd definitely recommend Cathy Duffy's book coupled with Discover Your Child's Learning Style by Hodson & Willis. I started with Duffy's book, and chose curriculum accordingly; however, I was still missing the mark with DS. After getting the learning styles book, I feel I was able to choose even more wisely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cindie2dds Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 (edited) I think you just spend a lot of money on one style of curriculum and then grit your teeth through it for the first year. Put up with the headaches and whines (not all from the kids, either) and then research a little more. Find something that seems to "click" with you, try it out. Notice how relaxed you are, notice the kids' excitement. Decide, okay, I guess this is our family style. Step 1 may have to be repeated a number of times. :lol: Yep, this was our method! That probably doesn't help much, sorry. I *thought* I was "this," but then I realized I was "that." Even with Cathy Duffy, you might still have to get your grubby, little hands on it, try it out and then decide. Our library is very pitiful, too. It's not really an option. Good Luck. Most companies out there have a money back guarantee. Edited November 17, 2009 by Cindie2dds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithfamily5 Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 Cathy Duffy's 100 top pick books is really good for that. I second Cathy Duffy's book. Also, They Way They Learn. (Cynthia Tobias- I think) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 Combine the method of MeanestMomintheMidwest with the suggestion of Cathy Duffy's book. Use Cathy's book to get a Start and tweak as you go. Avoid full programs unless you are extremely wealthy and enjoy throwing money away. I finally figured out my style. Wish I had tried the cheap methods before the expensive ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna A. Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 I enjoyed Cathy Duffy's book, but my two favorites have been: The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling by Debra Bell. She was a school teacher before becoming a SAHM to homeschool her own 4 children, and she's quite humorous. Love that woman! :D Here's her website: http://www.hsrc.com/ I also really like Mary Pride's Complete Guide to Getting Started in Homeschooling. http://www.home-school.com/catalog/pages/mpguide.php3 Both of these books are much more comprehensive than Duffy's. While Duffy does discuss different learning styles in her book, it's more of a curriculum review, including a chart showing how time and teacher intensive some of her favorite picks are. Duffy very obviously leans to a laid-back eclectic style than either textbook/traditional or classical. That's great if you end up being laid back and eclectic, too, but what if you want something a little more rigorous? Duffy's favorites probably won't mesh well with you. Her focus is just too narrow, IMO. Pride and Bell's books include a lot of extra information on using the library, the legalities of homeschooling, resources to contact, more variety in curriculum picks based on different *methods* (whereas like I said, Duffy leans laid-back eclectic), and more. (Oh, and yes, they include analyses of different learning styles, as well. ;) ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LBS Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 I second Donna's two suggetions....my Debra Bell and Mary Pride books are older ones, but I find myself writing more notes and referring to them more often. Debra Bell's few articles on her website include a nice interview with Susan Wise Bauer, too. I find I use Cathy Duffy's website a huge amount for reference, but not her book so much. Not sure why. LBS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhudson Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 :iagree: The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling by Debra Bell. She was a school teacher before becoming a SAHM to homeschool her own 4 children, and she's quite humorous. Love that woman! :D Here's her website: http://www.hsrc.com/ Debra Bell is by far my favorite recommendation for new home schoolers, oh and WTM but Bell helps to find out what kind of home schooler you are. I have many of her CD's as well in my library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 I really like "So You're thinking about Homeschooling" It's like a "day in the life" of 15 different styles of homeschooling. It helped to give me an idea of what was out there. This was a good one. So was Real-Life Homeschooling: The Stories of 21 Families who Teach Their Children at Home. I also recommend Homeschooling: A Patchwork of Days: Share a Day With 30 Homeschooling Families. I got both of these from my library. So You're Thinking About Homeschooling is one of the first books I read about homeschooling (I bought that one at a conference featuring the author). I haven't read any of the other books mentioned so far in this thread, but this webpage about learning styles was helpful to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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