New Here..tell me about the basics please

[kwickimom]

Ok, I have been reading for days :001_smile: I will be starting a 4YO and a 7YO (also have a 2YO)

So I am planning for a preschool and 3rd grade curriculum. We are very low on funds. I want to make my own curriculum ( I am willing to buy certain bits and pieces of some) not buy a boxed set. I have looked over AO and a million other free curriculums.

 

Can anyone tell me or point me to a list of what each grade basically needs to learn? I would feel ten times better if I just started with a simple list of subjects and basic skills each grade learns/needs to work on. like when do you start Science and Grammar? And what LA skills should a 3rd grader know?

 

I am in Illinois so I have no Hs rules. I am super list oriented and I think if I could get a basic outline of what subjects I should be teaching and what skills in each subject should be covered, then I could get rolling on picking out what curriculums I want to use, or if I can go to the library and format my own.

 

MAJOR thanks in advance for anyone willing to share some knowledge with me. I am feeling lost and overhwlened and the more I read, the more I get scared that I cannot do this!

[JudoMom]

Ok, I have been reading for days :001_smile: I will be starting a 4YO and a 7YO (also have a 2YO)

So I am planning for a preschool and 3rd grade curriculum. We are very low on funds. I want to make my own curriculum ( I am willing to buy certain bits and pieces of some) not buy a boxed set. I have looked over AO and a million other free curriculums.

 

Can anyone tell me or point me to a list of what each grade basically needs to learn? I would feel ten times better if I just started with a simple list of subjects and basic skills each grade learns/needs to work on. like when do you start Science and Grammar? And what LA skills should a 3rd grader know?

 

I am in Illinois so I have no Hs rules. I am super list oriented and I think if I could get a basic outline of what subjects I should be teaching and what skills in each subject should be covered, then I could get rolling on picking out what curriculums I want to use, or if I can go to the library and format my own.

 

MAJOR thanks in advance for anyone willing to share some knowledge with me. I am feeling lost and overhwlened and the more I read, the more I get scared that I cannot do this!

 

Have you looked at the Core Knowledge sequence? You can now download it for free.

[kwickimom]

Have you looked at the Core Knowledge sequence? You can now download it for free.

 

I do have that in my gazillion mile list "to look at" file :lol: Thank you, I will start there!

[dragons in the flower bed]

Your state standards are here (upper right hand corner). They will be overwhelming. Remember that schools strive to do most of this. They don't use it like a checklist. It is an ideal.

 

The lowest minimum standards are at World Book here. You might want to use it a grade or two above your child's grade level, and be sure to add in as much detail as you can.

 

There's another set of standards here.

 

Core Knowledge is a good guide. The sequence is available here.

 

I am afraid that all of these things will overwhelm you. It is overwhelming at first. Just take deep breaths and watch your kids; they will teach you how to homeschool them. Remember that there is no official master list. What is taught when varies from school to school within every school district.

[Sara in WA]

I suggest that you spend lots of time reading some good books about homeschooling philosophies. The Well-Trained Mind, For the Children's Sake and Real Learning are three great starts. You can help yourself by figuring out your "style" of philosophy of homeschooling - classical, unschooling, Charlotte Mason, unit studies, etc. This way you are going down a certain path and won't be so overwhelmed by the gazillion choices out there.

 

The homeschooling world is now HUGE and you can easily be overwhelmed. Grade skills vary by the source of the grade skill list.

 

I would get a copy of WTM and make a plan. Don't get overwhelmed by figuring out 12 grades. But you can read the grammar stage and make a plan for the next year.

 

Your question is huge and that's why SWB wrote her book :) It's full of wonderful resources.

[ElizabethB]

You can do it!

 

Where in Illinois are you? I'll be moving there this summer. There is a nice Yahoo group for people in the area of Scott AFB and also some homeschooling groups in the Chicago area. It's always good to talk to real live people, too, and look over actual books, if you're in either of those areas you should be able to quickly find a group to help you out.

 

You should be able to get a copy of the WTM from your library.

 

An Old Fashioned Education is a great resource for free things, for free math I like MEP. If you're willing to spend the time, you can also find a lot of great things for other subjects from your library.

 

As for what you should teach: where they are at! While it's good to gain an idea of where they "should" be, the beauty of homeschooling is to meet your child where they are and teach where they are in each subject, moving along as they learn and progress. My daughter is at different grade levels for each subject, and I wouldn't have it any other way!

[mommyagain]

If you like the Charlotte Mason method (AO) then I would suggest you take a look at www.simplycharlottemason.com . She has a free curriculum guide that tells you what subjects to teach at what grade level and lots of book suggestions. A lot of people combine her suggestions with the booklists at AO.

I agree with the pp's that said that the homeschooling world of curriculum can be overwhelming.

Discover your teaching philosophy and your kids' learning style and go from there.

 

Good luck on your journey!!

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

Here is a complete scope and sequence for all grades from preschool-12th grade! This is a very solid and comprehensive scope and sequence. I have a friend who does just what you are, putting together her own curriculum and she uses this. Her kids are very ahead!:D

 

ETA: With this list, you will be suprised what you can do just at the library! All you have to do is spend the time (librarians are amazing at helping you with resources there!) to search out what you are looking for! Also, the internet is a huge resource! It can be done dirt cheap!!!!! Hope this helps!

[Janice in NJ]

I would suggest that you check you library for the following titles.

 

The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer

The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling by Debra Bell

 

For 3rd grade I would also gently suggest that you look for curriculum that you can purchase for arithmetic and language arts. Those are the skill subjects for 3rd grade (reading, writing, and arithmetic). If you are new to homeschooling it is very difficult to "put together your own program" in the beginning. You can do it, but I would practice doing that within the content areas - history, science, art, music, social studies, etc. These subjects can be easily explored with materials from the library and the internet. But the foundational 3rd grade skills - reading, writing, and arithmetic require daily incremental practice with an arch that moves from lesson 1 to lesson 180. When I first began homeschooling, I tended to see lessons in terms of a list of skills. Very often with good curriculum the whole is actually more than the sum of the parts. In some areas it took me years to see that. :001_smile: But with good materials there is so much imbedded within the lesson. If you just follow along and do what it says to do, you reap the benefits. And you will have the benefit of "seeing" how larger objectives are broken down into smaller lessons - how to introduce, teach, practice, and review concepts. Good curriculum does this for you, and will provide you with a good model to follow for generating your own lessons.

 

So I would gently suggest that you begin homeschooling with curriculum for the 3R's. I know that you said that money was an issue. But I would still cautiously suggest that you reconsider purchasing a program for math and languages arts; they are plenty of inexpensive programs available. (Rod & Staff and CLE come to mind. There are others. A search will produce a long list.) You can explore and practice putting together lessons within the content areas (history, science, the arts). Learning how to meet age-appropriate educational objectives within the content subjects can be very rewarding, but it does take time to "see" how things fit together and progress from year to year educationally. In the meantime, your 3rd grader will be marching along mastering those 3rd grade required skills. And life can get busy with little ones. Sometimes it is very time consuming to pull together eclectic lessons; it's fun and rewarding, but sometimes it just doesn't get done. It's nice to have those ready-made "just do lesson # 45 on day # 45" materials on those days. It keeps a momma moving forward during those tough weeks where life intervenes and things don't go as planned.

 

Peace,

Janice

 

Enjoy your little people

Enjoy your journey

[Aludlam]

Hi,

 

I had surgery yesterday, so I'm a little loopey --- but you can request catalogs from Sonlight, Winter Promise, Heart of Dakota ... and lots and lots more. You can then use those catalogs as great reading list. I agree with the Core Knowledge. You can usually get it from the library. Also, if you haven't read the WTM, you really need to. It's a great read. Also, are you looking for Chrisitian or secular? Knowing that could help us steer you towards other things. Have you looked into math yet? Like I said, I'm really loopey, so I hope this made some sense.

 

Angela

[mommycheryl]

I do have that in my gazillion mile list "to look at" file :lol: Thank you, I will start there!

 

I have to second the Core Knowledge. It can get overwhelming, esp the "What your X grader needs to know" books, but frankly, I think WTM is much more overwhelming. The easiest way for me to deal with Core knowledge is actually in Bennet's book "The well educated child." It goes by subject, then breaks it down into grade level bits. Still a huge book, but easier to manage, IMO.

 

I also agree with the poster who suggested a curric. for LA and Math. We are beginning with our 3rd grader this fall. Money is really tight for us, so I get where you are coming from. Do you have any friends who homeschool? My SIL lives 1000 miles away, but she has been a huge help in the process and she is loaning me some curric she is finished with. Borrowing something may be an option. I, too, am looking at Rod and Staff and CLE for LA. And the library for lots of other stuff. One other thing I have done is to look at a couple of site my state has for their standard course of study. I found one that I beleive is the state Univ. system, but it has details of the objectives and links to bunches of lesson plans. Sure, tons of them are useless to me, but I have found some great ideas reading through the plans, ways I can tweak them, some have worksheets attached. I have a section in my notebook for ideas and I have been noting lots of projects I see on the walls outside of classrooms as school is winding up.

 

HTH.

[Tracy]

If you are going to do your own curriculum, I recommend Home Learning Year By Year by Rebecca Rupp. It has a complete scope and sequence for every year for Pre-K thru grade 12 for both traditional and classical approaches. It also has book lists to tie in reading for almost every item--even math.

[Snickerdoodle]

I think this 99cent mp3 download is worth every penny.

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/store/the-joy-of-classical-education-introduction-to-classical-education-at-home-mp3.html

[Hedgehogs4]

Ok, I have been reading for days :001_smile: I will be starting a 4YO and a 7YO (also have a 2YO)

So I am planning for a preschool and 3rd grade curriculum. We are very low on funds. I want to make my own curriculum ( I am willing to buy certain bits and pieces of some) not buy a boxed set. I have looked over AO and a million other free curriculums.

 

Can anyone tell me or point me to a list of what each grade basically needs to learn? I would feel ten times better if I just started with a simple list of subjects and basic skills each grade learns/needs to work on. like when do you start Science and Grammar? And what LA skills should a 3rd grader know?

 

I am in Illinois so I have no Hs rules. I am super list oriented and I think if I could get a basic outline of what subjects I should be teaching and what skills in each subject should be covered, then I could get rolling on picking out what curriculums I want to use, or if I can go to the library and format my own.

 

MAJOR thanks in advance for anyone willing to share some knowledge with me. I am feeling lost and overhwlened and the more I read, the more I get scared that I cannot do this!

 

imo, if you can just purchase The Well-Trained Mind and nothing else, you are good to go. You don't need tons of curriculum if you are really low on funds and are willing to plan. The price of copy paper, a few good books, a library, and a good brain is really all you need. DON'T overthink it. Leigh Bortins, the founder of Classical Conversations talks about a stick in the dirt...if that's all i had to educate my children, could i do it? the simple answer is yes, if you have the will to.

[Mommy22alyns]

If you are going to do your own curriculum, I recommend Home Learning Year By Year by Rebecca Rupp. It has a complete scope and sequence for every year for Pre-K thru grade 12 for both traditional and classical approaches. It also has book lists to tie in reading for almost every item--even math.

 

:iagree: This book is so helpful to me because it's written in plain English, not overwhelming "educator-ese" like most standards lists!

[kwickimom]

Where in Illinois are you? I'll be moving there this summer. There is a nice Yahoo group for people in the area of Scott AFB and also some homeschooling groups in the Chicago area

I am in Southern Il, about 40 mins from Scott AFB. I checked out some groups and that seems to be the closest so far. :-)

 

I would suggest that you check you library for the following titles.

 

The Well-Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer

The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling by Debra Bell

 

For 3rd grade I would also gently suggest that you look for curriculum that you can purchase for arithmetic and language arts.

 

Thanks for the book recommendations! I totally agree with buying cirriculum for those areas. I think I didnt explain myself too well there. I just didnt want to buy a full out curriculum in a box. I wanted to get a list of "subjects" and then handpick from there. I dont want to just teach from a textbook and hand out worksheets type thing. Thats why I liked AO and I have been looking over the CM sites too. thanks!!

 

It's a great read. Also, are you looking for Chrisitian or secular? Knowing that could help us steer you towards other things. Have you looked into math yet? Like I said, I'm really loopey, so I hope this made some sense.

 

Angela

You made great sense for being loopey! I am looking for Christian and I havemt settled on a Math. Just when I think I like one, I read somethign about another! I am leaning towards Saxon right now.

 

If you are going to do your own curriculum, I recommend Home Learning Year By Year by Rebecca Rupp. It has a complete scope and sequence for every year for Pre-K thru grade 12 for both traditional and classical approaches. It also has book lists to tie in reading for almost every item--even math.

Thank you! Sounds like exactly what I am needing!

[ElizabethB]

I am in Southern Il, about 40 mins from Scott AFB. I checked out some groups and that seems to be the closest so far. :-)

 

 

It is a fairly active group from the looks of it, although I haven't met anyone in person yet since I'm still in California. I'm sure you could work out a good park day when people could bring various things for you to look at and you could talk to people.

 

I have a fair collection of curriculum that I'd be willing to lug to a park to show you once we arrive in late July or early August, I should have a lot of things that would interest you since our children are close in age.

 

Send me an e-mail to my "real" e-mail near the end of July if you still need to look at things by then, I may not check in as much here en route but will check my e-mail, here's my "real" e-mail:

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/Other/contact.html

[kwickimom]

It is a fairly active group from the looks of it, although I haven't met anyone in person yet since I'm still in California. I'm sure you could work out a good park day when people could bring various things for you to look at and you could talk to people.

 

I have a fair collection of curriculum that I'd be willing to lug to a park to show you once we arrive in late July or early August, I should have a lot of things that would interest you since our children are close in age.

 

Send me an e-mail to my "real" e-mail near the end of July if you still need to look at things by then, I may not check in as much here en route but will check my e-mail, here's my "real" e-mail:

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/Other/contact.html

 

 

THANK YOU! Are you moving on base or just near? Will you be joining that group? I will look into it!

[kwickimom]

Ok so...I need to cover

 

LA...which includes reading, writing, narration, grammar and spelling

Math

Science

History/social studies

P.E./Health

art/music

 

This is the basic subjects, right?

[Aurelia]

Ok so...I need to cover

 

LA...which includes reading, writing, narration, grammar and spelling

Math

Science

History/social studies

P.E./Health

art/music

 

This is the basic subjects, right?

 

 

Yes.