trueblue Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 Hi there, We have decided to homeschool our two boys next year ages 7 & 10. They completed 1st & 4th at a rigorous, classical, Christian, Charlotte Mason-method private school last year that we respect and may return to at some point. But I have always wanted to homeschool and are really excited. We are going to take it year:year with homeschooling and have quite a bit of travel lined up next year including a Spanish immersion experience for a month. The school they attended uses Saxon, a grade ahead, so the 7 yo finished 2nd grade SM and the fourth grader got about 85% through the 6/5 book. Grammar has been Shurley Grammar, and they use Bonnie Detmer for phonograms (I think). A school similar to ours in curriculum changed to Singapore after adding a high school, apparently their students had an easier time with high school math/SAT, after the switch, so I wanted to consider Singapore. I also wanted to try Rod & Staff. But I have no idea where to start people, or what to order, etc. The forums here are wonderful, I've been reading for months, would love any suggestions, advice, tips, tricks, books to read, etc. thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robsiew Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 I would highly suggest starting by reading Well Trained Mind. That will give you a general as well as detailed look at SWB's idea of classical education. It sounds like you've been pleased with what your dc have been doing so far. You may just want to stick with those curricula you like for the first year. You could use the suggestions in WTM to fill in which ever subjects you choose not to do the same from their private school. I would start by figuring out your 3R's... reading, writing (spelling, grammar and writing) and math. Then fill in your other subjects. WTM will help a lot with suggestions. Homeschooling is much different than a classroom of 20-30 kids so you will find you can be much more flexible than their classroom was. Over the next couple years you will come to find what works well for you and your dc. Probably my biggest piece of advice for people just starting out is find curriculum that YOU can teach easily as opposed to what your dc may or may not like. If you can't/don't like teaching it... it won't get done. If mom is happy teaching most of the time that will carry over to the kids... and when it doesn't I notice it's something the child probably won't like no matter what we use! :D Enjoy your new journey! Homeschooling is a ton of work, but rewarding in so many ways. Ask questions here and also use the search feature... a lot of the time there are MANY posts that will answer your questions probably in more detail than you'd like! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 Probably my biggest piece of advice for people just starting out is find curriculum that YOU can teach easily as opposed to what your dc may or may not like. If you can't/don't like teaching it... it won't get done. If mom is happy teaching most of the time that will carry over to the kids... and when it doesn't I notice it's something the child probably won't like no matter what we use! :D :iagree:Welcome to the homeschooling club! It is helpful to get your hands on some different curricula and actually look at it before you purchase. Do you have a homeschool bookstore nearby? Friends who homeschool who would be willing to let you look at their stuff? I also agree with reading The Well Trained Mind. It will help you wrap your brain around the classical method, and it gives plenty of good curriculum suggestions. We use Singapore math and love it. It works well for my kids. We've not ever used Saxon, but many people do. Just keep reading, decide if you want to buy a boxed set type of curriculum or if you want to piece it together yourself. There are so many options, which is a wonderful thing...but also overwhelming. Don't worry too much about making "mistakes". If you choose a solid curriculum (such as any of the ones recommended in The Well Trained Mind), you will be fine. Once you get your feet wet, you can fine tune with what works for you and your kids. I will start my third year of homeschooling this fall so I am relatively new still...but let me share that the first year I really didn't know what I was doing, bumbled through, left things out, did it "wrong" in many ways, etc...and my kids learned so much in spite of me and we all grew together. It was a wonderful year for us.:001_smile: All the best to you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 I don't know if you LIKE the approach your kids were using in the school, but if you do and want to continue it, VP Scholars might be a good option. It would schedule everything out for you and fill in some of the areas where you're feeling less confident (history, lit, getting enough writing, that type thing). As you say, you might like to sub Singapore for the Saxon math, no problem. Singapore has placement tests, so you'll be fine there. You could back up a bit and let them start a month early, just to smooth the transition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In2why Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 Hi there,We have decided to homeschool our two boys next year ages 7 & 10. They completed 1st & 4th at a rigorous, classical, Christian, Charlotte Mason-method private school last year that we respect and may return to at some point. But I have always wanted to homeschool and are really excited. We are going to take it year:year with homeschooling and have quite a bit of travel lined up next year including a Spanish immersion experience for a month. The school they attended uses Saxon, a grade ahead, so the 7 yo finished 2nd grade SM and the fourth grader got about 85% through the 6/5 book. Grammar has been Shurley Grammar, and they use Bonnie Detmer for phonograms (I think). A school similar to ours in curriculum changed to Singapore after adding a high school, apparently their students had an easier time with high school math/SAT, after the switch, so I wanted to consider Singapore. I also wanted to try Rod & Staff. But I have no idea where to start people, or what to order, etc. The forums here are wonderful, I've been reading for months, would love any suggestions, advice, tips, tricks, books to read, etc. thank you! If Saxon is working I would urge you to consider sticking with it at least for your first year. Saxon is easy to teach and will make it easier for you to transistion into all of the subjects that you want to explore. When I decided to homeschool, I hate to say it but the easiest thing for me was to examine where I thought their education was lacking at school, and then figure out a way I thought we could plug those gaps. I also wanted to teach my son how to learn and not just how to pass a test, as well as make it as fun and interesting as possible for both of us. Another truism I am dealing with is that usually you start out VERY structured and then relax a bit. So I picked my cores and built the extras around them. I also realized that there isn't any one right way to learn or any one right curriculum. I think the suggestion to read WTM is excellent. I would pick the shelves clean and read everything you can about different ways to homeschool, and different learning styles and decide what is right for your family. But welcome.....jump in....the water isn't just fine, it is wonderful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in KS Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 Have you looked at easyclassical.com? They have schedules which incorporate nearly all the items you discussed... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trueblue Posted July 12, 2010 Author Share Posted July 12, 2010 no, but I will right now. Fever virus and a laptop, at least using the time well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.