Firestar Academy Posted August 15, 2010 Share Posted August 15, 2010 if a cirriculum works or not?? This is my first year hs'ing, and here is my situation: I have dd(10) and dd(7) We borrowed Sonlight core 3 - absolutely LOVING it...with both of them..I tweak ny doing one book at a time and doing all the reading (Hey, I want to learn this stuff, too) Using TT3 and TT5 for math - Friend who loaned us SL uses this so I ordered it too. My kids LOVE it. They love the lecture, they love the little buddy thing, they love that it tells them 'AWESOME'. I love it that I don't HAVE to teach it. (BTW, I was a Math major in college and studied to be an actuary) using Apologia Astonomy with dd(10) - only done 1 lesson and she is doing this mostly on her own. Got the notebook - not as meaty as I would like but love the live and learn lapbook mini books. She loves the crafty part of that. my dd(7) wants to do the swimming creatures. We are using Shurley Grammer2 and 5. My little one asks to do it every day!! They adore the jingles and make up hand motions/dances to go with them. My older one loves that it has scheduled journaling time. Still looking for the quigley software used.. So, my question is, would I KNOW if these weren't working for us? Or am I MAKING them work for me??:confused: It seems that so many hs'ers change it up and switch around, why aren't I?? This just feels too easy. Or, am I just asking for trouble and should count my blessings???:chillpill: Robin in NJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidbits of Learning Posted August 15, 2010 Share Posted August 15, 2010 Count your blessings. You have found things that work for you. Don't borrow trouble. I personally think that too much research and questioning is just as bad as not enough. It makes you want everything in sight and I think switching a lot will leave gaps in the long run. I made myself write out long term goals so that I wouldn't be tempted to change year to year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted August 15, 2010 Share Posted August 15, 2010 If you kids willing do it without complaint and they are actually learning the material then you know it is working for you. If they hate it, don't understand it or even balk at it, then maybe it isn't the right one for them. If you don't understand it and can't answer questions about it or figure out the answers to problems then you know it isn't the right one for you. If it just seems like busy work or is unduely repetative them it isn't right. I have been through a lot of curriculum and it has always been fairly easy to tell pretty quickly if the material is not a good mix for the child or for you. Once the kids were older, I just let them look at the options and decide for themselves what they thought would work best for them. So far that has worked great. The oldest two chose not to go to college but are leading productive adult lives. The middle two are going to college this year and the last two made a smooth transition to PS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margo out of lurking Posted August 16, 2010 Share Posted August 16, 2010 So, my question is, would I KNOW if these weren't working for us? Or am I MAKING them work for me??:confused: I have always held that you should make curriculum work for you, instead of you working for the curriculum! You aren't changing it up because your decisions were right the first time, and God gave you this blessing. :) It may or may not continue to work for you this coming year, but you're past the hard part (that first few months). Enjoy your time with your dc! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firestar Academy Posted August 16, 2010 Author Share Posted August 16, 2010 (edited) OK. Thanks all!! Going to relax and figure God gave me the wisdom to chose correctly (at least for the moment) Robin Edited August 16, 2010 by RobinLK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted August 16, 2010 Share Posted August 16, 2010 Like you, I stumbled onto a curriculum which works for us in most ways our first year. It happens to be SL, as well. (We use the readers, literature readalouds and history.) We will be going into our third year using SL as our history spine, and it is working well for us still. If it doesn't work for us at some point, I will change. So many wonderful curriculums and choices exist, and there are many "right" choices that you can make. If what you have is working for you and the dc, then you are blessed and don't need a change.:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Closeacademy Posted August 16, 2010 Share Posted August 16, 2010 When a curriculum is not working for us one or some or all of the following things are occuring: I am frustrated the children are frustrated the children fight me they say it is too hard everyone looks bored I am bored I don't feel like doing school they say it is too hard they complain we are stuck in the same spot on the same lesson for more than a week I don't take out the materials that aren't working I am doing all the work and the child is along for the ride I feel like calling up the school and enrolling everyone they say they hate school and mean it Hope this list helps. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted August 16, 2010 Share Posted August 16, 2010 I knew that something wasn't working for us once... My son threw himself on the floor, screamed, kicked the wall, stood up, ran through the house into his bedroom, slammed the door and screamed. Don't worry! You'll know! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firestar Academy Posted August 17, 2010 Author Share Posted August 17, 2010 I knew that something wasn't working for us once... My son threw himself on the floor, screamed, kicked the wall, stood up, ran through the house into his bedroom, slammed the door and screamed. Don't worry! You'll know! :001_smile: Are you SURE?!?!:lol::lol::D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firestar Academy Posted August 17, 2010 Author Share Posted August 17, 2010 When a curriculum is not working for us one or some or all of the following things are occuring: I am frustrated the children are frustrated the children fight me they say it is too hard everyone looks bored I am bored I don't feel like doing school they say it is too hard they complain we are stuck in the same spot on the same lesson for more than a week I don't take out the materials that aren't working I am doing all the work and the child is along for the ride I feel like calling up the school and enrolling everyone they say they hate school and mean it Hope this list helps. :001_smile: it sure does!! None of that has happened, yet!:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mum Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 I"m never sure about anything :), but if they do it cheerfully and in discussion and writing/projects/worksheets they are showing some recall, then great. I know that I have expected too much from mine in the beginning. So much of school is learning HOW to learn, and getting a feel for the subjects that are out there. It will all come good when they get to high school/college and find what they want to do for themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaC Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 You are in your groove! Stick with it :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cindie2dds Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 You will know. I haven't made it more than two weeks with a flop, and I've had way too many to count! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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