shinyhappypeople Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 I.give.up. My kids are 5 and 7 yo and I've been giving myself a hard time for rarely making time for history and science. I know this is heresy to some, but I've decided to let myself of the hook and officially toss formal study of those subjects until they're older. We'll continue reading library books about a wide variety of people and places. We'll have fun with science and let them follow their interests. But, a curriculum? A schedule? A box to check ... or feel guilty about not checking? :tongue_smilie: No way. I feel much better now. Thanks for listening. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidlit Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 I hereby grant you permission to be guilt-free and follow your children's passions and interests for science and history! :thumbup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallory Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 When my oldest were 5 and 7 I wish we had dropped history. My next won't be required to do any formal history until 2nd or 3rd grade. (Of course we are such a sciency family there isn't any way we can avoid science. But we also don't do grammar or spelling at those ages, or a formal math program either!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5LittleMonkeys Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 You know this crosses my mind every DAY! Dd7 says she likes SOTW but I think it's mostly because she likes to color and do the projects. It's definitely not her passion and I don't think she really retains much of it. And as for science...I am sick of astronomy. Boy was I wrong when I thought doing astronomy for half a year would be great. I'm glad I didn't do the full year schedule. Right now we are just trying to get it done so we don't have yet another unfinished notebook in science. I seem to always run out of steam by the time history or science roll around and dd7 is definitely in la la land after 3 hours of core subjects. Science and history push her into the 4th hour and sometimes it's just too much. We'll have fun with science and let them follow their interests. But, a curriculum? A schedule? A box to check ... or feel guilty about not checking? :tongue_smilie: No way. This sounds so nice. At what age do you think you will pick back up with a more structured program? Sometimes I wonder if just waiting until logic stage would be all right. I'm jealous...I wish I had the confidence to make the decision you have! Yah for you!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amyrjoy Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 Go right ahead. We haven't done too much history or geography at all this year. I had big plans, but I'm just not that into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amyrjoy Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 Oh and mine are 5 and 7 too! Lol! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 I can totally relate. We do history and science because those are high interest subjects for the boys. Otherwise we spend our day doing LA and Math and that gets old really fast. We dropped Fine Arts though. I had such high hopes and by lunch time I am just exhausted and DS1 (7 yrs) just needs to be OUTSIDE running around. So they don't know who Mozart is!:glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walkermamaof4 Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 I wish i hadn't done it when mine were that age! They retained so little. What a waste. We could have been playing! reading! math games! nature study! Nature study with water colors has been a new and super fun adventure at our house. I wish we had known then! And the CLP nature readers are a much better use of my time than history and science at that age. There - I said it! Be released! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paintedlady Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 If it makes you feel better, SWB basically gave this advice at a recent conference I saw her at. Focus on the 3 R's and read books/follow interest in the other subjects. Breathe easy! :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrightmom Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 I.give.up. My kids are 5 and 7 yo and I've been giving myself a hard time for rarely making time for history and science. I know this is heresy to some, but I've decided to let myself of the hook and officially toss formal study of those subjects until they're older. We'll continue reading library books about a wide variety of people and places. We'll have fun with science and let them follow their interests. But, a curriculum? A schedule? A box to check ... or feel guilty about not checking? :tongue_smilie: No way. I feel much better now. Thanks for listening. :) :grouphug: for SAYING IT and :iagree: and your post made me :crying:. Just today I told my dear sweet husband that I want to just read through Sonlight K Core with all the kids. That is, by far, the BEST part of our days . . . just reading, talking, hanging out. And, frankly, they remember quite a bit when we just read. All of the "to dos" that go with more formal study take the fun right out of it all and then there is no remembering anything (other than Mommy saying, "Hurry up! We have to get this done. Oh honey. No no no. Write that HERE. Ugh. Um . . . let's just get this done!" The three R's is a lot to get through day to day with all of these kids. And, it wears them out!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwickimom Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 (edited) I have already decided not to do formal studies until my boys are older. I am planning on just reading and doing small projects until about 2nd or 3rd grade. I plan on doing: 2nd- geography/state studies and an Intro to Science (very informal like) 3rd- American History and Biology 4th- American History 2 and Earth Science/Astronomy 5th- SOTW 1 (+supplements) and Chem 6th- SOTW 2 (+supps) and Physics 7th- SOTW 3 (addt'l am history) Gen Sci 8th- SOTW 4 (addt'l am history) Physical Sci Edited October 26, 2010 by kwickimom add a comment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxy Roller Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 I.give.up. My kids are 5 and 7 yo and I've been giving myself a hard time for rarely making time for history and science. I know this is heresy to some, but I've decided to let myself of the hook and officially toss formal study of those subjects until they're older. We'll continue reading library books about a wide variety of people and places. We'll have fun with science and let them follow their interests. But, a curriculum? A schedule? A box to check ... or feel guilty about not checking? :tongue_smilie: No way. I feel much better now. Thanks for listening. :) Yah! I have offically decided to say that I unschool science. We have hundreds, if not more, grammar-aged science books on our shelves from library sales that my kids read/look through regularly, and I have decided that until (gasp) sixth grade, that is enough. I also do not do history until third grade and grammar until the fourth grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 Mine are 7, 5 and 4. History and science at my house are basically read-alouds. That's it. The 3R's take a lot of time here...OTOH my dc truly love their history and science read alouds b/c there is no "work" expected LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinyhappypeople Posted October 26, 2010 Author Share Posted October 26, 2010 Thanks for your support, everyone :001_smile: If it makes you feel better, SWB basically gave this advice at a recent conference I saw her at. Focus on the 3 R's and read books/follow interest in the other subjects. Breathe easy! :grouphug: Actually, that does make me feel much better. Thanks Paintedlady and SWB :001_smile: This sounds so nice. At what age do you think you will pick back up with a more structured program? Sometimes I wonder if just waiting until logic stage would be all right. I'm jealous...I wish I had the confidence to make the decision you have! Yah for you!! I'm not sure when to start. I'm open to suggestions. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 It would not occur to me in the first place to subject a 5 year old to an organized curriculum. (running and ducking) Seriously, all the history they can absorb at that age can be nicely packaged in read alouds or independent reading for the older one. And non fiction books about nature (plants, animals, planets, volcanoes....) serve just fine to get them interested in science. Which would be my goal for the age group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misidawnrn Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 Can I just tell you that you made my day:cheers2:. I have been debating this exact thing in my head since the beginning of school! I think that SOTW is too advanced for DD but she does like reading about Egypt's stuff in picture books. I have elemental science now but I wing it and don't follow the teachers manual at all like I thought I would. I like the WTM's layout for what to study when for history and science, I just want to wing it on our own as far as what and who to read about. So, I am going to join you in throwing the curricula to the wind (OK, more like saving it for later) and just go with the flow and interest for history and science! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5LittleMonkeys Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 I'm becoming extremely inspired. I just looked at my schedule and if I cut out formal history and science I will gain 6 hours a week. Oh, think of all the read alouds I could do during that time! We haven't been able to do any read alouds lately. Just no time with teaching 3 and chasing 2. Dd7 does get science books from the library but I rarely have time to read them to her. HHMMM...I feel a restructuring coming on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 I'm almost to the same point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfatherslily Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 One of the best things I did this year was to plan for science and history to NOT be done at the same time! We did science from June to early October, then switched to history. I don't feel pressured to get it all done and we enjoy it:) There are so many ways to learn - go with what works for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrightmom Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 One of the best things I did this year was to plan for science and history to NOT be done at the same time! We did science from June to early October, then switched to history. I don't feel pressured to get it all done and we enjoy it:) There are so many ways to learn - go with what works for you! THIS is a lovely idea . . . taking it in spurts for some focused fun. :D:D I am going to :auto: my sweet, dear husband bonkers with all of the ideas inspired by this lovely thread!!! "Honey, here's why we need to purchase Sonlight Core K. . . " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bry's-gal Posted October 27, 2010 Share Posted October 27, 2010 THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I was just saying to a friend today that we never get to science like I want and history isn't much better! I was debating whether to chuck it or not! My eldest devours history and science books (Thank you Usborne!)- I'm going to quit stressing about it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnMomof7 Posted October 27, 2010 Share Posted October 27, 2010 After OBSESSING about history last year (my oldest was 6!) I too have dropped formal history and science. We read a lot, keep a timeline, do informal nature study. That's about it :). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lauracolumbus Posted October 27, 2010 Share Posted October 27, 2010 We love history here, so that gets done. Science not so much. My dd6 retains a lot of her history because she loves it and we do it a lot. She's on her 2d pass of SOTW b/c of her siblings. For science, we mostly do videos and the science we get at CC. My dd10 and dd6 just started going to a science class. I feel guilty about my ds12 who hasn't had much science a this point. We're starting Apologia General Science, but it's going very slowly b/c we don't have much time/energy left in the day after covering everything else. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsabelC Posted October 27, 2010 Share Posted October 27, 2010 (edited) I have a 7yo and a 5yo as well, and I'm probably going to revert to a more unschooled approach to science. I love the idea of systematically exploring different branches of science with some sort of curriculum, but I have to face the fact that it's not for us. I got Real Science Odyssey and have been disappointed. (I still think it's a good program, but it's not working for us. For one thing, it seems to assume no prior knowledge of anything - eg my kids already knew most of the human biology. But the biggie for me was that it's just so American I have too much to do tweaking it for my Australian kiddos - I just get sick of converting the measurements, translating the unfamiliar terms, and trying to figure out whether a pillbug is something we don't have here or just another name for something we do have lol.) As for history, we have only been doing it very loosely this year (just reading stories and doing the odd practical activity, no narrations in a notebook) and that's what we'll do again next year. They do get a bit of it from fiction as well, and from stories I tell them. With my kids, just doing the basic 3Rs in a more structured way takes up as much time as I'm willing to make them spend on sit down schoolwork. I honestly don't understand how it's possible to do everything TWTM way, with kids who are not particularly gifted or great at concentrating, and still have enough time for playing and socializing. [shrug] I figure, though, that once their 3Rs are a bit more secure and we don't need to do intensive work every day to prevent them from forgetting things, we can probably do occasional blitzes on other subjects. For example, just decide to drop everything else for a week and spend that time exploring astronomy or whatever it is. Edited October 27, 2010 by Hotdrink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In2why Posted October 27, 2010 Share Posted October 27, 2010 How courageous of you to admit it! I know you are not alone, since we dropped our science curriculum in favor of the read alouds and interest led trails. We do history though, but it isn't SOTW because we realize last year, that based on time versus retention that it just wasn't making sense. I looked at Sonlight and Guesthollow and made up our own US History which we love. It is a combo of our read alouds, art, lapbooks, and DVD's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 27, 2010 Share Posted October 27, 2010 Admittedly, mine are older now. 14 and 11. They have have both over the younger years read all the SOTW books, the Usborne and Kingfisher encyclopedias, and countless other history books. I am not planning on formal history again until I can find a good secular high school level. They have covered it on their own without any pushing from me, thank you very much. Sometimes I think we get so caught up in it must be this way. Likewise with science. Mine have covered all the lower level sruff. Now I and they have to wait for their math skills to catch up to their understanding skills. The younger 2, not until 3rd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oops, duplicate account :/ Posted October 27, 2010 Share Posted October 27, 2010 After OBSESSING about history last year (my oldest was 6!) I too have dropped formal history and science. We read a lot, keep a timeline, do informal nature study. That's about it :). Us too. Glad to read this thread and know I'm not alone. Oh, and thank you SWB!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenC3 Posted October 27, 2010 Share Posted October 27, 2010 I'm totally there! This is what we do for history: SOTW map work and some activities. Listen to the CD's which my kids love and beg for and read books. Science: I read the Apologia FC book and we do the activities (which I bought fully packaged for my convenience:) No tests, no narrations, no papers. Oh and lapbooks since they LOVE those things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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