Absolute Homeschooling Beginner: Need Help and Feedback

[VeritasLogos]

Hello. This is my first post. Just getting my feet wet here.

 

My son is 4, and my daughter is 3, and for about the last six months, my wife has been teaching them at home using materials appropriate for their age groups.

 

Within the next year or two, I want to move on to a much more rigorous and structured educational program, and I am currently in the planning stages. Basically, I feel very overwhelmed at this point and do not know where to begin, hence my arrival in this community where there appear to be many people with substantial knowledge of the process. I am amazed at the number of approaches, options, curriculum sets and choices when it comes to homeschooling.

 

That said, here are my general ideas regarding approach and goals:

 

1) I want to use an approach consistent with the Well Trained Minds concept of classical education.

 

2) I do not want to use any approach where my kids dictate what they learn. According to my wife, there are such approaches based on the theory that learning and education should be geared, tailored and modified to the child's interests. I reject this. I want my kids working through a structured, inflexible curriculum that requires them to master the concepts I feel they need to know whether they want to learn them or not.

 

3) My preference is to use the most rigorous and challenging curriculum out there, assuming there is a consensus on which curriculum that is.

 

4) I am very concerned about tests and assessments. At this point, I don't know if the assessments usually come with the curriculum, or if it is best to write your own. I want to be able to check at all times to make sure my son and daughter are at or ahead of where they should be relative to other kids in their age group.

 

5) Religious content does not bother me, nor does secular content. Rigor and effectiveness are all I care about.

 

6) I am open to feedback and opinions on all of these points and feedback on whether I am on the right track in general. I can handle negative or constructive criticism if you feel I am way off track here and in fact would appreciate it.

 

7) If any of you are willing to take a moment to provides sites, links or other information that will help me get started and begin to get a handle on the various approaches that will fit my style, I will be very grateful. I am currently working my way through all the content on the well trained mind Web site.

 

 

Thanks very much for reading this and best regards,

Edited November 29, 2010 by VeritasLogos

[Rosie_0801]

2) I do not want to use any approach where my kids dictate what they learn. According to my wife, there are such approaches based on the theory that learning and education should be geared, tailored and modified to the child's interests. I reject this. I want my kids working through a structured, inflexible curriculum that requires them to master the concepts I feel they need to know whether they want to learn them or not.

 

 

Hmm. On this point, I think it would be worth mentioning that these two ideas are not polar opposites with no middle ground. If one of your kids comes to you begging to be allowed to ditch Macbeth because it's so agonisingly awful they'd rather clean toilets, do you have any really good reason to tell them you don't care and they'd better darn well read it anyway? Or can you tell them that you believe an educated person ought to be familiar with Shakespeare so they may pick a different play to study instead? Before you lay down the law, it is only fair that you have excellent reasons why it needs to be your way with no modifications. If you don't have excellent reasons, it might well be one of those teaching moments for the child to practice building a strong and well thought out argument. If the child has a plan that will fulfill your underlying criteria, why not congratulate them on their reasoning and let them go for it? "I don't want to because it sucks" is certainly not a good argument, but that doesn't mean you can't gently draw better reasoning out of them. There might be some in there ;) and everyone will be pleasantly surprised when it is articulated. And people only become accomplished at that, like most things, with patient tuition, demonstrations from others and practice.

 

Both the student and teacher will make a far more successful job of homeschooling if they are comfortable with the methods. Methods that make them miserable will result in poorer student outcomes than would occur if they were using methods they were comfortable with, even if you think they are a little on the namby pamby side.

 

It is important to remember that children are people too and there are ways of finding a middle ground between your and your wife's ideas. Rigor does not have to equal dry and workbooky. There are times when a rip roaring discussion is far more educational than an essay, even though the essay looks like rigorous work and a discussion looks like a rowdy conversation.

 

Good luck finding the compromise.

 

Rosie

Edited November 29, 2010 by Rosie_0801

[StephanieF]

I wrote a long answer but I don't want to lose my main point which is flexibility is the key to a good education. Flexibility is difficult when teaching 20 kids but with 2 it is easier.

The objective is for the children to learn and personally from experience that is achieved by me being flexible and finding out how my children learn. So if my children love books on animals I would harness that interest to get them to read better and more challenging books about animals even if it meant ditching my planned programe of reading which didn't include any books on animals.

 

If my son is obsessed with learning about knights then I will teach him to write a good paragraph by feeding off that interest.

 

FLEXIBILITY is the key, don't be ruled by any curriculum because Joe says it is the best, it is only the best if your children learn from it.

That said, I'm sure you will get a lot of recommendations and probably the best starting point is TWTM book

Stephanie

[StephanieF]

Forgot to add google Ken Robinson and have a look at a few of his lectures on you tube. We do follow a highly structured curriculum however I find these brilliant.

Stephanie

[....]

Have you read The Well-Trained Mind? Classical education is a little lite in the beginning (not that that's bad).

 

Interested in reading about Charlotte Mason? One of my friends swears by this book. http://www.amazon.com/Charlotte-Mason-Companion-Personal-Reflections/dp/1889209023/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1291032763&sr=1-1

 

Have you seen sonlight? That might be right up your alley... www.sonlight.com

 

Speaking of educating dudes...Boys Adrift is a great book... http://www.amazon.com/Boys-Adrift-Epidemic-Unmotivated-Underachieving/dp/0465072100/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1291032581&sr=8-1

 

Good luck and take it easy...:tongue_smilie:

[TXMary2]

It sounds like you might want to check out www.veritaspress.com and www.memoriapress.com

[Tabrett]

Most curriculums have assessments. But I think you will be surprised how easy it is to assess you dc. You are personally teaching your dc everyday and always know how they are doing. Because of this, I don't test my dc....yet.

Once your dc start gaining independence in learning, that is when testing becomes more important.

 

Most k programs are not going to be rigorous. Many of the rigorous programs don't offer k programs. Singapore math's k program was written in the USA to meet America's required k standards. Singapore's real program starts in grade one. WTM says to teach a strong phonetic reading program in k and read lots to your dc. R&S is very strong in grammar, but their grammar doesn't start till 2nd grade.

 

Please understand that you may need to try several curriculums until you find a curriculum that works with your dc and meets your standards. You can research and research and think you have picked out the ultimate curriculum for your dc only to find out it is a total flop for YOUR dc. It took about 3 curriculum flops before I found the one that worked for me and my dc.

[lmrich]

:chillpill:

 

Please, please, please enjoy the journey. This is not a race with one kid winning the gold medal. I am all for rigor and academic excellence (brag alert - kid scoring in the 99th percentile on standardized tests) BUT I want him to be well rounded, kind, helpful, interesting, curious...so much more than smart. Please, please, please take the time to now to sit and read to your children and play with them.

[Harriet Vane]

Have you read The Well-Trained Mind? If not, that's where I'd start.

 

Also, who will be teaching, you or your wife? If your wife will be doing it, I would strongly suggest that she have the larger role in choosing curriculum as she will be the one who has to cope with implementing it. There are many good choices out there, so the teacher's personality should be considered.

[Hedgehog]

Hi there :001_smile:

 

...here are my general ideas regarding approach and goals:

 

1) I want to use an approach consistent with the Well Trained Minds concept of classical education.

 

I'm assuming you've read TWTM? There's a huge amount of advice there, and curricula suggestions. "The Latin-Centred Curriculum" is another one I like.

 

2) I do not want to use any approach where my kids dictate what they learn. According to my wife, there are such approaches based on the theory that learning and education should be geared, tailored and modified to the child's interests. I reject this. I want my kids working through a structured, inflexible curriculum that requires them to master the concepts I feel they need to know whether they want to learn them or not.

 

I would agree with you that the general structure of what the child learns is for the adult to decide, since you have a better notion what needs to be learned. However, as Rosie said, you will fast discourage your child if you insist they continue studying a text they detest. It should be possible to find another text which teaches the exact same skills, but with content they are willing to read and think about.

 

3) My preference is to use the most rigorous and challenging curriculum out there, assuming there is a consensus on which curriculum that is.

 

Sorry.. there isn't a great consensus of which curriculum is best! Just above me as I write this post is the admin's note to us all: "Parents' Forum K-8 Curriculum Board, For questions about specific curricula... remember that no single program can possibly meet the needs of every home schooler; let's benefit from the variety available...". There are certainly more and less rigorous curricula, but people will have different opinions about which is which. I believe the best thing to do is simply to ask whatever specific question you may have about a curriculum or program, and see what opinions you get.

 

4) I am very concerned about tests and assessments. At this point, I don't know if the assessments usually come with the curriculum, or if it is best to write your own. I want to be able to check at all times to make sure my son and daughter are at or ahead of where they should be relative to other kids in their age group.

 

May I ask why this is so important to you? My personal view here is that children develop at different times, which is why the "one way fits all" approach that many PSs inevitably end up with is such a disaster. You may find that one of your children finds Math easy, but struggles greatly with Language Arts. Are you going to force them to do work which is technically at their Grade level, but clearly too hard for them and thus terribly discouraging for both student and teacher? This seems a little illogical, if you don't mind me saying so.

 

5) Religious content does not bother me, nor does secular content. Rigor and effectiveness are all I care about.

 

I'm wondering if you really mean that as black and white as it sounds? Is it not even a little important to you that your children actually enjoy the learning process along the way?

 

I'm actually assuming that you didn't mean this post to come across as quite as clinical as it did (to me at least)! Homeschooling is a lifestyle and is so much more than just ensuring that our dc have a "rigorous and thorough education". Children learn in different ways, and will often gain as much information from visiting a zoo as from reading a book.

 

One final thought.. you are keen on reading all about classical education. Please do get hold of some books about different educational methods, like Charlotte Mason (similar in some ways and different in others); Steiner Waldorf; Montessori. Do give some thought to these different ideas. Don't get me wrong, I do think your desire to provide your dc with the best education possible is wonderful. Just don't forget to have fun too.

 

Hedgehog :001_smile:

[....]

:chillpill:

 

Please, please, please enjoy the journey. This is not a race with one kid winning the gold medal. I am all for rigor and academic excellence (brag alert - kid scoring in the 99th percentile on standardized tests) BUT I want him to be well rounded, kind, helpful, interesting, curious...so much more than smart. Please, please, please take the time to now to sit and read to your children and play with them.

 

VeritasLogos...my oldest kid has also scored in the 99th percentile on standardized testing. Her strongest subject is science. I actually DON'T use a formal science program. Honestly, science looks like unschooling in our house...it's very student-interest led. We also did a Charlotte Mason approach to science last year. In fact, last week...I went to watch my two oldest kids in a "Science Jeopardy" contest at a homeschool enrichment center. My son (out of an entire group of kids) answered the first 4 questions correctly and my daughter was answering questions and giving the answers to other kids on her team (so they could answer). Like I said...we basically unschool science...and those two are absolutely incredible in that arena. The teacher in charge of the Science Jeopardy even came up to me afterwards and said, "Lady, your kids have got it goin' on!"

 

We use a formal program for Language Arts and that is overall our worst subject.

 

I agree with rigorous...that's cool. Homeschooling my oldest two has led me to really respect a lot of other approaches that I NEVER would have looked at twice.

 

Also, have you seen the Core Knowledge Sequence? www.coreknowledge.org Just throwing that one out there, too.

[Farrar]

I could say a lot of things... but... I just want to point out that "tailored to your child" can mean a lot of things. If one of your kids turns out to have a learning disability or to be gifted in some way, then not tailoring what you're doing will rob them of the education they need. It's good to begin with a goal in mind and high expectations are wonderful, but you also want to appreciate who your kids are and do what's best for them.

[wapiti]

I could say a lot of things... but... I just want to point out that "tailored to your child" can mean a lot of things. If one of your kids turns out to have a learning disability or to be gifted in some way, then not tailoring what you're doing will rob them of the education they need. It's good to begin with a goal in mind and high expectations are wonderful, but you also want to appreciate who your kids are and do what's best for them.

 

:iagree: If you find along the way that a curriculum is not working, it may be a simple mis-match of learning style or perhaps even a learning disability. That does NOT mean that a different curriculum, that works better with such learning style, is less rigorous; just different.

 

The joy of learning does have importance. You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.

[Guest Cindie2dds]

Please understand that you may need to try several curriculums until you find a curriculum that works with your dc and meets your standards. You can research and research and think you have picked out the ultimate curriculum for your dc only to find out it is a total flop for YOUR dc. It took about 3 curriculum flops before I found the one that worked for me and my dc.

 

:iagree: I also ate my share of humble pie. There are ideals and practical applications which may not coincide with the way you have envisioned your future home school.

 

Enjoy it and be flexible.

 

I would recommend Ambleside Online as an amazing, classic book list resource.

[TxMama]

That said, here are my general ideas regarding approach and goals:

 

1) I want to use an approach consistent with the Well Trained Minds concept of classical education.

 

There are several ways to use WTM as a reference. First you could simply use the recommended texts in the recommended way and create you own lesson plan. Creating you own lesson plan can be a lot of work!

 

The second way to ust WTM is to use it as a reference point as you judge curriculum. There are plenty of curriculum that with a few minor tweaks can be used in a more WTM approach.

 

2) I do not want to use any approach where my kids dictate what they learn. According to my wife, there are such approaches based on the theory that learning and education should be geared, tailored and modified to the child's interests. I reject this.

Obviously you will not be interested in unschooling since you do not want your children to dictate what they learn. You also probably wouldn't be interested in a Unit Study approach if the unit studies are chosen based on your child's interest.

 

I want my kids working through a structured, inflexible curriculum that requires them to master the concepts I feel they need to know whether they want to learn them or not.

 

The word inflexible is worrisome. Structured curriculum and requiring them to master concepts that you want are worthy goals. Being inflexible may not be the best way to attain these goals.

 

FWIW. I have two grown kids. One was an early reader, reluctant writer, and preferred non-fiction. The other was a late reader, enjoyed writing stories and prefers fiction. Both worked through a structured curriculum and mastered the concepts that I wanted them to but they did it with a different curriculum. This type of flexibility is the beauty of homeschooling.

 

3) My preference is to use the most rigorous and challenging curriculum out there, assuming there is a consensus on which curriculum that is.

 

Instead of the most rigorous and challenging curriculum (and there is no consensus on what that curriculum would be), perhaps it would be better to look for the best curriculum that meets your goals for your particular family. Not only do you need to take into consideration what is being taught, but how it is being taught and how is it organized. The teaching style of the primary teaching parent and the learning styles of the student are just as important as the rigor of the curriculum.

 

You can have the absolute best curriculum on the market but if the primary teaching parent is unable to use it or if the children are frustrated then it would be better to find something else.

 

4) I am very concerned about tests and assessments. At this point, I don't know if the assessments usually come with the curriculum, or if it is best to write your own. I want to be able to check at all times to make sure my son and daughter are at or ahead of where they should be relative to other kids in their age group.

 

There are plenty of standardized testing options out there. If you look in your homeschooling community they should be able to point you in the right direction.

 

5) Religious content does not bother me, nor does secular content. Rigor and effectiveness are all I care about.

 

6) I am open to feedback and opinions on all of these points and feedback on whether I am on the right track in general. I can handle negative or constructive criticism if you feel I am way off track here and in fact would appreciate it.

 

7) If any of you are willing to take a moment to provides sites, links or other information that will help me get started and begin to get a handle on the various approaches that will fit my style, I will be very grateful. I am currently working my way through all the content on the well trained mind Web site.

 

WTM is your first and best bet. Get a copy and read, highlight and take notes.

 

If you determine that a pre-planned curriculum would suit your family better then check out resources like Tapestry of Grace, Sonlight, My Father's World, and Veritas Press. I'm sure there are others that I just cannot think of right now!

 

You may also be interested in Classical Conversations.

 

 

Thanks very much for reading this and best regards,

 

Best of luck on your family's homeschooling journey!

[persephone43]

Hmm. On this point, I think it would be worth mentioning that these two ideas are not polar opposites with no middle ground. If one of your kids comes to you begging to be allowed to ditch Macbeth because it's so agonisingly awful they'd rather clean toilets, do you have any really good reason to tell them you don't care and they'd better darn well read it anyway? Or can you tell them that you believe an educated person ought to be familiar with Shakespeare so they may pick a different play to study instead? Before you lay down the law, it is only fair that you have excellent reasons why it needs to be your way with no modifications. If you don't have excellent reasons, it might well be one of those teaching moments for the child to practice building a strong and well thought out argument. If the child has a plan that will fulfill your underlying criteria, why not congratulate them on their reasoning and let them go for it? "I don't want to because it sucks" is certainly not a good argument, but that doesn't mean you can't gently draw better reasoning out of them. There might be some in there ;) and everyone will be pleasantly surprised when it is articulated. And people only become accomplished at that, like most things, with patient tuition, demonstrations from others and practice.

 

Both the student and teacher will make a far more successful job of homeschooling if they are comfortable with the methods. Methods that make them miserable will result in poorer student outcomes than would occur if they were using methods they were comfortable with, even if you think they are a little on the namby pamby side.

 

It is important to remember that children are people too and there are ways of finding a middle ground between your and your wife's ideas. Rigor does not have to equal dry and workbooky. There are times when a rip roaring discussion is far more educational than an essay, even though the essay looks like rigorous work and a discussion looks like a rowdy conversation.

 

Good luck finding the compromise.

 

Rosie

 

:iagree: Well said.

[VeritasLogos]

Thank you so much for this information everyone. Your responses have cleared up a huge misconception in my mind about the importance flexibility versus strict rigidity.

 

I am now realizing that flexibility, gearing the learning experience to the benefit of my kids and experimenting with different approaches is actually one of the biggest benefits of home schooling and that these things do not mean sacrificing rigor but the exact opposite -- they make the learning experience more effective not less.

 

I was really about to miss the boat on this very basic idea, which is why I'm glad I registered here (I have just barely started TWTM).

 

Hedgehog wrote:

 

May I ask why [tests and assessments are] so important to you?

 

The main reason is that my wife and I are not professional teachers, so I am worried that without regular assessments we won't have a way to know if what we are doing is "right" or effective. Does that make sense?

 

I am concerned about this factor not so much now because our kids are young but for the future.

 

I will try to respond to some of these great comments in more detail later. For now, I just wanted to take a moment to say thanks.

 

Side Note:

 

I apologize for the unnecessarily clinical tone of my original post. I fired it off about 1:30 in the morning my time and was too tired to go back and edit.

[Greta]

1) I want to use an approach consistent with the Well Trained Minds concept of classical education.

 

The Latin-Centered Curriculum, by Andrew Campbell, is also worth a read. I own both, and frequently refer back to both.

 

2) I do not want to use any approach where my kids dictate what they learn. According to my wife, there are such approaches based on the theory that learning and education should be geared, tailored and modified to the child's interests. I reject this. I want my kids working through a structured, inflexible curriculum that requires them to master the concepts I feel they need to know whether they want to learn them or not.

You may take some flak for this one (yes, even on TWTM message boards!) but I wanted to encourage you a bit to stick with what you have chosen here. I got very drawn into the child-led approach, and away from Classical, when I joined a local homeschooling group full of very wonderful people who are very relaxed homeschoolers. I regret it, and feel that we are still trying to make up for two wasted years. I now feel very firmly convicted that a structured education is superior - at least for what I want to accomplish in my parenting and education.

 

Be inflexible in your goals! But be flexible with regards to how you allow your children to reach them. Different children will learn at different rates, have different strengths and weaknesses, etc., and that is as it should be. With my daughter, her learning process is not a simple, steady climb, but a series of jumps and plateaus. Your children may not always be making the kind of outward progress that you can measure and see and approve, but somewhere in there, the wheels are turning. :) Also, a curriculum that works brilliantly with your son may not work at all with your daughter and vice versa. There is more than one way to approach learning any given topic or skill, so be open to the possibilities.

 

3) My preference is to use the most rigorous and challenging curriculum out there, assuming there is a consensus on which curriculum that is.

Sorry, no such luck! But I do think you would be impressed with the course of study in The Latin-Centered Curriculum.

 

4) I am very concerned about tests and assessments. At this point, I don't know if the assessments usually come with the curriculum, or if it is best to write your own. I want to be able to check at all times to make sure my son and daughter are at or ahead of where they should be relative to other kids in their age group.

 

Here's one idea but there may be others: http://www.setontesting.com/default.php

[Skadi]

It sounds like we share a lot of the same philosophy as you, VeritasLogos. We deviate a little in that we're very inflexible on the core subjects (reading, writing and arithmetic) but are a little more amenable in other areas of study. Have you read WTM? If so, you'll recall that she recommends a lighter schedule until kids reach the age of six. We keep lessons short and fun for kids that age. Since you asked for curriculum suggestions, here's some pre-k/kindergarten materials we've used and love:

 

Science: Elemental Science is a curriculum that follows the four-year sequence in WTM. Here's a link to their kindergarten set.

Intro to Science (teacher's guide and student workbook combo)

 

History: I think The Story of the World is the absolute best way to teach history to elementary school kids, and since in first grade it will introduce them to a brief overview of prehistory and then jump into history, I think it makes a lot of sense to study dinosaurs and then early man in kindergarten. Here are just a few titles that we used.

 

Best Book of Dinosaurs

Wings, Horns and Claws

What Happened to the Dinosaurs?

Mammals Who Morph

Prehistoric World

The Best Book of Early People

The First Dog

 

Math: We love Right Start A for young children because it includes so many manipulatives and fun games.

 

Reading: You'll really have to do some digging to find what program works best for your son -- I think with reading more than with any other subject, kids vary in their learning styles. We've had great success with Starfall.com, Usborne Phonics Readers and The Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading.

 

I hope that helps. For what it's worth, I agree with a previous commenter who said she didn't believe you meant to come off as clinical as you did -- it sounds to me like you are just trying to get your priorities in order when faced with so, so many homeschooling options out there.

 

EDIT: Just saw your update and that clears up a lot! :)

Edited November 29, 2010 by Skadi

[VeritasLogos]

GretaLynne wrote:

 

I got very drawn into the child-led approach, and away from Classical

 

Thanks very much for the input. I appreciate it.

 

I am pretty sure my wife and I won't go with a complete child-led approach, though if many people are finding this approach effective I think that's great for them.

 

Right now, although I am obviously just getting up to speed and all of my ideas are very tentative at this point, I can see my wife and I using the "middle ground" suggestion Rosie_0801 made in the first comment of this thread.

 

If we feel it is important for our kids to read writer X, well then, I really don't see us giving them a choice in this matter but letting them pick what specific work they read by writer X is a wonderful idea.

[persephone43]

"The main reason is that my wife and I are not professional teachers, so I am worried that without regular assessments we won't have a way to know if what we are doing is "right" or effective. Does that make sense?"

 

 

 

...most of us are not professional teachers and seem to be much more effective and successful at teaching our children. There are standardized tests you can take along the way to double check but sometimes the most evident sign of success is merely that your child prefers reading a book to endless hours of video games or that your child has something meaningful and intelligent to contribute in an adult conversation about science or current events, where a kid of the same age and in ps would not understand the conversation at all or that they spend their free time learning because they love to learn. IMO, after a little while, it should be evident on its own...without testing. My best advice would be to enjoy the journey and have fun :). The best thing you can do for your children is to instill a love of learning.

Best of luck to you!!

[Greta]

Right now, although I am obviously just getting up to speed and all of my ideas are very tentative at this point, I can see my wife and I using the "middle ground" suggestion Rosie_0801 made in the first comment of this thread.

 

If we feel it is important for our kids to read writer X, well then, I really don't see us giving them a choice in this matter but letting them pick what specific work they read by writer X is a wonderful idea.

 

This sounds similar to what I do. I have a long list of age-appropriate books for my daughter to choose from, for example. That way, I'm making sure she is reading good quality books, but she is able to pursue what interests her within that parameter. Math is a hugely important subject to us, and we spend an hour a day on it. But what curriculum we use and what activities we do is somewhat flexible, as long as we are making progress towards that goal of getting ready for Algebra. I firmly believe that high, uncompromising goals and flexibility are *both* achievable.

[Dinsfamily]

GretaLynne wrote:

 

I got very drawn into the child-led approach, and away from Classical

 

Thanks very much for the input. I appreciate it.

 

I am pretty sure my wife and I won't go with a complete child-led approach, though if many people are finding this approach effective I think that's great for them.

 

Right now, although I am obviously just getting up to speed and all of my ideas are very tentative at this point, I can see my wife and I using the "middle ground" suggestion Rosie_0801 made in the first comment of this thread.

 

If we feel it is important for our kids to read writer X, well then, I really don't see us giving them a choice in this matter but letting them pick what specific work they read by writer X is a wonderful idea.

 

I think it is wise to take a middle ground since classical and child-led don't have to be mutually exclusive. I do think I provide a pretty rigorous education for my 6yo. However, I do include child-led portions to that. He loves science, geography, and Latin. We probably do more in those areas than most because he enjoys it so much and begs to do it. The flexibility also plays into how rigorous our school is. Last year, we finished 3.5 full math curricula because my ds needed the speed and challenge.

 

ETA: I also think you have time on your side. You can hang out on this board for the next year or so and research curricula that will work for you. People around here have strong opinions so topics tend to recycle often which is great. You can also see what others are using in their sig lines and do a search for anything that looks interesting. You could also search for threads about K or 1st grade since those come up at the beginning of each school year.

Edited November 29, 2010 by Dinsfamily

[ChandlerMom]

Thank you so much for this information everyone. Your responses have cleared up a huge misconception in my mind about the importance flexibility versus strict rigidity.

 

I am now realizing that flexibility, gearing the learning experience to the benefit of my kids and experimenting with different approaches is actually one of the biggest benefits of home schooling and that these things do not mean sacrificing rigor but the exact opposite -- they make the learning experience more effective not less.

 

I was really about to miss the boat on this very basic idea, which is why I'm glad I registered here (I have just barely started TWTM).

 

Hedgehog wrote:

 

May I ask why [tests and assessments are] so important to you?

 

The main reason is that my wife and I are not professional teachers, so I am worried that without regular assessments we won't have a way to know if what we are doing is "right" or effective. Does that make sense?

 

I am concerned about this factor not so much now because our kids are young but for the future.

 

I will try to respond to some of these great comments in more detail later. For now, I just wanted to take a moment to say thanks.

 

Side Note:

 

I apologize for the unnecessarily clinical tone of my original post. I fired it off about 1:30 in the morning my time and was too tired to go back and edit.

 

Actually, you sound like a typical parent new to homeschooling -- you start out rigid worrying about your own competence and as you go you relax and find your own way as you build confidence. :D

 

When our first child was born, I discovered the most important sentence to be able to say was, "I don't know." (First said I said it was when DH asked why the 2 day old baby was crying.) The second most important phrase, "...but we'll figure it out."

 

It's wonderful you've got clear goals in mind, now the trick is to approach them with an open heart and mind. You and your wife will be fine. You weren't professional parents before you started that journey either, but I'll bet you and your wife know your kids better than anyone now. It's that knowledge that will make you superior teachers for your children.

 

I know in an instant when DD is starting to "glaze over" and give me "that nod". I am not being weak when I change tacks -- I am being responsive and an effective teacher.

 

My advice: sit down with your wife and discuss what each of you hopes to accomplish by homeschooling. Listen to each other and write down your common ground. Now discuss what you want to get out of this next year. Discuss the learning styles you see emerging from each of your kids. Discuss your parenting styles. Think about how each child's personality may affect how they learn and how you teach them. For example, DD#1 is a perfectionist, so the way to make her excel is to make her GOOD at stuff. DD#2 is a fearless learner and loves what she loves and doesn't give a hoot if she's good at it or not. Use your knowledge of your kids against them! :lol: (for their own benefit, of course :D).

 

I also agree with others that you want to find a curriculum you AND your wife are comfortable with. My first job as an engineer I learned Johnson controls may be perfect for an application, but if the lowly tech wants Hewitt, you give them Hewitt or your controller will fail. You need buy-in from the "boots on the ground" to succeed.

 

As others have said, enjoy the journey! And Welcome!

[Jayne J]

You have gotten alot of great advice already, so I just want to recommend again the book "The Latin Centered Curriculum," by Andrew Campbell (commonly called LCC here on the boards). Between The Well Trained Mind (WTM) and LCC you can really work up a flexible but rigorous (and reassuring) plan. When I first considered homeschooling my children (the oldest was 18 mos and my middle child not yet born:D) I was terrified that I'd miss something, forget something or get it all wrong. These two books gave me a large scale plan,*and* ground level suggestions to get things moving. All in all for rigor, I say you can't beat these two books. Specific curricula change, come in and out of fashion, and suit some families better than others, but with a good plan, you can make the books work for you, and not the other way around.

[Rosie_0801]

Hedgehog wrote:

 

May I ask why [tests and assessments are] so important to you?

 

The main reason is that my wife and I are not professional teachers, so I am worried that without regular assessments we won't have a way to know if what we are doing is "right" or effective. Does that make sense?

 

Perfect sense. How would you like a little anecdote? (I'm going to provide one anyway :tongue_smilie:)

My daughter is about the same as age your kids and we've been doing what passes as a unit study for barely verbal three year olds, for the past few weeks on penguins. We've read books on penguins, we've done penguin themed jigsaw puzzles, we've watched a penguin documentary dvd over about a trillion times. Yesterday I took her to the museum and just inside the door was a model of penguins diving for a shoal of fish. She let go of my hand, ran up to it, beamed all over her little face, pointed and actually said "penguin."

 

So that's how I know our past fortnight's work has been "right" and effective :)

 

With my kid, I know we're making headway if she bothers to learn a related vocabulary item. (She's one of those odd sorts that feels language is rather over-rated as a communication technique. :glare:) With other kids, output will be million mile an hour, rather one sided conversations. With others, you won't know what's sunk in until you catch them playing it out with their dolls. (There used to be two cute little boys and a girl at our first playgroup who were big on the Waldorf style dolls. I wouldn't need to speak to their mums to know what the week's news had been. I could read it in the doll play of house renovations, chicken pox and blood tests :lol:) When they are older, there'll be more conversation, essays and catching them reading under the covers at night.

 

I apologize for the unnecessarily clinical tone of my original post. I fired it off about 1:30 in the morning my time and was too tired to go back and edit.

:lol: Glad you said so, we can all relax now. But don't worry, far funnier things show up here during people's periods of insomnia :eek:

 

When I started researching (I consider myself a professional homeschool researcher, ha ha) I drew up tables with grade level down one side and subject across the top, and started filling in the blanks. It obliged me to form a reasonably good idea of what resources were available and forced me to actually nail my philosophies of education on different topics. It brought up various interesting points worthy of contemplation, like "um, what is science exactly?" Of course I knew what science was, I did science at school, I read science books in my spare time. Except when I got down to investigating science curricula, I realised I had no idea how to judge them so I clearly didn't really know what science was! Fortunately Wikipedia was happy to start off my investigation :lol: Obviously I have modified my grand plan about a trillion times and my kids aren't even school age yet, and I'll have to modify it another three trillion times when they are, but it has been a useful exercise. Plus it's handy to have the up to date version in my evolution of thinking in a convenient word document with room left over for lists of things that sound too good not to note down but don't get have a place in your table. Perhaps a similar exercise would prove a useful way to structure your and your wife's investigations.

 

:)

Rosie

[rootsnwings]

Hi there VeritasLogos! :)

 

I am classically educating my 9yo ds and plan to classically educate my younger ones too, when they're ready. Right now though, at 3yo. & 1yo., we use a waldorf/montessori style of learning that better suits a preschooler's need for activity and hands-on learning. Please take a look at both these methods and implement something now that will prepare your kids for an awesome classical education in the future. It is extremely important, critical even, that young children are able to PLAY. That's the #1 most effective way for them to learn about their world. The control you have at this level is the ability to give them good, open-ended toys to play with, and activities that teach skills they need to know and actually enjoy learning at their ages.

 

I don't think you'll be disappointed, come 1st grade, if you give them all the time they need to play, play, play...now. In the meantime, you can research extensively what you'd like to do when they reach school-age. I *highly* recommend reading up on early childhood development and learning styles. Read the what your ______ grader should know books. TWTM & LCC are invaluable resources to have on hand. These will give you guides to lead your children and provide them with appopriate materials for learning.

 

I've learned just in my few years of homeschooling that its not necessarily the "perfect" curriculum that gets results, but an involved teacher and willing student that really helps us meet our goals for an excellent education.

[Lovedtodeath]

1) I want to use an approach consistent with the Well Trained Minds concept of classical education.

 

2) I do not want to use any approach where my kids dictate what they learn. According to my wife, there are such approaches based on the theory that learning and education should be geared, tailored and modified to the child's interests. I reject this. I want my kids working through a structured, inflexible curriculum that requires them to master the concepts I feel they need to know whether they want to learn them or not.

 

3) My preference is to use the most rigorous and challenging curriculum out there, assuming there is a consensus on which curriculum that is.

 

4) I am very concerned about tests and assessments. At this point, I don't know if the assessments usually come with the curriculum, or if it is best to write your own. I want to be able to check at all times to make sure my son and daughter are at or ahead of where they should be relative to other kids in their age group.

 

5) Religious content does not bother me, nor does secular content. Rigor and effectiveness are all I care about.

 

6) I am open to feedback and opinions on all of these points and feedback on whether I am on the right track in general. I can handle negative or constructive criticism if you feel I am way off track here and in fact would appreciate it.

 

7) If any of you are willing to take a moment to provides sites, links or other information that will help me get started and begin to get a handle on the various approaches that will fit my style, I will be very grateful. I am currently working my way through all the content on the well trained mind Web site.

I want to recommend The Phonics Road. It gives an excellent foundation in phonics, spelling, grammar, writing, vocabulary, etymology and Latin and fits well into a classical curriculum.

 

There are also curriculum guides that are written for science and history using TWTM method and recommendations. Elemental Science, REAL Science Odyssey, History Odyssey, Classical Explorations. TWTM recommends that your children pick out library books on various topics including science and history and choose what to read, but some of us need more structure than that in order to get it done.

 

As far as rigor and challenge... well, there are some subjects that can be too rigorous. I have tried several math programs and my daughter simply cannot learn from some of them. Remember that the goal is for your child to learn. Also, their are programs like Sonlight that are a lot of reading historical fiction and not much else, then you have programs like Winterpromise that include a lot of hands-on projects and non-fiction books that most consider less rigorous but many children learn so much more that way.

 

One thing that I am working on is sticking to a schedule and gradually adding more independent work. TWTM and Peace Hill Press have a lot of information on how to do these things. (Have you seen the audios on sale at PeaceHillPress.com, I recommend you get those. There are also articles at welltrainedmind.com that give more information on topics.) This year I needed a lot of help sticking to a schedule and adding more independent work so I am using Heart of Dakota.

 

I recommend that you read this immediately: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/schedules/ ;)

Edited November 30, 2010 by Lovedtodeath

[Tracy]

Within the next year or two, I want to move on to a much more rigorous and structured educational program, and I am currently in the planning stages.

 

That said, here are my general ideas regarding approach and goals:

 

1) I want to use an approach consistent with the Well Trained Minds concept of classical education.

 

2) I do not want to use any approach where my kids dictate what they learn. According to my wife, there are such approaches based on the theory that learning and education should be geared, tailored and modified to the child's interests. I reject this. I want my kids working through a structured, inflexible curriculum that requires them to master the concepts I feel they need to know whether they want to learn them or not.

 

3) My preference is to use the most rigorous and challenging curriculum out there, assuming there is a consensus on which curriculum that is.

 

Others have raised the point that rigorous does not necessarily mean inflexible. I thought that it might be helpful to share an anecdote to demonstrate. For K, I purchased a particular math program on the basis that it was considered an advanced program. As we entered the 2nd half of the year, dd began to say she hated math, and it took her longer and longer to finish it each day. I was troubled that a child who was good at math was disliking it so. I was equally dismayed at the prodding and nagging that I was doing to get her to do her work.

 

She asked me if she could do multiplication. I ordinarily would have said no, but having been inspired by recent online forum discussions, I thought we would try it. She was actually able to do it well for her age, although she was clearly not ready for a complete multiplication program. But what I got out of it was that she was bored with her apparently advanced program. I also realized that she needed more interpersonal interaction.

 

So I found a math program that is discussion-based as opposed to worksheet-based. Some would think that it is less rigorous, because there is less paperwork. But in 1st grade math, we have touched on concepts such as probability, negative numbers, and fractions--not for mastery, but just as an introduction. And even more importantly than what dd is learning, she now loves math! We are taking December off of school, but dd is insisting that we still do math--a huge turnaround from a year ago.

 

By saying that your child should learn what you want him to learn, whether he wants to or not, you seem to be assuming that children do not want to learn. But on the contrary, children love to learn. And your teaching will be much more efficient if you can capitalize on a child's desire to to learn. That does not mean that you compromise your educational standards, but you may find that there are many ways of getting there.

 

The main reason is that my wife and I are not professional teachers, so I am worried that without regular assessments we won't have a way to know if what we are doing is "right" or effective. Does that make sense?

 

I am concerned about this factor not so much now because our kids are young but for the future.

 

 

Do not get overly concerned with the fact that you are not professional teachers. My dh has been a professional teacher for 12 years. He has a master's degree in education and is certified to teach chemistry and physics. In all of his schooling, he has only ever had one class that taught him how to teach. We are homeschooling, because we saw first-hand how poor a teacher's education is. Dh used to think that homeschooling was a little strange--until he went to school with people that would be his children's future teachers.

 

While you may not be a professional teacher, you are the expert when it comes to your kids. There are numerous people on these boards who pulled their children out of school, because they couldn't or wouldn't meet the educational needs of the children. That is not going to happen at home if the parents are committed to their children. When you can't do it, you will seek out help, either in terms of advice or tutors or outside classes.

 

With regard to assessments, report cards are the means for a teacher to tell the parents how their children are doing in school. Because you are both teacher and parent, report cards are really not necessary. You will see from day to day how the children are doing. If they are performing well with grade x math, then you will know that. As children get older, they will need the experience of taking tests, but in the early years, it really isn't necessary. You will know if they are doing well with the basics.

 

Lastly, just let me recommend that you prepare yourself to very flexible with your first year of homeschooling. Most people start out with too much and have to pare down what they are doing. You may want to check out my blog. This is our second year, and there is lots of information about what I did to get started and the programs we used.

 

Best of luck!

[RoundAbout]

You've gotten a ton of great advice form experienced homeschoolers but I wanted to chime in because I'm a newbie with a preschooler too.

 

Personally I like the analogy between education and eating. For instance I would never let a child dictate the weekly dinner menu or completely cater to their preferences, but I still try to serve things that are both healthy *and* appetizing to young tastes. Why would I force feed creamed spinach when my son will happily eat steamed broccoli? Its my job to make sure my son eats nutritionally balanced meals, but I also want to encourage a healthy attitude with good food so that he will make good choices even when I'm not around. I can do that a number of ways: making him try new foods, getting him involved in cooking and meal selection, showing enthusiasm for healthy foods, and making good choices myself.

 

I feel the same way about education - you can be responsive and flexible and get them involved without serving up the mental equivalent of chicken nuggets and fries. In addition to teaching my son the basics (and I do think rigor is important) I figure I need to be training him for college and beyond when he will assume responsibility for his own learning. In today's world constant learning and retraining are a part of the deal and someone who has a good foundation *and* is adaptable and eager to learn has enormous advantages.

[Hedgehogs4]

Hello. This is my first post. Just getting my feet wet here.

 

My son is 4, and my daughter is 3, and for about the last six months, my wife has been teaching them at home using materials appropriate for their age groups.

 

Within the next year or two, I want to move on to a much more rigorous and structured educational program, and I am currently in the planning stages. Basically, I feel very overwhelmed at this point and do not know where to begin, hence my arrival in this community where there appear to be many people with substantial knowledge of the process. I am amazed at the number of approaches, options, curriculum sets and choices when it comes to homeschooling.

 

That said, here are my general ideas regarding approach and goals:

 

1) I want to use an approach consistent with the Well Trained Minds concept of classical education.

 

2) I do not want to use any approach where my kids dictate what they learn. According to my wife, there are such approaches based on the theory that learning and education should be geared, tailored and modified to the child's interests. I reject this. I want my kids working through a structured, inflexible curriculum that requires them to master the concepts I feel they need to know whether they want to learn them or not.

 

yes, some things are important to learn, like math...and in our house, a child learns to play an instrument. but the word "inflexible" sends shivers down my spine.

 

3) My preference is to use the most rigorous and challenging curriculum out there, assuming there is a consensus on which curriculum that is.

 

I don't think there is a consensus. Academic rigor is based in routine and discipline, not the difficulty of the content. Rather, it is teaching a solid foundation and preparing a child to handle difficult content when they are ready for it.

 

4) I am very concerned about tests and assessments. At this point, I don't know if the assessments usually come with the curriculum, or if it is best to write your own. I want to be able to check at all times to make sure my son and daughter are at or ahead of where they should be relative to other kids in their age group.

 

why does this matter? shouldn't they be where they are and not where everyone else is? HSing is about raising thinking individuals, not "sheeples."

 

5) Religious content does not bother me, nor does secular content. Rigor and effectiveness are all I care about.

 

6) I am open to feedback and opinions on all of these points and feedback on whether I am on the right track in general. I can handle negative or constructive criticism if you feel I am way off track here and in fact would appreciate it.

 

7) If any of you are willing to take a moment to provides sites, links or other information that will help me get started and begin to get a handle on the various approaches that will fit my style, I will be very grateful. I am currently working my way through all the content on the well trained mind Web site.

 

 

Thanks very much for reading this and best regards,

 

I cannot provide you with anything beyond what SWB's book provides, if you are looking for rigor. However, I have to caution you...you are very idealistic at this point, and your children are tiny. babies still. what you begin in the next year or so is not going to shape the rest of their educational future. You need to watch your children carefully--academic rigor is not the only way to educate, nor is child-led, nor is unschooling...but there is a reason why all of these exist. The beauty of homeschooling is the flexibility and the ability to work within your child's abilities, natural tendencies, and interests to provide a well-rounded, self-teaching, complete and healthy adult. I feel anxious just reading your post (and i consider myself a classical and fairly rigorous educator, and my kids do not get to pick their content). Just keep your eyes and ears open, and more than that your heart for your kids, or you will be cramming pegs that may be one shape into holes that you've created another. HSing is a dynamic process...take a little time and read the number of posts here of parents who spend all summer planning their curricula only to find it's a total bust for their kids in the fall...back to the drawing boards.

 

Each person has to decide for themselves why they are choosing to homeschool. My sister says that people get "trick pony syndrome" which is, "my kid is so far ahead...look what he / she can do." ugh. :tongue_smilie: If your goal is to make your kids what you want them to be, great, go ahead. You probably won't enjoy the pleasure of their company when they are adults. If your reason for homeschooling them is to help them be the best THEM they can be then you are starting from a good place. Please, spend your time just playing with your kids and watching them grow in these early years. Then when they are ready to learn, you will know exactly what they need. With that goal in mind you can nurture a child into being a very well-rounded, intelligent and emotionally healthy adult. They will surprise you with how wonderful they become.

Edited November 30, 2010 by Hedgehogs4
eta: I posted this without reading the other posts...you've gotten a lot of really good advice. take this fwiw...

[TxMama]

7) If any of you are willing to take a moment to provides sites, links or other information that will help me get started and begin to get a handle on the various approaches that will fit my style, I will be very grateful. I am currently working my way through all the content on the well trained mind Web site.

 

 

Thanks very much for reading this and best regards,

 

 

http://www.cathyduffyreviews.com/ has reviews of a variety of curricula. Cathy Duffy's book 100 Top Picks and has a useful survey to help you determine what type of learner your child may be. It is probably not worth purchasing this book but perhaps if you ask around your local hs group or check your local hs store they may have it available. Knowing that you are working with a "wiggly willy" will help you eliminate curricula better suited for "competant carl"..... or the other way around.:)

 

As you read WTM you will notice that she recommends a variety of curricula to meet the same goal. If you compare SWB's list with your child's learning style perhaps it can help you narrow down potential curriculum for your family.

 

The Joy of Classical Education is a worthy listen. It is a nice overview of TWTM book.

 

HTH

[Little Nyssa]

Hi, you have gotten a lot of good feedback, so I'll just respond to one of your points-- like you, I was worried about accountability and making sure dc are progressing and not falling prey to my inexperience as a teacher. So, we signed up with the "parent partnership program" at our local school district. This is a program for homeschoolers whereby the state provides us with a teacher to meet with, a framework for making specific goals for ourselves which we need to show progress toward, and they administer yearly testing.

Not all homeschoolers approve of this way of doing things, though, but it has worked so far for us. I like having someone I can ask things of, and I like the accountability, to be honest. I have to write up monthly progress reports and I have to be in touch with the teacher once a week. Of course, they are not testing for the classical curriculum we are teaching, but at least it is the basics. Hope this helps.

[MeganW]

I can't recommend "The Well-Trained Mind" and "Latin-Centered Curriculum" enough! Both of these books discuss a classical education and how to do it at home.

 

Preschool age is the time to get them ready.

- Read read read to them. Consider "Before Five in a Row" (aka BFIAR).

- We have also been using "Handwriting Without Tears" - the preschool course.

- If you aren't video-opposed, get Leapfrog's "The Letter Factory". It's the easiest way to teach letters & their related sounds.

- We use Montessori-inspired activities as well. I learned a lot from Folds' book "Tray Tasking", as well as this website: http://www.infomontessori.com/index.htm Also, I copy a LOT from here: http://mymontessorijourney.typepad.com/my_montessori_journey/

 

Kindergarten is for phonics/reading, handwriting, and very basic, hands-on math. Here's what we are using:

- "Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading" - "Phonics Pathways" is a good alternative if you don't want something scripted.

- Explode the Code workbooks

- Handwriting without Tears (this program continues through cursive)

- MEP Reception math http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mep/default.htm

- RightStart Mathematics Level A (we plan to continue to Level B, then move to Math Mammoth)

 

You may also want to get Hirsh's "What Your Kindergartener Needs to Know" if you need a checklist to mark off. :)

[VeritasLogos]

Thanks again everybody for taking your valuable time to help a newcomer. I'm grateful for every response and will carefully consider all suggestions made. Your suggestions have also given me added confident that homeschooling is the way to go. My extended family is aghast over this decision, especially my parents, but that's a topic for another day. Thanks again.

[Rosie_0801]

My extended family is aghast over this decision, especially my parents, but that's a topic for another day. Thanks again.

 

They'll live ;)

[mammaofbean]

I am inflexible in what I require my daughter (6yo) to study. I have educational goals for her that need to be met. That said, I have already switched and dropped curricula, and anything outside of my required subjects and sequence is quite flexible. I also realized that I can't determine how fast or slow she will progress.

 

For our family reading is a must. Lessons for about 15minutes a day, moving on to reading one story a day, moving on to reading 20 minutes a day, building up to 60 minutes a day. Right now we do suggested reading, eventually we will do required reading.

 

 

Math is a must. Solid foundation in arithmetic in early elementary is a must. I also require daily counting practice. we started with counting by ones, then counting down, then 10's, then 5's, then 2's, etc. Math takes about 20 minutes, counting about one minute.

 

Languages are required. 30 minutes a day for Chinese, Spanish and Latin.

 

Grammar is required. Right now dd gets grammar through Lively Latin.

 

Geography is required. We use a world map and a globe. Sometimes we pull out a book to read on an area or country. This takes anywhere from a few minutes to half of an hour 5 days a week.

 

Handwriting is required. My focus is quality over quantity. If she copies three words wrong it isn't going to destroy her to have to rewrite them because the whole lesson was only eight words long.

 

Memory work. One poem read twice a day until memorized. Again, quality over speed and quantity.

 

History and science are required, but I let her gravitate to topics she likes. For both we are looking at an hour a couple of times a week and sometimes that doubles up as reading time. We will do a more structured study in these areas as she ages.

 

Work ethic. DD has to do any practicing, homework or projects required as part of an outside activity.

 

We stretch our week out over 7 days. While I know I am inflexible in academic goals, in real life we are quite laid back. My requirements allow dd plenty of time to follow her own interests, she adds in and takes off subjects to her schedule we keep posted on the door to the school room. This also allows her to do more of something if she likes, or spend half a day comparing the sizes of acorn from trees in the backyard.

 

Testing- we are planning to do standardized testing once a year. Most of what we use at this age doesn't have testing built in, but you can find curricula that does.

Edited December 2, 2010 by mammaofbean

[JennW in SoCal]

Thought some perspective from the other end of the homeschool journey would be helpful as you think through all of this. I'm writing not at 1am, but 4am with the added brain-muddling factor of a nasty cold, so I hope it makes sense!

 

1. Think about what kind of young adult you are preparing to let loose into the world. I don't mean what college she or he will attend, but what qualities and characteristics you want that young adult to have. My main objectives were for my boys to still have a love of learning, to be analytical, thoughtful and articulate, to be polite young men who are interesting to be around. Someone once described a well educated person as being a delightful dinner companion -- sounds flippant, but it is so true.

 

2. To that end, make education a lifestyle rather than something that only happens during school time. Read aloud as much as humanly possible for as many years as you can and share your enjoyment of the books through discussions. Share newspaper and magazine articles about topics that interest your kids -- for mine at age 4 it was stories about new dinosaur discoveries. Fast forward to today and my 15yo and I are constantly trading books because we can't wait to talk with one another about those books. I learn so much through hearing his perspective and through the books he recommends, many of which I wouldn't otherwise have read. We often listen together now to audio books.

 

Play games, do puzzles, go to the museums but DON'T dismiss those activities as "extracurricular". With young children play time IS learning time. They will learn more about numbers and math through playing "store", for instance than they will through work sheets.

 

May I point out the quote you have from Issac Newton in your signature line? I think it is ironic that you have a very rigid notion of education and yet that is a quote much loved by unschoolers and relaxed, eclectic types like me. He is describing that child like enthusiasm for discovery and making new connections -- something that in my experience is squeezed out of kids by a rigid and inflexible education.

 

3. Don't discount your child's interests with the mindset that you are only covering topic x this year. What if your child is obsessed with astronomy but you have predetermined that this year's topic is life sciences? I think it is ridiculous to tell a child that he has to wait until another year before he can read about and study something that interests him -- that is what they do in schools. Instead embrace those interests and tie it into everything else. In my analogy I wouldn't give up on life sciences because it is equally fascinating and important but I wouldn't call it school and relegate the study of astronomy to "free time". It is ALL learning and ALL valuable.

 

4. Trust yourself. If you or your wife is with your children, reading and exploring and discussing, you will know if they are learning, making connections and progressing. Tests and assessments may have their place (I personally am against them), but they are not the only yardstick by which you measure your child's progress. Some folk will say they appreciate seeing where gaps are but I figure those gaps will be addressed in the natural course of things.

 

I don't think of myself as a "teacher" but as a mentor, an example of a good student. I know more, of course, I guide and choose materials and plan courses of study for the year. You don't have to be a professional teacher to be an excellent homeschool parent, just someone who never stopped being a student after graduating.

 

5. I wrote that education is a lifestyle -- I mean it. Live it yourself. Model what it is to be an educated person who loves to learn. One of my favorite moments in my homeschool life was when my oldest son was about 15 and at the apex of the eye-rolling, "my family embarrasses me to no end" phase. We were on vacation and had gone on a few guided tours, which he had initially dreaded. But after the second tour he said "You know what I love about my family? We are the only ones who stay engaged with the tour guide and ask questions and make connections and have a-ha! moments." My jaw hit the floor! But I quickly had a little celebration moment as I realized that I had succeeded in instilling that lifelong love of learning.

 

The study skills, the writing of essays, the mastery of mathematics -- it does take time and discipline, and isn't met with the same kind of joy, but it is part of life. Homeschooling for us wasn't all tours, games and read alouds by any means. There eventually is a moment when teens suddenly figure out the benefit of disciplined studying and our job of nagging and pushing is greatly reduced.

 

whew! This got long. I hope there is something here that is helpful.

[Jayne J]

My extended family is aghast over this decision, especially my parents, but that's a topic for another day. Thanks again.

 

 

May I suggest you do a search for "bean dip" here on the forums?:D:D

 

("Pass the bean dip" is code here on the boards for getting out of sticky conversations about homeschooling... ) Nearly all of us have someone who dislikes what we are doing. Too bad for them.

[Hedgehog]

Thought some perspective from the other end of the homeschool journey would be helpful as you think through all of this.... I hope there is something here that is helpful.

 

Thank you for writing your post! I know it wasn't specifically for me, but I found it so helpful. It's great to get the perspective of someone who's BTDT. :001_smile:

[Rosy]

Welcome to the boards! :)

 

First of all, I want to commend you for getting so involved in your kids' educations. Many dads give little or no thought to education--either preferring public school because it's "what everyone else does", or homeschooling but leaving all of it to the wife and not getting involved.

 

That said, it sounds to me like you need to trust your wife more in this endeavor. They are her kids too, and she needs to be able to work with you in coming up with a plan for their education. If she is going to be their primary teacher, this is especially true. There are many good curricula that are not a good fit for certain teachers--some prefer scripted lessons and clearly laid out daily assignments, some prefer to present concepts in terms their kids will be able to easily understand. Some like workbooks, some like a literature-based approach. So she needs to be able to pick what works for her. Fortunately, there is a wide variety of curricula out there these days, so with some research you should be able to find resources that she will enjoy using that will facilitate your goals being reached.

 

Another thought--I am all for rigor, but if you push too hard in the early years it can make school much harder for everyone in the long run. Rigor is most necessary in the upper grades, make sure the early years are lighting (fanning?) the fire in your kids. Personally, my goals for the early years are to encourage a love of learning and to build a strong foundation. I only push them as hard as they want to be pushed. You'll be able to tell when they're engaged and when they've "had enough".

 

While I don't believe in a strictly child-led process, I do believe it's their education and that forcing learning is a lot like (forgive me for being vulgar) forcing a bowel movement from a kid that's potty training. You can sit them down for as long as you want, but the ability to "produce" is a combination of ability, willingness, and muscle coordination. Fortunately, kids are natural learners and tend to enjoy learning if we don't kill the desire. Some kids won't enjoy *formal* schooling (my son is one of them), but they will still constantly soak up information and grow in their skills.

 

That said, I do choose our curricula based on my goals for my kids, but also on their learning styles. For us, these are the resources I recommend:

 

Math: Teaching Textbooks (not available until 3rd grade) or Math-U-See. These are not considered the rigorous math curricula, but I think they teach in a way kids can understand, which is far more valuable than all the drill in the world. Saxon is a solid curriculum and was great for my oldest daughter through about Saxon 65 (5th grade level). It is dry though.

 

Language Arts: We love First Language Lessons and Writing With Ease. They are easy to use but lay a great foundation in concepts that enable kids to become excellent writers. For spelling, we use Spelling Workout--it's not my favorite curriculum, but it does teach spelling rules alongside the actual words. I am a firm believer in read-alouds (no matter how well a child is reading--I plan to do them through graduation if possible), and my kids read daily for pleasure besides that.

 

Science: I'll defer to others on this. I haven't yet found a curriculum I love.

 

History: I can't recommend Story of the World highly enough. It has the rigor you're looking for, but with a lot of engaging activities that your wife and the kids will enjoy if they have the time for them.

 

Bible: If you're a Christian and want a solid Bible study program, Bible Study Guide for All Ages is very good. We also enjoy Discover 4 Yourself, I wouldn't start it until at least 3rd grade but it is excellent for getting kids into the Word for themselves and teaching them to study.

 

Latin: We're in the process of giving up on Lively Latin. We'll be starting Song School Latin soon--from what I've read it will be a good way to get the kids engaged in learning the language and will build a foundation for future study.

 

If you'd rather pick a comprehensive curriculum that covers all areas of study, I would recommend Sonlight in the early years. It is literature-based and produces strong readers and book-lovers, from what I've seen. You might also look into Calvert--it is rigorous and straightforward.

 

Good luck, and enjoy your homeschooling journey!

[Hedgehog]

Science: I'll defer to others on this. I haven't yet found a curriculum I love.

 

Reading your post, Rosy, I realised you are using much of the same curricula that we are for similar reasons! Just wanted to make a suggestion as you haven't found one for Science that you like - have you tried Apologia? My dc LOVE the Elementary books that we've used so far. They read them like story books! We have also just purchased the accompanying Notebooks and they look really good.