Advice for us Newbies

[PenKase]

Admittedly, one of the first things I do as part of my morning routine is log onto these boards, my user manual, if you will. As a new homeschooler (in practice, not in spirit :)) with a new logic stage student just coming out of ps, I've still a lot to learn with, seemingly, little room for error. I would greatly appreciate ANY advice regarding curriculum, planning & organization, time management, skill vs. content, homeschooling resources, or anything else that comes to the mind of you seasoned teachers, with far more experience. Without mentioning names, there are quite a number of you (who post here regularly) whose imparted knowledge I seek and gleaned soooooooo much from already!!

 

Hopefully, your responses will help others in the same boat too!

 

Thank you in advance!

[Paisley Hedgehog]

..

[elegantlion]

A few years ago I flipped through my son's math book for the year. It looked so easy, I knew I could get through it in a few days. Then I realized it would take him all year to learn these concepts and they would all be new to him. That helped me remember that they are learning stuff for the first time and I needed to have the patience to guide them through the process. One step at a time, one day a time.

 

curriculum - There are many great programs out there. There is even more than one that will work great for your family. You can't use them all (even if some of us have tried :tongue_smilie:).

planning & organization - I'm a planner and organizer by nature. My advice to myself is don't spend more time planning and organizing than you do actually teaching. The planning and the research is fun (for me), the results come in the teaching.

 

time management - give homeschooling the priority time. I school during the day. I don't clean house, I might do laundry on break, I don't go to the grocery. We could when ds was younger, but as he approaches high school homeschooling takes more time. I learned to not answer the phone, how to say "No" to outside distractions.

 

On the opposite end I've learned to be flexible. We've moved and remodeled in the last two months. We've had off 6 out of the last 8 weeks. Not ideal, good thing we started school early. I had a brief moment of panic, but this is life. We tried to school during some of this chaos and it was futile.

 

skill vs. content - When I'm working on goals for the year they usually are skills, not content. I've learned a lot from others here.

 

homeschooling resources - This board has been a most valuable resource. Once ds hit 6th grade I started doing some backwards planning and spent some time reading the high school board. At first it was scary. :lol: Now I can venture to the college board for a few minutes before I feel the anxiety rising.

 

HTH

[JennW in SoCal]

I'm unexpectedly done with homeschooling as my youngest heads full time to Community College next month, and I can't quite wean myself from the 11year long habit of visiting these boards each morning. I have a few thoughts for you.

 

About having "seemingly little room for error". Nonsense!! Even in the logic stage, if all you get done is math and reading, you will not have ruined your kids. I know this is an extreme example, but I lived that extreme when my kids were 10 and 13. That year my time and emotional energy got hijacked by the need to take care of my mom and her affairs while she was ill and dying. I was lucky to get in some math each week, but made a point of reading aloud to my boys each day. They probably did more, but that is all I remember because I was terrified that I had ruined the 13yo who was heading into high school the next year. But instead of being ruined, my kids flourished when we got back into our usual homeschool routine, and high school went swimmingly. I kept that practice of reading aloud or at least listening together to audio books all the way through high school not just because it was school, but because of how much we've bonded over books through the years.

 

So relax. Of course there will be gaps, of course you will miss something and they certainly will forget things, but they have a lifetime of learning ahead of them. You are priming the pump!

 

As for your specific questions.

 

Curriculum. I personally shunned text books and packaged curriculum except for math. One exception was Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings which my younger son and I did and enjoyed. And I discovered the MCT grammar materials only last year, and used them. Otherwise reading and writing were how we did history and science, though with science we added lots of hands on exploration.

 

Planning. Like elegantlion, I love research!! I spent late summer outlining what we'd do, ordering some books. I spent Sunday afternoons or evenings making to do lists for the kids for the week, and reviewing the Algebra or Geometry chapter (as we got into advanced math and I needed the review.)

 

Time Management. My weak point. I have no business giving advice to others on this!!

 

Skills vs content. Whoa. Huge topic. I was formal with skills and relaxed about content. I followed SWB's suggestions for writing, for instance, having my kids as late as middle school do dictation and write narrations, then we moved on to essays and research papers. The material for writing came from what we were reading. Math, except for some math games, was by the book. History and science were interest led. We read and read and read, visited museums and lectures, watched documentaries, listened to NPR in the car and discussed everything.

 

Resources. This board. Google. I found terrific things by putting the phrase "lesson plans" in the Google search box along with whatever I wanted to study: Beowulf, The Iliad, or genetics and microscopes. I found far more useless junk than I did terrific lessons, but those gems were worth the search. Book reviews in the newspaper, on NPR and the reviews people write on Amazon.

[bethben]

I would also suggest for at least a year to go with a program where it is all laid out such as sonlight or my father's world. It will help you figure out how much is doable in a day and not give you guilt if your child finishes his/her work early. I think it's a little difficult to figure out how much work should be accomplished in a day compared to the ps. Also, if they finish their work early and you know that they did all the requirements, you won't feel the need to load on more work.

 

For math - use the placement tests. Place them where they test - not where you think they should be.

 

I personally like scripted lesson plans for subjects I don't know how to teach (spelling was my first scary subject). They have taught me how to teach to a point where I don't need to use the scripted part as much.

 

Beth

[PeterPan]

Well if you read past threads on REGRETS, the #1 thing is usually not even academic. It's usually more along the lines of letting your dental work and health go. The things you regret years from now WON'T be which latin curriculum you chose.

 

The things I've learned the hard way?

-Look at who's giving the advice. Are they in a similar position? Do they have a similar number of kids or similar type of learning situation? Does their teaching style line up with mine? Everything is good for somebody around here. Doesn't mean it will be good for *me*.

-I go off on my own to decide. I never decide on board advice, sorry. I take all the ideas and go take a LONG HOT SHOWER or walk or whatever it takes, till things seem more clear.

-Bandwagons on the board can be destabilizing and expensive.

-You're teaching YOUR child, not the theoretical. The sooner you leave your ideal of what your child should want, how he should learn, or how he should be and see who he is, the sooner you'll get some peace.

-Skills, not content. The time will come to focus on content, but we aren't there yet. It's still skills, skills, skills.

 

You aren't behind, mercy. It's not like everyone on the boards has done some fabulous job and has kids who retained every single little shard. You'll chuckle to know most of the kids taught by our great means around here will have forgotten things. Some may be lousy at things your dc is good at, and some may be good at things more common to homeschooling (like how to kill a whole day reading books and playing legoes) that your dc hasn't had a chance to do yet. You have nothing to catch up. You just look where he's at and start moving forward. You look at the SKILLS, not the content.

 

Now my own personal thing? I like listening to divergent voices. It helps me sort out the extremes in things and find myself. So I'm comfortable opening myself to unschooler thoughts and classical thoughts and VP (hyper-rigorous) thoughts and textbook thoughts and more. I think they all have their pros and cons. And I'm finally understanding myself and my child's needs enough to sort out what fits and what doesn't. Just take your time and soon you'll be there too. You just have to know yourself. If lots of ideas and options, like at a convention, fluster you, then don't go or be very limited in how you do it. But if you thrive on that, then by all means pursue it. The people who put on the Cincy convention http://www.cincinnatihomeschoolconvention.com are actually putting on *4* fabulous conventions this year. There may be one near you! I can't express the extreme joy of going to such a thing. It's our big pep rally and a fun time to reconnect with people you've met on the boards.

 

You'll find what works for you all in your family. Just takes time. :)

[Stacy in NJ]

You know, logic stage (or middle school), isn't rocket science. :D

 

You probably are a middle school graduate yourself. ;)

 

Do some math, reading, writing, science, history and other stuff, too, every day. Be consistent and persistant about requiring that your kiddos spend a reasonable amount of time daily on rational academic pursuits. Don't stress overly much if they're not doing exactly the same stuff as public school kids or even other homeschooled kids.

 

Choose curriculum that doesn't overwhelm you or your dc. The most "rigorous" isn't always the best. If you don't "do" science or history or a foreign language one year, it doesn't mean you've failed. It just provides you with the opportunity to study a different field and to rediscover the traditional subjects the next year.

 

Your child(ren) may get crabby and resistant; you may feel frustrated and disappointed. They will fail tests; you will want to pull out your hair. It's all a teachable moment. It's all good.

 

Welcome, and good luck.:tongue_smilie:

 

ETA: I'm going to try to be a bit more pragmatic and offer you some concrete advise.

 

The core subject areas are:

Math

Language Arts (including reading, composition, grammar, handwriting, vocabulary)

History & Geography

Science

Lanuage(s) - (i.e. Latin, Spanish, French, whatever...)

 

Additional enrichment areas are:

Music

Art

Anything else you think is important

 

My practical advice is to pick a structured curriculum for math and grammar (Saxon, Singapore, R&S, FLL.... or any other) and implement these subjects, along with reading good books, first. TWTM offers curriculum suggestions and a list of age/grade appropriate books in the literature section. Once these subjects are firmly in place, pick either a history or science (your choice) curriculum and gently implement it. For a new homeschooler, I highly recommend SOTW I ,along with the Activity Guide and an encyclopedia (like Kingfisher), as a simple way to begin. Lastly, determine what language, if any, you want to implement for the remainder of this year and gently introduce it. If your child already plays an instrument - that's music. Other music and art studies can be attempted when you have the time and inclination.

 

HTH, Stacy

Edited December 31, 2010 by Stacy in NJ

[Hunter]

-Look at who's giving the advice. Are they in a similar position? Do they have a similar number of kids or similar type of learning situation?

 

-Skills, not content. The time will come to focus on content, but we aren't there yet. It's still skills, skills, skills.

 

 

These are two VERY important things to remember, when life happens.

[johnandtinagilbert]

Logic stage gives you the last chance before high school hits. In high school, you're probably going to decrease number of classes and dig deeper, so I'm going to echo Skills, not content! Hopefully, the content and foundation are down from grammar school, so you have the chance to take all that knowledge, grow it a bit, but then start to put it to work.

 

Make sure writing is ready by end of Logic Stage. High school brings lots 'o writing.

 

Study skills in place.

 

Time management is necessary in high school and when the teen years hit hard, it seems to be a pressing issue for many of us.

 

Reading speed matters, too. High school books pick up significantly not only in content, but also sheer volume. A slow reader makes for a dreadful deadline meeter (ask me how I know).

 

I'll also second everything OhE said. Finding similar teaching styles and family structure make a difference AND I've spent too much money on the band wagon around here! (So glad to be past that....at least for grammar and logic stages :D).

 

In all of this though, here's my best advice (even though I'm just in my first year of high school w/ my eldest)....don't forget the fun. It's so stressful to "make sure" of all the stuff that it is easy to jump too far, too fast and lose the hands on aspect of middle school. Science should be HANDS-ON, Experiment heavy. History, too. If you lose the fun now, they will really dread high school! So keep it on skills! Finishing projects and lab assignments is crucial for their future, too!

HTH!

[PenKase]

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[johnandtinagilbert]

 

Here is a post that may offer merit, too :)

[PenKase]

Here is a post that may offer merit, too :)

 

I subscribed to this thread! You gals have offered exquisite gems of wisdom from which I have already greatly benefited. All I can do sometimes is salivate. Above everything, all of your (there are many of you here) seasoned courage, perseverance, tenacity, success, and even your failures have helped to open my own eyes to the possibility and realization that I can educate my own children and do it well!

[johnandtinagilbert]

Here is a post that may offer merit, too :)

 

I subscribed to this thread! You gals have offered exquisite gems of wisdom from which I have already greatly benefited. All I can do sometimes is salivate. Above everything, all of your (there are many of you here) seasoned courage, perseverance, tenacity, success, and even your failures have helped to open my own eyes to the possibility and realization that I can educate my own children and do it well!

WOO HOO! :hurray:That's what we like to hear!;)

[Sunshine State Sue]

My best advice to newbies is don't try to re-create the wheel. Start by figuring out your teaching style & your student's learning style, then find a time-proven program that fits that style and stick with it. Once you've decided on a curriculum, put all your energy into teaching and stop shopping. Give any curriculum at least a semester before passing judgment on it, and don't change programs unless something is a true flop.

 

Cathy Duffy's Top 100 Picks is a great place to start.

:iagree: I am a pick and choose kinda girl, though, so I would never choose an all-in-one curriculum, though that might work for you. Cathy Duffy's book was invaluable when I started.

 

Choose curriculum that doesn't overwhelm you or your dc. The most "rigorous" isn't always the best.

The "best" curriculum collecting dust on a shelf does no good. A "good" curriculum used consistently works better.

 

Logic stage gives you the last chance before high school hits...

 

Make sure writing is ready by end of Logic Stage. High school brings lots 'o writing.

 

...Science should be HANDS-ON, Experiment heavy.

Tina's post was great with specifics. My goal was to be DONE with grammar, spelling, and writing instruction by high school. I wanted a good overview of the sciences. I wanted to have an introduction to literary analysis.

 

I don't know if this will help since I started in K, but as I got to middle school, I looked at it more as a whole. I chose curriculum that I could use consistently to complete what I wanted to be done with by the end of 8th grade. FWIW, we used Analytical Grammar, Write Shop, Megawords, Lightning Lit, Science Explorer along with TOPS and Exploration Education, Math-U-See until I needed something more rigorous.

 

Best of luck in your hs journey. :seeya:

[MomsintheGarden]

Great advice so far! Here's more:

 

- Think backwards from the end. What skills and knowledge would you like your dc to have when they graduate from high school? Make a flexible plan for how you would like to achieve that. For example, I wanted my oldest to study at least one semester of calculus before he graduated from high school. My plan included studying algebra I in 8th grade, Geometry in 9th, etc., so he was able to do that. Note: This is just an example! Not every child will follow this plan.

 

- Read the WTM if you haven't done so.

 

- Purchase and download all four of SWB's literature and composition lectures from PHP. Listen to them and take notes. This is great help for thinking backwards. SWB teaches college literature and writing and she has made a plan for you to use to teach your dc the skills they need to get there.

 

- Relax and have fun homeschooling.

 

Blessings,

GardenMom

[Tammyla]

Learning to read/listen to advice and opinions with an open, yet critical ear is often necessary. I almost always (skim/skip) read over hate / love reviews and in turn...re-read the ones that were used for a good length of time. Many awful reviews result from a misplaced or struggling child who isn't ready for the content, and lots of the love reviews are first week/month users.

 

The work is what works, not the curriculum. Do the lessons day after day;).

[PeterPan]

Many awful reviews result from a misplaced or struggling child who isn't ready for the content, and lots of the love reviews are first week/month users.

 

:iagree: There's a lot of truth in this!!! And it's not even that the reviewer is trying to skew things. It just is how it is.

[PenKase]

-Look at who's giving the advice. Are they in a similar position? Do they have a similar number of kids or similar type of learning situation? Does their teaching style line up with mine? Everything is good for somebody around here. Doesn't mean it will be good for *me*.

-I go off on my own to decide. I never decide on board advice, sorry. I take all the ideas and go take a LONG HOT SHOWER or walk or whatever it takes, till things seem more clear.

-Bandwagons on the board can be destabilizing and expensive.

-You're teaching YOUR child, not the theoretical. The sooner you leave your ideal of what your child should want, how he should learn, or how he should be and see who he is, the sooner you'll get some peace.

-Skills, not content. The time will come to focus on content, but we aren't there yet. It's still skills, skills, skills.

 

This is all very sound advice! What I bolded is something that resonates with me personally. In other aspects of my life, this is exactly what I do. It's amazing how much clarity I've gained when I slow up a bit to think things through.

 

This may be obvious to some, but regarding skills, my plan is to implement SWB's writing methods and have dd write across the curricula which will obviously include core subjects, history and science. Since the skill of writing will be implemented with core subjects, it's ok to have them as a focus, right?

[G5052]

Admittedly, one of the first things I do as part of my morning routine is log onto these boards, my user manual, if you will. As a new homeschooler (in practice, not in spirit :)) with a new logic stage student just coming out of ps, I've still a lot to learn with, seemingly, little room for error.

 

Others have said the same thing, but the bottom line is that YOU are the teacher for YOUR CHILD, not anyone you know from a book, online, or in person. Getting inside your student's brain and figuring out what works will be an ongoing challenge.

 

We started out WTM-oriented, then had to regroup because of unexpected family needs where I had to reduce my planning time significantlly. Then several years ago I came to the conclusion that we were going to have to outsource some to keep them challenged appropriately. My oldest is mostly in paid classes because we wanted to keep homeschooling, and something had to give. That has gone very well, and I have no regrets. I say this because I think two of the most important characteristics of long-term homeschoolers is flexibility and determination. If things aren't working, you have to figure out why and make whatever change is necessary. And you have to watch for things that will derail you.

 

I'm also a little concerned about the "little room for error" idea. I'm not sure what you mean by that. Anyone who has homeschooled for over a decade like we have makes scads of errors and misses. Last year we floundered through two different prealgebra curriculums that I regret now, and I'm figuring that Algebra I is going to take us a good two years. We made progress though, and Algebra I is mostly clicking now, but it is HARD. We had some problems, but advanced and will eventually get there. So there is a lot of play in the process. I don't consider myself to be a prealgebra failure, but my choices weren't right for that kid and he's doing OK now although slower than some. You need to cut yourself some slack when it is appropriate too.

 

And yes, although I enjoy talking about curriculum, and I'm a big one on "don't fix what ain't" broke. I don't change or buy new things unless we are in a BIG, HORRIBLE mess, and I let the choices "stew" for a good month. Something you like 80% that gets the job done might be much better than switching. It just might...

Edited January 2, 2011 by GVA

[Capt_Uhura]

As OHElizabeth said, you'll find over time, you'll have a list of posters with similar kids, similar teaching style and that will certainly help to narrow things down especially if they are 1-3yrs ahead of you.

 

Yes, I'm focusing on skills and had been worried about that until I started seeing it coming up more here, first by Swimmermom and then by others. :001_smile:

 

We were just listening to Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything where a famous scientist had all these wonderful ideas but he had no skills to convey those ideas!

[laughing lioness]

Keep in mind that you are educating a person. No matter how much research and good advice you've assimilated, sometimes you have to chuck it and go with what's in front of you- be that a teenage ds who needs more sleep and down time or a dd who, depsite their intellectual capabilities needs to hang out and talk "girl' with mom.

Plan well, get organized and then be flexible. We had a house fire last year and are still living with some chaos. We homeschool this year by utilizing an academic day and a second co-op day. My kids and I are not loving it, I didn't get to buy any shiny new hisotry books, etc. The teachers are having my fun right now. But, that's what we needed to do for this season. No way could we be managing the quality and amount of academic work without these helpers in place.

[Tammyla]

:iagree: My experience from many years here, is that our fellow boardies and posters genuinely want to help.

 

:iagree: There's a lot of truth in this!!! And it's not even that the reviewer is trying to skew things. It just is how it is.

Edited January 3, 2011 by Tammyla

[birchbark]

Awesome thread. Just thought I'd bump it.