Homeschooling Again Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I'm so very excited. I've been afterschooling my ds since last January, which has been tough since he started 3rd grade in September. Only a week ago I learned that I could part-time homeschool, so beginning January 31 my ds will be attending ps in the am and coming home at noon for his classical education! I received such insight and support from some of this site's members and am on cloud nine right now (I had the meeting yesterday with the school principal, who agreed). What I'd ask from you all is to review the following curriculum and let me know what you think: In the mornings, he gets math (an amalgam of a few different models, including something called Houghton Mifflin math and Expressions), spelling, and "extras" (one day a week for art, music, and library). He also gets gym. Does anyone have any familiarity with those two math programs? I freaked out the other day when I saw that he was doing an equasion using Everyday Math, so either some of that is part of those two math programs, or she's peppering EM into the curriculum as well. Then he comes home. :D I'm planning on doing the following: Everyday 20 minutes of Mammoth Math 45 minutes of reading (plus 15 minutes in the evenings, as he has been doing) writing (WWE 2X/week plus history narration 2X/week and FLL 3X/week) 4 days/week 5 minutes Zaner-Bloser handwriting (I want him to write in cursive by the end of this year -- they seem not to care much about cursive in school) spelling (words he'll get from school to work on) 3 days/week Grammar (FLL) Latin (Prima Latina) History (SOTW V. 2) Memory work 2 days/week Science (Earth Science) Music/Art All told, I estimate we'll be spending 2 1/2 hours Monday - Thursday and 2 hours on Friday. In addition I plan on taking a couple of field trips a month. I must admit that when I left the school yesterday afternoon after the meeting with the principal I felt a bit scared -- one of those "what have I done?" moments. Both the principal and ds's teacher were very nice and accommodating but I got the impression they were wondering who I was to think I could teach my son without the years of teaching experience and educational degrees they have. By the time I'd walked home, though, my feelings of doubt and anxiety had mostly left and now I'm only feeling excited (as is my son)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I'm so very excited. I've been afterschooling my ds since last January, which has been tough since he started 3rd grade in September. Only a week ago I learned that I could part-time homeschool, so beginning January 31 my ds will be attending ps in the am and coming home at noon for his classical education! ! Your subjects/amounts look fine, but I have a question? Why not just homeschool? In addition to all kiddo will be doing, he'll have to be up and do the morning hustle, see peers who might be a little snippy about his different schedule (kids can be mean), and unless he just loves math, he might feel a little punished that he gets it twice. What you have listed seems like ENOUGH. Why the morning session as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homeschooling Again Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share Posted January 21, 2011 I would HS him FT but I work PT and need to have at least a half day free for travel and my work. Thanks for the feedback!:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 I would HS him FT but I work PT and need to have at least a half day free for travel and my work. Thanks for the feedback!:001_smile: Ah-hah! Well then, I think I would get a very good look at what he is learning at school, be careful to not make things repetitive, but only reinforce what he isn't "getting". I'd also guard against burn-out. E.g. What are the other kids doing in the afternoons? If they go to a field trip, or cover something in history (like the Mayflower), I would tend to give kiddo the basics in that, so if it is mentioned in class, he is not lost. How long are you planning on doing this? That might alter what curriculum you want to use. Will he have the same (math, spelling) in the mornings all the years you intend to do this, or do they flip around grade to grade? Just some thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homeschooling Again Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share Posted January 21, 2011 Oh, I'm definitely planning on enrolling him in a classical school FT next year. We're lucky -- there are 3 in the area! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallory Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Oh, I'm definitely planning on enrolling him in a classical school FT next year. We're lucky -- there are 3 in the area! In that case, i'd probably decide where and see what he needs to be caught up to them for 4th grade. Possibly/probably even using thier 3rd grade curriculum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 In that case, i'd probably decide where and see what he needs to be caught up to them for 4th grade. Possibly/probably even using thier 3rd grade curriculum. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ritsumei Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 (edited) I'm so very excited. I've been afterschooling my ds since last January, which has been tough since he started 3rd grade in September. Only a week ago I learned that I could part-time homeschool, so beginning January 31 my ds will be attending ps in the am and coming home at noon for his classical education! I received such insight and support from some of this site's members and am on cloud nine right now (I had the meeting yesterday with the school principal, who agreed). What I'd ask from you all is to review the following curriculum and let me know what you think: In the mornings, he gets math (an amalgam of a few different models, including something called Houghton Mifflin math and Expressions), spelling, and "extras" (one day a week for art, music, and library). He also gets gym. Does anyone have any familiarity with those two math programs? I freaked out the other day when I saw that he was doing an equasion using Everyday Math, so either some of that is part of those two math programs, or she's peppering EM into the curriculum as well. We're using Math Expressions - which I love. I found it because Mom's a PS-K teacher, and her school just started using it. My #1 complaint is that they're relatively new, so they're hard to find used and wacky expensive new. That, obviously, won't be a problem for you. My understanding is that they're very well researched, and my experience is that the math is very "touchable" which I like. Lots of manipulatives (which I make at home out of felt, but they'll have the real thing at school). At least, that's what it's like in the K book. I haven't got the grade 1 books yet. One great thing about the series is that when they do the adding & subtracting they do it algebraically - that is, they get the kids used to seeing the empty space where the answer goes in any part of the problem: 3 + __ = 6 __ + 3 = 6 3 + 3 = ___ They put a lot of emphasis on "partners" in a number. So the partners in 6 would be 1 & 5, 2 & 4, 3 & 3, and their opposites - 4&2, 5&1. Sounds more complicated to type it out than it is to figure it out on the flannel board. Anyway, it's supposed to set them up for an easier transition into algebra. Plus, the book is fun. And the writer remembers that she's writing for little kids, so some of the math is moving: 4 jumps, and 3 hops, and so forth. Like I said, I've only actually laid eyes on the K books, but what I've seen thus far I love. I'm really hoping to be able to find affordable copies of the teachers' manuals for the next years. Once Monkey gets better at writing we'll also get the consumable workbooks, but for now we do it orally & on the flannel board. I believe the series goes up to 8th grade right now. Most of the stuff that I've tagged "math" on my blog is from Math Expressions-Kindergarten, with the notable exception of the first post that's up there right now, with the pictures of the cool B&N at the top of the post. But the one just below that is pretty typical of what we do with our Math Expressions lessons. Edited January 22, 2011 by Ritsumei Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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