Mallorie Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Can anyone tell me if going through ECC for the first time in 8th grade would be a mistake? He'd have younger 5th and 2nd grade siblings tagging along. This would be for next year. Now that i'm finally getting the basics (math and LA) covered, I would like a schedule. I want a program that teaches me how to homeschool. Does that exist? I want biblical worldview. I want some hands on projects, some massive hand holding telling me which books to choose for which child. I'm worn out with choosing something at three very different levels. Trying to figure out what to do... I SO wish I had started hs'ing sooner, but this was God's plan for our family, and I can't change it. Last week I had a massive head cold, we got nothing done. This week, sciatica, not much done either. I'm having a rough go of it, wondering if I ever should have attempted this..maybe I should have left them in school. I know this will pass, but i'm really down about what we've accomplished this year. It's all been spent trying to figure out what my kids know and what to get them going with. I have the WTM coming from the library, and will go through that again. I really, really want to hit a comfort zone and feel like i'm doing something right with this. I've looked at MFW, Sonlight and TOG. I'm favoring MFW to start with because it seems more hand-holding and easier to figure out. Can anyone help me figure out if this would be a good fit for us before I throw some more money out the window on a choice that won't work for us? Please? :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIch elle Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 Since you are new to homeschooling, I suggest figuring out the basics first - math, grammar/LA, and reading. Once you have those figured out and DONE on a daily basis then add in the rest. TOG, SL and MFW can be overwhelming because the amt. of work to be done daily is overkill for most beginning and many experienced homeschoolers. I suggest CLE math, LA, and reading. It's a workbook program that is easy to use for parent and student. Go to the clp.org website and look at the samples and have your dc take the online placement tests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wy_kid_wrangler04 Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 We are switching to MFW next year and my oldest will be in 8th. She is doing ECC with her 4th grade sister and my 1st grader might listen into the read alouds, not sure yet. We are planning on doing MFW through high school so I figured the year of geography would be good before starting the high school cycle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samiam Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 We are doing ECC for 8th grade, with 3rd and K coming along for the ride. It is a world culture and geography program....I can't see any grade that wouldn't work for. I would have to disagree with it being hard for a new HS....I think the grid style schedule and the amount of hand holding that is given, is perfect for someone who is unsure of themselves in the HSing journey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallorie Posted February 25, 2011 Author Share Posted February 25, 2011 I suggest CLE math, LA, and reading. We are doing (and really liking) those, with the exception that my 7th grader is doing Saxon. They've been getting done daily, but I'd like to get more in. We have the time/ability, it's that i'm paralyzed with not knowing what else to do, because they are all at such different levels. My oldest has been working through Apologia Physical science, and my 4th grader has been doing Apologia Swimming Creatures. My youngest has just been doing a lot of reading. History also has been reading library books and watching DVD's. I think i'd just like something to pull it all together, so that I have the reassurance that i'm doing enough of the right things. And something to add a little *fun* would be nice, too. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted February 25, 2011 Share Posted February 25, 2011 It's all been spent trying to figure out what my kids know and what to get them going with. We began homeschooling when my older dd was in 5th. It took me a couple years to really get a feel for her learning style, my teaching style, and what was going to work well. Don't despair :grouphug: Our first year we did Spelling, Reading, Math, and Bible. We all survived ;) It's just as much of an adjustment for them as it is for you. I've looked at MFW, Sonlight and TOG. I'm favoring MFW to start with because it seems more hand-holding and easier to figure out. Can anyone help me figure out if this would be a good fit for us before I throw some more money out the window on a choice that won't work for us? Please? :bigear: I have used MFW and SL and looked carefully over TOG. If I was a new homeschooler with kids your dc ages, I would go with MFW. It really is the most "user friendly." I found it easy to drop the extras if we were short on time and easy to go more in depth if time allowed. Each time we used MFW it was never exactly as written. It is also easy to blend the kids together. Gotta love that. SL just wasn't for our family, we were always behind. There is SO much reading. TOG takes about 6-8 weeks to get into a groove and over the learning curve. Three of my close friends have used it and they all reported this problem. Whatever you choose, remember you are all still adjusting and it does take time for everything to fall into place. Not to mention that February is the. worst. month. period. for homeschooling ;) You'll feel much better once spring hits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mallorie Posted February 25, 2011 Author Share Posted February 25, 2011 Whatever you choose, remember you are all still adjusting and it does take time for everything to fall into place. Not to mention that February is the. worst. month. period. for homeschooling ;) You'll feel much better once spring hits. I really needed to hear this. I've been trying to cut myself some slack and tell myself this, but it's much nicer to have the reassurance from someone else. thanks. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 I really needed to hear this. I've been trying to cut myself some slack and tell myself this, but it's much nicer to have the reassurance from someone else. thanks. :) You are so welcome :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 It is a world culture and geography program....I can't see any grade that wouldn't work for. I would have to disagree with it being hard for a new HS....I think the grid style schedule and the amount of hand holding that is given, is perfect for someone who is unsure of themselves in the HSing journey. :iagree: I wish I would have had MFW when I first started homeschooling, but they didn't have 10th grade written just then. However, when I first brought my youngest home (3rd grade) and first started teaching 2 at once that year, I was pleased as punch with MFW because I could see all possible subjects at a glance. So if I wanted to play math games with ds, I could just plug that into the math box on the grid, and it also suggested math drill. If I shortened the day, I could evaluate what I was skipping and make sure I didn't say "oops, that was a priority & I forgot about it!" Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birchbark Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 Another program with tons of hand-holding is Heart of Dakota. Very easy to use, open-and-go. Take a look at a sample of their teacher's guides. They have another level (not on the site yet) coming out this summer that goes up to ages 14-15. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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