Quit finishing so quickly! :-) $$$ Question

[Marie463]

Yet another question for the experienced homeschoolers.....budgeting!

 

Ds5 is flying through curriculum. AAS1 in about six weeks, HWT in about 3 months, MUS Alpha in 6 months, etc., etc. We are fortunate to have a comfortable budget for homeschooling....however, I did not anticipate going through curriculum as quickly as we have.

 

I'm sure that some of you have had this issue as well. When choosing curriculum, do you consider the price/rate of speed that your child will complete it? Any tips for a newbie just starting out to reign in costs?

 

Thanks again!

[In The Great White North]

MEP - free math program online

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

Yet another question for the experienced homeschoolers.....budgeting!

 

Ds5 is flying through curriculum. AAS1 in about six weeks, HWT in about 3 months, MUS Alpha in 6 months, etc., etc. We are fortunate to have a comfortable budget for homeschooling....however, I did not anticipate going through curriculum as quickly as we have.

 

I'm sure that some of you have had this issue as well. When choosing curriculum, do you consider the price/rate of speed that your child will complete it? Any tips for a newbie just starting out to reign in costs?

 

Thanks again!

3 different pre-k curriculums

2 K curriculums

2 first grade curriculums

4 SL cores

and now we will be doing 2 complete 2nd grade curriculums

All this and dd is just 6. I always bought curriculum from the publishers but since dd eats curriculum I now go to ebay. Most of her stuff I can buy there for 1/3rd the cost.

 

Some other options for expanding a years curriculum for a child who devours them:

Add in unit studies as filler

School just 4 days and make day 5 a hands on day (art projects, nature studies, science experiments)

Lots of Rabbit trails

Add in artist studies and/or music studies

Add a foreign language

[2smartones]

I learned to look for flexible curricula that is adaptable for several grade levels. That way you can make it as easy or hard as necessary. Even for things like spelling (sequential spelling) or math (primary grade challenge math), it's possible to get a more challenging mix. Things like Apologia, Mystery of History, Story of the World, etc. are good for science and history.

[Dmmetler]

I feel your pain. I'm hoping that this year has been a fluke and that now that she's got materials that ARE a bit more challenging, we won't see the sudden leaps that we've seen this year.

 

I did break down and subscribe to Teacher File Box after realizing that I'd spent more than $70 this year on those Evan Moor "Daily" books-DD LOVES editing with a passion.

[EKS]

I had a lot of trouble at that age (5-7). Not only would my son finish things more quickly, he would outgrow them about a third of the way through. Once we found his "level" things got a bit better, though every so often I need to kick it up a notch.

[Jenny in Florida]

As I recall, we just didn't buy much "curriculum" when our kids were that age.

 

We would buy a few inexpensive workbooks from bookstores or even dollar stores for basics like math and spelling. But, other than that, we read a lot, mostly from the library.

 

I used my computer and the internet heavily to find ideas for fun, educational things to do. For example, both of my kids LOVED the projects from this site: www.dltk-kids.com. A couple of times a week, we'd pick something from there that tied in with something we were reading or a holiday or whatever. My son did a lot of their alphabet crafts, too. But he was a little younger than your child, of course.

 

Yep. I just checked my records for the year my son was five-turning-six. His curriculum for the year consisted of several workbooks from the dollar store, a couple of science kits I found on Barnes & Noble bargain tables, www.starfall.com , art projects from a free website and lots of library books.

 

The beauty of this approach is that we never invested so much in any one thing that I was upset when he finished it "too quickly" or when we abandoned it because it wasn't working. I suspect we spent about $75 for the year.

[Embassy]

Once we found his "level" things got a bit better, though every so often I need to kick it up a notch.

:iagree: And it helps to use the library heavily.

[rootsnwings]

worksheetworks.com is a great, free resource, too. :) HTH Some! I will say that MUS isn't very meaty. It's easy to fly through it once they master a concept and since it's really one concept per level, once they get it the rest is busy work. We've had much better success with curriculum "lasting" using Singapore for math. HTH!! :)

[prairiewindmomma]

A few thoughts:

 

1. HWT is a teaching tool. It's not just a do-the-workbook-and-check-it-off thing. Once a child has finished a HWT workbook at our house, they do copywork or practice writing letters using HWT paper. (They sell it by the ream. ;)

 

2. If they are mastering math, I just move them on. Eventually your child will either slow down or hit calculus. Most slow down. We zipped through alpha, but ds cognitively wasn't ready to see that subtraction was the opposite of addition (he was still very young), so we added in Singapore Math workbooks, which are inexpensive. If he's really zipping through math, I'd just work on memorizing all math facts. It'll make the rest of math so much easier (learning to add/subtract/multiply/divide multidigit numbers).

 

3. Buy a large nonconsumable for spelling. While we do own all levels of Sequential Spelling, we also own Spelling Power. Spelling Power will allow you to move through multiple levels without additional cost since it's all-inclusive.

 

4. Spend time on doing science experiments, reading aloud, and doing something other than workbooks. The early years are about exploration and building vocabulary. I have had one child who was VERY workbook oriented--we worked on helping that child broaden their academic world. Art projects are also great. :)

[Crimson Wife]

I try to pick a challenging level and then go more slowly through it. So my DD started with Right Start B rather than A.

[Julie Smith]

I just don't buy much stuff.

 

For reading I bought "Phonics Pathways". I feel that is a hard book to rip through very quickly - and even if you do once you are finished with it you are done with phonics.

 

I bought Singapore Math, but only the textbooks, and no "K" level books. So even though my eldest finished book 1A, 1B, and 2A in the beginning of grade 1, I wasn't concerned. After finishing 2A I decided to take a little math holiday. :) We have just basically changed to unschooling math. I will get back into the text books, later. REALLY I will. I find that times of unschooling math works well for my eldest. I know that once I start math for my youngest this might not be the case.

 

We actually don't spend much time on school subjects. The only "have to" subjects a day are:

1) Piano: We have all of Phonics for Piano otherwise know as Pianimals

2) Reading: You have to read something, usually a library book

3) Writing: First we did some worksheets about letter formation. Know he writes a sentence a day. Coping off another piece of paper or a book.

4) Science: Mr. Q science. The first book is free and is suppose to last a year. We started it in November? and are almost finished. We just listen to a chapter a day. (My dh makes audio recordings of the chapters). The next book is 50$ and is also suppose to last a year.

 

All other school subjects are covered by having me read books, or listening to audio books, or field trips. So for me the way I get out of paying lots of money for curricula is I don't do lots of subjects.

[JennW in SoCal]

As I recall, we just didn't buy much "curriculum" when our kids were that age.

 

We would buy a few inexpensive workbooks from bookstores or even dollar stores for basics like math and spelling. But, other than that, we read a lot, mostly from the library.

 

I used my computer and the internet heavily to find ideas for fun, educational things to do. For example, both of my kids LOVED the projects from this site: www.dltk-kids.com. A couple of times a week, we'd pick something from there that tied in with something we were reading or a holiday or whatever. My son did a lot of their alphabet crafts, too. But he was a little younger than your child, of course.

 

Yep. I just checked my records for the year my son was five-turning-six. His curriculum for the year consisted of several workbooks from the dollar store, a couple of science kits I found on Barnes & Noble bargain tables, www.starfall.com , art projects from a free website and lots of library books.

 

The beauty of this approach is that we never invested so much in any one thing that I was upset when he finished it "too quickly" or when we abandoned it because it wasn't working. I suspect we spent about $75 for the year.

 

:iagree: :iagree::iagree:

 

The only things we really needed at that age were a library card, a zoo pass, and an inexhaustible supply of paper, markers, scissors and tape. Learning can happen without the trappings of school, especially with gifted kids.

 

Instead of curricula, how about lots of good educational games?

 

Family Math is a book of games that cover basic math skills, including fractions and probability and money and multiplication and everything else.

 

Rummy Roots is a card game of Latin and Greek root words. There are 3 levels of cards so you can make it more and more challenging.

 

Mad Libs. Basic grammar and vocabulary. We sometimes even diagrammed Mad Lib sentences.

 

Science is the great outdoors with binoculars and magnifying glasses and local nature guides. NOVA and other science shows also have companion web sites with other ideas. Project Feeder Watch has a nice downloadable homeschool curriculum guide. Area museums have family science days.

 

I did very little formal schooling with my kids until 4th grade. They did math each day, worked on handwriting, mostly with inexpensive workbooks though we did used Miquon and Singapore Math in addition to the cheap workbooks. We did copywork and dictations, too, from books we were reading. Otherwise it was all learning through reading, playing and exploring.

[Crimson Wife]

I bought Singapore Math, but only the textbooks, and no "K" level books. So even though my eldest finished book 1A, 1B, and 2A in the beginning of grade 1, I wasn't concerned. After finishing 2A I decided to take a little math holiday. :)

 

To each family their own :), but I would not recommend this approach for a bright child. It's much better IMHO to incorporate the Intensive Practice and Challenging Word Problems books. Especially the IP books, as that's where Singapore really shines. Going quickly but superficially doesn't do the child any favors in the long run. It's not a race to see who can get to algebra the quickest IYKWIM. Better to really challenge the child by going deeper within topics.

[Donna]

I also purchase curriculum that is multi-level like Spelling Power and Writing Power, make purchases off ebay or swap on paperbackswap, purchase things I want when it becomes available on homeschoolbuyerscoop, and for subjects like history and science work off a spine then I can make things as complicated as I want and add in fun extras like projects, crafts, and experiments plus extra readings from library books or other books I've collected over the years.

 

Disclaimer...I still spend too much on curriculum and try out new stuff when it comes out though I have done better reigning myself in lately. That could be because I only have one child at home and have purchased so many different things over the years that I have it all, though. :lol:

[Julie Smith]

To each family their own :), but I would not recommend this approach for a bright child. It's much better IMHO to incorporate the Intensive Practice and Challenging Word Problems books. Especially the IP books, as that's where Singapore really shines. Going quickly but superficially doesn't do the child any favors in the long run. It's not a race to see who can get to algebra the quickest IYKWIM. Better to really challenge the child by going deeper within topics.

 

We didn't go quickly through them, that is quickly for him. I used it as a guide for creating my own questions, games, ... and didn't move on till he had a subject totally down pat. Part of the reason we stopped at 2A is I knew from looking at 2B he would need more then just the textbook. So we will be adding in the Challenging Word Problems starting at 2B. Before that level I thought it was easy for me to create my own challenging word problems. Another reason we stopped at 2A is I could tell that some of the subjects of 2B would frustrate him right now, and possibly confuse him. So we are taking a break for math. That is other then math picture books, math conversations, math games....

[Bostonian]

I don't have any tips not already mentioned by others, but I will mention that at the high school level, homeschooling courses look much cheaper than tuition at private universities. For example, the EPGY online calculus sequence costs $1500 for 3 courses http://epgy.stanford.edu/applyandregister/tuition.html . If a 1st-year college student is paying $20K in tuition for 5 courses, with calculus being one of them, that is $4000 for the calculus course.

 

My 7yo boy has completed EPGY Beginning Algebra, the last math course that one can take through the cheaper "Open Enrollment" plan. I am trying to use the above logic to convince my wife that the full-price EPGY courses are still worth considering. I am aware of alternatives such as AOPS and Thinkwell.

 

Besides college tuition, what can really cost a lot is private lessons, whether for academics, sports, or music.

[boscopup]

Some of those I wouldn't expect to take a whole year. When I got AAS, I went ahead and bought the first 2 levels. I knew I'd need level 2 pretty quick. I was right. Level 1 took only 3 weeks. Level 2 is going slower. We'll spend about 3 months on it, I think. I expect to do levels 3 and 4 within the next year, if we stick with AAS (which as much as I'd love a cheaper, quicker program, it WORKS for my son, and most of the alternatives that are cheaper and quicker don't teach the "why" like AAS, and my son wants to know why).

 

I think we used the HWT first grade book for about 4 weeks or so. I used it for letter formation (he was forming letters wonky). Once we finished that part, I switched to plain old copywork. I use Startwrite to make my own.

 

I don't know anything about MUS, but I agree you might want to look at a program that is more challenging and is easier to move on to new topics. We use Math Mammoth, and I'm about to throw in Singapore IP and Zaccaro's Primary Challenge Math. I have grade 1-6 of Math Mammoth, so it's easy enough to just keep going once we're ready, and it was cheap in the co-op. I don't expect math to take an entire year anytime soon. We've ben working at finding where he is and getting to a challenging level in the first place. As we get to his level, we're able to slow down a little bit. Of course, some kids don't slow down. :D

[SnegurochkaL]

I don't have any tips not already mentioned by others, but I will mention that at the high school level, homeschooling courses look much cheaper than tuition at private universities.

 

For some of you who are looking for a reasonable/ good quality on-line courses you may consider checking this out.

Here is a great site with absolutely FREE on-line courses including Calculus! It is private and I don't know the owner:)

This site has 2100 videos and 100 self-paced exercises.

http://www.khanacademy.org/

 

Their mission is to deliver a world-class education to anyone anywhere; they consider themselves as a free World Virtual School.

 

Here is the list of courses they are offering:

Algebra, Arithmetic, Biology, Banking and Money, Test Preparation, Chemistry, Brain teasers, Economics, Developmental Math, Calculus, Astronomy, Finance, Differential Equations, History, Linear Algebra, Geometry, Organic Chemistry, Physics, Pre-Algebra, Pre-calculus, Statistics, Trigonometry, Investing.

Edited April 12, 2011 by SneguochkaL

[zaichiki]

It's much better IMHO to incorporate the Intensive Practice and Challenging Word Problems books. Especially the IP books, as that's where Singapore really shines.

 

Better to really challenge the child by going deeper within topics.

 

Oh, wow, those IP books are really the meat of Singapore. We don't do all of them, as the early bits of review in each chapter are usually fairly basic, but there are LOTS of great challenging word problems and puzzle type problems in IP. I think IP is more challenging than the CWP. If I had to choose between the text, workbook, IP, and CWP, I'd go with the textbook and the IP. That way you get the Singapore teaching method with the practice AND the challenge. Love that Sinagpore Math!

[zaichiki]

For some of you who are looking for a reasonable/ good quality on-line courses you may consider checking this out.

Here is a great site with absolutely FREE on-line courses including Calculus! It is private and I don't know the owner:)

This site has 2100 videos and 100 self-paced exercises.

http://www.khanacademy.org/

 

Their mission is to deliver a world-class education to anyone anywhere; they consider themselves as a free World Virtual School.

 

Here is the list of courses they are offering:

Algebra, Arithmetic, Biology, Banking and Money, Test Preparation, Chemistry, Brain teasers, Economics, Developmental Math, Calculus, Astronomy, Finance, Differential Equations, History, Linear Algebra, Geometry, Organic Chemistry, Physics, Pre-Algebra, Pre-calculus, Statistics, Trigonometry, Investing.

 

I second the suggestion of Khan Academy. Have you seen the TED talk? This guy is easy to listen to and the video info is a wonderful resource for kids to do some learning away from mom/dad.

[SnegurochkaL]

Oh, wow, those IP books are really the meat of Singapore. I think IP is more challenging than the CWP. If I had to choose between the text, workbook, IP, and CWP, I'd go with the textbook and the IP.

 

I agree with you. We are not using workbooks at all. My daughter uses SM textbook and IP as a workbook. MEP had also several "challenges" ahead of SM so when my daughter saw them in IP they were just a piece of cake for her.

 

I have a proposal:

What do you think about having a thread "My favourite challenging math/logic problem/s of the week", so everyone can post and our kids might want to work on them.

Any comments are welcome. You may PM me instead of "littering" this thread.

I will think what problem my child found being very challenging for her this week.

[SnegurochkaL]

I second the suggestion of Khan Academy. Have you seen the TED talk? This guy is easy to listen to and the video info is a wonderful resource for kids to do some learning away from mom/dad.

My Internet was very " uncooperative" for any streaming video last few days, so I haven't had a chance to check many videos out:(

[MaMa2005]

I try to pick a challenging level and then go more slowly through it. So my DD started with Right Start B rather than A.

 

:iagree: My first year homeschooling we just devoured curriculum. This year, I really upped the ante and it has been perfect. Slowed DS down. We still covered a great deal of material (see siggy), but I had planned for that much at the beginning of the year. Just know that they are still going to go more quickly. Even with all that I had planned, you can see that we are pretty much done for the year - 6 weeks early. I'm not complaining :001_smile: as we are getting ready for piano recitals, TKD testing, end of year parties at various extracurriculars, etc. I am planning on LOTS of field trips in the next six weeks. It's nice to say I have another year in the bank.:hurray:

[RanchGirl]

We also go through a ton of curricula. It is shocking to me sometimes how fast they move!! But it goes in fits and spurts, and we also have plenty of time to go wider and deeper, e.g. adding problem solving and competition math to our regular math sequence, going deeper into science topics, spending more time on reading, etc.

 

It is very challenging to plan for teaching these kids -- I have this great master plan that goes all the way through 8th grade and they keep messing it all up, lil sweethearts!!