Someone slow me down!

[Satori]

For some reason I am extremely motivated this weekend. We just got back from a vacation, so that might have something to do with it.

 

Anyway, we school all year long (with plenty of breaks), but I really wanted a small load this summer. I was trying to get it under two hours, but then it creeped up to 2.5 hour days with a 1 hour Friday.

 

Right now I'm wanting to do 3 math programs, 4 grammar, 2 science, 2 history, 3 writing, etc... and cram it all into our week. I'm planning out our 2011/2012 year and I keep running into cool new programs I hadn't previously considered. Help!

[momto2Cs]

I'm glad it is not just me!

[mhornby56]

Ohhh, but if you slowed down there would be fewer reviews on your blog. :tongue_smilie:

[kristinannie]

I am right there with you! I just get so excited about all of these curricula! Just take a deep breath and go with your gut! I have purchased all of my stuff for K and started today. I REFUSE to add anything more to K although I am still looking out for 1st...and 2nd....and high school... :lol::lol::lol: This is seriously an addiction to me! I just love it. I think they need a 12 step program for this!

[boscopup]

:lol:

 

Ok, can you pick just one for each subject and have the others in a rotation of an "extra" time slot?

 

For example, I am using Math Mammoth as my main math program, so we do that every day, but then I also have Singapore IP and CWP, as well as Primary Challenge Math. Those supplements get done during an extra math time slot, and we do 1-2 in a day. I'm not worried about getting them all done or doing every problem. They're just for fun, and we don't have time to do all 3 each day.

 

Also, could you alternate some of your programs, doing one this year and one next? I'm specifically thinking about GWG/FLL here.

 

Just some ideas. I feel your pain about choosing! I just ended up picking one program per subject that I thought would work best for us, thinking about teaching style, long term use of the program, goals for skill development, etc. Obviously I didn't stick to one program for math, but I'm only doing one full program. The others are fun extras, and if we're having a busy week, they won't be done at all.

[GoVanGogh]

I just lined out our curriculum from now (4th grade) to 8th grade and realized my problem: I need another student! :lol: That is the only way I can ever use all the curriculum I dream of using.

So. Um. Guess I'm right there with you.

Our children will either be ready for Harvard by age 11 or else they will declare mutiny and decide they want a pure textbook education. :001_huh:

[NorCalMom]

Right now I'm wanting to do 3 math programs, 4 grammar, 2 science, 2 history, 3 writing, etc... and cram it all into our week. I'm planning out our 2011/2012 year and I keep running into cool new programs I hadn't previously considered. Help!

 

All I can say is...WOW!...and.....:leaving:

 

:D

[AngelBee]

Right now I'm wanting to do 3 math programs, 4 grammar, 2 science, 2 history, 3 writing, etc... and cram it all into our week. I'm planning out our 2011/2012 year and I keep running into cool new programs I hadn't previously considered. Help!

:lol:

 

So...which ones? :lurk5:

[mamachanse]

Draw from a hat and :auto: away from the curriculum board. :lol:

 

Can you just divide them up and spread them out and see how that works?

 

I'm using FLL and GWG right now. We do 3 days and 2 days. For Math, Singapore and Miquon...we do 4 and 1. Etc. I have issues too. :auto:

[Satori]

Both my daughter and I love all this stuff, especially the language arts stuff (grammar, writing, vocabulary). And recently we've gotten very excited about math and science. Not to mention geography and languages... Ugh!

 

Here's my current list of what I'd love to do this summer. I can see about 5 things I can drop already. ETC will be done forever next month. MM and WWE can be dropped. We don't really need SSL, as we'll start with a real Latin program this fall. The Evan Moor stuff can be dropped (Read & Understand, Daily Paragraph Editing). I need to narrow down the grammar, but we love it all.

 

DH suggested we do easy workbook type stuff my DD loves on the weekends. That helps.

 

With this schedule, I have 2-2.75 hours during the week, with 1 hour on the weekends. Here's a pic of our CURRICULUM OVERLOAD!

 

I'll narrow it down by the 1st. Yes.

[Cassy]

Well, I think what you need to do is to open your own, small, school. I'd like to enrol three, naughty little boys, please. :D

 

Cassy

[HappyGrace]

I did this too when dd was in K and 1st and I think 2nd grade. By 3rd I was getting a handle on what works best for us, and now she is a rising 6th grader! Now I also have my ds to consider, so we can't do everything I want to do for both of them, but at least I pretty much know what works and what doesn't, so that makes it easier.

 

I am still a curriculum junkie though! :D

 

It's especially fun with your first child, and especially fun if they are advanced and can handle what you throw at them and suck it up like sponges and they love it! Have fun! :)

[Aquinas Academy]

Ohhh, but if you slowed down there would be fewer reviews on your blog. :tongue_smilie:

:iagree:Don't slow down, please! :D

I keep thinking I've found what I like and won't need to buy anything else, but then some new curriculum comes out and I have to rethink everything. No advice on how to narrow things down, but you're not alone. :)

[Clear Creek]

If I were you (and I'm not, so ymmv :D) I would figure out what my goals are...if they are to dive into all the curriculum and go through each and every one of them, then have at it! If my goal was to learn certain things (like parts of speech or how to write a persuasive paragraph) then I would narrow it down to the curriculum that would help me accomplish those goals and just use those. For example, if your goal is to use 4 different grammar programs, then use them...if your goal is for your daughter to know the different parts of speech, punctuation, diagramming, etc. then pick one...they all include the same parts of speech and same punctuation rules.

 

That is what I would do. :001_smile:

[delaney]

I guess I wold just be afraid of burnout. I love curriculum too, and want to do it all, but she is so young that I feel like she may buck the system when she gets bigger, kwim?

[Rivka]

You know, I've been reading your blog for some time, and it's clear that you really love curricula. I mean, even more than the rest of us. :D You buy a lot of curricula and you really enjoy doing photo reviews and making lists and plans and organizing and arranging.

 

But you've also said that you often wind up skipping a subject for months, and you seem to abandon a lot of the curricula you buy. Right? It really doesn't seem like you can actually follow through with all the curricula you want to do.

 

So here's my suggestion: why not set yourself up in business as a curriculum consultant? You could help people choose what curricula to buy and get them nicely set up, scheduled, and organized. You would get to do the parts you love again and again, and then you could work out a nice sane simple schedule for your own family to follow.

[5wolfcubs]

Well, I think what you need to do is to open your own, small, school.

:iagree:

Yes! I have a son to enroll also! He just turned 6 and is a quick learner. His kindergarten year consisted of a small stack of workbooks. Which he cheerfully did. He needs more!!

Off to read your blog for inspiration!

[Aquinas Academy]

So here's my suggestion: why not set yourself up in business as a curriculum consultant? You could help people choose what curricula to buy and get them nicely set up, scheduled, and organized. You would get to do the parts you love again and again, and then you could work out a nice sane simple schedule for your own family to follow.

This is my dream job! :D I think Angela would be an amazing consultant.

[WIS0320]

I obviously love curricula too (my siggy doesn't even list all that I want to do!) and yet I worry that too much is counter-productive to what I overall want to achieve long term.

 

This isn't any sort of attempt to pick on the OP, whose blog I :drool: over - seriously, she is able to accomplish way more than I could even dream of and make it look doable and fantastic. I've got a 3 and 1 year old underfoot as well as the soon to be 6 year old whom I am trying to school. And a husband who travels an insane amount for his job. Logistically, the curriculum obsession has got to end because we simply cannot fit in all that I want to do and have me not lose my mind (or my kid lose hers!).

 

So, how does one narrow down? Just stop visiting the boards? I am making myself crazy planning and filing right now trying to tie in multiple sources for each and every subject. I think I just want to be the ultimate homeschooler, I want to give my kids the ultimate education and I want to use every single thing that looks appealing to me or I think would appeal to my kid(s).

 

So, I'm wondering, which is worse - too much curricula or too little?! I'm pretty overwhelmed personally and I've done it to myself!

 

Good luck OP - I am in the same boat. And I seem drawn to things that are teacher intensive. Yikes!

[Satori]

Thanks everyone for all your responses! I spent the day organizing my thoughts so I can streamline better. I didn't actually think we'd do 5 maths and 5 grammars, hehe. I think I've got it down to 2-2.5 hours a day, which is okay for second grade, right? That includes fun stuff like art and science.

 

It's especially fun with your first child, and especially fun if they are advanced and can handle what you throw at them and suck it up like sponges and they love it! Have fun! :)

 

Yes, this is how I can get out of control, I only have one little girl who's so readily and eagerly homeschooled. I'm the one that slows us down, I can only handle a few hours a day. I often worry that I'm slacking actually.

 

So here's my suggestion: why not set yourself up in business as a curriculum consultant? You could help people choose what curricula to buy and get them nicely set up, scheduled, and organized. You would get to do the parts you love again and again, and then you could work out a nice sane simple schedule for your own family to follow.

 

There's no doubt I'm an addict here, and most of us addicts end up with programs we don't use. It's not as bad as it could be, as luckily I figured out our style relatively quickly, and this is the first time I'm really having a hard time narrowing it down. I follow through on 90% of the stuff we start using. We only quickly ditched very few programs - MUS, BFSU, and Drawing with Children. Others we had a great time with but didn't finish the entire program, like FIAR (rowed a dozen books), RightStart (did A and half of B) and HWT (did Pre-K to grade 4). And then there's some stuff I purchase that we haven't used for more than two lessons, as it doesn't mesh with us. That would be MEP/Miquon.

 

As for starting a curriculum consulting business, hehe, that would be fun. But I'm trying to simplify my life and spend quality time with my daughter. I spent the first four years of her life super busy with a home business. If anything, I'd get back into programming and design super cool scheduling programs and iPad apps. But, I am happy just being a teacher and learning with my daughter for the moment.

[Satori]

So, how does one narrow down? Just stop visiting the boards? I am making myself crazy planning and filing right now trying to tie in multiple sources for each and every subject. I think I just want to be the ultimate homeschooler, I want to give my kids the ultimate education and I want to use every single thing that looks appealing to me or I think would appeal to my kid(s).

 

So, I'm wondering, which is worse - too much curricula or too little?! I'm pretty overwhelmed personally and I've done it to myself!

 

 

Great advice. I do sometimes take long, extended breaks from WTM forums and that totally helps. That is probably the best advice I could get at this moment. In the past few days, I stumbled upon a handful of awesome programs/curriculum I just HAD to have. I was perfectly happy before that though. It's just that I was planning our next year and I tend to totally trawl these boards to make sure I'm not missing anything.

 

My husband travels an insane amount too. He just left this afternoon and won't be back until Friday. Living in the lonely mountains, this board offers me so much, it would be hard to stop swinging by.

[WIS0320]

Great advice. I do sometimes take long, extended breaks from WTM forums and that totally helps. That is probably the best advice I could get at this moment.

 

I'm glad it helped though I was really commiserating with you!

 

I think it is great that we all love our kids so much that we want the best for them, especially when it comes to their educations. I just have to realize that I cannot possibly do all I want and if I try we are most likely going to be more miserable for it.

 

My kid is only going to be 6 in July and is completely on grade level for beginning first grade. She is average to bright but certainly not genius level and would probably much rather I let her alone to play dress up than try and do 4 math programs. Obviously each parent and child are different, your YMMV. But I know even now that I am going to make my own kid miserable if I try and cram this much into her first grade year. I'm just not sure how to let some of it go but I'm going to have to find a way to do it.

 

I just wish I could stop finding such interesting look curriculum! :001_tt1:

[Erika]

I am trying out two grammar programs in the fall, because I like the different ways they teach the same information. And I believe they will both benefit my ds. Angela your signature was one of the ones I looked at when I was researching people doing more than one curriculum per subject. So thank you for the inspiration without knowing you were doing so. Good luck on your journey this school year.

[nansk]

Ohhh, but if you slowed down there would be fewer reviews on your blog.

 

:iagree: :D

 

 

Well, it's ultimately your decision, but, if I were you, I'd go with these for now:

 

Grammar: GWG & MCT

Math: SM & EPGY

GDI

AAS

WS

SOTW

RSO

ES

SSL/LL BB1

MTM

[Satori]

Nansk, I think the curriculum choices you narrowed it down to would actually be perfect! You got rid of all the extra choices that weren't my preferred programs. We're almost done with SSL, so I should probably just finish it up this summer, take a break, and then dive into Lively Latin BB1 this fall.

 

But I'd have to squeeze in geography, we really love that subject. Oh and logic only takes a few minutes... and my daughter demands vocabulary... Other than those minor additions, I think that list would work out much better. :)

[twoxcell]

Have a baby or two?;) Nothing will slow you down like some infants and toddlers.:willy_nilly:

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

Have a baby or two?;) Nothing will slow you down like some infants and toddlers.:willy_nilly:

 

It works here. My rising second grader has three younger siblings. I have no choice but to live a slower life.

[simka2]

Have a baby or two?;) Nothing will slow you down like some infants and toddlers.:willy_nilly:

 

It works here. My rising second grader has three younger siblings. I have no choice but to live a slower life.

 

I disagree :D. The more kids you have, the more excuses you have to use a variety of different programs!!!! Every kid can have a different math, grammar, and science program. You might lose all sanity, but it is fun to explore!!!!

[boscopup]

I disagree :D. The more kids you have, the more excuses you have to use a variety of different programs!!!! Every kid can have a different math, grammar, and science program. You might lose all sanity, but it is fun to explore!!!!

 

That's a good point! But in the meantime, you can't use multiple programs for ONE kid as easily as you could before. :lol:

 

I can only imagine how many programs we'd be using if I didn't have the younger two kids. :D Being able to focus on just one kid and get school done quickly and efficiently? I can't even fathom it! :tongue_smilie:

[eloquacious]

Have a baby or two?;) Nothing will slow you down like some infants and toddlers.:willy_nilly:

 

Yup.

That.

 

My little three year-old "nerd" still gets his school on without me, though. He just rocks the phonics and math apps on my iPad while I'm nursing. He will not be slowed down, even if it means having no teacher. ;)

[eloquacious]

Speaking of which, I'd LOVE to know how to design iPad apps. I've long dreamed of combining the best of the free phonics programs with some cooler bits of the others. For instance, graduated reading sentences with colored pictures, as a reward but not WITH the text. On the iPad I would imagine this even as a coloring page in between text pages. That way the focus is on the text while reading, but the bonus stuff that kids love is there, too. (Pictures in Bob Books or HOP readers just infuriate me because my son guesses from them, rather than reading the words.)

[AmyinMD]

I actually considered having my twins do separate phonics programs just so I could try two programs out. :tongue_smilie: It really must be some kind of sickness because prepping two programs is way more work. I was going to do PAL with ds and PR 1 with dd. It's probably a good thing they both got super excited about the Farm Folder so now we're just doing PAL. I probably don't even need that though since we're going to continue onto MFW 1 this summer so it's probably overkill as is.