2 more years to go...what should I do now?

[Fleur de Lis]

Hello, I'm new here (as is obvious from my post count!). I've been reading around the forums for awhile and thought I'd finally add my first post :seeya:

 

I won't put too much personal info on for security reasons, but I do have a couple of boys and will be starting kindergarten with the older one in about 2 more years.

 

My question is this: what do you recommend that I do NOW?? I don't mean what schooling should we be doing now, but I do want to know what planning or other types of things you wish you had done in the years before starting, or what you did that you thought paid off. Thanks in advance!!

 

Legitimate answers include: "keep on browsing the forums to just get more immersed in the home school mindset" or "get off the forums and enjoy the kids while they're young!"

 

:bigear:

[boscopup]

Start reading good literature if you haven't already. :)

 

Read the forums and soak up the curriculum ideas, but DON'T BUY YET. Two years is a long time. When I first started researching, I had a list of everything I wanted to use. Within a couple months, that list had entirely changed. :lol: Then I started a couple months after that, and it changed some more. :tongue_smilie: So don't buy until you're down to the wire and need books in your hand to plan because you're starting in a month or two.

 

Enjoy your little ones! :D

[linguistmama]

:iagree: Plenty of fun books and time at the park etc. I really like the Sonlight book lists. We just check the books out at the library instead of buying them. I would also read as many homeschooling books as you can. I read books for all different philosophies, unschooling, the Liping Ma book on Asian math, CM and TWTM etc.

[Hunter]

Start working through some k-3 langauge arts curricula YOURSELF and prepare to be humbled at how much basic phonics and writing you never learned.

 

Join those of us who are obsessing over Spalding spelling and all the spin offs. Learn about schwa if you haven't already, and decide what you are or are not going to teach about it.

 

Read about teaching maths. Maybe work through some lessons in the curriculum you think you might want to use. Speed do the lessons and be again prepared to be humbled when you get stuck and have to slow down to learn things. Learn math vocabulary.

 

Read about children's literature. You can find some really nice textbooks about teaching children's lit for just a couple dollars each in the older editions, at Amazon.

 

Start reading about Nature Study and start YOUR OWN nature journal.

[Rosie_0801]

I drew up a table with grade level down one side and subjects across the top and set about filling it in. I've changed my mind a trillion times already, and my eldest isn't even school age yet. But it has been a good exercise in clarifying my thoughts and has definitely given me a pretty good familiarity with the sorts of resources available.

 

And I'm self studying...

 

Rosie

[Aurelia]

Some of the same advice:

 

Read lots of good literature, give your kids "sensory diet" activities (play in rice, soap, "oobleck", velvet), talk about everything. Work a lot on gross motor development (swings, running, climbing, jumping). Research different teaching styles, try to find what will fit your values and styles. Paint. Draw. Sing lots of songs together. Visit the zoo, aquarium, and every museum you can find. Believe it or not, all of these things will help them get ready for school, far better than sitting inside and working on workbooks will.

[kristinannie]

I would use this time to decide which homeschool philosophy or philosophies that you want to use. Do you want classical, CM, unit studies, unschooling, etc? That will give you a basis and a place to start.

 

I have a DD3 (almost 4). She loves "doing school," but we keep it very light for her. She basically has a couple of workbooks from Seton preschool (I highly recommend these...they aren't Catholic if that would bother you). They are fun for her. Mostly she plays and plays and plays. She does do crafts, plays with math manipulatives (she loves tangrams) and we read LOTS of books. I highly recommend the books in Sonlight P3/4. They are awesome. This is an age where you can start working on phonemic awareness and letter recognition. DD3 is already starting to trace letters (her choice) so we are working on pencil grip. I will not repeat what I did with DS5 which was no work on pencil grip. It is really hard to overcome when they have had 2 years of writing improperly!

 

Mostly, just enjoy this time. Play outside. Look at bugs and flowers. Talk about basic science like hot/cold, seasons, etc. Read lots of interesting books. Cuddle a lot!!!

[abacus2]

Read "The Well-Trained Mind" :D and other books about homeschooling. Look at the Sonlight pre-K cores, either to buy or just to use as booklists. Read great books to your kids, over and over and over and over....

 

I agree with the recommendation to start reading up on phonics. You could order The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading to read yourself and give yourself better tools to start teaching words in context as your children show interest. Use the LeapFrog DVDs to teach letter sounds.

[pahansen]

I would use this time to decide which homeschool philosophy or philosophies that you want to use. Do you want classical, CM, unit studies, unschooling, etc? That will give you a basis and a place to start.

 

Good advice. At this point, I think it's good to be able to be able to answer the following questions:

 

1) Why are we doing this? For some people, the reasons are religious. For others they're educational (a bad local school district, a child with needs that wouldn't be addressed at a school, a desire to give a child a different style of education than would otherwise be available, etc.). Other people disagree with the entire approach of contemporary education and like more freedom in their children's educational experiences. To some extent, figuring out why you're homeschooling will help to direct you to the types of materials you'll want to use. It will also give you the driving motivation to stick with homeschooling on a bad day. Or month. ;)

 

2) What kind of teacher am I? If you have already taught on some level you may have some idea of the answer already. If not, look at the way you parent and at the types of parents you emulate. If you were to teach about earthworms, which would you do first: get some great books and charts/pictures to study worms and their environments, or just grab some shovels and head outside to find and experience the worms? Being able to answer this question will give you an idea of what types of materials you may prefer. Some of us like more traditional school materials, others like a more hands-on approach. A mix of the two is probably best for our kiddos, but it's good to know what your approach is beforehand.

 

3) What are my goals for my children? Obviously all of us want educated children, but try to go beyond that to decide what a "good education" means to you. Does it require a foreign language? Latin? Apologetics? Do you need higher level math, or no? There are also the "extras" to consider -- sports, musical instruments, fine arts. Don't freak out, just make a wish list. The person who wants a child who has high exposure to classics, Latin, and fine arts will likely make different choices from the person who wants a child with high exposure to math and sciences. Neither of these, in my opinion, is wrong. It's just what makes us all different. (By the way, don't get too set in your own goals. Over time, your kiddos will start to set the direction based on their goals and aptitudes as well.)

 

Good luck! If you want to talk, feel free to PM me.

--Pamela

[Ritsumei]

Everything everyone else said, :iagree:, plus I don't think that anyone mentioned read-alouds yet. I read to my little guys before naptime/quiet time, from chapter books. Winnie-the-Pooh, the Secret Garden, Little House, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The 1000 Good Books list can be a big help for finding stuff that's good quality. It's a cozy routine, and the story elements turn up in his play from time to time.

[Fleur de Lis]

Wow, thank you to everyone who has posted responses, you've been REALLY helpful!

 

I guess I was a little bit vague in the original post on where I am in the process already.

 

Our primary reason for homeschooling is that we are a Catholic family and don't feel like a public school or even the local Catholic schools would do a great job fostering the kids' faith. While that is the crux of it, I would also add that I'm 100% sure that the kids will do better academically at home and I get super excited reading through home school catalogs about all of the learning opportunities that the kids will have that I never did.

 

I am not sure on the "type of teacher" that I am, but I would guess that I like to read about science more than directly observe it, perhaps because I don't always feel like I can give very good explanations without the assistance of a reference text. With experience this may change some.

 

As far as what is important in our education, we of course want to make sure the kids are well rooted in their faith and are taught to be virtuous as, again, that is most important to us. We also want to make sure to develop their reasoning abilities and communication skills and have been really interested in the logic/grammar/rhetoric sequence. I guess that we will be more classically oriented. At the same time, Math is very very important to us for the logical benefit but also especially for the practical benefit of increasing the likelihood of getting into college and getting decent careers someday (especially important for our boys if they ever want to get married and provide for a stay-at-home-wife/mom).

 

I especially appreciate all of the reading list advice. I will take a closer look at the sonlight list as several of you have mentioned that. I will also try to read more homeschooling books and start reviewing phonics rules for myself (great idea!).

 

kristinannie, do you have specific "interesting books" recommendations?

 

Hunter, do you have any specific k-3 langauge arts curricula that you recommend me to look through?

 

boscopup, THANKS for the recommendation not to buy. This would be a temptation for me for sure.

 

Thanks again for all of the suggestions! Keep 'em coming! :)

[Fleur de Lis]

I wish I had prepared myself better in my weaker areas:

Learned the classical languages and filled up my own gaps in science...

 

Thanks, loesje, these are definitely two of my weak areas, too. Do you have ay advice on where to start with science? Hubby and I have been trying to learn Latin a bit better but we haven' been terribly consistent about it.

 

Thanks, ritsumei for the reading list. My oldest is only 2.5 now so I'm not sure about chapter books, yet, but I'm sure that will be a great idea. Right now we always read 3 books before both nap and bedtime. If the books are reasonably short we do the whole thing. If they are too long or are more religious explanation, we just do a little and do it more in depth.

[Hunter]

I think you will adore Understanding Writing by Susan Bradrick. Exodus books sells it used for $25.00, but it is kinda pricey new.

 

Climbing to Good English an Amish curriculum, is cheaper than the Mennonite English, that is so popular here and friendlier toward Catholicism. The Amish don't teach religion in most of their curricula, but do include Christian values and virtues. They believe in nonresistance, so you will find that cropping up frequently, and you may or may not like that.

 

I think you will also be interested in the color coded approach to organizing writing used in Step Up to Writing.

 

Writing Road to Reading is a MUST read!!! Then you might want to look at the many, many spin off curricula, based on WRTR. It's cheap and the first. Ellie will tell you it's the only :-)

 

Teaching the Trivium is reformed, but I think you might find it's recommendations on literature interesting.

 

You might find Students of the Word interesting. It is a unit study curriculum based on just the Protestant books of the Bible, but would be a start in the right direction if you like the idea of basing unit studies on scripture.

Edited August 27, 2011 by Hunter

[Hunter]

I also recommend The Organized Homeschooler for you.

 

Are you planning on a large family?

[Ritsumei]

Thanks, ritsumei for the reading list. My oldest is only 2.5 now so I'm not sure about chapter books, yet, but I'm sure that will be a great idea. Right now we always read 3 books before both nap and bedtime. If the books are reasonably short we do the whole thing. If they are too long or are more religious explanation, we just do a little and do it more in depth.

 

We worked up to doing chapters, but started really little. If they can do 3-5 picture books that's as much listening as your average chapter from Charlotte's Web or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Mr. Popper's Penguins was a hit here as well. The amount of reading we do waxes & wanes, but at our peak we read probably an hour before naptime: some picture books he chooses and a chapter. On a busier day I'll just read a quick picture book, and occasionally we let the habit fade into the background for a while & do pther things. Sometimes he gets really into it and asks for more. Naptime reading has worked out *very* well for us, partly because he likes to "put off" his nap a bit. Good luck finding a routine that works for you!

[go_go_gadget]

I concur with all the previous suggestions regarding reading everything you can get your hands/cursor on and avoiding making any investments until the time draws nearer. I'm also in the camp that has radically changed educational philosophies over the years, and I think a lot of it had to do with the way I felt at each development stage. For instance, when mine were babies and toddlers I was very into attachment parenting, which lent itself very naturally to a combination of the unschooling, Montessori and Reggio Emilia styles of education, and I expect that to be the case when I have one more baby someday. I read WTM when my oldest was four and because I was still in the "little ones" mindset I found the amount of structure very off-putting, and was totally resolved to unschool and make up my own unit studies. A year later, however, partly inspired by my beginning a more rigorous part of my own education and having less time to prepare my own material (I'm working on my BS), I read it again and thoroughly appreciated it. It was easier to imagine creating that level of structure once I had experience with a five year-old than it had been when he was four, even though when I read it the first time it was only with an eye to the future, not for the present. So my advice is to not decide, when you only have very little children, "what kind of homeschooler you are," because it could make you less receptive to all the many, many great options.

 

As far as what we did, if you're still looking for suggestions: absolutely zero "instruction", just play. We have an extensive collection of wooden toys, puzzles and blocks, and loved almost everything that came from companies like Melissa and Doug. We read, and read, and read some more, mostly with a focus on the picture books that have stood the test of time but not exclusively. I highly recommend Jim Trelease's Read-Aloud Handbook, and the Caldecott award list, as well the tried-and-true "Give the kids a bag each and set them loose in the library" method for finding good books.

 

On a distinctly less classical note, both of my children learned their ABCs and numbers from Sesame Street's Alphabet Jungle and Great Numbers Game, and Leapfrog's Letter Factory and Numbers Ahoy DVDs (almost the only screen time they had).

 

And then just watch for interest and the ability to sit through a lesson. My oldest knew all his letters and numbers at three, but wasn't ready for formal instruction until he was 5.5, and then he raced through kindergarten in two months. My daughter didn't learn her letters and numbers until she was almost 4.5, but she was ready and eager for formal instruction. Her learning trajectory is smoother and more continuous than his was, though it began later than his did, but she knows more at a younger age than he did at this point. So just pay close attention, I suppose, but if you needed to be told that you wouldn't be here. :) So just have fun!

[Rosie_0801]

Thanks, ritsumei for the reading list. My oldest is only 2.5 now so I'm not sure about chapter books, yet

 

Sometimes it depends on the setting. Dd is happy to listen to chapter books while she's "doing school" because she wants to look at the puzzle or picture she is working on, and won't look at pictures even if I'm reading a picture book.

 

What's keeping you from working on your Latin? I can't help you get the kids to bed earlier :D but I was having trouble memorising vocab and am using a word roots program to do that so I'll be able to go back and actually progress through Wheelocks.

 

Rosie

[Hunter]

It took me awhile to find this. Sound Beginnings is the Catholic version of Spalding and WRTR. I have never seen it, but I thought you might want to know about it.

 

I agree with others about not purchasing materials with the idea of definitely using them with the children in the future, but if a curriculum intrigues you enough to want to try it out on YOURSELF, let the hoarding begin!

 

The IDEA of lots of nature study sounds so good, but I just do NOT get it done. Gathering a lesson AND doing the activity at the same time does NOT happen consistently. I recently was able to purchase used copies of the 2 volume God's Orderly World series from Rod and Staff and am enjoying doing the lessons. I'm finding that I am better able to understand what I see going on outside, when the opportunities present themselves.

 

I try to sit down and do several of these short easy lessons a week. They are getting done, and I'm pleased with my slow and steady progress through the books. I also have the AIG Environmental Science workbook and am integrating this into my geography studies.

 

I got a really cheap wall map at Borders, and hung it up on the wall, after reading... I'm off to search for the title :-)

 

EDIT: I found it :-)

 

Edited August 28, 2011 by Hunter

[Hunter]

Not the title of the picture book, but Helping Your Child Learn Geography is a must read, and it's free.

Edited August 28, 2011 by Hunter

[Tawlas]

To the OP: What a great question! I don't have much advice to give as I'm at the beginning of my journey as well (my oldest is 4.5) but I have enjoyed reading all the responses. I've researched methods, philosophies and reasons since ds4 was born, we've gone through a TON of books (literally lol!) - to read to him and for my own information, and I've searched for a million different terms of interest on this board because there's SO much information here, but there's a lot of new ideas to consider. I'm a bit of research junkie, so this makes me happy!

 

I too have been struggling a bit with being consistent with Latin. I'm using Wheelock's but maybe I should try a word-roots approach. Not to hijack, but Rosie_0801, which one do you use/recommend?

 

Good luck! Have fun!

[Rosie_0801]

I too have been struggling a bit with being consistent with Latin. I'm using Wheelock's but maybe I should try a word-roots approach. Not to hijack, but Rosie_0801, which one do you use/recommend?

 

This one: http://www.memoriapress.com/descriptions/Book-of-Roots.html

 

It's not going to teach you Latin! It should help you learn vocabulary if you're having trouble absorbing it out of context. Tying the Latin words to the English derivatives in my brain is allowing me to learn.

 

Rosie

[Dolphin]

Rod and Staff has some good starter workbooks, for age 3 and up, that are not expensive. I would maybe get one of those and work through it with your oldest son.

 

The reading and research is great, but I learnt more from my first week of actually doing than in all my research. It will help find what kind of teacher you are, and what kind of student he might be. Just keep it fun. My dd loves workbook time.

[Already Gone]

We're only in first grade now, so take all this with a grain of salt, but I very much do feel I could have used my time more effectively, so I'm going to go ahead and share :).

 

First, I agree with folks who say researching philosophies now is productive, without necessarily deciding early on what you're committing to. I swear, I seriously considered myself in just about every possible camp and with only minimal tongue-in-cheek emphasis described myself at one point as a Waldorf-inflected, unschooling oriented classical homeschooler--all this years before it was really time to do any serious work with my son.

 

I wish I had read more deeply in each philosophy instead of just thinking "ooh, that looks cool to me" or "ooh, that might work with my son at this point." Early in Kindergarten I got on a real Waldorf kick and it started making more and more sense to me (earlier I had dismissed it as aesthetically lovely but a complete mismatch for my son's personality). But it wasn't until I got to reading Steiner himself that I decided it was absolutely, totally not for us--although I still use some of the more "surface level" ideas. Then, after years of just not getting Charlotte Mason, I actually read her work and found that it squared with just about every aspect of our family's religious, moral and educational philosophy. I could have saved myself a great deal of tinkering and aimlessness if I had bothered to read more deeply early on.

 

Second, I wish I had spent more time habituating my son to a rhythm and to a sense that there were certain times we did certain things. This is probably just specific to my kid--he loves to learn but hates to be taught (hence the brief appeal of unschooling for me)--but it wasn't until I sat down to do lessons with him that I realized what a monster I had created. Okay, before anyone yells at me, I don't literally think he was a monster, but it was a ridiculous battle getting him to do even the most enjoyable things--simply because I was asking him to do them. Your mileage may vary by a great deal, but I wish I had started say, around at least two, with a simple daily rhythm.

 

Finally, two resources that may be of use to you given what you said about your religious background and emphases. One, I've learned so very, very much from lurking on the 4real forums (http://4real.thenetsmith.com ), which are Catholic with something of a Charlotte Mason bent, although not exclusively so. Two, a blog (again, from a Catholic perspective) that I love that has advice on everything from early homeschooling to keeping one's house in order (again, not something you may have issues with, but boy oh boy, did I): http://ourmothersdaughters.blogspot.com/ . I have found her advice, especially about deciding on what she calls your "vision," to be invaluable.

[farmwife]

Don't define your children by your own ideals!!

 

This has by far been the hardest lesson for me to learn. When my children were little I spent gobs of time and money investing in my ideal homeschooling dream. I had a lot at stake since my husband was opposed to the idea from the beginning. I researched and bought and sold and talked and discussed and read many late nights trying to come up with the best education for my children, and impress my family at the same time.

 

Granted, my first-born was reading at 3, but only through an enormous amount of tears on her part and frustration on mine. School is a constant struggle for her, she does not think concretely. She is the artsy, creative type who enjoys drawing outside the lines.

 

My second-born took 4 years to learn to read with thousands of frustrating hours together. He is the concrete thinker who argues over every nuance in our english language.

 

My third-born is brilliant, but extremely strong-willed and does school on her own terms.

 

All this to say, I wish I had studied my children more instead of studying the materials/methods/metholdogies. They are all different, unique individuals whom I was trying to squeeze into the perfect box that I had created. Celebrate them and enjoy who they are and learn to adapt to them and they will flourish. I am finally figuring that out after 7 years of homeschooling, a lesson learned the very hard way, with years of regret behind me.

[kitten18]

You've received a lot of good suggestions. I would recommend doing lots of reading about Phonics.

I would start with a search here for posts by ElizabethB, she is a great source of phonics knowledge. Check out her website http://www.thephonicspage.org/ and all the links on her website.

Also Don Potter's education page http://www.donpotter.net/education_pages/ for dozen of articles about phonics and many free programs for teaching phonics.

[Fleur de Lis]

Thank you Thank you to everyone who has responded. I will have to look through these things one at a time because there are so many suggestions but I will definitely look through the information given by you all!

 

Right now with just a baby and a two year old I find it so hard to have the time to read much and that is what worries me somewhat about homeschooling. I am so amazed when I see how much you all do and then also have time to respond to questions from outsiders!!