Whereneverever Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 And I'm a major box needer, so that's saying a lot! Last year we followed the WTM almost exactly. This year we haven't- we've been doing Sonlight. It's MORE right then the previous year, but not totally. I really love the idea of pulling lots of great books together and reading and discussing and writing. It's been pretty good... I don't know that I want to jump into Core F next year. The format changes. My DD isn't really into the Eastern Hemisphere. Some of the book choices don't thrill me, especially the missionary emphasis. So I'm considering throwing it all out (metaphorically) and striking out on our own. It's scary, though. What if it makes us behind? Anyone else doing this? Please? :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 And I'm a major box needer, so that's saying a lot! Last year we followed the WTM almost exactly. This year we haven't- we've been doing Sonlight. It's MORE right then the previous year, but not totally. I really love the idea of pulling lots of great books together and reading and discussing and writing. It's been pretty good... I don't know that I want to jump into Core F next year. The format changes. My DD isn't really into the Eastern Hemisphere. Some of the book choices don't thrill me, especially the missionary emphasis. So I'm considering throwing it all out (metaphorically) and striking out on our own. It's scary, though. What if it makes us behind? Anyone else doing this? Please? :tongue_smilie: It is the only way I have taught for almost our entire homeschooling journey. FWIW, no, your kids won't end up behind. You will find the freedom of following their level and interests will probably take you leaps and bounds beyond where you imagined being. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 It is the only way I have taught for almost our entire homeschooling journey. FWIW, no, your kids won't end up behind. You will find the freedom of following their level and interests will probably take you leaps and bounds beyond where you imagined being. ;) :iagree: It took me a couple years of homeschooling and lots of reading on learning and how kids learn to trust myself to go "outside the box" but the further out I get, the more she learns and becomes more independent in her learning so she knows how to learn which is really amazing to watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 It's scary, though. What if it makes us behind? Behind what? In the b&m schools, 3rd graders aren't doing that much history. You've already learned much more than they will have learned, so you're quite a bit ahead of them now! I'm making my own thing for American History next year. It is scary, mostly because I may or may not follow my own plans. :tongue_smilie: I'm good with SOTW because we just read one section per day, 3 days a week, and do stuff witht that material. For American, I don't have a set thing to do really. But we'll see. I figure if all else fails, we just hop back to SOTW, though DS has read the whole series already, so really it doesn't matter what we do in 3rd grade. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Makes you behind what? I sort of did what you are describing with my older son from grades 3-6 in that we did a living books thing with lots of literature for history that I designed. It was great, though, I see now that a good spine would have been helpful. I just had him write about historical topics along the way (once he could write, at the end of 4th grade). Anyway, even though he has some LDs, by the time he got to high school in 9th grade, he was ready for 11th grade American history and then in 10th grade we used a college level world history text. So he wasn't behind. Try it for a year. Your daughter is young, and if you decide it's a mistake, then you can go back to something more traditional. No harm done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whereneverever Posted January 13, 2012 Author Share Posted January 13, 2012 I love this forum. Just saying. :001_wub: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quark Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Yes! You can do it! Step out of the box. You'll love the freedom. If reading what others inside the box are doing bothers you or makes you anxious, don't read forums for a while. Or focus on the light in your child's eyes when you use materials she loves. It's very liberating! We've been doing our own thing for almost as many years as we've homeschooled. Go for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whereneverever Posted January 13, 2012 Author Share Posted January 13, 2012 Yes! You can do it! Step out of the box. You'll love the freedom. If reading what others inside the box are doing bothers you or makes you anxious, don't read forums for a while. Or focus on the light in your child's eyes when you use materials she loves. It's very liberating! We've been doing our own thing for almost as many years as we've homeschooled. Go for it! Actually, a couple of your posts have really encouraged me toward this. :D. Thanks! Any tips? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 We've ALWAYS done it this way and it's great! WTM is a great resource but isn't going to work for every child at every stage. You'll love it. It's a game of constant tweaking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quark Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Actually, a couple of your posts have really encouraged me toward this. :D. Thanks! Any tips? You made my day! :grouphug: :001_smile: Well, I stopped planning too much ahead for one thing. It always changes and drives me insane lol. And I plan to only focus on a handful of subjects at a time at most, integrating subjects where we can, not requiring writing for now unless necessary. And you know, not stressing on the writing has led to a love of writing math proofs! Who would have thought? It was easier to step out of the box after I stopped resisting audiovisual materials. I used to think TV is bad but I now know it's not the TV, it's what we watch (duh!). And who would have thought art history will be so well-received through videos? He hates reading history books so we use art and science to learn history. I wouldn't call us unschoolers or even 100% child-led because "I" need structure too but I do watch very closely what my son's interests are and select subjects accordingly. I keep the academics to within 4 hours a day (these are usually things that need the daily practice like math and languages) so he has lots of time to go learn other things or have enough downtime to process what he's learning. Wikipedia is his best friend. Leads to so many bunny trails. And we talk a lot. And we read a lot. And we cuddle a lot (whenever he'll let me, he's becoming quite the "young man" in attitude these days, sigh). We love audiobooks in the car. I might pause the CD after every 10 minutes to say how the story affects me and he naturally responds with his feelings and that is our literary analysis for now. Didn't work when I asked him to answer questions or forced a narration. Sorry to ramble and please ask if you need more specific information! Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 You might enjoy reading some previous conversations that have been tagged 'out of the box'. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Do it! You will love the freedom and never look back!!! I started out with mostly canned curricula and didn't even make it a couple of weeks. I need the freedom to do my own thing!!! I do have to say that if I had to pick a canned curriculum, it would be something like SL since it is literature based, but I can't be bound by someone else's booklist. :lol: Enjoy your freedom! There are so many great booklists out there to get ideas from. Try some of the Charlotte Mason sites to get ideas (Simply Charlotte Mason, Mater Amabilis, Living Books Curriculum, HUFI, etc). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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