Soror Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 (edited) I'm thinking of pulling back a bit next year and leaving more time and energy to explore, play, have fun and a lot more just reading books. My 2nd grader will be my oldest and dd will be K(about 5.5). I think ds will do: RSD (he loves RS) Maxwell's Primarly Language and Composition HTTS HWoT Science will be through projects around the house- dh is always explaining things to him as he is a huge geek and we also have a monthly science night were we build things. We take lots of walks as well- raise animals and gardening. History I think we are going to follow rabbit trails and do an informal study of American History- lots of living books and Liberty Kids. dd1 HWoT working on learning to read- may use vintage program or I See Sam Math learned via Kitchen table Math and playing games. Anyone else out there? Edited February 1, 2012 by soror Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 I always feel weird posting this on here. :glare: My kids start a new wave of school (we school year-round, so I really don't know what else to call it). This is what I have planned for my 7 yro. Math: Singapore, Miquon and living math books (she is a math whiz, so she's math-heavy) LA: AAS, we're going to *try* PLL (she might not be ready) We're going to read through the entire Magic Tree House series together and I'm including the non-fiction books (you know, those study guides about pirates, dolphins, etc). We're also half-way thru Little House in the Big Woods. We're going to start On the Banks of Plum Creek and then read Farmer Boy. My son and I built her a bookcase over the weekend for all of these new chapter books (LOL). Also, we designed a garden yesterday (we're using that Square Foot Gardening). This weekend, we're going to set it up and start our planting schedule. I really want this to be a big project for her to help with. There is so much stuff she can learn about plants, soil, etc this way. We spent several hours researching different kinds of seeds, what types of vegetables will grow in Texas, heirloom seeds of Texas, etc. I know my plans sound strange. :leaving: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted February 1, 2012 Author Share Posted February 1, 2012 Your plans don't sound strange to me. It occurred to me that we were busy doing school and not leaving time for the projects that I wanted us to do. One of the big reasons I wanted to hs was that kind of learning but I let myself get sidetracked so I am trying to move back towards a more (imo) moderate approach and do our core subjects but us the others. I am considering PLL as well I need to examine both PLEC and PLL both more closely to decide. We are planning to get bees and chickens this year and some smaller projects and we are always building around here, doing electrical and plumbing and all kinds of things. I want to delve into those more. We use to do a lot more walks but then we didn't have as much time and they slowly got dropped. We spent less time reading aloud as well to do curriculum, again cutting back all the things I wanted to do the most with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkl Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Both of your plans sound lovely to me! I'm leaning the same way myself for next year....Where could I find a study guide for the magic treehouse series? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Weekly field trips, weekly library trips, Camp Fire, lots of hanging around the house doing our own thing. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Sounds great! I love MFW K for that approach. Right now I am using Sing! Play! Create! with my 4 year old, and bits of pieces from WP phonics... slowly. It is all playing and fun! He is so much happier since we started. He also loves doing math on video games. After going through Second grade with my daughter His will be: Writing With Ease 1, Sonlight Science K, Math (Singapore, Teaching Textbooks or Abeka), lots of picture books (we actually did do picture books for ancients with DD) We have never really done a curriculum systematically around here. We are very unschoolish. DD is in 4th grade now. She is behind in math, but way ahead everywhere else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 I just want to cheer y'all on. I did homeschool "lite" with my boys until 4th or 5th grade. We just did math and language arts basics, and spent the bulk of our time doing science and history projects, arts and crafts, going on field trips, gardening, building legos and simply playing. They both ended up graduating high school early and have turned into fine young men who have a true love of learning and who get top grades in college. Best of all, we have wonderful, warm memories of those years. I have no regrets for having taken this relaxed approach. Follow your instincts and have fun going down all those rabbit trails with your kids. Oh, and jkl -- Magic Tree House has non-fiction guides to some of their titles, which are usually shelved right next to the series (at least in the bookstores.) There were only one or 2 when my boys were little -- I'm sure more have been published in the last 10 years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jar7709 Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 What I'm using with mine is in my sig. It leaves lots of time for imaginative play and field trips. We're already done with our "formal" stuff for the day (WWE and Miquon for DS, ETC and K-age math worksheets for DD) because we're going to the boat show in a little while. On a more average day we'd also do MBTP (one level combined for both kids) and maybe MM instead of the Miquon. I love this method. Low-stress! I truly find that for my two, at their ages, an environment rich in learning opportunities combined with light structure in the essentials is wonderful. It is not unusual that either of them will spontaneously decide to try writing their own stories or making books, or design Mythbusters-style experiments with nerf guns, or decide to find a book on building Viking longships or somesuch. DS is far above grade level in most subjects and DD is at least on grade level in everything. Our family is very happy right now, knock wood! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 :iagree: Both of your plans sound lovely to me! I'm leaning the same way myself for next year....Where could I find a study guide for the magic treehouse series?:iagree: http://www.magictreehouse.com has a list of all the books, both the fiction and the "fact trackers" -- not a study guide, but a way to go farther in the subject matter. And some of the fiction books and the fact trackers have websites and books and museums etc. listed in the back for yet more information that a child might find interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 It leaves lots of time for imaginative play and field trips. This is just all my 1st grader wants to do. She's still in this magical thinking phase. She plays for hours...and hours...and hours... :001_unsure: She spent all morning pretending to be pirates with the 4 yro. She probably spent a good 3 hours yesterday making owls out of paper and flying them around the backyard. :blushing: I need to wear my Cloak of Invisibility when I post these things on here... Oh, well. About the Magic Tree House books...they have a bunch of the nonfiction books out now. Their website shows their book selection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 This is just all my 1st grader wants to do. She's still in this magical thinking phase. She plays for hours...and hours...and hours... :001_unsure: She spent all morning pretending to be pirates with the 4 yro. She probably spent a good 3 hours yesterday making owls out of paper and flying them around the backyard. :blushing: That's great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted February 1, 2012 Author Share Posted February 1, 2012 Weekly field trips, weekly library trips, Camp Fire, lots of hanging around the house doing our own thing. :) Oh, yes, library trips and field trips we do and are in Boy Scouts as well. I just want to cheer y'all on. I did homeschool "lite" with my boys until 4th or 5th grade. We just did math and language arts basics, and spent the bulk of our time doing science and history projects, arts and crafts, going on field trips, gardening, building legos and simply playing. They both ended up graduating high school early and have turned into fine young men who have a true love of learning and who get top grades in college. Best of all, we have wonderful, warm memories of those years. I have no regrets for having taken this relaxed approach. Follow your instincts and have fun going down all those rabbit trails with your kids. Oh, and jkl -- Magic Tree House has non-fiction guides to some of their titles, which are usually shelved right next to the series (at least in the bookstores.) There were only one or 2 when my boys were little -- I'm sure more have been published in the last 10 years! Thanks for the cheerleading, sounds like a wonderful life and lots of learning. Sounds great! I love MFW K for that approach. Right now I am using Sing! Play! Create! with my 4 year old, and bits of pieces from WP phonics... slowly. It is all playing and fun! He is so much happier since we started. He also loves doing math on video games. After going through Second grade with my daughter His will be: Writing With Ease 1, Sonlight Science K, Math (Singapore, Teaching Textbooks or Abeka), lots of picture books (we actually did do picture books for ancients with DD) We have never really done a curriculum systematically around here. We are very unschoolish. DD is in 4th grade now. She is behind in math, but way ahead everywhere else. Sounds like lots of fun! Ds loves the RS math games and was just asking today to do more. What I'm using with mine is in my sig. It leaves lots of time for imaginative play and field trips. We're already done with our "formal" stuff for the day (WWE and Miquon for DS, ETC and K-age math worksheets for DD) because we're going to the boat show in a little while. On a more average day we'd also do MBTP (one level combined for both kids) and maybe MM instead of the Miquon. I love this method. Low-stress! I truly find that for my two, at their ages, an environment rich in learning opportunities combined with light structure in the essentials is wonderful. It is not unusual that either of them will spontaneously decide to try writing their own stories or making books, or design Mythbusters-style experiments with nerf guns, or decide to find a book on building Viking longships or somesuch. DS is far above grade level in most subjects and DD is at least on grade level in everything. Our family is very happy right now, knock wood! :lol: Sounds awesome! I agree totally about creating an environment with more opportunities. This is just all my 1st grader wants to do. She's still in this magical thinking phase. She plays for hours...and hours...and hours... :001_unsure: She spent all morning pretending to be pirates with the 4 yro. She probably spent a good 3 hours yesterday making owls out of paper and flying them around the backyard. :blushing: I need to wear my Cloak of Invisibility when I post these things on here... Oh, well. About the Magic Tree House books...they have a bunch of the nonfiction books out now. Their website shows their book selection. Wow, that is more my daughter but not so much my son! What fun! Thanks for all the input ladies. I'm still fleshing out what direction I want to go. I just feel our education is getting in the way of learning at times. I want a lot more digging (real and figuratively). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Oak Meadow. In the earliest years it's more Waldorf-inspired, not very academic, not very time-consuming, based on things like fairy tales, drawings, music and movement, nature, hands on crafts and activities and so on. It deviates most from the norm in K-2 (I'm doing it for K this year with my son), but even in the later years it's not very textbookish which I like (I'm also using it for 6th with my daughter). We're pretty relaxed about it even so and kind of do school around life rather than living life around school, do a lot of field trips and activities and so on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momsuz123 Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 This is just all my 1st grader wants to do. She's still in this magical thinking phase. She plays for hours...and hours...and hours... :001_unsure: She spent all morning pretending to be pirates with the 4 yro. She probably spent a good 3 hours yesterday making owls out of paper and flying them around the backyard. :blushing: I need to wear my Cloak of Invisibility when I post these things on here... Oh, well. About the Magic Tree House books...they have a bunch of the nonfiction books out now. Their website shows their book selection. I think my first grader and yours would have a blast together. She is ALL about pretend. I just remind myself, "isn't this play based learning, somehow?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stacycatherine Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Always having a baby in the house, school has been pretty informal for my kids at this age. We mostly concentrated on keeping up with grade level math and reading fluency. Beyond that, we had (and still have... I've got lots of littles) lots of fun. Your plans sound great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 I think my first grader and yours would have a blast together. She is ALL about pretend. I just remind myself, "isn't this play based learning, somehow?" YES! Yes it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Oak Meadow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenmama2 Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 That's great! Yes, I think it's great too. Sometimes I wish my 1st grader would play more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Element Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 I'm thinking of pulling back a bit next year and leaving more time and energy to explore, play, have fun and a lot more just reading books. My 2nd grader will be my oldest and dd will be K(about 5.5). I think ds will do: RSD (he loves RS) Maxwell's Primarly Language and Composition HTTS HWoT Science will be through projects around the house- dh is always explaining things to him as he is a huge geek and we also have a monthly science night were we build things. We take lots of walks as well- raise animals and gardening. History I think we are going to follow rabbit trails and do an informal study of American History- lots of living books and Liberty Kids. Anyone else out there? I think that looks great. I like that Maxwell book but I haven't seen it in actual book form. Were you just going to use the ebook? I was going to use PLL and just get the cheap PLL book off of Amazon (not the workbooks that others have made.) I've been trying to plan 2nd grade for my dd. It will be her first year out of public school and we are going to make it a gentle year (unless she asks for more.) In addition to PLL, she will also do math (Singapore, it's just quick and easy for my dc) and handwriting (haven't picked a program yet.) Everything else will just be a mix of lit-based, self-directed, and whatever her big brother happens to be working on. Honestly, I'm just not that stressed about 2nd. I bought "What your 2nd Grader Needs to Know" and "Books to Build On" by E.D. Hirsch, so I will probably touch on the suggestions in those books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted February 3, 2012 Author Share Posted February 3, 2012 I think that looks great. I like that Maxwell book but I haven't seen it in actual book form. Were you just going to use the ebook? I was going to use PLL and just get the cheap PLL book off of Amazon (not the workbooks that others have made.) I've been trying to plan 2nd grade for my dd. It will be her first year out of public school and we are going to make it a gentle year (unless she asks for more.) In addition to PLL, she will also do math (Singapore, it's just quick and easy for my dc) and handwriting (haven't picked a program yet.) Everything else will just be a mix of lit-based, self-directed, and whatever her big brother happens to be working on. Honestly, I'm just not that stressed about 2nd. I bought "What your 2nd Grader Needs to Know" and "Books to Build On" by E.D. Hirsch, so I will probably touch on the suggestions in those books. I was looking at just using the PDF. I haven't made any final decisions in this area though- I need to do a lot more previewing of both PLEC and PLL. I'd like to drop a handwriting program but it is a real weak spot for him and he likes having the explicit instruction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkl Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I just want to cheer y'all on. Oh, and jkl -- Magic Tree House has non-fiction guides to some of their titles, which are usually shelved right next to the series (at least in the bookstores.) There were only one or 2 when my boys were little -- I'm sure more have been published in the last 10 years! Thanks!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkl Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 :iagree::iagree: http://www.magictreehouse.com has a list of all the books, both the fiction and the "fact trackers" -- not a study guide, but a way to go farther in the subject matter. And some of the fiction books and the fact trackers have websites and books and museums etc. listed in the back for yet more information that a child might find interesting. Thank you! Anyone want to share favorite resources (forums, blogs, etc.) for this more relaxed method of schooling? I'm getting excited, but feel kind of lonely:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momsuz123 Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Thank you!Anyone want to share favorite resources (forums, blogs, etc.) for this more relaxed method of schooling? I'm getting excited, but feel kind of lonely:) I am right there with you, so you are not alone. I have changed so much of my idea of hsing since I started in August - it is kind of just one huge learning process for me, and I love it (most of the time). I am learning and loving that homeschooling is as much about the home as it is about the school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Thank you!Anyone want to share favorite resources (forums, blogs, etc.) for this more relaxed method of schooling? I'm getting excited, but feel kind of lonely:) Two of my favorite books are Educating the Wholehearted Child (it's written from a religious perspective, tho) and The Latin-Centered Curriculum. The LCC book talks about the "less is more" philosophy to classical ed. The first book is just really awesome. I always say that we are "library-book-homeschoolers". Educating the Wholehearted Child talks about using living books in your homeschool. :thumbup1: I'm looking for a good bio of Albert Einstein, because he had given alot of advice about education. Some of the things he said (off the top of my head) were about kids needing time to think. He said that one of the reasons he was so intelligent was because when he was a kid, he would spend hours and hours thinking about things. He was also against kids spending too much time with rote learning. I wonder if he had to homeschool his kids, what kind of approach he would use...:lol: Very interesting topic...:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Bmom Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 We are going to be sonlight as a core and keeping the 3Rs to three days a week and no more than 15 minutes a subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted February 4, 2012 Author Share Posted February 4, 2012 Two of my favorite books are Educating the Wholehearted Child (it's written from a religious perspective, tho) and The Latin-Centered Curriculum. The LCC book talks about the "less is more" philosophy to classical ed. The first book is just really awesome. I always say that we are "library-book-homeschoolers". Educating the Wholehearted Child talks about using living books in your homeschool. :thumbup1: I'm looking for a good bio of Albert Einstein, because he had given alot of advice about education. Some of the things he said (off the top of my head) were about kids needing time to think. He said that one of the reasons he was so intelligent was because when he was a kid, he would spend hours and hours thinking about things. He was also against kids spending too much time with rote learning. I wonder if he had to homeschool his kids, what kind of approach he would use...:lol: Very interesting topic...:D I really liked LCC as well I need to reread it. It helps me to refocus on doing a few things well instead of a little bit of a lot of things- which is how I perceived CM happening which personally drives me bonkers. He seems to be more Math and Lit focused as well then some other models which works very well for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted February 6, 2012 Author Share Posted February 6, 2012 So, I pulled out my copy of LCC again. AWWWW. It is exactly what I was thinking for next year, minus the Latin. I tried that last year and he was still so much learning to read he wasn't ready for it. Perhaps I will rethink it depending on how reading progresses this spring and summer. Anyway, I love it even better than the first time I read it. At first I think I thought it too laid back especially in regard to History and Science. Looking at it now I think it is just about perfect. Focusing on putting our energy into the 3rs and reading lots of good books about everything else. Setting a good foundation to much more rigorous studies later but doing in an age appropriate way. I love the K plan as well and it is also exactly what I had planned. No formal Math, fairy tales, writing and working on phonics. I already have just about all the recommended books for their ages and we have already read on a lot of them. I want to go through the lists again and keep a list handy for both of them. On the Science I think I just might have him pick a subject every week to read about or maybe we will just read randomly and follow the rabbit trails. Do lots of projects. Science happens a lot here automatically. Dh was talking to ds about relays and such . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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