leeannpal Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 If you had only one child to homeschool, would your curricula choices be different? I see so many threads on here about combining kids, so it makes me wonder what you would choose if you didn't have to combine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByGrace3 Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 :bigear: I ask myself this ALL the time. I want to do what is best for our "family" but also the individual. And as I plan for the oldest, and the middle gets "tagged" in, I know he is not getting the same as my oldest . . . then I think should I be more individualized for #2? and then #3? Or is everyone together what is best? So, yes, I ponder this often! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frugalmama Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I only have 1 kiddo, so yes. But when I was thinking about having to HS my nieces and nephews, my DD came first in planning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I pretty much do different curricula with each of my two kids, anyway. What works for one isn't necessarily good for the other. I kept a bunch of stuff my daughter used, thinking/hoping/assuming I could re-use it for my son. But with very few exceptions, he never ended up using that stuff, and I had to start over from scratch for him. I don't spend a lot on curriculum, anyway. On average, I spend from $100 - $400 per student, almost always on the lower end of that. Then, I sell or swap most of the materials I buy at the end of the year. Since my daughter left for college four and a half years ago, I have been homeschooling just one kid, my son. I've continued to do pretty much what I did when I was teaching two, because each one had his or her own stuff then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeannpal Posted February 3, 2012 Author Share Posted February 3, 2012 I will only homeschool one child, and it is definitely affecting my thoughts on choosing curricula. I like the looks of a few of the put together curricula like MFW and TOG, but it seems like one of the main benefits of these preograms that I see over and over is how easy it is to combine kids.Obviously, I don't need that. And, since I can tailor a curriculum to my daughter, I am feeling almost overwhelmed at all the choices. Sometimes I would like to just choose something to try and be done with it!:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nansk Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 (edited) Yes, I mull over curriculum for a long time before plunking down the money. I wanted SWR for over a year before I finally got it used. Another factor for me (besides having an only child) is that the homeschooling community in Singapore is very small. So there is not much scope for reselling curricula. So I use a lot of freely available curricula (CIMT-MEP, CSMP, KISS Grammar) to save the cost of buying and shipping over books from the US. ETA: I also don't bother to research on those planned-for-you all-in-one programs (like Easy Classical) because I only have one student to plan for, so it's easy for me to do it in my own Excel schedule. Edited February 3, 2012 by nansk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotAVampireLvr Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I definitely chose my curriculum based on the fact that I have two more coming up that will be using it. I'm willing to switch up the math, but the rest of it I chose based on the fact that I don't want to have to re-learn new curriculum when the next two come up. I also chose something that had detailed teacher's guides so I didn't have to do a ton of lesson planning. I wanted something that I could just open up the night before and review and then teach the next day. I'm willing to be flexible with math since DH will be my backup with it, but I'm pretty set about the other subjects. I'm sure this will change over the course of the next few years as I get to know my children and their learning styles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkateLeft Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 No, I wouldn't change my curriculum, because each of my kids is using what fits them best. I've never been able to combine them in anything. They're so different in their interests and abilities that it's never been practical. The few times we've tried to combine have ended up being way more work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I'm schooling one, and adding one next year. They're 2.5 years apart, but even farther in abilities. They really won't be able to combine for a while yet. I choose what works for my oldest, and as I fold the next ones in, I'll figure out what they need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kareng Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I will only homeschool one child, and it is definitely affecting my thoughts on choosing curricula. I like the looks of a few of the put together curricula like MFW and TOG, but it seems like one of the main benefits of these preograms that I see over and over is how easy it is to combine kids.Obviously, I don't need that. And, since I can tailor a curriculum to my daughter, I am feeling almost overwhelmed at all the choices. Sometimes I would like to just choose something to try and be done with it!:tongue_smilie: :iagree:I totally understand what you are saying. I home school just one child and it was hard to figure out what would be good because so many seem like many curricula have multiple children in mind. We used Sonlight for many years and just this year made the transition to MFW. It is working quite well with just one. It most definitely can be very overwhelming. For a while I stopped looking at the CBD catalog because everything and I mean everything looked good. Last year, I attended our state's home school conference. One of the speakers said that she and her husband come up with goals for home schooling (every year)!. And with those goals, they can best choose a curriculum. To be more specific, her main goals were: finding a curriculum that 1) incorporated the Bible throughout (so that the Bible wasn't just an add-on subject) 2) was academically challenging 3) would help her children to develop independent study and academic skills (so that as they got older they would be more and more independent with their studies. Obviously yours would be different but it at least gives you an idea of how to narrow down your search so that not everything shows up in your view finder. It was weird for me to come up with goals, I guess I had never really articulated them even though I had home schooled for quite a few years. I know I had goals but they were very nebulous. When I finally came up with goals, it helped me immensely. Without them, everything looked good. Hope that helps! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Having only one I still have considered TOG and MFW. What it came down to was cost and having it all pre-planned. I prefer to tweak, I don't like pre-planned schedules, and I am able to tailor classes more to ds when I don't use packaged curricula. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in the UP of MI Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 (edited) I currently have 3 students with 2 more coming up. So far, I haven't combined them and am using some different curricula with different students. The only thing I might have done differently if I had one child or even less children would be that we might have had time to do more things than we currently do. As far as curricula choices, I try to pick what I think would be best for each student, not which ones I could use for everyone. ETA: One thing I've noticed is that I choose more actual curricula for my oldest and I'm feeling a little more ready to make up my own thing with the younger kids. Teaching the skills to my oldest helps me to understand the process and I'm then able to tailor things to my younger kids so they each have their own thing. Edited February 3, 2012 by Lisa in the UP of MI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssavings Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 I think I find myself willing tp pay more for games, manipulatives, and trying different curriculum options because we have four very close in age. Whenever DH and I discuss something new we can try or add to what we have, it always gets mentioned that "Even if (DD5) doesn't like it, we can try using it later with (DS4, DD2, or baby)." If I had only one, I'd probably stick with what I know works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeannpal Posted February 3, 2012 Author Share Posted February 3, 2012 Yes, I mull over curriculum for a long time before plunking down the money. I wanted SWR for over a year before I finally got it used. Another factor for me (besides having an only child) is that the homeschooling community in Singapore is very small. So there is not much scope for reselling curricula. So I use a lot of freely available curricula (CIMT-MEP, CSMP, KISS Grammar) to save the cost of buying and shipping over books from the US. ETA: I also don't bother to research on those planned-for-you all-in-one programs (like Easy Classical) because I only have one student to plan for, so it's easy for me to do it in my own Excel schedule. You make a lot of good points. I will be homeschooling overseas too, so cost will be a factor. I have looked closely at several free or low cost items, but I'm not sure how consistent the internet is going to be in China. I know I want to have core books to use as back ups at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 Well, I already have enough curriculum in my house to sink a ship, but I am (finally) at the point where I am homeschooling only one. I pick and choose whatever I like now. :D Yes, I will order new curriculum fully knowing that not one other person in my home is ever going to use it. I don't care if it's expensive...my son is worth it. Right now, I've combined Konos, WinterPromise and Trail Guide to Learning for this year's American history focus. I'll probably buy another WinterPromise program for next year and continue to add in from items I already have, or...if I need to...order more. Only having one has not curbed my curriculum addiction one little bit. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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