tm_burriss Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Hello! I am brand new to homeschooling and am trying to figure out what curriculums to use with my kids. The are all 3 visual/kinesthetic learners leaning toward visual. I need some recommendations for all subjects. We are going to be doing Classical Conversations for this first year and then after that reevaluate but I would still like recommendations for any and all subjects. My kids are currently in K, 3, and 5th grades and are all on or above grade level. Thanks for any and all help you can give. I am open to all suggestions and advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Get a copy of the Well Trained Mind. Check out and read every homeschooling book you can find at your local library and go to http://www.rainbowresource.com and request a catalog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tm_burriss Posted April 24, 2012 Author Share Posted April 24, 2012 Get a copy of the Well Trained Mind. Check out and read every homeschooling book you can find at your local library and go to www.rainbowresource.com and request a catalog. I have read WTM twice, along with highlights and notations LOL. I also have a list of books I have seen on here that I am reading through. I think I have read too much and am overwhelming myself. I get it in theory but I am having a hard time with the nuts and bolts of planning out a year and settling in a certain curriculum or path for each subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelli Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 I blogged about getting started in homeschooling and I talk about finding curriculum for learning styles. Here is the link: I'm A Homeschool Newbie Good luck and blessings :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edeemarie Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 You may find this website helpful http://homeedexpert.com/nav.aspx. It takes a few minutes, but you sign up (no cost) and then they ask you questions about the way you teach best, the way your children learn best, and what you hope to get out of curriculum. Then they give you some suggestions as to what might fit best for your family. I found it to be a very helpful guide! You may also want to look into something like HOD or MFW for your subjects like Bible, science, and history. They are open-and-go and they do all of the connecting and plan all of the activities for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tm_burriss Posted April 24, 2012 Author Share Posted April 24, 2012 Thanks for the links. I am looking at them now and they are definitely helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest l.sullivan Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 I don't think I have a wealth of information, but I was in your shoes just last year. It was our first year, our kids were similar grades, and we also chose to do CC. My advice would be to keep it basic and simple! Get math, spelling/phonics, reading, and then study and learn about your CC stuff every week. This coming year we'll be branching out and adding more, but this was plenty for our first year. Follow a couple of blogs that list resources for each week. Brandy has a great one at http://www.halfahundredacrewood.com/. You can even go there now and get a LOT of ideas and resources before the year even begins. We loved using a trifold board and if your kids are visual then it will be a big help. See directions on Brandy's blog for that. Use the CC cd's (or make your own using the mp3 files on the fileshare section of the CC site). There are also great songs that other CC families have posted on the fileshare that can help a lot. Some songs aren't so great, but you'll quickly see which users post the kind of things you like. Our favorite songs usually come from user marykbry. Do you know how to use the fileshare site? You have to pay a monthly fee to join that part of the CC site but it's not much. There are reading lists that are done by week that will give you great ideas for books that go along with the weekly content. I tried to attach the official CC list for cycle 1 but the file is too big. It's in the fileshare section and you can find it by searching "cycle 1 book list". Also search for "history coordinated reading schedule" and "history and geography - usborne and sotw reference". That's all I can think of for now. I'll certainly be watching this thread for ideas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest l.sullivan Posted April 24, 2012 Share Posted April 24, 2012 I forgot to say that we used "First Language Lessons" for our 8yo and that worked well. If I was going to redo this year though I think I would do Shurley instead as it is great preparation for the essentials grammar. If your older one will be in essentials then they won't need any grammar outside of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChicoryChick Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 I plan on using Winston Grammar for my V /K Learner this coming year. She will be in 7th, but I think you could use it for your 5th grader also. RightStart math has also been working well for her this year. Just a couple of options. I find that there is more V/K curriculum for the younger grades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Just as an aside, have you sat in CC sessions with your kids to know how they'll respond and whether it's a good fit? I'm not saying yea or nay. I'm just tossing out that if you have kids who have a certain learning modality or have a reason for having that kinesthetic or whatever learning modality (adhd, whatever), sometimes these co-ops and group classes aren't a good fit. And the bane of my existence is wasting time on good things that keep us from the more IMPORTANT things. As a newbie homeschooler, I would be asking yourself whether that 5th grader has any foundational skills that need to get done and whether those things really have to be done by you. Around 5th grade I started having the "thunk head, why did I sign up for something that eats up one day a week and makes it hard for me to accomplish what I REALLY NEED to get done" thing... Just saying. I know it can work for some kids, but it's really easy for something like that to be a distraction from what you realize, once you get into this, really needs to get done. Sigh. Now for the joys of modalities. Just depends on how kinesthetic and visual we're talking here. For my dd it meant lots of dressing up, living it, breathing it, becoming it. I'm looking at high school sciences and getting really worried, lol. There are options, but it goes really textbooky. Anyways, my top recommendation for what you described, if you're open to christian, are the Christian Cottage Unit studies. Also look at Konos. CCSU was written by a mom with a gifted dyslexia. They'll work well for the ages you have. Won't work forever, but definitely for a year or two. It would be a fun start. Might be one for sale on the sale boards, as onelmichele was selling hers. Konos is similar but the onus goes to you to plan. It revolves everything around character. If you do that, add on reading spine for your oldest. SOTW will work. MOH will work, because it includes activities with every single lesson. I had my dd sculpt something from the story with polymer clay while I read to her. We have loved the VP history. You can teach it yourself, which is fine, or use their really, really amazing self-paced online courses. They have a multi-child discount. Highly, highly recommend. Takes care of the bulk for you and leaves you to put your energy in organizing the hands-on and read alouds. For us Shurley grammar was really good, but Winston has manips. Definitely like the lower levels of RS. HOE (hands-on equations) will work for your oldest at some point in the next couple years. You'd use it alongside your main program as a supplement. WP has lots of hands-on, though they tend to be more papery. You can see samples of the Time Travelers and other things they use to decide for yourself if it will fit your kids. For science we did several years of BJU, adding on models and Snap Circuits and whatnot. That worked well. For my ds, I've been collecting science activity books I find being cleared from the library. I'm just a lot more relaxed. We'll see. In general I find it easier to start with something *I* can work with and then add what she needs onto it. But some of those curricula would get you close with less work on your part. Just look at stuff and see what sticks in your mind. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleIzumi Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Do a search on this board for "Visual" and "VSL." We've had many threads on what people use with their VSL children. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohmomjacquie Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 My oldest is a kinestetic learner. We are using aas right now. Next year will be mfw which has lots of hands on projects. The other thing we are using is bju math. Lots of manipulative to help teach.the concepts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Specifically for my kinesthetic learner I used All About Spelling, MUS, lots of hands on science projects and in the beginning First Language Lessons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esse Quam Videri Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 You may find this website helpful http://homeedexpert.com/nav.aspx. It takes a few minutes, but you sign up (no cost) and then they ask you questions about the way you teach best, the way your children learn best, and what you hope to get out of curriculum. Then they give you some suggestions as to what might fit best for your family. I found it to be a very helpful guide! You may also want to look into something like HOD or MFW for your subjects like Bible, science, and history. They are open-and-go and they do all of the connecting and plan all of the activities for you. :iagree: I love the HOD (Heart of Dakota) guides for their ease of use and depth of study. This is the first year we are not using HOD, and I am literally making my own guide, laid out exactly like one of HODs. It is just so much easier when you have everything you need to cover, all laid out for you in an easy to read, open and go format. I have a friend who first attempted homeschooling with twin 3rd graders and a Pre-K. She used Abeka and ended up sending her kids back to school after the first semester. When she decided to give it another go (for 5th and 1st grade) I convinced her to give HOD a try, and she just completed her first year and is so satisfied with the year they had. HOD makes it so simple (as far as planning, not interaction) to provide an exceptional education at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted April 29, 2012 Share Posted April 29, 2012 FWIW, I collected a list of older threads in this one: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=368155 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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