b.motherofthree.harvey Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 Hi everyone, I'm not new to HSing. I was home schooled and private school educated for a good chunk of my middle and high school, and I've wanted to HS my girls forever. I figured I'd give it a go with supplementing after school this year to see how it goes. If all goes well, I'm hoping to take my entering 5th grader out and teach her at home for her 6th grade year. There are several curriculum questions I have, with the understanding that recommendations are all opinion about what works best in each family's situation. This may be a long post, so please bear with me. My youngest will be entering Kindergarten, and I'm pretty sure that phonics has once again phased out of public schools (asinine), and I know the value of it so supplementing seems logical. I learned with A Beka, and I'm somewhat familiar with A.C.E.'s reading program. My youngest is...well...very determined:001_huh: , very bright, and easily bored. I'm wondering if there is a learning to read program that is low pressure, but really solid. I know Saxon also has a phonics program, but I'm not familiar with it. So what's out there? I'm curious about an art curriculum for my art loving middle DD. I'd like her to learn the stuff I learned in elementary art (and then some) that she won't get since there's no art in public schools here :banghead: I've seen the Mike Kistler and Meet the Masters, but I'm curious about value. Some of those programs are EXPENSIVE! And my oldest is the typical over achiever 1st born. She loves to learn, read, etc. so anything I give her, she devours! She usually ends up bored at school and really isn't being challenged by anything other than mean kids. :( Any advice? Any tips for a newbie would be MOST appreciated. I'm SUPER nervous because I'm not SUPER organized, and I know I will need to get on top of that. I'd love to hear about your homeschooling stories and learning from others trail and error is always a good leg up to learning from your own, right? TIA, -B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BugsMama Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 Art- I teach classes for kids here, and put up our lessons on my blog- there are only 5 or 6 up now, but there should be enough there, and on many other blogs for you to get ideas to teach at home for free. Google Art Teacher blogs- and mine is linked in the siggy. Explode the Code is workbook phonics. We use Saxon for math but I have never seen that for phonics... Im assuming it is the same way- scripted and hands on. We do like saxon for math. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Five More Minutes Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 Welcome! I only have experience with K4 - Gr. 1, and am planning Gr. 2, so I'll concentrate on your youngest student. My youngest will be entering Kindergarten, and I'm pretty sure that phonics has once again phased out of public schools (asinine), and I know the value of it so supplementing seems logical. I learned with A Beka, and I'm somewhat familiar with A.C.E.'s reading program. My youngest is...well...very determined:001_huh: , very bright, and easily bored. I'm wondering if there is a learning to read program that is low pressure, but really solid. I know Saxon also has a phonics program, but I'm not familiar with it. So what's out there? There are a lot of phonics programs out there. I used Jolly Phonics (loved it); there's the new All About Reading program that looks really good (I used the readers, and they were fantastic); there's the Ordinary Parents' Guide to Teaching Reading, recommended by WTM and very inexpensive; and lots more. You may want to search phonics threads on the board, or even start a phonics-specific thread. You could also look at something like Five in a Row, which uses books as a launching point for learning about geography, science, and art. It's lovely at that age, but it's not a learn-to-read program. I'm curious about an art curriculum for my art loving middle DD. I'd like her to learn the stuff I learned in elementary art (and then some) that she won't get since there's no art in public schools here :banghead: I've seen the Mike Kistler and Meet the Masters, but I'm curious about value. Some of those programs are EXPENSIVE! Okay, I will talk about this a bit, because I can't resist. Just bear in mind I have no BTDT experience with that age ... :001_smile: I'm using Artistic Pursuits (the younger levels) with my daughters, and so far we're very happy with it as a curriculum. It's relatively inexpensive and exposes them to a lot of art history. Mark Kistler's books and his videos are wonderful, too, and I'm hoping to add them in the future. If you're willing to stretch and try something new, you could try Drawing With Children, which my husband has used with success in his PS art classes. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatholicMom Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 If I were you, I'd look at these for phonics: All About Reading (non-workbook interacting with mom approach) MCP Plaid Phonics (traditional workbooks) Explode the Code (cute workbooks that can be quite independent; great for supplementing another program. I always start my kids in these around age 4 when they want to "do school.") Also look into phonics based readers to get them not only learning the letter sounds, but practicing the art of reading as well. Popular ones are BOB books, and the I Can Read! series. Sonlight curriculum also makes their version of phonics based beginning readers. The I Can Read! ones are kind of cute in that they present one or two sounds at a time and the child puts a sticker in the front of the book when they have read that book (also helps mom keep track between whether they already read "fat cat" or "sam ran." They blur together after a while. :lol: For art: check out Artistic Pursuits. I haven't used it yet, but I bought the k-3 to use with my kids and it looks really interesting and the lessons are laid out for you down to telling you what supplies you will need, etc. I think it's not too expensive, especially if you hunt down your own supplies instead of buying the package (though the package would be easier, so it might be worth it!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeritasMama Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 MCP Phonics are easy to use workbooks. Explode the Code is also well liked by many people. Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading is a very solid phonics program, and All About Reading is excellent as well. Don Potter also has traditional phonics programs that are in the public domain available on his website www.donpotter.net, and one of the members here created some free online phonics lessons based on traditional phonics programs at www.thephonicspage.org We also use Artisitc Pursuits, which is excellent. I have also heard great things about Atelier Art, which uses DVD's, but it was a bit too pricey for us. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
materursa Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 I wish Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading and Phonics Pathway are 2 good solid inexpensive learn to read programs without all the distracting "extras". We haven't used Mark Kistler's online program but did use his book Draw Squad will much success. My kids love it. This year we plan to go through his You Can Draw in 30 Days book as it seemed to have some different and not just cartoony things (along with a sculpture book I got at a used curriculum sale). Drawing with Children was much too overwhelming for us so it just sits on my shelf... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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