Brand "Newb" to Home School this Fall ;)

[Guest Graust]

First off, I am a FATHER (lol) of an 8 year old girl who's Christian school closed this past May. We want to home school to allow her to grow and be challenged, and learn at a pace that she wants to. She is pretty advanced and bright (sorry, not bragging, I promise!), and I feel that home schooling will meet her needs better. I will be the primary teacher, as I am blessed to be able to work weekends only.

 

Anywho, I unfortunately happened upon this amazing site AFTER purchasing some of my home school curricula. Our (former) school had used A Beka and Saxon Math primarily. My DD has strong interests in math and science, and therefore I chose to go with Singapore for Math. With A Beka, I (probably too hastily) purchased the entire parent's and children's kit, that includes all the primary subjects.

 

I am probably going to purchase some of the 'Well Trained Mind' books, especially the SOTW.

 

I read somewhere that I should not take it personally if we initially by extra stuff and end up wasting money and time lol.

 

I am requesting some tips, please, on:

 

1) Science curricula

 

2) Is A Beka ok for the 3 R's (with 'Rithmetic primarily using Singapore)?

 

3) What do you guys use as a sort of "global" lesson planner (I have seen several things to buy)?

 

Thanks in advance, as I was blessed to find this site! And I am probably going to print out the thread on read aloud books. My DD and I have been trying to read "Prince Caspian," but my work schedule often has me working in the evening, so we have lost some of our momentum in finishing it!

 

Thanks to all here who share their wisdom and experiences! :)

[zenjenn]

First of all, welcome - both to this site and to the world of homeschooling!

 

I have two girls, age 7 and 10, so your daughter is right in the middle of where I've been. One advantage of having an only however is you don't have to split your time.

 

1) Science: First of all, let me say I think elementary science is overrated. If the child is reading and you are observing the world and having discussions, science is picked up on to an age-appropriate level in elementary. Until you have the math foundation, science is mostly broad concepts and vocabulary and that's about it. We have "Real Science 4 Kids". I hate the name. I hate the comic sans font. However, it is a pretty solid elementary science program. We use it casually as time permits. Do you have a children's science museum within driving distance? (Say, within 1 hr?) If so, I HIGHLY advise getting a membership, and inquiring as to whether they offer homeschool classes. Most do at least once a month, and I find them to be worth the time in order for the children to have access to the equipment and exhibits while exploring a topic with other children. Generally my kids do two science classes at the Science Center a month, and 1-2 experiment/lessons from the curriculum a month. They also participated in Lego League (Robotics).

 

2) I don't use A Beka and never have, so I can't comment.

 

3) I don't use a global lesson planner, and frankly, I don't think you need one with one student. While some home schoolers use them, I don't think it's really necessary unless you have a ton of kids (and some families do). Certainly with 1 child you should have no problem staying on task without a global lesson planner.

 

Since you are looking at Well-Trained Mind items, I must add I highly recommend "Writing With Ease".

Edited July 19, 2012 by zenjenn

[ShannonS]

Welcome!

 

I am relatively new to home education as well, I just pulled my oldest out of ps this past December. I am loving it. This will also be our first full year, but I have dabbled in quite a bit of curriculum the last few months. This board is a wonderful resource and all the experienced parents here have been such a blessing for me.

 

In response to your requested tips:

 

1. Nancy Larson Science has been fabulous for us. It is a secular curriculum. I do not have any experience with any young earth science curriculum, but many here do, should you want to address that specifically.

 

2. Homeschool reviews is a good place to start for perspective on various curriculum. There are many additional review websites. Google google google! The process of researching curriculum really helped me to articulate the type of education I wanted for my little ones.

 

3. I customize my own schedules and plans on excel. Again just research and find what will work best for you. There are also prepackaged options out there.

 

God Bless and welcome!

[momsuz123]

Welcome!! I am just starting my second year of hsing - still a newbie.

I didn't use Abeka, so I can't help you there, but for science we started off with Real Science 4 Kids. It was a good starting point, nothing negative to say. Then, we decided to follow the WTM idea of science for the younger ones - my kids enjoyed this so much more.

 

We started off with animals. We let each girl pick 10 animals to learn about. We do one animal a week. Through the course of the week, we do many read alouds (fiction and non-fiction) on the animal, maybe view a movie or video regading it, maybe even a science experiment or trip to the zoo. The kids seemed to really love this way of learning about animals. With dogs, we dove head first into sled dogs, got involved with the Iditarod, etc.

 

Good luck!!

[kalanamak]

Greetings. I encourage you and your wife is she is teaching some subjects, to read the math book by Liping Ma (Amazon has it, and I think it is the only book she has written) for a big shot in the arm, and then Arithmetic for Parents by Ron Aharoni, which the Singapore Math.com people carry. It is more the nuts and bolts of how children learn math.

 

I encourage you to look at the various resources people talk about here for samples on line. You might find some things much more appealing than Abeka.

 

3rd grade RSO (REAL Science Odyssey) chemistry by Pandia press is LOTS of fun, but my sciency boy was not enough, so we added experiments from Janice Van Cleeve's Chemisty for Every Kid and the Molecules to Atoms by Rybold books mentioned in WTM. Chemistry is a real attention grabber for hands on kids, and you will have a blast, too.

 

Ask many questions. You will find this board just brimming with people who are eager to share what they have spent so much time researching, using and learning from.

 

My personal bug-a-boo was not having had decent grammar or spelling instruction as a kid, and I have *really* enjoyed learning these. These are some of the books I've liked on my journey to feeling competent: The War Against Grammar, Rex Barks, Understand English Grammar by Kolln (you can get the not-most-recent edition cheap).

 

To get an idea about what I didn't know about science, I like Science Matters. Having a biology background, I thought: man this bio is simple, but man is quantum mechanics complex. As I read it I realized that the topics I thought written at a much higher level were just topics I was really WEAK in. It was eye opening.

 

HTH

[Chrysalis Academy]

Welcome! It's nice to have another dad on the boards - Spy Car will enjoy the company, I'm sure!

 

You can't go wrong with Singapore for math, and for science I would highly recommend that you at least check out BFSU, Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding. It is a phenomenal elementary science curriculum, but it does require a lot of involvement by the parent - it's not open and go; you read the lesson in advance, and a lot of it is discussion, observation, demonstration, and experimentation. It's really not like any other science program out there, but a kid who finished all 3 volumes would be ready for college-level math in high school or at a jc. And know more science than the vast majority of American adults, I might add! You can get a $5 e-book to check it out.

 

You'll get more ideas here than you know what to do with, so take a deep breath, get to know the "thread search" function, and have some fun!

[happycc]

1)First off I would highly recommend you read The Well Trained Mind as a first step. Any edition is fine so long as you get a general idea of what classical education is and it helps with a lot of the terminology.

 

There is also the Latin Centered Curriculum.

 

2)Next I would read and memorize as much as possible the abbreviations for the various curriculums.

 

I homeschooled my first set of kids years ago and recently took out my second out my second set of kid from school. My second set of kids are 10yrs and 8yrs- a set of twins. So I know how you feel about being overwhelmed with all the possibilities. There are so many more choices than there were 14 some odd years ago.

 

3)Anyways, I used Abeka with my first set of kids. It was all there was at the time it seemed. It was ok and extremely thorough to the point of nearly killing the love of learning in my kids. So don't make your child do every problem. Do all evens or something like that. You also do have to do every single lesson. Skip it if your child knows the information. I liked the readers and I tossed the rest out. When I first pulled these girls out a friend of mine gave me a bunch of her Abeka stuff and I looked at them and moaned. Anyways, pick and choose what you want to use. Abeka is fine for the basics--just overkill. However if that is what she has been using at school then she is use to the load then. YOU may not like teaching from it though.

 

4)So with homeschooling you are not just picking a curriculum for your child. You are also picking a curriculum that you feel comfortable teaching from.

First year is just a bunch of trial and error. You will learn quickly what kind of learner your child is and what kind of teacher you are.

 

 

5)Think of a mission statement of why you are homeschooling and what is important to you and base a lot of your decisions on that mission statement .

 

6)Science---ugh! Ellen McHenry stuff is pretty cool. Just do a google search. Apologia, Elemental Science, Nancy Larson, TOPS, Sonlight and the Building Scientific Foundation books are some of the curriculums I have used.

 

7)If you can go to a homeschool conference during the summer, get your hands on some of these curriculums and see what feels right to you.

 

8)Be prepared to lose some money on curriculum but heck you are no longer paying for a private school anymore! Use the Sell boards, craigslist, ebay to sell the stuff you don;t want to use.

 

9) If you want some kind of planner use Donna Young's . It is free. There are many more. Just stick with free first and go from there. They have all kinds of samples online and see what works for you. You can place the planner in a biinder or take it to Staples to coil bind them if you want.

 

10)Be brave and willing to be open minded. This list has some amazing people from all over the world with some great ideas. They have changed my mind about a lot of things over the years. I have learned so much from them.

 

Finally, it is so great to have another father on the forum and homeschooling their child. We need more! They have another perspective to add to the realm of homeschooling. Major paradigm shifts.

 

Hope this helps.

[Forgiven]

Hi! I started Homeschooling last year, so I'm heading into my second year. Best choice we ever made! My kids had used A Beka in their Christian school and I, too, started using it at home.

 

I think A Beka provides a very solid education, but at home, it just wasn't for us. I felt like I was giving my kids stuff to do, just to have them do it. I eventually cut down on worksheets as well as the number of problems they had to do on the worksheets they did do. Over the course of the year, I switched my daughter over to other curricula that just felt better for us.

 

I want to chime in on Science. We use Apologia's Elementary science courses. We did Zoology 1: Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day last year and will do Zoology 2: Swimming Creatuers of the Fifth Day this year. My kids are picking the order, so I find it funny that they are actually going in order. LOL

 

What I love about Apologia is that it is all through the eyes of a young earth and a creation view point. It openly talks about God being the creator of all things, and I love that. I have learned a lot from the first book and expect to learn even more this year. ;)

 

As for the 3 R's, I think A Beka is great for learning to read and for early math, but even the Christian school my kids had gone to started to supplement A Beka with other things starting in 3rd grade, and then by 5th grade, there was very little A Beka left in the curriculum they used. Many people I know that use A Beka in the home, switch to a different math at around 3rd or 4th grade and supplement with writing starting around the same time.

 

Global lesson planners...I don't use one yet. I'm trying one out right now, which is free (homeschoolskedtrack.com), but I'm not sure if I will use it because I'm not the most organized person (which is why I probably should use one) and will most likely not follow through with using it all year. I'll probably do well the first week, but that's it. LOL

 

I wish you the best of luck. There is so much out there!

[Hunter]

 

5)Think of a mission statement of why you are homeschooling and what is important to you and base a lot of your decisions on that mission statement .

 

 

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

 

Welcome!

 

There is an overwhelming amount of conflicting advice here so I'm not adding any, but I'll try and keep an eye out for you and advise as you go along.

 

Don't stress over the 1st year. Any "mistakes" can be corrected.

 

Finding Your Family Mission Statement

 

[FO4UR]

Good news: You are the teacher. The curriculum you buy doesn't dictate your days. You do. Abeka has a good resale value.;) Abeka is solid as far the 3R's (though it doesn't fit every learning style). Your dd is used to the format of Abeka so it might be a good way to transition to home...just don't be afraid to let her skip through redundant/busywork portions (especially if she's very bright!).

 

I vote (not that my vote counts;)) for just starting in with what you have. You will have a better idea of what to buy for next year.

 

 

As for science, read read read...and my dc like the Science in a Nutshell kit that we are using.

 

As for planners, I have no idea...I'm a failure at planning.

 

 

As for reading aloud, find a time when you aren't rushed to work to read. Read over breakfast, as a mid-morning break, after lunch, as an afternoon break....

[Amy M]

Abeka is definitely fine for the 3 R's. It's a solid program with lots of drill that's been around for a long time. I don't think you can go wrong with it. You just might be able to go a little more exciting. :)

 

Especially--I would not go with them for science (I like Apologia or Elemental Science, possibly BFSU, especially Apologia for its young earth creationist viewpoint) or history (I don't want my kids to hear about only "my" America for up to 5th grade! :tongue_smilie:)

 

Check out simplycharlottemason.com. I find her approach to education refreshing, especially the personal development slot on the curriculum guide, and the idea of "living books" to teach subjects like science and history.

[Guest Graust]

Thanks for not making me feel like the odd "man" out *rim shot*. And thank you so much for the suggestions! I feel slightly overwhelmed but maybe we will just get rolling and I will get a better feel for things. I will have to check out the free planning resources mentioned also. A heart-felt thanks to everyone for your generous sharing of information!!! This is an awesome board!

 

I actually also have a 4 year old son who is going to start some part time preschool this year, just to increase his socialization. I'm sure I'll be back with more questions :001_smile:

[kalanamak]

Thanks for not making me feel like the odd "man" out *rim shot*. And thank you so much for the suggestions! I feel slightly overwhelmed but maybe we will just get rolling and I will get a better feel for things. I will have to check out the free planning resources mentioned also. A heart-felt thanks to everyone for your generous sharing of information!!! This is an awesome board!

 

I actually also have a 4 year old son who is going to start some part time preschool this year, just to increase his socialization. I'm sure I'll be back with more questions :001_smile:

 

Don't forget to get Cathy Duffy's 100 Picks at the library just to take the quiz on your teaching ideals. I learned I was 50/50 WTM and CM, and I'd never heard of CM!

[fourisenough]

You'll find no shortage of advice on these boards; I was a lurker for many years before posting, so kudos to you for speaking up right away!

 

I'll avoid specific curriculum advice because you've gotten some good suggestions already, but I will suggest that you may wish to simply use a journal to record your progress, rather than formulating detailed lesson plans from the beginning. Get a good feel for what works for her and then go from there.

 

Enjoy the process. You're a lucky man to be home during the day and be in on the homeschooling action. My husband jumps in when he can and always says he wishes he were with us during the day. My kids have always preferred his read-aloud style to mine (he is a bit more dramatic) :)!

[laughing lioness]

Re: Science. We don't use a formal science curriclum until middle school- all of our kids love science and know quite a bit about it.

 

Magic School Bus books and DVD's

Moody Science DVD's - not for everybody, but my youngers really loved them.

Biology and Chemistry 101 (these are billed as high school science- they are not full credit worthy, imho, but they have tons of info, gorgeous graphics and my kids LOVED them (incl my ds17 who'd taken chem with a Ph.D.- he said he "got" some concepts he hadn't before).

Magazines: National Geographic, Science News, Ranger Rick, Biblical Archeology Today. Astronomy Today

 

web-sites; NOAA, NASA, Astronomy Today

 

Usborne and DK put out several really nice, very informative books on a plethora of science subjects.

 

Jancie Van Cleve has some great hands on books. ds 12 took Ellen McHenry's chem last year and loved it.

[kalanamak]

I can't miss plugging our fav site for 3rd grade:

 

http://www.periodicvideos.com/