Blueridge Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 For those of you who have used your energies to create what you thought were rich years for your kids...lots of literature and hand picked course materials...and then have gotten near the end of your homeschool career and thought, "Wow, I should have saved all my energy and just used Abeka (etc.)!" ? How valuable do you think the choices you made really were in the grand scheme of things? Just curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Not really. I started planning some subjects in 4th grade, ds is now entering 9th. The only real flop was the 150+ page history notebooking I made for 4th grade before I realized how much ds hated notebooking. Aside from that our customization has really made a positive difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Embassy Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 I do a bunch of customization but I'm only on my 6th year of homeschooling. The only regret so far is that one of the things I set up one year was a flop. We changed mid-year. While customization is a ton of work, I've found it much easier to implement than someone else's plan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink Fairy Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Not so much regret using, but regret investing in products that we didn't use. Lapbooking, notebooking, nature study, and unit studies--how I adore the idea of them! But the kids did not like them, in any form (and believe me, I bought them all). So yeah, I regret that I wasted so much money, and I regret that my kids aren't the notebooking, lapbooking, nature study, unit studies types. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Not entirely. I only feel that way once in a while....like every February:glare: Lol! Really, I feel like that when the moms I know who use canned curricula seem so relaxed at planning time....and are resting easy....and not questioning their choices. Then I realize....that is just NOT me. I do not work well with boxed curricula..and my kids do not do well with one grade level across the board. I like putting together my own stuff...once it is put together and done. .......until February. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 :lol: I read this as cucumber recipes, and thought: NO! I love my cucumber recipe! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandy in Indy Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 NO! I don't think any one curriculum has it all, and I enjoy picking and choosing those things that I think will be best for my dc. Older two have graduated from hs, gone to college and excelled. I'd be bored stiff with all Abeka or Bob Jones or (insert curriculum here). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 We're near the beginning of our homeschool journey (the kids are only entering 3rd grade) but I also have had years of DIY vs. prefab curriculum choices when I taught in school. Overall, I have found that when you create it, you own it - as in, you really get the material and the goals and what you want to do with it. It helps me be a better educator. I've had to learn in homeschooling (where you're teaching every subject!) that you can't DIY everything and it's good to have a mix of open and go things as well. But I haven't regretted the effort of pulling my own thing together yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BakersDozen Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 NO! I don't think any one curriculum has it all, and I enjoy picking and choosing those things that I think will be best for my dc. Older two have graduated from hs, gone to college and excelled. I'd be bored stiff with all Abeka or Bob Jones or (insert curriculum here). I love the variety of what we use and that I can tailor our curricula to each dc's needs rather than having them "boxed". The only regret I have is not having a better plan for assessment on an ongoing basis. When I choose programs/books now I make sure review and testing is included (I'm so done writing my own tests!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myeightkiddies Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Not entirely. I only feel that way once in a while....like every February:glare: Lol! Really, I feel like that when the moms I know who use canned curricula seem so relaxed at planning time....and are resting easy....and not questioning their choices. Then I realize....that is just NOT me. I do not work well with boxed curricula..and my kids do not do well with one grade level across the board. I like putting together my own stuff...once it is put together and done. .......until February. :iagree: There's just something about February. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueridge Posted August 14, 2012 Author Share Posted August 14, 2012 Thanks all. I guess I feel a curriculum choosing flop a brewin' this year...and I want off the roller coaster! :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Ginger, you can always box it for a year in order to focus on other things, because of life, whatever. Both my kids used a program for 7th grade. My first one did so I could focus on my second who struggled. My second one did for a number of reasons. There were some real positives to doing that. I don't regret that at all. However, we went back to doing our own thing as we felt that those things were better generally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 No, the only things I've ever regretted were the expensive curricula I bought thinking they would make life easier. They never have. We've never ended up liking or even really using those items. We do much better when I plan our own stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueridge Posted August 14, 2012 Author Share Posted August 14, 2012 Thanks. I always try too hard, I think...nothing is good enough and I keep adding and adding and changing and changing. It's gotten ridiculous this time around. And the honest truth is that I fear the girls would say that they really didn't care what they used. Whaaa?? All these hours of hair pulling and teeth grinding over finding the perfect things? Gah, I want to scream. I may just box it all up and go with a nice & tidy, boxed & boring something. :glare: I. must. find. chocolate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 :lol: I read this as cucumber recipes, and thought: NO! I love my cucumber recipe! Can you share your cucumber recipe? I do have some regrets..... I had a fabulous time with my ds in highschool. I thought I did a great job with his literature and writing and all that. We read widely and discussed deeply. He wrote awesome papers. I especially loved our British Lit. year. Fast Forward to college. During his second year at college, he started reading a lot of books on the train during his commute to school. One day while we were chatting he asked me if I'd ever read Frankenstein because it is such an amazing book.:svengo: We had read it and spent a lot of time discussing it in British Lit. in 11th grade. His whole sophomore year of college was like that. We had even done the LoTR study, but did that inspire him to like Tolkien? Nooooo. Not until he read it on the train in Japan for himself did he think it was amazing. :001_huh: After that year, I learned to just be happy that my homeschool kids can read. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink Fairy Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Can you share your cucumber recipe? I do have some regrets..... I had a fabulous time with my ds in highschool. I thought I did a great job with his literature and writing and all that. We read widely and discussed deeply. He wrote awesome papers. I especially loved our British Lit. year. Fast Forward to college. During his second year at college, he started reading a lot of books on the train during his commute to school. One day while we were chatting he asked me if I'd ever read Frankenstein because it is such an amazing book.:svengo: We had read it and spent a lot of time discussing it in British Lit. in 11th grade. His whole sophomore year of college was like that. We had even done the LoTR study, but did that inspire him to like Tolkien? Nooooo. Not until he read it on the train in Japan for himself did he think it was amazing. :001_huh: After that year, I learned to just be happy that my homeschool kids can read. :D :eek: :svengo: :blink: Now that is either disheartening because it doesn't really matter what we do or reassuring that it doesn't really matter what we do. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Can you share your cucumber recipe? http://thewelltrainedkitchen.wordpress.com/2007/12/17/mrs-naveruds-freezer-pickles-from-kalanamak/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 http://thewelltrainedkitchen.wordpress.com/2007/12/17/mrs-naveruds-freezer-pickles-from-kalanamak/ Yum - Now I need to go to the Farmer's Market - thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Lulu* Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 No, the only things I've ever regretted were the expensive curricula I bought thinking they would make life easier. They never have. We've never ended up liking or even really using those items. We do much better when I plan our own stuff. :iagree: We are entering our 6th year of planned, purposeful schooling, and I can honestly say the only year we've struggled was this past year. What was different? Oh, I went from 80% homemade curriculum to 20%. Stupid waste of money and time. :glare: That is alright, I am adjusting the mixture back to about 70% homemade and crossing my fingers for this year. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 If you don't think the kids will really care one way or the other then use what is easiest for you to implement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Lulu* Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Oh, there is this awesome chicken salad recipe my sister makes. Cucumber, red grapes, red apple, chopped chicken breast, cashews, pepper, garlic salt, and mayo. Yum! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 My oldest is just in 2nd, so not much time to screw things up yet. I worried a lot the first year as he was a slow starter, however these days I'm still constantly amazed at the progress he has made in pretty much everything. He is at or above his same aged peers locally as well in everything but writing- which has been his biggest issue (although we are still making progress). I did regret last year that I planned too much period. I got into this thing of trying to be more rigorous and forgetting- what worked best for us and our personalities. I stepped back this year and looked at those hs moms that I admired (who have successfully hs'd and have similar personalities and goals) and the various paths they have chosen and adapted it for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 No - it was good. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueridge Posted August 14, 2012 Author Share Posted August 14, 2012 Thanks everyone. The catalyst to last night's pity party was this...I've been wringing my hands over purchases made, nothing coming together, the girls being close in age but far apart in abilities...and dd19 offered to lend an ear to my quandary as my 'curriculum advisor'. :) After hearing my struggle, she matter-of-factly asked why I had never used Abeka! :001_huh: She said that all the former homeschoolers she had met that had used Abeka were SO SMART. When I told her that she was so smart and had not used it, she said she wasn't smart at all. :confused: Keep in mind this child is the top student at her cc. Honor's Institute president. Ambassador. Fellow. This kid is brilliant. Well, maybe not in math lol, but in everything else! But it made me feel like such a failure, and I told her so. Of course she quickly apologized but it left me with more doubts about things done, things left undone. So last night I was left pondering if all this was worth it...and wondering why I've spent all these years reinventing the wheel. Maybe I should buy myself a bunch of great books and just give the girls each a box of cucumbers. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 I nearly always picked regular books over textbooks and am happy I did. Reading such a variety of books provides: more enjoyment -- even nonfiction are typically more interesting more variety -- I think there is a benefit to hearing/reading a variety of voices. Authors have their own styles, and so many book authors have such a wonderful way of constructing sentences. art work -- We always take a moment to look through a picture book to see what art supplies were used to achieve the look. We discuss whether we enjoy the illustrator's work, and we read their names. benefit of author's passion -- An author who really loves a subject is going to put so much effort into it, and I think the audience can feel this. a new appreciation for where knowledge comes from -- I never want my kids to think that textbooks are the authority. I want them to see that regular people can develop a passion for something, study it and then share it with the world. I want them to know that there are many resources available from which to learn. Most of the money I spend for school is spent on regular books. I buy many treasured, out-of-print books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueridge Posted August 14, 2012 Author Share Posted August 14, 2012 I nearly always picked regular books over textbooks and am happy I did. Reading such a variety of books provides: more enjoyment -- even nonfiction are typically more interesting more variety -- I think there is a benefit to hearing/reading a variety of voices. Authors have their own styles, and so many book authors have such a wonderful way of constructing sentences. art work -- We always take a moment to look through a picture book to see what art supplies were used to achieve the look. We discuss whether we enjoy the illustrator's work, and we read their names. benefit of author's passion -- An author who really loves a subject is going to put so much effort into it, and I think the audience can feel this. a new appreciation for where knowledge comes from -- I never want my kids to think that textbooks are the authority. I want them to see that regular people can develop a passion for something, study it and then share it with the world. I want them to know that there are many resources available from which to learn. Most of the money I spend for school is spent on regular books. I buy many treasured, out-of-print books. :iagree: Hopefully I will quickly pull myself back up and carry on with my slow and steady plodding. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 :iagree: Hopefully I will quickly pull myself back up and carry on with my slow and steady plodding. :001_smile: One thing that keeps me pulling together my own, is looking at samples of other programs. While they might look pretty, one glance at the daily work or the extra readings or whatever is the draw of the program, helps me realize I'm going to tweak it anyway. I usually end up finding a few things in a sample that I wouldn't do anyway. I've also had more time than money. I'd have a hard time paying $100 for an IG or TE when I feel like I could pull together a book list and study guides on my own. It may take some time, but I have more of that. Also, my ds doesn't respond to traditional learning of anything. He's like a pinball machine in abilities and effort. To keep us from pulling our hair out I have to make things work for him. We did Abeka for 3 years, as this was what they used in the private school he had attended and we thought we were going to put him back into. However, by the 3rd year it was driving me insane, I didn't agree with their ideology or methodology. I wanted to throw their scripted lesson book across the room. I hated their 40 books for one subject, a TE, an answer key, a test book, a test TE, a lesson plan book. Gah! :ack2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybear Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 For those of you who have used your energies to create what you thought were rich years for your kids...lots of literature and hand picked course materials...and then have gotten near the end of your homeschool career and thought, "Wow, I should have saved all my energy and just used Abeka (etc.)!" ? How valuable do you think the choices you made really were in the grand scheme of things? Just curious. More than once. It's taken me a few years to listen to my own inner voice, though. And still, with all the tweaking and adding on.....sigh......Definitely should just do X as is and let it go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelBee Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 Can you share your cucumber recipe? I do have some regrets..... I had a fabulous time with my ds in highschool. I thought I did a great job with his literature and writing and all that. We read widely and discussed deeply. He wrote awesome papers. I especially loved our British Lit. year. Fast Forward to college. During his second year at college, he started reading a lot of books on the train during his commute to school. One day while we were chatting he asked me if I'd ever read Frankenstein because it is such an amazing book.:svengo: We had read it and spent a lot of time discussing it in British Lit. in 11th grade. His whole sophomore year of college was like that. We had even done the LoTR study, but did that inspire him to like Tolkien? Nooooo. Not until he read it on the train in Japan for himself did he think it was amazing. :001_huh: After that year, I learned to just be happy that my homeschool kids can read. :D :grouphug: and :lol: Isn't that something? Darn kids! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughing lioness Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 For those of you who have used your energies to create what you thought were rich years for your kids...lots of literature and hand picked course materials...and then have gotten near the end of your homeschool career and thought, "Wow, I should have saved all my energy and just used Abeka (etc.)!" When I have used canned curriculum packages, I inevitablly regret it. I get bored, the kids get bored, it goes too slow, it goes too fast, it leaves out stuff we want to know, we miss bunny trails, etc...(we've used SL, Calvert, Covenant) How valuable do you think the choices you made really were in the grand scheme of things? Overall, I think they were good choices. The deal is there is lots of really good curriculum out there, and lots of good packages. But if I'm bored or unmotivated or don't care about it, I have a hard time whipping the kids into a frenzy of enthusiasm about it- kwim? . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueridge Posted August 14, 2012 Author Share Posted August 14, 2012 That's what I'm wanting...A frenzy of enthusiasm!!! :party: Time for more coffee and some party planning. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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