edeemarie Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Ok, I think I am officially over boxed curricula! For next year (or when we finish ECC in late winter/early spring) I think I am just going to come up with my own thing. I am just tired of book choices I don't love, activities I am not fond of doing, and other random things we don't need. My plan is to pick a history spine (or two) and add in activities I know we will actually do, good books (non fiction and historical fiction), some notebooking pages, and a Timeline book. I just purchased some great resources from Currclick that I think will help a lot. For science, I think we are going to do some Magic School Bus science:) I am going to get the kids the DVDs for Christmas and I think we will just go through the shows, add some library books, add a few experiments, and call it a day! My oldest will be 3rd/4th grade when we start, so when do kids really need to start formal science studies? I am assuming junior high or high school. So what do you think? Has anyone done this and has it worked well? I'm just tired of paying for someone else to do the planning and then tweaking everything they plan! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poke Salad Annie Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 (edited) Sounds like a great plan to me, and is very similar to what we do. Have fun and enjoy the days! Editing to add..... I think that the less you stress on which books you use, the more likely you will cover those subjects, and the more likely everyone will enjoy them more. I have found that over time, it is not about a certain booklist, but more about how I use what I have to teach with that works. Edited August 23, 2012 by Poke Salad Annie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByGrace3 Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 I didn't go completely on my own this year, but I picked something close to what I wanted: Biblioplan and Sonlight, and merged them. I took what I wanted from them and parts of other curriculum I liked, made a template and put it all together. I am pretty happy with the result. Yes it is a hodge lodge of several things, and it was a bit of work, but I am happy so far with it. I don't think it would work or I would want to when I have multiple age / stage kids, but for now it is fine. I don't know if I will do it again, but i have looked at Truthquest as a base to help me do it for next year... Basically you use it as a framework to pick your spine, books, timeline, and extras. It might be an option if you are up to some planning. You can definitely make it your own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 We do our own plan for both. We used to do SOTW and this coming year we'll use it as a text among others (this year we did US history). We've always done our own thing for science. If you look on my blog you can see some of the posts I have for science if you're interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Ok, I think I am officially over boxed curricula! For next year (or when we finish ECC in late winter/early spring) I think I am just going to come up with my own thing. I am just tired of book choices I don't love, activities I am not fond of doing, and other random things we don't need. My plan is to pick a history spine (or two) and add in activities I know we will actually do, good books (non fiction and historical fiction), some notebooking pages, and a Timeline book. I just purchased some great resources from Currclick that I think will help a lot. For science, I think we are going to do some Magic School Bus science:) I am going to get the kids the DVDs for Christmas and I think we will just go through the shows, add some library books, add a few experiments, and call it a day! My oldest will be 3rd/4th grade when we start, so when do kids really need to start formal science studies? I am assuming junior high or high school. So what do you think? Has anyone done this and has it worked well? I'm just tired of paying for someone else to do the planning and then tweaking everything they plan! That's what I did with Bill Nye videos. It works. More than you can imagine, because not only do they learn more SCIENCE that way, but they approach their other subjects with more energy, after a video break. Buy an airpopper for popcorn if you don't have one :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gratitude Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 (edited) Ok, I think I am officially over boxed curricula! For next year (or when we finish ECC in late winter/early spring) I think I am just going to come up with my own thing. I am just tired of book choices I don't love, activities I am not fond of doing, and other random things we don't need. My plan is to pick a history spine (or two) and add in activities I know we will actually do, good books (non fiction and historical fiction), some notebooking pages, and a Timeline book. I just purchased some great resources from Currclick that I think will help a lot. For science, I think we are going to do some Magic School Bus science:) I am going to get the kids the DVDs for Christmas and I think we will just go through the shows, add some library books, add a few experiments, and call it a day! My oldest will be 3rd/4th grade when we start, so when do kids really need to start formal science studies? I am assuming junior high or high school. So what do you think? Has anyone done this and has it worked well? I'm just tired of paying for someone else to do the planning and then tweaking everything they plan! I have been considering the direction you are thinking about since last December. I am 'more' inspired to do the curriculums I use that I choose for specific reasons and include one subject. I do understand where you are coming from completely. For this coming year I have put together my own Bible, picked an English company I like, picked out math I like for my kids, picked a spelling I like, picked a science I like (what a joy), taken my kids learning styles into consideration, etc. The sticking point I find is history. At the moment I was planning to do HOD just for history with Preparing, but I started reading CHOW and don't personally like it. Neither do my kids. So see... it does work better to pick for our own families; doesn't it? So I am seriously considering exactly what you are talking about. I know the books that I like for ancient history (some are used in every company, but none of the companies use all of them). All of the companies have great book lists to draw from. Draw and Write through history is a nice addition to a history program. I think it is possible to do what you are wanting to do. I have a friend who uses SOTW as a base and does what you are talking about for history. The challenge is partly the time that it takes, but then it takes a lot of time to do hands on activities that I wouldn't do without it being someone else's idea too! My friend who was home schooled would never consider any curriculum but the one she pulls together. Interesting perspective. Edited August 23, 2012 by gratitude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsBanjoClown Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 I am tentatively planning to start a science curriculum to use next year (2013-2014) with my boys (will be third and first graders). We will be finishing BFSU1 and I think I want to do something else before moving into BFSU2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in VA Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 I'm doing my own American history for my 4th grader this year. I freaked out while I was developing it and briefly decided I was in over my head but I tried again and really like what I have. It's very freeing - especially at this age. Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 It is the only way I teach. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edeemarie Posted August 24, 2012 Author Share Posted August 24, 2012 Thank you all for the encouragement:) I am actually looking forward to paging through books and planning our year. I think it may mean a longer drive to a larger library, but I'm sure the kids won't mind. I feel like now I really know what type of things work for our family and what doesn't, and I love that I won't feel tied to a particular book just because other activities can't be completed without it. Now to just figure out which book/s to use as a spine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 I sort of did it for US history and am even farther away from boxed stuff with this upcoming year's history. I haven't been quite so confident with science, though I'm moving in that direction, although I went with a program for the upcoming year because Ariel saw WP's equine science and begged to do it, including the extra literature selections. It's hard to say "no" when they are begging for a curriculum. :lol: The following year will probably be much more free-form. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2_girls_mommy Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 Its what we did for 4 yrs, using the Well Trained Mind as our scope and sequence and for recs for the spines. It worked well for us. This year, I needed something more independent, so I bought Memoria Press science for my 5th grader. It uses a real book as a spine but has questions and worksheets for her to fill out as opposed to the notebook pages I used to have to make her do. The down side is we will be doing less hands on for the first time, but I have too much going on this year to do it myself. Luckily dd8 will be taking a very hands on science class at co-op. I think she still needs that aspect, since she is still so young. We will stick w/WTM methods for history though. I can't imagine doing anything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 I am done with boxed curricula too! This is my first year planning everything out and I'm happy with our choices. We are using Apologia for science, but I'm adding lots of projects (DH and I went overboard at Hobby Lobby). :lol: For history, we'll be reading lots of great books, adding narrations, notebooking, and projects as we have time. We used a lit-based boxed curriculum last year. I felt like the subjects I really wanted to cover weren't being covered enough, and we were spending way too much time on subjects they didn't need as much work on. This year we'll be spending time where it's needed most and we can explore the areas they are most interested in. I do plan on teaching formal science for high school. I think as long as they have a good math background they'll be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edeemarie Posted August 24, 2012 Author Share Posted August 24, 2012 Does anyone know any other websites like this http://www.abookintime.com/ for finding books to go along with certain time periods? I think I will be using that website a lot, but just curious if there are others like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 For two years I did history and science based on Core Knowledge Curriculum on my own. For history I did a lot of lesson planning so we had plenty of hands on. For science I borrowed heavily from existing plans because I found terrific ideas in them. This year I've moved to box for history and I think I'll use Magic School Bus for science with their experiments though I may blend in the Core Knowledge. I needed easy at this point in our lives. But I think going on your own is a good idea. I don't think you'll regret it at all. It does spoil you though if you find yourself needing to go back to pre-planned from plans that were tailored to you and your kids! I hope you have fun planning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Lulu* Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 It is the only way I teach. :) :iagree: This past year I tried to ue everyone else's plans and had a less than stellar year. This year we are back to what works for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Lulu* Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 I just wanted to suggest starting with what is aleady on your shelves and available through your library and building from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyofsixreboot Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 Does anyone know any other websites like this http://www.abookintime.com/ for finding books to go along with certain time periods? I think I will be using that website a lot, but just curious if there are others like it. I like this http://bookgirl3.tripod.com/historicalfiction.html one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 When we moved to the UK we had always been an SL family. With two years of American history facing us we quit SL and went to the library. We spent 2 years doing history and science primarily by what we had availiable. My kids loved the rabbit trails we followed. Best years we have had. We are back with SL now but still veer off frequently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annabel Lee Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 Guesthollow (http://www.guesthollow.com) is a great example of a mom who did this. The subjects she's posted are very full, and she even notes that she didn't do everything on some of them with her own child(ren). It seems that she picks a main source (or a few) and then folds in other fun or educationally valuable resources wherever they might fit. Some of them aren't things I've seen in other curricula, and seem to have a lot of thought put into them regarding her own children's personalities & strengths/weaknesses. That in itself taught me to do more than just draw from other curricula. I plan on "making my own" history when we're finished with the BP we started. Having used a hugely tweaked mess of GH, BP, and others this past year, I've learned more than I bargained for about DIY curricula. I get to keep it simple and not wade through parts I'd never choose in the first place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 This year I am doing my own History (World Cultures) and seriously thinking of doing my own next year too. I am bored with bought curriculum for the younger grades (K-6). In the past I have done my own math, science, and reading. I have tweaked the heck out of other curriculums that by the end of the year what I did was different from the original. The cost of bought curriculum is not worth the money and if you want to stay on schedule any rabbit trails curious minds want to travel have to be squashed. Another reason I am considering this for most of the subjects is my home library. I recently went through all the book shelves and realized I have an wonderful collection of books that don't get read because we don't have time to enjoy them if we are to keep schedule. Each subject for history and science is represented on those shelves and usually I have books for each subject for the different age groups...unused. And we are blessed to be living in a city with a library that breathtaking. Another reason I did this was my idea of the sequence of topics learned for History for the grammar stage is not the same as what is out there. Either too much World History or too much US History. Either too much info or watered down. When I was discussing the World Cultures I am making up for dd with my husband, he made a comment that has me thinking more and more about doing this for everything. He said "after 20 years you should have a grasp on what needs to be learned and how to teach it". And he is right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edeemarie Posted August 24, 2012 Author Share Posted August 24, 2012 I like this http://bookgirl3.tripod.com/historicalfiction.html one. Thank you for this- it looks great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edeemarie Posted August 24, 2012 Author Share Posted August 24, 2012 Guesthollow (www.guesthollow.com) is a great example of a mom who did this. The subjects she's posted are very full, and she even notes that she didn't do everything on some of them with her own child(ren). It seems that she picks a main source (or a few) and then folds in other fun or educationally valuable resources wherever they might fit. Some of them aren't things I've seen in other curricula, and seem to have a lot of thought put into them regarding her own children's personalities & strengths/weaknesses. That in itself taught me to do more than just draw from other curricula. I forgot about Guesthollow- thanks for reminding me! I think you summed up why boxed curricula don't work for many families- they were created with the publisher's family in mind and tailored after their likes/dislikes, beliefs, and goals. So unless your family is exactly like (or willing to become exactly like) the publisher's, there is usually a lot of tweaking involved. The extra time and money to do that is just not worth it to me anymore:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenn&charles Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 Guesthollow (www.guesthollow.com) is a great example of a mom who did this. The subjects she's posted are very full, and she even notes that she didn't do everything on some of them with her own child(ren). It seems that she picks a main source (or a few) and then folds in other fun or educationally valuable resources wherever they might fit. Some of them aren't things I've seen in other curricula, and seem to have a lot of thought put into them regarding her own children's personalities & strengths/weaknesses. That in itself taught me to do more than just draw from other curricula. I plan on "making my own" history when we're finished with the BP we started. Having used a hugely tweaked mess of GH, BP, and others this past year, I've learned more than I bargained for about DIY curricula. I get to keep it simple and not wade through parts I'd never choose in the first place. I was going to chime in, but you did for me. ;) I really enjoy making my own curriculum and at this point, wouldn't have it any other way. It just works out so much better and I save a lot of money, even when I have to order things that I can't get from my library. I'm able to totally customize whatever with my son in mind. I know what he likes, I know what he needs to do to retain things, etc. I got sick of paying hundreds of dollars for programs I tweaked so much they no longer resembled the originals! I also got ticked off a couple of times specific books were scheduled that had material I would have liked to be warned about, etc. Anyway, I make my own stuff every year now and will continue doing so until my son graduates. We learn so much better with what I come up with and if I don't like something I can change it and not be out a bunch of $$. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 (edited) Yes, I have and am making my own history and science, based mainly off vintage and living books. History: The kids are taking turns choosing topics, which we bring together by using a Book of Centuries (3-ring binder one shown). We watch documentaries, read a little historical fiction, do occasional projects, etc. Right now we're learning about The Wright Brothers, then my dd9 wants Sacajawea, after which we'll learn about early automobiles (ds11), and then Egypt (dd9). After that, who knows? Science: Living books, nature studies, hands-on, scientist biographies, documentaries, etc. First main book will be The World in a Drop of Water, so we'll be doing microscope work, since we have to try out the new microscope! I correlate what I can with BFSU to kind of tie things together. ETA: I am thinking now that I wrote this, that it is more of a child/interest-led approach than a "planned curriculum" so to speak. But, it is still a curriculum in the sense that it is a course of study. Edited August 27, 2012 by momto2Cs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 Does anyone know any other websites like this http://www.abookintime.com/ for finding books to go along with certain time periods? I think I will be using that website a lot, but just curious if there are others like it. Paula's Archives Valerie's Living Books (not quite as much fiction as they are well written books on a variety of topics) About dot com's Historical Fiction for Children Library Booklists Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kb44 Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 Me! I am going to rotate through literature genres, science themes, and tie in SS here and there, all through trade books, comprehension activites, writing, and lots of hands on exploring. I am excited! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 (edited) I've always done it this way, pulling resources here and there, matching up with ds' style, since 2008, our K year. I have a feeling I'm going to be 8FilltheHeart when I grow up (with just three children) :D Last year we moved away from SOTW to focus on Am History (homemade). We learned a lot, but ds missed SOTW, especially the maps. This year we're trying History Odyssey (free ebook 10-week trial) using SOTW 3 as the main text and either sticking with it or getting the SOTW AG instead. Ds8 is excited about the ability to check boxes within the document with the ebook :) Mama loves clicking and going right to the map pages too. I don't think he knows this yet. I like the fact that it's semi independent. I'm planning on reading The Man in the Iron Mask with him (a few chapters ahead at least), as I like the adventure and romance of The Three Musketeers. It's the first time, as a CM homeschooler, I'm going to be using an abridged text, but darn it, I want him to read it on his own (we have plenty of classic read-alouds) and taste the adventure of this period in history. Edited August 27, 2012 by sagira Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kfamily Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 We do this for both subjects too. We're very eclectic and I don't worry very much if what we start runs over into another year. Our lessons just keep going and we trade out for new books when we've finished the ones we've started. This way I don't stress or worry over whether we finish a book in a specific amount of time. (This isn't to say that I don't keep an eye on it. We don't want to go overboard with this approach.:lol: I keep an even closer eye on this with my older dd who is working towards earning credits for high school.) This year my younger dd will have two threads of history and my older dd will have one (but with some independent reading of another thread of history on her own). For both girls, we will be concentrating on ancient humanities. We'll be weaving art history, history and literature for both girls. My older dd will be adding philosophy and geography to this too. Science is still being considered. I have my plans ready for my younger dd, but am hoping to make a change with my older dd's plan. (I'd like to move her from Introduction to Physics and Chemistry to Integrated Science, but we'll see if I can get this to work.) My younger dd will be studying astronomy and physics, botany and ornithology. I'm hoping to add in some ideas from Ruth's thread on science. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsabelC Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 I'm just tired of paying for someone else to do the planning and then tweaking everything they plan! That's exactly how I felt after one year of trying to follow a science curriculum (bio). By the time we substituted other things for the boring activities the kids had done before, added in supplementary stuff for the stuff that wasn't covered, and redid the irrelevant-outside-of-America bits, it wasn't any more work than doing my own thing. This year (chem) we've put our own thing together and it's been easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 I put together a history curriculum. The spreadsheets are in the side bar of my blog (address in siggy). Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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