JennyCook Posted January 20, 2013 Share Posted January 20, 2013 We have recently started homeschooling. First day of class was last Monday.:) I've spent the last 3 weeks reading WTM, planning things out, and ordering oodles of stuff. I'd love any suggestions from you seasoned homeschoolers. I have no experience with this. I wasn't home schooled and have never done this before. But I felt such a wieght lifted off my shoulders when we decided to do this. I really know its the right thing for my family. Its a little weird jumping in at the middle of the year like this but...why wait, right? We have 5 kids. 10,9,almost 7, 4 and 3. The 4 yr old is the only boy. So, here is my plan. You guys tell me if it sounds okay. 5th grader (10 yrs old) Math- Saxon 6/5 she took the tests at the end of the sections so I'm having her start about half way through this. Reading- Right now we are reading aloud a book about an egyptian girl with the whole family and she reads for fun at night. Writing- WWE4. I only have the student workbook which I was planning on sharing between her and my 9 yr old. Does that work? Grammar- Rod and Staff Book 5 Spelling Workout- Level E. HIstory- Story of the world (Ancients) with supplements from the Kingfisher Encycolpedia and other library books. We have the student workbooks and so far those have been great for this. This includes the timeline and geography as well. Science- We havent really done yet. I got "How Nature Works" but It didn't have many experiments that we could actually do in it. I ordered a few others to try. Any suggestions would be great. We are doing Biology. Latin-Prima Latina Piano-Private lessons once a week and an hour of practice a day Religion/Scripture Study- We read as a family every morning and have Family Night on Mondays to study more about our faith. 4th grader (9 yrs old) Math-Saxon 5/4 She is starting about half way through this book as well. Reading- same as my 10 year old Writing- same as my 10 year old Grammar- Rod and staff Book 4 Spelling workout- Level D History- Same as my 10 yr old Science- Same as my 10 yr old Latin- Prima Latina Piano-Private lessons once a week and an hour of practice a day Religion/Scripture Study- We read as a family every morning and have Family Night on Mondays to study more about our faith. After school she dances 2 days a week for a few hours. We do the occasional community theater production as well. 1st grader (almost 7) Math- Saxon Math 1. Reading-I read with her for about 30 minutes a day with books at or slightly above her level. She reads a little bit at night on her own. She loves our read aloud book as well. Writing- WWE1 I only have the workbook. Do I really need to buy the teacher book as well? Grammar- First Language Lessons. She is whipping through this really quick. Its pretty easy but we'll just continue. Spelling Workout. Level A History- We do history all together so far. But I help her with her narrations, write them for her, then have her read it back. We listen to everybodies summary of each section. They like to color the pictures in the workbook while I am reading our read aloud. Science- Kingfisher First Animal Encyclopedia. She picks an animal, we read about it and do a short narration and file it in her binder. Latin- Prima Latina. We do this all together. Piano- Lessons once a week and 30-45 minutes of practice 5 days per week. Religion/Scripture Study- We read as a family every morning and have Family Night on Mondays to study more about our faith. Plus church every Sunday of course. Preschooler (4 years old) He attends a preschool my neighbor runs 2X/week. And we do a lot of reading with him and my 3 year old The 2 oldest put the little kids down for naps and read to them for about 20 minutes each day. This has been working good because then I have one on one with my 7 year old who needs more help in progessing with reading. We don't do history, science, and Latin everyday. We've been more focusing on history. We do these ones in the afternoon when the little kids are sleeping but I may change that because I think my four yr old would pick up bits and peices if he were there for it. Plus he really want to be involved in everything we do. And thats hard when we are doing grammar and math. He does pretty much do the same math as my 7 year old. Its not super hard at that age. Any suggestions for juggling all these kiddos? Is it wise to try to get my 5th and 4th grader on the same level or is that a mistake? They have been super great about this transition. But my oldest (who, in true oldest child style is a bit of a perfectionist) is super worried that she is going to fall behind because she is being homeschooled. They keep telling me how their teacher did this or that and giving me suggestions that will never work in a homeschool situation. This is going to be an adjustment for them. I've been teaching my own kids piano for years now so we have had experience with the drama that comes along with Mom being the teacher. And we have learned a lot about what works and what doesnt for us. Hopefully it translates over to homeschool as well. Does this look okay? Do I need to add or take anything away? How long should all of this be taking me? Should I start our school years at the beginning of the year and have that be when we switch over time periods for history and switch from biology to whatever the next section is or should I hurry through it and start the next section in the fall like a normal school year? Thanks in advance and sorry I have so many questions. I really want this to work out and be good for our family. Jenny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen in NS Posted January 20, 2013 Share Posted January 20, 2013 We have recently started homeschooling. First day of class was last Monday. :) I've spent the last 3 weeks reading WTM, planning things out, and ordering oodles of stuff. I'd love any suggestions from you seasoned homeschoolers. I have no experience with this. I wasn't home schooled and have never done this before. HA! Join the great big huge club here!! Be assured, though, that you will learn as you go. :D But I felt such a wieght lifted off my shoulders when we decided to do this. I really know its the right thing for my family. Its a little weird jumping in at the middle of the year like this but...why wait, right? We have 5 kids. 10,9,almost 7, 4 and 3. The 4 yr old is the only boy. So, here is my plan. You guys tell me if it sounds okay. 5th grader (10 yrs old) Math- Saxon 6/5 she took the tests at the end of the sections so I'm having her start about half way through this. Reading- Right now we are reading aloud a book about an egyptian girl with the whole family and she reads for fun at night. Writing- WWE4. I only have the student workbook which I was planning on sharing between her and my 9 yr old. Does that work? Grammar- Rod and Staff Book 5 Spelling Workout- Level E. HIstory- Story of the world (Ancients) with supplements from the Kingfisher Encycolpedia and other library books. We have the student workbooks and so far those have been great for this. This includes the timeline and geography as well. Science- We havent really done yet. I got "How Nature Works" but It didn't have many experiments that we could actually do in it. I ordered a few others to try. Any suggestions would be great. We are doing Biology. Latin-Prima Latina Piano-Private lessons once a week and an hour of practice a day Religion/Scripture Study- We read as a family every morning and have Family Night on Mondays to study more about our faith. 4th grader (9 yrs old) Math-Saxon 5/4 She is starting about half way through this book as well. Reading- same as my 10 year old Writing- same as my 10 year old Grammar- Rod and staff Book 4 Spelling workout- Level D History- Same as my 10 yr old Science- Same as my 10 yr old Latin- Prima Latina Piano-Private lessons once a week and an hour of practice a day Religion/Scripture Study- We read as a family every morning and have Family Night on Mondays to study more about our faith. After school she dances 2 days a week for a few hours. We do the occasional community theater production as well. 1st grader (almost 7) Math- Saxon Math 1. Reading-I read with her for about 30 minutes a day with books at or slightly above her level. She reads a little bit at night on her own. She loves our read aloud book as well. Writing- WWE1 I only have the workbook. Do I really need to buy the teacher book as well? Grammar- First Language Lessons. She is whipping through this really quick. Its pretty easy but we'll just continue. Spelling Workout. Level A History- We do history all together so far. But I help her with her narrations, write them for her, then have her read it back. We listen to everybodies summary of each section. They like to color the pictures in the workbook while I am reading our read aloud. Science- Kingfisher First Animal Encyclopedia. She picks an animal, we read about it and do a short narration and file it in her binder. Latin- Prima Latina. We do this all together. Piano- Lessons once a week and 30-45 minutes of practice 5 days per week. Religion/Scripture Study- We read as a family every morning and have Family Night on Mondays to study more about our faith. Plus church every Sunday of course. Preschooler (4 years old) He attends a preschool my neighbor runs 2X/week. And we do a lot of reading with him and my 3 year old The 2 oldest put the little kids down for naps and read to them for about 20 minutes each day. This has been working good because then I have one on one with my 7 year old who needs more help in progessing with reading. We don't do history, science, and Latin everyday. We've been more focusing on history. We do these ones in the afternoon when the little kids are sleeping but I may change that because I think my four yr old would pick up bits and peices if he were there for it. Plus he really want to be involved in everything we do. And thats hard when we are doing grammar and math. He does pretty much do the same math as my 7 year old. Its not super hard at that age. Any suggestions for juggling all these kiddos? Is it wise to try to get my 5th and 4th grader on the same level or is that a mistake? It doesn't hurt to try - you will find out sooner or later if it will work or not. I wouldn't worry about making a mistake - there is no wrong or right about it. Often in homeschooling, you just have to try things that you have a reason for. They have been super great about this transition. But my oldest (who, in true oldest child style is a bit of a perfectionist) is super worried that she is going to fall behind because she is being homeschooled. They keep telling me how their teacher did this or that and giving me suggestions that will never work in a homeschool situation. This is going to be an adjustment for them. If you haven't already, you might want to give them a "deschooling" period of time - time to just let them adjust to being at home more often, get into a new family routine - a few weeks, whatever you think. Time to do some exploring around your area, to read more books together, to slop some paint on paper together, to bake/clean/organize. So that they realize that education is acquired through life, not just through what they did in the p.s. classroom. I've been teaching my own kids piano for years now so we have had experience with the drama that comes along with Mom being the teacher. And we have learned a lot about what works and what doesnt for us. Hopefully it translates over to homeschool as well. Something I've acquired is the mentality that I really am the teacher. (but, granted, my kids have never been in a school system) I've taken the responsibility to educate my kids; therefore, I do get the final say in what goes on day to day. Your figuring out what goes on from day to day will be an adjustment for all of you, but as you gain experience, you'll be able to do it. And they should eventually be able to see that as the Mom, you have their best interests at heart (even when they balk, which, sigh, will still happen periodically). Does this look okay? Do I need to add or take anything away? How long should all of this be taking me? Should I start our school years at the beginning of the year and have that be when we switch over time periods for history and switch from biology to whatever the next section is or should I hurry through it and start the next section in the fall like a normal school year? Thanks in advance and sorry I have so many questions. I really want this to work out and be good for our family. Jenny I think your plans look great - you've got solid materials there. The only thing I'll mention is that as you go, you may find that the basic academic skills (math, grammar, writing, spelling, reading, handwriting/printing) take a huge chunk of the day, esp. your time. I'd just say that if this happens, try to see science, history, and literature (and Latin, unless you consider this a basic requirement at this point) as bonuses that you do during the week. If your kids are reading in these content areas every week, this is great. If you can get to experimenting, narration writing, mapwork, timelines, discussion, etc. with this, bonus, but don't worry if it's hit or miss sometimes. I have always had a two-hour period after lunch when my kids would take stacks of books to their rooms and read. It was important to me that they had some relaxed time to read, and to have a mid-day break. (although I realize you use younger kids' naptimes as time to do schooling with your older kids - I just mention this for the reading part - lots of alone reading time can give them plenty of content-area learning. You can also do a fifth day of writing - have them apply their WWE skills on a chosen science or history book, and call that science study or history study) I can't comment on how long it "should" be taking you, because I only have two kids. Individually, though, in the early elementary grades, I'd say each of my kids did two hours a day, gradually increasing to three and four throughout elementary and early middle years. This included my tutoring time with them plus whatever independent work they did. As to the question about when to switch to the next history period and science topic - you should do whatever you (and maybe ask your kids) want. For example, if you are doing ancient history and biology right now, and you really would like to spend a whole year (or even 1.5 years, making the switch in Sept. 2014) on these things, you should do that. Your kids will get at least one more go-round of them using higher-level academic skills. Actually, to spend at least a year on them right now as they are transitioning to homeschool, could be a good thing for them. It could be a chance for them to really dig into the topics, getting them excited about the benefits of homeschooling. About the "How Nature Works" book - there aren't tons of experiments in it, but you could still use it as your "spine" (book from which to find topics to do further reading about in library books), and then look for biology experiment books in the library (perhaps from that supplementary reading). I also recommend listening to Susan Wise Bauer's audio CD about Teaching Science in the Classical Curriculum - it's sooooo good. Basically, the elementary years are about teaching the students to observe (and to let them absorb good science books), and the middle years are about teaching them to analyze what they observe (and read). Her CD goes into much greater detail about the "how" and "why" of teaching science than does the WTM book. hth and have fun! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyCook Posted January 20, 2013 Author Share Posted January 20, 2013 Thanks so much for your tips! I think I will take your suggestion of using our science book as a spine and then supplementing it with others. That book really is organized great, I just wanted more experiments that don't require a jigsaw.:) So, if I'm doing a read aloud with the kiddos that counts as our reading time right? But they will still have their nightly fun reading as well. I guess I'm stressing a little that they aren't reading more on there own in history and science. For one thing...there isn't time. For another, I'm teaching history to a 1st grader and a 5th grader so in trying to be efficient, I just read to them and have us all learn together. (And I mean ALL of us!). I am learning so much! And it's only been a week. It's so much fun! I did not learn a lot of these things at school. If I did, it certainly didn't stick. But should I being sending my 5th grader off to read then write about her reading on her own? I'm guessing we'll get more efficient as time goes by and we'll be able to do that more....maybe? I'm loving reading about others successes and ideas etc. so thanks everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted January 20, 2013 Share Posted January 20, 2013 I have nothing to say about your plans, but WHAT A GREAT IDEA to have the oldest put the littles down for naps! I can't wait until my baby is 2 or so and big bro can put her down for her naps!!! Fantastic idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest purplehip Posted January 20, 2013 Share Posted January 20, 2013 Jenny, I don't have a lot of advice, but I had to respond. Like you, I started homeschooling this year. We also have scripture study every morning and Monday night family night. I empathize with your sentiment that you felt a weight lifted when you opted to homeschool. It is a lot of work, but so exciting and rewarding, too. The only thing I've learned is to start with an ambitious plan, but cut yourself some slack when you don't get everything done. Your day is probably very full with church assignments, piano and kids. Right now, I do the basics (math, reading, language) every day. I teach history on Mondays and Tuesdays, science on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and art and music on Fridays. I too have been wondering about whether to try to get everything done by September, move on without finishing it all, or perhaps even change the beginning of my school year to January. Anyway, good luck from a fellow "greenie." Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 I suggest that all newbies that have not yet decided on science, just watch Magic School Bus videos, while everyone adjusts to the other subjects. I have yet to hear of a student that did not learn a LOT just by watching these videos. If the skill classes get done each day, don't stress over the content subjects and the electives. If starting half way through the Saxon books works, great. If not, back up. It can be hard to jump into any series, as they all use their own unique vocabulary and way of explaining things. Good luck with that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen in NS Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 Thanks so much for your tips! I think I will take your suggestion of using our science book as a spine and then supplementing it with others. That book really is organized great, I just wanted more experiments that don't require a jigsaw. :) So, if I'm doing a read aloud with the kiddos that counts as our reading time right? Definitely! But they will still have their nightly fun reading as well. I guess I'm stressing a little that they aren't reading more on there own in history and science. For one thing...there isn't time. You could try "strewing" during their free times or nightly reading times. Strew those supplementary library books around the house and in their bedrooms - let them decide which are too boring to read and which are interesting to read, and let them browse to their heart's content. Don't get too hung up on trying to read all the supplements during your read-aloud times. For another, I'm teaching history to a 1st grader and a 5th grader so in trying to be efficient, I just read to them and have us all learn together. (And I mean ALL of us!). I am learning so much! And it's only been a week. It's so much fun! I did not learn a lot of these things at school. If I did, it certainly didn't stick. I totally hear you! I didn't even have concept of ancient history when I first started!! But should I being sending my 5th grader off to read then write about her reading on her own? I don't think so. For one thing, she is in a transition phase. For another, having a 5th grader go off and write about her reading on her own may or may not work. Some can do so; some cannot because they don't have enough writing skill yet. When I talked about letting them read on their own, I meant just providing ample time during the day when they CAN go do that - read their supplement books and literature books. Reading is an important part of classical education, so I try to leave a good chunk of space for that. Also, I've found that because my kids have this time, they are able to read FAR more than I am able to read aloud to them, which, to me, is the whole point - that they are carrying on with reading to learn. The writing about the reading will occur during your writing lessons (if you chose to, say, do a 5th day of writing, when they apply their WWE skills to a section of a history or science book), or if you keep having a separate history and/or science and/or literature writing assignment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pamodd Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Just wanted to pop in and say HI, Jenny! I'm another newbie homeschooler, who does Monday family nights ;). We're doing (and loving) the same history you mentioned, and since you've got some younger ones, I just wanted to let you know that I started making printable scripture story characters that go along with the Ancient History timeline if you want to check them out. My kids have loved using them as visuals and it's fun to get a better grasp of the scripture stories now that we're learning more about them in historical context. You've come to the right place for wisdom! I know I've been learning a lot from these amazing homeschooling mamas! Good luck in your adventure. Pam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyCook Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 Those are so cute pamodd!! And thanks for the magic school bus tip Hunter. They should arrive at my house tomorrow. :) It'll be good to use those for a bit until I get my feet under me a little better. It's nice to know I'm not the only newbie out there with questions as well. So, do u guys do school year round and take random breaks or follow the traditional school schedule? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeeterbug Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 We school year round and take random breaks. Well, not completely random. We take breaks for vacations, any days dh has off work, birthdays, etc. We also only school four days a week and have a homeschool group on Fridays where we get together with friends. On Friday afternoons we might do a project or play board games, but not 'school'. Going year round means we can have four day weeks and take off days when we want to and I don't have to worry about making those days up. Last year we tried six weeks on, one week off and that worked really well the first half of the year. The second half we got hit with illnesses and family visits that threw off our schedule. I'm going to try something similar this year and see if we can do better. I found that after six weeks we all neded a break, including me. Although this year we are having a baby, so that will throw our schedule off too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen in NS Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 So, do u guys do school year round and take random breaks or follow the traditional school schedule? Year-round with us-chosen breaks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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