recommendations for new home educator with many learners

[Guest jamisims]

I have two successful years (not consecutive) and one colossal failure (after eight weeks with 7 learners and trying to piece-meal on a tight budget) of home education under my belt. I need recommendations from veterans of schooling multiple children - curriculum and scheduling. My oldest is 9th (auditory learner) then 7th (tactile,kinesthetic), 6th (auditory, visual), 3rd (visual, auditory), 2 for 1st (auditory, visual), lastly K3. We tried A World of Adventure last year and it was too much together - I lost control and kids lost interest. They are currently doing A Beka at the school in which they are enrolled. I checked into the distance learning from A Beka and BJU, but I really prefer the classical model. My oldest daughter, now a junior in college was classically educated at a private Christian school. She is reaping the benefit so I would like to pass that on to mine still at home, but am struggling to find what will work best with our large group. I am torturing myself looking at so many different things - they all look so good, but really would prefer to find something realistic and student-directed. I don't know all the lingo/abbreviations so be gracious in your response. Thank you for your kind advice/recommendations. jamisims@gmail.com

[happycc]

Ok ....let me try and tackle this.

 

If you want to do classical education with them:

 

9th-rhetoric

 

7th-logic stage

6th-logicstage

 

3rd-grammar

2 1st graders-grammar stage

 

K3-preschool aged

 

Here is what I would do: I would farm out a grammar stage child about every 30 minutes/45 minutes to play with preschooler so they get plenty of breaks. The Logic stage kids and rhetoric child-farm them out about once every 1-4 hours depending on the child to play with the preschooler so they get a good break in between work. Don;t forget to also give them chore breaks as well. About every 30 minutes for the younger ones and 45 minutes to 60 minutes each child gets a break either helping with the prek child or doing a chore such as laundry, dishes, garden, garbage, dust, mop, sweep, bathrooms,pet chores, meal prep etc depending on the ages of the kids. This frees you up to actually teach

 

Start everyone on ancients and biology since you have a 9th grader and chronologically move forward from there. Cycling again after the fourth subject covered.

 

Use Ordinary Parents guide to reading with the 1st graders, Handwriting without tears, All about spelling (All about Spelling) and get some Cuisenaire rods and watch Education Unboxed (free). Also work in FLL1 as well. Add in WWE1 once you get in a good routine.

 

3rd grader-continue with Ordinary parents guide to reading, HWT, AAS or the Spelling Workout, some math program. Fll2, WWE1 or WWE2.

Continue with C rods while using Education Unboxed. Use Thinking Blocks online and it is free. Later on when you have more finances you can add in more written work such as MEP which is free or Singapore etc. Right start would be extremely hard to do with a large family like yours. Hard but not impossible though.

Use Elemental Biology Grammar with these and Story of the World Ancients-read, do the worksheets, a few projects, and mapwork

 

6th and 7th grader-Depending on where they are at with writing either use WWE or WWS, Analytical Grammar, Saxon Grammar, Rod and Staff.

Pick a good math program for 6th and 7th grade like Singapore or Saxon and move from there.

Use Elemental Biology Logic with them.

Story of the World-read, do the worksheets, a few projects, mapwork, timelime, add in some outlining, biography pages.

 

9th -rhetoric...

Read the Well trained mind book and do what it suggests. That is my only suggestion.

 

I have no idea what you use or have or have used. Maybe Tapestry of Grace for the 9th grader.

If you have time throw in Building Thinking skills stuff for the Logic stage kids as well as some Latin or other modern language.

Be sure that every night they get one hour of free reading time. Older kids can read the preschooler.

[Joshin]

HappyCC's post is a very good basic framework to draw from.

 

A few questions, though. Are your older three motivated learners? If so, your job is half over! The 9th grader, and possible the 7th and 6th grader may be capable of independent work. Assign subjects/days, get them each a planner, and guide them through the first few days of their lessons. Be available for questions/help, and check their work daily or weekly. My rising 7th grader is very independent and has been working exceptionally well with this method since he was 10, with the exception of history which I do with both kids at the same time. Even if they aren't ready for full independence, there are likely some subjects they can work on independently, giving you more time with the Grammar stage kids.

 

A few self-directed/independent ideas. Specifically for the two in the middle grades: Creek's Edge Task cards for history and science. These have a card for each week with a subject, followed by project directives (write about this, research this, make a map of this, do this experiment type stuff). Easy to assign and my son enjoys working through the cards. These can also work for your 9th grader, whom should go deeper on research and writing, and with the grammar age kids if you leave out some of the tasks.

 

Online classes for the 9th grader and even the middle grades, if they are able. There are many great paid classes, but your 9th grader may be able to take some of the free Coursera and MIT EdX classes. These are great for an auditory learner.

 

Khan Academy is a great free math supplement, and also fitting for auditory and visual learners because there are videos for each lesson.

 

This is all they came to my sleep-addled brain at the moment. Good luck!

[Guest jamisims]

Thank you for your responses...I am driving myself insane looking and reading and checking out all possibilities. There are so many resources out there!

[Guest jamisims]

What do you think of Life of Fred?

[Ecclecticmum]

hmmm.....

 

I would suggest Konos (but thats just me). It encompasses different learning styles, everyone can be taught together. But it is at the opposite end of the spectrum from BJU/Abeka. Completely opposite.

 

Perhaps looking into something like Weaver or Tapestry of Grace? That would be most stuff sorted. Then you would just have to choose the subjects left over. I would be weaving in Language Arts with whatever you are working on in those two, so getting something like Katherine Stouts Guides, or generalized guides for LA and weaving it into the subject. Then having them work seperately at math.

 

Elsewise, I would be picking up too many subjects independantly and having failures all over the place (sort of like juggling with too many balls) what particular "brand" in a subject might work for one child, may not work for another, so in the end, you may have different curriculas you have to keep an eye on for the same subject.

 

But if you were going for different subjects, I would still keep them together for as many as you can. Getting Story of the World pack (book, activity guide, audio) you can have the audio going, whilst you run laundry or do some housekeeping. The book for some of the kids to read along if they want (and also so you can have a quick scan and know whats going on). Get older kids to pair up with young ones to complete projects. Assign the elders indepedant reading & writing projects, the younger ones can dress up & dramatize the chapter or do lapbooks (Chronicles of the earth blog)

 

Science, again, have them all working on the same subject. Perhaps looking into Supercharged science, as it can be hands off, the children can do their own projects from it based off of their age, independantly (re-creating the experiment, writing about the experiment, creating a diorama or doing vocabulary/copywork based on the subject).

 

Geography: Just do the maps with SOTW for now.

 

Maths: Their are lots of different options out there. AOPS, Beast Academy, Audio Memory, Kitchen Table Math, Math on the Level, Saxon, Rightstart. Since you have many different kids, perhaps getting some sort of workbook approach thats visual, plus audio memory for drilling/remembering facts, plus getting the Math Games from Rightstart. Elder kids can help younger ones with their workbook, plus do their own independantly, the Songs from Audio Memory can just be put on during afternoon quiet time for the children who need them, and they can all play the Card Games together.

 

Language Arts: I find is a very personal area, there are so many choices, its really about what works best for you.

 

Hope that helps in some way :)

[TGHEALTHYMOM]

What do you think of Life of Fred?

 

Life of Fred is supplementary and I have some children who love it and one so far who did not like it ( I bought it for him) he does like Teaching Textbooks though.

[happycc]

I second TGHEALTHYMOM that LOF is pretty supplementary. At least that is how our family use it. In fact we use it during our one hour free reading time at nights. My kids love the stories so much that it is so hard for them to stop and do the problems before moving on. They just want to read the story and laugh laugh laugh.

 

One possible math curriculum resource that you can start with your 3rd grader on up is the Key To series. For my 3rd grade I started with Key To Fractions 1 and 2 . In fourth grade Key to Fractions 3 and 4 and Key to Decimals 1 and 2. In 5th grade Key to Decimals 3 and 4 and add in the Key Measuring and Metrics and Percents 1 and Key to Algebra 1 and Key to Geometry 1. In sixth grade, Key to Percents 2, 3 and Key to Algebra 2. I move at this rate because we live in California and this is ABOUT what California standards require grade level wise. Aside for the 3rd grade work, I have the kids do a few pages of Key to decimals, key to Fractions each day. I don;t wait until they finish the entire level before starting the next series. This way they are always reviewing or learning other math problems while working on something else. I kind of spiralled a mastery program.

 

I am really really pleased with this series.

You can use a textbook to help guide you to introduce the topic and let the Key To Series give the kids more practice or you can just use the Key to Series all by itself. It is very very self explanatory. Now I have noticed that my kids get a better sense if I sit down and explain it first before I just have them go at the pages by themselves. They get less wrong that way. My kids NEED the presentation and discussion. They are however getting better at becoming independent learners as they progress though.

 

I help them set goals with each book. There are about 45 some pages in each booklet or so. I set up a date about when I would like the book to be done and then they do the division to decide just how many pages they need to do each day. They get a little reward for each book done with corrections finished. Like a pack of gum or Jamba juice.

 

 

One thing to be sure with workbooks and such is to be sure you are actually correcting them, mark what is wrong and then write the page number on the front pages of the book and then give back to the kids to have them correct on their own. Each page that they corrected have them mark with a small dot or something. Then go through the corrected worked to be sure they really corrected it and got it right. Sometimes they make simple mistakes, other times they make mistakes that are due to not understanding of the concept. So this initial correction is for the first situation. If they still get it wrong, then usually it has to do with not comprehending the concept and when that happens the child and I get together and discuss the problem together. This process does take awhile to complete a book but at least I know the kids are going over their math more carefully and figuring out what they got wrong and fixing it. It makes it stick in their head better it seems. Oh I don;t wait until they finish their workbook before I start correcting it. I like to correct as soon as they are done with a page but with my large brood, it is difficult. So I correct books about once a week (Thursday evenings) and then they go over corrections usually on a Friday.

 

You can try it this way and see if it works for you and yours for a few months or so and of course tweak it according to what works for your family.

[happycc]

I second TGHEALTHYMOM that LOF is pretty supplementary. At least that is how our family use it. In fact we use it during our one hour free reading time at nights. My kids love the stories so much that it is so hard for them to stop and do the problems before moving on. They just want to read the story and laugh laugh laugh.

 

One possible math curriculum resource that you can start with your 3rd grader on up is the Key To series. For my 3rd grade I started with Key To Fractions 1 and 2 . In fourth grade Key to Fractions 3 and 4 and Key to Decimals 1 and 2. In 5th grade Key to Decimals 3 and 4 and add in the Key Measuring and Metrics and Percents 1 and Key to Algebra 1 and Key to Geometry 1. In sixth grade, Key to Percents 2, 3 and Key to Algebra 2. I move at this rate because we live in California and this is ABOUT what California standards require grade level wise. Aside for the 3rd grade work, I have the kids do a few pages of Key to decimals, key to Fractions each day. I don;t wait until they finish the entire level before starting the next series. This way they are always reviewing or learning other math problems while working on something else. I kind of spiralled a mastery program.

 

I am really really pleased with this series.

You can use a textbook to help guide you to introduce the topic and let the Key To Series give the kids more practice or you can just use the Key to Series all by itself. It is very very self explanatory. Now I have noticed that my kids get a better sense if I sit down and explain it first before I just have them go at the pages by themselves. They get less wrong that way. My kids NEED the presentation and discussion. They are however getting better at becoming independent learners as they progress though.

 

I help them set goals with each book. There are about 45 some pages in each booklet or so. I set up a date about when I would like the book to be done and then they do the division to decide just how many pages they need to do each day. They get a little reward for each book done with corrections finished. Like a pack of gum or Jamba juice.

 

 

One thing to be sure with workbooks and such is to be sure you are actually correcting them, mark what is wrong and then write the page number on the front pages of the book and then give back to the kids to have them correct on their own. Each page that they corrected have them mark with a small dot or something. Then go through the corrected worked to be sure they really corrected it and got it right. Sometimes they make simple mistakes, other times they make mistakes that are due to not understanding of the concept. So this initial correction is for the first situation. If they still get it wrong, then usually it has to do with not comprehending the concept and when that happens the child and I get together and discuss the problem together. This process does take awhile to complete a book but at least I know the kids are going over their math more carefully and figuring out what they got wrong and fixing it. It makes it stick in their head better it seems. Oh I don;t wait until they finish their workbook before I start correcting it. I like to correct as soon as they are done with a page but with my large brood, it is difficult. So I correct books about once a week (Thursday evenings) and then they go over corrections usually on a Friday.

 

You can try it this way and see if it works for you and yours for a few months or so and of course tweak it according to what works for your family.

[happycc]

I wanted to add how to go about scheduling all this.

 

What I do is make a running list of what I want each kid to use and do and how often.

 

Then I begin with a grid. With the names of each child on top of the list including preschoolers, toddlers and babies.

I don;t set times. I gauge it about every 30 minutes or whenever I am down with a lesson with a child (usually about 30-60 minutes) is when we all switch gears. You may even want to schedule yourself in there. Potty breaks and meal times and phone calls and email time and bill paying time. Driving time etc.

 

Going down the list I write down everything that each child does. Wake up, get dressed, potty, breakfast, meds, chores, diaper change, snack time, what book/curriculum to do, playdough time, nap time, when it is time to play with younger sibling and what they could be doing together,meal prep, feed pets, water lawn, getting read to go out time, transportation time, event time etc So every step of the day the kids know what they should be doing and when. POST THIS SO EVERYONE CAN REFER TO IT.

 

In each line I make sure there is one person playing with the younger siblings. And one person working with me: FLL, WWE, or math explanation. The rest are doing independent work-either reading, writing, workbook, computer work or some kind of hobby.

 

This schedule can change daily depending on what you want. Say you want to do spelling twice a week with one group of kids and the same with another group of kids on two different days. Personally it is easier for me to do spelling on same days with all the kids. In terms of All about Spelling I have the kids in the older grades flash the cards to the younger kids. Younger kids are getting flashed and older kids are reviewing. This saves me time and I can actually be doing something else with another child while this step is being taken care of by the older ones. Once everyone has review all the phonograms, rules and dictation of the sounds, I can start giving the lessons.

[Oakblossoms]

What is your budget?

Why do you think the failure...was well a failure?

Have you read TWTM?

Are you a scheduled mom or a fly by the seat of the pants mom?

 

[Catherine]

I know this is the K-8 board, but having taught high school as well as grammar and logic stage, IMO you need to spend the bulk of your time on the older kids, especially the ninth grader. If you miss a few days with the first graders, it's no biggie. Your presumably college-bound ninth grader needs your guidance daily. I would spend a bit of time alone and with the child setting goals. I would farm out science at CC, if the child is ready for that. Putting together home school lab science on short notice with so many other students is too much. Think about math placement and if he or she is not taking algebra, make a firm plan to get through pre-algebra by the end of the year with a strong program like Lial's Basic College Math-you can supplement with Kahn Academy if your student needs help. Then answer these questions:

 

-foreign language-which one, who will teach

-literature-make or find a good book list and start reading

-choose history\government\social studies

 

Once these decisions are nailed down, move on to your logic stage students, with the aim of having them ready for algebra and starting persuasive writing by eight or ninth grade.

 

You can teach first grade in an hour a day or even a bit less of direct one-on-one student time. I did it with older students and it can definitely be done. I wold definitely not use "curriculum" for a 3 yo, given your other commitments. Play is truly all he needs at this age. But the olders are your biggest task, IMO.

[happycc]

catherine..your post makes perfect sense. Focus on the older ones. Definitely!