Why are you here at TWTM boards?

[Zoo Keeper]

I read the first edition B. C. (before children).  Thanks to someone's sloppy job of reshelving, it literally fell at my feet while I was at the library one day.  Instead of putting it back nicely, I took it home and read it cover to cover. It completely changed my mindset about homeschooling.  Up to that point, I had only seen homeschooling that was "school in box" and was practiced by mostly uber conservative, very controlling types of families.  Not at all what I thought education should be.  WTM was so liberating!  You *could* homeschool and not wear denim skirts, or be an unschooling hippie.  This was radical for me!   I never would have even considered homeschooling my own children if I hadn't read WTM.

 

 I still love the first edition best--I find the methods in the first edition easier to apply to the wide swath of material and children that I have.  I am also relying heavily on the audio lectures and the TWEM as we get closer and closer to high school.  

 

I came to the boards many years after reading the book(s). 

 

 

[Stellalarella]

I read the TWTM before coming here to the forum.  We have a general classical approach.  I've found SWB's audio lectures to be particularly valuable.  

 

Folks here have pointed me the right direction so many times:   curriculum rec's, pedagogical practice, stretching my thinking.  

 

And then, like a moth to the flame I am drawn to the hot drama threads.  

[Coco_Clark]

I read TWTM all the way through twice before I began homeschooling and while I was still in the "can I do this? is this crazy?" stage and reading everything on every homeschooling method you can dream up.  I found the simplicity/rigor/methodical "do the next thing" of it resonated with me.  I read *just" the kindy chapter before we started K and then "just" the grammar portion this summer while I was planning 1st grade.  I plan on repeating that pattern and follow many of SWB recommendations and methods.  Maybe a bit more than half?

 

I found this forum after my complete readings.  I stalked silently for quite a while gauging if these people were crazy and therefor I was also crazy, lol.  I stuck around because of the excellent curriculum suggestions, semi regular inspiration, and the feeling of normalcy it gives me.  I dont' post often because I often have nothing useful to say.  I stay away from the chat board and drama like its poison...because it is ;)

[Mommy22alyns]

:spam:

[PachiSusan]

 

And then, like a moth to the flame I am drawn to the hot drama threads.  

 

I love your honesty!!!!!  :lol:

[IsabelC]

I have read TWTM quite a few times (and at least once before finding this forum). We never followed it  precisely, but I keep going back to it and find it a valuable resource from which to pull out the ideas that work for us. Right now we are not homeschooling, but I check in here from time to time for information relating to afterschooling, and also because we are hoping to home educate again in the future. Occasionally I see posts that make me want to thump the poster (doesn't this happen to everyone? no?) but for the most part I have found that members are a good source of information and support, in fact some are extremely generous with their time in helping and advising others (you know who you are, so give yourselves big pats on the back :) )

[dollhouse]

I've read TWTM. I prefer a more eclectic approach to homeschooling for my family, but I appreciate many of SWB suggestions and philosophies. I am here because I want to learn more about classical education in general as well as get insight into curriculum choices, homeschool family lifestyle, and managing particular challenges. 

[Nan in Mass]

I have read my copies of twtm over and over. I read it before I found the boards. I answered some or most for the how much questions, but because I think this isn't what you meant but generally, I consider myself a 100% WTMer because I followed TWTM directions for how to modify TWTM to fit my family. : )

My youngest did TWTM (modified to fit) him in grades 1-12. My middle one 5-12.

 

Nan

[SEGway]

I found this forum while searching for a comparison/review of two curriculum providers while beginning the research before homeschooling. (I think my oldest was 2-ish at the time.) The boards introduced me to TWTM which I have read once (maybe twice) all the way through, and in parts when I want to find something particularly.

 

We meld a bit of classical and CM with a little bit of made-up-on-my-own methods. 

[Guest]

I read the first edition B. C. (before children).  Thanks to someone's sloppy job of reshelving, it literally fell at my feet while I was at the library one day.  Instead of putting it back nicely, I took it home and read it cover to cover. It completely changed my mindset about homeschooling.  Up to that point, I had only seen homeschooling that was "school in box" and was practiced by mostly uber conservative, very controlling types of families.  Not at all what I thought education should be.  WTM was so liberating!  You *could* homeschool and not wear denim skirts, or be an unschooling hippie.  This was radical for me!   I never would have even considered homeschooling my own children if I hadn't read WTM.

Wow! What an interesting story! That's cool.

[FairyMom]

I read TWTM prior to coming to the forums the first time in 2009.  I was looking for suggestions on curricula when I came here since I couldn't find a "fit" for us and related to TWTM.  I refer back to TWTM book often for inspiration, suggestions, ideas, and encouragement.  It is still my "go to book."  I don't follow it for particular curricula choices anymore; however, it is the most influential book I have on my shelf about homeschooling, and I have quite a few.  Had I not found TWTM and this place when I first started out, I would have floundered much longer, maybe even thrown in the towel.  

[Heidi]

I was unimpressed with the idea if homeschooling until I read twtm. It was like a light came on and I knew I could offer my children a better education to them than they could possibly get at school. I got on these forums and was introduced to CM and other methods. I've tried many php products and found them to not be a good fit for my tastes, and currently I am following a more lcc approach, but I recommend twtm and php products and this forum to every new or potential homeschooler I come across. I think it is a great starting point.

[jolley]

I read TWTM after coming here. I've read it many times since then. I follow TWTM as a guideline.

[violamama]

I've read it through, though I admit to skimming stuff out of our current age/grade levels. 

 

I read it and then looked for you all on the internet. 

[La Texican]

I read TWTM once recently from the library. I was homeschooled some as a kid, and sometimes went to private schools sometimes (and often was "teachers helper", especially during homeschooling, being the oldest) so the ideas rang a bell.

 

Like most folks here I'm an educational enthusiast. I love the loose, comfy, nerdy climate here. I'm always telling the hubby & my siss "what they said on the homeschooling forum today". Yesterday I told them about a nerdy "burn"- someone on the homeschool forum told someone, "I've probably given away more books than you've ever read." BURN! Nerdy-Nerd burn!

 

We ROFL'd.

 

I have very young students who only need a little bit each day. Reading the forum gives me something to do while they have their unstructured, loosely supervised play. This forum also helps me think it through so I can stay one step ahead of their academic needs and tailor their education with a focus on quality over quantity. I started teaching my kid a few years before school should have started and this forum is helpful if you don't follow a boxed curriculum or if you're on a path of your own. A good example is "notebooking" your way through a world history spine rather than a standard textbook with end of chapter questions. I don't think I would have known you could do that!

 

I mostly only answer posts that discuss something that I just taught my kids if I feel like sharing might be helpful. I mostly stay out of the chatting and only speak up when the topic's about how to teach something, but I enjoy reading the chatting. I don't know anyone or anywhere else that likes to talk about education like this.

 

I am using WWE this year because, "a college writing professor, who was homeschooled & who homeschooled her own children wrote a book on how to teach children writing". Yeah- I'll buy that!

[MeeganZ]

I haven't read any of WTM, yet, and would be one of those who have no notion of who the Baur's are ;P. I do own a copy which I bought at a homeschooling convention recently for a dollar. It's in my pile of books to read before the year ends. Although I'm intrigued by Classical Education my husband is against using it as the basis of our homeschool. He attended private schools that were Classically based and loathed it, particularly the many years of Latin. Of course he turned out brilliant and very successful so there must be something to it!!

 

I stumbled in here recently because every single time I googled a homeschooling question I was being directed to threads here. It seems like an excellent source for homeschooling information and as a newbie with preschoolers I need lots of help!

[melbotoast]

I read TWTM all the way through when DS was 4 and I was looking into homeschooling. I read the book before visiting the forum. I'm mainly a lurker, but I enjoy getting many different perspectives from experienced homeschool moms. 

[...................]

FOR OTHER:

 

To exchange ideas with people who are thinking people that like to discuss, analyze and who have a wonderful wealth of knowledge and a great desire to educate their children well (as I do).

 

There is no other board with so many helpful, smart, interested ladies (and guys) around.

[HS Mom in NC]

Thank you all for your responses.  I was surprised to read that this forum is as helpful to people who aren't following a form of classical education as it is to people who are.  People ask me a lot of questions about homeschooling so I'll actually add this to the the list of general homeschooling recommendations-not just specifically for classical education recommendations.

 

 

[Donna]

I read the WTM before I found the website and the forum. I tried to follow it closely in the beginning with my boys then found I needed to modify it in certain ways for a variety of reasons. I am only homeschooling my youngest now and I use a lot of the resource suggestions, follow the history/science rotations (though not always the same order for the year suggested), and enjoy going back to the book for inspiration now and then. I do not have the new edition of the book so some new materials have come out since the book I have was printed.

 

I come to the boards mostly to learn about new curriculum, find out what is working for different types of people, and hear news about homeschooling.

[anabelneri]

I have read TWTM, and had done so before coming to the Hive.  I've owned all three editions, though I'm now down to one and am considering selling it and buying a Kindle edition  :lol: .

 

I followed TWTM closely for K & 1st, then added in AO starting in 2nd.  I'm leaning more WTMish this year with 5th, but I'm not too sure how far that will go.

 

:)

Anabel

[Heartsjoy]

Haven't read TWTM

 

Why come?

Glean information from BTDT folks.

Questions usually get really answered.

[TheBugs]

I read The Well Trained Mind before I knew about these boards. I use WWE, FLL, and SOTW. I also use recommendations from the book such as Spelling Workout, Usborne history encyclopedias, and Singapore Math. I am trying to follow the science scope and sequence, but having trouble with that, so I might do unit studies for science. I also try to use History as a literature guide too. I am not sure if we are doing classical though. I haven't started a classical language (Latin) with my children, and I am not sure if we will, although I think they should at least study root words. My kids are only seven. I don't know, I have to reread TWTM.

 

I visit these boards for ideas. I read a lot more than I participate. I have asked some questions occasionally for help with math and spelling.

[Carrie12345]

Adding to my "why" reasons...

 

I know this has been said, but I'm so glad to have a place to come where there are mostly sane, thoughtful homeschoolers. Lately it seems like all the homeschool FB groups are full of people who have no idea what they're doing and are freaking out about it, or who have no idea what they're doing and are proud of it. Here, people mostly ask good questions, receive solid, encouraging, experienced advice, and take the time to mull over the information.

 

<3 <3 <3

[Lanny]

We are not Home Schoolers. DD is a Distance Learning student. She studies at home.  We are among a minority of the people who participate on these boards, who are into Distance Education. I found WTM, last year, after briefly participating on several other boards. WTM has the largest number of participants of those boards, and has a huge amount of information that, I have found very useful and very helpful. My eyes have already been opened to issues about Scholarships and College applications, that I probably wouldn't have begun to think about, for several years, had I not begun participating on WTM and reading the threads here. Almost daily, I tell my wife and/or DD, about something I have read in a thread here on WTM. I sincerely appreciate that this board is available to the community.

[OneStepAtATime]

My mother recommended TWTM and is a big Susan Wise Bauer fan.  I have loved TWTM and my kids and I love Story of the World.  That being said, both of my kids have learning issues and a Classical Education, in the strictest sense, has not been even remotely possible.  I have had to be very flexible and think outside the box on a regular basis to try and help their gifted, but unusual brains learn material.  My husband also had a very different brain and is brilliant and successful.  He needed a different approach to learning as well, so I know it can be done.

 

I came to this site initially because every time I asked a question or wanted to check out something further, I almost always got directed here.  Finally, I just started getting on to see what was happening and what people were saying and to ask some questions.  I found that the most useful area was the Learning Challenges area and it has been wonderful.  Everyone there has been understanding, supportive and have had tremendously useful suggestions.  I am eternally grateful that that area exists and I am thankful to all the moms there who have been so kind and helpful.  Unfortunately, not everyone in the world who cares about educating their children is respectful of others or willing to accept multiple opinions without feeling threatened, but so far no one in the Learning Challenges area has ever seemed to treat anyone else with anything less than the utmost respect and understanding.  I enjoy reading the posts there and find them very informative and kind.  So far, I have not found any homeschoolers in my area that have the same issues and experiences as I have had with my own kids, so it is nice to able to spread out to a larger pool of supportive homeschoolers.

[OneStepAtATime]

Oh, and I think my younger is very classically bent in his approach to life. If he didn't have learning issues, I think he would embrace the philosophy wholeheartedly.  It was he who talked me into starting him on Latin long before I was ready to (8 years old) even though I knew it would be EXTREMELY challenging for him....someday I have no doubt he will be reading TWTM himself.

[g1234]

To answer a slightly different question than the one that was asked: I am not sure how I found this forum, but against all odds (I hate computers and most social media) I stayed on because I couldn't believe there was a "place" in internetland that, with a few flareups of exceptions, seems so kind and nonjudgmental, while at the same time offering such a wealth of support and information.  I mean, I think we have everything from very conservative Christians (and a few other religions) to more liberal members of various religions to athiests of various political leanings.  We have people who mostly use online classes, people who use "boxed" curriculum, and people who make it up as they go (and those categories overlap a lot).  We have people who identify their kids as having learning challenges, those who identify theirs as accelerated (and those two categories often overlap, too), and those who readily identify theirs as right at grade level.  We have parents of infants, and grandparents.  We have people in many countries.  And somehow, we seem to exist more or less respectfully.  If someone asks a question that reflects a world view different from that of some people, usually those people will just sit it out and let others who do share that world view respond, rather than getting into an argument.

 

I don't discount the role of the WTM moderator(s) in helping create this atmosphere.  From what I have seen, the instances of "banning" and of locking down threads were very appropriate, and in fact handled with patience and restraint.  I don't like internet free-for-alls.  From what I can tell, this forum is moderated just right: I don't see any particular approach or belief being censored; the only thing that is censored is disrespectful or unnecessarily argumentative behavior.  The result is a "community" that I am pleased to be a part of.

[freeindeed]

I've read TWTM completely through twice. I have read certain parts of it for reference purposes on numerous occasions.

 

I voted for a "little bit" for each question.

 

I come here to chat with other homeschoolers about homeschooling and life in general.

 

We started out strictly classical, but over the years, I have found a mix of classical, CM, and Waldorf suits my family, with varying degrees of each for each child.

[La Texican]

.I read the Well Trained Mind once from the library, after I'd been on this forum. It's too late to do the slow and easy kindergarten with my six year old, even if I call him a first grader. I taught him to read and write very young. Luckily there's others on this board in the same boat. I read the great advice to give a bright young child a young childs workload and amount of seat time, but at the level of instruction that they're ready to learn.

I use WWE because the author is an English professor at a respectable university, a homeschooler who was homeschooled. You can find better credentials to write that type of book.

[PeachyDoodle]

I read TWTM before I came to the boards. Although we had kicked around the idea of homeschooling since before dd went the kindergarten, it wasn't until I stumbled upon TWTM that I felt remotely equipped to follow through. I came here looking for some guidance from people who actually "do" WTM. I was surprised at the variety of philosophy and styles I found. So much so that I felt compelled to post asking for help from people who were specific WTM-ers.

 

I have to say that, even though I was looking for WTM-specific info, I have been enriched all the more by the differing styles represented here. We still use WTM as the core of our homeschool, but there's an incredible wealth of ideas on this board!

[Willa]

I read TWTM back in 2000 when my oldest was in 8th grade.   Since then I revisit it at least to browse once every year or two.   I can almost always find something useful in it.  I use the book (first edition, I'm pretty sure)  more for strategies than for actual book recs.    I never thought of following it exactly because by the time I read it we already had our own way of doing things.   

 

I joined the board in 2008 though for a long time I only visited once in a while when researching something.    It's a bit overwhelming at first glance, but I am finally figuring out how to maneuver through it.    I think.   :huh:

 

 

[MysteryJen]

I was introduced to homeschooling before we had children, and when my oldest was born that was when I started reading everything. I read TWTM after I read Holt and so I have tried to find the best in all the different approaches I loved when I was new and fresh.

 

I have lurked on this board for forever, at least 11 years and just joined about a month ago.

The biggest reason I lurked was because I was in awe of so many of you with so many talents and amazing children. This board has absolutely been invaluable to me, especially the high school board (still a bit intimidated there) and the wealth of knowledge and compassion in the threads about learning disabilities.

 

I actually can't imagine having come this far homeschooling without all of you. Thank you so much!

[shawthorne44]

Other: to learn and absorb.

I like the academic bent of the group.

[ForeverFamily]

I have read TWTM all the way through once or twice, and the grammar stage portion many times.  I read TWTM before finding these boards. I found the boards while searching for curricula by SWB, and I am so thankful that I did. 

 

My Dh and I decided to try out homeschooling whileour oldest Dd was in preschool (we couldn't afford to send her to a private preschool).  It went so well that we decided to keep homeschooling.  For K I decided to use a boxed curriculum (one that I was homeschooled with).  Both my Dd and I became frustrated with the amount of required writing.  So I searched the internet for a new curriculum.  Somehow I stumbled across the TWTM.  I decided to splurge and purchase the book.  I figure it would be an interesting read but wouldn't solve my problem.  I thought the idea of following a homeschool "philosophy" was silly. :001_rolleyes:  All I needed was a brand new shiny curriculum, right?!.  I couldn't put the book down, I read it from cover to cover.  I knew it was the perfect fit for our family, and would allow me to accomplish my goals for our children's education.  And I have realized that having an educational philosophy is vital for my endurance ( and hopefully my success)!  Thanks to TWTM and these boards I have had the courage to branch out and tailor my kids education to each of their individual needs.  I am on here a lot, but I don't post very often.  I am very grateful to those who do, I have learned so much from all of you!

[Mbelle]

I have read parts of the WTM.  It's a great homeschooling resource.

[djunec]

1) Yes

2) Yes

[ThatHomeschoolDad]

DW is a long time PS teacher, and found TWTM face out on a library shelf sometime in 2004ish (I think).  An experience researcher, 3 courses shy of ABD, she got it in a "huh, interesting" moment.  What she read seemed to fit well very with what we saw early in DD.  We started HS in K (now 7th).  I admit I have not read TWTM cover to cover, but that partially comes down to our division of labor.

 

DW is Director of Curriculum, Research, and Long-Range Planning.  I am Lead Teacher, and as such I give feedback on what seems to work, and what doesn't, and I receive invaluable encouragement from the various horror stories DW and her colleagues provide from the "good" upper middle class district in which they work.

 

Not a typical set up, I suspect, but it works.

[PollyOR]

I actually can't imagine having come this far homeschooling without all of you. Thank you so much!

 

:iagree:

[TheAutumnOak]

I have read some responses, not all...

 

I have read the WTM all the way through once (the 3rd edition)...I was about half way through reading it when I came to the boards...Didn't know they existed before that...I also now own the 1st edition, and have read parts of it...I also have listened to most of SWB's audio talks and have gone to hear her speak in person three times...

 

My idea of classical ed is probably more in line with Andrew Kern's, but I find the WTM to be very helpful to me...Susan's advice tends to be very practical, and I appreciate that...Kern gives me the vision, while Bauer gives me some of the know how ;)...I use some recommendations from it and still refer back to it...

[Word Nerd]

I was a homeschooler when I first joined. I'm a big fan of SWB and incorporate what classical education I can into our afterschooling, though we're pretty relaxed about it. I enjoy the diversity of opinions shared here about education and other topics.

[Walking-Iris]

I've read WTM and read it before I really knew about this forum.  I'm in the influenced by it category.  Though I'd say I'm also influenced by a totally different neoclassicist - Adler's Paideia Proposal, as well as Charlotte Mason and all kinds of non-classical things as well.  I mean, I started in education because of The Teenage Liberation Handbook and Summerhill, so that's a pretty different departure point.  So I'm only marginally classical.  I appreciate WTM and SWB's role in education, especially homeschooling, even if I don't always agree.

 

Of the various WTM spin off materials, I've only used SOTW, but I've been back and forth about it.  I love many things about it and other frustrate me.  We're back to using it again this year for volume four.  WWE and FLL were not right for us.  As others have said, I really like how many different curricula and methods are allowed to be discussed here.

 

In general, I don't think there's any other homeschooling community like this one and that's why I come here.  The one thing that unites almost everyone is a desire to learn and a great appreciation for academic rigor of some kind or another.  There's nowhere else I know of where issues of education are discussed with this much depth.  And while I've seen my share of online nastiness here, I think the mods do an amazing job of letting debate go on yet nipping personal attacks and trolling in the bud.  Overall, I think people here are pretty nice and respectful by internet standards.  So that's why I come.

 

This.^^^^ (An aside: I love the whole Summerhill idea so much I friended AS Neill's daughter Zoe Readhead on Facebook about  6 years ago and I've struck up an online correspondence with her. I have a strict rule that I do NOT facebook people I don't know irl, and I don't talk about Zoe that often because I haven't ever known anyone irl who would know or remotely care about Summerhill on the level I do. But she is warm and funny and always willing to answer questions about education.)

 

To answer the original question, I have read WTM (3rd edition) in it's entirety, straight through, just once, although I reread various sections often, and use it a bit when planning or looking for a book recommendation. 

 

And I only started getting interested in and using it  in my oldest ds's 3rd grade year. Although there's still quite a bit we do that isn't specifically any one homeschool method. I have always known I wanted to homeschool. I have always been around homeschoolers. Friends in college who were homeschooled, coworkers who were homeschooled or homeschooling their children, and I dated a guy who was homeschooled, and another guy at another time whose best friend was homeschooled. I'm still in touch with most of these friends and it encourages me to continue when I see how smart and successful they are. Many of them now homeschool their children.

 

I started out mostly conservatively unschooling. I was active in yahoo groups for a long time, but I started feeling put off by the increasing numbers of radical unschoolers. It was getting difficult to have a real conversation about education or resources. 

 

I think I found the WTM forum from the old Mothering forum that I started posting at when I was pregnant. I also noticed WTM was referenced a bit in the cloth diapering forum DiaperSwappers. I can't remember honestly, but it seems that's how I ended up here, knowing nothing about WTM or SWB. I voted that I'm here to share ideas about a homeschooling lifestyle, not classical or WTM specific. And I avoid the chat boards like the plague! 

 

I actually first became aware of SWB through the SOTW program. I had never read WTM and knew little to nothing about it when I decided I liked the looks of the SOTW history at RainbowResource. And that led me to The Well Educated Mind, which I bought for me, because it seemed interesting. And that led to Well Trained Mind.

 

But honestly SWB is not any sort of homeschooling guru for me. I have listened to maybe one or two lectures of hers and I haven't really read or listened to much else. For me the homeschooling books I use are more about how they work for my family than the author behind them. It just so happens that I like WWE and SOTW, even though they are not used exclusively.

 

Now Julie from Bravewriter. LOL That's dangerously close to a homeschooling fandom situation! 

[Lecka]

I have not read the book and do not homeschool.

 

I afterschool my oldest son extensively in reading. I get a lot of helpful information from the learning challenges board.

 

I also got help when I was starting with him and feel like paying it back.

 

Now and then I look at other threads.

 

I would homeschool if my son's needs were not met in school, so I do have an interest. My first choice is to support him in school and support his education as a supplement to school.

 

This is always a top google hit for me when I am looking for reviews (parent reviews) of reading programs, and when I am looking for reading programs appropriate for a parent.

 

Edit: I am also following the writing programs people use. My son is young for that, but it is so helpful when people share their experiences.

[BearWallowSchool]

I have read TWTM all the way through. I came to the boards after reading it.

[Amy Jo]

I've read the WTM, it was not long after I started visiting the boards, even though I'd skimmed it before that point. Personally, I am much more in line with classical education from the viewpoint of Circe / Charlotte Mason / Norms & Nobility.

 

I usually come for opinions on curriculum or larger homeschool issues like scheduling or math questions, etc.

[Element]

When you respond, please tell me if you:

 

1) have ever read The Well Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer all the way through or not

2) read TWTM by SWB before or after you came to the boards

 

I have read the 3rd edition several times, skimming through the rhetoric stage. I think I've read the rhetoric stage in its entirety once.

 

I can't remember which I came across first, WTM Forums or book. I knew I wanted to give my kids a classical education and WTM (book) gave me a really accessible route to achieve that goal. I think I heard about WTM (book) online and had to wait for it to come ILL, so then I started lurking on the boards. However, it was a few months after I read the book that I began to post here.

[Above The Rowan]

I haven't read any of WTM, yet, and would be one of those who have no notion of who the Baur's are ;P. I do own a copy which I bought at a homeschooling convention recently for a dollar. It's in my pile of books to read before the year ends. Although I'm intrigued by Classical Education my husband is against using it as the basis of our homeschool. He attended private schools that were Classically based and loathed it, particularly the many years of Latin. Of course he turned out brilliant and very successful so there must be something to it!!

 

I stumbled in here recently because every single time I googled a homeschooling question I was being directed to threads here. It seems like an excellent source for homeschooling information and as a newbie with preschoolers I need lots of help!

 

This is how I have found this. I lurk (a LOT) but it seemed like every time I googled for reviews on curricula or styles or methods, the first handful of search results led me to this forum. So I figured I'd sign up an account in case I ever just wanted to direct a question. I get a lot from reading through threads, and searching for answers to my eleventy billion questions I have as I fumble my way through my first weeks/months as a homeschooler. This forum, along with one or two others, have been a big help in me slowly getting my crap in line and figuring out how to 'do' this homeschooling thing. :) 

[waa510]

I read WTM when my oldest was 2, for no other reason than the fact that it was just another homeschooling book on the library shelf. I was trying to figure out if this gig was for me, but all I kept finding were unschooling books and they just didn't jive with me. I read WTM and it was like, "This! This is what I want for my kid!" I didn't find the forums until oldest was 3 ish which is probably a good thing as I would have seriously obsessed over planning in the beginning. I'm not a perfect WTM follower but I use a lot of peace hill press stuff and I love SWB's Mp3s.

 

I'm very grateful for the forums as I'm surrounded by a troop of unschoolers here who aren't shy about voicing their opinions on those who dare to actually intentionally teach their children anything. My closest friends aren't homeschoolers.

[G5052]

I read the first edition of WTM all the way through when mine were toddlers, and have bought both the 2nd and 3rd editions.  We homeschooled pretty closely to WTM through 1st grade or so, and then had to switch to more scripted programs because of family circumstances.  I used Sonlight history/lit for six years, and we were involved in Classical Conversations for seven years.  

 

With my teens, we use a mixture of resources, some recommended in WTM and some from other classical providers.

 

I've been on the boards about 12 years or so. 

[Bocky]

I own and read the 3rd edition. I first read TWTM when I was thinking of pulling my kids out of school, and loved having such a clear model. I think it also appeals to me as I trained as a Classicist. We follow many specific recommendations from the 3rd ed. I started out two years ago with big plans...and encountered the reality of my dds...what do you mean you don't want to learn Greek and Latin?! Wah!

 

I found the forums through online searches for curricula reviews. I don't post much, but I come here almost daily for the interesting discussions. There is a good IRL community here for homeschoolers, but my closer homeschooling friends are unschoolers, so not interested in discussing curriculum.