When do you let your dc chime in on curricula choices?

[mommy24angels]

At what age - if ever - do you allow your dc to give you input on what they'd like to use (especially for science and history)? Thanks!

[Crimson Wife]

I do allow my children input on choosing curricula, but only from among the options that I've already pre-screened and deemed acceptable.

[Luckymama]

Dd had input as soon as we decided to homeschool her (fifth grade). I gave her choices like American history or ancient history and earth science or life science.

 

She has continued to help choose the topics or subjects. I gather materials that fit her needs and she chooses what to use from those.

[lifesadream83]

My daughter was 7 and in second grade when we started homeschooling then... and I am the same what ... I let her choose from things I have pre screened... lots of times I let her choose topics... and then I build off that... We went through a time were I was considering other things.. so I did trials of each and she told me what she liked about them and we went from there...she is 9 now

[Berta]

I usually ask their opinion on MY choices. My older daughter was able to decide which electives she wanted. This year was the first year where we scrapped an entire curricula and started over because my 8 yr old, who LOVES school work, was frustrated and not happy AT.ALL. with what I chose for her. I'm happy to say that the last two weeks have been stress-free and she is back to loving doing school work.

[merylvdm]

As early as possible and as often as possible. As others have suggested I do the research and when there is no obvious 'clear' winner, I get my kids to sit with me and look over the options. Far better to get them to 'buy' into whatever you get. They will be more enthusiastic - and if it doesn't turn our exactly as you hoped, well, they can't blame you!

 

I do talk through possible pros and cons and share info  have found online in reviews etc.

 

This is a great way to teach 'thinking skills' and 'research skills'. They will learn to analyze and many more things. And in the end, hopefully you will have found the best curriulum solution for them as well.

 

[MinivanMom]

For my elementary children:

I don't give them choices about studying the basics or what curriculum we use for the basics.

 

I do get their input for history and science. I usually tell them what we need to cover in a broad sense (biology or American history) and they let me know what areas they would like to cover in more depth (wanting to focus on human anatomy within biology or wanting to really delve into the Civil War while studying American history). I generally choose basic texts or spines, but they give lots of input on extra books (biographies, historical fiction, books on a particular sub-topic, etc.) they would like us to use. I try to give them as much of a say as possible.

 

I give my kids pretty free choice for foreign language and music. I want to support them in studying the languages and instruments that they feel passionately about. My two oldest are currently studying the same foreign language (thank goodness), but I know that they are likely going to go in different directions with their second language. They both study piano (by choice), but have chosen different second instruments. I give them a big say in which curriculum, teachers, and tutors we use.

[Jess4879]

I do allow my children input on choosing curricula, but only from among the options that I've already pre-screened and deemed acceptable.

 

This is what we do.  I do let the kids pick out science and history books for us to read though (at the library).  If they show an interest in a topic I haven't planned to study, I will usually try to add this in for them. 

[OneStepAtATime]

I did let them have some minor input last year, but only for other subjects than language arts and math because we were doing remediation for dyslexia/dyscalculia.  It was our first year homeschooling and sometimes it worked sometimes it didn't, but we were still trying to find our rhythm.  

 

This year I picked all the curriculum since I was trying to find things I could do with both of them at the same time, just at different levels of difficulty.  Then (thankfully) when history was a complete failure and both kids were horribly miserable and frustrated because one really loved the curriculum but wanted more and the other hated it and didn't want to have anything to do with it, the lovely ladies here at the Hive helped me see the error of my ways.   :grouphug:  I talked it over with both kids, found things they both really wanted to pursue, found tons of ways to pursue those interests for the younger, found a few items for the older and am still working on various other things for the older (with her input) and we are ALL a lot happier.  We are also learning a lot more because the enthusiasm has returned.  

 

In fact, just a couple of nights ago, my elder child, who hates history, was so enthusiastic that I was willing to give her a lot more say so in how to pursue this subject that she enthusiastically sat through 3 and half hours of Das Boot with her dad, even though she can't stand war, hates trying to read subtitles because of the dyslexia, and doesn't like long movies.  She found it so surprisingly interesting that she decided to learn more about submarine construction.

 

I agree with Crimson Wife (and others), I will be giving my kids more input next time, but I do think it works best if I screen for quality and appropriateness first.  Wish I had been smart enough to really think that through earlier.  :glare:  

[Farrar]

At any age.  When they were younger, the "input" was usually more about me observing how they did with a certain curricula and then deciding to keep it or chuck it based on that.  Now sometimes we talk about the various options and I listen to their input.  It's increasingly important as they get older, but I definitely have the final say.

[mommy24angels]

Thank you all so much for sharing what has/hasn't worked for you! I have a third grader that's really grouchy about doing school most days and I'm trying to figure out how much "say" I should give him in picking out things for his fourth grade year. Thanks again!

[kolamum]

I've let my kids chime in about what they want to learn, but generally I try to take cues from what interests them most. Having said that we used SL this year & Last, but I needed my youngest to break from it in order to put space between himself & the older. So I offered him a selection of things & let him choose which he liked most. That was history. Then he spotted a Dinosaur Science curric he wanted to use, but I spotted horses & thought he might really love that one more. I let him choose. 

 

If he REALLY needed to learn something specific there'd be no choice about doing it, but I'd let him give input about when/how, kwim? I find it makes for a more compliant learner. ;)

[8filltheheart]

My kids have a lot of say about what they study. With my really young kids, I will give a list of suggested options that they might choose from....but they just might suggest something else. As they get older, it is very normal for them to request what they want to study and I seek out resources for us to use. By the time they are in high school, our co-designing courses is quite typical and for subjects out of my league, they are self-designing independent studies.

 

If you search the boards, there are lots of discussions about interest lead learning.

[dbmamaz]

I would give my kids more freedom to choose but they dont always have an opinion.  I work with them to find something they are willing to do within my limits - but my limits are pretty broad.  They have to cover math, science, history and language arts every year, and probably something else too.  I obviously dont follow TWTM.  But history they dont like enough to have a request.  Science they get a lot of choice.

[lifesadream83]

I see in your signature line that you used sl with your littles... can I suggest doing either core B+C with him next year (and get the Lesson Planner and Workbook that go with A Child's History of the World from an online store) (he may also really like the 4/5 readers)... I have found with my daughter being on the upper end of the SL core has kept her truly engaged.... I also add in other stuff like videos and games... lots of stuff from BBC online... we are in Core C and finishing Vikings this week... I added Viking Sagas from BBC online for kids and I bought the Lesson Planner and Workbook that go with A Childs History of the World and so we will be playing a matching (harder than it sounds) game and we started a clay Viking ship yesterday that she baked and is going to paint today.... This she has loved better than any of the other programs I have tried with her.... For Science at this age I bought Science Saurus for 4-6 graders and we do each topic and add in books and kits and the Magic School Bus and Wild Kratts and some Videos from Amazon Prime... it has been a great year!

 

 

Wish you the best!

 

Thank you all so much for sharing what has/hasn't worked for you! I have a third grader that's really grouchy about doing school most days and I'm trying to figure out how much "say" I should give him in picking out things for his fourth grade year. Thanks again!

 

[Kathryn]

What Crimson Wife said. Halfway through Sonlight Language Arts 2, when he was in his K year and we were both hating it, I researched and gave him choices to pick from. When we finished that year and he had hated MUS Alpha, I chose several math programs and sat down with him and talked about each one and let him pick.

[mommy24angels]

I see in your signature line that you used sl with your littles... can I suggest doing either core B+C with him next year (and get the Lesson Planner and Workbook that go with A Child's History of the World from an online store) (he may also really like the 4/5 readers)... I have found with my daughter being on the upper end of the SL core has kept her truly engaged.... I also add in other stuff like videos and games... lots of stuff from BBC online... we are in Core C and finishing Vikings this week... I added Viking Sagas from BBC online for kids and I bought the Lesson Planner and Workbook that go with A Childs History of the World and so we will be playing a matching (harder than it sounds) game and we started a clay Viking ship yesterday that she baked and is going to paint today.... This she has loved better than any of the other programs I have tried with her.... For Science at this age I bought Science Saurus for 4-6 graders and we do each topic and add in books and kits and the Magic School Bus and Wild Kratts and some Videos from Amazon Prime... it has been a great year!

 

 

Wish you the best!

 

We did SL Core B for his first grade year. Loved the read alouds!! He didn't really retain the history we covered from that Core- I think it was over his head because he's very distractable and wiggly (ADHD). He complained about doing the science from SL Science B- even though now he fondly recalls how much he "loved SL science" lol. We tried HOD Beyond for 2nd and ds moaned and groaned constantly about how boring it was so I shelved it and ordered Core C for the rest of 2nd. BUT, I started feeling uncomfortable with some of the content so we ended up taking advantage of the SL guarantee and shipped Core C back at the end of the year. I asked him tonight what he thought of MFW ECC and HOD Preparing. I've gone back and forth a million times about what to use but I've been afraid to go by what he likes better because he seems to complain about most everything we do at some point anyway.  He thought they both looked great, but likes MFW ECC better. We were trying to finish up some HOD science tonight and he was complaining about it being boring and wanted to listen in on the Magic School Bus book I was reading to the littles (it was actually about the same topic he was studying anyway- electricity). I ended up just letting him make a narration page and drawing from the Magic School Bus book which he thought was so much more fun and exciting. Oy!! Part of me feels like we have so much structure in our life with our daily schedule, house rules, etc.... that maybe I need to let the reigns go a little when it comes to letting him choose things for history and science. And then the other part thinks that he doesn't know what is best and I should be choosing for him. Thanks for your help and ideas.... I'm checking out the Science Saurus books on Amazon and Wild Kratts is free on my Amazon Prime (I had never even heard of it cuz we don't watch cable TV). I'll look into the CHOW planner and workbook too.  :-)

[Another Lynn]

We did SL Core B for his first grade year. Loved the read alouds!! He didn't really retain the history we covered from that Core- I think it was over his head because he's very distractable and wiggly (ADHD). He complained about doing the science from SL Science B- even though now he fondly recalls how much he "loved SL science" lol. We tried HOD Beyond for 2nd and ds moaned and groaned constantly about how boring it was so I shelved it and ordered Core C for the rest of 2nd. BUT, I started feeling uncomfortable with some of the content so we ended up taking advantage of the SL guarantee and shipped Core C back at the end of the year. I asked him tonight what he thought of MFW ECC and HOD Preparing. I've gone back and forth a million times about what to use but I've been afraid to go by what he likes better because he seems to complain about most everything we do at some point anyway.  He thought they both looked great, but likes MFW ECC better. We were trying to finish up some HOD science tonight and he was complaining about it being boring and wanted to listen in on the Magic School Bus book I was reading to the littles (it was actually about the same topic he was studying anyway- electricity). I ended up just letting him make a narration page and drawing from the Magic School Bus book which he thought was so much more fun and exciting. Oy!! Part of me feels like we have so much structure in our life with our daily schedule, house rules, etc.... that maybe I need to let the reigns go a little when it comes to letting him choose things for history and science. And then the other part thinks that he doesn't know what is best and I should be choosing for him. Thanks for your help and ideas.... I'm checking out the Science Saurus books on Amazon and Wild Kratts is free on my Amazon Prime (I had never even heard of it cuz we don't watch cable TV). I'll look into the CHOW planner and workbook too.  :-)

 

HOD has its strengths, but my oldest didn't love it - even recently he remembered that he thought it was too repetitive (perhaps too structured).  We never completed a guide, so take this with a grain of salt, but I think Preparing might be better than Bigger.  One of the things I liked about Preparing was the guided narrations.  I still go back to them sometimes.  Next year, you *could* use Preparing just for the history "block" and then give your ds more free reign with science.  Keep covering skills with whatever materials you would normally use.  Make the "project" block from Preparing optional. 

 

..... just a thought....

[....]

At what age - if ever - do you allow your dc to give you input on what they'd like to use (especially for science and history)? Thanks!

 

I let my oldest daughter choose her entire course of study for next year.  I'm actually thinking about letting them design their own high school program later.  We'll see how this year goes.

[....]

Anytime.  I won't necessarily let them quit something without a good reason though.  And if I think something is not rigorous enough I will pull the plug.  Luckily this has rarely happened.

 

:iagree:  Yes, they have to follow through with their plans.  Honestly, mine pick stuff that's more rigorous than what I would've picked.

[Kathryn]

:iagree: Yes, they have to follow through with their plans. Honestly, mine pick stuff that's more rigorous than what I would've picked.

LOL, DS was having a hard time picking between two different writing programs and grammar programs, and we ended up doing both for two years because he wanted to do so.

[Berta]

LOL, DS was having a hard time picking between two different writing programs and grammar programs, and we ended up doing both for two years because he wanted to do so.

 

My daughter is doing both CLE math and Teaching Textbooks this year. I tried to switch her over to TT, but she loves the CLE. I told her we would go back to CLE and she said no, she wanted to do both.

[Julie Smith]

I listen to them about what they prefer all the time. 

 

Recently Eldest said he prefers Singapore Math to Beast Academy. So we restarted Singapore.  After we review world history this year we are going to do a study on Canadian history because they asked to. For two years they could pick whatever they wanted for French as long as it was French and lasted twenty minutes. 

 

 

[robsiew]

I give them limited input.  If something isn't working I talk to them about it and we discuss together solutions.  We've gotten to the point now where I've figured out for the most part what types of things work and which don't.  I let my dd choose her science topic this year, but I didn't let her choose the actual curriculum.  I suggested my ds13 drop a couple things because his load is pretty big this year, but he refused.  So, I let him decide that one and he's happy.  I always have the final decision, but the older they get the more input they get.  Some things are not offered for input, but I work hard to make sure it's fitting each child's needs.  When they were younger they had the perception of not much input (I didn't want them to think just because they don't like something they don't have to do it), but I watched and listened to them carefully making changes when I needed to.

[Guest]

My son (very vocal and opinionated) works with me to figure out what works. My daughter could care less.