Starting our homeschooling journey and curriculum hopping :(

[beth83]

In the grand scheme of things, we are just starting out.  I'm a researcher, and I spent way too much time researching curriculum  before we even got started.  I had my plan set that we would follow for the next couple of years.  I drooled over certain materials that I could not wait to use, and then I waited until the oldest was old enough to start.

 

We finally got to the right age, I purchased all my new curriculum, read the teacher guides, and drooled some more.  I loved everything and could not wait to start.  

 

And then things didn't work out.   :mellow:

 

As much as I loved the programs, they just didn't work for our family.  Too many moveable pieces and too teacher intensive.  I just didn't account for life happening while I tried to use the programs.  With a 3 year old, a 1 year old, and a baby on the way, it was not easy to implement with my oldest.  I was sad to see them go, but I knew I needed something else.

 

The best curriculum is the one that gets done, right?

 

I DO NOT want to be a curriculum jumper, though.  We don't have the budget for that and I am honestly getting tired of researching.  I just want to school now.  

 

So, I'm hoping that someone can tell me that this is a natural step in the beginning?  Maybe some older homeschoolers had some hits and misses in the beginning, but then got into a routine?  

 

For those of you that have your tried and true programs, did you have them from the very beginning, or did you experience this a time, or two?

[sbgrace]

I had misses. Our phonics program, which I researched more than anything else, was a complete miss for one child. It was so bad that I stopped phonics instruction completely for a while. I was out of curriculum money but, beyond that, I didn't want to make another mistake with something so important. I don't think I've ever seen a bad review on the program, but it was bad for us! It was an expensive mistake too. My next choice, 6 months or so later, was a good one.

 

I'm glad I used the math we did early on, but it was not the best fit for one child or myself for that matter. I finally found our best fit in 3rd grade and I feel settled in elementary math now.

 

I finally switched to the right for us spelling program the summer after 3rd grade. i don't know where I'll go when we're done with it, but I'm confident enough  that I purchased all the levels going forward.

 

Now in 4th grade I think I've finally found a keeper of a composition program, and feel settled in grammar/other LA too. This is new enough that I'm pretty sure I haven't updated my siggie.

 

I could go on. But, for me anyway, finding what works has never been a first time thing. Time helps with that. You get a sense for what works and doesn't for you as a teacher and your student. Don't be surprised, though, if you find that what works for one child isn't as great for another!

 

 

Yes, the best curriculum is one that gets done. Finding the right fit can take a little while, and it can change with time.

[Mandylubug]

I think you have to hop some until you find your groove. We are in our third year and I just now feel fairly comfortable.

[kolamum]

I think you made a beautiful point, "The best curriculum is the one that gets done.." Don't be lured by shiny catalogs, good reviews, or friends who succeed with something different. :D

[Mom0012]

I think it's normal to have some hits and misses when you are first starting out. I made many adjustments in the beginning, but learned over time what worked for us. I rarely made changes after the first year or two, though I always agonize about at least one subject for each child every spring when I make plans for the following year. Now that I know what works for us, I make pretty good choices and almost always stick with my decisions.

[Heidi]

Oh yeah that's normal. I'm a researcher too, did it just like you. I still jump, but less so as I've figured out subjects. i'm tired of spending money on curriculum, so I have been more determined to figure out different ways of using what I already own to fit my needs.

[Aspasia]

I don't have wisdom or experience to offer, since I'm in the same boat as op. But hey, we're in the boat together. So I hereby offer camaraderie. ;)

[ByGrace3]

There was definitely some trial and error. I regretted a few purchases, tried to stick it out too long with others and then regreted the time wasted.

 

That said, I can't imagine it not being teacher intensive in the beginning. My ds does absolutely nothing alone so far (he is in first). Independence started small for dd a little earlier and now by 3rd she can do a few things independently...but for the first few years any curriculum that does its job is going to need an adult.

 

I hated curriculum hopping as well. Sometimes it is necessary, and we all have been there...just be sure to think through the reasons you are doing it and if it is best for all involved. If so, jump and don't look back. :)

[PeterPan]

Beth, when I was first starting out, doing all my research, I didn't understand why my SIL just went to the BJU booth, got everything for each grade level, and did it.  Then, as I went along with my *one child* and spent tons and tons of time researching and customizing, I realized that not everything is PRACTICAL with some situations.  

 

You really want to be careful that the person who's advice or method you're following actually did what you're trying to do (number of kids, health problems, personality of mom, etc.).  I even found this with my one, that advice that fits a family of 8 might fall really flat when you have just one.  The dynamic is different.  

 

I think it's also possible to read the boards and make a lot of assumptions and think you're going to be Wonder Woman.  If a woman has a flock of kids here on the board and *does* customize a lot, she's probably also making some choices to stagger things, drop things, etc.  It's not like people do EVERYTHING.  You don't realize this until you dig, so you just assume you can do the aggregate of what everyone is doing.  No one is.  Even with my one, I usually dropped something and then picked it up in the summer or for a month in May or December.  

 

I think you need to weigh the need to customize with the need of the student.  The more SN or possibly quirky the student is, the more important (vital) it is to customize.  The more typical the student is, the more flexibility you have to do something that is sort of "one size fits most" and make it work.  In that scenario, you have some flexibility to either pick one publisher and be done with it (sometimes very good for some people!) or a mix.  

 

As far as knowing yourself, well that's really hard.  Cathy Duffy calls it making payments in the University of Home Ed.  It's rough, and I'm sorry you got burnt.  It's a hard lesson, but it's common.  Start slowly, be honest, see things in person, make plans to come to a convention.  What I did when my dd was little was to try to stay a year ahead.  That way, when I went to a convention in the spring I was thinking about what I'd want a YEAR LATER, not that fall.  It gave me plenty of time to see the things in person and then watch feedback (and fallout!) online for a year before I bought.  Impulse purchases are the ones that often don't work out well, oops.

 

It's ok to admit you made mistakes.  We had a hilarious thread a couple years ago where people fessed up to the MOST EXPENSIVE MISTAKES they had ever made, hehe...  We should see if we can find it.  Might make you feel better.  :) 

 

Ok, one more thing.  Sometimes when you're a newbie it's not so much that the materials are a mistake as that you don't yet know how to flex them or make them work for you.  This takes experience.  You might start a thread with one of your horrible mistakes and just ask for advice on how to refab and reuse it a different way.  Seriously, it would be a good learning experience for you.  It might be you could solve one of your problems with a tweak in how you use it, bringing in a manipulative, using it a different way you hadn't thought of, etc.  Harness the awesome power of the women of the boards to salvage your experience.  :)

[Soror]

It happens, even if you research like crazy, it is disappointing but you just have to move forward. Even if you happen to get everything right as time goes you change and the kids change and the family dynamic changes so what is working may stop working. It would be nice just to jump in and have everything work but we learn from figuring out ourselves and our children.

[Alte Veste Academy]

I'm a researcher, and I spent way too much time researching curriculum before we even got started.

 

As much as I loved the programs, they just didn't work for our family.

Yes, it is normal. I think most people have had the experience of being excited about something that ends up being unworkable. Experience helps avoid this to a degree, but honestly the kids keep growing and changing, family dynamics change as kids age, etc. So we find things that work but then have to keep researching for the new ages and stages.

 

For this reason, the advice I now give and follow myself is to spend more time researching and contemplating your kids and family dynamics than researching curricula. Think about what you need before you even look at what is out there. It is easy to fall in love with a shiny package if you don't put your blinders on before you go shopping. :D Playing to your strengths and planning for who you are instead of who you wish you were will save a lot of money. :)

[PeterPan]

 Playing to your strengths and planning for who you are instead of who you wish you were will save a lot of money. :)

What, you mean buying the curriculum doesn't magically transform our kids and us into the thing we admired?  No, say it isn't so!  :D

[Alte Veste Academy]

What, you mean buying the curriculum doesn't magically transform our kids and us into the thing we admired? No, say it isn't so! :D

The biggest bummer of homeschooling for me, alas! :lol:

[DianeW88]

Yep, it's normal.  I've spent tens of thousands of dollars on curriculum over the past 20 years.  And even now, with my youngest in 7th grade, I still find things that I thought would work...but don't.  I still buy things that sound better on paper than they are in reality.  And yes, I'm still buying curriculum. 

 

The most annoying thing that I found in the beginning was that a reading or math program that works for child #1, most likely won't work for child #2, or #3.  So, do not justify spending a huge amount of money on a phonics program thinking that "this will work for all of the kids".  A lot of the time, it doesn't.  Same goes for math.  Each one of my children learned differently, and each one of them had all new stuff when their turn in that grade came.

 

I just look at it as an investment...and it's still much cheaper than private school tuition.  My homeschool budget is $1,000 per child, per year.  That worked well for us, and allowed me to make necessary changes when the need arose.

[ajfries]

I've done the same thing. I bought a science curriculum that doesn't even touch on the subjects my kiddos are interested in. My DS hates the sit-down-and-read-with-me phonics programs (OPGR, The Reading Lesson, etc.) I still love the idea behind Right Start Math but I've fallen back on Math Mammoth because it's easier to get done...I've got my eye on a number of curriculums right now but I'm forcing myself not to rush into anything.

[Mandylubug]

Don't sell your failures yet, either. Some MAY find themselves returning to curriculum and purchasing it again. ;)

[Ellie]

I took my older dd out of a private Christian school during Easter break of first grade; it was 18 months before I bought anything that looked like School. And this was back in 1982, before homeschoolers had started writing their own materials, so the only things available to me were Official School Stuff. I was not going to go back to what I had taken her out of, KWIM?

 

The first Official School Stuff I bought that I *knew* would work for us was Easy Grammar, the first year it was released. And it did. But I had already bought and hated Winston Grammar; I had acquired odds and ends of inexpensive workbooks from different publishers, not any major products such that I could say that I was "curriculum hopping." I was just sort of filling in the gaps. :-) We had lots of learning going on, just nothing much that looked like School.

 

I finally did KONOS (I didn't have to buy it, because I hosted a KONOS workshop, and Jessica Hulcey gave me a volume and timeline for my efforts. Woohoo.) I spent quite a bit of time, though, reading through it, and also comparing it to my friend's Weaver. Neither was anything like School, KONOS was more flexible and creative. I chose KONOS and loved it.

I bought and sold the Writing Road to Reading a couple of times before I loved Spalding. :D

 

I think it takes time to know what works for you and your children, although I do think that often, people need to use something--really use it, the way it is intended to be used--for a good long time before they ditch it.

[Saddlemomma]

It's all part of the learning curve. I'm a research hound too and that has hampered rather than helped me.  I've only be at this for 6 years, and I've done my share of curriculum hopping.  In fact, the only thing I haven't changed ever is our math curriculum - Horizons.

 

I finally did figure out that we are NOT a boxed curriculum family.  Now I'm using TOG and we absolutely love it.  I think we're finally done with hopping around.  We'll also stick with MP's Latin program as DD told me she is really understanding English grammar through her Latin.

[DianeW88]

I took my older dd out of a private Christian school during Easter break of first grade; it was 18 months before I bought anything that looked like School. And this was back in 1982, before homeschoolers had started writing their own materials, so the only things available to me were Official School Stuff. I was not going to go back to what I had taken her out of, KWIM?

 

The first Official School Stuff I bought that I *knew* would work for us was Easy Grammar, the first year it was released. And it did. But I had already bought and hated Winston Grammar; I had acquired odds and ends of inexpensive workbooks from different publishers, not any major products such that I could say that I was "curriculum hopping." I was just sort of filling in the gaps. :-) We had lots of learning going on, just nothing much that looked like School.

 

I finally did KONOS (I didn't have to buy it, because I hosted a KONOS workshop, and Jessica Hulcey gave me a volume and timeline for my efforts. Woohoo.) I spent quite a bit of time, though, reading through it, and also comparing it to my friend's Weaver. Neither was anything like School, KONOS was more flexible and creative. I chose KONOS and loved it.

I bought and sold the Writing Road to Reading a couple of times before I loved Spalding. :D

 

I think it takes time to know what works for you and your children, although I do think that often, people need to use something--really use it, the way it is intended to be used--for a good long time before they ditch it.

 

KONOS rocks!!  It is the one curriculum that all three of my kids have loved to pieces, and I still use it to this day!  Oh, and my two oldest want me to save it for when they homeschool their kids. :D

 

[ItoLina]

Totally normal...it's like a right of passage for homeschooling I think :-)

I second what a previous poster said about not being quick to get rid of curriculum. Sometimes I have found that after waiting 6 months we go back to a curriculum and it magically works wonderfully...maybe my kid just wasn't ready for it the first time around, maybe I wasn't ready to teach it, maybe it just didn't work in our particular life situation in that moment....but with little kids things seem to change so fast I think you just never know. I have gotten rid of things and regretted it, I also have a ton of stuff sitting on my shelves that didn't work for my ds, but I don't want to get rid of them because I think they might work for dd. We have also had situations where I ditched something and came back to it in a few month to have it be a favorite. AAS was like this for us...I was so excited to use it that I jumped in before ds was ready and it was awful. A few months later we tried it again and it's now one of his favorites, so go figure :-)

[HS Mom in NC]

The OP is very vague. 

What curriculum were you using and what specifically was the problem with using it in your household with your kids?

Too much busy work?

Not enough repetition or practice?  

Did you like the approach in general but you didn't like the way it was executed? 

Was it too academically advanced?  Not advanced enough?

Did you like the content itself?  If yes, then what did you like about it?  If no, then what specifically did you not like?

Did you like how it was paced?  Too fast?  Too slow?

Is it too structured?  Too unstructured?

How was it not getting you to your goals with your children?  What exactly are those goals?
How were you, as a parent struggling with it?  How were each of your children struggling with it?

Are you "married" to the instructions?  Do you need to simply do less than assigned?  Do you need to do it differently than assigned? 
Is the curriculum not flexible enough?

Is it possible the curriculum writer has a different educational philosophy than you do?

Do you have an idea of what your educational philosophy is or isn't? 

 

Never pass up an opportunity to learn from mistakes.  If you can analyze what specifically didn't work and have a basic idea of why it didn't work you're much more likely to find something soon that will work for your household.   It's also important that you are able to articulate what didn't work when you ask people their recommendations-everything out there is working for someone.  Someone, somewhere loves each and every curriculum.  The important thing for you is to understand what doesn't work for you and why.

 

Every single homeschooler out there has an educational philosophy to some degree-some just never sat down and articulated it.  The more you can do that, the more you can avoid the endless shifting sands of curriculum hopping, experimenting and starting over again.  Lots of people choose curriculum that is contrary to those unspoken goals without realizing that it's not the curriculum itself.  The curriculum they chose is just meeting goals the curriculum writer and other people have for their kids.

 

I agree that saving it for a while to see if your current life circumstances may be affecting getting it done.  If you find something else that works much better for a long time with all your kids then you may want to think about getting rid of it. 

 

 

 

[SnMomof7]

Oooooh, yep. Happened to me. Planned to homeschool since before I got married. TOO much research (still, a bit addicted). Too many fancy, teacher intensive programs combined with new babies and PPD. Last year I decided, we're just getting it done. It's not fancy, but it's getting done for the 2nd year running. I'm a bit dense, it took me 3 years to simplify and think realistically.

[beth83]

Thank you all! 

 

I agree with so much that you all said, and I was thinking along those lines.  I was trying to tell myself that I would find couple of misses along the way.  I just wanted to make sure I wasn't making unreasonable excuses.  My fear is that my children will be in 4th grade and I will still be hopping around.  It seems that everyone took a couple of years to find their groove, which I think is understandable.

 

There are some programs that have worked nicely for our family on the first try, so it gives me confidence!  

[boscopup]

Oh yes, absolutely normal! I too researched and researched. Then I started homeschooling. In the first 3 weeks, I think we changed spelling programs 5 times. :lol:

 

Here's the thing... Before you start homeschooling, you have no idea what it is *really* like. It's like having children. You may have grand ideas of how you'll parent, but until you have a real, live baby of your own, it's all theory, and some (much?) of that theory doesn't work with your real live human being.

 

I have changed things many times. I'm not a "curriculum hopper" in a bad way... My kids are usually ahead of the academic curve in the subjects we hop around in. My oldest used 3 different math curricula during elementary math, and now he's happily doing a difficult prealgebra book at age 9. Obviously, changing math curricula did not hurt him one bit. If anything, it gave him different perspectives. My middle son has also used 3 different math curricula (not counting Life of Fred, which he has used as a fun supplement). He's likewise on track to do prealgebra at age 9 if he does one grade level per year from here on out. So again, not hurting him at all to change things up.

 

I've changed grammar a million times for my oldest. He knows grammar VERY well. I finally dropped formal grammar this year.

 

I've used multiple writing programs, hitting things from different angles. This has helped my son finally start writing!

 

I've changed history programs a few times. I've changed science (and also gone a couple years with no science curriculum). My 9 year old knows more history and science than your average b&m schooled kid.

 

Goodness, this year - my 4th year homeschooling - I think I changed almost every subject. :lol: Really, it's FINE. Curriculum is not what educates my children. *I* educate my children. I have a basic idea of what I want to accomplish, and I use the curriculum as a tool to get me there, but I can change tools and still reach my goal. As my children and I grow and change, our curriculum needs change as well. That first year I homeschooled, I needed open and go, scripted, not a lot of pieces, not a lot of reading aloud, etc. Now, my homeschool looks VERY different. I don't have an 18 month old anymore. He's 4.5. What a difference that makes! I am using curricula today that I absolutely could not have handled 3 years ago. That's one of the reasons why I have changed curricula. Our needs change. Also, I sometimes get bored, and I'm a better teacher if I'm not bored. :tongue_smilie: Again though, the curriculum is just a tool.

[Farrar]

You know, I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with curriculum hopping. I understand why some people don't want to for financial reasons and because it's frustrating to have to adjust your own thinking about how to teach, but I don't think it hurts the kids.  On the contrary, even if a program isn't just right, they get something out of it.  They see us learning to teach and responding to their needs, both of which are positive.  I think it helps kids have an appreciation for what really works for them and be willing to stick with it even when it's tough.  Plus, I don't see gaps as a terrible thing.  They're inevitable no matter what - for school kids too.

 

One of my boys followed MM all the way through so far for math.  The other one has been all over the map.  Guess who's my better math student?  I think all those different programs, even the ones that weren't perfect, helped him get a handle on numbers in a deeper way.  Go figure.

 

Because it's inevitable that you're going to program hop, I often tell people who are just starting out to look at cheap first and then move up.  So, your kid is learning to read?  Start with Starfall, Progressive Phonics and some BOB books.  That's not working, spend a little more.  That's not working, look at the expensive LoE or AAR...  Ditto with math...  start with MEP.  I've never understood why more people don't start with such a great free program.  It didn't work for us, so stop number two was the inexpensive Math Mammoth...  and so forth.  Of course, sometimes, you know that you'll want some expensive package deal, but in general I think it's much better to move from cheap to expensive.

 

[MerryAtHope]

Absolutely normal, and not what I would consider curriculum hopping at all.

 

It's part of teacher education finding what works and what doesn't--what fits your lifestyle, kids' learning styles, your teaching style, and so on.

 

Curriculum hopping is starting something, getting bored in a month, trying something else, hearing what your best friend does and switching the next month, reading online that that's not the best, xyz is "best" instead, and switching the next month...

 

And so on. It's "Grass is Greener Syndrome" rather than finding something that works reasonably well. It's searching for perfect (hint, doesn't exist!) versus looking for a good quality program that meets your needs and works well. 

 

 

[Alice]

Another vote for normal, expected and fine. 

 

For myself, I try to avoid changing curriculum just because I’ve heard of something new and “cool†if we have something that already works well. I see that as “curriculum hopping.†The idea that there is always something better. Or that if all the Moms in your homeschool co-op are using x math curriculum than x must be better than y curriculum that you are using. 

 

But I think it’s just as big a mistake to stick with something that isn’t working just because you chose it first or lots of people use it or it’s in the WTM or whatever. If it’s not working for you, it makes sense to change. 

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

We're in our second year of official HSing, and it took me the first year to figure out things about my TEACHING STYLE and what curriculum corresponded to that.  I am much less concerned with my kids' learning styles.... does that make me a bad mom?  LOL.  I found what I can TEACH well, and that greatly enhances their ability to learn well. 

 

With the exception of SOTW for history, I think I've changed every single thing, at least a bit.  :-) 

 

I see curriculum hopping as an issue only when it causes you to lose ground- for example restarting a math year half way through because you've switched programs and then end up losing 4-5 months of grade level in math.  But it's still better to do that than to force your kid onward in a program that he isn't understanding.

[Amy M]

Yes, I can relate! I also research constantly. I enjoy it, but it does cause a little stress. Ignorance might be bliss at times in the homeschool curriculum world.

 

I changed language, writing, and spelling halfway through our first grade year. I like the philosophy of my new curricula better. However, it was nice to have my former traditional curriculum worksheets to throw at my oldest child to fill out independently while I read a book to the youngers, nursed a baby, or changed a diaper.

 

My philosophy for now is to use what I have bought (unless it really doesn't work). Then when I have finished that level or whatever, I have the option to buy something else. OR if the original curriculum doesn't fit my philosophy, then I may change earlier.

 

I think it's a good idea with so many children and especially little ones to think ahead to having more 1st graders who need so much time from you at the same time as older students, and try to plan those older ones to have more independent-type curriculum. I'm finding that most of my choices now are more teacher-intensive, which will be the case for first grade anyway, but doesn't need to be for 4th and on, you know?

 

I'm glad I chose MUS for math, because even though I was thinking of Singapore (which I still use as review in between MUS levels), I thought ahead to 4th or 5th grade and thought it might be really nice to be able to let my oldest try to learn by himself from the video while I'm working with youngers. Teaching Textbooks also sounds nice for that. I may change spelling as well later on for the same reason--Try to get some curricula that they can do independently.

 

I also found it helpful to write out my personal philosophy of education.

[shawthorne44]

I was reading on the 1+1+1=1 site.  She said she wouldn't be using the preschool stuff that she created for her first child with her second child.  It just wasn't working.  This was stuff she created, and she was going a different path.  I figure if she can create a curriculum that lots of people and her first child loved, and then have it not work on the second.  Then I give myself permission to do a little curriculum hopping in the beginning. 

[FO4UR]

Totally normal.

 

 

My best advice, after acquiring a few shelves worth of currics myself, is to schedule your day first.  Put in plenty of flex for diaper changes and toddler chasing.  Then look at the actual windows of time in your day for school.  Then, pick something that you can do in that time.  

 

 

Thankfully, little kids require little school.  By the time your oldest needs more than an hour of school, your babies will be bigger.  It's all OK.