Different curriculum for each child according to learning style?

[freeindeed]

I am using Oak Meadow with my dd13 this year & will continue with it for her next year as well. I use something else with my ds10, and next year I will be using Heart of Dakota with him. With my special needs little one, I use Flowering Baby and will continue with it. Anyone else use different curriculum providers for each child?  It seems to work for us. Just wondering if there are others like us out there.

[dbmamaz]

Yes.  I mean, my boys are 7 years apart, but still - I am homeschooling because school didnt work for them, so making sure school works for them is my main reason!  I have used some things for both of them (i'm very eclectic) but mostly choose each subject each year (or whenever we finish something or need a change) for each kid separately.  

[My3girls]

I use the same for some subjects and different for others. I try to keep dd7 & 8 together, though, for time and sanity purposes.

[ByGrace3]

Yes. I do use different things to meet each child's needs, but sometimes it is more about using what we have differently and tweaking things I love using to meet them as they are.

[Rebel Yell]

I am using Oak Meadow with my dd13 this year & will continue with it for her next year as well. I use something else with my ds10, and next year I will be using Heart of Dakota with him. With my special needs little one, I use Flowering Baby and will continue with it. Anyone else use different curriculum providers for each child?  It seems to work for us. Just wondering if there are others like us out there.

 

I used the same thing for all in History (Dianas Waring) and all did the same topic for Science as much as we could... but math & language arts were completely geared to each child's style/ability.  Doing everything completely differently would have driven ME nuts, but doing everything the same for my benefit would not have been best for the girls, so that was my sanest way to compromise.

 

[freeindeed]

It does wear me a bit thin. Oak Meadow does not fit my ds10 at all, but my dd13 loves it. I showed her the HOD samples and was hoping she'd like them enough to do the same program as my ds10 will be doing next year (with the extension set), but she said that she really enjoyed Oak Meadow and did not want to switch. And my little one-her official schooling lasts only about 30 minutes each day. It's just a long day when the older two are separate for everything, but I suppose the payoff is that both are learning and retaining what they learn.

[Soror]

My first 2 are entirely different. I thought I had Math settled and was going to be RS but it doesn't work very well for her and now I'm trying something else for him as well. On phonics/reading I used a variety of different things w/ ds and liked it ok but never felt entirely happy and settled now I'm using LoE w/ both and feeling really happy there and hope/plan to continue using it w/ my next 2. I imagine my approach w/ content is going to the opposite for them. I'm hoping that I can get settled in w/ Math as well, as I think that I can be a more effective teacher w/ those basic skills when I have more experience w/ the program.

[Farrar]

As my boys are twins, I can't imagine using different things for content.  Or, at least, not radically different things.  But we use different maths and have since they were in first grade.  And we often do different things for language arts.  I think you use the thing that works best, within your price and beliefs, of course.

 

It doesn't wear thin for me, but I think that's in part because I know it would be much harder to try and fit both my boys into the same program and watch them compete than to be ready with two different things that are right for them and allow them to not compare in subject that's much more clearly about mastery.

[Mom22ns]

I have used the same thing for both kids now and then, but mostly I use different things for each. My oldest is a visual spacial child who remembers everything he has ever read. My second is an auditory learner who remembers nothing she reads, only what she hears. My oldest likes to be taught with a sense of humor, to be engaged, chatty is fun. My youngest wants bare bones, straight facts, no frills.

 

Really, they couldn't be more different. There have been a few subjects where I have been able to pass materials down or have them work together, but they are both best served when separated and taught with totally different curriculum and methods. I know those with large families can't always do this, but we have always seen it as one of the benefits of homeschooling.

[5LittleMonkeys]

Different things or different ways of implementation for all 4 of mine, and I suspect that the youngest (#5) will be on par with dd14 with having to adapt like crazy to meet her needs. 

 

I do try very hard to keep dd10 and ds7 in the same history and somewhat the same science just for the sake of sanity, but I have to adapt for level of difficulty for that.

 

It's like a juggling act for sure but I'm so glad that I can adapt things to suit my kids needs rather than try to force them all into a one size fits all education. :) 

[boscopup]

I make decisions based on what the kids need. If they can work in the same curriculum, great! If not, that's fine too. I have them combined in history and science right now, both with curricula that are designed to be used with multiple ages well. My oldest will switch to a textbook when he ages out of the current science series. But for now, he's fine. History can be used with all ages K-12 pretty easily, so I'm not worried about that. There is plenty of meat for my oldest as he gets older!

 

The path I've taken with my kids has changed. The younger kids are doing math differently than the oldest did. They'll likely end up in the same books for Prealgebra on up, but their elementary math is a different path. First grade is looking very different between oldest and middle because oldest was reading at a mid-4th grade level at this point and middle is just starting to read well at a first grade level (he read the first story of Little Bear Christmas night with very little help!! :hurray: ). So my focus is completely different. Oldest was doing composition and grammar in first grade, and middle is still learning to read and form letters properly. Youngest will likely have a similar first grade to oldest, because he's reading like oldest did. So obviously reading vs. not-reading will change things. ;)

 

I'm leaning strongly toward MCT for grammar for middle, as I think it will be a good fit. Oldest did various things for grammar, though he would have fit best into MCT if I'd just done it a long time ago. :tongue_smilie:

 

Writing path will differ for each kid. Oldest was able to write in 1st grade, but still at the copywork/dictation/oral-narration stage, and he was/is writing phobic. Middle is still learning to form the letters properly and set them on the line without going below the line. We're not even doing copywork of sentences yet. Youngest can do copywork of sentences and LIKES to write - at 4.5. So I don't know what I'll do with a kid who likes writing. :lol:

 

Using different stuff doesn't bother me. I do like combining for content subjects right now, but if the oldest needs to break off and do something different later on, that's not a big deal to me. Skills subjects are obviously all separate (well, technically the younger two can do some things together, but I try not to because of the confidence issue of the older and the cocky attitude of the younger :glare: ), and I make curricula choices based on what I like and what the kid will do well with. Surprisingly, my very different learners have often done well with the same curricula. But I do change things up sometimes so I don't get bored. ;)

[happypamama]

So far, I have three kids of any sort of school age and four different math programs! 11yo uses Saxon, which works well for her, but it wouldn't be a good fit for my 8yo. He uses Singapore and Miquon, which wouldn't work well for my 11yo. And my 5yo is rocking the MEP Reception level. So, yeah, whatever works for each of them!

[Targhee]

Yes, they get what they need. Well, at least I try to give what they need. Sometimes it can be hard to deliver - like a short order cook serving seven course meals.

[SilverMoon]

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Edited July 12, 2022 by SilverMoon

[Berta]

My girls are 10 yrs apart but even if they weren't I still couldn't use the same stuff. They have completely different learning styles. My older daughter loved the computer based programs and used only SOS and TT. My younger daughter loves workbooks and cannot stand doing anything on the computer. The only way they are the same is that they both prefer to work independently. They do not like anything that requires lots of MOM included. Both are very self-directed and independent.

[robsiew]

To some extent, yes.  3 of my kids used Math Mammoth, one needed MUS.  This year I moved another child to MUS because it seemed like a better approach for him and I was right!  Only one child likes (loves) LOF so he's the only one I read that to.  My oldest LOVES Latin, the rest hated it so no Latin for them.  Oldest LOVES grammar and LOVES R&S, the others used GWG and now this year are learning grammar through their writing in IEW.  In science I'm using Apologia for 2 kids and AIG for the other two.  They all read different literature books and history books depending on their personality and interests....

 

Spelling program is AAS for all of them.  History is same (Truth Quest) for 3/4, but books they read are different.

[MtnTeaching]

When they were younger, I could get away with history and science together.  Not now.

 

Ds is the type of kid I could give a stack of books and he would have them read by Friday.  He is a natural speller and retains what he reads very well.  He is very literal, likes technology, not very artistic.

 

Dd on the other hand, is dyslexic. Learns better with audio, video, and hands-on.  Extremely artistic, poor memory, slow reader, does not "see" the spelling of words in her head, but does a better job at getting "the big picture" than her older brother does.

 

They are like night and day, although they are only 19 months apart.  I HAVE to use different curriculum for each one.

 

I feel for teachers in the public school system who have 30 kids on their classroom and cannot adjust the curriculum for each child. I am sure they can see children falling through the cracks just because they have different learning styles.

[swellmomma]

I am.  ds15 is switching to mainly R&S along with a couple online classes.  DD14 mostly does WTM and her online lit & latin classes.  ds10 and dd6 use konos primarily.  Last year the 2 youngers did waldorf.  SOmetimes it is a pain in the butt to have them all doing different things but really that is why we homeschool, so that my kids can have exactly the education that is suited to them rather than a 1 size fits all plan.

[strange_girl]

We use different things sometimes, and sometimes use the same things. My first two are actually a alot the same, so I probably could get away with using the same things...but it's me that gets bored using the same programs over and over! :blushing:  So, as money permits, we switch it up a fair amount. The kids seem to like that as well.

 

I'm actually working on cobbling together my own history and science plans for next year, and I think all the kids will probably use some variation of that as we go along. I just can't find any history or science curriculums that are *just right* for us, so I'm making my own. But I'm sure I'll tweak it and revise it for each of them, lol.