I am very overwhelmed

[dcar]

I have been homeschooling my children for a little over a year, grades 10, 7, and 5. The decision to home school them was sudden, so I did not have the time to thoroughly check out every home school option. We have been using Time4Learning as the main curriculum with a little added on the side. I have found that I am not happy with the program at all, and while it was good to have a fairly all-inclusive program to get started, it just isn't enough to use as the main curriculum. 

 

So I have started once again to find something that works for us. We are on a budget, so many of the all-inclusive programs are out of the questions. I look at the stickies here and on other sites, and I don't know where to start. One of my main hurdles is that I am also in college, so my time to actually be involved with the daily lessons (as in actually teaching every lesson) is limited. We are also very strict with our time and stick to schedules (we have the entire semester schedule printed out so we are never behind), and it works for us. However, I have yet to find another program that can allow me to create schedules to tell the kids what to do each day.

 

Also, I feel like every program has a review similar to "This is a great supplement, but it's not enough for curriculum." Then what is? I have to have 5 different sources of information for each child? How can I be sure that I am teaching my high school student everything she needs to know to be successful in college? Why isn't there a site that she can log into, do scheduled lessons, take a quiz/test, and I can see progress?!

 

I may just be asking for too much: a more hands-off type of home school that records actual grades that doesn't cost a fortune.

Can anyone help me please?

[dcar]

I just realized I posted this to the wrong forum. I'll post it in the general discussion instead.

[OneStepAtATime]

:grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug: 

 

No you didn't.  You definitely posted on the right forum.  You have a 10th grader.  That's High School.  There will be some things specific to High School that you may need feedback on.  Crossposting works just fine here.  You can post on both forums.

 

Hang in there.

Edited April 7, 2016 by OneStepAtATime

[5Wizards]

You could try K12 online.  If you go to this site, you can put in your zip code and see what schools might offer it for free if you're not opposed to working with public schools again.

 

http://www.k12.com/

 

You can also look at charter schools that might offer free Calvert or something like that.

Edited April 6, 2016 by 5Wizards

[Jaz]

Could you look at some free classes?  http://allinonehighschool.com/

 

[Mom22ns]

Someone suggested on your other thread that you separate out the high schooler when making your plans. I agree with this. Is your oldest currently in 10th - 11th next year or are you planning 10th next year. What classes is he/she doing? What do you want him/her to do next year?

 

I would take the high schooler and plan 1 subject at a time. For example, it might make sense to do TT for math, but not if they are already going into Pre-Calc, because that is as far as TT goes. TT is not cheap, so using it might also limit your budget for other subjects, but it might be worth it to you if you need independence.

 

Excellence in Literature is an inexpensive and independent English curriculum for high school. 

 

What history do you need? What science? Foreign language? Electives? Give us some specifics and we'll help you come up with options. You can also look through the pinned threads at the top of this board for science and math options. 

[Verity]

There are many different curricula that help you organize classes so that you can homeschool your children together with age/grade appropriate options for the different subjects. It schedules bible, history, geography, science, logic and reminds you to move along in your math curricula. :)  You pick a "classical" history period (ancients, medieval, revolution, or modern). One example would be Wayfarer's from www.Barefootmeandering.com. You can download a three week sample of any of her books. 

There are other providers of similar types of curricula but I find this one to be less expensive and alot less complicated than many that I've tried. You can combine read alouds with younger kids (I did 4th and 8th grade this year). But they also have independent reading and subjects.

 

[Grantmom]

If you really want something that you don't have to plan at all, you might check into virtual school options offered in your state.  Those might be free.  It varies from state to state.  I would involve the 10th grader in the planning, though.  At that age, she should be able to help you look into the options and figure out what she wants and needs to do.  I would have my student look up college entrance requirements if she has college in her plans.  You can find them on college websites.  If she doesn't want to go to college, then I would have her start formulating a plan for what she wants to do and how to get there.  

 

There are many options for individual outsourced classes, but they are in the range of $500-800 per class.  Your state might have a virtual school option that would be cheaper.

[Pen]

KhanAcademy plus a library (especially if it has a lenient check out policy, Great Courses, and so on) plus a used book store, especially if it has some used math and science books that are not too outdated (in theory KhanAcademy could be used alone, but I think having text back up to refer to helps) as well as books on how to write, and humanities books (most libraries and many used book stores probably will have some  like that) can be great at least for your 10th grader.  CK12 has some free kindle textbooks. There are also used book sources online such as Abebooks. Duolingo can be used for some language. At least for the 10th grader you can have something in each main category (LA, math, social studies, science, foreign language) and then let him explore what he likes as electives.

[Reefgazer]

Start with just math and English for each child; something simple and all-in-one with little teacher prep (e.g. Rod and Staff and Saxon math).  Once you are established and running smoothly, add in history and make sure that is integrated into your homeschool.  Then add in science, etc.... IOW, make sure you are established and running smoothly on the basics before adding in additional things.

[Brad S]

Someone suggested on your other thread that you separate out the high schooler when making your plans. I agree with this. Is your oldest currently in 10th - 11th next year or are you planning 10th next year. What classes is he/she doing? What do you want him/her to do next year?

 

I would take the high schooler and plan 1 subject at a time.  ...

 

What history do you need? What science? Foreign language? Electives? Give us some specifics and we'll help you come up with options. You can also look through the pinned threads at the top of this board for science and math options. 

 

I agree with splitting it out by your high school kid and younger kids.  Since it appears your other two kids will be going into 6th and 8th, you could post their question in the "logic stage"/middle school section. 

 

Especially by high school, separate providers by subject are commonly used.  In some states, individual classes can be taken at a local community college, sometimes for free.  Best wishes.  Hang in there!

 

[LisaKinVA]

Sending you a PM