Please Help Me with Curriculum Choice for Next Year

[alexandramarie]

Next year I will have a 1st grader (who is starting to read more complex words and is 1/2 way through Singapore 1A) and I will have a Kindergartener.  I have a three year old and infant tagging along and Lord willing our family will continue to grow.  I am a long term planner and I want to successfully homeschool a large family without burning out.  So here are some thoughts either get them on an independent track as soon as possible or do a lot of family learning.  I have read Charlotte MAson's Volume 1 and a Charlotte MAson companion and have started to implement some of her principles in our home, but I do not feel confident enough to do something like ambleside online.  My thoughts for next year are to combine my two kids into Sonlight core A, but I am not sure Sonlight will work in the long run.  Or I have looked at Wayfarers over and over but I am not sure I will pull it off.  We tried Memoria press this year (I know this is classical) and all the workbooks drove my son crazy especially because he already could write and knew all his letter sounds so it was borning, but I think Memoria press would be a great independent program for the long run.  I know I am all over the place!  My husband has no input, he tells me he trusts my decision.  I am am too indecisive.  Ok lastly,  I sold most of my Memoria press stuff on ebay and purchased Little Hearts for His glory, we have stuck with it and it is going pretty well, but I find it boring.  We do picture study, and composer study, and poetry during snack time.  Also I am thinking of switching from Singapore to Math- U - See.  Help me pleasee

Edited April 8, 2016 by alexandramarie

[Momto6inIN]

First of all, I reeeeeaaaaalllly like to plan too - it's a hobby ;) - so if that soothes you and makes you feel better to have a long term plan in place that you endlessly tweak, then go for it and knock your socks off with it!

 

But it kind of sounds from your post like having a long term plan in place is stressing you out, not soothing you. It's really ok not to know what curriculum you'll be using several years down the road!!! So many things will change over time ... your family size, your understanding of your kids and their learning styles, your own teaching style and abilities ... it's impossible to know what will work out over the long haul. So do your research and make tentative long-range plans, but don't stress out about finding the perfect curriculum for when the kids are XXXXX ages. Find the curriculum that works for them right now, and go from there.

 

It sounds like you're off to a great start with your first 2 children. It's so easy to combine at that age, and doing lots and lots of read alouds is really your most important priority. Unless your kids have significant learning challenges, in my opinion it's best to go with a curriculum that YOU enjoy most and can implement on a consistent basis.

 

The independence thing you do need to be somewhat purposeful about teaching and encouraging, but it really does come along with increased maturity as the children grow. I remember not really believing that when mine were all little and needing me so much, but trust me it really does happen as they grow and mature. In 5 years from now, you won't believe what all they can do on their own. :)

 

Good luck and God bless!

[happypamama]

Have you looked at Story of the World?  That works well for combining children at those ages.  Read aloud, a section or chapter at a time, or use the audio books (but sample them first before you buy -- they're expensive, and some people, like my children, find the voice a little too calm).  Little ones can color the coloring pages if they like, and ones who are able can do the mapwork.  My first grader LOVES the mapwork, and it only takes a few minutes.  Discuss the questions in the Activity Guide and/or have your oldest do an oral narration.  I found split paper online, with lines at the bottom for him to dictate a narration to me, which I write down, and then a space at the top for him to draw a picture if he likes.  Read some corresponding picture books.  Add a chapter book readaloud, maybe at bedtime or during lunch, corresponding to the history time period if you like.  Do a project or two if you're into that; the SOTW Activity Guides have lots of dress-up "make your own shield" kinds of suggestions that a group of small children will probably love.  Spend as little or as long as you like on each topic, and when you're tired of that one, move on to the next thing.

 

I would not stress too much about creating a long-term plan.  New things will appear from time to time, and your children's interests will wax and wane.  It's okay not to know what you'll be doing in a year or two, or even in a few months, at their ages.  There is plenty of time for making sure things are covered.

 

My oldest two children are VERY different in their learning styles and strengths (of all of my children, they are the most different in personality), and they are three grades apart.  I haven't combined them for much in many years, aside from incidentals like geography and art study.  If I combine them, the older doesn't get challenged enough, or the younger of the two misses out.  So it's been very easy to keep myself from burning out with them because it's not too repetitive.

 

However, my younger three children, all boys, are all two grades apart.  I will/do combine them more (the oldest of them is in first grade this year, four and seven years behind my older two), and next year, when they are in second, kindergarten, and preschool-don't-leave-me-out, we will be studying the Middle Ages, because what is more "crew of little boys" than knights and castles?  (My older two will be studying the MA as well, but at high school and middle school levels.)  But I need to make sure that I don't burn out from too much repetition, and so sometimes that is going to mean adjusting the four year cycle a little.  Such is life.

 

You might also look at the Prairie Primer, because that would cover literature, history, and science, and it would be easily adaptable for several ages.

[alexandramarie]

THank you LAdies!  My first two do not have learning challenges and learn very quickly ( I think my third will be a different story. I Think I do need to stop looking long term.  I think going with SOnlight Core A would be a good place to start because it is an introduction to cultures and maps; I feel if we start there it will make it easier to understand whatever we study in history the next year.  I do stress myself out thinking of a long term plan, so thank you for the advice of taking one year at a time.  Lately I have heard mixed reviews of SOnlight, but with having 4 kids 6 and under,I feel I will want something very clear to follow.