How is home schooling going?

[threetreasurs]

:lurk5:

 

We are having a great year. The decision to use Calvert has been a good one. I am impressed with the program which is just what my daughter needs this year. She is not as academically inclined as my other 2 and needs a bit more spoon feeding from mom - and I was becoming frustrated. The scripted lesson plans act as a buffer between mom and daughter going head to head too often.:D

 

How about you guys?

[Beth in Central TX]

We are having a great year too. My 7th grader took a huge leap in writing assignments this year, but he has adjusted very well. The other day he told me that he like writing the paragraphs and essays in Omnibus I because he learned a lot from them. Okay, who took my son?? You know, the one who really dislikes writing...

 

I folded in my 1st grader this year which I thought might be a little challenging, but so far, we are on a really good schedule, and he is really excited about doing school.

 

On top of all of this, my middle son finally made the turn in math, and now he can do his math in the alloted hour or less.

 

This is our 6th year of homeschooling, and I feel like we are in a really good place. Junior high wasn't as scary as I thought it would be, and homeschooling all three hasn't been as overwhelming as I anticipated.

[Haiku]

Things are going smashingly. The kids are having a fantastic time. They are learning a lot and, as important to me, they are enjoying themselves. We are using Mosaic History, RightStart Math, ETC, and WTM science recommendations. We have a great time every day, and the kids spend the rest of the day being creative and happy and energetic. I couldn't ask for more!

 

(Ok, I could ask for them not to be so messy ...)

 

Tara

[threetreasurs]

(Ok, I could ask for them not to be so messy ...)

 

Ditto!:001_smile:

[rafiki]

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[Closeacademy]

It's going well with my two. Cutting out all the subjects, getting down to basics and adding lapbook units has really made this year great. The only downside has been doing day care as it has really put a crimp in our schedule and mobility but we are working around that.:001_smile:

[King Alfred Academy]

School is going great here too! Granted, this is only our 3rd week, but we have been getting everything done in the morning, the boys have good attitudes and are enthusiastic about learning.

 

The only thing I am working on is trying to be more flexible as far as just "going with it". What I mean by that is...if they are really interested in something like the battles of Attila the Hun, then I want to go with it and feed that enthusiasm. BUT...I have it in my head that we need to stay on schedule. I need to get away from that mentality a bit.

[blessed2fosteradopt]

We are still finding our groove but are very happy with our decision to come home after 5 years of private schooling. My son definitely has a learning style that is not suited for the typical classroom. With the help of this board, we are definitely finding our way. :001_smile:

[paula j]

School is going great here!

 

My idea to use mfw CtG alongside the first half of sonlight core 6 is working out even better than I thought it would. Also we have really enjoyed the Biblical feasts.

 

BJU Pre-algebra is going well too. No struggle at all, ds actually gets it. I was so afraid I wouldn't be able to handle the algebra without the dvds but it's going fine.

 

LLATL has turned out to be a good choice as well. In fact, ds was actually enjoying it until we hit the poetry unit. I don't think there is any way to make him really like poetry.

 

The Automotive upkeep course is going well too. Ds has learned how to put on spark plug wires and put in the plugs and adjust them, change the oil, bleed the brakes, and is rebuilding a carberator, with his uncle's help.

[Annie Laurie]

I like where I'm at with the younger set but am struggling with highschool with ds. I'm not sure what path we need to take, he has no motivation.

[runamuk]

We're still trying to find our groove and I'm beginning to get discouraged.

 

On the good side, I really like the curriculm we have. Elle is doing very well in grammar and math, and is enjoying science. Mac has flown through his HWOT book and is ready for the Letter of the Week or Explode the Code. He's learning to count beyond 10 and is doing simple addition all on his own. Both kids are in swimming lessons and doing very well.

 

But I'm having trouble sticking to a schedule and getting organized. There seems to be so much going on in our week that we sometimes go a day or two without any lessons at all. I know I should be keeping better records and keeping Elle's work better organized, but I cannot seem to get it done. Elle doesn't care for narrating and that makes me dread history lessons. I've stopped asking her to summarize and just talk about what she read, but I end up hearing a lot of "Well, there were these guys and they went, I don't remember where they went, and they found some land and stayed there then went home, but I don't remember where their home was." She whines and complains about handwriting and notebooking, and threw tantrum yesterday when I assigned her a short poem to copy.

 

The first four weeks were wonderful; even days we were on the go, we were able to make up the lessons later. Now, however, I'm wondering if it's too late to send her to school. *sigh* I think this needs a post of it's own.

[LizzyBee]

My 7 yo has auditory processing disorder (diagnosed) and dyslexia (not yet diagnosed). I've made appts based on the referrals from the audiologist. Doom and gloom.

 

She had an updated speech and language evaluation on Monday. SLP says her scores are in the average range. SLP doesn't see a problem with phonological awareness and seems to even question the APD dx. Woo-hoo!

 

SLP isn't the one working with this kid day after day. The only phonological awareness task the SLP had dd do was to take apart compound words. She didn't ask her to count syllables, identify words that rhyme, repeat a word then say it without the first sound or substitute a different sound, or decode simple CVC words. She's not the one that dd collapses on from exhaustion after reading half of a Little Bear book (if you want to call it reading - she's basically memorized most of it by listening on tape and following along in the book). Doom and gloom again.

 

I broke down in the car on the way to work today. I'll be better tomorrow.

[Laura W.]

Our year is going well. We've got our schedule pretty much nailed down. The dc continue to enjoy Time4Learning (I don't hear nearly as much complaining as I did with our former math and LA programs) and I'm happy with the progress I'm seeing.

 

Everyone is enjoying our countries and cultures studies. It's a break from American and world history, which we've done for the last 4 years, and my dc are getting a feel for the peoples of the world - how they live and think.

 

Our Bible/science program is different from what we're used to, also, but it's been neat. We're studying animals around the world, and we're using devotional materials that take animals as examples and teach a Bible/character concept. We add in other science materials to add to what they learn from the devotionals.

 

I'm happy because I designed our Bible, cultures, and science program this year, and I feel that I planned the right workload for each child. I tried to design my own program a few years ago, and I always seemed to plan either too little or too much, so I'm pleased that I've learned some things since then.

 

We're pretty much "on schedule". I planned out a 36-week schedule, but gave myself from the beginning of August to the end of June to get it all done (knowing that there would be interruptions during the year - some planned and some not). Sure enough, during our first 9 weeks of school we've had 3 weeks where we only got part of our work done. Two of those weeks dh and I had the flu, the other week we ended up having to take an unexpected trip. It feels good to know I've planned enough buffer in our school year to handle those things (I hate feeling "behind" - it's discouraging and makes our school less effective and fun - so I pick resources and plan schedules that give me a mental buffer from that feeling).

 

Blessings,

 

Laura

[mom2mea]

We are having a great year and are loving it. One thing I want to start doing regularly is to go out for a walk with the kids after breakfast as part of our morning routine. We did it this morning for the first time and it was awesome!

 

We've had to tweak our schedule a bit because of a change in dc's swimming lessons (Mondays at 9:30 am!) and that's challenging for me. Other than that, things are going smoothly. We love all our curricula choices, too!

[Mom-ninja.]

My year is going really well. The exception was last month when we were going through the crisis with our dog. Now, we're back on track and I'm loving the flow we have.

 

I'm really nervous on how things will go once the baby is here. I can do this, I can. It will be fine.

[AprilTN]

Our year was a little rocky for the first few weeks, but I changed a few things and it has helped.

 

I bought WP AS1 and we HATED it .....I broke down and purchased SOTW 3 book, CD, and activity guide. We had already done SOTW 1 and 2, and I thought I wanted a change, but I was so very wrong. I just cringe when I see that expensive WP curriculum on the shelf, but I couldn't bear an entire year of it. We will still use many of the books, but the guide and Make-your-own-notebook pages were not a good fit for us.

 

We are LOVING SOTW 3 so far.

 

I've also finally found a routine that is working for us.

[threetreasurs]

I like where I'm at with the younger set but am struggling with highschool with ds. I'm not sure what path we need to take, he has no motivation.

 

My son was similar at that age - he did get more motivated as he matured.:)

[momtolgd]

We are not doing much more than the basics right now...so we are off to a slow start. But we are buying a house (closing on 10/24) and we're very busy packing and preparing to move. So it looks like we will be doing more schooling next summer to make up for the slow start. No big deal, and I love that we can be that flexible.

 

I just hope that we find our groove before the holidays! :001_smile:

[threetreasurs]

We're still trying to find our groove and I'm beginning to get discouraged.

 

 

I've stopped asking her to summarize and just talk about what she read, but I end up hearing a lot of "Well, there were these guys and they went, I don't remember where they went, and they found some land and stayed there then went home, but I don't remember where their home was."

 

 

 

Could you ask her to tell you which part stood out to her the most? That would shorten things for both of you! I had one child who would spit out the entire passage and one who gave the most concise version possible - both were rather frustrating a times.

[sagira]

We just started hitting our groove when everyone got sick :sad: Dd had roseola (that took five days of house arrest), then ds got a cold, and I got a cold that lasted two weeks. I'm finally out of the woods so to speak, and all in all, we've only missed a full days of school. Not bad for how bad I was feeling. We made up lessons during on Saturday.

 

Ds loves art lessons and is understanding more and more of money concepts (thank you, Living Math books!). He's making great progress in reading and I found out he really likes words! Geography is really interesting to him, and he's warming up to Natural Science. We dropped Theology as a formal lesson and just discuss key concepts in our religion real quick on a weekly basis and read one or two Bible stories a week. It's going much better now.

 

So otherwise, things are going swimmingly. I'm just rearing to start a whole block of four weeks without interruptions :D

Edited October 9, 2008 by sagira

[Vanna]

I appreciated everyone's candidness here: moving, pet crisis, illness, work going smoothly only have a breakdown, learning challenges (both diagnosed and not), this is REAL homeschooling. Not perfect, but we learn to roll with the punches. Thanks to all of you who shared and for *keeping it real*.

 

Last year we moved and that was rough, but this year is much better. Last year, we had "curriculum malfunction" (child not learning, tears, mother irate, tears) and thank God, this year is better.

 

I've been happy with most of my curricula this year, disappointed with a couple of others that I thought were great when I bought them last year.

 

I *love* the flexibility of homeschooling which afforded hubby and I the opportunity to take a "just the two of us" vacation for a week in the middle of September while the kiddies homeschooled with another family (bless that family, so kind).

 

So, all this to say, yes, I'm glad we're homeschooling again this year and by God's grace it's going well -- not perfect -- but I'm happy with what we've got.:D

[threetreasurs]

For some reason this year is much better than last for us too! Of course, it isn't winter yet - Feb is rather dreary in our state.:)

[herbalgirl]

It is going pretty well, although my oldest (6yrs. old) really hates reading out loud and writing. I have backed off of making him read aloud, and have taken the reading upon myself. I know in time he will feel more at ease doing it. I do stick to my guns with writing at least 2x/week, as I feel that is good practice.

 

He feels that if he cannot get something right the first time, he can't do it, and gets very frustrated. It is hard not to get frustrated, too, sometimes, but we're pushing ahead.

 

We do have a co-op that they go to every Friday for 2hrs, so that is lovely!

[Jenny in Florida]

We have some good days and some not-so-good days. So far this year, we've have more of the first than the second. And, on the whole, I'm convinced that, imperfect as homeschooling is, it's better for this child than school.

 

Our biggest challenge this year is just time. We have a compressed year (only 30 full weeks) in order to mesh with and accomodate my daughter's college schedule, and we're trying to maintain our four-day week while still tackling a fairly ambitious curriculum. And, just to make things more fun, my son started rehearsals for two ballets at almost the same time we started school. So, our plate is very full, and I feel like we're constantly playing catch-up.

 

But at least homeschooling allows him the time and flexibility to do all of those cool extra things.

Edited October 9, 2008 by Jenny in Florida

[Titus.Two.Five]

We are still finding our groove and doing some slight tweaking, but overall, it is going quite well.

 

 

:001_smile:

[Laura R (FL)]

Strange...but good.

 

This is a different season and I feel as if I'm more of a manager than a primary homeschooler.

 

My 12yo goes to a classical co-op on Mondays that assigns her work for the week. I oversee her assignments and teach math. She loves the program with the structure, grades, and expectations.

 

My high schooler is almost completely independent of me. She takes Alg I and Web Design on-line, English and Bio in class, and Bible and French independently at home. I just plan out her week and check up on her progress.

 

This is working well for our family, and I'm excited for my girls and the progress they are making. :)

[lauranav]

We're on week 7 and doing rather well. He's doing the math pretty well (and I'm keeping up!). We have struggled some, as I knew we would, figuring out how to keep things moving while I'm working. My meeting schedule varies every day so we are still trying to find ways for me to spend time with him on the topics where he needs it.

 

The whole thing has been strange. Since we have no kids of our own, having the nephew move in at 14 is a lot of new experiences all at once. Sharing the house with another person on a daily basis, adjusting to letting someone else do some of the chores around the house (I'm getting used to this one :)), working on bad habits that haven't been addressed before. Then add home school, my work, and my EMBA studies and it makes it pretty busy.

 

I'm watching him learn and seeing how he interacts with us and I know this is the right thing to do. It is one of the reasons we didn't have children of our own. We knew one day we'd be here with one or more of the nephews doing something very involved. I just never dreamed it would be homeschooling!

[Rosy]

It's going pretty well. We switched our schedule around to do Bible and Science/History first instead of math, and that's made a HUGE difference. We're enjoying doing stuff as a family too. I do have days where I just want to throw them all in the van and drop them off at the public school, but they pass. :)

[ChemMommy]

This is our 10th year at home and our 3rd year with all 4 kids in school together.

 

We switched from SL to TOG1 this year This was a hard decision since the #1 thing that every child and my dh listed on their "Things I Like about Homeschooling" list was reading aloud together as a family. Yeah, SL!~

 

But, SL wasn't the most solid high school program, in my opinion, for our family.

 

I spent six weeks typing all of TOG1 into HST and that work is paying off. I got a chance to see how the entire program was laid out for the year and could see where to add in read-alouds for SL or VP.

 

I decided to do everything in TOG, the extra history and the supplemental page, too. All of it went into the HST planner. I figured that it was easier to removed stuff from our load than it was to add stuff to our load.

 

Overall, we are doing more than we did last year, but everyone has agreed that the load is doable. We are even getting in the discussion time that TOG recommends.

 

What's working well:

 

Hey, Andrew, Teach me Some Greek and Elementary Greek I--all self-teaching and contain sufficient review

 

TOG1 History and Bible--the literature choices for the younger levels have been skimpy. I've supplemented with SOTW for the two younger kids, MoH for the middle kid (who's done SOTW previously) and Spielvogel for the oldest. All in all, my kids have enjoyed thoroughly studying the same part of history at the same time.

 

Rainbow Science--my 12yo is doing the second year of this program. The science kit comes with EVERYTHING you need to do the experiments and my dd has just loved it. I would appreciate more in the way of lesson plans but that's my only criticism.

 

Vocabulary from Classical Roots: the kids are really learning a lot from this program but resent the work since this mean mommy makes them look up in the dictionary all unfamiliar words.

 

What's working okay:

 

Apologia Biology: my oldest doesn't have a lot of interest in science but he is learning a lot. Science kit from SL for this class contains all of the needed material. It's a lot of work for a 9th grader. Takes a significant amount of time each day. Mom likes it; son doesn't.

 

Italic Handwriting: my kids can all write, but dh said their handwriting, well, stunk, so we are all spending a year or so practicing our strokes. Three of four kids report that their handwriting has improved a lot. Mom sees some improvement, too. So far, the stroke practicing looks rather boring but the kids love these books. Go figure!

 

 

What's not working well:

 

Vocabulary for Enjoyment: too easy. My kids have a great vocabulary so I should have bumped them up to higher levels. My mistake. Program does a nice job teaching new words, though.

 

Teaching Company's Biology: it pounds the evolutionary argument for the better part of the first 2.5 lectures. Not as many visuals as I expected. Too much time looking at a guy pacing back and forth talking. I'm hoping that it improves as we get past evolution and get into the cells.

 

WRITING!!!! When will I ever get it together on this one topic!!!!! We use IEW and like it, but without concrete lesson plans, it just doesn't get done. I really need to do more with this program.

 

Piano: I'm almost ready to call in a professional teacher for this one but just can't justify the expense yet. I think is it more a matter of disciplining everyone to practice every day than it is a matter of piano lessons being a problem.

 

Okay, so if you've read this far (brave and courageous soul), I'll also admit that my kids have been snarky with each other and rather argumentative lately. I don't know what's up. I may try backing off a bit on TOG, but I don't think that is the root of the problem. I've been praying about this and praying with each child about this problem.

 

All in all, it's going well, but I'm tired of working part-time and overseeing hs....and it's only October!!!! Thank goodness that soccer season ends this weekend with a seven-game-in-24-hours grand finale!! It's supposed to be 45 degrees and rainy, too. Am I a bad mommy for praying for rain-outs????

[ncmomo3]

It's the best year so far (yr. 5) It's been a LOOOONG time coming.

I am completely on top of things for the first time, which has made all the difference. The curricula is working. No complaints.

Our only real issue is focus. They are terrible about distrating each other--butterflies out the window when I am trying to help one, the dog passed remarkable gas which must be over-reacted to. If, IF, I can get these distractions under better control... it will be sweeeeeet.