New Homeschooler Help

[lawan]

I am a brand new homeschooler.  I need help!  I am confused as to what curriculum to choose.  I prefer a Christian based curriculum but my confusion comes in which one to use.  I was contemplating using an all Abeka video program I am hoping it is a start to finish for the whole school year. But I have read that you can use different curriculums for    each subject if you choose.  Any suggestions? Any input would be great, I need a starting point and a lil encouragement, with my fears. 

[MotherGoose]

How old is your child? Has he or she ever attended brick and mortar school before?

[LMD]

Firstly, calm down, there is a learning curve in homeschooling so give yourself time to work through the information without being overwhelmed. You will be okay, I promise. You don't have to rush anything.

 

Secondly, why have you decided to homeschool? That information will help with appropriate suggestions.

 

Yes, you can use different resources for different subjects. You can choose exactly what subjects to cover, when and how. That is one of the biggest pluses for home education. You are free to imagine the ideal education for your kids.

 

Fwiw (for what it's worth) I know people who very happily used abeka online and their kids did well later on in school.

[OneStepAtATime]

Hugs. As others said there is a learning curve. You will be fine but you need to give yourself time. Don't try to solve everything all at once. :)

 

For people to help you better it would be great if you could share more info.

 

1. How old is your child/children?

2. Why are you homeschooling?

3. Are you in the U.S. or somewhere else (make affect shipping costs)?

4. Do you or your child/children have any special needs (example: learning challenges/gifted) that you are aware of?

5. Do you or your child/children have a favorite subject/area of interest?

[Kiara.I]

So, the very idea of using all one curriculum makes me shudder.  LOL

 

I prefer choosing a math.  And a writing.  And a science.  And a history.  And using them all at their own paces.  Using a set curriculum all at one level...what if your child is advanced in one subject and not in another?  What if it's boring?  Then it's aaaaaalllllllllll boring.... 

 

Christian curriculum: there are certainly choices out there.  We use the occasional Christian thing, but mostly not.  I find it's easy enough to study physics and say, "this is the study of how God made the world to work."  I don't need bible verses in the physics book, you know?  And I really don't need them in the math book.

 

Also, I do find that secular curriculum saves me from finding that I disagree theologically with the authors, which can happen.

 

And yes. All the questions that the previous posters will help with narrowing down suggestions.

[ExcitedMama]

As others have said a lot depends on the age of your child/ren. It can be very overwhelming at first! Try to slow down and take it easy at first. A lot of people have posted about being overwhelmed at first and choosing an all in one type of curriculum, that tells you what to do everyday for every subject, something like a Sonlight, and then find out it doesn't actually work for their child. Most children are not going to work at the same pace in math as they are in language arts for example. I think you will find that homeschoolers are a diverse group and will all have very different opinions on what to use. Even experienced homeschoolers will disagree on all in one curriculum, it can be a love hate thing.

 

It tends to be easier to use different materials for different subjects. You can search this forum, and it can be easier to do so through Google for an idea what people are using for any grade you are looking at. If you have a 1st grader you could put in 1st grade planning and well trained mind (wtm) and look through threads. There's usually a thread for planning grades that could give you an idea of what people might be using. If you're anything like me all of those abbreviations for different curriculum in posts will be confusing at first. Just type them in google, like AAR or AAR Homeschooling and you'll find a link to what it is. If you see someone with a signature that has an age you are working on do the same with those. Eventually they will make sense and you can get an idea what is popular and you can look into it. Again you will find vastly different materials that people use for their children but it can give you an idea what to consider.

 

Obviously the Well Trained Mind is a book you should read and could be very helpful. www.CathyDuffyReviews.com is a great website to look up curriculum. She has reviews that can give you some idea but it's also helpful to see a list of your options under a category. www.rainbowresources.com is the best website for ordering from as they have amazing prices on everything homeschool related. You can also search under categories and grades and find descriptions and reviews. I can't recommend enough doing a lot of research before you buy anything! It's going to be really hard to know what you're looking for at first that will suit you and your child. When you've narrowed down some choices you can also google it and find blogs about it or add wtm to find threads here. From there you can read what people like or don't like about it to get a better idea if it will work for you. Don't be afraid to ask for advice as well on a subject or material. There are a lot of curriculum that is scripted and open and go so you can just open it up and read it aloud to your child without doing any prep work. It can be great hand holding, but of course that could also drive some people crazy, it all depends on what you want. If that appeals to you then you can find it without using an all in one curriculum.

 

Have you looked into any reporting requirements for your state? If you have a less stringent state then you can take even more time to plan what you want to do. Break it up into manageable steps. Again that's hard to say without knowing ages. With a young child I'd recommend thinking about learning to read and start there. For an older child think about language arts or math first. Or start with a subject that really interests them, maybe it's science or art, and start there. Everything is more manageable if you break it up so it doesn't overwhelm you. It's always overwhelming when you're starting out, but it will soon make sense, you can absolutely do this!

[mschickie]

It can be overwhelming when first starting.  I started out with first grade I started using Sonlight because it was literature based and gave me a schedule for Bible, History and Language Arts.  I choose Horizons for Math because I thought dd would like the way their workbooks were set up.

 

When choosing your curriculum there are some things to think about?

 

-Do you want a textbook approach, a more hands on approach, videos only, computer based

- What do you want (or are required by your state) to teach?  For something like History or Science you can choose the topic you want to study for the year.

- What is your budget?  If you are doing a program that has a lot of consumable (workbooks and such) that might be a little more expensive because you cannot find it used.

 

The other thing to remember is that if you start with a curriculum and hate it or any piece of it you can change at a moments notice.  You do not need to stick with something that is not working or you do not like.  Also just because the teacher's guide says you are supposed to do something that does not mean you need to do it.  Here is my one rule when it comes to curriculum:

 

You use the curriculum, the curriculum does not use you.

 

If you remember that you are all set.

[coastalfam]

How fun. Welcome! I am unfamiliar with Abeka (there is so much out there!), but when we first started I found it really helpful to use another "all in one" (aka you purchase all subjects from one company, and it is all scheduled out) for our first year. As we went through the year I found what I liked and didn't, and then changed course the next year. I am constantly tweaking our program, and I like that as parent educators we get that option. So, sure, Abeka would be fine. Other "all in ones" are Sonlight, My Father's World. You can order all subjects from the one company, and all your days are planned out for you. I use one now called Wayfarers, which is just the day to day schedule, and you purchase the individual items listed in it yourself, which means finding cheaper material if you buy from eBay or half.com. I definitely recommend this way to get going with homeschooling for folks who are overwhelmed, or not sure where to start, or generally unfamiliar with homeschooling to begin with. If you are interested in the Well Trained Mind approach, I would recommend something closer to Sonlight or Wayfarers than Abeka, which, from what I know about it is more textbook-ish (but I could be wrong). Also, the book "The Well Trained Mind" is really helpful. Have fun!

[eagleynne]

If you are looking for something that's an all-in-one boxed curriculum for your first year you should consider Memoria Press. You can find their website at www.memoriapress.com . I recommend calling them and talking with someone on their team to make sure that you are placing your dc in the right level. A boxed curriculum like Memoria Press would ensure that all your bases are covered and give you a very detailed plan for your first year. It would also give you an idea of what you like and don't like regarding curricula for different subjects going forward, i.e. you may decide you want something with more flexibility or that you hate workbooks. If you do decide to consider Memoria Press you should check out their forum at forum.memoriapress.com.

[HS Mom in NC]

I have a new homeschooler packet I give out here that includes a simple overview of the roughly 8 different approaches to homeschooling and a list of curriculum that falls under each category.  It also includes an exercise for you and your partner, if you have one, to articulate what it is you want in an education for your kids, the different homeschooling mindsets, and getting started with young ones. PM me if you want me to send it to you in a PM.  Don't feel obligated. It won't hurt my feelings if you don't ask.

[purduemeche]

We chose to use a boxed curriculum for our first few years...one that comes complete with lessons plans. Sonlight would be our recommendation, but there are many.

 

The idea is to do this for a couple years and then branch out as you gain confidence.

 

 

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[Julie of KY]

 I started with Sonlight with my oldest and still use most of it with my fourth child. It's nice to find a company that you think you like and purchase a package from them. As you go along, keep what you like and start replacing subjects that you want something different in. I now piecemeal everything for my older kids, but it was nice to simply use Sonlight to start.

 

... my other piece of advice to new homeschoolers is to give yourself permission to waste a little money (not too much). Just because you paid good money for some curriculum, you don't have to keep using it if it is obvious that is it not a good fit. I certainly don't recommend tossing out all your curriculum, but until you've used it you won't get the perfect fit in all subjects right at first.

[Mom22ns]

Welcome! I hope your family's homeschool journey is as positive an experience as ours was. 

 

To answer your questions:

Yes Abeka will get you through the whole year with no planning or prep and will do a good job of keeping your kids on-level.

Yes, you can choose curriculum for each subject or even make your own as you gain confidence.

 

As to what curriculum to use, there are many and all have different strengths and fit different homeschool styles, parenting styles, and kids. In order to pick, I'd suggest you start by answering the questions you've been asked above. Then go to the board that fits your kids age (K-8 curriculum board or high school board), and start searching and reading. Look at the planning threads for each grade and see what others are using, then search for those products on the board to see what people say about them and why they chose them. When something sounds interesting, go and check the price, see if you can see samples, and look for even more information. Doing this will help you choose what will fit your kids best in each subject.

 

However, don't feel like you have to do that this year. It is fine to pick a publisher and just use that for your first year. Then when choosing for next year, you'll know what you liked and what you didn't and be able to look for products that match your family better (or stick with what you have if everyone is happy). I know families who used Abeka video all the way through whose kids are now in college, in professional school, and even one who is a doctor. There is nothing wrong with just choosing a place to start and going from there.

 

Again, welcome and good luck on your journey!