Different kids, different curricula

[TheSchoolintheHills]

Has anyone used completely different curricula for their completely different children?  How does it/ Does it work?!

I have two children, dd 13 and ds 11, who have done the same curriculum AND the same level/year up to this point (currently, we are in AO7).  DD is having a rough go, so after reading about the "Gap Year for 8th Graders," I decided to give it a try.  I've allowed her to just do maths, reading and equine studies.  She is happier, definitely, but I think that part of the issue was that the rigor of AO is just not her "love language."  She is an animal lover and a horseback rider, and could just study animals and be perfectly happy.  The books she has read in Sonlight hold her interest, and, as it's a lovely curriculum, I plan to move her over next year.

However, ds will still be in AO.  This might make me a bit batty.  Has anyone done this and lived to tell about it?  Obviously, I want to do what is best for them both while being the best possible teacher/partner in their education, and I'm not sure how it will work if I am focusing on two different time periods and masses of different books.  Help!  And thank you.    

[Jean in Newcastle]

Yes, I have done different curricula for my two kids. They are very different learners.   If they are independent readers does it matter if they are reading different books?  

[2_girls_mommy]

My kids read their own books and discuss with me. I don't use a particular curriculum, just WTM as a guide, so we are generally in the same time period. But not always as literature doesn't always follow history here. 

Can you find a way to choose one or two books or subjects a year to do together just for discussion's sake? It might mean skipping something from one of their booklists while you do one together from tge other child's, but that way you're doing some together occasionally. 

But once you get out of history/lit my kids are in totally different subjects. One is in Astronomy this year. The other is in physical science. One is in PreAlgebra. One is in Alg 2, etc. And I juggle those, so I don't see how history would be too different. 

[8filltheheart]

I have had 6 different curricula/unrelated subjects going amg 6 of my kids at the same time. Doable.

[FairProspects]

The only thing we do together is a family literature read aloud and our history textbook. And even that is only because my kids are at similar levels for history skills and content knowledge. Their English literature books are tied to the same time period but different levels & content. So yes, I also vote doable.

[PeterPan]

2 hours ago, TheSchoolintheHills said:

so after reading about the "Gap Year for 8th Graders," I decided to give it a try.

So your older dc is an 8th grader this year? She'll be a rising 9th grader? Then they were going to separate anyway. Make a plan that works for each of them, sure. But no, I personally wouldn't continue on with a really time-intensive curriculum for one dc. You might ask your younger if there's something else he'd like. If your older has sprouted and wanted a change, he might be interested in one too. Maybe a totally different direction to spice things up.

[Penelope]

I think I did the same history with two children one year, but other than that I have never done the same history, literature, or science with two children at once. Maybe it’s easier because I generally make my own plans rather than follow ones that someone else made, but others do follow different premade plans, too. 

[TheSchoolintheHills]

Now I feel silly for asking! 😀 All of your points are spot on. Thank you!!

[8filltheheart]

11 minutes ago, TheSchoolintheHills said:

Now I feel silly for asking! 😀 All of your points are spot on. Thank you!!

Don't feel silly. If you have never taught that way, it makes sense that you wondered how it would work.  

[Targhee]

We don’t use almost-all-in-one things like AO or SL, but we do different maths, different English, even different history and science for my kids if needed.  I stopped being able to group the older three into one history because oldest hated history and DS loves. In sciences we studied topics of interest, which diverged when the oldest two were about 12 and 10.  I have always tried to match skills (math, writing, spelling) to their learning styles. So yes, it can be done.  And I might add that about the same age when interests diverged I started outsourcing some. At first one thing, then by the time 8th grade hit oldest only had 1 class taught directly by me and DS only has one class taught directly by me (both writing). He has two classes at the middle school, three online classes, and writing with me. Plus electives but they are self-driven.

Edited March 7, 2019 by Targhee