Pulling my 7th grader at the end of the year to homeschool. Where do I begin?

[GaiaAnn]

I plan on pulling my children from our local Montessori school at the end of the year. My children are 3, 6 and 12. They will be in 4k, 1st and 8th next year. I will use WTM curriculum for all of them, but I’m not sure where to begin for my 8th grader. He is intelligent and easily grasps concepts. He has the highest scores in his school for reading and math. I’m not worried about his ability to catch on, but since classical education is a bit more rigorous and he’s missed out on a lot of (basically all of) the grammar and logic stage, how do I begin with him? Any and all advice is welcome! 

[HomeAgain]

Begin where his skills are.  Look at where the WTM suggests logic stage should be/what skills they should be working on.  If your child has had no or very little experience, get something that has a slightly slower pace.

FWIW, I would do Writing With Skill 1 at that age.  It's well tailored to the student and easy to use/understand.  For history and science, I'm not sure.  I'm sure a Montessori student could get plenty of use out of Creek Edge Press task cards, but that would require more from you.  You might consider something like Wayfarers or Layers of Learning, where students of different ages have a common subject of study, but different work according to ability.

 

Whatever you do, begin slightly below their level and build up to slightly above over time.  You have several skills you are teaching in addition to academics: self discipline, how to study, organization, connections....and you want to be able to center your lessons on which is most important at the moment, but touching on all of them.

[Lori D.]

Welcome to the WTM boards, and welcome to homeschooling!

My first suggestion would be:

Use this summer to not just research what specific curricula/programs you want to use, but to really think through your answers to the questions of "WHY are we going to educate at home?" And, "what are our overall/long-term GOALS we want to accomplish by educating at home?"

Goals would include not just academics (example: "we want to include Latin and Logic as subjects"), but would involve overall character development for your children (and family dynamics), as well as specific needs and strengths of each child, and how you, as the parent, want to nurture and grow your children, as well as help them develop into adults who can fit into and function in society.

"Classical education" is just one of a number of methods of how to present academics, and "method" is not really an answer to the "why" and the "goals" for YOUR family. Not every method is going to be a good fit for your student -- or for you or your family as a whole. So method really needs to be considered after you figure out your "why are we homeschooling," and your overall long-term goals -- a kind of mission statement, if you will. 😉 

Then you can think about each child individually and what "method" or programs/curriculum will be a good fit for them as students, and of course, a fit for meeting your "why" and your "goals."

After that... my second suggestion would be:

Give yourself time to make the adjustment to homeschooling. Transitioning into what homeschool looks like for YOUR family will take time, and will take the longest with the 12yo since he was in a traditional school setting up to this point.

I'd also be looking for opportunities for the 12yo to be engaged in extracurriculars, which will also likely help with the transition from a school setting to the setting of home/family for education. The middle school years (and esp. the high school years) are prime time for not only developing friendships and social interacting with all ages, but to also explore interests. Some ideas:

- homeschool support group that does field trips, a weekly PE, social activities for teens, etc.
- local public/private school, if allowed -- sports team or music/orchestra, or after school club like robotics, etc.
- after school youth bowling league
- community youth theater, choir, or orchestra
- local parks & rec class / public library program for pre-teens -- pottery, video/film making, jewelry making, etc.
- lessons from a provider -- art, horseback riding, fencing, martial arts
- club sports or community sports team -- NYS or YMCA sports, swim team, Little League baseball, soccer league, etc.
- Scouting
- Sea Cadets (age 10-18), or Junior Civil Air Patrol (age 12-18)
- 4-H -- animal husbandry, but also: dog training, ham radio, archery, public speaking, + many other non-animal programs
- all-ages community group -- orienteering, Community Gardens, rocketry club, history recreation, etc.

As far as homeschooling 8th grade -- middle school years are usually geared towards:
- making sure foundational academics are solid -- math and writing especially
- as the student is ready, working on study skills (reading to study/learn, reading deeper for thinking/discussion, note taking, test-taking skills, memorization techniques, time management and "stuff" management, etc.)
- move towards some independent work (if appropriate)
- if the student is advanced in an area, start moving into high school level work

Your 6yo / 1st grader will not need a tons of time of formal academics -- likely about 60 minutes a day to cover core subjects (reading, handwriting, math) and then another 60 minutes for read alouds, plus reading and supplements for your "content" subjects (History, Geography, Science, etc.). And you can include other short time periods for solo reading and/or solo discovery activities / kits / educational videos, etc.

Your 3yo / pre-schooler will not need formal academics -- instead, lots of opportunities for imaginative play, discovery/exploration, and lots of outside time are what are developmentally appropriate and what will best "feed" your pre-schooler's brain development. Lots of read-alouds, nature walks, and informal exploration activities. If your 3yo has expressed interest, consider a Letter of the Week approach.

You will likely want to develop a routine so you will be able to work uninterrupted with your 12yo and 6yo while your 3yo either naps or enjoys a tub with sand or water or bubbles with toys to go along, or has his/her own special "blanket time" educational activities -- and you'll want to rotate through a variety of activities each day, but also have enough activities that you can have a box for each of 4-6 weeks, and rotate through the boxes, so activities stay "fresh."

And as you have more specific concerns, post each as a separate thread so you can get great specific experience and thoughts and recommendations. 

Again, welcome! Enjoy your homeschooling journey as a family. Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited March 3 by Lori D.

[GaiaAnn]

3 hours ago, HomeAgain said:

Begin where his skills are.  Look at where the WTM suggests logic stage should be/what skills they should be working on.  If your child has had no or very little experience, get something that has a slightly slower pace.

FWIW, I would do Writing With Skill 1 at that age.  It's well tailored to the student and easy to use/understand.  For history and science, I'm not sure.  I'm sure a Montessori student could get plenty of use out of Creek Edge Press task cards, but that would require more from you.  You might consider something like Wayfarers or Layers of Learning, where students of different ages have a common subject of study, but different work according to ability.

 

Whatever you do, begin slightly below their level and build up to slightly above over time.  You have several skills you are teaching in addition to academics: self discipline, how to study, organization, connections....and you want to be able to center your lessons on which is most important at the moment, but touching on all of them.

Thank you for the curriculum recommendations and advice. I am definitely looking into all suggestions. Thankfully I have from now through summer to do so. 

[GaiaAnn]

2 hours ago, Lori D. said:

Welcome to the WTM boards, and welcome to homeschooling!

My first suggestion would be:

Use this summer to not just research what specific curricula/programs you want to use, but to really think through your answers to the questions of "WHY are we going to educate at home?" And, "what are our overall/long-term GOALS we want to accomplish by educating at home?"

Goals would include not just academics (example: "we want to include Latin and Logic as subjects"), but would involve overall character development for your children (and family dynamics), as well as specific needs and strengths of each child, and how you, as the parent, want to nurture and grow your children, as well as help them develop into adults who can fit into and function in society.

"Classical education" is just one of a number of methods of how to present academics, and "method" is not really an answer to the "why" and the "goals" for YOUR family. Not every method is going to be a good fit for your student -- or for you or your family as a whole. So method really needs to be considered after you figure out your "why are we homeschooling," and your overall long-term goals -- a kind of mission statement, if you will. 😉 

Then you can think about each child individually and what "method" or programs/curriculum will be a good fit for them as students, and of course, a fit for meeting your "why" and your "goals."

After that... my second suggestion would be:

Give yourself time to make the adjustment to homeschooling. Transitioning into what homeschool looks like for YOUR family will take time, and will take the longest with the 12yo since he was in a traditional school setting up to this point.

I'd also be looking for opportunities for the 12yo to be engaged in extracurriculars, which will also likely help with the transition from a school setting to the setting of home/family for education. The middle school years (and esp. the high school years) are prime time for not only developing friendships and social interacting with all ages, but to also explore interests. Some ideas:

- homeschool support group that does field trips, a weekly PE, social activities for teens, etc.
- local public/private school, if allowed -- sports team or music/orchestra, or after school club like robotics, etc.
- after school youth bowling league
- community youth theater, choir, or orchestra
- local parks & rec class / public library program for pre-teens -- pottery, video/film making, jewelry making, etc.
- lessons from a provider -- art, horseback riding, fencing, martial arts
- club sports or community sports team -- NYS or YMCA sports, swim team, Little League baseball, soccer league, etc.
- Scouting
- Sea Cadets (age 10-18), or Junior Civil Air Patrol (age 12-18)
- 4-H -- animal husbandry, but also: dog training, ham radio, archery, public speaking, + many other non-animal programs
- all-ages community group -- orienteering, Community Gardens, rocketry club, history recreation, etc.

As far as homeschooling 8th grade -- middle school years are usually geared towards:
- making sure foundational academics are solid -- math and writing especially
- as the student is ready, working on study skills (reading to study/learn, reading deeper for thinking/discussion, note taking, test-taking skills, memorization techniques, time management and "stuff" management, etc.)
- move towards some independent work (if appropriate)
- if the student is advanced in an area, start moving into high school level work

Your 6yo / 1st grader will not need a tons of time of formal academics -- likely about 60 minutes a day to cover core subjects (reading, handwriting, math) and then another 60 minutes for read alouds, plus reading and supplements for your "content" subjects (History, Geography, Science, etc.). And you can include other short time periods for solo reading and/or solo discovery activities / kits / educational videos, etc.

Your 3yo / pre-schooler will not need formal academics -- instead, lots of opportunities for imaginative play, discovery/exploration, and lots of outside time are what are developmentally appropriate and what will best "feed" your pre-schooler's brain development. Lots of read-alouds, nature walks, and informal exploration activities. If your 3yo has expressed interest, consider a Letter of the Week approach.

You will likely want to develop a routine so you will be able to work uninterrupted with your 12yo and 6yo while your 3yo either naps or enjoys a tub with sand or water or bubbles with toys to go along, or has his/her own special "blanket time" educational activities -- and you'll want to rotate through a variety of activities each day, but also have enough activities that you can have a box for each of 4-6 weeks, and rotate through the boxes, so activities stay "fresh."

And as you have more specific concerns, post each as a separate thread so you can get great specific experience and thoughts and recommendations. 

Again, welcome! Enjoy your homeschooling journey as a family. Warmest regards, Lori D.

Thankfully we live in a small town, so my son knows pretty much everyone from public, private and the Montessori school. He has played hockey for four years now and runs cross country through the local public school. He will continue to do so through high school. We do have some homeschooling groups around here that I we will be getting involved with (25-45min away), one of which does PE twice a month at a local college throughout the school year (the college kids lead the classes). He also takes drum lessons and may end up joining band (there is a sports agreement between our Montessori and the public school, but no other extracurricular agreements, so he has more opportunities if he homeschools, too).

I haven't chosen curriculum for my 8th grader yet, but next year I will be using Story of the World, Writing with Ease, First Language Lessons and Math with Confidence for my 6yo. Along with a lot of outdoor time (we have a hiking trail right behind our house and  a park a block away). I have some excellent science resources and a wonderful library. The 6yo is ADHD so homeschooling will give him the ability to really get that energy out instead of being in a class environment. He does well academically and as long as we have a good routine down he is pretty good at sitting for short lessons. I have witnessed big shifts in the most energetic kids somewhere between 3rd and 5th grade, with a decrease in disruptive behavior and the ability to sit for a little longer for lessons. But I think he'll be a-ok.

Since I currently work at the Montessori school my children attend, I haven't searched out local homeschoolers. I have yet to give my school a heads up that I am leaving and removing my children as well, so I still need to get a grasp on how many homeschoolers we have right in our town.

As for the 3yo, he taught himself his letter sounds and numbers to 25 when he was two via a Leapfrog tablet, so we've been steadily working on that when he asks to (he recognizes patterns as we work our way up to 100). I've added some Montessori materials to our space, so he has opportunities to engage with letters and numbers and we've begun doing some phonemic awareness exercises with some simple vc and cvc words to sound out. 

Overall, my reasons are (I'm sure there's others, but off the top of my head:
I am hoping to give my children a better education and a more close-knit family dynamic. A strengthening of family bonds and to know my children better.
I want to be a larger influence than their peers (Hold On to Your Kids by Gordon Neufeld and Gabor Mate was an eye opening read).
I don't want to avoid the morning rush and forcing kids to wake up when they're still tired.
I want to use a curriculum that works rather than the latest fad/experiment. 
I'd like less schedule conflicts and the ability to take our vacations during the week.
It also gives us more time with my mom (who has Parkinson's and my grandma who is 95, both of whom need a decent amount of help).

I'm sure I'll come up with new "Whys" and maybe even change curriculums a few times or mix and match a little more. But so far I really like TWTM curriculum. We will see if it suits my, though. 

Thank you so much for your input. I really do appreciate it. 

[8filltheheart]

Welcome to the wonderful adventure of homeschooling.  I love homeschooling!! It has been such a blessing for our family.  BUT, the blessing of homeschooling comes from allowing our homeschool to reflect the needs of our family and our children.  I highly encourage you to not get caught up in definitions of "classical" homeschooling bc not a single classical homeschool marketed curriculum is really classical.  Just decide what you want for your kids and family and prioritize those goals.

I have been homeschooling for a very long time (I started when my oldest was in K back in 1994.  My youngest will be an 9th grader next yr.  I have been homeschooling non-stop since there are 6 in between those 2.)  I have witnessed numerous trends come and go.  We have just plugged along matching materials to the needs of our kids vs. conforming our kids to materials.  It has enabled our kids to progress at their own rate focused on their strengths/weaknesses/interests.  One of our kids loved math and physics and essentially completed minors in both before he graduated from high school.  Another loved languages and had 15 foreign language crs on her transcript.  Our youngest loves music.  I hope that illustrates that not one sibling's education reflects another's.  Every course has been tailored to meet their needs.

I would recommend starting with 2 simple goals: finding a math curriculum that matches your oldest's level and learning style and creating a stack of books for him to read through.  I would wait until you have some sort of rhythm with those before adding in more.  Sometimes less is more when you are adjusting to homeschooling.  FWIW, science and history can both be reading focused in 8th grade.  (Actually, history remains that way in our homeschool through to graduation.  I don't use textbooks for most subjects-- math, high school science, and foreign language grammar being the exceptions.)  I have my 8th+ graders take Cornell Notes from their reading.  I create writing assignments across curriculum from their reading.