HOW do you school?
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We use My Father's World and stick pretty closely to their suggestions. It is a great fit for us!0
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We are using MFW this year, and we both (my 9-year-old son and I) both like it pretty well so far. We're finishing Week 6 tomorrow. This year's focus is Exploring Countries and Cultures, and the curriculum is a unit-study based curriculum. We school year-round, but take a week off between each country (sometimes do two countries if they're short or similar). We've always used Horizons for math, and this is our second year of using Alpha Omega Lifepacs for language arts.
This is my 4th year of homeschooling. DS totally surprised me this morning by telling me that each night he goes to bed really looking forward to school the next morning. I was like, "Who.Are.You?" (He's such a reluctant learner - it's actually the reason he's at home.) Then he proceeded to tell me that what he looks most forward to each day is math and reading biographies of missionaries. Again - color me dumbfounded! (Not that I'm complaining!)0 -
I think it's great you are teaching your children the bios of missionaries.0
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We are using MFW this year, and we both (my 9-year-old son and I) both like it pretty well so far. We're finishing Week 6 tomorrow. This year's focus is Exploring Countries and Cultures, and the curriculum is a unit-study based curriculum. We school year-round, but take a week off between each country (sometimes do two countries if they're short or similar). We've always used Horizons for math, and this is our second year of using Alpha Omega Lifepacs for language arts.
This is my 4th year of homeschooling. DS totally surprised me this morning by telling me that each night he goes to bed really looking forward to school the next morning. I was like, "Who.Are.You?" (He's such a reluctant learner - it's actually the reason he's at home.) Then he proceeded to tell me that what he looks most forward to each day is math and reading biographies of missionaries. Again - color me dumbfounded! (Not that I'm complaining!)
Yay! We use MFW also. I love it. This is my fifth year homeschooling. I love being able to tailor my children's education. I have one daughter who is very studious and detail oriented and her younger sister is the opposite. When the younger one was learning to read I did all of her reading lessons on my lap to keep her focused. Now, she loves to read! It really is such a blessing to see the light bulbs go off and them get excited over something new learned. I love when their Dad gets home they say "Hey, Dad do you know why Egyptians wore kohl around there eyes?", and many other things they have learned. I also love learning with them. I know so much more about myself and my faith since we started and I thank the Lord for that.0 -
I use the Heart of Dakota Curriculum. It takes very little preparation and can be done in a few hours. It is structured, yet is flexible enough to fit anyone and any time frame. I use my own reading plan and writing lessons. You can plug in pretty much whatever you want, or use what they provide. I would really recommend it to anyone.0
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Hi, I'm new in here but thought I'd jump in.
I home educate my 2 kids and have done for about 5 years now. We are in the UK and I follow the Natoinal Curriculum albeit loosely. School at home works for us mostly though we do have days when the sun is shining where we put the books away and go to the beach.0 -
So, everybody started/ready to start a new grade? We've been homeschooling from day 1, and are just starting high school (grade 9) so only 4 years left (or however long it takes to complete grade 12, we might add an extra year or two, depending on what kiddo decides he wants to do and how much we get accomplished. Remember he is special needs/multiple learning disabled.)
Normally we homeschool year-round, but this year my kiddo is determined to get the whole summer off with no homeschool, so I've set up a schedule which will get us through our work and still get him 2 weeks off for each of Christmas/Easter Break and 2 months of summer, so we'll see if he can stick to it. I've moved science experiments to Saturdays, but he now has a song/dance practice every Saturday for the next two months, so we'll see how that goes. I think we've still got lots of time to cover the required topics.
The math text I've been using the last couple of years only goes up to grade 8, so I had to find something else to use. We're going to try out "Life of Fred", which goes all the way up to college level if we need it. I'm hoping he'll like it better than what we have been doing.
On a positive note, he is really getting into texting and multiplayer games, which means that he is improving his typing and language skills during the time that I am not teaching him.
In a couple of weeks he starts early-morning religious instruction, which means I have to have him at the church at 6:15 a.m. Halfway through my usual work-out time. So that means I'm going to have to get up at 5:00, do half my workout, drive him to the church, continue my workout (run in that neighbourhood, use the gym, or go to the nearby pool/weight room,) then drive him home. I'm actually looking forward to having the pool and weight room available, even though it means getting up a bit earlier!
What are you starting that is new and exciting?0 -
We're ending week 4 of our 11th school year (began in 4K). We have 9th, 7th, 5th, & 3rd grades in our house. Our homeschool looks very different from the early days. In the beginning, we were home a lot with lots of cozy reading times and such. We used ABeka almost exclusively in the beginning. Now, we do a lot of schoolwork on the go and it's more eclectic in nature. Each of my kids have large binders that house most of their assignments for the week. This makes them portable since we spend a lot of time sitting in rinks and driving. We also participate in a local homeschool co-op.
After 10 years of doing this, I can honestly say that I am so thankful the Lord prompted us to do this.
~Blair0 -
We're ending week 4 of our 11th school year (began in 4K). We have 9th, 7th, 5th, & 3rd grades in our house. Our homeschool looks very different from the early days. In the beginning, we were home a lot with lots of cozy reading times and such. We used ABeka almost exclusively in the beginning. Now, we do a lot of schoolwork on the go and it's more eclectic in nature. Each of my kids have large binders that house most of their assignments for the week. This makes them portable since we spend a lot of time sitting in rinks and driving. We also participate in a local homeschool co-op.
After 10 years of doing this, I can honestly say that I am so thankful the Lord prompted us to do this.
~Blair
What things do you like the best about it?0 -
We have just completed our second week of school here.
Math is just review right now for our 3rd grader, so he's a bit bored but it will ramp up soon. It's Saxon Math and I really enjoy the detailed scripting, takes all the guess work out. And I supplement with fun math games and other stuff on the 5th day of the week (if we're home all 5 days that is) or if he wants more math on any given day.
He enjoys both Growing with Grammar and Editor in Chief for structured instruction in language arts. We start a new spelling/dictation program next week and cursive writing. We are also doing conversational french (we are in Canada), chapter book reading, pioneer studies, some science, art and hopefully piano lessons soon. After Christmas we will focus on studying about Canada when pioneer studies are done and I am also looking at a monthly series that he can receive in the mail that focuses on a different country each month. We also try and throw in some creative writing and he is always reading or writing or creating something. And I know he's paying attention and curious because yesterday after reading about how the pioneer children couldn't wait to taste the first dandelion leaves of the year he went outside after school and tried some out to see what they tasted like - lol - wasn't what he expected!
As for PE, we live in the country on a hobby farm so the kids get lots of outdoor time, and now that I am on this journey of my own to get healthy we will be doing more family walks ( I hope).
Wow this sounds super structured but it isn't really and most days the core stuff is done very quickly and early. Oh and we also do KUMON - 3rd grader does reading and math (quite advanced in reading, grade level in math) and our 5yo just started in reading.
As for his schooling, it is Saxon Math K and Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Lessons (starting on Monday!), art, PE, listening to stories, workbooks for printing and kumon books for building motor skills. He has a speech delay so we also work on that.
Homeschooling is so rewarding and everything we do is a learning experience for the kids (all 3 - our 4yo "plays" at school for now, doing some prek workbooks, art, etc), our 3rd grader was in public school for JK, SK and Gr1 and although he misses some of his friends, he is much happier at home. We would have homeschooled from the start but he was a foster child until partway through Gr1 and we couldn't, but as soon as we got the adoption finalized we made the decision to take him out at the end of that school year. Sometimes when we are on the road during the day and we pass a school he will make comments about how he is so much luckier than the kids at the school. That's when I know we are doing the right thing.
Whew, wasn't intending to be so long winded, just so glad to be able to combine both my current passions in one place and have like minded people to tell it all to. Thanks for reading.......and if there is anyone interested in being friends, I promise I will try to keep the posts a bit shorter - lol0 -
bump...I can't post today but want to later...0
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Hello! I have been homeschooling for 15 or more years! My daughters are17 and 11! They have never gone to traditional school! Over the years we have tried Saxon, Singapore math, Switched on Schoolhouse, Abeka, Bob Jones, etc. But now our program is more eclectic. For my oldest daughter we have a tutor for violin and French. I facilitate her learning with Chemistry (Apologia), Algebra 2 (Teaching textbooks), Language Arts (Analytical Grammar), Geography and World history. My youngest daughter just focuses on math, reading, science and language arts.0
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A little bit of this, a little bit of that......
Math, handwriting, writing prompts, typing & Bible are completed most days.
Then we rotate through science, history & geography, language arts, music/art.....getting as much done each day as time, interest, and practicality allow.
We stop academics and work through behavior when needed. We take advantage of good weather, field trips, and lazy days of reading, reading, reading. There's so much more to hs'ing than academics subjects, especially in the elementary years. (We have 5th, 4th, 2nd, K, pre-school age and baby currently - although we do most work together as a family)
Looking forward to getting to know y'all better through this journey!0
