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Post by sarahd on Aug 31, 2004 22:29:24 GMT -5
Just wondering if anyone else homeschools ( I think Darlene does). How does your day go? What curriculum do you use? I am not going to start school until next Monday as I am switching curriculum and am waiting for books to arrive. I am switching to Rod and Staff. I would just like to know how others do it.
Sarah
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Post by LindaFisk on Aug 31, 2004 22:34:00 GMT -5
I also homeschool, we use "a little of this and a little of that" kind of curriculum! I have seen Rod and Staff and it looks very good. I don't know anyone who uses it though. Our day is strange,we get up much later and work later and stay up later so I can accomodate my husbands schedule better. He works deep nights and we spend as much time with him as we can during the afternoon/evening,our school time is only a few hours and maybe a little catching up at night or reading out loud. Linda
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Post by noplacelikehome on Sept 1, 2004 8:37:48 GMT -5
We homeschool also. We've use a collection of different curriculums but are going to ACE this year. We will not start our official school year until later in September since we'll be on vacation for a week mid month. Until then, we are working on a social studies project. Our 4-H group (a group of all homeschooled children) is putting on a Native American PowWow. Each family has chosen a tribe to represent and will give a presentation on their tribe. We've been learning about our tribe, finding recipes to share at the potluck (we call them pot blessings), making costumes and having a great time learning lots.
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Post by glenda on Sept 1, 2004 8:47:14 GMT -5
WE ALSO HOMESCHOOL. AND LIKE MOST WE USE A LITTLE OF THIS AND A LITTLE OF THAT. I HAVE COME TO THE PLACE WHERE WE LOOK AT EACH CHILD AND DECIDE WHAT BOOKS WILL BE BETTER FOR THEM. EACH ONE OF OUR CHILDREN LEARN IN DIFFERENT FASHIONS. WE ALSO ALLOW THEM TO HAVE TIME TO DO THINGS THAT THEY LIKE. WE LOVE TO ALLOW THE CHILDREN TO WRITE PAPERS FOR US ON THINGS THAT THEY LIKE OR THINGS THAT THEY HAVE DONE. IT MAKES WRITING MORE FUN FOR THEM.
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Post by sherri on Sept 2, 2004 0:53:57 GMT -5
Ha! I think by the time the night is over i will have replied to nearly every thread on this post! lol Anyhoo, i will homeschool. My oldest is 3 now, and i would like to know how to start this thing called homeschooling. I want it to be nothing like the classroom setting. i'd like to learn as much as possible outside the boundries of a book. And how do you guys get into the discipline of daily schooling? My days now are filled with cleaning the rooms, laundry (it never really ends does it??? lol), cooking, planning, reading to children, playing with children, alone time, Bible time for me, Bible time for kids, and Bible time for me and dh... And u see how late i stay up to steal a bit of ME time (nearly 1am now). Actually this site is so full of handy info it's addicting. Uh oh... lol Do i realy have to compromise a tidy home to educate the kids? It's one compromise i'm more than willing ot make if necessary, but i really would like to know how to juggle it all. Any help? Sorry for asking sooooo many questions! This is like womanly candy for me!! lol Sherri
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Post by sarahd on Sept 2, 2004 11:34:13 GMT -5
Hi Sherri! This site is wonderful. I could stay on all day . That is great that your are going to homeschool. Public school today is so ungodly. I am new myself to it, this will be my second year. My first bit of advice is don't get bogged down by all the curriculums out there. There are so many to choose from. Secondly, what helped me more than anything was joining the local homeschool group here. Talking with everyone helps to see how it all works. You need to find out the laws for your state. One place to get them is from www.hslda.org. This is the homeschool legal defense association. They can send you the information for your state. This group is not something you HAVE to be a member of, it is your choice. You pay $100 a year I think and if ever your school district harrasses you you can call the HSLDA and they will defend you at no extra cost. I do it as my local elementary district lost 40+ children this year to privat and homeschools. About the least expensive curriculum I found was Christian LIberty . They put everything you need for the grade into a kit so it is no hassle for you. I didn't like their reading for older grades tho. I didn't feel they have enough questions for reading comprehension. Their kindergarten kit was good tho with phonics . I will be going with Rod and Staff this year. They are the most conservative I have found. It is run by Mennonites. Another website that has a mix of all books is www.cbd.com. I know most everyone else on this site uses a mix of curriculum to fit their children. As a newbie starting out last year I felt that was overwhelming, but that was just me. Most of all pray to God and ask for His leadership and guidance. No matter what you do it will be a better education than your children will get anywhere else. God bless ! Sarah
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Post by sherri on Sept 2, 2004 15:13:11 GMT -5
Thank you Sarah, it is a bit overwhelming seeing everything out there. So far i like the idea of a unit study. I read all about the Weaver Curriculum, and i just LOVE everything about it! Except for one big thing... When i saw it in person i had no clue whatsoever on how to use it. I was face to face with a representitive asking questions, and absoloutly nothing she said to me made any sence. I only had 10 minutes to spend with the Weaver Rep cuz i was volunteering a shift so i could get into the convention for free. Finances r tight lately. I would love to sit down for a couple hours with my daughter and a rep and have her walk me through everything step by step. I'm so nervous, but i'm trusting God to give me the confidence i'll need to start this up within the next year or two. I'm trying to teach Julie to read now with that book Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. It's slow going as she really doesn't have the desire to sit still through a section let alone a full 3 page chapter. It doesn't bother me in the least cuz she's only 3. But that's why i started so early, more so i could get in the habit of THINKING about making time to school her now, and hopefully in a year it'll be full bown habit. For those of you who have many children, how do u teach your child to read, and make time for all the others? How is your time divided to get everything done? I mean there's a LOT to get done in a single day, and taking 2-4 hours to home school seems difficult to me now... Sherri
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Post by sherri on Sept 2, 2004 15:29:00 GMT -5
My friend told me about a great site to get used, but in good condition curriculum. I don't know any of these programs/curriculums, so it's a bit overwhelming for me, but ya'll who have been doing this for a while will know what you're looking for. It's a like to a vegitarian site, don't ask, i have no idea what its doing there, but lol there it is! Go to www.vegsource.com/homeschool the swap boards will be a link on your right. Its divided up by grades, and if you're looking to sell or buy stuff. I just saw the full Weaver curriculum with loads of extra stuff, for $50. It sells new for over $150. So it would offer a considerable savings! Have fun!! I think it's more fun to look at neat stuff for our kids than to buy anything for ourselves! What has motherhood done to me?? LOL My dd is playing on the couch, she's burrying her self under about 10 pillows. She announced that she's going down to the 'bottom of the Earth' to go catch a fish so it wont catch her 'last morning'..." LOL And to think it only gets better than this! God is so good to me!
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Post by penny on Sept 18, 2004 23:23:27 GMT -5
Hi, I am new to the board. My name is Penny I am homeschooling my two sons. I am using Bob Jones University Press cirriculum. We start our day at 8, bookwork begins at 9. We try to get everyting done by noon. This is our third year of homeschool. I enjoy being home teaching my children it is a blessing to teach my children the Lords precepts. I taught school for 16 years. It was so sad to see what kids go through in PS, and forbidden to share the Lord with all the hurting kids, and this was just in kindergarten. Oh well, I better get off my soapbox and get rested for the Lords day. May the Lord bess you! Penny
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Post by 2bgracious on Feb 16, 2005 16:15:34 GMT -5
We've homeschooled from the beginning. Frank Schaeffer for pre-K. Abeka, Weaver, Easy Grammer, Learning Language Arts Through Literature for K to 3rd. Saxon, Tapestry of Grace, and Apologia for 4th on. Not sure what else we might throw in yet.
I avoid R&S due to not agreeing with many of their examples that they use in their curriculum. (biased (false)comments on calvinists and jewish ppl, and other concerns their stories may raise in young children...I do believe a military person can be a Christian and that it is okay for a child to have red slippers). Again, it's where you stand on issues when choosing ANY curriculum.
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MrsDeweySmith
Full Member
PRAYER governs conduct and conduct makes character. Conduct is what we do;Character is what we are.
Posts: 244
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Post by MrsDeweySmith on Jun 3, 2005 8:19:58 GMT -5
LOL....a day late on this thread but I do love homeschooling so I had to pop in and check things out here.
We use Christian Light, coming out of Alpha Omega LifePacs when we first started hsing 8 years ago. We do not use their Bible curriculum, but choose to do our own studies instead....everything from studying Godly Womanhood, Proverbs 31, Godly Manhood, and so on.
What first drew us to CLE was their depictions of modestly dressed, veiling girls. We had just started covering ourselves and it sort of kept things cemented together in the beginning....you know, as the world looked on thinking we had lost our minds.
We have over the years, used many things. For the longest time, we only purchased math and language arts curriculum and put together resources from anywhere and everywhere for the otehr subjects. Illinois is as easy-goping for schooling as Mississippi, so being creative was simple.
This year, we opted to go with the full subject base, though I suspect we will still bunny trail off here and there just out of habit. We school all year, taking time off as necessary with life being what it is. LOL....I've been told that summers down here in the mid-south will be something to reckon with compared to northern Illinois so hsing all year will no doubt be a true welcome!
Deanna
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Post by restored on Jun 9, 2005 11:52:01 GMT -5
My main comment is to Sherri. I don't mean to sound harsh, but most 3yr. olds are not ready to read for lots of reasons. You might want to see if your library has anything by Dr. Raymond Moore esp. his Better Late Than Early book. I have a 4yr. old who will be 5 the end of October and we are not even going to start her this year. I have Preschool books that when she ask for her assignments like her siblings I give her one of these pages and continue to until she decides that she is done. I show her how to write her name and anything else she ask me to write out and she tries to copy it. I do not force anything on her and I follow her ques. I even do this some with my 7yr. old when I see he is getting frustrated with a concept we back off for a few days or even a week. Usually when we come back to it he totally remembers and has total grasp of the concept even though we have not discussed it for days. Follow your daughters ques. She will let you know when she is ready. Only you know your daughter and you have nothing to prove to any one. ENJOY!!! this special time with your little one there will come a time when you are not able to be so laxed about things, I know I have a 10yr. old also. As to the housework thing you will have to lighten up a little and find some good books on the subject. Don Aslett and Sandra Felton are wonderful authors on the subject. Remember your kids are only little once. I hope I didn't sound to harsh. I mean good and well. In His Service, Heather
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MrsDeweySmith
Full Member
PRAYER governs conduct and conduct makes character. Conduct is what we do;Character is what we are.
Posts: 244
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Post by MrsDeweySmith on Jun 9, 2005 14:52:09 GMT -5
I agree with you, Heather. There is nothing to prove in our homeschooling, and we definitely are (or at least, should be) more tuned-in to what our children need than someone else. Still, many of us have grown up thinking we do have to somehow validate our quests in other eyes...whether it be homeschooling, staying at home to tend our families rather than working, pursuing our religious convictions, you name it. It is a cycle that is difficult to break free of at times. To Sherri, if your daughter isn't showing signs of being ready for 'schooling' do what little snippets you can...learning colors, learning abc's, numbers, animal names, etc...keep it fun and keep it light. Anything you do with her is teaching her in one way or another. Read as many Bible stories as you can with her, just let her hear and see you read if nothing else. My Matthew is 7 yo now and is finally starting to 'get it' when it comes to reading. I thought he would never catch on Now Abbey, aged 5, is seemingly understanding each lesson as we move along. We generally stick with the Learning to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, and I create worksheets for them for letter writing practice with each lesson. (we use the StartWrite program -- we don't teach the traditional writing style, but prefer italic). We have also used Sing, Spell, Read, and Write, and the Victory Drill Program, but we prefer the 100 Easy Lessons. Learning outside of a book...you sound pretty eclectic in your way I was going to suggest a sort of Charlotte Mason style and Ambleside Online (but it is total reading...not workbooks, though the complete curriculum is online www.amblesideonline.com I believe is the site...) Find out what your state requires as far as your schooling and start checking out everything that looks like a good fit. As I said in another post, we went total boxed curriculum this year, but I know we won't last long at each subject...we really do like our bunny trails! Some things we have done over the past 8 years: **I have always used a full math and language curriculum. You can do anything and be anything as long as you know how to read and write, and work your math, kwim? **For science, we have jumbled around..uits on various animals, we have followed the Handbook of Nature Study, and gone off on various tangents whenever the children have 'discovered a new bug' outside. **For history, we tried to follow events in a chronological manner but it really didnt' work for us. Everyone was bored easily and no one looked forward to those lessons. We had a pretty successful year working our way through the Presidents once...studied the highlights of events that happened during each President's lifetime. We have used whatever reading material we were going through at the time to pick up ideas for things to study as well (Prairie Primer worked well for the westward expansion...) My older children only read auto-biographies...we prefer they learn of the individual through their own writings, speeches, etc. rather than what someone's 'bend' on their life might say. Our schedule is basically this...math, language, writing, and personal/family devotional time daily. Science and history alternate days, so 2 days one week, 3 the next. Piano (they are trying to teach themselves this year...) and art also alternate. Fridays are our Prep Day and we do the weekly cleaning projects, run any errands, and write letters. The children are usually reading something on their own, and I try to preview any book that is brought in for reading. We school year-round, so there is no time frame really for us and we can slow down or speed up to accommodate any needs we may come across. I'm sorry! This has become a novel! That wasn't my intention...I do tend to get carried away at times. Forgive me! Deanna
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Post by labandbdr on Jun 12, 2005 10:21:12 GMT -5
I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL FOR ALL THE INPUT ON HOMESCHOOLING. MY DH AND I ARE SERIOUSLY PRAYING AND BELIEVING TO HOMESCHOOL OUR SOON TO BE 4 YEAR OLD B/G TWINS. HOWEVER, THE STATE OF FLORIDA HAS A NEW PROGRAM THAT GIVES 3 HOURS OF EDUCATION AT PROVIDER EDUCATION CENTERS THROUGHOUT THE STATE, SOME OF THESE CENTERS ARE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS FOR FREE OF CHARGE. THIS WOULD GIVE ME AND MY HUSBAND SOME "NEEDED" FREE TIME TO OURSELVES. I THOUGHT I MIGHT TRY IT TO SEE HOW THEY RESPOND TO THE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT FOR THEIR PRE-K YEAR, THEN START HSCHOOLING CIRRICULUM IN KINDERGARTEN??? FOR THREE, THEY ARE EXTREMELY, ADVANCED IN MANY AREAS. I'M WORRIED THIS PROGRAM MIGHT BORE THEM. THE ONE THING THEY ARE LACKING IS THEIR WRITING/COLORING. THEY ARE NOT REAL INTERESTED , YET... OH WELL, LADIES, PRAY FOR ME FOR GOD'S WILL IN THIS SITUATION FOR HIS VERY BEST FOR MY DARLINGS.
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Post by benshelpmeet on Jun 13, 2005 17:32:46 GMT -5
Dear sister, We will be praying for the Lord to give you and your husband direction. As for coloring my children normally do not show any real intrest in drawing or coloring until around 5 years old. I know all children are differant but this is how it has worked for mine. Blessings to you and Welcome to this site. Love, ~ sister Darlene ~
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