homeschooling curriculums

[kppy]

choosing a curriculum to meet the needs of your homeschooler can be a daunting task! i was fortunate to have a friend that had been homeschooling her children for several years. i was able to look thru her textbooks, teacher editions ect..and then ask a ton of questions. very helpful!

my suggestion for parents when first looking into the many choices of materials is to ask around to see if there are any families in your community that homeschool. a good way to do this is to find a homeshool group in your area. do a 'google" search and/or contact your local library and ask.

ultimately, you'd like to be able to look thru these books for yourself to get a "feel" for not only what material is taught, but the way the information is presented. this last part was, in my opinion, extremely important to my son's success.

many book companies travel to different cities through out the year. you can contact publishers to see when they may come to a location near you. it's a great opportunity to really look at the curriculum and ask questions- many times they offer discounts to those who order during these exhibitions.

another suggestion is to purchase "used" books. many homeschooling forums offer a "swap or used books" section. you can purchase answer keys, reading books and teacher editions at a great discount and then order new "consumables" (workbooks) from the publisher. be sure the editions match up tho.

below is the beginning of a list of sites that offer info. on curriculums. i hope to include all that i find and will be updating it on an on-going basis. i use a combination of books as opposed to one brand for all subjects. bottom line, you can taylor the program to meet your needs!

school.familyeducation.com/home-schooling/curriculum-planning/38847.html
www.homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/materials/HelpChoose.htm

i'll be updating soon.

[trid]

Choosing a curriculum is a lot of fun! It takes up more hours in my day than teaching, at times!

I ordered the free copy of Rainbow Resources catalogue. It is over 1000 pages of books, manipulatives, etc. and most have reviews. The web site is www.rainbowresource.com

[kppy]

thanks trid, i'll check out the link. what curriculum are you currently using?
kppy

[trid]

I am using a public cyber charter school in PA. But I am very serious about going to traditional HS next year. DH is concerned because I have ADHD and he knows that follow through without accountability is a concern. But he is starting to realize that I am obsessed with it at this point.

I started cyber with my middle son when he was in 6th grade, and brought my youngest home in 5th grade (a year later). My oldest is a sophomore in high school, just transferred to a military prep. school about 2 hours away. He is my ADHD'er, and is determined to get into West Point. He never was interested in homeschool, and I think we would each other if we tried!

All 3 of mine have writing LD's, and are in the gifted range. So, the public brick and mortar's are unable to service their broad spectrum needs.

Even the cyber can't adapt well to their needs. They are being held to the class schedule in the classes they could do in their sleep, and are rushing through any cracks they can find in English. I want to let them accelerate where they can, and remediate where they need it.

So, if you have any great suggestions for 7th and 9th grade, I am all ears!

Patrick, currently 8th grade, will be taking Biology and Algebra next year. He thinks he might as well grind through World History sooner rather than later, so that is what I am looking at for 9th grade. We really need a good Compostion course.

Shaun, currently 6th grade, is ready for PreAlgebra... as soon as he really masters long division. (any suggestions for remedial division?) He loves US History, I plan on using the 2nd half of the Joy Hakim History of US series. Life Science is next year as well.

I think the best benefit for both is to do English together, so we can really work more efficiently.

They want to learn German too, and I know absolutely NOTHING about German, except from Hogan's Heroes!

I have a local friend who has more books than the book mobile, but I feel funny asking for her advice... she is a bit over zealous in her teaching, plus... she has at least 2 dozen animals of various species that live, nest, shed in her home library. I take enough allergy meds without bringing extra dander into my house!

[kppy]

hi trid,

it sounds like homeschooling may be a great solution for your kids!

don't worry, if you can follow your children's various needs/strength as well as it sounds, you'll have no problem with homeschooling

my system to keep organized is to use a lesson plan book. i plan for an entire week in all subjects on friday for the following week. over the weekend, i make sure i have all materials i need for the upcoming week.

my son is 9 and we use a beka materials for reading, science and math. i use curriculum press for spelling. social studies, handwriting and english are all "eclectic" and lessons i have developed specifically for my son's need. i use worksheets i print off the internet to supplement and online activities as well. we also have a fair amount of educational games that we use once in awhile.

long division.... it's all about the steps. when my son was able to do multiplication quickly and accurately (1-12) we moved to long division. we started with the steps and then moved to the actual problems. i have found that if the mult. tables are "shaky" or if they aren't absolutely solid on the steps to divide, errors are made. sounds too simple but that's usually where it breaks down. so take a look at what kind of mistakes are made. are they multiplication errors or is it during one of the steps? then, go back to that skill and do more drill and practice till it is solid.

sorry if this sounds like a lecture! i soooo struggled with math as a kid but i have found i can teach it well! ha! justice at last.

if you chose to hs, try hooking up with a hs group in your area. they can be a wealth of info.-especially if you are "new" to it. some offer art, music and sports programs. maybe you could find someone to teach german thru one of these groups

saxon math is awesome. we'll be using this next year ourselves. their books go all the way thru high school.

i have no other real specific suggestions for your age kids but know there's alot out there to choose from.

just an fyi, if you're not aware. most hs curriculums are pretty academically "aggressive" meaning they are more difficult than what the kids get in public schools. given the fact that they get 1 to 1 attention and that the curriculum is more difficult, most hs kids end up doing well or better than their public school counterparts.

please, come back and let us know what you end up doing or just to chat .

[trid]

I go through waves of confidence and panic! Today, I called another cyber school, filled out all the application forms, both hard copies and on-line. I did step one of the registration process, which opened up their secure site for further info. After reviewing it all, I am convinced it is too rigid for my older son, who would be starting high school next fall. He will freak out and shut down with the regimen.

So, I gave him the legal mumbo-jumbo of the state laws on home schooling, and what happens if he doesn't work up to the expectations (i.e. the district can come physically escort him to the violent high school in town). I gave him the, "no slacking" lectures, and every other one I could throw in for good measure. And I tried to explain to him why DH is reluctant to let me take over. I spend so many hours defending MY side (which I called the "dark side", since hs is outside the norm), I think it is only fair to give them a view into their father's mind. The kids say public school is the dark side!

So, now it is just going to take a serious, open minded family discussion to make the final leap off the cliff. After today, I feel more confident than I did a week ago.

I have been following the discussion board for the PA Homeschoolers, and even have their guideline booklet for the high school diploma program. I truly think I can do a better job at customizing their education.

I officially exited the IEP's for both boys this week, but I still am not sure if I will have to meet the special ed. requirements of the state law. That is the most confusing thing for me. That, and trying to get up enough courage to finish THIS year, just so I don't look like I am trying to bypass the special ed laws! We have 9 weeks left in the cyber year.

What I want to do, is finish the year with minimal effort for the school and a trial run at my own curriculum simultaneously. But, Patrick says he isn't going to do both. And I really can't blame him!

Why can't life decisions be easier?

The embarrassing thing about all this is... I am the homeschool facilitator on another ADHD board! Don't tell the mods. and admins. over there that I am panicking!

Thanks for the support!

Laurie

[kppy]

i think once you get started you will both see that getting the work done is really easy in the home environment. literally a fraction of the time compared to a public school day.

probably the most difficult part will be deciding what you want him to study and finding the type of materials that he will do best with. i think that once you have that in place (and i would suggest you definitely have that in place well before you start) the rest will be easy. that's how it worked for us, at least.

you are probably familiar with HSDL -right? you have access to your states hs requirements and what you need to do to comply? if not you could visit that site and ask for help with your end- of- the- school- year (exiting the ieps you mentioned) so that you get that finsihed off and be in compliance for next year.

maybe you could alternate days that you worked on public school stuff with days that you test-drive a curriculum you have designed? tell him he's gotta go to school each day till the end of the year so what does it matter what he studies? dang adolescents! #22goingmad# they can drive the sanest person over the edge!

don't worry, your secret is safe with me! and don't feel bad, i am a sped teacher and had no idea that my son was doing so poorly in school! how that happened i'll never know and kick myself daily for missing what seems so obvious to me now

[trid]

Don't beat yourself up either.

My hero, Ty Pennington... his mom was a school psychologist. She didn't know what he was like in class either, until they asked her to work with "the worst behaved kid in the school's history" and handed her Ty's file!

He turned out pretty darn fine, in my book!

The problem with doing both my work and the cyber school work... he has lessons due in 7 or 8 classes every day! No matter what we try, he can never get ahead enough to take a lazy day. They fill his days with busy work.

I am considering letting his "Grades" slide by allowing him to skip some of the useless stuff they give him, and selectively do the ones that are actually worthwhile.

Grades have never meant that much to me, I want the learning to occur.

I have pretty much decided on my curriculum, with just a few more to things to be added. The hardest thing for Patrick will be getting the 25 books read and the 2500 word essay.

Shaun will have trouble with the art work... he and I BOTH hate art.

I guess my focus this week has to be getting through my in-laws arriving tomorrow to stay with us, Patrick starting physical therapy on for his knee, then my mother having wrist surgery on Monday, my oldest coming home for spring break and my Dad having eye surgery on Friday. After all that, the sky can fall down and I will be just fine.

Until then, I am spending many nights delving through catalogs to find the right books.

[kppy]

well you certainly have your hands full!! good luck with everyone's surgerys and therapy!

so i take it in your state they are some pretty strict guidlines for hs curriculum? they tell you what and how much?

that would be a total bummer for me and my son! how does the state know what areas your child is weak and strong in? i spend quite a bit of time working on his weaker areas because they take more time. i love the freedom and it suits my son well to be able to 'tweak" the day, when needed.

[trid]

In Pa, the laws aren't bad, really. But right now we are in a cyber charter school, which means it is a public school, with live teachers on the other end of the curriculum. So we have to do all the regular brick and mortar requirements, but we do it all at home.

For traditional HS, we have our 4 major courses, plus PA history, and certain extras like music, art, PE, health and safety at various points throughout the 12 years. But the rules aren't at all unreasonable in, IMO. Only, with special ed, the objectives set at the beginning of the year have to be approved by a certified sp. ed. teacher. Even that isn't unreasonable, since the main goal is to approve an appropriate education for each child. How to meet the objectives is still in the hands of the parents.

In laws visit went well, PT for the knee is going good, and now I just wait for word from my mom. And fill up the car for the trip to get my oldest son, 2 hours away.

Back to the lessons!

Thanks for being around to pick your brain!

[kppy]

sounds like you have a good handle on things and like you said, you just have to get thru the rest of this school year-hopefully in one piece!

i have a question for you.... do you intend to do any "schoolwork" over the summer?

i've been busy with family stuff as well. i'll apologize in advance if i miss checking in. my father is in the hospital undergoing tests and may have had a stroke sooooo, it's a bit wacky around here.
kppy

[trid]

#00hugging# I'll say a prayer that Dad feels better soon!

There is no way the boys will work during the summer, at least not knowingly! I can sneak stuff over on them by calling it Boy Scout stuff, or writing a friendly letter to the grandparents, but they don't miss much. If the public schools have a day off or early dismissal, they insist on taking it off too. Snow days, you name it! Plus, my oldest son is home from school, and "it isn't fair for Michael to not have school, so we aren't working!" gets thrown in to the arguments too.

My girl friend in Kansas schools her kids all summer, although she cuts back on the volume. Maybe English and Math every morning with one other lesson added each day just to keep the minds sharp.

What I guess makes me nervous, it seems like every hs mom I know went to college for an degree in education. I have a degree in Science, worked in the medical field for 20 yrs. Education is just beyond my field (although I did teach first aid and CPR for the Red Cross for 20 yrs).

Don't worry about not checking in. I have to go pick up Michael from school, and physical therapy and the holiday weekend upcoming, and then returning him to school... I will be a bit crazy here myself.

If I don't talk to you soon, have a peaceful holiday, and an extra round of hugs for all #00hugging#

Laurie

[kppy]

my son does the same with snow days, holidays, 1/2 days ect. i decided tho to take a different tack on this matter.

since so many things are "different" about hs, days off should be handled differently too. i tell him that i am in charge and i will determine when and how much work he does and days off as well. this didn't go over well at first but has since become the way it works.

sounds harsh maybe but being hs has many perks that he enjoys and knows that i also do lots of fun things and "xtras" so he got on board pretty quick with this.

we don't do a "regular" hs day for snow days ect but we do end up with something close. i try to have more review type activites like crossword puzzles, computer games, cooking/baking- more fun things. aslo his siblings ask to do some of the work he does so we all end up at the kitchen counter working on something! it works for us!

i tend to think that if you have some sort of organization- whether it's internal or external, (lesson plans ect) you can homeschool. it's easier to have a curriculum especially to start with becasue it's all laid out, step by step. if you are taking an "eclectic" approach, it can be harder but certainly not impossible.

for me, i like to have everything pretty much ready the week before and write up all lessons a week in advance. it forces me to think ahead and be prepared. after that, i can do impromptu things as they arise adn not feel like i'm just "winging it"

i'm sure you'll do great! frankly, my teaching degree really only helps me minimally- what helps most is knowing what my son struggles with and his strengths as well. knowing these, i can plug him into what he needs.
kppy

[jj]

trid said:

Don't beat yourself up either.

My hero, Ty Pennington... his mom was a school psychologist. She didn't know what he was like in class either, until they asked her to work with "the worst behaved kid in the school's history" and handed her Ty's file!

He turned out pretty darn fine, in my book!

I just read this. How funny is that! I totally love Ty.