Homeschooling roll call

[AngelaS]

Who's all homeschooling? :)

We're starting our ninth year. (and to think, I was just going to teach my oldest to read... LOL) My girls will be in 8th, 4th and 1st this year. :D

[brittone2]

Good to see you :D

HSing a rising 2nd grader and my 4.5 yo preschooler (because she begs for "school" to do when her brother is working). I'll also be trying to keep the 17 month old from climbing and otherwise destroying things, which is probably my biggest challenge ;)

[KpbS]

Our first year here :wavey: DS1 is in first but we are doing a combined first grade/second grade year. I'm not going to skip him ahead a grade but work at his level.

[Raidra]

We're here. :) Colwyn would be a 2nd grader (due to his October birthday), Lachlann would be a 1st grader, and I suppose Fiona might be in preschool.

I've got to get back on the ball.. we've hardly done anything for the past two weeks (because of my own little personal crisis), and we were supposed to be catching up because of all the time we took off due to Niall being so young and demanding.

[JTsMom]

:wavey: We're getting ready to start 1st grade on September 8th. I'm trying to prep as much as possible now, so I'm up to my eyeballs in binders and photocopies.

I also want to try to stick to a flexible schedule b/c I'm so tired of feeling so out of control and overwhelmed all of the time. Anyone have any tips?

[daisymommy]

Lori~ even though we aren't homeschooling this year, I still enjoy reading about H.S., and I bookmark any good websites/blog posts as I come across them. Here's a recent article I saved on schedules:
http://lifeasmom.com/2011/08/getting-started-in-homeschooling-creating-a-daily-schedule-or-routine.html

That was actually part of a whole series she is doing for new-to-homeschooling moms. Check out the related articles!

Edited to add one more: http://moneysavingmom.com/2011/06/qa-how-do-you-manage-homeschooling-and-homemaking-without-the-house-falling-apart.html

[firstbaby]

Love this thread :)

Third year HS'ing this year. DS1 is a rising 2nd grader, DS2 is a rising K'er and DS3 is along for the ride :) We school year round, but are taking this week off (our first week off since Christmas) to enjoy the last week of the pool open and hanging out with friends that will be in school all day starting next week.

[mama2g03]

First year for us. DS is technically a 2nd grader but what I love about HS is that we can tailor to his abilities regardless of his age/grade. I know we are on a big learning curve here since it's our first year but we are enjoying it so far and are learning (or relearning for me) quite a bit so far and it's only week 2. The hardest part for me is knowing if we are doing enough/too much/just right and figuring out the best way for him to learn and me to teach. Good luck to everyone!

[JTsMom]

Lori~ even though we aren't homeschooling this year, I still enjoy reading about H.S., and I bookmark any good websites/blog posts as I come across them. Here's a recent article I saved on schedules:
http://lifeasmom.com/2011/08/getting-started-in-homeschooling-creating-a-daily-schedule-or-routine.html

That was actually part of a whole series she is doing for new-to-homeschooling moms. Check out the related articles!

Edited to add one more: http://moneysavingmom.com/2011/06/qa-how-do-you-manage-homeschooling-and-homemaking-without-the-house-falling-apart.html

Thanks! I definitely take a look at them. I really think Jason would benefit from more predictability, but I have a couple of things working against me. The baby is pretty unpredictable, so that's probably the biggest challenge. If I could get him to nap at a relatively consistent time, that would help tremendously. He has a hard time sleeping on his own though, so every time I put him down, I end up with an exhausted, crabby toddler, which is really bad news.

He also wants to be involved with everything, and Jason doesn't work well independently, so I have a hard time balancing all of the needs and wants.

My other concern is the amount of time I have scheduled for school this year. B/c J is so easily distracted, it tends to take us longer than expected to finish things, but at the same time, I want him to stay at least on track with the PS kids in case we want to send him at some point. Does 4.5 hours sound like way too much for a 1st grader? I have it spread out with several breaks, but that still seems like a lot of time. There's not really anything I can totally cut out, but I could spread it over more days and just take less time off.

[craftysierra]

We are using a virtual academy this year to get our feet wet in the idea of homeschooling. I have a 2nd grader, kindergartener and preschool. We started yesterday and are still waiting on materials.
Sierra

[AnnieW625]

I have no plans to homeschool at all but I find homeschooling blogs really inspiring, and I think it's great that you all can do this. If I didn't work full time I still wouldn't do it as I don't have the guts or the patience to do it.

[megs4413]

It's our second year. DD is in public school for the first time this year (though I'm already considering pulling her out and questioning why I ever thought it was a good idea in the first place), but DS is starting K next week at home. He's really excited. We use sonlight primarily.

[daisymommy]

JTsMom~ It sounds like you guys would benefit more from a routine, than a schedule. Meaning, map our which order you do subjects in, and which days are for which subjects (most HS don't do every subject, every day). But if you and your DS knew that you started *generally* within the same time each day (like within the hour), after doing certain things like breakfast, getting dressed, then you did subject A & B, took a break for lunch, then did subject C, then it was quiet time--that would give you some predictability without being tied to times on the clock so much (which I know is so hard with a baby!).

We did our schoolwork for 3 hours (9-12), and then art or nature study after nap time (both of which just felt like play time to us, rather than school, so it didn't feel like a continuation). It was plenty enough time, and DS ended up ahead of the PS kids when he went back.

I would say go with the flow, and see how long the work takes you. 4.5 hours may be just right, or too much, but you'll figure that out after a few weeks.

I just have to share, since our boys are alot alike. One of my favorite/funniest memories of HS was when DS was busy doing school work, and he said "my body is so full of energy! I just have to move!" and he got up and started doing jumping jacks and running laps around the house. Then he said, "okay, I feel better now. Now I can finish my work." And he sat down nice and still and quiet and finished it!
It was the perfect example of how HS works for the individual child's needs. No way could he have done that in a classroom. He would have felt the urge and distraction, and probably would have been squirming all over the place in his seat, and gotten in trouble.

[MommyAllison]

We are - DD is in K, DS tags along when he feels like it. We started a month early this year so that we can take a break when DD2 is born.

[JTsMom]

We do have somewhat of a routine, but we're not very consistent, and we're really bad about getting started in a timely fashion, and not getting distracted by silly stuff. I wish I could get him to sit down and work continually from 9-12- that would be a miracle! We have to do spurts, b/c after about 30 mins, he's DONE, the baby's done, and sometimes I'm ready to flag down any passing school bus, regardless of where it's headed. lol The scenario you described happens on almost a daily basis here. He can hold himself together for a lesson, but after that, he needs to "be a verb" (his term). I'm really glad we can do that, but what typically happens is while he's off verbbing it up, I end up getting sucked into something- getting the baby to sleep, making 10 separate snacks, cleaning up the disaster the baby's created- too much time passes, and the next thing I know, it's 3 o'clock, DS's attention is shot, then DH is on his way home, and there's no plan for dinner, and we've reached a state of total chaos.


I wrote out a schedule down to the minute thinking that if I have this crazy detailed plan, if we stick to even 60% of it, we'll be much closer to where we should be. There's no way it will ever work out perfectly, but at least it would give me something to shoot for. I'm a really laid back person, and I don't think that's what Jason needs at this point, so I really do want to figure out something that I can handle, and that will work for him. We did end up doing almost everything I wanted to for K, but only b/c I condensed a bit, and b/c we extended our year. I'm hoping that if there are very scheduled meal times, maybe the baby will adapt and start napping at a regular time- hey, I can dream! ;) I can always re-work it, but I'd rather tweak it as opposed to starting off in such a delusional place that we're doomed from the start.

[swissair81]

I'm homeschooling myself :)
It's very hard work, but it beats having to be in class. I do a lot of work after the kids go to sleeep.

[m448]

Homeschooler here too. My oldest is going into second (last year was our first officially registered year). His younger brother is going to k and the two younger girls are along for the ride and lots of play.


I had a typical first year for a first timer - lots of plans and grand ideas that deviated greatly.

[kijip]

2nd year of homeschooling here but the first year was more of a deschooling process and lots of unschooling with dabbles of more formal learning. If T were in school he would be in 3rd grade. We pulled him out of the gifted program of public school after 1st grade. This year, we are doing it more systematically and strategically because that is what he needs now (whereas last year, the leisurely year was awesome for him).

We set up a little homeschooling room and he has been doing really, really well and loves this room. I think he likes having his own snug study space. It has a desk, his curriculum books in a stack of milk crates, a small loveseat and then a bookcase in the hall just outside the door (it is that small of a room). We have a whiteboard in there, and a bulletin board etc. We are planning to paint it soon. It is right next to the yard, which is very convenient for us so we can keep track of F in the back yard playing while T reads or works. And T can take his work outside if he likes.

We are using a mix of curriculum. We started a couple of weeks ago and have been ramping up slowly, today was first day for Art and LA curriculum for example.

Singapore Math (http://www.singaporemath.com)
Michael Clay Thompson Language Arts (http://http://www.rfwp.com/pages/michael-clay-thompson/)
Atelier Art (http://http://www.homeschoolart.com/)
Minimus Getting Started with Latin (http://http://www.minimus-etc.co.uk/about_page.htm)
McGraw Hill Spanish (from library)
CPO Earth Science (http://http://www.cpo.com/home/ForEducators/MiddleSchoolEarthScience/tabid/261/Default.aspx)
Story of the World I- Ancient History (http://http://www.welltrainedmind.com/the-story-of-the-world-history-for-the-classical-child/)
Eloquent JavaScript (http://http://eloquentjavascript.net/)

Some subjects are only once or twice a week, others are 3-5 days a week.

He is also reading and discussing a book a week with us (he reads more than that, but we assign one book a week). Last week he read A Wrinkle in Time. This week he read Rickshaw Girl. Next week, he will read Ninth Ward.

We also do spelling on our own and handwriting using a whole bunch of books including the popular Handwriting Without Tears that is often recommended here on BBB. PE and music are also on our own, he has weekly piano lessons and I do PE with him, basically yoga and running.

[MichelleRC]

We are afterschoolers/summer homeschoolers here and I am planning to homeschool my older DS for middle school. At his request!

Katie, I would love to know how MCT goes, I have been looking at that longingly for months.

[egoldber]

They use MCT at my DD's school and I think it's a great program.

[brittone2]

Katie-
I'm another who would love to know how you and T end up liking MCT. I am continuing with FLL this year as for some reason my DD likes to sit through it with us and participate, so it works well for us right now (DS1 is 7.5, DD is 4.5).

Next year I think I'm going to try MCT's GI.

[kijip]

Katie-
I'm another who would love to know how you and T end up liking MCT. I am continuing with FLL this year as for some reason my DD likes to sit through it with us and participate, so it works well for us right now (DS1 is 7.5, DD is 4.5).

Next year I think I'm going to try MCT's GI.

We splurged and went ahead and ordered the whole Island Level Set. I don't have a full review since we have only done one lesson so far but I will say reading through them all, it seems like we got a lot for our money. I like that it teaches the steps to writing and that it pairs strong mechanics with the poetry and music of language and language use. I was nervous spending that much on one thing because I was not finding what I wanted used (it was $190, which is like 2/3 of what we spent on every other subject combined) but I feel confident that we will get our money's worth from it. I like also that the website has detailed instructions for the curriculum and scheduling. I will post an update once we are finished with the first book or two. I think it will last us the year for sure.

[brittone2]

We splurged and went ahead and ordered the whole Island Level Set. I don't have a full review since we have only done one lesson so far but I will say reading through them all, it seems like we got a lot for our money. I like that it teaches the steps to writing and that it pairs strong mechanics with the poetry and music of language and language use. I was nervous spending that much on one thing because I was not finding what I wanted used (it was $190, which is like 2/3 of what we spent on every other subject combined) but I feel confident that we will get our money's worth from it. I like also that the website has detailed instructions for the curriculum and scheduling. I will post an update once we are finished with the first book or two. I think it will last us the year for sure.
I look forward to updates :D

DS1 is using FLL and WWE together for now, but would benefit from something more challenging I think. Right now FLL and WWE fits what I need (I can integrate DD easily since she demands to be integrated into HSing LOL, and both are easy to do in short spurts, which is nice w/ my 17 month old right now).

[kijip]

It has just been a few days but it is actually hard for me and especially T to put down the MCT materials. T just loves them and would read them for fun if I did not discourage him because I want to use the program over the course of a year.

He is also really, really into the Minimus: Getting Started with Latin.