New to Homeschooling

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  • July 11, 2009 at 6:31 pm
    meagan
    Participant

    This August we will begin homeschooling our 3 sons–14, 10, and 9. They are all coming out of the public school system and I’m worried about the transition. Not only are they leaving school, but we will be doing a CM based style, which is very far from what they have been doing. For those of you who have been in similar situations, I was wondering if you could give any insight as to what the transition will be like, and ways to possibly make it easier??

    I am most worried about our 14 year old, since he has been in school the longest, and I’m worried about him missing out on some sort of piece of information he should learn and I won’t teach him, or that he has the fewest years out of all the kids, and there is so much to teach him, and so little time.

    July 13, 2009 at 11:04 pm
    Sonya Shafer
    Moderator

    Have you read this article on ideas for making the transition in smaller steps? 

    July 14, 2009 at 2:17 am
    meagan
    Participant

    I have looked over it, thanks Sonya.  It gave me a good place to start.  But, I’m a worrier by nature (even though I know that is not God’s plan), so that’s what I’m doing!! Tongue out

    July 14, 2009 at 2:53 am
    Sonya Shafer
    Moderator

    LoL! I know what you mean, dear. My best counsel to you is two-fold:

    1. Focus on keeping your children’s hearts. Your relationship is much more important than any academics. Count on an adjustment period, but use that time to strengthen the ties between you and your children. Academics come second, especially during adjustment times.

    2. Focus on instilling a love for learning in your children. If they discover that learning can be enjoyable, and eventually self-taught, they will be able to find any piece of information you may inadvertently leave out. (And by the way, you will leave something out. It is impossible to cover everything. But that’s okay. I love the maxim: Give them a fish and they’ll eat for a day; teach them to fish and they’ll eat for a lifetime.)

    August 8, 2009 at 11:59 pm
    Esther
    Member

    Hello ladies,

    I am also pulling 2 kids out of public school, and I am so nervous.  Many of our district start school next week. I have not yet watched the CM DVD will I be ready to start in Sept?  My daughters are in 6th and 3rd grade which I know will be fun and exciting, but the stresss is overwhelming at times.  I have plenty of support and I have been in prayer, but we are spiritually drained with my husband taking a pay cut and us looking for a new church closer.  Any advice on when to start????

    ~Esther

    August 9, 2009 at 1:04 am
    caroline4kids
    Member

    Esther,

    My recommendation is to pick out one or two CM books for each child from the organizer. I LOVE Jack’s Insects or Outdoor Secrets (science)and The Boy of the Pyramids (history) as they are fun for independent reading or read alouds.  If you have a specific module you would like to start with then go for that. 🙂 Starting with a few books makes the transition a little less overwhelming. I would also recommend the first or second Spelling Wisom book whiich will get your girls into the CM spelling/writing mode–the lessons start off very easy.

    Narration will take a while to gel so take small sections and expect it to be bumpy at first. It takes awhile for a child to hit their stride. I wouldn’t even think of having your older daughter do much writing until the oral narration is easy and that may take several weeks or more. The Spelling Wisdom lessons are great writing practice anyway. My third grader uses SW for copywork if he isn’t copying something out of his books that day.

    Do you have math all figured out?  If you have any specific questions let us all know–we all love to help.Laughing

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