60-day returns • free shipping on USA orders $129+
Time and curriculum management
- This topic has 4 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 13 years, 7 months ago by
.
Viewing 5 posts - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
- Posts
I’m going to be pulling my 12yo daughter out of public school and homeschooling for the first time beginning the fall. (There, I publicly stated it!!) I work full time from home so I do have some time constraints and am interested in all the resources available to reduce the stress of planning our first year. She is very organized and self-motivated and I’ve found a few curriculums I like a lot that will assist in the planning, teaching, etc (e.g., Apologia Online Academy for science and VideoText Interactive for math).
I’m leaning towards following the SCM for History/Bible/Geography, Spelling Wisdom and Personal Development. Just curious of your input on (1) this piecing together of curriculums and (2) the CSM courses that you feel you get the most value out of (particularly at the middle school level). Based on the research I have done so far, I’m at more than 10 courses by over a handful of curriculum providers!
I’ve been homeschooling for 13 years, and I would say that at the beginning a lot of people feel like they have to use someone else’s “plans”. That’s perfectly natural, but it can really burn you out if you do too much of it. If you’re wanting to use 10 courses, I would say for us that would be too many–no matter what they were.
It really can be overwhelming to try to plan it yourself the first year, but my advice is to look for things that are plain and clear. I’ve tried wading through detailed lesson plans, and it’s actually painful to me.
We started school last week, and we’re using SCM Module 1. It’s the first time I’ve used a Module, and I love it. It is so clear and simple. Not a lot of detailed instructions. Some pre-planned courses take up so much time with busy work. So just be careful to choose ones that won’t make you so tired that you hate homeschooling. It can happen to the best of us.
Also, remember it will be a big change for your daughter, so it may be best not to try to plan too much right now. If she doesn’t love reading yet, give her tons of great books and a lot of quiet time.
Best of luck!!
Hi KatieD.
I, too, am pulling my children out of PS to homeschool for the first time. There is so much to read and plan that in the beginning it can be very overwhelming. I’ve decided that what is best for my boys will be simplicity — I will be starting with the skill subjects: Math, Language Arts, Penmanship, and definately Bible. We already do family read-a-louds on a regular basis and both of my boys are very good readers, so that is not so much of a concern. I am planning to add it the rest gradually as I go. This should allow us to: 1) adjust to new routines and schedules gradually, 2) allow me to recognize which learnings styles and materials best suit my boys before spending a great deal of money thereby hopefully avoiding wasted spending 3) allows me to spread my spending out more and thereby not feeling the pinch quite so much in the beginning. I hope to start science in October, then Canadian Social Studies sometime after that, maybe November. I hope to also begin Habit Training and Character study earlier — maybe even in mid August. These are not normal school subjects, so I am not planning to teach them in a tradition sense or as part of our “School day”. My plan is that they will become part of our evening routine with Dad.
I totally understand where you guys are coming from, I pulled my two kids from public school last year. I think the biggest struggle I had was thinking my kids had to stick to a schedule like they followed in public school, it was rough at first. I work at a public school part time as a sub. but before last year I had been there everyday while my kids were in elementary school. My oldest begins high school this year so I will need to monitor records more carefully, and my youngest starts eight grade. For me it did seem to take awhile for the kids to relax from the hectic public school schedule, and now they are much happier. I have been able to work studies in that are never taught in public school and focus on manners and kindness, something you dont find in public school. Hang in there guys, it might be tough at first but you will love it.The time you get to spend with your kids and watching them truly love what they are learning is priceless!!
Oh the relief of publicly stating it! LOL I felt so guilty about it until I finally announced it. What a relief to be done! So welcome to the ranks of homeschooling.
We really aren’t trying to freak you out when we mention the difficulty of using someone else’s plans. We all try them thinking that they will save us tons of time and stress and money, only to find out that we don’t really like them because they tend to be time-consuming for us in the prep work, and it really puts the burden of teaching on us as parents. Also, sometimes they just don’t fit the student no matter what. One reason I prefer to use the CM type “stuff” is that it puts the joy (not burden) of learning on the child instead of you. I am concerned that you might get too overwhelmed with too many different curriculums, while working full time. Having said that, you know your child best and your needs.
You will do well with the SCM stuff you have chosen. It is designed to be simple to use as a “teacher” and allow the children time to read the information and make personal connections to it, and then it is a part of them forever. Spelling Wisdom is just perfect for that. Your daughter should love it. Mine loves that there is not a big long list. She always tells me that she loves her spelling now and lights all up when she hears a quote she knows. We also like the history lined up with the Bible and geography
The 10 subjects is not a big deal IF you break it into managable proportions. No one says that you have to do all of them every single day, in fact that is a great way to burn out fast. Some are once a week, some every other week and some are 2-3 times a week, Be sure to include some of the “relaxing” beautiful parts of a CM education like picture study, composer study, drawing, nature study. Tristan posted a really cool blog about this idea. http://www.latter-dayhomeschooling.com/2011/08/wasted-morning.html
Someday if you get time, you need to watch the SCM All-Day Seminar, and Books and Things. They are very helpful. =)
Viewing 5 posts - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
- The topic ‘Time and curriculum management’ is closed to new replies.