Click here for Part One: Academic Opportunities
Click here for Part Two: Inspiring Teachers
Click here for Part Three: Socialization
Now that I've detailed what I consider to be the greatest advantages to homeschooling, I will outline the curriculum I found most helpful. I began this series by saying I really over-thought this
when I began and it's true. To get my kids ready to attend a community college (click here for an explanation of that route), all I needed to do
(aside from the park days, music/art lessons, sports, etc. - and btw, many
homeschool park days offer organized sports) was teach her to read well, write
well, learn math and have a basic understanding of history and science.
This ended up being far simpler than I initially thought. Teaching
kids to read is fun and easy when you work one on one with your own child.
I used a book called Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. I used this book for reading only; I ignored the writing
lessons. I taught my children to read very young (My oldest was 3 1/2 when she began to read) and
they just did not have the fine motor skills to write yet. Personally, I
think it's far better not to tie reading and writing together. Read first
and then write. I only taught my oldest to read at such a young age because she
begged me. You'll know when it's a good time. We went very slowly
and worked through the lessons in "100 Easy Lessons" for about 20 minutes a day. We
also used the Bob Books series and played games to see who got
to choose the book for the day.
This ended up being far simpler than I initially thought. Teaching
kids to read is fun and easy when you work one on one with your own child.
I used a book called Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. I used this book for reading only; I ignored the writing
lessons. I taught my children to read very young (My oldest was 3 1/2 when she began to read) and
they just did not have the fine motor skills to write yet. Personally, I
think it's far better not to tie reading and writing together. Read first
and then write. I only taught my oldest to read at such a young age because she
begged me. You'll know when it's a good time. We went very slowly
and worked through the lessons in "100 Easy Lessons" for about 20 minutes a day. We
also used the Bob Books series and played games to see who got
to choose the book for the day.
That was it. We read a lot. I still read aloud to my kids about an hour a day. We love it. I began when they were
babies and never stopped. It is just part of our nightly routine.
Sometimes they pick the book; sometimes I do. It opens up worlds of
conversations and is one of the best parenting techniques I've used. I
highly recommend it. It doesn't seem "School-ish," but a ton of
learning happens. Once a child can read on her own, regular trips to the
library are all you need. At different ages, I can list our favorites,
but the possibilities are endless. To encourage my kids to read on their
own, I'd let them stay up "late" to read with a flashlight under their covers. When my kids were young, I was a firm believer in the 7 o'clock bed-time (Mama needs a break!) and held to that
until they were about 10. But, if the kids wanted to read until they
fell asleep, that was fine... they always crashed by 8:30 or so, depending on
their age. They loved it.
When it was time for them to learn to write (5-6), I began with
a great series called Draw Write Now that teaches writing
through drawing (which is what it really is). The
girls loved this series. Worked like a charm. As they got older, I
moved them into the Getty/Dubay workbooks: Italics Handwriting. We went through this entire series. It takes just a few minutes a day.
For spelling, we used this series: Spelling Workout. We went through this entire series as well - we did one lesson a week and my kids enjoyed the variety of games used to reinforce spelling rules.
For Grammar/Writing, I used Susan Wise Bauer's books (She wrote The Well Trained Mind --a book that was and is invaluable for me as a homeschooler. Much of this curriculum was recommended by her. She is an amazing resource!). I used her grammar series: First Language Lessons and my kids now have an impressive command of language as a result. I give her the credit for creating such a clear and easy to follow instruction book. Her writing series is equally impressive: The Complete Writer (Writing with Ease). It is wonderful and very thorough.
For Grammar/Writing, I used Susan Wise Bauer's books (She wrote The Well Trained Mind --a book that was and is invaluable for me as a homeschooler. Much of this curriculum was recommended by her. She is an amazing resource!). I used her grammar series: First Language Lessons and my kids now have an impressive command of language as a result. I give her the credit for creating such a clear and easy to follow instruction book. Her writing series is equally impressive: The Complete Writer (Writing with Ease). It is wonderful and very thorough.
Susan Wise Bauer also has a series for high school level that was commissioned and
published by Norton too. The first in the series is called The History of the Ancient World and is great for adults wanting to brush up on history too.
All of it was far easier than I initially thought it would be.
Don't be intimidated by the above list. I just wanted to mention
the things that worked for us. Each day when they were little, we'd spend
an hour or two on school. 20 minutes of math, 20 minutes of writing
practice, 20 minutes of spelling, 20 minutes of grammar, 30 minutes of history
or science (I switched off each day). Working one on one, things get done
far more quickly.
Realistically, kids are learning all the time. Everything
is homeschooling. The formal learning we did each day, was easy and
fairly quick. The big perk to homeschooling is that it allows you to
spend so much more time with your child. I know my relationship with my kids is so strong today because we homeschooled. I'm still a bit
astonished that they come to me and want my opinion on things in their lives...
friends, boys, things I never would've talked to my Mom about. My 15 year
old wants to know what I think. It's strange and awesome. I love
it. At the same time, they're independent. My youngest, at 11 last
year, spent 9 days at fiddle camp on her own. She did great and can't
wait to do it again this summer. Roots and wings :) Good stuff.
Anyway, if you're considering homeschooling, bookmark this post as a resource. Many veteran homeschoolers will give you tons of helpful advice. The books and programs I've listed here are really useful and will
at least give you a place to start as you continue to think over what you want
to do. Homeschooling can be very flexible. Some people try it for a
few years, then try school for a year or so, and then go back to homeschooling.
Whatever works is what you should do. There are tons of homeschooling
charters too that offer great hybrid programs. In California, there are many that offer both brick and mortar full time schools, and independent homeschooling with supplemental classes once a week.
If you haven't checked out my series on Homeschooling Advantages yet, take a moment and click on the links below:
If you haven't checked out my series on Homeschooling Advantages yet, take a moment and click on the links below:
Click here for Part One: Academic Opportunities
Click here for Part Two: Inspiring Teachers
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