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Aug. 18, 2006
Gena's Contest
Posted in School
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Gena's having a contest. All you have to do is answer these questions: 1. Your favorite spelling or phonics program 2. Your favorite math program 3. Your favorite history and/or science program Also, tell us your family's basic schedule. Do you do math in the mornings or afternoon? Or do schedules take a back seat so that each new day dictates the learning? How, using your favorite curriculum choices, DO you homeschool in your family? Our favorite spelling program is currently Spelling Power. We just started using it at the end of last year, but I am very impressed with the thought and structure that went into it. Beginning is a little intimidating, but the actual program only requires 15 minutes per day. (And only the first 5 or so are mom-directed.) That may not be an important selling point for you, but 5 mom-directed minutes are hard to come by around here during school hours. More would be near impossible. Granted, I have called out spelling words while washing dishes, cooking lunch and various other times of multitasking. I am awaiting the day when someone brings me the spelling book in the bathroom. Why waste those 5 minutes? (I have been asked to grade tests, mediate fights and explain bizarre scientific phenomena while on the throne, so why not spelling?) Our favorite math program is Saxon. When I decided to homeschool, I asked everyone I met "What curriculum do you use?" Nine times out of ten, the answer was "I use XYZ curriculum, but I use Saxon for math." Now I am one of those people. Of course, it's not for everyone, but it works for us. I buy the older non-consumable books from ebay or any other used source I can find, and I hoard them like gold. (The resale value is great, too.) At the end of last year, a local Christian school was giving away old curriculum. I was out of town, but I sent my husband. "What should I get?" he asked. "Anything Saxon," was my first answer. OK, you have to read this to understand not only how I feel about science, but also my first reaction to Christian Kids Explore Biology. After absolutely hooking my son on the idea of dissecting owl pellets, I simply had to order it. Owl pellets notwithstanding, I was drawn to the idea of doing science with the kids at the same time, rather than each one working in his/her own lifepac {or SOS.} And I liked the idea of simple hands-on projects from household items that reinforced the lessons. It turned out even better than I had hoped, since I found 2 families to do the projects with. Ditto, Mystery of History. Classical approach, hands on projects, multiple levels at once. Bible-centered. No wading through pages of big bang or evolutionary cavemen to get to the "beginning." As far as scheduling our day, I love the way we do things this year. Last year, we did 5 subjects 5 days a week. Well, on perfect days, LOL. This year, I am taking more of a block approach. The older kids do LLATL 3 mornings a week (M,W,F) for an hour and a half (on paper, but usually shorter.) On Tuesday and Thursday mornings we do science. Every other Thursday afternoon we meet with 2 other families for the science labs. We do history M,W,F. We do the 3 lessons on Monday and Wednesday and any projects that go along with it, and we do the notecards, timeline, mapping and quiz on Friday. They do math 4 days a week, writing strands 4 days a week, spelling 2x for Spenser and 3x for Reed. Reed does handwriting 2 days a week, Spenser once. Latin is Tuesday and Thursday, and Bible is 3x a week for each. Meanwhile (in a perfect world) the littles do phonics and "math" every morning, and we use My Father's World kindergarten. Sydney does handwriting twice a week. (Hence the priority on mommy time. Sometimes refereeing preschoolers takes precedent.) If you have been homeschooling more than, say, a day and a half, you know that a homeschooling day on paper is nothing like the real experience. The phone rings, the baby cries, the lawnmower guy talks to you for half an hour about how he was homeschooled and his mom wrote her own curriculum. You make breakfast and clean off the table, and do lessons and clean off the table, and make lunch and clean off the table, more lessons and clean off the table, and make supper and clean off the table--- But somehow you make it to the end of the day, week, year and realize that life is what happens while you're making other plans, and homeschooling is what happens somewhere in between all of that. And you look at your kids while they sleep, and you know that you wouldn't have it any other way. rest time after school:  |
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Aug. 20, 2006 - Awwww.....
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Posted by Anonymous
Aug. 20, 2006 - Awww....
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