My thoughts now are that I will not take in my child and enroll them into public school the next day. Which I would, by law, have to do. We will need time to bond and she/he will most likely need to play "catch up" so to speak- due to possible education delay, etc.
I enjoy teaching, I did teach school, but we are so social that I do not plan on doing it for my child's whole education. I love PTA, Homeroom mom, parent/child fieldtrip, assemblies, conferences and the idea that other people are pouring their gifts into my child as well.
BUT I always told myself I need to do what is best for each child that enters our home and for this next kiddo, I can SO see the benefits for the first year at least. I mean MANY many benefits as you can imagine- attention, love, playdates, discipline, structure and routine, just to name a few.
So here are some questions:
What system do you like? Recommend?
How many hours a day to you spend?
Do you have a group/co-op?
Where do you like to buy your material?
Any other advice please send it along...
HOMESCHOOL MOMS PLEASE COMMENT...
THANK YOU!
Check out our new friend Kissy Ma-nonda and learn how to make your own!
Last weekend was Just Between Friends and I found THE.BEST.DEALS!!!This slide was the best $5 investment I have ever made...
Oh so much fun!
She said it could be her new bed. She tested it out by "napping" on it.
Spending quality time with Dada. A mani-pedi. He actually did really well. I was impressed.
Taking a moment to cuddle. Before and after this moment he was a wild wrestler, but at least I can catch a cuddle-with-daddy moment every now and then. (I get lots of cuddles. He still LOVES to be rocked and gives me lots of kisses and baby talk.)
T.G.I.F.Friday is my favorite day and I am looking forward to the weekend. Hanging out with the Lydens tonight, babysitting the Homan kiddos all day Saturday (they are moving) and family time (Adam's mom's side) on Sunday.
Many blessings. Thank you for being a part of our journey through life!
The Perrymans
13 comments:
Natasha during the time I home school Kristin....5 years I preferred Abeka or Bob Jones curriculum. I plugged into a Co-op right here in BA (CHEF) for some of my subjects and had loads of social opps as well during that home school adventure. We had a schedule from 9am until 1:30 and 3-4 that we did our home school day and sometimes we covered more or less. The benefits are huge and the focus is the child and their learning style. I am happy to share more later! ***Rhonda
I hope I remember all the questions. We love Rod and Staff. It is inexpensive and covers all the basics. If the child is 5 or 6 maybe just workbooks from WalMart. as far as time, I go by them. If it takes all day to complete the necessary items, okay. If it takes two hours okay. I would focus on play and learning through games. Once the child is comfortable learning will catch up quick.
You and I have talked about home schooling, but in this case I'm so happy you are for your child. I NEVER thought I would say that!!! I can't wait to meet your new little guy (girl/boy).
we love Rod and Staff especially for the core subjects very easy to teach, very Christ/Bible based and very thorough, Abeka is nice very pricey and lots of books for each subject but fun and colorful. try to find a (used) christian bookstore close just go in and look @ some of the curriculum I buy what I can for the bookstore then call R&S to get workbooks and what I couldn't find. let me know if you need any #'s or any other questions our Day is usually 7/8am-noon or 1pm coops are great if you can schedule and be available when they meet
I like groups they are more like field trips play dates and fun
There is a home school book store at 21st & 129th I visited. The woman who runs the store is very well versed in what she has and what you might need. I got great deals on used books for Kristin's education and also used Ebay and other sources for picking up workbooks and things I needed for a fraction of the new book price. It was very affordable.***Rhonda
I'm only on my 3rd week of homeschooling, but so far I love it! Never thought I would... but God had other plans =). For me the flexibility of it is so freeing and is working really well for our family. My husband doesn't leave for work until 11am, so we do in the morning all the things "normal" families do in the evening together (family worship, a meal, bike rides, etc.). School usually starts around 11, and thus far it's only taking us about an hour and a half (not including reading aloud and solo, P.E., piano lessons, etc.). We're using My Father's World, mostly because it came to me highly recommended, it's easy for mom, and it's quite inexpensive. Their package doesn't include math, so we're using Singapore Math which I've been very impressed with so far. Rainbow Resource Center has just about every curriculum out there at discounted prices and lots of reviews. I've been able to find a number of local and internet-based support groups through yahoo/google. My only other recommendation would be to consider joining HSLDA. They are a national group that is a kind of legal insurance for homeschoolers in the event that your school district or state gives you grief about your child being truant.
I hope that you find homeschooling to be a great blessing for your family, and that you'll soon get to enjoy it with a precious little one!
Here are some faith-based curriculums that some of my friends use and really like:
My Father's World (Highly recommend) http://www.mfwbooks.com/
Sonlight (personally like the schedule layout and books) http://www.sonlight.com/
Winter Promise (expensive but great books) http://www.winterpromise.com/
Abeka http://www.abeka.org/
Bob Jones http://www.bjupress.com/page/HS+Home
Alpha Omega (I think the Duggar family with 18 kids uses this one) http://www.aophomeschooling.com/
Apologia (this is a K-12 creation-based science program) http://www.apologia.com/
Ambleside Online (this is what I use...it's free unless you choose to buy all the books which you can't buy on the website but many you can get through the library or are on the Baldwin Online Project) http://www.amblesideonline.org/
One I would NOT recommend is K-12. It's like public school at home and you have to report each day. It also takes up like 6 hours of your day. All the kids that I've talked to who did K-12 say they hated it.
Like Rhonda said, you should find a co-op or a support group. If you find a good group, they will be supportive and encouraging through your year. ~Donna
Like Donna, we use a lot of things from Ambleside Online. We also like Math-U-See for math (you'd want the primer, I think) and Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading for phonics. For a 5-6 year old, you really don't need a lot beyond the basics. A public school kindergarten would do things like community helpers and holidays for social studies and some very basic plant and animal based science with a large component of health and fitness. You could do something similar by lapbooking or using a program like Five in a Row for a starting point.
Also, you said, "I love PTA, Homeroom mom, parent/child fieldtrip, assemblies, conferences and the idea that other people are pouring their gifts into my child as well."
I want you to know that we still accomplish these things as we homeschool. We have playdates, time with grandparents, trips out on household errands, field trips, park days, nature walks, large gatherings, and co-ops and communities like Classical Conversations. We enjoy time together very much and give of ourselves to other families in our community by pouring into their children while they pour themselves into ours. And we do all of that without sacrificing our authority over our children to the state.
I will forward this post to Jarad's aunt. She is homeschooling all 4 of her kids right now (Senior all the way down to 4-5 yrs), and has been doing it for years and years. She is also a certified teacher. Hopefully she will have some good ideas for you.
This is our eleventh year of homeschool! I can't believe that even as I type it. The time just flew by while I wasn't looking.
I have four children and this year will graduate my oldest. My youngest is a preschooler so we have someone in just about each age group at our house.
There is a lot to say about the homeschooling experience--much more than I could possibly say in a reply to your post. :-) But, if you'd like my e-mail address, I think that Rhonda or Jarad have it and can pass it along to you. I'd love to chat and then I'd be able to answer any other questions that might come up. (I'm also on Facebook if you want to send me a message there)
There are an infinite number of curriculum choices you can make. I think the best place to begin is by looking at the goals that you and your husband have and deciding which method will work best in achieving your goals. (from textbook to unit study, or an eclectic blend to Charlotte Mason there are many choices)
As far as socialization goes, I always laugh when people bring that issue up. There are so many homeschoolers and fieldtrips and groups to belong to that you could spend ALL of your time socializing! :-)
I'm available if you'd like to e-mail back and forth or if you'd like to chat in person or on the telephone.
Blessings,
I really enjoyed using Sonlight because it taught me how to really structure a day for a child. After using that my first year homeschooling, I became more confident in homeschooling and branched out and the last two years by creating my own curriculum. I will admit that it is very time consuming, but so much cheaper and so much easier to tailor to YOUR child and no one else's!!! If you want to try to make your own curriculum I would highly recommend that you check out the series "What Your ___ Grader Needs to Know" (Core Knowledge/Pearson). They have a book for each grade beginning with Pre-K and going through 6th grade. I use it as a guidebook for what kinds of materials I will purchase. Christianbook.com has MUCH cheaper prices than any Christian bookstore in town, and you can find really great new and used books on e-bay for just a fraction of the cost. If you would like to know specific names of books I've used for different subjects I'd be happy to share with you... just let me know. As far as how much time you should spend each day that is completely up to you and your child. Every year our schedule has completely changed just to fit the needs of our family. A helpful hint for a 5-6 year old would be to do maybe two short sessions to break it up a little. Also, schoolwork while the other kids are napping is great because there are no distractions and you have time to completely focus on THAT child. Sometimes we "do school" for an hour and sometimes it takes us 3+ hours... it just depends! As far a groups are concerned, I highly recommend finding a group to fit your needs. You can learn some great ideas and tricks from other moms, get the socialization for your child, and if you are part of a co-op it gives your child the opportunity to learn from someone else instead of just you all the time. It also opens up more opportunities for "electives" that you might not teach at home. Call or e-mail me if you want any more information :)
Natasha, this is our first year homeschooling, but so far I love Rod and Staff and we are using Apologia science! Praying for you adoption process to move smoothly!! Wendy
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