Ugh, I still havent decided what we are going to do. I didnt put Sarah in preschool this year. But she gets Music and gymnastiics, library and when there is a arts and crafts going on somewhere we go to that.
Mostly I play games with her, candy land, monoply junior, memory, and jigsaw puzzles, have pretend play with puppets. She can spell her name, count to 25, add and subtract simple numbers, 2+2=4. 5-2=3 etc.. SO I am thinking we are homeschooling to a certian degree. We also read books. And she tell me the letters and then we sound out the words.
I would love to hear some curriculums ( bad spelling). I still dont know if I am going to put her in preschool next year. Everyone around here says I should, but I am not convinced. Annd if she goes to preschool she has to give up her other activities she loves so much.
Well, i will definately be paying attention to this thread for ideas. .
We have a unique situation. Keep in mind, I am in a very rural area so I don't have the opportunities that city dwellers have.
We have a local homeschool charter school. The classes are merely social and enrichment classes. All education is left up to the parent. The beauty of this situation is the charter was designed for maximum benefit and minimal accountability. IOW-I have absolute freedom of choice for homeschooling my K-student. Many charters are not like this.
I use mainly an unschooling approach. Right now Ds is on a reading frenzy so we are focusing on that. However, I don't school every day. This does concern my dh, but he is a worry wort about education! LOL
Curriculum I have and DON"T use is:
Phonics Pathways
Saxon Math (about a grade level behind)
What I DO use:
Handwriting without tears (sporadically as his desire is sparked)
Index cards (for everything)
Some computer games appropriate for his age (sparingly)
Answering a million questions
Worksheet books because he loves to do worksheets.
Real items from life (money, shopping lists, etc...)
In his charter school he has the following enrichment classes (attendance is optional)
Drama
Literacy Club (story time for older kids)
Gardening
Math/Science workshop (hands on activites)
Art
PE (group games with kids his age)
All of his enrichment classes are with K-3rd or 4th grade. I love the mixed ages.
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My 4th grader has been homeschooled since kindergarten using (mostly) the ABeka curriculum. We like it, but do not use it exclusively. MY 5 year old is doing a bit of unschooling, teaching herself letters and numbers. I don't feel she is ready for formal schooling yet, especially phonics.
We live in China, so we have lots of freedom homeschooling... no one is keeping track of us! We last lived in Kansas, though we call Nebraska home now. It is nice not to have to deal with reporting and regulations.
Plan to homeschool 3 year old dd and baby due in 2 mos as they grow.
Serena
I pulled my 10 year old son from pvt school last year....and never looked back! Wooo Hoooo!
So I "teach" a 10 year old, 6 year old and 2 year old. Oh and we've added a puppy to the mix, just to keep it extra lively!
We had to detox my oldest for almost 6 months. That was painful but worth it. Now, we mostly follow an unschooling approach with the exception of math and grammar. I'm more comfortable following a math book because I don't want to miss ANY of the fundamentals. I use a grammar book because I'm a Scandinavian from Minnesota and we dangle our prepositions.
homeschool here too;
nak..
we use sonlight and love it.
we use saxon and math steps for math
handwriting without tears
exploring creation for science.
the kids 13,11 &7 all attend enrichment classes at the charter school...
chemistry, oceanography, river cutters, garden & drama club, cooking and art.
they also take ice skating lessons and are involved in 4H
whew, reading that made me tired... i love homeschooling though sometimes i want to send them away for the day on that yellow bus :beep beep:
We hs, too! I think my philosophy of hsing post is still on Alt Learning.
I hsed my stepson for 7th, 8th and half of 9th grade but then his mom wanted him back in school.
With my own kids (7,5,3 and 13 mos), I practice what my sis calls "organic learning." (((((
We have Math U See, which is EXCELLENT but the kids whiz through pretty fast so we only get it out now and then and then cement the concepts by talking about them and playing with them as they arise in daily life. Other than that we keep the TV off most of the time, read a lot, do crafts, play, bake, write stories, and live life.
I do teach reading as early as there's an interest. My oldest was fluent at 3 and has taught herself TONS. My 2nd is gifted physically, but has hit the snowball stage in reading and has finally begun to really enjoy it. My 3 yo has no attention span for sitting and looking at words, but loves to be read to and to try to read books back to me. He also likes to play Word Rescue (free dowload game) and can read several words from that. I've learned from having several kids that they are all different learners and you have to expect different things and do what is FUN and what suits them, not just what you think should work!
Anyway, once they're reading it's a cinch because they follow their interests with unbridled passion and teach themselves more than I ever could!
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Candace: Mama to Mollusc, Sluggie, Fishy, and the homebirthed Prawn!
P0F4X0
We started out very much school at home. My kids and I burned out. We now unschool. The girls are involved in Brownies too and that takes time. I have some basket ball players too and computer users. We have at least 50 computer games and tons of board games. They read all the time and learn about whatever interests them. I have seen more growth in their learning since doing that then any other method we have used.
About "The Well Trained Mind"? Well, there is www.welltrainedmind.com and the book. I have it and would be happy to let you thumb through it when you come up for tea ; )
Location: Right where I wanna be- south bay area of sunny CA
Posts: 13,635
Quote:
Originally posted by ESMcKeeman About "The Well Trained Mind"? Well, there is www.welltrainedmind.com and the book. I have it and would be happy to let you thumb through it when you come up for tea ; )
Deal! LOL! As long as you know I have no clue what it is
So Friday it is
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KD
newly single mom to three awesome kids
Linear Mode
