Ok, I need input from you moms that do homeschooling. Hannah is going to be turning 4 the end of August. Our public school doesn't offer k4 except for at-risk students. I would like to do my own k4 at home. At least I thought I did.
I don't know how you guys do it with other kids at home! How do you keep any focus at all? I had to hold the baby, shoo Emily away four times, chase them off the living room table, yell at them for jumping on the couch.....and that was just the first 5 minutes!!!!
Impart your wisdom ladies!
1. What curriculum do you use
2. How do you make it real school time
3. How long do you do it at a stretch
4. How do you keep younger siblings occupied???
I am so not early childhood! Now when they get in 5-6 grades I am the woman :)
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I was home schooled and I loved it and am so thankful that my parents wanted to do my 9th-12th grade that way!
My Mom used the Alpha-Omega pace books. We did about max. 3 hours per day usually in the morning. I would recommend that children have a designated place where they do school on most days and that they are out of their pj's. Usually Mom would wake me Scott and I up and she would take us to the ymca in Estes and we would go swimming and then come home and do school work in the morning and then we would get the afternoon off and usually I would work at home or at a job. We would go into the rmnp a lot and sit out at a picnic table there and do our homework enjoying the fresh air and the beauty. Homeschool is fantastic because you are free to do as you choose. It is important for children to be in church and have homeschool activities with the other school kids their age for social skills.
I am really thankful that my parents did this because I was so rebellious and would have gotten into so much trouble at a public school. And at a Christian school with all of the clicks and the pressure and stress, I would personally skip that any day for the relaxing loving atmosphere at home. Well I have always been close to my parents but those years I really developed a strong bond because I could always talk to them at any time. Buddy and I decided that if we have kids that they would be homeschooled all of their years and safety is a big concern of ours. Since you have a elementry education degree you are more than qualified to teach your children and if they ever pass the law where a parent would have to be certified, well you go that covered. So that is my two cents.
Dan Perryman was the one that gave both Scott and I our diploma, he was the one that made sure we did our paces and passed the tests.
Thank you for you input. I guess you did love it :) I didn't know that abot Mr Perryman kind of administering for you. That is nice. So your diploma is from FRBA???
I don't think I will do it past k4. That is if we make it :P I have just done one "lesson" and I am ready to throw in the towel. What a wuss!
I mainly need to know timeframes for how long to do it at this age and what in the world to do with my other two lunatics. Danna, what do you do??
Liesl. How do you keep Eden and Miss Cana occupado during Eli's special school time?
Steve's mom gave me a fun learning notebook filled with worksheets for Sierra to do to get her ready for Kindergarten. Let me know when you come in the area again and you can copy it. She may not need structured time quite yet, just even 15-20 min. a day working on one thing maybe during nap time for the others. Like if you work on one letter and point out items that start with that letter around town or at home.
Hey woman!
I think Liesl uses the bjupress line that has a video teacher for your kid, so I'm not sure if she'll be able to answer your questions (unless they have a K-4 video line, I don't know!).
Homeschooling is rough stuff. I am not going to be THAT mom that you love to hate, so I wanna warn you upfront. I don't have it together. I don't make precious little crafts I thought up one night while knitting. I don't have little robot children who recite the pledge at age 2 & know the books of the Bible as their first words. I tried.
I tried to BE what I thought being a homeschooling mama meant. And I just about jumped off a cliff. I found myself entering a deep depression, hating every morning, & feeling like a failure as a mother.
1. What curriculum do you use -- We researched several, & we were most impressed with a beka (for now) b/c of its user-friendly status & easy kits to buy. You buy a parent kit & kid kit for the year you want, & you have it all. Every single minute of the required 4 1/2 hours is spelled out for every day. It's SO simple.
2. How do you make it real school time -- in the beginning, before we had a good feel for our day & one another, it took about 3 hours each day. I filled in the other required 1 1/2 hours with normal life learning. When we finally got our groove on, school typically did not take longer than 1 1/2 hours each day. Mon & Fri were the shortest days, Tues-Wed a bit tougher with Wed being the easiest of those three.
3. How long do you do it at a stretch -- in the mornings, when everyone's fresh & happy & fed, we did all the little things like reading, seatwork, workbooks, poetry, spelling, & Phonics. That took about an hour. Then once Ryan went down, we did math & whatever small class she was learning -- science, health, whatever. That typically was 30-45 minutes.
4. How do you keep younger siblings occupied???
Sometimes they would try to join in, but after they got used to the fact that when Kelli went to her desk (right here in the front room/play room/sitting room with the rest of us), that was where Mommy would be & that's that. They'd play or watch Blue's Clue or draw on the white board. It gets a WHOLE lot easier once the other two know exactly what to expect b/c they know Big Sis In Chair Time is happening.
Some days definitely still sucked, but for the most part we had a good flow going on. I was THE most defeated homeschooler I've ever known of before I even started. I had an actual panic attack the night the boxes of books came. Paul sorted through it all, wrote out a daily plan, made little stickies for the book covers to tell me what went with what . . . he was really awesome.
And then . . . when I finally cracked open the books, I saw how someone else had done all the work for me, & all I had to do was read.
Monica
For K4 I'd say RELAX:)
Learn the alphabet with fun games, get outside a lot, read good books with her.
I don't think you need a curriculum for this.
PJ loved this site
http://www.starfall.com/n/level-a/learn-to-read/load.htm?f
eden cut things up with scissors and cana just kept nursing. also my parents were around a bit for entertainment purposes.
now, to the real beans. i didn't finish the year. i had eli in k5 bju satellite school. he was 4. he was doing fine, but then i realized he would have to watch 3 straight hours of school in first grade...too much for a little guy.
the whole issue of homeschooling does need to be dealt with, i think. i realize that some do well with it, but not all are designed for it--something's got to give. with some people, their house is a mess as a result, others--it's their marriage, others--it's their church service that goes--and others, it's their relationship with the kids, and then others, it's their kids relationships with each other, and others, it's the actual schooling that goes!
as for k4, i think you'd do great with just a half-hour-hour focus time and a workbook (even the pre-k stuff from walmart)...
may the Lord give us all the wisdom and honesty to do what HE wants with education and our kids.
We don't send our kids to school until Kindergarten. Naptime for the little ones was always learning time for the older ones. If you're not torn in several directions while teaching her, you both will enjoy the time together and look forward to it. We did not use a set curriculum - we made flashcards together for the alphabet (have her pick a word that makes the "a" sound - find a picture online put it with the letter so she begins associate the letter with the sounds), we made up our own games, and found lots of online resources to help. At this point it should be fun for both of you.
Another thing I did was to have a set "computer day" for my kids - one day where they could go to pre-determined sites and go nuts for an hour or so. The sites are educational and fun - they were learning without really knowing it.
Oh huge sigh of relief!!! I seriously was having panic issues myself, Danna!
Jen, we aren't coming up until the 4th, but then we are going to the cabin. Would my mom be able to get a hold of it? How many pages is it? What a cool blessing for her to get that together for you! What are you doing with Sierra this fall?
Danna, your honesty is a jewel I never tire of. Thank you for not painting homeschooling as a utopia of learning. It frightens me. I have seen some bad apples....does anyone remember the Fosters from youth group. Enough said. I appreciate that you are totally honest with the practicalness of how/when/where you homeschool. I will definitely keep Abeka in mind. I was leaning that way anyway!
Malissa, thank you for your expertise. I will try to relax. I think more than anything, I am going to be the one to hinder this process by being so stressed and pushing too much.
Steph! Thanks for your input as well. I will try to plan it more for around nap times. I do have a question though. When do you guys get the rest of your stuff done? Normally it is at nap times for me.
Liesl...you have become and amazing juggler. Nursing alone is a feat I could not master! You are so right! We have got to commit all this to God and let him have His way....not me pressing for some unattainable ideal!
You guys have been such a blessing to me!!!!!
Frankly, some stuff just doesn't get done! But I do the stuff they can "help" with when they're up - like laundry & dishes & sweeping - We put on some fun music and clean while we sing & dance. When they're too little to help, it still keeps them occupied with all of the activity going on.
And it is important to reserve some of thier nap time for some quiet time to become sane again!
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