That's what I've decided to call myself. For now! I didn't imagine that I would be homeschooling. I don't have any philosophical objections to it but I don't believe that it suits my personality or that of my son. That being sad, here I am, preparing to homeschool.
Here's the background. My oldest son has been on a waiting list for a private Christian school since March! It isn't looking good since school starts September 3rd. The administrators did say he could get in at the last minute but...... this is getting a bit nuts. We didn't sign up at a "back up" school because I didn't want to go through the exhausting process of application a second time. I felt it was a bit dishonest, as well, to apply at a school we didn't really feel a connection with.
Public school is not an option for us for several reasons, one being that A has been reading since he was 2 and now (he's turning 5 next week) he reads at probably a grade 3 level. He needs to be challenged and public school won't do that for him.
So, I'm doing some research on homeschooling. Five in a Row looks like a good option for us since A loves books. I don't know about math. There are so many choices. Saxon Math, Modern Curriculum Press, Singapore Math, Shiller Math, Math-U-See, etc. If any veteran homeschoolers are reading this, I'm open to suggestions.
What sucks is that I can't sign up for a homeschool co-op or group since our homeschooling may last all of a week, if we get into the school. I can't buy a whole math program since this foray into homeschooling may be very short lived.
The challenge for me will be organizational. That is not my strength area! I'm loading up on books from the library and reading blogs and websites until my eyes cross.Pin It
Sunday, August 24, 2008
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3 comments:
Sheila,
I understand where you are at in the sense that I don't think me and my oldest would work out at all as a homeschooling duo - she is much too like I was and I was very certain my parents knew nothing and was very disrespectful of them (and I have the heart of a homeschooler and would love, love, love to homeschool).
We work on it constantly but I think her trying to learn from me would be too much stress on those efforts.
Fortunately, we are in a wonderful Christian school.
Given that your son can read and you are uncertain about when he might be accepted you might consider talking to my friend Heather at An Untraditional Home, she can probably set your mind at rest.
http://untraditionalhome.com/
if you did buy some curriculum materials and wind up not needing them, you could probably turn around and sell them to another family to recover some of the cost.
Wow - if he's already reading so well, that's half the battle right there! I was all set to recommend a phonics program, but you don't need one. :)
For Math, we use Saxon, and I love it. It's not a very colorful program, but I love that it continually reviews past concepts and it helps them memorize their math facts. I would start with Saxon Math 1, though, not the kindergarten program because it's pretty preschool-ish. If he already knows shapes and can sort them and can count to 10 or so, he's ready for Saxon 1.
Other than that, do lots of reading aloud. I don't know what your local legal regs are - do you have to teach science and social studies at the kindergarten level?
When I first started homeschooling my oldest, I bought an entire kindergarten package: phonics, math, science, social studies, art, etc. Talk about overkill!
It can be so simple and basic at this level: read to him, have him read to you. Do simple crafts together. Take him to the grocery store, the library, the post office - talk about the people who work there and what they do. Take nature walks and talk about the plants and animals and bugs you see. Check out movies like Magic School Bus and Amazing Animals and Liberty's Kids from the library. Do some math every day. You'll be amazed at how much he will learn with just those simple things.
Above all, don't stress, and don't feel you have to do every little thing a curriculum tells you. The curriculum is there to serve you and fit your needs, not the other way around.
Good luck!
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