As I began to think about Veteran's Day and all that our soldiers have sacrificed over the years for the freedoms that we tend to take for granted, I was reminded of the new freedoms we are enjoying in our lives this year.
Since we began homeschooling in 2007 we have been involved in extra curricular activities, swim, dance, soccer, co-op, etc. Those things were fun but also kept us rooted to a strict schedule with no room for spontaneity, exploration or relaxation.
So when my Poogie injured her knee and my kids left the world of dance back in February I was at a loss. I could not grasp the idea of not being involved in an outside activity. What would we do? We have to do extra curricular activities! Our world has to be structured!
After 8 months of trying to find something for that extra curricular hole in our schedule we found one. Nothing. That's right nothing. We decided to enjoy life for the first time in 8 years. So we went to concerts, lots of concerts. We took day trips and explored. Took the time to try new activities and sports. But, above all we just took time to chill and enjoy life.
I still worried that our new found freedom was not appropriate. I thought that without those structured activities Poogie would not receive the experiences she needed to grow. Then, something awesome happened on our trip to Arkansas in October. Poogie told me that these last 8 months were the best ever. She loved exploring the world. Learning things first hand, not just out of a book. Experiencing everyday things like going to concerts, because her dance schedule had never really allowed for time to go or even hang with friends. Yes, she missed dance at times, but not the lack of freedom.
During all this time I was worried about loosing something, what we found is Freedom! It just goes to show that what you think is right for you and your family sometimes can be the exact opposite. You just need to have the courage to break away and try something new.
I know I have not completed my series on math curriculum chat. Time and life has just gotten away from me. I will add to the series in the near future. However, today I need to share about our first 6 weeks of the first trimester of 2015-2016 school year.
That's right we are doing trimesters this year. A whole new concept for us, but one I think we will like. I scheduled my trimesters in three, twelve week blocks with a week break every 6 weeks. I feel that week is much needed to recharge, reflect and prepare for the next six weeks.
I planned the year out using this calendar from the Donna Young website. If you never visited this site check it out. Great resources for just about everything.
Next week is our final week in this 6 week block. So far we have been happy with all but one of our curriculum choices and have been moving smoothly along.
As I said we are changing one subject in our curriculum. Poogie will be completing the last unit in her Chemistry text and we must move on. While we enjoyed the text the new material was quite and dry and a little overwhelming. Our new choice has brought us back to an old reliable curriculum that I used for T all the way through high school, Apologia.
We are secular homeschoolers, but I do use a lot of Christian curriculum. One, because it is cheaper, more widely available and has great supplements. I have created my own curriculum over the years due to a lack in secular choices. It tends to burn me out and leads to a very unhappy teacher and student. So what I do is take great curriculum like Apologia, Bob Jones and others and modify it to suit our needs. It is so much easier.
That said Poogie loves biological sciences and would love to study zoology and virology. Since there is a lack of, or any middle school curricula on virology, we have decided to focus on zoology of land animals. Apologia has a great curriculum for elementary and middle school. I will enhance and beef up the curriculum with videos, reading, my college zoology textbook, field trips and even some dissection. According to Apologia Poogie is suppose to be doing Physical Science this year, but since she will be doing physical science for high school I wanted to do one more year of fun science.
We will begin the new curriculum on September 28th, the first day of our next six weeks. Can't wait!
Today I want to share our experience with another math curriculum, Rod & Staff. I was drawn to this curriculum when we first started homeschooling by its conventional style and well-organized format.
It is a curriculum written for the Christian classroom, however it is easily adapted to homeschool. The lessons are well laid out and easy to follow. Although the chapters and lessons are set up in a mastery format, the authors threw in a great amount of review.
I would love to say that both of my children had great experiences with R & S, however I cannot. I started using this with T after using Math U See to get him caught up on basic math skills. He came home from public school very behind and lacking most basic skills. T and this curriculum were like oil and water. He didn't like the lessons, the timed test nor the pace. We made it through half the year and went back to Math U See.
Poogie thrived with this curriculum. We began with Math U See, went to Saxon (big mistake) and ended up with R & S. The only reason we have went back to Math U See is that he completed all the levels of R & S and is now moving into the high school years. I find it so interesting how one child can thrive with a curriculum and another just sinks.
Pros-
Through lessons with great review and supplementary materials.
Easy to use for teacher and student.
Low cost for such a high quality curriculum.
Cons-
Christian-based (for those who only want to use secular curriculum)
May be a little overwhelming for students use to a workbook style curriculum. The student has to copy from a textbook in this curriculum.
I'm sure there are many more pros and cons for this curriculum but these are the main ones I found to be true for our family. My next post will be about a few of the other curriculums we have used for supplement and reinforcement of skills over the years. Till then...
We've all been there. The sometimes dreaded time to choose a new curriculum or your first curriculum. After homeschooling 8 years I have went through this so many times. You second guess yourself, wonder if your ruining your child's learning progression.
Well just take a minute, breathe and re-boot. There's no perfect child nor perfect curriculum. One of the reasons to homeschool is to meet the needs of your individual child, not 30 kids in a classroom.
To best meet the needs of your child you must first determine how they learn. You can read up on all the different learning styles and there are even tests to determine your child's style. I found I already knew based on how they go about their daily lives. For example, can your child do a chore by having it explained verbally, by watching someone else do it, or by doing it themselves. There you have your auditory, visual or kinesthetic learners. Some children like my own have more than one learning style, however one may be more comfortable for them. So when looking for curriculum I try to find one that meets more than one style.
That brings me to todays curriculum, Math. Many new homeschooler's freak out about choosing a math curriculum. In our case, it hasn't been perfect but I find math to be one of the easiest.
There are so many new math curricula that address all the learning styles in one way or another. Plus, most good ones have a placement test to help you place your child at the right level. Remember, this is individualized instruction so don't get hung up on grade level. It's better to focus on the skills and whether they have mastered them or not. Math skills build on one another so it's best to make sure they know the basics before moving on.
All that said, I have tried a, cough, cough, few different math curriculums over the years. I will share my personal pros and cons of those this week, beginning with elementary math. Please note, I am not paid, nor do I represent any of these companies.
Elementary Math:
1. Math U See - This was our first homeschool math curriculum. I used it with T when he came home half way through 4th grade and didn't really know his multiplication tables. Yet, he tested above average in the state skills test, go figure. This was a perfect fit for him.
Pros-
This curriculum is simple, hands on and not overwhelming. We could move at our own pace. It addressed all learning styles.
The lesson is taught on DVD, by Steve Demme, who is quirky but fun. So if your not comfortable or confident in teaching math is a great solution.
It also offers manipulatives for the kinesthetic or hands on learner. I hate to admit it but T did not use the blocks much, however he did use the fraction overlays.
It also offers placement tests to help ease a parent's mind about buying the correct level.
Cons-
It can be boring, and a little dry. Poogie was bored out of her mind. She would do a whole lesson in one day.
It's a mastery curriculum. You learn each skill and master it before you move on. For example, Delta level focuses on division, where as, Epsilon focuses on fractions. Many students and parents are not comfortable with this type of curriculum and that's ok. But for your child it may just be what they need.
I have personally used Math U See on and off for both of my children. Even though, it didn't suit Poogie's learning style in the beginning we are now using it for Pre-Algebra and she is doing well.
Tomorrow I will talk about Rod & Staff math, Poogie's favorite and T's kryptonite, lol.
We haven't even completed our first week of homeschooling here and we have already had our first adventure. The weather has been beautiful all week, so Poogie and I just had to take advantage and head out on the Harley to explore. We rode a familiar route, however we finally took the time to stop and explore some of the awesome sites along the way.
First stop on the Great River Road was the Piasa painting on the side of the cliff. I always found it to be a little creepy. After reading the story of the creature, I confirmed its creepiness. We found that we could link the area and some of the former explorers to Poogie's history lessons, and linked it to science with the mining information.
We then rode up the River Road to one of our favorite destinations, Grafton, IL. We took time to look at many of the historical homes, noting the materials used to build with then vs. now. Explored the river bank and noted the changes from the recent flood and how destructive water can be. This time we also took a moment to stop by an old barn and home along the road that we have loved but never stopped to explore.
An added bonus to this trip, which tends to happen a lot in Grafton, was the view of these very cool replicas of Columbus's ships the Nina and the Pinta. Time and the lack of actual cash on hand did not allow us to explore the replicas, but it was an awesome sight.
This is what I absolutely love about homeschooling. Taking knowledge and learning out into the world. Seeing things with your own eyes, not in a book or on a video. We are having so much fun, can't wait to see what adventures we have next.
2015 will be a year of firsts! And I am so excited about the change. This will be my first homeschooling year with only one student! It's a little sad but also very exciting. My son T has completed high school and moved on to other thing such as work and hopefully college.
So that just leaves Poogie and I to carry on with our homeschooling adventure! And what an adventure this year will be.
This will be our first year of homeschool without having dance as part of our lives. What will we do having every afternoon free?? Well, we plan on going on some awesome field trips, taking some music lessons, and longboarding (Poogie's new obsession). Leaving the dance world was bitter sweet but I must say our lives are better without it.
Of course, I've also made adjustments to our curriculum to suit my girl's learning style. She moves much faster through material than T did and likes moving along at her own pace. I will post a whole post later this week on our curriculum choices. Too much to put in this one post.
I plan on posting more in the upcoming year to share this new chapter in our lives. Stay tuned :)
