Homeschool Chat

[Neesy228]

I'm wondering if anyone has attempted, considered, failed miserably etc at teaching elementary (2nd grade) without buying a lot of cirriculum materials? We are in PA and there are some pretty strict guidelines on what needs to be taught (subject-wise). I'm wondering if I could find enough material online to get through the year without purchasing books on each subject? Thanks in advance.

 

[NHWX]

I should think you'd be able to finish second grade without buying a lot.

For social studies/geography, I'd check out National Geographic.
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/

For spelling and simple literature/reading comprehension, I like edhelper.com but I think you have to pay a relatively small fee.

Discovery education has some good lesson plans and information under "learning adventures." http://school.discoveryeducation.com/teachingtools/teachingtools.html

For math, maybe this? http://www.superkids.com/aweb/tools/math/

What else do you need to cover? Music? Art? PE?

NHWX

 

[graygables]

ARGGGG!!! Remember the old joke about Jesus and Satan and the computer contest? "Jesus saves?" Well, ya'd think I'd learn b/c I kept postponing backing up DDs work (Switched on Schoolhouse) and guess what??? You got it. Computer crashed, had to be reconfigured and lost it all. More than half the school year vanished. I'm sick about it. Hubby reloaded the disks yesterday, but now I have to go through and manually unassign all the work they'd already done (if I can even remember...) It's going to take me weeks to get it all set up again.

Memo to self: BACK IT UP, ya dummy!

 

[Laura.bora]

ARGGGG!!! Remember the old joke about Jesus and Satan and the computer contest? "Jesus saves?" ....

Ummm....actually, no. I don't know that one! Could you share it. I'd like to get a few more jokes in my son's repetoir other than "why did the shark eat a sausage??? - BECAUSE HE WAS HUNGRY!"

 

[Neesy228]

I should think you'd be able to finish second grade without buying a lot.

For social studies/geography, I'd check out National Geographic.

For spelling and simple literature/reading comprehension, I like edhelper.com but I think you have to pay a relatively small fee.

Discovery education has some good lesson plans and information under "learning adventures."
For math, maybe this?
What else do you need to cover? Music? Art? PE?

NHWX

Thanks for these links!
This will be for the start of next year. In PA we need to cover (although, I'm not sure we need to cover each subject every year?):
English (to include spelling, reading, writing)
arithmetic
U.S. and Pennsylvania history
civics
health and physiology
physical education
music
art
geography
science
safety and fire prevention

Some things are obviously easy to do (like fire prevention). My son is taking piano lessons, so I guess that covers music. It seems like I should be able to put together a good cirriculum for him between the library and online resources, but I don't want to short change him. This will be my first experience homeschooling....

 

[graygables]

Ummm....actually, no. I don't know that one! Could you share it. I'd like to get a few more jokes in my son's repetoir other than "why did the shark eat a sausage??? - BECAUSE HE WAS HUNGRY!"

Jesus and Satan were having a computer contest. They typed and typed all day and just before the deadline, the power went out. Satan was yelling, angry that he'd lost all his work, it wasn't right, it wasn't fair. Jesus sat calmly, smiling. The judge looked at their respective computers and declared Jesus the winner. "HOW can that be???", Satan screeched, "The power went out, the work was lost!" "Because", said the judge, "Jesus saves."

 

[wvdislover]

ARGGGG!!! Remember the old joke about Jesus and Satan and the computer contest? "Jesus saves?" Well, ya'd think I'd learn b/c I kept postponing backing up DDs work (Switched on Schoolhouse) and guess what??? You got it. Computer crashed, had to be reconfigured and lost it all. More than half the school year vanished. I'm sick about it. Hubby reloaded the disks yesterday, but now I have to go through and manually unassign all the work they'd already done (if I can even remember...) It's going to take me weeks to get it all set up again.

Memo to self: BACK IT UP, ya dummy!

Dawn, I'm so sorry! I know what a pain that must be. My DD10 is doing SOS, too. We just started a few weeks ago, but I haven't been backing up either. Guess I need to go out and buy a zip drive to back up her stuff. You know how our girls can be--"guess what honey? All that stuff you worked so hard on...it's gone" (brace for impact!). Anyways, hope it goes well getting all of that fixed again. Could you just totally delete the units she's done already, rather than unassigning them individually? I think that can be done (?). BTW, I'm still planning on having my DD10 e-mail your girls and trying to get our girls connected. Sorry it's taken so long, but I'm trying to homeschool and work part-time, as well as work on projects at church that have been going on Life gets TOO busy sometimes!

P.S. Love the joke!

 

[wvdislover]

Ummm....actually, no. I don't know that one! Could you share it. I'd like to get a few more jokes in my son's repetoir other than "why did the shark eat a sausage??? - BECAUSE HE WAS HUNGRY!"

Don't you just love the jokes like these And the kids just think they're the funniest jokes ever written

 

[Momvic5]

bump!

 

[skoi]

I'm wondering if anyone has attempted, considered, failed miserably etc at teaching elementary (2nd grade) without buying a lot of cirriculum materials? We are in PA and there are some pretty strict guidelines on what needs to be taught (subject-wise). I'm wondering if I could find enough material online to get through the year without purchasing books on each subject? Thanks in advance.

We're also in PA, and have done this in the early years. We started using Sonlight mid 4th grade, but before I did all the curriculum. We did do some workbook things for the portfolio (the cheap ones you can get in teacher supply stores), and we did buy a math program (I think Horizons Math from Alpha Omega, and we used Miquon as well). I took out the "What Your Second Grader Should Know" Core Knowledge book out of the library and used that to develop a curriculum for Social Studies and Science. We also did purchase one unit study on wolves, and a book of easy experiments with little lab write ups. We did a lot of reading and writing. I made spelling and vocabulary based on internet lists and what we were learning in science and history. PA history we sort of fudged, doing the basics about the state (official flower, dog, etc, main products, some simple geography and history).

Where in PA are you? If you want to PM me I can give you some more details about what we did before curriculum.

Julie

 

[skoi]

ARGGGG!!! Remember the old joke about Jesus and Satan and the computer contest? "Jesus saves?" Well, ya'd think I'd learn b/c I kept postponing backing up DDs work (Switched on Schoolhouse) and guess what??? You got it. Computer crashed, had to be reconfigured and lost it all. More than half the school year vanished. I'm sick about it. Hubby reloaded the disks yesterday, but now I have to go through and manually unassign all the work they'd already done (if I can even remember...) It's going to take me weeks to get it all set up again.

Memo to self: BACK IT UP, ya dummy!

We're considering SOS for our daughter for ninth grade next year. How do you like it? We've used Sonlight mostly, one year in a K-12 school, and when she was really young, an "eclectic" approach. We're hoping for something more structured as the work is getting harder (biology, Alg 2, etc). Would you recommend SOS? Can you print things out to put into a portfolio?

Thanks-
Julie

 

[MiniGirl]

Hi everyone. I hope ya'll are doing well.

It has been awhile since I posted. I have been looking at the links and other resources many of you suggested. There are just so many curriculum choices out there. It really is quite overwhelming.

Anyway.... a recap and a question (or 2). We have decided to hs our oldest dd next year. She'll be in 3rd grade. I'm am fairly certain we will keep our youngest (currently in K) in public school for at least one more year and perhaps bring her home starting in 2nd grade. My oldest is a voracious reader. I often have to tell her to watch where she's going because she will walk around with her nose in a book, but I'm not complaining. Okay..... so, since we are new to homeschooling, I want a program that has lesson plans and everything pretty much laid out for us, and I like the idea of My Father's World. I like that we can do the Adventure's curriculum next year and then start the following year with both girls. I do have some concerns though, and would like some opinions. I have heard MFW referred to as "homeschooling light" because some say it isn't as challenging as others and that it can leave the children somewhat behind. Is this true? If we use MFW for this first year, is it difficult to change curriculums for the year's following? What about after 2 or 3 years -- since it is a 5 year program? Do you use the Language Arts programs (and math) they recommend? It doesn't seem like a lot compared to some other curriculums I looked at. Is it enough or do you find you have to supplement? Are there other books/supplies I'd need to buy? Is this Adventure year challenging enough for my "advanced" reader? (I ask this because it is recommended for both 2nd and 3rd graders who are the oldest in the family.)

I've looked at countless programs and I keep coming back to this one and Sonlight. Sonlight just seems so expensive though, and I do like that MFW lesson plans seems to ease people into homeschooling.

Anyway, I'd appreciate any and all imput and insight you can give. I told my dh that once we (read: I) have decided on curriculum I think things will come more into focus because we'll have a game plan in place. I also know that I can spend tons of time "researching" things and never make a decision.

Thanks again for all your help.

 

[gillenkl]

Hi everyone. I hope ya'll are doing well.

It has been awhile since I posted. I have been looking at the links and other resources many of you suggested. There are just so many curriculum choices out there. It really is quite overwhelming.

Anyway.... a recap and a question (or 2). We have decided to hs our oldest dd next year. She'll be in 3rd grade. I'm am fairly certain we will keep our youngest (currently in K) in public school for at least one more year and perhaps bring her home starting in 2nd grade. My oldest is a voracious reader. I often have to tell her to watch where she's going because she will walk around with her nose in a book, but I'm not complaining. Okay..... so, since we are new to homeschooling, I want a program that has lesson plans and everything pretty much laid out for us, and I like the idea of My Father's World. I like that we can do the Adventure's curriculum next year and then start the following year with both girls. I do have some concerns though, and would like some opinions. I have heard MFW referred to as "homeschooling light" because some say it isn't as challenging as others and that it can leave the children somewhat behind. Is this true? If we use MFW for this first year, is it difficult to change curriculums for the year's following? What about after 2 or 3 years -- since it is a 5 year program? Do you use the Language Arts programs (and math) they recommend? It doesn't seem like a lot compared to some other curriculums I looked at. Is it enough or do you find you have to supplement? Are there other books/supplies I'd need to buy? Is this Adventure year challenging enough for my "advanced" reader? (I ask this because it is recommended for both 2nd and 3rd graders who are the oldest in the family.)

I've looked at countless programs and I keep coming back to this one and Sonlight. Sonlight just seems so expensive though, and I do like that MFW lesson plans seems to ease people into homeschooling.

Anyway, I'd appreciate any and all imput and insight you can give. I told my dh that once we (read: I) have decided on curriculum I think things will come more into focus because we'll have a game plan in place. I also know that I can spend tons of time "researching" things and never make a decision.

Thanks again for all your help.

I guess I want to put in my 2-cents for Abeka considering that your daughter enjoys reading. Also I believe they are offering free shipping right now.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Mini Girl~
Welcome to hsing!! It's a blast and a blessing no matter what curr. you choose! I have a friend at church that is using MFW-I am not sure about the particulars, but the kid is in 4th or 5th grade and does it all with out her mom. She is through in 2 hours. I don't know how thorough it is, sorry... I just know that they really enjoy it.

If your daughter is that into reading,go the the Beautiful Feet Books, website-it's literature based curr's. That is what we are doing for oldest ds this year in History. For Lang. Arts we are doing Learning Lang. Arts through Literature, for both boys. We are looooving the Charlotte Mason way to learn-this is very compatible. I don't know how this will work for you as far as plans being done for you. Just check it out and see what works for ya-best wishes!!!

 

[bebelle]

Tomorrow is "take your son or daughter to work day". So my son is going with his dad to the office. I am counting it as a school day and best of all I GET THE DAY OFF from teaching!!! Life is good

 

[skoi]

Mini Girl-

You might want to look into Sonlight if your daughter likes reading. It's pricey, but everything is nicely planned out and the early cores are great. We're switching for high school because oldest dd is just not interested in reading what they're offering, I'd like more rigorous history texts, and also, dd is going through a rebellious stage. We're Orthodox Christian, and she's in a very "anti-Protestant" period, even though I was Lutheran, she was baptized Lutheran, and for years we attended an evangelical church.

I count my blessings though, because if becoming more faithful and observant of our religion is how she's going to show her teenage rebellion, I'm one lucky mom.

Julie

 

[meandtheguys2]

Tomorrow is "take your son or daughter to work day". So my son is going with his dad to the office. I am counting it as a school day and best of all I GET THE DAY OFF from teaching!!! Life is good

LOL, I still have two here, though! Actually my son is turning 14 today, so we will have a runaround party kind of day!

 

[Momvic5]

Hello All ~

I haven't posted in a while ~ the kids and I have been crazy just trying to keep up with school and life. We have been running around all week trying to prepare for a 5 day visit to my mom's. It is amazing what all has to be done when leaving your home for a few days. I feel drained and guilty. Guilty because we have not accomplished much school this week. Just the essentials ~ math and english with a hint of history.

This is one of those trips where you want to go and need to go, but the timing is just off or everything is just hard to do. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer 2 yrs ago and she has been fighting it strong; however, these past couple of months have hit her hard so we will be going to check on her and help take care of a few things. On a happy note though, we will be celebrating my Grandmother's 84th birthday. The kids are looking forward to the trip. They absolutely love grandma and great grandma, and they live about 20 miles from Six Flags ~ Fiesta TX so we promised them we would visit the park.

Anyways, I thought I would just share my thoughts with you all. Kind of a stressful week. Oh...and I had an incident in Kohls this week that did not help my mental state. I started a new thread out of shock on the incident and now I wish I hadn't ~ Kind of a heated topic. Who knew!

I am so looking forward to the summer break! I think we all need some time to do absolutely nothing!

 

[tnmomof4]

Hello All ~

I haven't posted in a while ~ the kids and I have been crazy just trying to keep up with school and life. We have been running around all week trying to prepare for a 5 day visit to my mom's. It is amazing what all has to be done when leaving your home for a few days. I feel drained and guilty. Guilty because we have not accomplished much school this week. Just the essentials ~ math and english with a hint of history.

This is one of those trips where you want to go and need to go, but the timing is just off or everything is just hard to do. My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer 2 yrs ago and she has been fighting it strong; however, these past couple of months have hit her hard so we will be going to check on her and help take care of a few things. On a happy note though, we will be celebrating my Grandmother's 84th birthday. The kids are looking forward to the trip. They absolutely love grandma and great grandma, and they live about 20 miles from Six Flags ~ Fiesta TX so we promised them we would visit the park.

Anyways, I thought I would just share my thoughts with you all. Kind of a stressful week. Oh...and I had an incident in Kohls this week that did not help my mental state. I started a new thread out of shock on the incident and now I wish I hadn't ~ Kind of a heated topic. Who knew!

I am so looking forward to the summer break! I think we all need some time to do absolutely nothing!

Don't feel guilty about not getting much school work done this week. We all have bad or busy weeks. This has been one for me too. You have done more school work this week than I have. I try not to worry when life gets crazy. The school work can always get caught up. Homeschooling is great because we get to take care of our family whenever we need to.

I hope you have a great time with your mom and grandmother. The birthday party will be fun, and taking the kids to Six Flags will be great. It sounds like you need to have this break not just to check on your mom, but also for the kids and you. Maybe after this break you will be recharged and ready to go full force with the school work.

By the way.... I posted on the thread you started about the rude comment made to you and your son and that whole situation. You were absolutely, positively okay in what you did. The terrible experience I posted about with my two DS was awful and very traumatizing. I can never change what happened to them. What if something worse happened to my boys, like they were actually taken. You know what... I would have never forgiven myself for letting them go to the bathroom by themselves. Please know you did what was right. We have to do what we think is best for our children, and you did just that.

So... go have a wonderful time. I hope you all have a really great time!!!

 

[disneymom3]

We're also in PA, and have done this in the early years. We started using Sonlight mid 4th grade, but before I did all the curriculum. We did do some workbook things for the portfolio (the cheap ones you can get in teacher supply stores), and we did buy a math program (I think Horizons Math from Alpha Omega, and we used Miquon as well). I took out the "What Your Second Grader Should Know" Core Knowledge book out of the library and used that to develop a curriculum for Social Studies and Science. We also did purchase one unit study on wolves, and a book of easy experiments with little lab write ups. We did a lot of reading and writing. I made spelling and vocabulary based on internet lists and what we were learning in science and history. PA history we sort of fudged, doing the basics about the state (official flower, dog, etc, main products, some simple geography and history).

I started homeschooling DD in 1st grade and did not buy any formal curriculum at all. I did buy Singapore Math for second grade but that was it that year. I have never actually used an entire packaged curriculum. For 1st and 2nd grade I used workbooks from Walmart or the book store, stuff I got off the internet (edhelper and enchanted learning have a TON just between the two of them!) and we read read read! In second grade we did a really long study of the CA and AK goldrushes as well as Tall Tales and human body. Janice Van Cleve has some great books out there. I definitely think it can be done and done well in the younger grades it just takes a bit more work. When you get to the older grades particularly for math and science I think it is good to have a specific curriculum so you cover stuff in the right order and don't skip anything.