So I am finally going to do it....

[scrappergirl]

I have had it up to 'here' with the public school here for my son. I have decided to pull him out for 4th grade and homeschool him. I can't possibly do any worse than the system he is in. Things are dumbed down to the lowest common denominator...and I have met some of those denominators, they have NO drive to learn or try...school is basically just somewhere they go to see their friends (at least that was the impression i got when one girl was PROUD that she never did her morning journaling, and another kid couldn't make change from $20 bill-$7 purchase. He had NO CLUE, and really didn't care. The girl could have given him two cents and I don't think he'd have noticed. *sigh*

So...rather than wait one more year for them to get 'better' and for him to be 'challenged' academically, I am pulling him out.

I got my first workbook the other day. WOrdly Wise 4. Looks to me like Vocab/spelling and some reading comprehension all tucked into one. I like it.

Now I just need Reading, Writing (they haven't even started cursive yet), English, Grammar, Geography, Math, Us History and Citizenship (including study of Fed, State and Local govt).
This is the state mandated stuff. Of course, I Don't think they teach all of that in public school, but obviously, public school is not bound by the mandated stuff, esp when they are teaching kids only so they could pass the state mastery testing.

Of course, when my kindergartener-going into1st grader found out, she watned to 'stay home with mommy' too.
Not sure how to handle that, whether to keep her home or not. Part of me wants to and part is afraid that if its two kids I will not be able to get stuf done. Plus these two are always at eachother's throats....

so we'll see about that.

Anyway,
one friend who homeschools recommends LifePac...but I think that might be too expensive for us to handle....
so I am not sure waht i am going to use for the rest of the course material....i'd like to see it for myself before I invest, ya know?
and I can't go to the homeschoolers conference bc i am working the day before and its quite a drive (about an hour)...and gas is so expensive!

[acceptedinthebeloved]

I just wanted to say "Congratulations!" I'm sure you'll do great! :thumb

[NewWorldOrder]

I have had it up to 'here' with the public school here for my son. I have decided to pull him out for 4th grade and homeschool him. I can't possibly do any worse than the system he is in. Things are dumbed down to the lowest common denominator...and I have met some of those denominators, they have NO drive to learn or try...school is basically just somewhere they go to see their friends (at least that was the impression i got when one girl was PROUD that she never did her morning journaling, and another kid couldn't make change from $20 bill-$7 purchase. He had NO CLUE, and really didn't care. The girl could have given him two cents and I don't think he'd have noticed. *sigh*

So...rather than wait one more year for them to get 'better' and for him to be 'challenged' academically, I am pulling him out.

I got my first workbook the other day. WOrdly Wise 4. Looks to me like Vocab/spelling and some reading comprehension all tucked into one. I like it.

Now I just need Reading, Writing (they haven't even started cursive yet), English, Grammar, Geography, Math, Us History and Citizenship (including study of Fed, State and Local govt).
This is the state mandated stuff. Of course, I Don't think they teach all of that in public school, but obviously, public school is not bound by the mandated stuff, esp when they are teaching kids only so they could pass the state mastery testing.

Of course, when my kindergartener-going into1st grader found out, she watned to 'stay home with mommy' too.
Not sure how to handle that, whether to keep her home or not. Part of me wants to and part is afraid that if its two kids I will not be able to get stuf done. Plus these two are always at eachother's throats....

so we'll see about that.

Anyway,
one friend who homeschools recommends LifePac...but I think that might be too expensive for us to handle....
so I am not sure waht i am going to use for the rest of the course material....i'd like to see it for myself before I invest, ya know?
and I can't go to the homeschoolers conference bc i am working the day before and its quite a drive (about an hour)...and gas is so expensive!


Hello Scrappergirl, and congratulations on your decision. :hug

There's a lot of curriculum out there to choose from, but for your Grammar I recommend "The Grammar Key". It is a computer based program that can be used from 4th grade through 12th grade, and I'm using it for my 4th grader and my 12th grader. It's really cheap too, only $40 if you buy the family pack. Here's the link:

http://www.grammarkey.com/index.html

The Wordly Wise, The Grammar Key, Handwriting, and what you choose for learning to be a good writer - I recommend Writing Strands - can count as his English. There's a program called Around the World in 180 Days, put out by Apologia that uses Geography to teach world history, including American History. I'm going to teach ancient history this year to my 4th grader, and we'll be using a unit study for that that incorporates all subjects except for math, but I'll be supplementing with The Grammar Key and Writing Strands.

Math is a different story because they're all different. Saxon is the most popular but it's expensive about $75, unless you buy it used which is what I highly recommend. Life Pacs are really good too, but they don't put a lot of explanation for the parent, but they're cheaper. Life-Pacs aren't re-usable so they'll be hard to find used. There's also The Key to Series... which teaches math in workbook format but only one skill at a time. They will teach say fractions and only fractions in 10 workbooks. They have them for fractions all the way through algebra I.

Science, well that's another toughy. I'm putting both my kids in a science class at our co-op this year, but before I've always used Apologia Science or Considering God's Creation - which are very user friendly.

Good luck with your new venture, let us know if you have any questions.

NWO

[mom211]

NWO. the website for the grammar key is garbled. Does it give verbal instructions or does the student read the instructions?

Scrapper, there are lots of great unit studies that cover multiple topics. We did A World of adventure and it was great! http://www.learning-adventures.org/


This is another good curriculum is http://www.mfwbooks.com/index.htm

You might want to try going light on some subjects so you don't get burned out doing too much.

I've notice that Lifepacs get sold after the first few books are competed.

[NewWorldOrder]

NWO. the website for the grammar key is garbled. Does it give verbal instructions or does the student read the instructions?

Scrapper, there are lots of great unit studies that cover multiple topics. We did A World of adventure and it was great! http://www.learning-adventures.org/


This is another good curriculum is http://www.mfwbooks.com/index.htm

You might want to try going light on some subjects so you don't get burned out doing too much.

I've notice that Lifepacs get sold after the first few books are competed.

I don't know why it's garbled, it was working fine earlier. :thinking But to answer your question, it does both. The family pack comes with a grammar disk, a punctuation disk, and a workbook disk where you print out workbook pages to use along with the lessons. The disks uses audio instruction and read along instruction. It's very user friendly, but with the younger kids you'll need to be there to make sure they are understanding what they are supposed to. I put it on my computer, and it's really cool.

You mentioned Learning Adventures, that's what I'm using this year too. It is very good. I used it years ago with my oldest and we loved it.

[MidnightCry]

Hey, scrappergirl,

HUGE thumbs up for your decision! I'm going to PM you about curriculum, but wanted to encourage you to consider homeschooling your daughter, too. I don't know the circumstances, admittedly, but the benefits are AWESOME. You probably would not have a problem teaching her as a first grade girl. I admit that having the two of them together for your first year might be enough to make you want to jump in a lake -- sometimes. Other times, you might sit back and watch them doing their work peacefully, happily and absolutely bask in the sweetness of it all. This year I taught my 4th grade daughter and K daughter with a 3 year old playing and it worked . . . not perfectly at ALL, but we made it! If your little one is asking to stay home, maybe that's the push you need to give it a shot. You have the summer to think and pray about it, and I know that the Lord will show you what's right for your family.

As an aside, in what part of the country are you and do you have any idea what your son's learning strengths and challenges are?

[scrappergirl]

thanks, guys, for the encouragement.

nwo,
I think my son would really like an online course, since it would give him the ability to be at the computer (lol). We used to use Jumpstart cd's when he was younger and he loved them. I also like the Geography to teach History. That kills two birds with one stone! (he'll like that too, since he is not really on board yet for the whole homeschooling bandwagon).

Science kind of intimidates me, as it was never a strong subject for me (nor was math)...but then again, there is always dh's help (of cousre it'd have to be at night when i am at work)...

lifepacs may work for a subject or two for me...but the more i read, the more i think i am going to end up being a bit ecclectic with it. frankly, i don't want to have to sit on him all day to get things accomplished, so i am hoping that i can just give directions and then check on him...but i DO want to have input on some things so he can start thinking outside of the box and beyond the page...and that doesn't happen unless we're in it together. Thankfully, thinking like that is something he really enjoys (when he's in a talking mood, that is...he's an odd kid sometimes! LOL!).

there is a company called CHIME here that does music instruction for homeschooled kids...and the great thing is that they come to your home. now, frankly, i can do that myself since i play 4 instruments (only one of them really well anymore, though. lol) and he does want to learn to play piano...but i don't know how much i'll have left after having him home all day, so i may check their rates again (surely they have gone up since last i spoke to them a couple years ago) and maybe get some use out of the 1/2 size violin i bought dd#1 when she was doing suzuki violin (and of course quit shortly after we spent the $$$$ on the instrument and case).

anyway...
he asked me today if i was really serious about homeschooling him and i said that i was, and we were going to try it. he looked a bit despondant at that, and so we had a conversation that ended up with HIM making the points as to why i am pulling him out of PS. he said at one point that the kids in his class weren't as smart as he was, and that it wasn't the teacher's fault that she didn't have time to challenge him, bc she had to teach the other kids stuff that he didn't struggle with (total paraphrase, there). i was like BINGO!!! that is mom's point! You are being held to the lowest common denominator and its not fair!

so..
i was hoping he'd be excited, but it seems he is a bit unenthusiastic about it. hopefully things will change in the first month of it. i think most of his reason for not being happy about it is being away from his friends..but i am hoping to join some kind of hs association or something, so at least he can get something from that.

Of course, when my youngest dd found out, SHE wanted to "stay home with mommy", too. EEK!
we'll play 1st grade for her by ear...for now i am really more concerned about the 4th grader. my oldest is going into 7th grade...so we have BEEN playing that by ear (middle school and all...eek again!)..and so far, so good, but i am ready to pull her out at a moment's notice, mainly because, well, its middle school (our middleschool is across town in the 'hood'. in fact, they went into lockdown today for over an hour. thankfully she was scared, but not freaking out like some kids...but it makes you wonder how long these places are safe!)...

[My Abba's Child]

Take a look at Heart of Wisdom (www.heartofwisdom.com) curriculum. They come in packs, so it's pretty inexpensive, and it's internet linked for lots of good research training, and fun learning (especially if your son likes computer work. =)). Get the E-books, is my suggestion, they're linked right to the internet sources, all you have to do is click the link. You can get one pack at a time and get out pretty cheaply. You can go as indepth into the subject as he's interested in, it really plays to your child's interest while delivering the basics of the subject. Though, it is a little more 'parent-teacher' oriented. You don't just say, "Read pages 75-79, answer the questions at the end, and let me know when you're done." kinda thing. But I've just been fascinated by all that *I'VE* learned from this curriculum! :lol2

It teaches Science in creation order, History from Creation to Abraham, then Abraham to Messiah, then on down to modern day and you can teach it to different levels of learning (like you can use it for primary grades, or high school grades, because it offers different depths to the lessons). And it puts the Bible at the CENTER of your learning. :yeah

There's a Teacher's Approach book that explains the whys and wherefores of this type of curriculum from the lady who put the curriculum together (she's home schooled her children and some of her grandchildren and this curriculum is actually their family business). So she's been there and done that for just about any situation that arises. hehe The only downfall is that there's no Math in the curriculum, so you'd have to get something seperate for Math.

In His love,

[lisaann]

http://rainbowrewource.com (http://rainbowresource.com) is an invaluable resource. :thumb Contact them and ask for a catalog. Their prices are usually cheaper on new products and for orders of $150 or more shipping is FREE!

Try to find used books first though if you can. :hug The first year is challenging and overwhelming but it is the best choice.

[ChayilWoman]

Yeah! Another homeschooler! Congratulations!

I use Lifepacs through 2nd grade and then change to Switched on Schoolhouse by the same company for 3rd and up. It is computer based and saves me a lot of time grading and lesson planning. It is more money upfront than Lifepacs but can be reused for future kids. Money is short in our home too but I view their education as an investment and something worth spending a little money on to do it right. A couple hundred dollars isn't that much when you think about what you'll save not having a kid in public school (fund raisers, more clothes, lunches, travel costs, field trips, etc.).

I love Lifepacs and SOS for Math. The lessons build on each other at such a gradual pace that you aren't really sure the child is ever learning anything until all of a sudden you realize they are already doing long division and fractions (which is where we are now.)

It's more difficult but you can do two at the same time. This year I have girls in 4th and 2nd, plus 3 and 1 year olds. Takes some discipline, which we lacked at times and fell behind, but we are getting it done.