What cirriculum do you use in Homeschooling?

[amyquilt]

Please post what cirriculum(s) you use in your homeschooling venture. Or do you "unschool"?

 

[hensdeliverthegoods]

My kids are grown, although I think in this day and age, homeschooling is a good idea. I just wanted to compliment you on your website, it's very impressive!

 

[Cassandra]

I homeschooled my (now college bound) son for a couple of years when I had the leisure to do it. I used a program called ACE. It was very Christian-based, so--don't know if you want to go there or not. This was for second and third grade. It was really easy to use. Almost all workbooks! (almost like homeschooling for dummies LOL) But it "worked" for lack of a better word, really great. He was in good shape, academically, when he went back to public school.

Oh, I should add, that the main reason I decided to home school him for a while at the time was because he failed first grade. I don't think he was getting anything out of school at all at the time.

Cassandra

 

[Beekissed]

I used a Christian based curriculum for the early years and later used the school's textbooks. They have to provide them if you ask, if you cannot afford a curriculum of your own. I liked the former more than the latter but I was in different places financially the second time I homeschooled.

 

[heatherv]

I call ours "scatterbrain" style! hahaha! aka eclectic

I have bits and pieces from everything that works! I use different things for each child.

We all love Apalogia for science (Christian based)

We also love www.time4learning.com for our special needs son..... he gets his core curric. from there, and we do hands on activities to supplement to his lessons.

We do lapbooks for some things. Those are fun, and everyone can work together on them... at their own level.

We also do a little Charlotte Mason style, and Montessori style.

 

[mirime]

Please post what cirriculum(s) you use in your homeschooling venture. Or do you "unschool"?

I unschooled my high school aged son (when he was high school aged) but still had to provide a curriculum for the school board, which of course I just made up. Our regulations were that we had to provide a curriculum, and at the end of the school year, he had to take a standardized test (which he always passed w/flying colors - proud mama here.) I got the test from a christian academy of some sort which I don't remember their name now. But it was just a standardized test i.e. not christian based.

My memory isn't so good. Sorry!

 

[Woodland Woman]

I use mostly Abeka but I have used others including ACE. Sometimes I make it up myself. I made up my high school Spanish. (No, I am not a native Spanish speaker.) I make up my own for life skills, too. I have taught every grade now except seventh which I will do this year.

 

[Betsy]

I'm a homeschool alumna, and my parents used a little bit of everything, I think We did use the library ALOT. Mom never had to use formal history with us-she just turned us loose at the library and we taught ourselves history.

My advice...do what's best for each child. Each one learns differently and will need a slightly different approach.

 

[Woodland Woman]

What exactly is "unschool"?

 

[Beekissed]

"Unschool" is where you don't have a set curriculum with traditional textbooks. If you want to learn about math, you do the family budget or work at a cash register. If you want to learn about science, you visit a planetarium, do your own experiments, go to the local pond and study the pond life. You use whatever learning technique that sparks your mind and gives you a practical and visual application for a certain subject. Want to learn American history? A trip to Gettysburg, or to the library to research a certain date, happening, etc. You can use any method of learning a subject that is comfortable and effective.

One doesn't sit at a desk all day, writing down textbook answers to textbook questions. Want to learn about our national food systems, take a tour through a local dairy, give the family, or local homeschool group, a talk and demonstration about it. The possibilities are endless. Basically, you throw away cookie-cutter educational practices and let each child learn in the best method for them.

I've talked to a lot of people who were taught in this way and they are extremely well-rounded, mature, and prepared for college in a way our public school children are not.