Tell me about homeschooling! Which curriculum should I use?

Question

This will be my first year homeschooling and I want to know your homeschooling experiences. Was it hard? Easy? How long is a typical day? And should I use Bob Jones carriculem or Alpha and Omega? PLEASE HELP!!!

Answer 1

No one can tell you what curriculum to use, because we dont' know what your educational goals are.

Here's a a few good places to start though:

http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/meth...

http://homeschoolreviews.com

http://www.homeschoolmath.net/reviews/

Answer 2

I reccomend Alpha Omega! You basically have your work cut out for you. Finish all 10 packets of a subject before the end of the year, and you're done!

The only thing I found tough was the English books, but you may do better. Just make sure you learn how to write reports, you'll need that in college.

Check your state's education board website for graduation requirements (when you're in high school) so you don't end up doing more than you have to. For example: Alpha Omega has science books for every high school grade, but in California, you only have to do 2 years of science.

Answer 3

i use a variety of curriculums. it is not set in stone which one you have to use. find the ones that are comfortable to you and your children. i use other workbooks for extra help. the children love them.

Answer 4

We are very impressed with Connect the Thoughts curriculum.  It is available as an e-book by download from:

http://www.currclick.com/index.php?affil...

It allows the student to research and think for themselves, without simply regurgitating information back.  We are using it for our dd (14) and will be using it for most of her high school studies.  Their upper school courses are recommended for anyone ages 11 to adult.

Answer 5

It depends entirely on your definition of hard. For me (the stude'nt) and my mom, it was a bit hard at first because there were just so many options and metods to consider. It was a little hard for me to get out of the public school mentality and realize that A) learning CAN be fun and SHOULD be enjoyable and that I shouldn't feel like if I enjoy doing something it must not be school, and B) It's okay to be flexible and set my own schedule. It's okay to have a say in the curriculum and speak up when I'm not being challenged or when something isn't working out, and that if I'm interested in something, it's okay to take as much time as I want to study it in deapth and get the facts.

It was easy for us once all of that was behind usDon't get me wrong. The work is challenging and I typically work two grade levels ahead of my peers in public school. But the thing that makes it easy is that I ENJOY doing it and if I don't, I can make it enjoyable.

We designed our own curriculum mixing and matching books and videos and materials from different pu. blishers and resources

Answer 6

Well, personally I wouldn't use either BJUP or AOP.

The best curriculum is the one that fits your learning style.  Neither of the above listed fit my son's learning style, nor my teaching style.  On top of that BJUP is way too conservative for us.  AOP doesn't have enough depth and breadth.

I believe you said you'd be in 8th grade?  If so, then you'll most likely school an average of 5 hours per day.  You can adapt this, though.  On Mondays you may work for 7 hours and only 3 on Tuesday, depending on outside activities.  It also depends on if you do a "typical" (for B&M schools) 9 month/36 week/180 day school year or if you school year round.

While some courses may come easy for you, others may be hard.  The key there is being placed into whichever curriculum you use at the correct grade level.  If you are strong in math, you may use a grade level ahead of 8th.  If you need some additional grammar instruction, you may need to go back to the curriculum's 7th grade English...so it's all dynamic and dependent on your skills.  You don't want everything easy, or you're not being challenged and learning anything new.  Nor do you want it so hard that you crash and burn.

I recommend you and your parents join a local HS group and talk with other local HS'ers about curriculum.  You could attend a "curriculum share" night where you see other programs.  Or if there's a HS'ing convention near you, I recommend you go, not only for the seminars, but also for the vendor hall, where you can compare curricula, and perhaps get a discount.

We use a mix of curriculum.  My son is 10 and this fall will be using:

*K12 - English A (6th)

*K12 - American History Before 1865 (M.S.)

*K12 - American Art A (correlates to History) (M.S.)

*K12 - Music Appreciation (M.S.)

*Teaching Textbooks - Geometry (H.S.)

*Power-Glide - Spanish I (M.S.)

*Apologia - Exploring Creation with Biology (H.S.)

*Science Roots Vocabulary

*Introductory Astronomy - online college course

*Jump In! - Composition

*Vocabulary from Classical Roots - A

*Spelling Power

*Around the World in 180 Days - Geography

*Co-op - Math Counts

*Co-op - PE Fitness (Presidential Fitness Program)

Answer 7

Bob Jones!  We use Bob Jones and we all love it.  We use the DVDs so it is really easy - you just pop in the DVD and go to the lesson of the day for that subject and watch the teacher and do your lesson with her.  I don't know what grade you will be in, but this past year we did 1st, 3rd, 4th, & elementary spanish.  A typical day would take from around 9:00am - 2:00pm with a break at 10:30 for snack, an hour lunch at 12:00.  Also, that is it for the day - no homework.  Which makes a big difference.  Good luck to you!

Answer 8

well in my opinion home schooling is so  easy its better then regular skool  .......u meet ur teacher eery two weeks .....its just depends .........i recommend to go to home skool

Answer 9

There is no perfect curriculum.  What is great for one child might be terrible for another.  One child may thrive on workbooks, while another is bored to tears by them.  One child may love bright colorful pictures, while another finds them too distracting.  One parent wants to be told exactly what to do at all times, while another wants something more flexible.  Anyway, without knowing more about the parent and the child, what sort of curriculum they want, it really isn't possible to tell you which you should use.  

If you are definitely interested in those two publishers, you might want to ask people what the differences in their curricula are.  Knowing how they are different might help you make your decision.

The length of a typical day depends on the type of homeschooler you are, and on what you consider to be "the school day", and how old the child is--amongst other things.  The day should certainly be shorter than a day in a brick and mortar school, since there's much less wasted time.  When my oldest was in kindergarten, we probably spent an hour or so, every couple of days, on "lessons."  As they got older, the length of the "school day" increased.  But we still spend a lot of time at the library, on field trips, doing martial arts, or hanging out with friends, during the time when schooled kids are in school.