S15: E10: What I'm Using for Homeschool Curriculum this Year (and a Plea)
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- Опубликовано: 11 сен 2024
- "What are you using for homeschool curriculum this year??" I don't consider myself a homeschool content creator, but I'm always happy to share my favorite books and studies.
Find out what I'm using for this coming year, plus an important plea to any homeschooling families.
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I want to speak to moms of older children who have chosen to homeschool, if I may. I have successfully homeschooled 5 children to adulthood, I have 6 more coming. I own a business, we have a lot going on. I agree wholeheartedly that they should all read well and be able to do enough math to thrive in adulthood, speak tonadults, etc., but we've chosen a very different path than what Jill describes as ideal and it has worked. My older kids mostly self-teach, my husband and I are available to facilitate as needed. I have chosen curriculum with video teaching for math and science. Our kids have been very involved with our church, and my older kids had excellent outside classes in middle school and high school, one day per week for 8 weeks in fall and 8 weeks in spring (not available to us currently). They did some babysitting/nannying/mothers helper type jobs, stacking firewood, renovations, odd jobs, etc. but I couldn't manage a ton of driving. I did some, and they were able to bike to some, too. God has placed each child into the family where He wants them. Some will have great capacity and do all sorts of wonderful projects that may seem more impressive than the Mom like me with babies and toddlers as well as grown children, a business, and not a lot of capacity in comparison. We too can still have exceptional, well equipped children without sending them to school. I just wanted to encourage Moms that are more like me, because if I wasn't as confident as I am and perhaps if i didn't already have adult children, all doing well, I would have felt very inadequate after watching this.
@@sarahp2400 thank you so saying this, x
Agreed!
I agree the highschoolers need to be out of the house a lot more, but I have chosen to homeschool my high school or as well and she's doing great. Very self taught as I also have littles :-)
Thank you for saying this. I wholeheartedly agree. It’s an honor and privilege to homeschool our daughter through high school and will gladly take on whatever challenges come. There are so many resources and opportunities today than there were 30+ years ago. We are under a wonderful umbrella school that has counselors and tutors available should we need assistance and to make sure our child is on track to graduate per our state guidelines. As far as having to deal with “mean girl drama”, my daughter is heavily active in our 4H youth program, church, and volunteers at a barn. She deals with a number of people of all ages and attitudes/ behavior good or bad. Communication is very important most especially during the tween and teenage years. My daughter will tell me about her 4H meetings, field trips, etc and how other kids behave towards one another and we discuss how to handle or approach certain situations and how to avoid them. Is it perfect? No, but I’d rather be the one she is coming to with her questions and asking how to handle them rather than someone that is not myself or her father.
I’m sure a charter school or private school can be a wonderful option if it’s not government funded, and is parent led. I am a product of public school from Kinder through 12th grade and have worked in public education for 14 years. It is not the same as it was in the 90’s. I’m sure older folks will agree. All this to say I am not bad mouthing public school, there are lots of wonderful programs, good teachers, and many opportunities but after seeing the changes in public school in the state I used to live in, being able to homeschool was the best decision for our family. Times are tough but through the Grace of God we’ve been able to make it work. I’m sorry I didn’t intend for this message to be long. Sorry for any incorrect spelling or grammar. This is from my own experience. I know everyone’s journey through homeschool or other type of school is different.
Thank you. I'm tired of feeling guilty cause I don't/can't drive my kids to things everyday. I don't have enough energy or brain space to do all the things either. So thank you for encouraging me❤
@hollypeters5094 My pleasure, Holly! We're working hard and doing the best we can for our families. I trust God to take care of the rest 💕 He's more than enough.
I push back on the sense of urgency I’m hearing in regard to high school. There is no reason a child has to hit 18 and be ready to take on the world on their own. I was getting that messaging when my two oldest hit high school, and it didn’t sit right with me. Junior High and High school are critical times to impart our values, to have deep critical discussions and to mentor young adults. My oldest homeschooled entirely, and then went to a nearby college (and maybe this is a difference if you have no nearby college opportunities). We have been blessed to interact with her weekly and be a support as she takes on more and more independence. Our son is doing a mix his senior year - taking 3 classes at the local high school, taking 1 course online, and 4 courses with me. He’s 18, and we give him the rights and privileges of adulthood. Living with adult children is a challenging but wonderful time of life. I’m glad we resisted the urge to push them out of the nest too fast. They do of course understand they are expected to complete their education and launch. But interdependence and secure attachment are wonderful qualities in a family. All this to say a charter school can absolutely be the right move for a particular kid, but rest assured there is always time to learn more and to have new experiences.
Keep the little ones home. ❤
We joined the homeschool community due to Covid- which was the best decision and have continued since. My kids are getting a much fuller and academically rigorous education at home than they were in the public school system.
100 percent agree on the “unschooler” style of parents. Many give the kids zero schooling and use it as an excuse to not teach the kids at all.
Homeschooling was the greatest joy for me! My children are grown now. Such great memories!
Ha! I listened to this episode bc I just wanted to reminisce 😅. I miss homeschooling and those years of my kids being at home.
Hooray for Explode the Code and All About Spelling and CURSIVE!! 🎉🎉🎉 God bless your new school year.
thanks for sharing! I have kids that are homeschooling and we homeschooled our children for a few years about 20 years ago. There are so many great resources now!
I'm also second generation homeschooler and I'm so grateful that you are sharing this much needed perspective! Homeschooling is awesome, but only if you actually do the work. It's not for everyone and that's ok.
"We can't tear down public education without realizing why it was there in the first place." It's important to know that "public education" as we think of it today is a relatively new invention in the U.S. In fact, the U.S. Department of Education did not exist before 1980. Think about that. Yes, the federal government has been taking increasing control of education since the 1950's but prior to that, education was locally governed by individual communities, not federal or state politicians. It was in that decentralized education system that the U.S. produced great minds like Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, the Wright Brothers, Alexander Graham Bell, most of the U.S. presidents, and so on. How many great minds, inventors, or leaders has public education produced in the last 50 years? Virtually none. That's because the "public education" we speak of today did not exist back then when America had "community education" instead. They're VERY different.
We just started our 6th year homeschooling! I saved TGATB reading assessment a d give it to my girls each year to track progress. My oldest had just completed 4th grade in public school when we decided to homeschool. She could only read at 2nd grade level and do 2nd grade level work when we started on this journey. I just gave the reading assessment at the end of her 9th grade year and she is at 10th grade level!! Big win for homeschooling! I plan to homeschool both my girls through high school.
Both my girls have had to deal with the "mean" girl. Hard to watch but does help them grow as an individual. I also agree that when homeschooling you want to give your children a better education they what they would get in public and I would add private school. At least around me private schools have dumbed everything down as much as the public schools.
Thank you for sharing. My sister homeschools her 4 kiddos. I forwarded this great info to her! Thanks again!
As a parent, it is our responsibility to direct the education of our children. Whether in public school, private school, charter school, or home school, at the end of the day, we answer for the culmination of their education. If you are not able to provide what your child needs to learn, the resources are available to find the education that will best serve your child. Reach out to others who are succeeding and those who have struggled and build an education for your child.
YESSSSSSSS!!!!!!! Thank you!!! I am also a 2nd Gen homeschooler mom. Preach it!!! I can't say this enough, you are saying everything I say and believe. Thank you!!!
Enjoyed the homeschool curriculum update! Thanks for sharing. We too have struggled finding a good writing but landed on Wordsmith Apprentice this year and are loving it.
Excellent value Jill 🦘
I TOTALLY agree with the fact that home schooling should be about more than just pulling a child out of public school. And I totally understand the learning curve we go through in not making staunch statements because our experiences mature our understanding. And I understand with wanting to raise adults and provide experiences for them. But as an encouragement to those who feel they want to do more but dont know how - we homeschooled our oldest until the 7th grade , and then due to extinuating circumstances we sent her to a private school 7th - 9th. By the 10th year I felt led to bring her back home. There were diffrences I saw in her in sending her to school that were stark in comparison to homeschooling. She became more withdrawn, gave in to peer pressure more, found it hard to find true friends, was overburdened with homework so she never "felt" like helping with chores. But after I brought her home the light/life came back into her. She did not have the personality type that thrived in such a social situation. She has since graduated. And has found the "experiences" she needed from mean bosses/ co-workers - at a more mature age. She has now found a niche in the job she has now - and is being recognized for her work ethic. She is reliable and trustworthy and mature for her age. My point being, if we homeschool for the right reasons - God has a way of filling in the gaps where we fail. Whether we feel the need to "send" them somewhere, or keep them at home without any "clubs", as long as we try our best - and let God do the rest - things all work out in the end. I appreciate the transparency with this video. Its not easy opening up yourself to the subjection of others opinions. :)
Love this entire video! For creative writing I would look into Clear Water Press. It’s not as well now but is wonderful! Thanks for sharing! Have loved watching your channel evolve over the years.😊❤
Excellent point - at least what they would get in public if not better! Unfortunately, I see so many that are not even close to public level where we live now / remote area. When raising our girls, we decided public wasn't best but by getting involved & volunteering at school, we could make it better plus outside activities and farm raised - resulted in both have their own little families now and are doing exceptional (no bias here LOL). Blessings always & keep being kind.
example problem will be 32-12.
Instead of lining up the numbers on top of each other, the students focus on the smaller number, in this case, 12. They add easy numbers to it until they reach the larger number, 32.
To start, they may write 12+3=15.
Then 15+5=20.
Then 20+10=30.
And finally 30+2=32.
Now that we’ve reached the larger number in the equation, we add up the second number in each of these mini-equations.
3+5+10+2=20.
And we’ve arrived at the answer, 20.
What is the point I’m confused
Hi. Just came across your video. We are on the exact same boat with the writing curriculum. We tried IEW last year, and it felt terrible drawn out. Over the summer, we tried some of The Good and The Beautiful and it is going well so far so we are going to continue it into this year. We also are doing some writing strands interchangeably to see if we can grasp a favorite. 🤞
I never bought into the argument, made almost exclusively by pro-public school advocates, that homeschool children will end up backward, coddled, and weak-spirited because they "lack socialization" with other children. That's nonsense. Because all the data shows homeschool students are at level or exceed public school students, public school advocates can't attack homeschooling on academics. As such, they try to undermine homeschooling by saying the children will be harmed because of a lack of socialization with children their own age. That's simply untrue.
Homeschool children have just as much opportunity to interact with children and take on leadership roles in community sports groups, the YMCA, dance class, church groups, and other places as they do in public school. You don't need public school at all to raise healthy, smart, resilient, and well-adjusted children. While I appreciate Jill's opinion, that's HER experience. Middle school and high school students do VERY well at home with the majority quite grateful that they didn't have to deal with all the unnecessary drama, cliques, bullying, and distractions that come with public school. It's bizarre that anyone would think exposing your child to those things would be good for them.
Logos Press has a more aesthetically pleasing Math Mammoth. Same curriculum but they created their own cover for it and it has color inside rather than black and white. We've loved using it!
Hello just found you. My children and I are getting ready for our 3rd year (7 and almost 6 in less than a month 😊) and they've never been to public school. we currently use Sonlight for the past 2 years and we love it. Not sure if i love it because i dont know any different but it for now works well for us. Kinda on this journey alone as I don't know anyone else who homeschools. I do even at their ages keep them in extracurricular activities so they can learn to handle different types of personalities. Children at all ages can just be mean. Anyway i appreciate your input and these are other curriculum for me to consider. And i look forward to seeing what else is on your channel. Be well
I homeschooled my kids (now 27 and 23) using Sonlight. Best years and so many beautiful memories of reading the BEST books together! Wishing you a year of amazing time snuggled on the couch reading together. ❤
We use Sonlight too, we love it. We have been homeschooling for almost 5 years, the last 3 with Sonlight.
@ceralamken6138 Wow, ladies, I'm so glad to hear this! I had no idea what I was doing when I began (still learning) and there was so much curriculum out there I was overwhelmed trying to find something that was NOT public school learning as I did not want for them. At the same time, I made sure it was just as good, if not better, than the school system. This makes me feel like I'm on the right track because every now and then, I have my doubts as a young mother who's new to this that I'm doing what's best for them. Be well, ladies, and many blessings @jessicajones611
If I may ask. We use the math u see from Sonlight and it seems to be good but I've also had people say it's not the best. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated 🙏
@@LadyMcGinnis I started my kids with Saxon Math wayyyyy back when but didn’t prefer the elementary levels of the curriculum so switched my son to Math U See bc he just didn’t hold on to concepts with the spiral method of Saxon. For him it was the very best thing bc he was able to master a concept and feel really successful as he progressed through. Happy to report that he’s how a full fledged adult with a career! 😆. My daughter was 100% a math and science brain and she wizzed through Math U See at double time. Once we got to algebra I actually switched her back to Saxon math and she did very well. She was very well prepared to enter college math (which she did at 15 at our community college), so I sorta disagree that Saxon isn’t rigorous. She was absolutely prepared for all that college algebra, trigonometry and calculus expected based on the foundation of Saxon, and in fact ended up tutoring other students older than her in college who came out of public school. I’ve been out the of curriculum game for a number of years now, so I don’t have experience with the math curriculum Jill was touting.
For younger students I fully recommend Math U See bc it teaches them to think mathematically and does so incrementally. Just my experiences. 😊
Thanks! For long speech. I agree with being homeschooling !You have to teach!! I don’t see how you can only spend and hour or two each day on ALL the subjects . Then expect them to know it. I don’t get public school for the reason they have changed the core curriculum to craziness! Math they make it so much harder. Like putting a problem in a triangle, adding double digit numbers.Reading starts in pre school age 3 . Yet their are all these new ways of reading like Science of reading! and 99 spelling rules. My fear is I won’t have my kids up to grade level and yet what is grade levels in homeschooling? It’s all so overwhelming!
New Millennium Girl Books has some really fun creative writing resources for maybe 3rd-6th grade ages. They have options for both girls and boys.
I would love to hear more about the charter school
I have sincerely thought of designing covers for Math Mammoth as well😆🤪
This is brilliant! Love this podcast
I don't know if you answer questions here, but here it goes....What have you used for TEACHING reading. I've not found a program that really seems to work so far. I am actively involved in all lessons. Did you use LLATL to teach reading? The blue book and red book?
Different kids even within the same family can learn to read differently. So it does take trying out different curriculum to actually teach. 2 of the ones I have heard about across the board is "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy lessons" (I have not used this but have heard about it used many times) and "All About Reading". The latter is one I used with 2 of my littles before we moved on to our 'standard' Abeka reading curriculum. It starts with alphabet sound and recognition in AAR and then Abeka teaches blends - what a vowel/consonant is and then "blending" them together to start the word. Hope this helps for a place to start!
In my rural area there are alot of " homeschooling " families. They keep their kids home from school...
YES! We HAVE to give them something comparable, preferably better! 🥲