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Homeschooling Advice?


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As my wife is now 4 months with our first I need to start prepping for homeschooling. As I work from home and am more suited to the task we have decided that I will be responsible for this and seeing that I wasn't the best kid at school all advice would be appreciated.

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This is what we have used for most of our homeschooling http://www.aophomeschooling.com/

We used the Lifepacs but I know others who used the Switched On Schoolhouse which is basically the same but uses a computer rather than books.

The material is all biblical centered, uses the KJB, and is very easy to follow. One of the aspects I really liked is the material is directed towards the student as they get older. For the most part, as your child gets older the material is directed right to them and presented in a manner so they can do most, or all, of their work without need of any outside assistance. I found this helps them to learn independence and gain some confidence. It also means there is no need for a parent to constantly be nearby.

Another good aspect is this material can be used from beginning to completion of high school graduation.

Some of the better Christian schools (meaning those who are actually biblical, not just Christian in name while using worldly material) also use this material in their schools.

There are many other things to possibly use, and we used a few others early on, but we settled on this as the best fit for our family and have been very pleased with the material and results.

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There are many homeschooling options out there. I used to work for ABeka and am a firm believer in their product through about 8th grade. Their reading program is second to none. I would suggest the Video program. Though it is more expensive, your children will be taught by teachers. You would just be moderating and administering the test.

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I think it's great that you're considering homeschooling your child. You have five or six years to research, gather information, supplies, and equipment, and evaluate the style that will work best for you and your child. Since a lot can change over that period of time, I probably wouldn't spend a whole lot of time obsessing over curriculum choices yet (especially since most curricula upgrade/update fairly regulary, and you don't want to be stuck with out-of-date editions or programs that won't be around--or compatible with your new-fangled technology--in five or six years).

Something you might want to think about is the approach to education you'd like to take. For us, that process started by us prayerfully making up a list of qualities (physical, spiritual, social, academic, etc.) that we wanted our children to develop by the time they leave our home. (We listed applicable Scripture next to each quality.) That list started us thinking about h/s-ing methods...do we want to sit our kids down in front of a video/DVD to learn? Do we want them to study U.S. history every year? How can we best teach them to be "big picture," critical thinkers? Which is better: the rigorous, rote-memory approach of ABeka or the more conceptual approach of BJU Press? (We use neither of those curricula, but have chosen one that seems to incorporate the best of both approaches.) What methods and curricula fit our purposes, personalities, schedules, budget, and lifestyle best? The best education isn't "cookie cutter;" it is customized to the bent, learning styles, and needs of each child. That's one of the reasons we chose h/s-ing in the first place. We love it! (Okay, by this time of year it's getting old, but we still love it! :) )

May God guide you as you seek to be the best daddy you can be to your new precious wee one!

Edited by Annie
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Good choice!
I thank God we had the freedom and privilege of homeschooling ours. We started out with ACE, then went to A Beka, then Switched On School House.("correct....carbon-based life form" :) ) All three are graduated now, in church, and living for the Lord. The oldest(daughter) is an administrative assistant, eldest son is a construction/maintenance supervisor and a preacher, and the youngest son, courting our Pastor's daughter, is in his first year of technical school to be a mechanical draftsman. It won't be easy, but go with God, discipline yourself and them, and He will bless.

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6

Edited by heartstrings
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Best wishes for the task that is before you, no doubt, God will guide & provide.

A couple of more verses.


De 6:7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
De 11:19 And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

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Sorry all that I haven't replied yet, actually forgot I posted this what with all the other stuff going on. Thanks for the advice, got plenty of time but as we know, time flies faster the older you get and my most important concern now is the preparing for HS. The teaching from birth to 5 or so. never to young to start.

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We've tried A Beka, Switched On Schoolhouse, and another that I can't remember the name of... :icon_confused:

It took us a while to find a curriculum that our daughter enjoyed and responded well with.

Our daughter loves computers, but she didn't care for any of the computer based homeschool curriculum. We have been using Timberdoodle the last couple of years, and she really likes it. It's all books except for the math...the math is called Teaching Textbooks. It's done on the computer, and in my opinion, it's the best math program out there. It's included in the curriculum, but you can also get it by itself.

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We've tried A Beka, Switched On Schoolhouse, and another that I can't remember the name of... :icon_confused:

It took us a while to find a curriculum that our daughter enjoyed and responded well with.

Our daughter loves computers, but she didn't care for any of the computer based homeschool curriculum. We have been using Timberdoodle the last couple of years, and she really likes it. It's all books except for the math...the math is called Teaching Textbooks. It's done on the computer, and in my opinion, it's the best math program out there. It's included in the curriculum, but you can also get it by itself.

You raise a good point here. No matter how good the material, unless the child can learn well from it, it's not the best for that child.

We went through a few different things before we found what worked best for our children, and even among our own children they were not the same in these matters!

Most homeschoolers go through a few different types of material before they find what works best with their children. That's one reason it's important not to put everything into one curriculum right away, but to instead buy just enough to start with so you will be able to see if it works well with your child.

Many who try homeschooling and give up do so because they got all excited about homeschooling, picked the "best" curriculum and dived in with exceedingly high hopes, only to discover things didn't go as expected. It's so much better to plan ahead that everything won't go as smooth as we hope, that the curriculum we begin with may need to be dumped for something else, either soon or down the line, and to plan to make course corrections along the way.

Homeschooling is great, but as with all things in life it's filled with the unexpected and we must rely upon the Lord in order for it to work best.
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They have some good material; however, Michael Pearl "seems" to teach that sinless perfection is possible for Christians.


I have listened to that a few times. He does teach that this is possible, yet admits it's unattainable while still in this body.One has to listen to it a few times to see this - it's about sinning less the more you submit to God's Word and His Spirit.
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