Jump to content
  • Welcome Guest

    For an ad free experience on Online Baptist, Please login or register for free

Homeschool curriculum


Recommended Posts

  • Members

We use the Ambleside Online free curriculum (http://www.amblesideonline.com)...this covers our: Bible, History, Literature, Poetry, Artist Study, Composer Study, Hymns, Natural History, and more.

For phonics and reading, I don't use any 'curriculum'. Math right now is Ray's Primary Arithmetic.
Latin is a hodge podge of things.


Things we will incorporate later as my children get older include:
Apologia science
Singapore or Bob Jones Math
Rod and Staff English or Easy Grammar

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 61
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • Members

Since this is my first year, I'm sticking with what I know. I went through A Beka hs, student taught A Beka, and then taught A Beka.

After I get a grip on things, I will probably feel more freedom to be picky, but for now I have to be safe. I am adding to the A Beka curriculum since we will probably be in MO where they require 1,000 hours of teaching time. But, no one says that I can't incorporate geography and history of states into a cross-country move. :Bleh

Hmm, I could add some math in there too, couldn't I?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Rod and Staff curriculum is very traditional and thorough, if you used the math, science in lower grades and english all will be fine! In fact, I dare say (I am a former curricula reviewer for a magazine) that R & S English is one of the best out here.

Stay away from the history, and reading.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members
Since this is my first year' date=' I'm sticking with what I know. I went through A Beka hs, student taught A Beka, and then taught A Beka [/quote']


Yea, I did too! But when you 6yrold wants to quit school because its not challanging or interesting, you look for alternatives. :lol:
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Hmm, I'm not going to worry about my 6 year old since he will have to start back with some K5 stuff.

It's that 9 year old I'm wondering about...how will I keep her occupied? Lots of science reports, I guess. (She's going to be an astonomer!)

Well, for future reference, what is a good science curriculum?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Administrators
Hmm, I'm not going to worry about my 6 year old since he will have to start back with some K5 stuff.

It's that 9 year old I'm wondering about...how will I keep her occupied? Lots of science reports, I guess. (She's going to be an astonomer!)

Well, for future reference, what is a good science curriculum?



http://www.highschoolscience.com/
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members
Hmm, I'm not going to worry about my 6 year old since he will have to start back with some K5 stuff.

It's that 9 year old I'm wondering about...how will I keep her occupied? Lots of science reports, I guess. (She's going to be an astonomer!)

Well, for future reference, what is a good science curriculum?


Well, I'm pretty sold on the bj stuff now. If you have not checked out their site, do so and watch a sample of their homsat and see how they make learning "come alive" They even do the jr. high and highschool science llive interactive and it is very cool to watch.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Hello everyone - I began home educating my children last year when I was preparing to say a very fond farewell to my Naval career of 11 years.

Since everyone in our church used the A Beka DVD curriculum, I decided to go with something that was foolproof. My 7-year-old daughter began the 2nd grade school-on-DVD program about two months prior to my last day of active duty, sitting in an adjoining office, watching the DVD monitor for hours at a time, followed by a great deal of repetitive seat work.

When I left the Navy in October, my children and I moved to northern Virginia while my husband deployed with his submarine. I observed, every day, the boredom and dread my daughter (who loves to read and explore the outdoors) experienced with the DVD program.

Fast-forward to December. After continued reading on the philosophies of education and changing perceptions of my own ability to teach my own children, I decided to sjunk the DVD program completely and start fresh. We chose Sonlight.

Sonlight was an expensive endeavor, but we did stock our bookshelves with a good number of excellent books. I felt that Sonlight was too regimented for us, as well, so we decided to try a natural approach to learning.

I would say our current method is a hybrid of Charlotte Mason method and relaxed schooling. We use Horizons Math and read... a lot... in addition to using the family devotional series from Clarence Sexton for our Bible curriculum. We are frequent visitors to our library and this year will work through great works of literature as the year progresses.

I will probably change to Math-U-See when we complete the Horizons books, simply because I like the use of manipulatives - and more importantly - my children enjoy them! We use a variety of resources for grammar reinforcement and review, but focus more on reading great works of literature. We also use copywork as a valuable means of practicing penmanship and reinforcing the language arts.

My advice to anyone starting out in home education or considering teaching their own, is to READ resource books, order free catalogs, and look into visiting a local homeschooling co-op or support group.

I have a few books that I consider workhorses in my home education library - I'm happy to share the information with anyone who asks.

You can visit our family Website to learn more - http://www.spinnerscorner.spaces.live.com - or email me directly at spinnerfamily@msn.com. I am prompt in replying to all emails and will do my very best to help.

In Him Alone do I Glory....

Jennifer

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

My advice to anyone starting out in home education or considering teaching their own, is to READ resource books, order free catalogs, and look into visiting a local homeschooling co-op or support group.


In Him Alone do I Glory....

Jennifer


Excellent advice!

Most homeschoolers change their plans or curriculum several times. Very few finish homeschooling using what they started with...I know we haven't!

In fact, our youngest so isn't responding as well to what has worked great for our oldest son so we might be switching to something else for him. Time to restudy the options!
Link to comment
Share on other sites



Excellent advice!

Most homeschoolers change their plans or curriculum several times. Very few finish homeschooling using what they started with...I know we haven't!

In fact, our youngest so isn't responding as well to what has worked great for our oldest son so we might be switching to something else for him. Time to restudy the options!


Hello John!

I just read your reply as I was returning to modify my initial post. I want to make note that we consider ours to be a journey - our ultimate goal is to train our children up and raise them to love the Lord, but our secondary goals including instilling in them a love of knowledge, a passion for reading and the ability to sift through the chaff in order to get to the wheat.

To that end, our home school journey is a work in progress, one that is tweaked and modified almost DAILY! Earlier in this thread someone expressed surprise that IFB's would use a curriculum/materials other than those produced by other Independent Baptists. Let me tell you - if we limited our usage of materials to those of the EXACT doctrinal and practical standards as ours, we'd have nothing available! (Of course, we have the Bible, but I am referring to supplemental materials.)

We use materials that I'm sure many IFB's would frown upon, including some from DK Publishing, Usborne and National Geographic... as well as conservative Mennonite publishers. When we come across something with which we disagree - or is an absolute lie (such as evolution) - we use the opportunity to further discuss what WE believe and WHY. I don't want my children to grow up and - as Christians - tell people they believe what they believe "BECAUSE" and not be able to intelligently defend their viewpoint. We are children of light and have NO reason to fear the darkness.

When it comes to our identies in Christ and relationship with the Father, not only is ours a supernatural faith, it is a logical faith built on fact. Far too many Christians fail to think on their own and challenge their opinions and beliefs. How can we claim a belief or opinion if we are not willing to challenge, and then defend, that belief against error?

Like the apostle Paul, I am PERSUADED (Rom. 8:38-39; 2 Tim. 1:12) and thus, I believe! I pray my children will grow up to know the Lord and live for Him and truly stand upon the foundation we have in God's most holy Word.

Okay... didn't mean to get into all that! :) I hope that rambling will benefit someone - in reading over what I've posted, I believe I've spurred myself more than anything!

Happy Home Schooling!

Jennifer
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members


Hello John!

I just read your reply as I was returning to modify my initial post. I want to make note that we consider ours to be a journey - our ultimate goal is to train our children up and raise them to love the Lord, but our secondary goals including instilling in them a love of knowledge, a passion for reading and the ability to sift through the chaff in order to get to the wheat.

To that end, our home school journey is a work in progress, one that is tweaked and modified almost DAILY! Earlier in this thread someone expressed surprise that IFB's would use a curriculum/materials other than those produced by other Independent Baptists. Let me tell you - if we limited our usage of materials to those of the EXACT doctrinal and practical standards as ours, we'd have nothing available! (Of course, we have the Bible, but I am referring to supplemental materials.)

We use materials that I'm sure many IFB's would frown upon, including some from DK Publishing, Usborne and National Geographic... as well as conservative Mennonite publishers. When we come across something with which we disagree - or is an absolute lie (such as evolution) - we use the opportunity to further discuss what WE believe and WHY. I don't want my children to grow up and - as Christians - tell people they believe what they believe "BECAUSE" and not be able to intelligently defend their viewpoint. We are children of light and have NO reason to fear the darkness.

When it comes to our identies in Christ and relationship with the Father, not only is ours a supernatural faith, it is a logical faith built on fact. Far too many Christians fail to think on their own and challenge their opinions and beliefs. How can we claim a belief or opinion if we are not willing to challenge, and then defend, that belief against error?

Like the apostle Paul, I am PERSUADED (Rom. 8:38-39; 2 Tim. 1:12) and thus, I believe! I pray my children will grow up to know the Lord and live for Him and truly stand upon the foundation we have in God's most holy Word.

Okay... didn't mean to get into all that! :) I hope that rambling will benefit someone - in reading over what I've posted, I believe I've spurred myself more than anything!

Happy Home Schooling!

Jennifer


Great post!!! :thumb

When I click on your website I get an error message.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Administrators

Jen - I love DK and Usborne! National Geographic is kind of boring to me....and I have friends who used Rod and Staff. I think it's a good curriculum, but that's not what we chose to use. Isn't it great that there is a plethora of curricula from which to choose so we can tailor it to our family's own particular needs?

When I homeschooled my son, I used the library a lot!! Why not -it sure saves on $$$!

BTW - I mentioned this in another thread you posted on, but you live in my folks' area. They live in Sequim and go to church in Poulsbo and love to shop in Silverdale.

One of the ladies in their church used to be in WA state congress, and she is largely responsible for the law permitting homeschooling in WA.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...