7 Reasons Why I Love Homeschool

It's been almost a full year since I have started homeschooling. It's been over a year since I wanted to homeschool. Yes, I still have days where I want to pull my hair out. Ha! But more often then not, I have days that are great.

I recently started thinking about how homeschooling was whenI first started with Aiden and now. I remember mine and Aiden's frustration and my lack of patience. Now, my patience has grown (thank the Lord) and Aiden and I have come into an understanding of each other's role when "school" starts.

These are the 7 reasons why I love homeschool:

• I love my kids, no one will do more right by them than me. 
• I can delve further into a subject because one of my children are interested in it more. I take Aiden to a science center just about every week for him to go to a class and learn all things science with other homeschool kids.
• We can do school work in the car, outside, at the park ...ANYWHERE! That freedom is liberating.
• If we need a break, we TAKE it. 
• No more meaningless school days. Everyday we accomplish something or build upon what we have been working on.
• I am closer to my children. I am soaking up this time with them, because I know it won't last forever. 
• Our family as a unit has grown closer. When my husband is home he gets to be with them all of the time, so his time home is better. Our family is better. 

Today, for instance, Aiden wanted to do his school in his room. As long as he was of good attitude and getting his work done, I was all for it. 

This is Aiden catching me taking a picture of him. Haha. I love that boy. 

So, there you have it. These are my top seven reasons why I love homeschooling my children. They might change. Ask me in another year... Hehe.

Have a great one,
D

2014 - 2015 2nd Grade Curriculum Tried And Tested

Yes, it's been forever since my last homeschool post.Please forgive me! We've decided to do year-round school, and so far we are on day 56. We officially started June 9th. I strive for a 4 day school week, but since we took time off to go out of state with Hubby a couple of times we are going to do 5 day school weeks for a couple of weeks. My plan is to take off sometime around the holidays, and then one week a month after the first of the year.

Needless to say, I feel like I am just now getting the swing of things. It's definitely a work in progress. We have had some time to go through the curriculum now. Some of it I kept and some of it I didn't.

As I mentioned in the last post I didn't have a curriculum for History/Geography/Social Studies. I found this The Story of the World.

Pros:

It mentions reading material that some has been available through my local library.

It gives questions to ask throughout each chapter to make sure your little one is comprehending the material.

It also has hands on projects to do with each chapter. Aiden loves hands on projects. What kid doesn't?!

The price isn't too bad. Together for both activity book and chapter book is a little over $30.

Cons:

There are no tests or worksheets that test their knowledge.

There really aren't any pictures in the chapter. It would be nice if Aiden could see some images to reinforce the reading.

Overall Grade: B

For English we use Abeka. Right now I only found the need for Language 2 and Spelling and Poetry 2 books.

               

Pros: The worksheets are great. They are fun to look at, and also are full of learning!

Overall Grade: A

For Math we use the Arithmetic 2 and Tests and Speed Drills from Abeka.

            

Pros: The worksheets just like the English ones are also engaging.

The math seems to be very well spaced out. Not too much information at once. It kinda dabbles in a topic and then backs off. This allows me to find supportive information and other worksheets on sites like TeachersPayTeachers.com and KhanAcademy.org

Overall Grade: A

For science we are using Apologia. There are different categories of science in the Apologia textbooks. We started with Exploration of Creation with Astronomy and the Notebook Journal.

            

Pros: I really like having a journal assignment book that goes along with the text.

There are awesome projects to do. Aiden has loved them all.

There's not too much reading material. Doing a chapter a week is definitely doable, depending on the pace you are at.

There's a reading plan to go by if you choose. It tells you what day to do what to make sure you coursework is even each time.

Cons: I don't completely believe everything that the author believes. I just simply skip those parts.

Those are the texts that we have in our curriculum. As I've mentioned before, I use other sites to supplement his teaching.

Overal Grade: B

Here are the sites that I use:

Hubpages.com

Spellingcity.com

Havefunteaching.com

Allinonehomeschool.com

Funbrain.com

Kids National Geographic

PBS Parents

If y'all have any that are worth mentioning please let me know! We're always looking out for different sites to learn from!

Hope y'all had a great weekend!

Watching Harry Potter for the umpteenth time (not by choice, but rather lack of choices) ~ D

2nd Grade Curriculum 2014 - 2015

Reminder: I'm switching blogging sites and this is an oldie but a goodie... enjoy!

Ok. I finally did it! The first real step for my family and I considering homeschooling. I have researched it over and over. Now of course this might change next year after we've used it. But that is next year.

Aiden is finishing up first grade, and let me tell you, I am anxiously waiting for him to finish! We will have a break after school is over, but probably start back up mid-summer.

I am planning on us doing a 4-day school week. I have made a schedule so far and this should be a good starting point. I think...

Homeschool Schedule

2014 - 2015 Curriculum

Language Arts & Reading - A Beka

Math - A Beka

Science - Apologia

Social Studies

History    -     TBD... ok I know I said I figured it out, but there's still some more digging considering these subjects.

Geography

I have just recently purchased a book called What Your Second Grader Needs to Know by E.D. Hirsch Jr.. I felt like I needed to make sure that my child was receiving everything he needed educationally. The whole point of homeschooling is because this decision is best for Aiden and the family. I definitely didn't want Aiden to miss out on any knowledge that he would otherwise have in public school.

I haven't received any of these materials yet, but as soon as I do I will blog about my first impression.

Have a great week!

D

Debating Homeschool

Reminder: I'm switching blogging sites and this is an oldie but a goodie... enjoy!

As a mother to a child that is in school, especially elementary school I have had my mind on my son's education for months. I usually stay abreast of the current news, but somehow I missed the launch of Common Core. I first heard of this new federally mandated curriculum through a friend. It didn't bother me much that they would be learning a different way than I learned, because kids are very adaptive. But that was my first initial uneducated opinion. My friend had done her homework and had decided that it was best for her family that she home school her children. At that point I thought about it and thought I didn't have the patience for home school, and that Aiden would continue as he had in public school.

Common Core and Aiden's education continued to fill my mind with questions. What exactly is Common Core? Why in the crap can't Aiden use his fingers to count? That's how I did when I was his age and I did just fine. I help Aiden with his homework everyday, and if I don't have the days work to use as a guide I don't have a clue how to do the math work. The wording is so confusing. Sometimes Aiden  remembers how to do the work. Sometimes he doesn't. The curriculum is more concerned about the process of the problem solving and not the result. We all know that showing your work in math shows your understanding of the concept. But to put more emphasis on the process and not the result is ridiculous. In math the answer matters! 3 - 2 = 1 ALWAYS!!! Math can already be confusing enough.

I had overheard another parent mention that they wanted to teach sex education to first graders. Yes first graders! That is Aiden's age. His mind hasn't even wondered in that direction yet. Why would they want to put that kind of information into their little brains? When I spoke to his teacher about it, she mentioned that they wouldn't be doing it this year, but maybe in second or third grade. That is still too young. I asked if I could get some of the paperwork that they would use for teaching the little ones, so I could reinforce the correct information. I wanted to see what they would be teaching him! If you have kids you all too well know that they have a superfluous ability of selective remembering. HIs teacher told me that she couldn't give me such paperwork. At that moment I knew that I needed to make some changes about his education.

God willing we would like to have one or two more kids. Since I am going to be staying at home already, home school was the most logical choice. I want Aiden to have an innocent childhood. I want Aiden to enjoy learning. Just think about kids. What is  the first characteristic that comes to mind? Talkative? Hyper? Joyful? We all know the first two do not mix well with classrooms. I realize that it is important for children to know boundaries, and know the difference of playtime and learning time. However, I believe if we work with them and those characteristics they will enjoy learning and learn better.

I have not started homeschooling just yet. I am going to let Aiden finish first grade. I am still researching home school curriculum. I will let y'a'll know which ones I go with and why soon! I think we will have a little break after school lets out and then start homeschooling some time in June.

With love,

D and hot pink socks ;P