New homeschooling parent needs help getting prepared for September!

[MamaFern]

I have a 7 year old son who has been going to school for the last 3 years (his choice, not mine!) but we have finally agreed that home schooling would be a good thing to try for September. I also have a 4 year old who will be in Kindergarten in September as well as a 2 year old and new baby due in November.

We have registered with a homeschooling network here in our town called home-links..it is a curriculum & funding supported homeschooling group where quite a few of my friends children go and it seems pretty great. I have my first meeting with the teacher this Friday and I am wondering what I should be planning with her for September. Any suggestions would be great!

It has always been my plan to HS, but since DS has never wanted to I have never really gotten prepared and we are renovating a new house and getting ready to move so my head has been in the clouds for a few months (not to mention 3 months of morning sickness) but I really feel the need to start focusing on this now so I am as prepared as possible come september.

We plan to use Oak meadows curriculum but I am wondering if there is any other good waldorf based curriculum out there..especially for the grade 3 level. I am not at all concerned about the Kindergarten level teaching but the last few years of my DS`s school journey I have been pretty uninvolved...other than the reading we do at home together and sciencey kind of stuff that we enjoy doing.

He is reading, writing, enjoys math, science ect..but art & play are his really focus, which I love and really want to foster as much as possible. I find that this past year has kind of turned him off learning in some ways and I really dont want that for him. I need to find ways of making learning fun for him again.

I hope that is enough info for some insight and thought on beginning this exciting new experience.


Also, what are your most loved & used homeschooling supplies?
we will be doing a few Mercurious orders over the year with home-links and I plan to stock my home with all sorts of fun things (we already have lots of art supplies, books, games, toys) we dont have a ton of money, but will have some funding and have an amazingly supportive family who will help out wherever possible.



And lastly, how does one juggle homeschooling with 2 younger children. any suggestions on that would be greatly appreciated!

[moominmamma]

Just wanting to wave hi from New Denver. I'm guessing, with the HomeLinks reference, that you live near me. We've been unschooling for many years. We currently use SelfDesign but will likely be switching to a HomeLinks-like program based in our local school next fall.

My kids have always been very academically driven, so a Waldorf-type curriculum hasn't been their style and I can't help you on that one. However, juggling four kids' needs is something I've done a lot of. My advice would be to include your children in your life, involve them in your doings at home and elsewhere, keep conversation going, and not to worry too much about creating time for school at home. Your ds will likely need some deschooling time in which to gradually re-awaken his interest in learning. Allow him that time by not diving into your own (or a curriculum's) agenda right away. Let him be: playing, creating, exploring, and include him in your life as you juggle your way through it. He'll gradually show you the things he needs.

Good luck!

Miranda

[MamaFern]

Originally Posted by moominmamma

Just wanting to wave hi from New Denver. I'm guessing, with the HomeLinks reference, that you live near me. We've been unschooling for many years. We currently use SelfDesign but will likely be switching to a HomeLinks-like program based in our local school next fall.

My kids have always been very academically driven, so a Waldorf-type curriculum hasn't been their style and I can't help you on that one. However, juggling four kids' needs is something I've done a lot of. My advice would be to include your children in your life, involve them in your doings at home and elsewhere, keep conversation going, and not to worry too much about creating time for school at home. Your ds will likely need some deschooling time in which to gradually re-awaken his interest in learning. Allow him that time by not diving into your own (or a curriculum's) agenda right away. Let him be: playing, creating, exploring, and include him in your life as you juggle your way through it. He'll gradually show you the things he needs.

Good luck!

Miranda

wow! thanks for your quick reply! we are in kaslo We will head out to New Denver for the garlic fest in the summer along with 1000 other people do you even come to kaslo?

I was feeling really strongly about un-schooling my son this next year, but then there is this hint of guilt that he will end up behind. when i really think about it I dont believe it at all though. He is very bright and driven when he wants to be. That is why we are homeschooling this year, so he can work at his pace but have fun and really get to enjoy life again...so thank you. He is fairly academic in some ways and maybe the oak meadows wont work for him. honestly its more because I like Waldorf curriculum and theory (not so much on the religious side) that i am choosing it for my children. I guess I will find out if it works for us as we go on.

[zjande]

Fern, yay! I'm so happy to "see" you. And to hear that you'll be homeschooling next year. Awesome!

The cut off dates are different here apparently- my Nov05 kid isn't technically a kindergartner in Oregon until fall 2011. But we're doing K work now anyway.

I can't really be much of a help regarding curriculum. I've never been a Waldorfy sort, & am not a fan of unschooling. For my 4 yr old, I use a mishmash of fun craft & activity books I've picked up along the way (um, I kind of have an addiction to craft & activity books for young kids ), but our core right now is this Pathway Readers set (the Pathway curriculum is created for & used in Amish schools), this math, and the Preschoolers Busy Book. I'm in the midst of getting organized to start the Outdoor Nature Hour challenge.

As for schooling with littles around, you just juggle! I do most of our schooling with a baby on my lap, & I try to find my 2 yr old fun things to do while I school with his older brothers. Often times he just wants a worksheet to scribble on so he can feel like he's "doing schoolwork" too. He also likes scissors & glue sticks.

Around here, lots of stores have HUGE "back to school" sales in August every year. That's when I stock up big time for the year. I find glue sticks & boxes of crayons for 25 cents each, and lined paper for 75 cents a package, markers, rulers, glue, pencils, folders, etc. I fill a shopping cart with all that stuff once every year. I order colored construction paper & paints in bulk from Oriental Trading Company online. I find used coloring books (I love Dover brand ones), & make copies of the pages so we can use the book forever. I can barely leave the house without returning with some used book or 10 I picked up somewhere.

I use the book Home Learning Year by Year, and World Book's list of standards to plan my school years. I love love love The Crafty Crow blog. And I have about 8 zillion fantabulous homeschool related websites, blogs, video sites, book lists, free resource lists etc, saved in my computer so let me know if you are looking or anything else! I am very Charlotte Mason inspired & have lots of CM learning stuff saved as well. We are not Christian (or any exact particular religion actually) but believe teaching our kids about God is super important, so I tend to use religious curricula & just cut out the parts that don't work for us.

Whew. I just used up all my computer time. My 12 yo & I are learning spanish. Better get to it!

Oh, by the way, are you keeping a blog again anywhere?? I still have mine here. I'd love to see pictures of your happy little tribe!!