Homeschooling for the first time.

[onesupermomma]

Any suggestions, helpful hints &/or advice is greatly appreciated. Where do I begin? I have been researching different curriculems and I strongly believe in and want a Christian/ Bible based education for my children. There are a ton of them out there. What to do? And cost efficient too? Please help anyone. Thak you & God bless.

[mrsjtc]

I think your first step would be to determine what type of curriculum you want. Something Charlotte Mason-based? Try Sonlight or My Father's World. Something with lots of workbooks? Try Abeka or Lifepacs. Something a bit in the middle? i believe Bob Jones is a good mix of both.

Maybe go to each different webpage and print off their sample pages so you can get a better idea of what each brand contains. The most cost efficient curriulum are going to be a Charlotte Mason, living book driven curriculum. You can usually find most of the necessary books at the library, so you'd only have to buy the teacher's manuals.

And most importantly - don't stress. You can always sell what you don't like and switch to soemthing else. Are you children young? Then the most important thing is a good foundation in Bible/character training and learning to read. If you determine your goals and vision for your homeschool, things will fall into place. Blessings!

[cappuccinosmom]

I agree, don't stress.

I think it's very possible to get overwhelmed and burned out quickly. I would suggest dipping your toes in the waters of homeschooling this year, finding something basic and thoroughly laid out (either a boxed curric or a scope-and-sequence for which you provide the books/work). As you go along, you can add or subtract stuff as you find out what your child's learning style is, and what works for you. Quite honestly you could easily do K and 1st grade in a very relaxed manner, for very little money.

For the record, we have used Calvert through a state cyberschool. I *really* like Calvert, and although it is the basis of our schooling, I have found plenty of great stuff to supplement with. So, for instance, my k5 and 1st grader do their normal daily lessons with Calvert (under 2 hours). We have computer supplementals through the cyber school (but if I were to pick, it would be time4learning), my dad contributes to their literary education with nightly readings from classics, we occasionally review resources through a homeschool magazine, and I pick up workbooks and readers to work through when I find them. And doing all of this, I still feel sometimes like I'm being "lazy" because it takes very small amounts of formal work and does not require all that much effort to complete.

I wish you the best as you start your homeschooling journey.

[Gem0406]

I am grateful that I bought a boxed curriculum my first year homeschooling. Using it gave me a point of reference for eventually planning our studies "freestyle." I consider the money well spent, just for that reason.

Take a look at Queen Homeschooling Supplies if you decide to go the Charlotte Mason route. Their packages are very reasonably priced, and I love their language arts workbooks.

Good luck, and have fun!

[fruitfulmomma]

What ages are your children? Have they been in school previously?

[dantesmama]

Heart of Dakota is very Christ-centered and economical. We have used their preschool curriculum and are using their K-1 program, Little Hearts for His Glory, for K this coming year. The guides are very open-and-go and let you choose your own math/phonics/handwriting programs. Their website has an active and very helpful forum and the program's author is available to help with questions/placement. How old are your kids?
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[kristin0713]

I would see if there is a conference coming up anywhere near you. The great thing about the big conferences is that most of the well-known vendors are there and you can take your time, look through all the curriculum and talk to the representatives.

[onesupermomma]

My children are 3 and 5 and then there's my itty bitty one of 4 months. No previous schooling in an actual "school" setting but they do have a little experience with school curriculum/activities that I have allready been doing with them. Thanks to all the women who have responded to my post, they have been very helpful and insightful. I have been looking up everything. I'm always open to hear more. God bless you all.

[mrsjtc]

If your kiddos are that young - you have tons of time to figure out what you like!! Definitely just relax and go with the flow a bit this first year. I would recommend something like Heart of Dakota or My Father's World preschool or kindergarten programs to get you started. They both could be used to teach both your kids at the same time and they are affordable.

And enjoy yourself!! Go to the library, splash in mud puddles and read books at the park...

[luv2homeschool]

Just rememeber. If you pick something out that you don't like or is isn't working, you can drop it and do something else.

[fruitfulmomma]

My children are 3 and 5 and then there's my itty bitty one of 4 months.

Okay, at that age I would recommend...

Kumon Books - the preschool workbooks, not Christian-based but nothing objectionable that I've seen. They help teach basic skills like cutting, pasting, coloring, etc...

A basic phonics program - there are a lot but if you want something simple and inexpensive, probably Alpha-Phonics is a good start.

The Bob Books - really simple readers for beginners.

Verbal Math - available @ Timberdoodle. The kids and I have been doing some sample lessons out of these and it is working really well for them.

Bible - We try to read the Proverbs daily, whatever chapter corresponds to the date, plus we use the My 1st Book Of Questions and Answers by Carine Mackenzie to teach basics of the faith. Balancing the Sword is also a good in-depth study of the scriptures.

Science - If you are a creationist, check out answers in genesis or master books/new leaf press for several good preschool titles.

Have fun and teach your children to work with you in the home on everyday chores.

Have creative/art supplies on hand.

Read a lot or listen to audio books.

[Radish4ever]

You might want to check out Little Hands to Heaven
http://www.heartofdakota.com/little-hands.php

You can get used copies much cheaper on www.homeschoolclassifieds.com

"Flexible
Lesson plans are written so you can use the program with multiple ages at the same time. Activities can be done in one sitting or throughout the day. A choice of resources is provided.
Educational
Little Hands to Heaven is a complete preschool program that includes:

* letter recognition
* letter formation
* letter sounds and motions
* early math skills
* Bible activities
* devotional topics
* art projects
* dramatic plays
* active exploration
* finger plays
* music



Bible Based
Little Hands to Heaven is a collection of 33 units based on stories from the Bible. Each unit has a theme centered around Bible characters. The activities in each unit coordinate with the daily Bible stories.

Fun Activities
Engaging lessons are filled with ideas that get kids moving, exploring, and playing in a meaningful way. "

[kristin0713]

I just wanted to come back and mention what we are doing next year. My kids are 2 and 4 (roughly 2.5/4.5 in September.) I am still on the fence about whether to start my DD with a formal phonics and writing program. She has been asking me to teach her how to read and write "fancy letters" (cursive) and I already decided that we would go with cursive right away when we start. So here is what I have ready to go, not sure if we will do all of it. And this is in addition to a lot of hands-on, Montessori type manipulatives and activities that we have already been doing.

Reading/Literature: I'm using the book lists from Sonlight and Before Five in a Row, some of which we have, some we will check out from the library
Everyday and Bible: Little Hands to Heaven
Bible supplements: Karyn Henley pocket lessons - LOVE these. Little Hands To Heaven does not cover holidays so I especially like these for around Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. They are cheap if you want to get a few at a time.
Math - RightStart. I am totally in love with the RightStart way of teaching math. DH and I saw them at a conference, spent a lot of time talking to the rep, and we are totally convinced. (My DH is a math person and I am not.)
Phonics - for my 4.5yo - Probably Abeka, but maybe Explode the Code
Writing - Probably Abeka cursive, I'm just not sure when I should formally start this with my DD.

ETA:
My kids were totally distracting me when I wrote this! Sorry for the crazy grammar, LOL!

[MrsJewelsRae]

Rod and Staff has some great stuff that is super low priced. My dd is 6 and expressed an interest in workbooks so I got some from R&S at the last HS Conference I was at, she loves them, they are very nice and simple, everything is filled with traditional and Biblical values, she gets to do a lot of cut and paste and coloring which she loves. We also got R&S Bible stories with the workbooks which my kids both do together, however, I only make them do 1 or 2 pages of the bookwork plus coloring a picture. I think I payed about $20 for 2 hardcover books and 3 workbooks, pretty cheap!! I had looked into Abeka's Bible curriculum, but I think it was a bit heavy and time consuming, plus the price was waaay to high for me. Once I taught my oldest son to read using phonics, and he was reading comfortably, I had him read a portion of the Bible (KJV) each day in the book of John, his reading ability really took off from there.