Are there sample curricula available?

[mainermama]

Hi all--

I'm an at-home mom who has a son (just turned seven) who's in his second year at our local public school. We're not happy with it for a number of reasons-- the largest of which is that there's hardly any time left for family time when he's in school all day!! Also, socially, things haven't been really smooth for my son, who is both extremely kind and extremely sensitive.

I'm considering giving hs'ing a 'trial run' this summer to see how it goes for all of us. (We also have a daughter who'll be in Kindergarten this next fall-- she'll be 5 in August). Are there companies that offer a 'sample' curriculum, where you can just try out their curriculum for a few days? I'd be leaning toward something slightly structured, and something totally secular.

Thanks so much!! I'll likely have lots more questions should we decide to go through with this. We just all miss being together and hate having Ben away all day, five days a week!!!!

[wonderactivist]

Hey Jess,

It seems that there is a lot of curriculum online from various companies. In my experience, they put just one lesson sample online, but you could choose several to try and fill up a week - just to see which style you prefer. Here's an example at Oak Meadow:
http://www.oakmeadow.com/curriculum/demo_select.cfm


(It clicks into just one subject, but if you look to the left there is a sample for each subject for that day.)

Also, as a mom with two boys - and my eldest is highly sensitive - I would highly recommend checking out some holistic or Waldorf curricula. Here's a list of many, many sources. There are various styles of of homeschooling and A to Z Home's Cool is a good place to get an overview.

Best wishes,

Lucie

[mandib50]

lots of companies have websites that have a sample of their stuff on line. i know that five in a row does, signapore math, story of the world, real science 4 kids and probably a whole lot more have samples on line. best yet, if you decide to homeschool after all, see if you can get your hands on what you want either from another homeschooling family or store to actually take a close look. what you see online usually represents the best and most interesting parts of the curriculum.

i hope you enjoy your homeschooling experience

[mainermama]

Thank you both for your great ideas. I'm so excited and so anxious about this!! I really appreciate your help, and will be back with more thoughts soon.

xoxo