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We need another Eclectic thread!

14K views 312 replies 69 participants last post by  mangopassion 
#1 ·
To quote the lovely MyLittleWonders:

"Come one, come all ... you know you are out there. Like TV too much to be completely Waldorf? Too structured for unschooling? Too relaxed for structured hs'ing? Like the Classical approach to history, but have no desire to learn nor teach Latin? Delay a little too much to be early academics, but not enough to be delayed academics? Not "pure" in philosophy/methodology enough to fit in anywhere? Tried on a myriad of hs'ing hats, and decided none of them fit quite right? Well, this is the place for you!


...

Anyway, I wanted to create a little space for those of us that have our feet maybe in a few different areas, but don't fully fit in any.
"

Hope you don't mind that I quoted you, MyLittleWonders. You worded your post just perfectly!

Lately I've been feeling like I need one thread where I could just ask all of my questions or get all of my thoughts/worries out to others who might understand! So ... can we start another one of these?
 
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#52 ·
So, for all of the stuff I want to get for the beginning of the school year . . . it's over $400 . . . and I haven't bought a thing yet


That's the New Singapore Math K1 set (about $100 for the whole set)
about $150 for the Sonrisas Spanish curriculum
and about $150 or more from Lakeshore Learning in general supplies like fingerpaints, a US states puzzle, a globe and an inflatable wipe-erase globe (love that!) and so forth.
Of course in a few months I will need to buy more stuff, but nowhere near as expensive.

At least some of that stuff will be reusable over the next few years though. The Sonrisas Spanish curriculum we will probably repeat at least until DS1 is ready to start reading Spanish.

One thing that is important to me, is consistency-- picking something and sticking with it. I was homeschooled, and my mom was always switching from one system or program to another. It was very confusing and disorienting. I hated it. It's one thing to be eclectic and use different styles of learning, but switching from one math system to another math system to a completely different math program-- that's just hard on a child. So once I pick a Spanish curriculum, math curriculum, whatever, I plan to stick with it to the end. It's scary dropping the money on the math and Spanish curriculum without ever having seen it! But I have researched them a lot and I feel as comfortable as possible with my choices.

I am excited about doing all of this stuff with my boys.
 
#53 ·
Eclectic homeschoolers here.

I like the TJEd philosophy. We are super relaxed. I LOVE CM and FIAR. We just kind of blend things together and roll with what makes us all happy. That means lots of reading aloud, nature studies, narration, cooking/baking, gardening, and crafts. Ambleside looks interesting and my two oldest children might take that on next year. They are 11 and 9 and happy right now with BYFIAR and and our little mish-mash life.
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#54 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by MyLittleWonders View Post
There are days I long to just have one peg on which to hang my hat, yk? Though I have wandered into that territory before with both Enki and Oak Meadow, and still come back to an eclectic, though mostly classical, way of doing things.
YES! I was really looking into both Enki and OM at one point and actually almost bought OM ... but at the same time I was doing so much research (this was before we actually started homeschooling) that I kept getting this feeling that I wouldn't be happy with just OM or just Enki. We take the more classical approach too with a CM bend, and I'm sure there are some other things thrown in there as well.


Quote:

Originally Posted by justmandy View Post
When I suggested "Phoebe" for this baby's name, dh said "I"ll only be able to call her 'Pheebs'." As long as the ultrasound goes the way I think it will on Tuesday we will have our own Princess Consuela this December!
This is awesome! I love the name Phoebe. I actually started liking it because of that TV show, Charmed. I like all of their names except for Pru.
That would be so awesome if you got to have your own little Pheebs. Or, you can be as ditzy as Phoebe Buffay is and call everyone Pheebs.
 
#55 ·
I have been having a lot of trouble establishing a routine again. We used to have a great daily routine and the kids really thrived!

Then our family went through a huge transition and over time, our routine flew out the window as fast as it could get away! And we haven't been able to get it back. It's been like this for several years and it's been a little difficult at times. There are many reasons, including medical reasons, that I know having a routine again will help us all tremendously. If only we could have it back.

I have tried writing down a routine and trying to follow it. I have tried putting together a family notebook with schedules laid out for everyone. It seems like I've tried it all.

Lately, I've been thinking about perhaps buying some Enki material to help us establish our daily rhythm again. I just really need something that tells me exactly what to do, when to do it, how to implement it, etc. Would Enki be the way to go? I really need a lot of guidance here as I am at a loss on how to get our routine back.
 
#56 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by mangopassion View Post
Lately, I've been thinking about perhaps buying some Enki material to help us establish our daily rhythm again. I just really need something that tells me exactly what to do, when to do it, how to implement it, etc. Would Enki be the way to go? I really need a lot of guidance here as I am at a loss on how to get our routine back.

One idea might be to start a blog. Unlike lesson-planning or scrapbooking or journaling, it's public and your blog can potentially attract quite a following, so, if you don't keep up with it, people may notice! I do my best parenting (most involved, most fun activities) when I am blogging about it, because it gives me some level of accountability. I've been slacking since I had the baby but I'm planning to really jump back into it as we get into the new school year, and I'm excited about that, too. Keeping a blog is FUN! I have really been enjoying going back and seeing my old posts and seeing what we were doing a couple years ago.
 
#57 ·
Hi. I think I belong here too! This is my first year hs'ing my 5 yo. I was really bent on Christopherus about a month or two ago, since I like the idea of drawing and painting and waldorf rhythms(I'm a musician myself). But my son is soooo concrete. He'd be so distracted by the gnomes and mythical figures. So I took to reading the Well-Trained Mind and realized that's basically what my parents did with me(I was hs'ed). But then again, it's a little intense and lacking...uh, diversity. I really dug Homer and the Romans and all, but I need a little more cultural versatility. So several hundred hours of research later...ta-da!! I'm eclectic!

So, we're doing Ordinary Parents Guide To Reading
Phonics: Explode the Code
Science: Found this really cool book on animals at the grocery store(weird, I know) but amazing pictures and divided into informative sections. So we read a section and he draws a picture, narrates what he learned to me, ("The most interesting thing I learned about earthworms is that they are a boy and a girl at the same time"), and then we file it in a notebook.
History/Culture: A book on children's lives around the world. We'll read about it and draw something, bake something, just sort of revel in it a while before we move on.
Math: Spectrum Workbooks and games, and a book with math projects you eat when you're done.
PE: Uh...jumping on the bed?

Art: He's going to a local museum for a day each month, they have a special program for kids age 3-8.
Music: Yeah, all the time!

I guess I should him teach him to play duck-duck-goose. I think they teach that in Kindergarten. No really, I don't mean to make light of anything. I think that sometimes I stress sooo much about the hs decision overall that I need to just step back, take a breath, don't compare myself with anyone else, and just...BE.

Love this thread!
 
#58 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by mangopassion View Post
I have been having a lot of trouble establishing a routine again. We used to have a great daily routine and the kids really thrived!

Then our family went through a huge transition and over time, our routine flew out the window as fast as it could get away! And we haven't been able to get it back. It's been like this for several years and it's been a little difficult at times. There are many reasons, including medical reasons, that I know having a routine again will help us all tremendously. If only we could have it back.

I have tried writing down a routine and trying to follow it. I have tried putting together a family notebook with schedules laid out for everyone. It seems like I've tried it all.

Lately, I've been thinking about perhaps buying some Enki material to help us establish our daily rhythm again. I just really need something that tells me exactly what to do, when to do it, how to implement it, etc. Would Enki be the way to go? I really need a lot of guidance here as I am at a loss on how to get our routine back.

I'm not sure if Enki will do it for you - it definitely gives all the reasons for routine - talks about breathing in times, breathing out times, and transitions (which from the Enki POV are the most important of all). And it does give examples, but at least in my experience and from my pov, it doesn't really tell you what to do. The key, from Enki, is that you develop a routine to match your child's natural up and down times. (I found it virtually impossible to do anything like that when I had three boys, all with different temperments, needs, and up/down times.) I do know others who make it work very well even with more than one child. If you do end up buying something, the Foundation Guides are what you'd want - they are they ones that really introduce and explain the Enki philosophy, of which the rhythm of the day is a big part.

I hear you on the routine though. I desparately want to find the magic bullet, so to speak, that makes it all work - wake up time, more formal school time, learning through living time, downtime, activity time, bedtime ... plus something that automatically fits in the various chores that need to be done during the day/week, and make it all fit between the hours of 8am and 9pm! Any ideas?!
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#59 ·
We belong here. Eclectic is my middle name. I was actually looking around trying to find ideas on what to do with my 13 yo dd for science this year. I need FREE at the moment! And all the library books looked boring!! But here's kind of our story:

We have traveled a lot in the past with my dh's job. It's awesome but HECK on schooling! You'd think that you could just look up that city and visit museums, etc., but traveling is very hard! It's hard to just keep us all hydrated and well the whole time we are gone. But I wouldn't trade the experiences for anything! Like one year, we decided to take the train home from Detroit and it was so much fun! How many kids have ever gotten to sleep on a train? Then we stopped over in Chicago and had my dd's birthday at Bubba Gump's Restaurant and bought her a Starbuck's mug with "Chicago" on it. She's never forgotten it!

Anyway, money seems to play a part in what I do more than I'd like it to but, then again, so does 'life'. Dh works from home which is great! I love it! But we spend a lot of time throughout the day dealing with the business side of things. (interruptions) And let me tell you what happened last year... we lost our house because of a hurricane in Sept. and then the kids & I got hit by a car in March and have been in therapy for 4 1/2 months! And to add to that, we just found out we are having a "surprise" baby! UGH! We've lost so much time!!!!


The good news is that my dh is majorly supportive and doesn't stress over anything! We have a great sense of humor about things because I know it will all work out. We just laugh alot and keep moving forward! But honestly, the interruptions in the last 7 years have been so hard!!!!!!! I start off every year with such great intentions!


And forget who's methodology I prefer, I can't even keep up with it to discuss it. I did all that in the beginning. I teach with the things that I have and try to make it a fun, learning experience along the way.

I LOVE Winter Promise! I did Animals and their Worlds... didn't finish it but we loved it!! I'm doing WP's Children Around the World this year but can't start until I have the money to buy the notebooks that come with it. (I do better if I have something to follow most of the time and don't have to make it up myself.) My challenge will be teaching a 13, 11, 9, and 4 with a 2 yo tag along and pg tired mommy. A friend of mine was going to let me download her 8th grade stuff (SOS) but we found out it's not Mac compatible so I am stuck! We are at a VERY lean time and I only have her history bought and planned out! So there lies my frustration today...

We "officially" start our hsing Monday and I have NO schedule, no routine planned out yet! The kids ONLY have their chore charts they do every morning... guess that's a start...
Thanks for letting me vent! Gotta go find some science and la for dd. I've never done a formal science with her so I really wanted to this year...

Ugh! I could go on and on about what we've done that hasn't worked for us but I've written a book already... thanks for listening if you got all the way thru...
 
#60 ·
We will fit into this club also
We started after Christmas this past winter, so have only been at it just under a year. We are officially starting 1st grade with my 2nd and Pre-K with my 3rd son. My oldest attends public schools and my youngest is just 2 haha!

We have been just working out of cheapy workbooks, lots of reading (this is and will always be my main focus), lots of crafts, homemade science projects, and field trips so far. Working well, but I wanted to add more structure into this year. I decided to pick up Story Of The World because I realized, the only history we learned about last year (aside from some books) was a few field trips we took lol. History is really not my thing, I'm a science/nature girl. So this is our plan so far!

Jack my 1st Grader
Singapore Math
Explode The Code
Story Of The World
Spectrum Writing
TONS of reading (he is starting the Magic Tree House Series and I'll read aloud the true books that go with them)
Handwriting Practice book I picked up for cheap

Clay is PreK
Getting Ready For The Code
Lots of Montessori based activities
Cheapy Book on Writing Numbers
Lots of reading with Mama
Working with Alpha-Phonics (more for letter recognition, but he is doing beginning sounds, so this may work well)

Science is just whatever catches our interest in the library that week or whatever the kids are interested in (this has worked FANTASTIC).

Plenty of outdoor activities, learning about nature, classes at the local ecology center, field trips and so forth.

Art is just free fall, whatever works here. We keep 2 big boxes of supplies out for the kids at will.

I'd like to add in Spanish here too, but not sure when or what program to use. Also looking at getting a typing program.

We are also going to start the workbox system, because I want to ensure that at least X amount of things get done each day. Somedays we don't do anything and then I feel guilty lol!!

I plan on 9 boxes for Jack and 6 boxes for Clay. Not the 12 recommended, but I think that is plenty to make sure things are getting done. Plan on putting a few of our things from my list in the boxes, plus fun things like puzzles, word finds, craft activities, games, computer time and so forth.

We are SUPER excited to start and my kids have been asking, I just want to get things organized and cleaned up more around here. Summers are hectic and things should wind down soon.

Okay, I think I covered it all haha!
 
#63 ·
This will be our first year homeschooling too. We are definitely eclectic, I'd say a wild mix of everything-- classically, montessori-ish, waldorf-ish, charlotte mason-ish, super relaxed go with the flowish, etc!

So far I've decided on:

Math - Mix of Rightstart B, Miquon, and Critical thinking Workbooks
Phonics- 100 EZ and Right Brain Phonics along with Bob books and similar and All About Spelling
Science- Thinking about Nebel's Science book, but I can't remember the name right now. Also- alot of outdoor nature activities/journals.
History- Thinking about Pre history lessons, maybe make up my own or maybe from Connect the Thoughts
Lots and lots of play!

I have no idea how I plan on doing all this though. I'm not really a schedule person, I'm hoping it goes something like this

Ds "Mom I'm bored, let's do some math"

And I'm hoping he says it often enough to get through at least half the book!
 
#64 ·
I'm so excited I re-found this blog based on The Handbook of Nature Study.
I had already downloaded the free on-line copy of The Handbook of Nature Study to my computer at least a year ago. I think I found the blog through a thread on here at some point in time. Apparently I wasn't quite ready for it yet.
I'm excited to start now though. I think I want to aim for one challenge a week - during the week we can explore more if we want, but I think if we try for one purposeful outing/observation, we'll be more successful than over planning. I also am going to start reading The Burgess Bird Book for Children when we finish reading The Little Prince.

I'm still trying to figure out how we are going to accomplish everything though! Any magical ideas for getting kids in bed earlier in hopes of them waking earlier so we can actually start doing our more formal stuff before 10:30?! I think ultimately I need a strong morning routine (wake up, eat breakfast, make bed/get dressed/brush teeth, outside play for 15 minutes if weather permits, and then inside to start ... ) and bedtime/evening routine once dh is home from work.
 
#65 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by MyLittleWonders View Post

I'm still trying to figure out how we are going to accomplish everything though! Any magical ideas for getting kids in bed earlier in hopes of them waking earlier so we can actually start doing our more formal stuff before 10:30?! I think ultimately I need a strong morning routine (wake up, eat breakfast, make bed/get dressed/brush teeth, outside play for 15 minutes if weather permits, and then inside to start ... ) and bedtime/evening routine once dh is home from work.
We're going to be trying to keep to a good routine this year, early rise, early bed, to see how it goes. The 15 minutes outside in the morning is a lovely idea! My eclectic self may just nab that idea right up and out it to use here, MyLittleWonders style.
Thanks!
 
#66 ·
Hi! I kinda started doing some things with my now 5 yr. old last winter. We did What Your Preschooler Needs to Know activity book, then moved onto Ordinary Parents Guide and Core Knowledge K from Baltimore Curr. Project.

I've decided to plan my whole life in 3 month increments
I went a little crazy and ordered everything first grade from the WTM, Before Five in a Row, Slow and Steady, some history encyclopedias, and HWOT first grade and Pre-K, etc etc. We also have Muzzy Spanish.

I think for Sept-Oct-Nov, I am going to concentrate on the booklist from Ambleside 0, Saxon 1, Kumon workbooks for my 3 yr. old, BFIAR, and I am not sure what else.

I love the rhythm, gentle nature of Waldorf, the nature study of CM, common sense of WTM, literature of FIAR. I just have so many things I want to pull from. I think the most important thing for me is to establish a nice rhythm with the 3 kiddos, and not to push my sweet 5 yr. old too hard. I really want this to be fun and not stressful for all of us!
 
#68 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by MyLittleWonders View Post
I'm so excited I re-found this blog based on The Handbook of Nature Study.
I had already downloaded the free on-line copy of The Handbook of Nature Study to my computer at least a year ago. I think I found the blog through a thread on here at some point in time. Apparently I wasn't quite ready for it yet.
I'm excited to start now though. I think I want to aim for one challenge a week - during the week we can explore more if we want, but I think if we try for one purposeful outing/observation, we'll be more successful than over planning. I also am going to start reading The Burgess Bird Book for Children when we finish reading The Little Prince.

I'm still trying to figure out how we are going to accomplish everything though! Any magical ideas for getting kids in bed earlier in hopes of them waking earlier so we can actually start doing our more formal stuff before 10:30?! I think ultimately I need a strong morning routine (wake up, eat breakfast, make bed/get dressed/brush teeth, outside play for 15 minutes if weather permits, and then inside to start ... ) and bedtime/evening routine once dh is home from work.
I had no idea there was a free downloadable copy of that book! It's been on my Amazon wishlist for so long!
Thanks for pointing that out! I love that site. I found it on another thread here, too, but I can't remember where. I'm pretty sure it was a discussion about Nature Journals.
I am also going to try diligently to start a nature study very soon. I love nature, my kids love nature, we live in the forest, why haven't I already started???
Maybe we should consider starting a support group of sorts to help us get started with this.


While the rest of my day is pretty messed up as far as routine goes, our bedtime routine is pretty good. I have no magic ideas for you, but I'll tell you what we do.


After dinner, we usually send the kiddos straight in for a shower (my son, age 7 goes first)... thus beginning our bedtime routine!
After the shower, they are supposed to put jammies on and brush their teeth and hair. It's still usually fairly early after all this is done -- around 6:30-7:00 pm. So we allow the kids to play in their rooms quietly for a while. Then around 8:30, we read to them (lately my hubby has been reading The Hobbit to them) until around 9:00-9:15 and then off to bed they go! My daughter will usually stay up for a little while to read her own book, but we usually don't let her stay up later that 10:00 pm because then she's usually grumpy the next day. And for some reason, my kids have never had a problem waking up early. My son usually wakes up around 6:00-6:30 am. If he sleeps until 7:30 am, this is sleeping in for him and it's very unusual!
: I, on the other hand, need to sleep until at the very least 7:30.
So there's our routine. The only time we don't follow it is when we have kid guests that stay over and we usually allow the kids to stay up as late as they want as long as they are quiet.
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#72 ·
Kids ages are in my siggie! 5, 2.5, and an infant.

Bedtime routine here is finally good, but it took us a while to find our rhythm. Some nights I give them a natural relaxing chewable supplement containing a small amount of melatonin, to help them wind down. Then we either read to them (that's DHs thing) or sing them lullabies (that's my thing) until they fall asleep. We get them into bed early (about 7:30) because they wake up very early. I try very hard to be consistent with this, which makes a big difference. My issue is getting myself going in the morning! I have a hard time with energy before about 4pm.
 
#73 ·
I have 4 fours, my oldest is 10 and in public school. Then they rest are 6, 4, and almost 2. They are all home schooled.

We don't have much for a schedule now, but will have a better one in a few weeks. Get up around 7am, chicken chores, breakfast, the boys play for a while while I clean up or do a load of laundry. School time after that. We were able to get all our *school work* done before lunch last year. The boys play while I make lunch, we eat. They play while I clean up lunch. Littlest one goes down for a nap, then we play, read books, play games, or just lazy about while he sleeps. I also do daycare for my friends boys, so I have 5 little boys here most days!

If we have a field trip, play date, or some kind of outing that day, we just skip any school type work and just make it a big reading day and read what we can. I'm pretty laid back.

I hope the same holds true for this year. I include them all at the same time, so it goes pretty smoothly most days. Each one does something age appropriate and I move around helping each one get started and over seeing the chaos. Some days are a complete bomb and we end up playing boardgames and reading books instead. Just gotta take it as it comes.

That's about how our routine was last year and I thought it worked well. We will see how this year goes!
 
#74 ·
So, am I just driving myself crazy with trying to get almost everything school-wise done before lunch? I am sure if we were able to start before 10:30am, then we probably could. But maybe that's just not part of our natural rhythm and maybe I'm trying to force it and thus driving myself nuts. I want our afternoons "free" but I'm not altogether sure why exactly. Wednesdays are pretty much toast no matter what - we leave the house by 11am and usually don't get home until 2:30 or 3. The boys have PE and then play at the park with friends. I don't know if I want to rush things in the morning on Wednesdays ... we could do reading and grammar and maybe read some history in the afternoons/evenings. But the mornings are busy getting us all ready, packing lunches, and getting ready to go. That leaves 4 days a week.

I really want to get us out of the house more and so by having school stuff done by lunch, we could have our afternoons free. But, I'm not sure what we're going to do in the afternoons. We could do the library/park one day, but usually there aren't any other kids at the park during the day unless I call our friends, so the boys sometimes end up bored.

Does anyone here strive to be done by lunch? Or does anyone here use the afternoons for some school-stuff too? Where is the balance between schedule/routine (I like having a sense of routine/schedule so I feel like we are getting through things that dh and I feel are important to get through), and yet letting natural rhythm shine through the routine/schedule (but if they boys' natural rhythm flows unobstructed, they would play and watch TV most all day, and then want some stories at night before bed). Where is the happy medium?
 
#75 ·
MyLittleWonders--I just had the "maybe we aren't so much the morning people we want to be" revelation just this morning! I know it's usually natural to be settled and ready to work at 9 AM, but my boys age 5 and 2 hit the ground RUNNING! That means spilling things, making messes, talking our ears off. So, I decided not to race around this morning cramming in all that bed-making, hair-brushing, dish-doing while stressing about our supposed schedule....and just wait till things calmed down a bit before we got to work. And lo and behold! It still worked! We got going around 10:30 and then I just sort of backed off until later in the day to work on a couple other things, like math. I know 1 to 3 pm is ideal rest time, but for us it's after 3 pm. It's 5 o'clock now and after the 2 yr napped he's in good mood, maybe we'll play outside for awhile while it's cool and nice. And who says a 5 year old can't do math at 7 pm?

I wish, wish, wish I were a more routine kind of person! Even my DH jokes that I think the cure for every problem is: "Well, if we could just get back into a routine!"
 
#76 ·
Riversmommy - I totally get you! I am so learning how to be flexible (probably not the first adjective anyone would use to describe me
). It seems no matter how hard I try, we still convene around the table about 10:30 am, so I think maybe I just need to go with it.
And I think we are a lot alike as I too think the cure for what ails us here is routine.
I think one thing I might do is start reading history and/or science in the evenings after dinner - not necessarily at bedtime, but definitely later in the day. Then the next day we can flex our brain muscles and talk about what we read and do whatever activity I wanted to do regarding the subject (or no activity at all). Chances are my boys will all be in college and I'll still be trying to figure out a routine that works for us!
 
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