Homeschool Chat Part III

I have a son finishing 5th grade. This was our first time trying homeschooling.

Just wondering, do you purchase curriculums or do you do your own thing? This year I did my own thing. My son had two very tough years in school so I had to include some 3rd and 4th grade math concepts to catch him up this year. In the future I feel like I will need some guidance and I’m not sure where to turn. Would be interested in any ideas and info. Thanks!!!

I don't purchase a boxed cirriculum, but I do look at the Timberdoodle kits and use that as a guide. I like their choices for Reading, geography, history, art, and grammar. I chose different math and science, and added a social studies.

We tried Math U See and I wasn't a huge fan. The program is very dry and I ddn't feel like it explained the concepts very well. We are switching to Math Mammoth next year, after hearing great reviews.

For Science, we bought the Science Fusion Homeschool Package and I avdolutely love it. Many of the traditional school publishers make homeschool versions of their textbooks and programs. They have done all the work of making the pacing guide, extra help, exams, and interactive online content (videos, readers, experiments). It has been great for us.

For enrichment, we use Time4Learning. They help instill the concepts we have been learning.
 
We use Wordly Wise also. My DS is finishing up level C but there is no level D. I guess 1 would be next??? Or do I switch to Wordly Wise 3000? DD is in level 6 I like.
 
We use Wordly Wise also. My DS is finishing up level C but there is no level D. I guess 1 would be next??? Or do I switch to Wordly Wise 3000? DD is in level 6 I like.
I really don't know since we started with the later years using the older editions. This might help you out though:https://cathyduffyreviews.com/homes...d-vocabulary/vocabulary-resources/wordly-wise
I like Cathy Duffy reviews. I like her pricing info on the bottom of the page, it really is a time saver.
 
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We are taking June off and starting again first week of July but doing 4 day weeks and break when we have other plans instead of typical US schedule. This is new for us.
 
Year round for us. We take vacations scattered through the year. My dd is in a competive sport which has a crazy intense early fall season so we lighten her load during those weeks.
 


We school 6 weeks on 1 week off but do take all of June off and some of July. I get a break this way. Kids spend a week with my parents, a week doing a sports camp, and then a VBS week.
 
Roughly the regular academic year. We break for two weeks in October and January for vacation. There may be shorter vacations throughout the year.

Last summer we worked most of the summer about an hour a day. This summer we won’t do that.

Come September, dd 14 will go to regular high school, so our vacation schedule will change. Five nights in October, four nights in February. Nothing else. Big vacation planned for next dinner. We’ll see how all that shakes out. I may be taking breaks with my younger kids during the year.

Even with the time off, all three kids are way ahead of their grade level.
 
I use a lot of curricula and actually am reviewing curricula this year for the Schoolhouse Review Crew. I've gotten to try so many things so far, it's been really great. What works for one person might not work for another, even if it's a good curriculum.
 
We kind of go year round-ish. We starred her K cirriculum the same day our school system did, but we finished it im February, and that was with lots of little breaks. So now we are doing lots of workbooks and educational computer time to keep it fresh in her brain. I'll take a break the month of July and start 1st grade in August when the school system starts. According to my pacing guides, we will finish up her 1st grade materials by March.

It amazes me how quickly we fly through it. I guess 1 on 1 teaching goes a lot more efficiently.
 
We kind of go year round-ish. We starred her K cirriculum the same day our school system did, but we finished it im February, and that was with lots of little breaks. So now we are doing lots of workbooks and educational computer time to keep it fresh in her brain. I'll take a break the month of July and start 1st grade in August when the school system starts. According to my pacing guides, we will finish up her 1st grade materials by March.

It amazes me how quickly we fly through it. I guess 1 on 1 teaching goes a lot more efficiently.
I know, right? My friends always tell me I should slow down, but I’m truthfully not pushing the kids hard. We simply open up the books each day, do our school day and repeat each day. We cover things quickly.
 
I know, right? My friends always tell me I should slow down, but I’m truthfully not pushing the kids hard. We simply open up the books each day, do our school day and repeat each day. We cover things quickly.

Exactly. I find it hard to balance pacing ourselves with getting the state required 1062 hours in. At that many hours of dedicated "schoolwork" we could finish 2 grades' worth.
 
Exactly. I find it hard to balance pacing ourselves with getting the state required 1062 hours in. At that many hours of dedicated "schoolwork" we could finish 2 grades' worth.
I’m in Canada and don’t have any hard and fast rules to follow. I find our pace allows us to complete at least a year and a half. I don’t Track our hours.
 
We kind of go year round-ish. We starred her K cirriculum the same day our school system did, but we finished it im February, and that was with lots of little breaks. So now we are doing lots of workbooks and educational computer time to keep it fresh in her brain. I'll take a break the month of July and start 1st grade in August when the school system starts. According to my pacing guides, we will finish up her 1st grade materials by March.

It amazes me how quickly we fly through it. I guess 1 on 1 teaching goes a lot more efficiently.
Haha...so true. When we first started, DD was in first grade. We were getting everything done in an hour at most except on days we did science and history, but it was still a really short day. She had gone to all day Kindergarten so after a few weeks I asked her what she had done in school all day. Her response was, "We stood in line a lot. And waited while kids got in trouble." LOL Not doing much of that although she did have a rambunctious baby brother!

We school very eclectically around here. I found that boxed curriculums didn't work for us. My oldest is now in her third year of college, majoring in theater, my middle one just graduated from home and is going to tech school to be an OTA in the fall and my youngest just finished tenth grade.
 
Wow, I haven't been in this thread for a while! My oldest(homeschooled since 3rd grade) just graduated college:dogdance:and is deciding between work and grad school. My middle daughter graduated hs two years ago and works full time...she doesn't know what she wants to do yet. So, I'm on my last child at 15 and 10th/11th-ish grades.

We use the traditional school calendar. My son is so smart...he knows when everybody else gets a break and he wants one too! We also don't count our hours. My 15 year old is ASD with sensory issues, and if I give him goals for the day, and we get it done then we've won the day!

Anyone else here have special needs and in high school? The struggle is real...:headache:
 
I just looked at the calendar and realized we only have 3 weeks left until we start our new year. YIKES I"m not emotionally ready!
 
We do a modified year round also which is why we only have (now) less than 3 weeks of vacation left. lol My kids were complaining but I had to remind them we do this so we can go on vacation. We will be in CA in August and Florida for 2 weeks in Sept. lol
 

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