It has been decided...we will begin home school for the boys when this school year is over! I am so excited! This has been on my heart for a while. As far as public schools go, the district we are in is good but at this moment, home school is what will be best for my boys. I will be attending the Home School Book Fair in Arlington next month. I've done my research so I have a couple of curriculum choices in mind and being able to talk to the reps and look at the books at the fair will finalize our decision. I also plan on sitting in on some of the seminars there. I want to be as prepared for this as possible. I'm looking forward to helping my boys have fun learning, using biblical based curriculum, going at their pace instead of the "no student left behind" pace, learning with them, growing closer as a family, having a more flexible schedule...and more! The only things I'm concerned about is keeping the little ones busy while I'm helping the older ones and .. keeping up with housework (it's a full time job in itself!). I know it will work out though.
Until recently, I had no idea there were SO many options. There is unschooling, classical, traditional, literature based... the list goes on. The programs we are leaning towards are literature based. My boys and I L-O-V-E to read. The information is presented in a way that makes it enjoyable to learn. Traditional is more of the textbook / worksheets / texting format you see in public schools. Unschooling is exactly that. Basically no structure and lots of free time to think and learn while going about your day. I'm not sure how that prepares anyone for real life (no judgement... I just don't get it). I've heard classical referred to as similar to the way college classes work. The good news about homeschool is I can tailor the style to each student. While the oldest two I really believe will thrive with the literature based program, I can use something different for #3 and #4 if needed.
If you are or have homeschooled your children or were homeschooled, please share your experience.
The best piece of advice i can give u is don't expect it to run smoothly at first, or even a year down the road. It will take some time for everyone to find thier groove. We have been homeschooling for almost a year now and are still working on it. We use Robinson Curriculum which is reading based. My boys love to read so it works for us. Good Luck on your new journey!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Catalina! Organization isn't my strong point so I am definitely expecting it to take a while to get in the swing of things :) I need to look up Robinson curriculum since it is reading based. We are all big readers here!
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