tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21143156.post106961735688821345..comments2023-04-15T02:55:44.582-07:00Comments on Boy Oh Boy!: September 7, 2007Leahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13255669366828707855noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21143156.post-68227835108111757802007-09-10T20:25:00.000-07:002007-09-10T20:25:00.000-07:00OK Lea, sorry, I keep meaning to comment on this b...OK Lea, sorry, I keep meaning to comment on this but I just never have time or a brain. LOL <BR/><BR/>Pretty much was going to say all the same stuff Tonya did. Right now I am not using any actual curriculum. I just got a big first grade workbook from Walmart and am using that as a springboard. FOr Geography we are learning the states, for history we are studying the Indians and soon the pilgrims. For Bible they memorize their verses for church. :) <BR/>We are going to order a social studies and science curriculum and hopefully a Math curric. soon. <BR/>I will say this...I was cautioned by several homeschool moms that teaching kids to read too early "can" burn them out early. (especially boys) Some kids are just geared toward learning. They love it. Others need to play until they are 5 or 6. Sounds like your boys will just be learning things through fun like my kiddos did. I was amazed at how much Judah knew when we started officially homeschooling this year. He is 5. I skipped Kindergarden and basically went right to first grade work. I wasn't going to teach him to read early (because of the advice I received) but when he asked at age 4 I decided he must be ready. So, we started slowly and now he is reading. Thomas is 4 now and reading very simple words. ( he also asked to learn) He is also doing first grade math with Judah. (he's very good with numbers) Thomas doesn't have the attention span or the patience to sit for long though. So, he takes lots of breaks and I don't worry how much we accomplish at this age with him. (technically he is doing first grade work at age 4 so I don't see the need to worry anyway.) <BR/><BR/>The most important thing to me was figuring out their learning styles so I can best teach them how they are bent to learn. They are very different learners. Judah is very visual and Thomas is very audio. In fact Thomas STILL can't tell you all the names of the letters of the alphabet. He can tell you all the sounds and can read short words but he can't tell you that Z is a zee. hee hee We are working on that. :):) <BR/><BR/>Well, sorry this was so long. <BR/><BR/>Hope y'all are over your virus. <BR/>Blessings!- Angela :)musicmommy3https://www.blogger.com/profile/05737575036149219677noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21143156.post-60969443296041820592007-09-08T11:50:00.000-07:002007-09-08T11:50:00.000-07:00Thanks for the tips Tonya, much appreciated!Thanks for the tips Tonya, much appreciated!Leahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13255669366828707855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21143156.post-14222082186798342942007-09-07T19:29:00.000-07:002007-09-07T19:29:00.000-07:00Homeschool curriculum is trial and error. You wil...Homeschool curriculum is trial and error. You will buy at least a few things that you don't like. Just count on it. I am just now getting into my curriculum groove on the fifth year of formal school. What you need to do is figure out if you want to start with a boxed curriculum ("My Father's World" is a favorite of a lot of my friends) or if you want to do what I do and pick and choose by the subject. I buy seperately for all subjects and some subjects, like history, I don't use a curriculum, just books. <BR/><BR/>My best suggestion is to go to the homeschool conference in your state the year before you start formal school. Wander through the curriculum hall and look at everything. Pick up lots of flyers and magazines and take them home with you for research. Then the next year, you will know what to expect and you won't be overwhelmed with the enormity of all the choices you have. Also, it will give you time to start figuring out how your boys learn best. This will be a work in progress though. I am just now figuring out that my 10 year old does well with pnuemonic devices for spelling. He is an awful speller, but he can now spell "people" because I drew a smiley face inside the letter "o" to look like a little person. He couldn't remember to put an "o" there until 2 days ago. He kept spelling it "peeple". I did the same thing with other words and it worked like a charm. You tweak, tweak, tweak your child's education all the way through. Don't worry if the first few years seem a bit chaotic. Somehow, they still learn:):):).Tonyahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03997440256348249766noreply@blogger.com