Getting Homeschool Ready!
From "Summer Bridge" Books
Currently, we are doing, "Summer School" where we are working from our "Summer Bridge" book while the toddler is doing a variety of books that I have recycled over the years from when I worked with the boy in preschool. Lucky me, I kept most of the wooden puzzles, flashcards, and games. She is not that interested in the cards so I may have to give them away while they are still in good condition. Now, if I did not mention that there are different systems for homeschooling your child. (Oh yes! There are!)
1. Montessori
This method of teaching that was founded by Italian educator, Maria Montessori, is also utilized in a homeschool fashion where some make a whole room inspired by teaching. This is more so the method that I used when my son was smaller- I let him lead on what he wanted to learn. He would do puzzles throughout most of the day. We would sing songs. We would dance. When he was ready, we would go over the language. At the grocery store, I would have him count the apples and pears. Even today, if my husband comes home with change and wants to give it to him we have incorporated a game where he has to count the change within a small period of time. If he gets the amount right, he can keep the money! If he gets it wrong, we put it in his sister's "change bucket". (SN: We do not have piggy banks in our home. We reused old water jugs.) Now, I must note that we are not 100% Montessori as I am learning more and more about the other values and principles of Montessori along with everything else. Because we are leaning more towards this one I will post up some things that have been and will be of value.
Montessori books recommendations:
This book right here:
This book is called, "Montessori Letter Work" by June and Bobby George. They have a number book and a shape book as well and I highly recommend them. Search online for the best deals. Now, if you are on a shoestring budget like I am- I recommend borrowing it from the library. That is how I got it in the first place.
Also, there is a YouTuber who is exposing her two daughters into Montessori so I would jump on Hapa Family Hapa Family Montessori Living
2. Online
This should be self-explanatory. We are also adding this to our curriculum as I am juggling two children in different stages of learning. My son is currently in a 2nd-grade stage of learning as he is going through multiplication, division, fractions, and decimals while my daughter is still in the stages of phonics and the beginning stages of reading. I have my children on abcmouse.com and I am not saying this is the best- I just paid for one year and was able to create accounts for both children under this learning. Time4 learning.com is another one of great value but as I have heard through the grapevine, you have to pay for each child individually so that would be something to know if you plan on homeschooling all children and you have more than one. How it will work is when one is online learning, the other will have the one-on-one learning that I provided for my first when he was still very small. To give you a breakdown of the costs of each:
1. IXL is a popular one and if you have 2 children (because I have 2 kids.) The cost is about $23.95 a month. It is $19.99 for one child and roughly $4 each additional child per month.
2. Time4learning. Another popular program. The program is $19.95 a month and an extra $14.95 per additional child. This would probably not be the best in value if you have 6 kids and want to do online homeschooling.
3. Calvert Homeschool. I have also heard about this one. I don't know of anyone who has tried it though. Currently, it is almost $600 if you have multiple children. I also must mention if you have smaller ones like I do, it may not be best to invest in this one right now. If your child is performing at a 3rd-grade level or higher it may be something to consider. We spent about $600 a month for Catholic school so you are looking at some serious private school investments with this one.
4. K12. This one, I don't know much about but it is worth a look over. I have two nephews that went through this program. Again, if you have preschoolers, this may not be what you want just yet.
3. Waldorf
I know little of this one as I have seen this in practice more in private schools and less in homeschooling. This is another method of learning that was developed in Europe but Waldorf is actually older than Montessori. There are rarely textbooks in this method and is more a holistic approach to learning. I would love to teach my children this way but since I started one out in Catholic school and structure seems to work, I will have to pass on this. Also, I need the textbooks for me in case there is something I do not remember.
4. Charlotte Mason
I did a small amount of research on this and I wanted to add some elements to this while teaching my son before I had two children. The concept is very similar to Waldorf as there are what they call "living books" and being able to recite the material. Many classical people use the Bible as a teaching school which is why I wanted to add some elements into this way of learning. As I hope to try to put my kids back into standard schooling again one day I am not so sure I could achieve this well. I am not saying that you can not but I myself am not sure how I would be able to break this down. Here is the link to learn more: Simply Charlotte Mason
5. Unschooling
While my kids were in "standard" school and preschool, the weekends and evenings were our times to "unschool" where I bought no materials and we went by what the kids wanted to do and how they wanted to learn. This can be very vast and I won't up a link up to any site. The one I am posting can go to others. Even though I claim I did this with my kids, I don't think they advanced any further but they can definitely tell you different herbs and confers so maybe it was pretty helpful.
6. Other methods
There are a few I have not covered. There is one where you travel and unschool but if you are in the United States you are pretty much stuck here. So, there you have it. Pretty comprehensive! Here are some other links
Ok, this blog is chock full of links. If there is anything else that I am missing or you would like more explanation on, please comment because I am at a loss of words. No, seriously, can I borrow a few off you? ( haha) We are beginning our curriculum after Labor Day so next week is all about exploring! Hurray! Have a great weekend!
One more thing! We love shopping local and supporting small businesses so I usually go to a place in the neighborhood called, "Chicago Teacher". They have a boatload of materials to get you ready for homeschooling or if you are a teacher and need some materials they are a great place. Here is another link:
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